November 24, 2013

A Few of Our Favorite Things Giveaway: Prize Package Giveaway

Do you have a project you want to work on but you don't know where to start?
Maybe you need some extra cash to finish a project? You came to the right place.

My friends and I teamed up to share some of our favorite supplies that we've tested and approved over the countless projects we've worked on over the years! 
Not only are there supplies up for grabs but there are two gift cards included in this prize package.

This is an amazing giveaway and I'm a little jealous I can't win all of these goodies!!! 
 
A Few of Our Favorite Things : Furniture DIY & Paint Supplies Giveaway

Here's what you'll win!
3 Purdy brushes - 1 in, 1.5 in, and 2 in
4 3M sanding blocks - in 60, 150, 220, and 320 grits - perfect for prepping pieces and for all your distressing needs
1 bag of Miss Mustard Seed's milk paint (your choice of color)
1 jar of Miss Mustard Seed's furniture wax
1 Miss Mustard Seed's medium paint/wax brush
1 extra large roll of Frog Tape
1 Quick Wood epoxy stick - great for filling larger holes and gashes in furniture
1 Kreg Jig, Jr. - for making pocket holes so you don't see screw heads on your diy furniture projects
2 bags of Blue Hawk cheesecloths - these are great for applying (and removing excess) wax to your painted furniture
2 plastic tubs - these make measuring the right amount of paint a breeze and double as the perfect place to soak your brushes
$20 Woodcraft gift card
$175 Lowe's gift card
A Few of Our Favorite Things : Furniture DIY & Paint Supplies GiveawayA Few of Our Favorite Things : Furniture DIY & Paint Supplies Giveaway

The gift cards will help you add to your supplies.
Some suggestions of things we love that you can add to your stash : (we couldn't include most of these because of shipping restrictions)
Floetrol - the secret to no brush strokes
Minwax Polycrylic sealer (water based)
Briwax Liming Wax
Minwax Wipe On Poly
Minwax Express Color Stain
General Finishes glaze in Van Dyke Brown
General Finishes gel stain in Java
Be sure to check all of these products out whether you win or not. They're our favorites for a reason! ;)
.. .. ..
Alright, ready to enter? We're giving you LOTS of opportunities!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Have fun and good luck!
Giveaway closes at 11:59 pm EST on 11/30/13.

November 03, 2013

Accidental Tourist

If you follow my furniture projects, you know I'm a fan of using "oops" paint. Not only is it cheap but this time it gave me a chance to get help from all of you!

"Oops" paint rarely has a name printed on the label.
This time I asked the followers on my facebook page to help me name this color. 

The paint was a Valspar paint. I painted the dresser and added black glaze to bring out all of the imperfections in the wood.
It looked a different shade to different people. 


I thought it was a bluish-gray color. 
Friends thought it was sage. 
Other people saw it as plain blue.  

I needed help!

The names that were suggested on my facebook page were great. 
A few of my favorites were: Algonquin Moon (it's an inside joke between myself and my brother-in-law), stormy seas, luvy duvy grey, gone gray.....I could go on! There were so many great name suggestions. 

The name I liked the best was accidental tourist by Amy Kitchen. 
Her meaning behind the name is creative. Since the paint was an "oops" color it was an accident and I may not be able to get this exact color again, therefore, it's visiting. 
 Perfect!

It makes me want to be a tourist in a far away country. Shoot, I'll take being a tourist in another state!

Thank you Amy for such a unique and dreamy name. 



linking up:



October 21, 2013

Stenciled Sweetheart Table

I had the pleasure of working with Cutting Edge Stencils on a project that I am so proud to share with you guys. They have so many great stencils. It was way too hard to choose just one!

The one I picked is the Charlotte Allover Stencil
I had an old table sitting in the garage that was becoming a dust collector. The table had potential but I wasn't exactly sure what to do with it. When I started talking with Cutting Edge Stencil about doing a project I knew I could make good use of the table. 
I immediately thought of a sweetheart table

The pattern of the Charlotte stencil reminded me of a lace tablecloth and I wanted to reflect that look on the table. 

Let's look at what I was working with, shall we?
This is the what the table looked like before paint and stencil. 

After I sanded and cleaned the top I was ready to stencil.
Cutting Edge Stencils are very easy to use and they have videos on their website to show you exactly how to use them properly. 
I placed the stencil diagonally, taped it down and painted.

   I used black paint for the stencil because I wanted a neutral look. I wanted to distress and whitewash the top to give the table a worn look. It looked great but after I distressed the top you could barley see the stencil.

I had to come up with a Plan B. I decided to use a little color this time. I taped the stencil again and repainted with a custom mixed yellow. After the paint dried I sanded to give it a distressed look. 
I also added some stenciling around the edge of the table.

Adding the stencil detail around the outside of the table made a huge difference. 

Are you ready for a million pictures? Okay, maybe not that many but it's pretty close!

















 I love how this sweetheart table turned out. From the pretty yellow stencil on the top to the chipped milk paint legs on the bottom. It's beautiful! 
 I hope this inspires you to think outside of the box when it comes to your next stencil project. 
The stencil was so easy to use on this project and I would recommend a stencil from Cutting Edge Stencil to anyone who wants to add a little something extra to their next project.


Here are all the details:
The milk paint color on the table is light cream by Old Fashion Milk Paint Co.
The chairs are also painted in milk paint. The chair on the left is bayberry green and the other chair is a mixture of bayberry green and soldier blue. 

The stencil is from Cutting Edge Stencil
The "happily ever after" is a free printable from tater tots & jello
  
I'd love it if you liked me on facebook!! Stop by and say HI : )

I worked with Cutting Edge Stencil on this project and was given the stencil and supplies that accompany the stencil. I was not paid for this post or for my opinion or idea. All opinions and ideas are my own.


linking up to:
silver pennies
craft-o-maniac 

October 16, 2013

Dresser in Navajo White & Giveaway Winner

Last year I posted this empire dresser on Craigslist. A sweet lady named Sara bought it and asked if I could paint another dresser she bought. 

She wasn't sure if I could do anything with it because veneer was missing and the top was pretty rough. 
Little did she know, I know my way around a piece of furniture with missing veneer. If you wanna see my past experience with removing veneer click herehereand here. I need to update you guys on my technique to get it all off !!

Before I took this picture I started to remove the veneer on the middle drawer.

Before
After
Looking at these pictures I realize I need to repaint my wall and scrape paint off the floor. 

We kept the original hardware and didn't do anything to it. It was so pretty! 
The color is Navajo White by Behr and the top was re-stained with dark walnut by Minwax. This color was the perfect cream. This is going on my "Favorite White's" list.

I lightly distressed the legs and around the edges of the drawers. 


Now to announce the winner of the $50 Visa Gift Card Giveaway!!
The winner is Michele Moede. 
Michele check your email for all the info.
The winner was randomly selected by Rafflecopter.

Congrats Michele!!



October 10, 2013

Empire Dresser in White Raisin

When I first started blogging about furniture I always showed a before and after picture. 
Recently it's just been an after shot of a pretty piece of furniture. 

I feel this piece needs a before and after so you can see how far it has come!

There was a top and a complete set of drawers but the top was bowed beyond repair and all of the veneer needed to be removed too. 
 My husband made a new top for this dresser and replaced the right leg that had fallen off.
 
I decided to line the drawers with a funky ikat fabric because the bottoms of the drawers were pretty worn and overall gross. 

Overall, the dresser turned out awesome considering the original condition. 

The hardware and fabric came from Hobby Lobby
&
the color is White Raisin by Sherwin Williams. 
The top was stained in dark walnut. 


October 09, 2013

$50 Visa Gift Card Giveaway!

Could you use a little extra green in your pocket for the holidays?
I know I could!

How about a $50 Visa Gift Card!!!
  I was asked to co-host a giveway along with four other lovely blogging ladies.  

Brooke from Start at Home
Lisa from createinspire
Katie from Upcycled Treasures 
Angela from Number Fifty-Three

The rules are pretty simple and please feel free to share with your friends! 
The giveaway starts at 8PM MST and ends October 15th. 
There are 5 chances to win!!!
The winner will be randomly selected.
I promise you won't be disappointed with all of our pretty projects either.

Good Luck & you can ENTER HERE:

October 08, 2013

DIY Glitter Candlestick Makeover

I've been playing with glitter a lot lately. A little too much if you ask my husband, my kitchen floor, and my driveway. It looks like a glitter bomb went off and no amount of sweeping or wiping will clean it all up. 

What could a little more glitter hurt... so I came up with another project. 


Almost two years ago I picked up a pair of candlesticks from Goodwill. I think I was going to use them to make a cake plate for my daughters birthday. 
They have been sitting in my laundry room since the day I brought them home and poor Elise never got a DIY cake plate. 


The before picture does them justice compared to what they look like in person. 
 Plus I got these bad boys for a steal!

This project was super easy & fast.
 I get a lot of emails asking how to do crafts which I (and probably you too) think are easy but to some readers crafts are more of a chore than fun. 
If crafts don't come easy to you, this post is for you! 

If you want to glam up your own ugly candlestick I am going to walk you through it.


You need:
A candlestick
adhesive spray or modge podge (it doesn't have to be matte)
extra fine glitter
foam brush or small paint brush
towel or shoe box

Brush a little modge podge on your candlestick. It doesn't need to be a thick layer of glue but make sure to get in the creases. 
I think adhesive spray would have been a little easier to use but I didn't have any on hand so I used modge podge.

On the first stick I started at the top which worked okay. On the second one, I started from the bottom up and I thought it worked a little easier. It was easier to turn the candlestick without messing up the wet areas. But work from whatever end you like. 

Tip: Place your candlestick in the shoebox or on the towel to catch all the extra glitter

After you paint on a little glue cover that area with glitter. Don't be afraid to pour a lot out. 
 It looks like a lot of glitter comes out but it's not as much as you think. Plus after you are finished you can pour all of the extra glitter back into the glitter jar.


Work in sections and once the entire candlestick is covered let it dry. 
Once the glue is dry there will still be a little extra glitter that you can get off by tapping the stick on your towel or inside the shoe box. 
If you missed any areas apply more glue & glitter and let dry.

My shoe box had a little hole cutout that worked great as an extra hand or a place to rest the candlestick when I needed to use both hands.


Once everything is dry you can display your candlesticks. 


Think of all the colors you could use on this project. 
You could use black for some glam Halloween decor or a pretty gold glitter for New Year's Eve. 
When these have lit candles in them they look even better. They catch all of the light and shimmer even more. 

What do you think of glitter decor? 
Do you love it or hate it!?