Kids Dresser Redo

This week I took on one of my New Years Resolutions. I finally started my home makeover with a dresser redo. When I got married my husband's parents blessed us with many pieces of furniture, most of which they had had for many many years. I still have most of the pieces they donated to us including an old wood dresser and chest. Last week the dresser in my kids' room broke and instead of buying a new one I took the plunge and painted the old dresser. I have been wanting to do it for years and I finally got to it.

Here is what I did.

The dresser was unfinished wood so I didn't even sand except in a few rough spots.

Then I used Krylon spray primer to cover the whole thing. One spray can of primer was all it took.

Once that dried I began with the spray paint. I used Krylon spray paint in Jade. I found that I like Krylon the most. It sprays evenly and your hand isn't aching when you are done. Nice even coats, let dry, then spray again. It took 3 cans to cover the entire dresser and the drawer faces.

Next I mixed together a clear glaze with a little black paint. About 1 cup of glaze to 1/4 cup paint. (Maybe even less.) I used two rags to apply the glaze. The first rag was dipped in glaze and rubbed on the surface of the wood. Then I used the clean rag to wipe the glaze off.

Finally I went to Lowes and bought a few new drawer pulls.

I LOVE how it turned out. It was so easy too. The whole process took about 2 days. I don't know why it took me so long to get around to painting the dresser but now I am looking around my house for more furniture pieces to refinish!

Glitter Sole Shoes

I have to admit I was very hesitate to get on board with glitter week. Not that I don't love some sparkle. I just have a reputation for being a little messy (spills, klutziness you know...Messy Jessie) especially when crafting. And let's face it, glitter is not conducive to someone with messy issues. So this week I took my project outside. My daughter still got into a bottle of glitter and dumped it all over my floor so I have seen black glitter everywhere this week but that is another issues.

A while back I bought a pair of tan patent leather pumps from a thrift store in AZ. They were Jessica Simpson but there was a little blue mark on the front of the pumps but for $15 I figured why not.

 

 Well I took them home and found out I already had a pair of pumps the exact same color and much better condition as the ones I got from the thrift store. Two pairs of the same shoe?? What to do??

So I decided to do a little remake with the blue marked ones. I love the two toned look right now with the toe tips a different color than the rest of the shoe. So I began by using painters tape to tape off the front toe of the shoes, covering the blue mark.

Then I spray painted the toes red.

Once that was dry I outlined the rest of the sole of the shoe with painters tape. Then I used spray glue to adhere the glitter to the bottom of the shoes. (I know that the glitter will scrap off the bottom of the pad of the foot but that is okay with me). I finished by covering the glitter with mod podge just to keep the glitter in place.

 

I love the remake. I love when there is a little surprise in my clothing. Something you may not have noticed at first. If I could do it again I would use a finer glitter or maybe even spray glitter, but for time constraints and toting around two little children I bought what I could find. Otherwise, LOVE THEM.

Spring Theme Baby Shower

I love baby showers. There are so many options for themes and games. Pinterest is addictive when it comes to these ideas, haha. I am actually a person that is for a baby shower no matter what number that child is in the new mom's life. Maybe not necessarily for the gifts but to celebrate a new life and give the mom to be a little love to let her know she is beautiful and special. I recently had the privilege of throwing a shower for a new mom in my ward at church. I didn't really know her at the time but she was really quiet and I figured I would ask. This was her first baby and she was SOO GRATEFUL for the gesture. So the planning began. I knew exactly what I wanted to do, since she didn't know the gender of the baby I thought neutral spring theme. Fun. Here is what I came up with:

The Decor:
Petal Lanturns from Martha Stewart

I actually used roll on glue instead of tape and it made the process go a lot faster.

Thrift store vases that I spray painted with Daisy's

A charger and old vase, spray painted and glued together to create a cake stand.

Simple chevron stripes in grey and white throughout the house.

The FOOD:

Vegetable Pizza. This is a family favorite that I make every Christmas for our annual appetizer night.

Crock pot meatballs. Frozen meatballs from Costco thrown into a crock pot. Cover them with a jar of grape jelly and a jar of chili sauce. Cook for at least 2.5 hours. Another family favorite.


Fruit tray with Orange Cream dip Curried Chicken Skewers with Peanut Sauce

And finish it off with bar cookies, raspberry lemonade, and chocolate covered strawberries.

We all had a great time and it was fun to celebrate someone who truly deserved it.

Holiday Card Display

We receive countless holiday cards and I have trouble trying to display each of them with out looking like I have a mess of cards piled in our home.  Tonight I came up with a great solution.  I made a pretty display frame where I can hang our favorite cards this holiday season.

Yes, all the cards are my own family cards because we haven't received any from friends yet!

I started with a big frame I had in my closet.  The glass had broken years ago and I saved the frame thinking I would replace the glass someday.  This was a perfect frame for my holiday card display!

I spray paint on plastic outside and use glass beads to hold the plastic down when it's windy.

I used a couple coats of Krylon's Cherry Red spray paint to give the frame a festive look.  Then I added Krylon's Cherry Bomb Glitter Blast and finished it with Krylon's Glitter Blast clear sealer.  I LOVE the Glitter Blast paint!

Picture taken after first coat of Cherry Red paint.

I used one yard of pretty fabric to cover the frame backing.  I simply folded it over the cardboard backing.

Next I used wire trim to make the sections where the cards attach.

Just like before with the fabric, I simply wrapped the wire around the edges of the cardboard backing.

The back of the frame looked pretty sloppy when I inserted the covered cardboard.

I made sure the fabric and wire was pulled tightly before clipping the frame closed.  Instead of trimming the fabric I folded the edges and used the frame clips to hold each side down.

I found the perfect spot in my home to hang the holder.

Then I added some cards. 

Now I'm just waiting for actual cards from friends so I don't have to display my own!

I'm linking this post here.

 

BLOOPERS

Not every craft project we set out to make turns out the way we want. Over the past two weeks we have been crafting and sewing for ourselves. During this process I attempted a few crafts that didn't work out.

Spray Fabric Paint Chevron Shirt

When I was in high school I was really interested in Vis Com (Visual Communications). I loved it because it was a great class to apply my creative interests. One of the components I learned about was screen printing. I loved it! However now I do not have the supplies or the equipment. So I have been experimenting with alternatives. I came across this spray fabric paint in the craft store that I thought might facilitate the screen printing process. Paint from a spray can goes on cleaner and smoother. I wanted to use freezer paper but for some reason the grocery stores in New Mexico seem to have a shortage. I did find freezer tape so I thought I would give that a go.

I tried the spray on a scrap of white just to see how well it worked. The color wasn't great (a little too bright) but I figured I would try it.

Start by placing cardboard under the shirt to prevent the paint from going through the shirt. Cut your tape all the same length to create a zig zag.
Overlap the tape creating the zig zag stripes, just make sure to space them accordingly.
Then I sprayed.
Let it dry and this is how it turned out.

Ugly...in my head it looked a lot better. Looking back, here is what I would change.
1. Paint on a white shirt
2. More zig zags...and spaced closer
3. Use freezer paper

I think the spray paint is a good option for fabric painting, my application needs some work.

Spray Paint Shoes:

I have seen a few people spray paint their shoes. What a great idea right? I can never find a good pair of red flats so I decided to take some initiative and make them myself.

Begin with some old shoes that you have cleaned well and spray paint.

Make sure to cover any surface you don't want painted. I covered the buckles, posts, and inside.
Spray an even coat over the shoes, let it dry and spray again.
Turned out FANTASTIC...until I wore them. After just one day the paint cracked and flaked off.

Maybe I will try to spray them again and try a sealant to keep the paint on the shoes.

So here is the bottom line, not every craft is a great idea. Sometimes you may fail. Sometimes there might be a hiccup. The point is to try new things. Experiment, take a risk, you might come up with something spectacular.

Chair Redo Part 2

Remember this chair? Well I have a total of 4 chairs which means 3 more redo's to try. Here is part 2. This time I started by spray painting the whole chair white satin. I wanted something totally different than the first redo. Next I recovered the cushion in a yellow chevron pattern. I love the yellow and white together.
The next part was a little tricky. I have made pillow covers before but not for a long time. I figured it would take me maybe an hour at the most. I was wrong.

Here is my inspiration for the pillow.
I wanted a ruffled pillow with the chevron back. Then I thought it would be fun to add flowers along the top of the pillow. And finally I wanted to add ribbon ties on the side that will attach the pillow to the chair.

Here are my hang ups. I didn't cut the pillow cover correctly. It was too big for my pillow. But the white was too small, hence the yellow. I found a tutorial on the flowers but they aren't exactly what I wanted. Other than that I think the idea is really cute. I will probably redo the pillow cover (maybe) but I looks really cute in my living room for now.