The Long Awaited Dresser Post - Part 1

I'm a big fat liar... I believe it was in my March 6th post when I said that I'd be back later in the week with a dresser update. Admittedly things have been a little crazy, what with delivering a baby and what not. But let's put all of that behind us...and onto the dresser update reveal!

Well...not quite the reveal. That will be in Part 2. Liar again, I know. I'm workin' on it. In the meantime I'll be over here hanging with Jim Carrey.

So the dresser that we ended up buying was one that I had seen early on but at $60 was a little more than I was willing to pay at the time. Then after spending two weekends striking out at garage sales and Goodwills (not to mention the previous months of combing CraigsList all stalker-like), I decided to revisit the resale shop. It was closed. Sonofagun. Well not closed per se. The owner of that space was relocating to another part of the property and was supposed to be open again by the next weekend. He wasn't. But in a stroke of luck, another man on the property let us into the space because we were looking for a particular piece and were ready to buy. The best part was that I offered $40 and he agreed (this, friends, is what we refer to as a "steal"). So $43.30 later (yay tax), we had a dresser! Holy bananas I thought we'd never get there.

May I present to you: the before shot, even though we had already begun the sanding process.

The dresser was pretty scratched up, especially around the edges, and the finish on it was really dull, but I was drawn to the shape of it (I continually drool over the legs) and you can't beat that storage - currently every single drawer is full. It's a mid-century piece and I wish I knew its history, but we couldn't find a manufacturer/brand label, just this on the back:

Owosso is apparently a town in Michigan, but other than that I've got nothin'.

Luckily they stamped the word "dresser" on there, you know, in case we forget.

I was really excited about refinishing this dresser because I had never made over a piece of furniture before. One hiccup: I was pregnant. And even though I was ready to jump in (with protective face mask in hand), my parentals voiced their concerns, particularly with the sanding process. In the end we struck a compromise: I wouldn't take part in the sanding or staining, but I would get to finish things up by applying the top coat (which was non toxic & low VOC, but more on that later).

So in one afternoon my stepdad knocked out the sanding step and we were left with this bad boy (minus the feet, which he tackled later):

Poor thing is naked and here I am parading him on the internet. Tsk tsk.

I then had to decide on a stain. My original plan upon getting a dresser was going to be painting it stark white to go with the crib and the deep blue walls. However, because of the quality of this piece (dovetail joints!) and the detailed grain that was exposed after we sanded it down, I reversed my plan and decided to keep it au naturel.

I was initially drawn to the dark walnut (I'm not a fan of the blond stains or anything too light), but I was worried that it would be too dark. In the end I went with Early American, which ended up looking far and away better on the dresser than it did in the brochure. My stepdad had buckets of the stuff on hand, which was another bonus, so on went the Early American. Side note: who names these things?

We did one coat to start, which I thought would be too light, but ended up being perfect. Once the stain was on it was really easy to see just how beautiful the grain of the wood was. I'll save most of that for the next post, but here's a sneak peek...

Ooo la  la!

Let There Be Paint

We finally finished painting in the nursery. Can I hear a hallelujah?!

A special thanks to my lovely husband who primed the two blue walls and to my (also lovely) friend Heather who came over on her day off and helped me slap on the paint and stay motivated to finish. I love the way it turned out and was excited to discover that using a dark color didn't suddenly make the room look like the Batcave; in a way it actually makes it look a little brighter, go figure. I am glad that we chose to pair it with a light gray...I'm really liking how the two play off of each other.

Of course like any decent project, this one didn't go down without its hiccups, despite our best intentions. There was a little of this:

I won't name names, but this was caused by a certain male in the house.

And a little lot of that:

It turns out that, even when using frog tape, it's important to take the time and crease the seal with your nail or another firm object so that the paint doesn't bleed through. Duh. Once I discovered my oversight (which of course happened to the [dark] blue walls first), I made sure to take the extra time when taping for the gray walls, which paid off - I had no bleed through on those baseboards. So...user error, big time. And note to self: test things with the lighter paint next time!

Due to the fact that 1. I forgot to ask Charles to tape the ceiling on the two gray walls and 2. Heather and I were both far shorter than we needed to be to do the job ourselves, the gray walls looked like this for about a week:

...until I was able to borrow a step ladder from my parents and finish 'er up.

Also, a word about paint quantity. I undershot a bit lot on how much paint we would need. A full gallon of each color would have been great to have (remember, I only bought 2 quarts of each...), though it would have made things a little less interesting as there would have been a lot less nail biting and silent rants in my head. In the end, two quarts was just enough to do one coat plus touch-ups. Not exactly ideal. It actually worked out better for the blue walls (even though they were solid walls not broken up by doors or windows) because the primer didn't allow the walls to soak up as much paint, so we had more to play with. The gray walls, despite having one window and two large doors, used far more paint for the first coat and I was scraping the barrel to finish painting the "bald" spots. They're not perfect, but I got most of the obvious ones (and ignored some in the corner behind the door). My normally perfectionistic self is actually okay with it. Bring on parenthood! Ha.

One last tip that ended up being a quick and easy way to bring some freshness to the the room - the outlet plates. I took most of them off (except for the ones for the phone jack and cable) before we painted the walls and noticed how gross they were. Observe:

My camera does not adequately capture their grossness

They had paint caked on around the edges, who knows how many years of grime and were just overall lackluster. And against my crisp blue and gray walls, I wanted them to pop! So I washed them. It's amazing how easy paint comes off of plastic, especially with some soap, hot water and a rough sponge. And afterwards they were looking much better:

To the left: Grody McGroderson; To the right: Mr. Clean!

A quick and super easy fix...though be sure to let them dry completely before putting them back on so there's no accidental shock action.

So now that the painting is done we have to:

• Set up the crib (my wonderful mother and step-dad got it for us and it should be in this week!)
• Fix up the dresser (I finally found one...more on that soon!)
• Finish the mobile
• Possibly find a twin bed for guests/those late night visits to the nursery - however this might be a "Phase 2" project
• Make/buy curtains

And a bunch of other little things that are escaping me. And we only have 5 1/2 weeks to go! Assuming the little guy doesn't decide to come early, which I'm starting to think he might just to throw a wrench into things :)

Painting Day!

Today is the day we try not to get paint on the carpet get to paint the nursery! We're primed and taped and ready to roll. Here's a peek into what the room looks like currently:

The primer turned out to be pretty dark, which is good for us since we're painting the walls a fairly dark color. This will help with better coverage and will hopefully (fingers crossed) allow us to cover both walls with only half a gallon of paint. Since the other two walls are being painted a light grey, we opted not to prime them.

A few things I learned while taping the room:

• Run a dust rag quickly over the base boards, window sills and anything else you're taping onto. This helps the tape stick better and won't create any gaps that might allow paint to come through.
• It's easiest to work with smaller strips rather than keeping it on the roll. I tore off sections between 12 and 18 inches long and found it easier to keep a consistent straight line.
• Tape over the outlets when you remove the plates...I'm guessing trying to clean paint out of those tiny holes isn't a party.
• Don't bother trying to remove the plates from a phone jack outlet - the wires are connected to the plate (duh) and therefore it cannot be removed. I opted to OCD tape around the outlet cover, but you could probably free hand it pretty easily.
• If you're 5'8" standing on a chair that's only 18" off the ground, you won't be able to tape the ceiling line of a room with 9' ceilings. Your husband will have to do this for you.

Charles only has one tip for priming/painting:

• Regardless of your best intentions, you will inevitably come away covered in paint. So wear old clothes. Especially socks. And then take a shower :)

I'll hopefully be sharing finished pictures the next time I post! Then there are only about eight thousand other small projects to finish before the baby gets here. Happy Friday!

DIY Wedding Invitations

I hope your Valentine's Day was wonderful! Charles got up at some horridly early hour when it was still dark and ran and bought me four bouquets of assorted flowers that I was blessed to wake up to and then we exchanged cards over bowls of cereal :)


In honor of the holiday yesterday, I thought I'd share the invitations that I DIY'd in 2010 for our wedding! My inspiration came from a really old invitation catalog that my mom had; I unfortunately don't know where it went off to. I do remember that the original invitations were the same shape, had a black outer covering and were French themed.

Charles and I met in Italy on a study abroad trip while we were both attending A&M, so it holds a pretty special place in both of our hearts. When we started planning the wedding I knew that I wanted to incorporate little bits of Italy into the decor and the invitations were one of the ways that I took advantage of the theme.

I liked the size/shape of the invites because they were unique to other wedding invitations I had seen and could fit into a standard size (4.125"x9.25") #10 envelope, which means there was more customization flexibility.

I went with a deep red for the envelopes, which I found online at Action Envelope. I picked the square flap in garnet and instead of paying to have the return address printed, I just set up a template in Word and did it on my home printer. That step alone saved me about $60 and it was super easy.

The invitation is a 9"x8" base that folds over into a 9"x4" card. Inside is the actual invitation part, attached to the lower half, and two postcards held by a red ribbon on the upper half.

I got all of these printed on 8.5"x11" card stock at Office Max and they did a fantastic job. The guy I worked with was very knowledgeable and a huge help. I chose off-white card stock for the outer bit, which remained plain on the inside and had a printed vintage map of Italy on the exterior that I bought off of iStock photo. The invitation part (8"x3") I created in Photoshop to look older, so I had those printed - 3 to a sheet - on regular white card stock. In a stroke of luck, the same company I bought the envelopes from also sold plain 80 lb card stock in coordinating colors, and - at 8.5"x11" - was the exact right width to give me a border around the invitation. All I had to do was cut it into 3.5" sections and I had an instant mat!

The postcards (5.75"x3.75") I also created in Photoshop out of two photos that I took during our semester in Italy. I manipulated them to resemble vintage Italian post cards and on the back they held more information for the wedding, including the RSVP that was pre-stamped and easy to drop in the mail.

For the exterior stamps, I used the King and Queen of Hearts set from the post office that I thought were adorable, went well enough with my vintage-y theme, and didn't scream wedding!

Things that were invaluable during this process:

• Making Memories Paper Trimmer
• Martha Stewart bone folder (this will save your thumbnail from so much pain!)
• Glue tape

The fonts that I used for the project were: Aquiline (for the return address, postcard details, and our names on the invite), DaunPenh (for the all-caps text on the invite & postcards), and Nasty (for the postcard headers).

I don't have a complete cost breakdown but I believe the overall cost was roughly $500, which brings it to about $5 per invitation, and that includes postage. So while it's certainly not the cheapest option out there, it was definitely less expensive than buying a completely customized invite from someone else, and I was able to include all of the information that I thought was important. No regrets!


In nursery news, my darling husband primed the two walls that we're painting the Plumage color on his day off on Monday, and we should have the rest of the room painted by the weekend...update to follow!

When DIY Plans Go Awry

This past week I had a short and purely hypothetical relationship with a dresser. I saw it for $25 on Craigslist and at first glance it wasn't anything to write home about, but it looked to be solid wood and in good condition. And after having stalked Craigslist for the past few months looking for something suitable to fix up for the nursery and not coming up with much, I sent off an email. This was around 10:00 at night, so I figured I wouldn't hear back until the next morning.

I was a little worried about the height of the dresser (31") but figured I'd make it work for $25. Then as the night went on, as I went to bed, as I woke up at 3:30 in the morning and couldn't get back to sleep, I started making big plans for this dresser. In fact we became great friends.

I already knew I'd paint it white, and then to save even more money I had the thought that instead of buying new pulls - like I always figured I would when I got around to this particular project - I'd spray paint the original ones black. Ooo. I liked that. Black classic pulls on a crisp white dresser.

And then I made my way back to the height issue. And the fact that I wasn't a total fan of the bit of scroll ornamentation at the bottom of the dresser. So at 3:30 in the morning I had a stroke of complete brilliance (because what thought at 3:30 in the morning isn't brilliant?). I could solve both problems at once with one simple solution: new legs. I realized that recently I had been drawn to pieces sporting tapered wooden legs/feet.

So in the middle of the night I sat in front of my computer, squinting (I had forgotten my glasses in the bedroom) and researched where I could buy individual feet for my new, beautiful, white-with-fresh-black-pulls dresser. And I found these beauties:

They came in a variety of different heights and I thought the six inch feet would work quite nicely - or, if needed, the eight inch feet. At around $7 per leg, they were affordable and deliciously modern.

By this point, since I was on a roll, I started brainstorming about that top drawer (it looks like 3 drawers, but it's really just one). I liked the little curve at the top in the middle and thought - what if I took that drawer out completely, installed a flat piece of wood on the bottom and instead used it as a shelf/cubby to hold a few shallow baskets or easy-to-reach diaper changing necessities? Brilliant! My vision was complete:

I went back to bed, finally able to shut up my brain, and woke up to this email:

"Thank you Jessica for your message, dresser sold yesterday"

Of course.

So now I'm back to stalking Craigslist.

I'm a Fan

So I have a confession to make. I'm not entirely sure that I'm allowed to paint in my apartment. Did that stop me from buying $70 worth of paint this weekend? Nope.

I say not entirely sure because I've never actually even asked, just on the off chance that the answer is no. I figure I'm in a better situation if complications arise and I can say "Oh really? I had no idea..." quite truthfully.

The way I justify it is this: I'm going to paint it back. And because I'm a perfectionist, it will probably look better than it did before. Just sayin'. I did ask if the apartment provides touch up paint, and they do, which means all I'll have to do is bring it to the store, color match it, and buy a couple of gallons. But that could be years down the road, so onward!

Garage sale-ing with my mom this weekend didn't reward us with a dresser (though there is a candidate at a resale shop in town, so stay tuned), but I did walk away with this:

We hit up four garage sales in the area and then on our way back home caught sight of a church having one as well, so we made a quick stop. It was easy to see once we got inside that they didn't have the type of furniture we were looking for, but we walked around for a minute anyway and I happened to pick up the fan deck. Lo and behold, it was for Mythic paint - the exact paint brand that we're using for the nursery. Why yes, I think I'll take you home with me.

According to the tag on the back, it was originally $26.00 (and the ones on the website now are $30.00) so I feel pretty good about picking this one up for 2 buckeroos. Even though I already had our color picked out for the nursery (Plumage, by Martha Stewart), I figured it was good to have because 1. In case they had trouble color matching in the store (they didn't), I would be able to find the closest match via swatches, 2. I could pick out a complementary gray in Mythic's own colors and not have to color match, and 3. For future painting endeavors, I'd have it on hand.

The next day Charles and I set out to get the rest of the supplies to start the nursery painting process. First off was the primer:

Low odor & Zero VOC

We went with the Olympic primer that Young House Love used when they painted their guest room the same dark blue color. The nice thing about tinted primer is that you don't need as many final coats of the actual paint. And since this stuff is only $16 a gallon (vs $44 for the paint), I'm happy to add it to the materials list.

Next up was the actual paint:

Like I said in the last post, we went with Mythic paint because it's non-toxic and zero VOC - even when they add in the color. So while it's about twice as expensive as regular paint, I'm happy with the choice since it's going in the nursery. Also, don't you just love their retro-esque branding?

We ended up getting two quarts of the Plumage accent color and two quarts of the gray - each one will be on two of the four walls in the room. We're leaving the ceiling alone, even though it's the same beige/off-white color the rest of the walls currently are. I don't think I have the stamina or the arm strength to mess with it...we just won't look up :)

We also picked up a few other supplies:

I was initially just going to ask around my various family members to borrow rollers, brushes and the like, but I figured if I'm going to be a real DIY-er, I need my own equipment. And at $9.97 for the ("$25 Value!") set, it wasn't exactly breaking the bank. Also added to the ranks: frog tape (so much better than blue painter's tape) and a "valved respirator" mask. Even though the paint is zero VOC and we'll be keeping the windows open for ventilation, I'll still feel better about wearing one of these bad boys.

The plan for this week is to clear out the remainder of the room, tape and prime and then early next week we'll tackle the painting.

Current cost breakdown:

• Primer: $18
• Painter set, frog tape & mask: $26
• 4 Quarts of Mythic paint: $70

TOTAL: $114

So I'll be sure to post updates on our first major painting adventure...Any painting tips you'd like to share? :)

Nursery Idea Board

So I thought I'd end my month+ long sabbatical with something fun! We finally moved and got settled in and then my nesting instincts took over and I'm itching to get started on decorating the nursery (we're actually going to have a nursery!). Being in a two bedroom apartment? Super awesome, by the way.

I've been Pinning nursery ideas over on Pinterest like a madwoman for the past few months and I finally got around to making an idea board. Before we found out what we were having I was being drawn to more feminine touches, so when we found out we were having a boy, I was a little worried that I wouldn't know what direction to take. But one afternoon on Pinterest and suddenly I had a completely different vision. I love old maps and globes, and I decided that with a traveler theme I could incorporate a bunch of different topics (trains, hot air balloons, etc) without getting too match-y. If there's one thing I knew I wanted to stay away from, it was a room that looked like a catalog. I also didn't want to go with something that screamed "baby", so that we could adapt it as he grows a little older.

The wall color is bold, but it's my favorite aspect. I first saw it over on Pinterest, but then it turned out to link to one of my favorite blogs, Young House Love. The color is called Plumage, by Martha Stewart, and I plan on having the color matched to a no VOC paint called Mythic Paint. This means it will be safer for me to use while pregnant (while taking frequent breaks, wearing a mask and keeping the windows open), but it will also be safer for our little guy, since it doesn't produce the fumes that normal paint can off-gas up to 30 days after painting. It's a little pricier than standard paint, but well worth the cost.

I can't wait to get started and share the progress!

This is Coming

...to my bedroom.

Yes, that is newspaper on my wall. No, it's not staying, but something else will be in its place. It's still in conception but I'm hoping to start on the project soon. I can tell you that 1. I can't decide between white and a color, 2. they won't be photographs, and 3. I need 64 total, but currently there are only actually 59 in existence.

I know that doesn't make much sense, but what fun is it to tell you ahead of time? :) Stay tuned...

Speaking of Mason Jars...

I recently stumbled upon this post from one of the blogs I follow called Young House Love that chronicles the adventures of Sherry, John and their adorable daughter Clara. I am continually jealous of all of their awesome home improvement projects since most of them I can't yet implement while in an apartment, but they really have some great and inspirational stuff.

One thing I CAN do, however, is this idea that Sherry came up with after seeing something similar in a Pottery Barn catalog. Observe:

Pottery Barn via Young House Love

See those jars over there on the right? They're filled with all sorts of goodies from what we can only assume are far off exotic lands, judging by the labels (you can't see them from this distance, but they're there). So Sherry took that idea and applied it to her own vacations that were, as she admits, a little less exotic but still fun nonetheless. So here is her take on the keepsake jars:

via

Fun, right? I have a habit of saving every little thing from a trip but it all ends up in a box somewhere and I don't see it again until I'm rummaging for something else and I happen upon a trip down memory lane. But I love this idea - putting small but memorable items into these (insanely cheap) jars to have a visual reminder of all of the places you've been.

In fact, I have a huge bag of stuff that I've been holding onto from our semester in Italy that I originally planned to scrapbook, but maybe I'll try this out instead....Read Sherry's full post here and be sure to poke around the rest of their blog as it is fantabulous.

What would you put in these jars?

Craigslist Finds

Every so often I like to browse the furniture category on my local Craigslist site without a real plan to buy anything (though my honest intentions do get me into trouble sometimes, when I find something I just have to have...I'll be posting about that in a bit). The hubs and I live in a one bedroom unit, which means 1. we have absolutely no extra room and 2. we can't afford many bonus purchases that don't really come with a legitimate use. However, I like to window shop because it allows my mind to wander and think of ways that I would refinish a certain piece and how I might decorate a room around it.

Lately my findings have been pretty poor, but today is just full of unique and fun things, so I thought I'd share! When I do a search, I usually put $50 or $100 as the max price, depending how I'm feeling that day, and click the "has image" box (because who, really, would buy a piece of furniture unseen? Why people continue to post their items without visual representation does not make sense to me....). And then I just see what turns up.

THE UNIQUE

Price: $40 (reduced)

I could see these sanded down and painted either a crisp white or some bold, fun color and placed next to a modern couch. They've very unique - it would definitely add something to your decor!

THE GOOD BONES

Price: $15

Looking through Craigslist can sometimes yield a bunch of junk, but you have to keep an eye out for things that might have good bones that could be refinished into a really cool piece. For $15, this nightstand is super cheap and it could make a really cute stand-alone table if refinished correctly. A fresh coat of paint, new drawer/cabinet pulls, and a cool replacement for that wicker (or not, if that's your thing!) could make this piece shine!

THE STEAL

via

This post is selling those two chairs and the table on the right for $25.00. Not each...together. Speaking of good bones, those chairs have a great structure and could easily be reupholstered. And that table is cute, it's round and it could easily go between the chairs as a great set. Just the thought of these three pieces, newly refinished and upholstered, sitting together in front of a wall of windows makes me want to get in my car and go get them. Not to mention it's maybe ten minutes from my apartment....must...resist!

So if you're in the Austin area looking for a project or just want some new (to you), unique furniture, visit the links below the images and have fun! And if you happen to buy the chairs and table, I will be forever jealous. :)

Have you found anything interesting on Craigslist lately?

Marbelicious

This is glorious:

Found via Etsy on Facebook

The craftsmanship on this piece is beautiful! I used to love those marble tracks as a kid and this is absolutely brilliant. I love when someone takes a concept for children and re-imagines it for use in an adult world. While a bit distracting as a dining table, I could see this being an arts & crafts table in a game room or something just as fun!

Mellow Yellow

On my daily stop at Etsy this morning I came across this lovely treasury by Hitchcock Ink. I've always had a soft spot for the yellow & gray combination, which explains my own bedding choices.

 



I particularly like the tissue paper pom poms from Sweet and Savvy Designs. I could see those hanging at a summer party or even as a summer decoration in my apartment somewhere....