Headboard Coat Rack

I love Pinterest. Without it, I would have to come up with creative stuff all on my own. Which I could do, but half the time my ideas never turn out the way I picture them in my mind. That's where Pinterest really shines! You can look at the "after" photo of a project and decide if it's worth the time. That's how I discovered this idea to take an old twin bed headboard and turn it into a beautiful coat rack. 

The first step was to find a headboard that would work. Not all headboards are suitable for this. I really wanted something pretty with lots of mouldings and curves, but unfortunately our local thrift store didn't have any headboards like that. Instead, I bought a plain old wood headboard with hopes that I could pretty it up later.

I had Hubby cut off the legs, then I primed it with Zinsser primer--a favorite of mine. It means I don't have to sand a piece to get the paint to stick. Next, I did a few coats of satin Walmart brand country white interior latex paint. 

 

After it was all dry, I used a sanding block and wallpaper scraper to give the headboard a chippy, vintage feel. I love all things chippy! Finally, I brushed on some Minwax Walnut Stain/Sealer and wiped it off with one of Hubby's old shirts. It leaves just enough stain behind to give an antique finish while also adding a layer of sealant for protection.

The most inspired part of this makeover was embellishing the painted piece. I added a wood applique to the top (actually Hubby did, using a nail gun). I also decided to fill in the open space with a chalkboard (just a piece of cut wood and some chalkboard paint). Finally, I bought a few inexpensive hooks and BOOM! This pretty piece was done! Now, who's going to try this?

Adventurers Suitcase

I've seen so many cute little painted suitcases on Pinterest, and I finally decided to take a crack at it. Unfortunately, I don't have any chalk paint, so I used primer and latex/acrylic.

This old guy was sitting around the thrift store just waiting for a home, so I snagged him up. After painting him gray, I added the words and painted the hardware.

I think this guy turned out very cute and is ready to find a new home!

A Chalkboard (Cork Board) Of My VERY OWN!

I've seen them on Pinterest. I've seen them on blogs. I've envied them from afar, and now, finally, I

decided to make one of MY VERY OWN! Here is the epic saga of how a girl, injured and alone, managed to turn a thrift store cork board into a dazzling, amazing chalkboard!

Let's begin at the beginning. First, my wrist is injured. I've whined about this before, but I'm hoping it might explain later failures, so pity me, reader. PITY. ME.

With injured wrist, I managed to do the easiest part of this whole fiasco, which was to paint the cork board. I painted the actual cork with two coats of chalk board paint. I have never used it before and it is as fantastic as you've dreamed! However, I believe it was meant for FLAT surfaces. But more on that later.

Then I painted the outside frame white. After it all dried, I decided to "season" it, based on one blog's recommendation. This is where you color with the flat side of the chalk over the entire board, then erase it. This makes it so your mistakes aren't as glaringly obvious, which is a good thing because it was at this point that I began to get CREATIVE--AKA the part where things started going a bit wonky.

A lot of chalkboard how-to's tell us to freehand it. I don't know if they are the descendents of Rembrandt and DaVinci or what, but we mere mortals cannot freehand! So (clever, clever me) I

decided to print out a template and trace it onto the chalkboard using my trusty old willow charcoal technique (in which our heroine colors on the back of her print-out with willow charcoal and then traces the design onto the desired surface, in this case, a cork/chalk board).

This did not go quite so smoothly. Likely because charcoal is black much like, oh I don't know, a chalkboard, perhaps? Still, in the right light I managed to see about two-thirds of my design and decided to take advice from the experts and "freehand" the parts I couldn't see.

This is the part where I was VERY thankful for my ultra-skinny chalk PENCIL. I picked this baby up in the fabric section of a craft store. It's perfect for eentsy beentsy lines. So, I traced over the dark design with a light white. Then I filled it all in. This required much smudging.

The "experts" often said to wet the chalk to make the design stick better and look brighter. I tried this, but only ended up with goopy chunks of chalk stuck to my board. Then my chalk broke. ALOT. So, plan B was to just fill it in with good, old dry chalk and smudge. But my big clumsy fingers were not suitable to the thin lines of my font, so for that part I used a pencil eraser. Smudge-a-rific!

When it was nearly done, I decided to blow away the crumbly chalk pieces and accidentally spit on the board. Yes, spittle. From my mouth. Thankfully, it didn't do too much damage and I was able to keep going, careful to make all my future work spittle-free.

At the end, my design looked like something a really artistic 12 year-old might do. I decided it needed something more... so I added thin highlight lines to the words (again thankful for my ultra-thin chalk pencil).

I guess it wasn't too bad for the first attempt, but I'm still envious of those fancy-schmancy artists out

there who make words into ART. Maybe I'll try again, but probably on a flatter surface (AKA no cork bumpies). In the meanwhile, I'm proud of what I accomplished with my (sob story) injured wrist and broken chalk pieces!  

A Few (Hundred) Makeovers

Okay, okay. I have been sorely remiss in posting on my blog. Let me just give a few good excuses: I am a mother, an author, a weekend warrior and furniture re-furbisher. I periodically update several different blogs (check out Booktorium!), an Etsy shop, my Pinterest page and various and sundry Facebook pages (for my books & furniture). Whew!

But enough whining and excuses. I've done LOTS of awesome makeovers this summer and I want to get you up to speed! So, here is just a taste of what I've been doing. Maybe when you see how busy I've been (and all the super-dee-coolio pieces I've found & refinished) you'll forgive me.

Makeover #1: A French Country End Table

I'm extremely forgetful when it comes to "before" photos. I hope you'll forgive me; this is the only one I had of this wood table.

When she came to me, she was in need of some love. Her top was scratched. She was an orangey brown that really did nothing for her complexion. And she had something sticky in her drawer. I don't even want to know.But look how she turned out! A shabby-chic furniture piece anyone would be proud of! A little primer, a little paint, some sanding/glazing/sealing. The usual process. And she went to a kind and loving home. ;)

Makeover #2: Mantle BookcaseI found this excellent mantle at a thrift store. i wasn't sure what I would do with it, but when some vintage wood came my way, I knew it would make a beautiful, one-of-a-kind bookcase. With help from hubby, I transformed the orangish mantle into a beautiful shabby show piece!

Makeover #3: Shabby Chic Hutch
Again, I forgot to take a proper "before" photo. This is all I could find, but you get the idea. This hutch, while cute, had the potential to be MORE. So, I got to work, and after long, grueling hours of taping off glass and layers and layers of primer, paint and glaze, I finally had a beautiful, shabby hutch! I sold it to an amazing woman who was starting a boutique, and she was kind enough to send me a photo of the hutch in its new home. I know it will be VERY happy there!

 

Hello world! And a table.

By Stephanie S. Sanders

I realized my old blog was getting clogged up with DIY projects, so I decided to make a brand-spanking-new blog devoted to....... you guessed it: DIY projects. These could be anything from furniture makeovers to party invitations. They will usually involve my cheapskate tudy-tude and my anything-you-can-do-I-can-do-better-or-at-least-cheaper spirit. So, to kick-off this new blog, I will post the latest project On My Porch: a French graphic table.

I bought this little beauty at Salvation Army thrift store for six bucks. Actually, I think it was $5.98. It was a little wobbly and the drawer was a bit off the alignment, but I didn't care. I figured if I couldn't fix it... my hubby could! So, I got to work.

Paint or Stain?
My original idea was to sand and stain the top, then add a graphic in black paint. I broke out the good old orbital sander which did a fine job removing the old stain. However, this table was made of some kind of soft, textured wood that did not at all like being sanded smooth. The lovely, hateful ripples kept showing through, even after I stained it. It was charming and annoying. So, I decided to paint the top instead.

I mixed up some joint compound with acrylic paint (in flat, not glossy) and slathered it on. It looked great. I was going for the chalk-paint effect and it did not disappoint. However, it was EASILY scratched off. I decided to address this... later.

Adding the Ooh La La!
So, I printed out a nice French graphic and realized a dilemma. See, usually I color on the back of my graphic with a black crayon, then trace over it to "transfer" it to the table. But black crayon on black table wasn't exactly working. What did work? Pressing really hard with my tracing pencil and basically imprinting the graphic into the black "chalk" paint. Then I went over it with a pencil just to be sure I could see it when it came time to paint it white.

So, up to this point I've been doing a lot of detail painting on my various projects with acrylic paint and a teensy weensy brush. It works and looks good, but my poor wrist and eyes can only take so much. So, I decided to spring for a fine paint-pen from Walmart's craft section. It worked great for tracing out the lettering of this graphic. White on black: classy!

Hob-Knobbery
I hated the brass knob that came with the table, so I dug around in my hardware junk drawer to find a suitable replacement. After several failed attempts, I decided on a nice little round antique brass pull. Now, if you recall, I said I'd address the fact that the "chalk" paint scratched off the surface if I so much as sneezed at it. The fix? A layer of Modge Podge, painted on with a sponge brush. And then a final spray of clear acrylic sealer, just to be safe. I love the look of this little table and can't wait to make a hefty profit on Craigslist!