Negative: Not enough room for books in my classroom

Positive: Two-Toned Bookcase

For this project all you need is painters tape and two paint colors.

 

1. First, I wanted to paint the inside of the bookcase so I laid the bookcase on its backside.

2. I taped the trim on the front of the bookcase and began to paint the inside. It actually needed three coats.

3. Then I did the opposite. I taped the edges of the inside of the bookcase and painted the trim, top, and sides of the bookcase black.

Did you know that you can get the paint of your favorite sports teams at Home Depot?

I chose black and gold since the theme of my classroom is University of Central Florida.

 

 

 

Check back for an update of my classroom!

Clothespin Photo Display

Looking for a unique way to display your photos? Have an awkward space on your wall like me? Make this easy clothespin photo display.

 

 
 

 

Look at these cuties!

 
College dorm room friendly and totally customizable.

The black and gold is for my alma matter, UCF.

 

So easy to make: here you go!

Supplies:

One board

Clothespins

Wood glue

Spray Paint

Poly

If you want to do stripes like me or any other design you will need

painters tape, wrapping paper, and scissors.

 

 

First paint your board as desired.

These sections are spray painted black.

 

I used wrapping paper over the black so I can spray paint the other sections gold.

I used wood glue to attach the clothespins.

 

 

 

 Change your photos as frequently as you would like!

I've found cute clothespins at Hobby Lobby and Homegoods. Your local grocery store will have good ole regular clothespins in the laundry detergent aisle.

Treasure Chest with Removable Cushion

Check out this chest transformation!

 

 Painted black and gold to resemble a treasure chest.

Want know how I removed the dated paint in the "before" pic? Read about My First Time Stripping (Furniture).

Removable cushion added for seating.

 

Perfect for storing shoes, toys, or books. Pictured here are three medium sized blankets.

 

 

 The cushion can fit inside the chest as well.

 

Dimensions 12.5 (h) x 12 (w) x 18.75 (l)

 

Status: Sold!

 

My Frist Time Stripping (Furniture)

Negative: Furniture with Out of Date Paint

Positive: My First Time Stripping (Furniture)

 

 

I wanted to let you in on my first time stripping furniture. I really prefer to work with raw wood when I paint furniture but this little chest has so much potential!

 

 

I immediately thought treasure chest when I saw this piece. But what to do about all of this artwork?

I used a product called Citristrip. After 30 minutes the paint scraped off like cupcake frosting. A few things I was not prepared for:

-have slew of extra towels on hand

I started with a few towels, and then the whole bucket.

 

-you don’t have to scrub THAT hard

I found out my piece was made out of particle board, not wood, so the edges began to wear after 2 coats of paint stripper and became damaged.

-clean THOROUGHLY before staining or painting

When I painted my piece, it felt slimy and began to peel. Probably a sign I didn't clean as well as I thought. Whoops!

 

 

So what I learned from my first time stripping (furniture):

Get a lot of towels, don’t work too hard, and clean up afterwards to make sure all the filth is gone, especially in those creases!

 

 

Now it really is starting to look like a treasure chest!

Check back for the finished product.

Custom Work Bench

Negative: Beautiful Work Bench All Covered Up

Positive: Customized Work Bench

The best gifts are handmade because they are a product of someone’s hard work and dedication. One of the best Christmas gifts I’ve received was my work bench made by my husband and his friend. His behavior became a little suspicious when he went to go watch football at Brian’s almost every weekend.

On Christmas morning he brought me out to the garage and to my surprise a work bench was set up!

 

 

He had tried to use adhesive to center my logo on the top of the bench but the paper just didn’t come off all the way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7 months later I finally got around to customizing my bench.



Look how I treated it :(

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I used a pre-stain (two coats) on the entire workbench.

 

I used a stain called “Honey” but decided it was way too light.
 



See the splotches from leftover glue.

The second coat of stain was called “Espresso”. I only did one coat of this because the darker the stain the harder it would be to see the logo in black.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then I painted my logo. I used an engineering print as a guide. I centered the logo and made holes in specific places within the words. The painting ended up like a huge connect the dots game.

 

After I painted the logo, I traced it once more.

Two coats of poly and some dry time is all I need now.

 

 

Don’t be afraid to free-hand custom writing. Sometimes I create my own design and go with it. See this nursery artwork. At other times I print a template and try to copy it.

Have a home design need? I would love to give your home a custom look. Get in contact with me here.

Portable Ballet Barre

Negative: Working Out

Positive: My Own Dance Studio

 

I will find absolutely any excuse not to workout. I have had gym memberships go unused and many loads of laundry completed when I should have been running outside. I’ve always loved to dance and ballet is a natural workout for me.

My husband kindly made me a ballet barre so I could outfit my own studio in our garage.

 

 

He started by making the legs in a T shape and attaching casters.

 

Next, he added a mounting block to one leg so the beam could be attached with two screws.

He repeated this with the other leg, making sure the beam was level.

He attached the bottom beam first and then the top.

Hints for beam height: If making this barre for a child or adult, the beam height may very. The top beam should be for the dancer's hand. Have them stand next to the barre and find a position that is comfortable. The bottom beam should be somewhere in the hip level, where a dancer could easily place their foot at 90 degrees.

Looking to have your own in home dance studio?

1.       Buy long mirrors from IKEA and place side by side for a mirrored wall.

2.       Use a white board to sequence a workout or write down steps to a routine.

3.       Don’t forget a fan if you’re dancing in your garage or basement. It can get hot very quickly!