Nursery Update - Another Craigslist Dresser

Hello, all! I hope everyone is getting to enjoy some fantastic early spring weather like we are here in North Dakota! We went to a St. Patrick's Day parade yesterday and it was almost 80 degrees! Who would have ever thought that you'd be able to wear shorts and a tank top on St. Patrick's Day in ND?

Anyway, we're plugging away on the nursery and this is our most recent project.

I love this solid wood (no particleboard or veneer!) mid-century dresser and at just $60, it was a steal! The top was in sort of bad shape, with some water spots, stains and dents so I went back and forth on what to do with it. I loved the look of this dresser from aDESIGNdock.

I love the darker wood drawer fronts and the contrast with the white shell. This is such a fantastic look but the dresser is going against a cream colored wall and I just didn't feel like it would look right. We decided that since it was solid wood, sanding and staining was the way to go. So...I put my husband to work :-)

My next decision was what to do with the bare wood. (Man, decisions are TOUGH!) I had three options in mind. First, a clear coat just to seal it. The color would have been super close to the crib but the contrast against the cream colored wall wouldn't have really been there. My second thought was a simple, natural colored stain and my third was a beautiful, deep walnut color.

I ended up going with the natural stain.

I'm super happy with my choice. I love the little bit of color and if we decide to go darker in the future, we can easily do that.

So, that's just a tease. You'll have to wait until the room is totally done to see the finished project :-)

As far as updates go, here are a few more. I finally got the chevron curtain fabric and blackout liner and plan on sewing them up today. While I was at it, I picked up a yard of this Dwell Studio fabric for some accents.

I also have a couple updates on the baby. My c-section is scheduled for April 23rd so unless he decides he wants to come early, that's his birthday! Speaking of him deciding to come early, I guess he's big. He's measuring a couple weeks ahead so I have another ultrasound scheduled for March 27th to get an idea just how big he is. Who knows, maybe he'll be here sooner! I guess that means we still have a lot to do!

How is everyone doing? Are you taking advantage of the fantastic weather? What are you working on right now?

Found Treasure - Mid-Century Love

Hello all! I just wanted to pop in to show you my latest "found treasure". My love of Craigslist is well-documented. I regularly buy and sell furniture and household items and have gotten some incredible deals. Well, I think that today I got my best deal yet!

Behold, my PAIR of vintage Hans Wegner folding rope chairs!

Well, I can't tell if they're Wegner or the earlier Ebert Wels version but either way, they were a steal and they're fantastic! I am planning on selling them so if you're interested, let me know! If I don't sell them, they might just end up in baby boy's room - which I'll be posting my plans for this weekend!

2011 Wrap Up

Hello friends! 2011 has been a big year and I can't wait to share with you some of my favorite posts and happenings.

My five most popular posts this year have been:

#5

Easy DIY Art

I love these in my bedroom. The cream color adds some much needed light to the space!

#4

Another Waverly Fabric SCORE!

I paid $14 for 2.75 yards of this gorgeous Sun N Shade fabric and am planning on finishing up my deck project this summer. Here are the fabrics I'll be using.

#3

Downstairs Bathroom - DONE!

This summer I did a mini re-do of my downstairs bathroom. It was just the freshening up I needed...and SO simple! I've since added a DIY Sunburst Mirror to the spot next to the mirror. It's the perfect finishing touch!

#2

Craigslist Dresser...Done?

This was another one of those never ending projects. I had so many problems with the paint bubbling up and I spent so much time sanding and re-sanding. In the end, it was worth it! This is the perfect storage solution for DVDs, diapers and wipes, toys...I love it! I do still need to buy the hardware I've got picked out but I'm having a difficult time getting myself to spend the money. The knobs and pulls are $5 each and I know that doesn't sound like much but that's $60 total and I just don't want to take it out of my budget. I am planning on a re-do of this whole space sometime this year so when I begin that, I'll buy my knobs :)

#1

New Reading Bench

This was by far my most popular post this year and one of my favorite projects. This goes to show you what a little bit of elbow grease can do. I bought the bench for $20 on Craigslist, pulled off some nasty upholstry and padding, repainted and reupholstered it. For a $30 total investment, I have a fun new piece of furniture and a great addition to my little girl's room.

So, those were my most popular posts of 2011. I want to share a few of my personal favorites.

#3

Valentine Wrap-Up

I loved the Valentine's Day crafts I did this year and I smiled every time I looked at them. I can't wait to get them back up and to do even more this year :)

#2

Owl Love You... (Before & After)

I love this little guy. He just makes me happy :)

#1

Lattice Entertain You...

These are my absolute favorite project from this past year. I fell in love with the fabric and got an awesome deal when I found it in the clearance bin at Joann. Unfortunately, I only had enough for one window. I hunted and hunted for this online but this color isn't made anymore. (It's Waverly Lovely Lattice in mocha. They do make this in the Sun N Shade fabric but I had the 100% cotton and needed the same to match up to what I already had.) Finally, I tripped over a store that had this online.

I love everything about this fabric. The weight, color and pattern are perfect and the curtains are perfect for my living/dining area. Almost every time I look at them, I can't believe how lucky I was to find that second five yards :)

2012 is going to be a busy year for me too. I've got a monster list of projects and to-dos that I'm planning on posting soon. Included in that list will be converting my guest room/office into a nursery for a baby boy coming in April. That's my biggest DIY project planned for 2012. (The baby, not the room!)

I've had so much fun looking back on 2011 and it's inspired me to forge ahead in the coming year. I've loved all the friendships that have developed through this blog and all the support I've received. Thank you ALL for making it wonderful :)

Linking up to:

Weekend Project - On Hold

Well, I don't want to leave you all high and dry but my Craigslist chairs project is on hold. I've got them all painted and ready for new upholstery but I couldn't find what I wanted locally so I had to order the fabric online. You know how that is, you have something specific in mind and you just can't make anything else work out...

I can promise you this, these chairs are going to be FANTASTIC! Just the new coat of paint has got them looking so much better and so chic. Here's a little preview...

I'm not going to tell you what fabric I chose because I want it to be a surprise...Just know that it's going to be FAB!! The fabric is in transit so I'm hoping to be able to finish these up this weekend. In the meantime, I've got some other projects to share with you so stay tuned!

Weekend Project Sneak Peek

I mentioned the other day that I was heading out to pick up something from Craigslist. Well, here is a teaser - a before pic from the seller:

You'll never guess how much I paid...$10. FOR THE PAIR!!!! These will be going in my upstairs living room. I still need to pick a fabric to reupholster them and a color to paint them. I'd really like to go bright on the paint but at the same time, glossy black would be so pretty!

I'm hoping to have these done and posted on Monday so stay tuned!

Found Treasure...Bamboo Edition

Okay, well it isn't all bamboo but there sure is a lot of it here...that's okay though, who amongst us doesn't love faux bamboo?

Here are some of my most recent thrifting finds.

I love this pretty painting. I love it but don't plan on keeping it the way it is. I'm going to paint the frame and use it on my gallery wall. In fact, most of the paintings here are going to be used on that future gallery wall!

Here is a set of two original oil paintings. I don't know what I'm going to do with them but it was $2 for the set and I was just sort of drawn to them. I figured that for that price, they were too pretty to pass up.

Another faux bamboo frame...I'll be taking the print and the cheap plastic out of this before I paint and add it to the gallery wall.

Yet another faux-bamboo frame...this print is actually not horrible...I hate the mat but still, it's going to be swapped out for something else before it's painted and hung.

Small faux-bamboo mirror. This might be going in my bedroom. I haven't quite decided.

Ah, the lovely lady. She is so pretty. I picked her up for a girlfriend of mine that has another beautiful lady bust in a similar style. I only paid $1!

I love that hibiscus...

This is one of my favorite finds. Silver (plated, I'm sure) faux-bamboo serving trays. All that's missing is the glass inserts and those are easy to replace. I got these at an estate sale for a steal! I'm considering selling them though since I'm going to need to make room for the new baby and will be losing my office :(

These are funny...I bought them at a rummage sale because I know shells and the like are so popular and I would have felt foolish not buying them. However...I refuse to touch them. I don't know why but they just give me the heebie jeebies!

I thought this one was kind of cool...

Let me know if you know anything about any of these items. I'd love to know what I've got! What have you picked up lately? I'm mourning the loss of summer and rummage sale season. At least I still have Craigslist!

Adirondack Chair Before & After

Remember here where I showed you the awesome deal I got on these Adirondack chairs? Well, I went ahead and gave them a simple makeover.

These chairs were SO faded...they just soaked up the paint. I ended up putting four coats on!

Anyhow, they turned out great! I love the crisp navy blue color.

They're a great addition and a nice lounge area for the deck. At $2.00 for the chairs and ottomans and about $20.00 for the paint, they're a great deal!

On another note, we finally started staining! (Yes, that is a different furniture set up there. I'll tell you about that another time!)

Linking up to:

Miss Mustard Seed

Thrifty Decor Chick

DIY Sunburst Mirrors - On The Cheap!

Hello! So, I realize there are about a million tutorials all over the blogosphere for these and I'm probably on the back side of the trend but I was so excited about these that I figured I'd share anyway.

I made two mirrors. I wanted one large and one small so I bought two different sizes of mirrors. The larger of the two was $1.49 and the smaller was $0.99. I picked up two packages of barbeque skewers and a sheet of foam core poster board at the Dollar Tree.

I placed both mirrors on the board and traced them...

...then I cut out the circles.

I found the center of each circle and stuck a skewer in it to mark it off.

Then, I hot glued the skewers around, meeting in the middle and trying to evenly space them.

Then, I glued a skewer at the edge of the board between each of the skewers affixed at the middle.

Then, I glued more on either side of those glued at the edge of the board but glued them at the in-between point of the other skewers.

Finally, just for good measure, I glued the crap out of it. I put a thick coat of hot glue over the whole thing just to make sure it all stuck together.

View from the top :)

I painted one oil-rubbed bronze and the other heirloom white, making sure to evenly coat all sides of the skewers and the piece of foam board.

I poked a hole in the back of the foam board for hanging. I love the finished product! This one is big - almost three feet wide.

(Yes, I realize this isn't perfectly centered on the wall. For now, it's good enough!)

For the smaller one, I used the same process but first cut the skewers in half.

It's just what my downstairs bath needed!

The total cost for this project was $5 - for BOTH MIRRORS! $2.50 for the mirrors themselves, $2.00 for two packages of skewers and $0.50 for the foam board. I had the paint on hand.

For $5.00, I don't care if I'm behind the times or coming in at the tail end of this trend. I love my mirrors :)

Have you made any DIY sunburst mirrors like this? I know I've seen so many beautiful variations out in blogland...if you have, link it up in the comments below! I'd love to see!