Ikea kids table

My nephew is seriously the cutest bugger around. One look at that handsome face and huge lips, you will fall for him too. Let's just say I love being "Auntie Squeesh".

Aside from the obvious cute factor--he is the funniest kid. Right now he is going through a phase where he feels like he needs to sit on everything-like a grown-up. He's obsessed with chairs and will try out every chair in the room. 

I came across a small kids table and chair set at Ikea the week before Christmas and figured with his new obsession that it would be a perfect gift for him! And *BONUS POINTS* it was cheap, only $20!

I just spray primed the wood and spray painted the natural wood with "Ivy Leaf" green spray paint from Krylon. The top of the desk I made into a chalkboard (using spray chalk paint), and painted the top of the seats black with black spray paint. Sealed everything with a spray paint sealer (semi-gloss) making it super fast and easy! 

Before:

Ikea Children's Desk

After:

Hope Chest Re-do

Hope Chest DIY

Found this beauty for $30 on KSL. It's a vintage Lane hope chest from the 50's. This thing is HUGE and perfect for our lack of storage. I finished it off and it currently holds all of our extra blankets, and acts as dual purpose as a bench for extra seating in our front room.

I used a cool technique to transfer letters on to the chest without having to use an overhead projector. You print off the word on regular paper and flip it over. Rub chalk all over the back of the paper, making sure to cover all the letters. Tape that on to your furniture and trace with a ball point pen. When you take the paper off, it has a perfect outline of the word. I used a paint marker to go over the word and to fill in. 

The chalk easily wipes off. I then sanded the piece (including over the word) to make it look more aged, then sealed.

Finished!

Ruffle Pillow

My mom always is so thoughtful and always gives the most amazing, meaningful gifts that pull right at the heartstrings. She is the most giving person and will do everything she can to put a smile on someone's face. About a year ago, she remembered me saying that I really wanted to learn how to sew and be able to make the cute things I always remember her making throughout my whole life. I mean, the lady has some serious talent. She was even crowned "Miss Wool" in her high school days for making an entire outfit (and the best at that) out of WOOL. Sounds comfortable, right?

Well anyways, my mom bought me a SEWING MACHINE for my BIRTHDAY this year! Which is by FAR too extravagant of a gift but she claims that it makes her day to know that I love handmade stuff as much as she does, and that I have the want to learn. She says that it also helps that she nabbed it on an amazing discount. Which I can't argue with her on that one!

So my sewing skills are mediocre to say the least. I decided my first project would be pillows! They seem pretty easy yeah? I pinned an amazing tutorial that I found on Pinterest on how to create this ruffle pillow found on Jones Design Company blog. I used this same tutorial and made my two black pillows and the same idea for the ruffle on the white patterned pillow as well. She does an amazing job of giving a play-by-play on sewing ruffle pillows. 

If I can do it, you can do it! It turned out to be pretty easy! And they didn't cost me anything. I ended up using my old black curtain panels from Target and made pillows out them- and bonus! It's a thick, durable fabric, perfect for pillows that get a lot of use. I love upcycling!

Chevron Secretary Desk

I found this cute little desk at a yard sale right outside of my neighborhood. It is rare that you can find a great deal on a cute desk like this for a good price. I was obligated to snag it, right? I mean, this desk has two essential things. Its an ever-popular secretary AND just needed a little fixer up in a trendy gray and beige chevron print. What's not to love in that combo?

This didn't just come at such a great price by happenstance. It definitely needed some work done. I'm never one to shy away from a little elbow grease, and a girl always likes to get a little work done! The bottom drawer on this desk was cracked and had to be repaired with some wood glue. Also the tracks were off on every single drawer. The lid of the desk had some deep scratches that took a lot of buffing out but here is the result after 6 long hours, multiple trips to Hobby Lobby and Lowe's, and an internal battle when I finally decided to sell it to a great friend and sorority sister of mine, Rachelle.

Gossip Bench Re-do

This bench was my first attempt at Chalk Paint. I will never paint with any other technique ever again! (Okay, okay, I still love my spray paint) but there is no other way to hand paint. You don't have to sand or prime your furniture. All it requires is a little patience, two coats of paint (color of your choice), a brush, and this mixture that I found at the creative cute mind at SNAP blog! :) 

Here is the bench (BEFORE), this cute gossip bench only cost me $20! :)

Here's after the first coat of paint...

Second coat with a little bit of sanding...

And finally, DRIED and sealed! It's amazing how the color can really change in between coats, but I'm sure pictures taken at different times in the day doesn't help either!

This bench could not be complete without a cute bench cushion. I had never made a bench cushion before but found this tutorial very helpful at the CSI project! What a crafty lady! Mine is nowhere near as cute as hers, but she has some great directions to follow to make is easy to keep up!

I bought this foam at Hobby Lobby with my trusty 40% off coupon! Only cost me $3.00!

Cut it to size...I used plain old scissors but if you have one of those 

electronic-kitchen-knife-cutter-majigs 

(I'm obviously not a cook) than you might be better off for a cleaner cut. 

This crazy cute fabric was actually left over from an Tucker's first dog bed. The little butthead had ripped it up (among with many other unmentionables) while he was still a pup and I salvaged and washed the remaining fabric. It was WAY too cute to not recycle!