Adventures of Spray Paint: Napkin Holder

I got this napkin holder at my local Salvation Army a few weeks ago for $3.55. We get these restaurant style napkins at Costco and I could NOT find a napkin holder that fit the dimensions at any restauraunt supply store online. So many websites, and nada. I have actually been carrying one of the napkins in my purse for weeks so if I passed by anything that would work I could test it out. (Yes, I may have issues)

The napkin holder looked fine the way it is, but bamboo wood is not my style as I have much more traditional and cottage/country decor.

(I'll talk about the white candle holder in a future post)

Ahh, much better! A few coats of Rustoleum's Heirloom White took care of it. (Home Depot carries it but I have not found it at Lowes) I have seen so many bloggers rave about this color in blogland, and I have to say I love the color too! It will be a staple in my ever growing spray paint collection.

Did summer not get the memo that it's fall?

It's almost October at I picked up my kids from school this afternoon and it was 106°. Sheesh! These beautiful sunflowers graced my garden late this summer, but I enjoyed them immensely nevertheless.

When I think of a summer flower I think of sunflowers. So cheerful even amidst the serious heat we get out here in Southern California. These things got 6 feet tall before they even bloomed. Can't wait to plant more next year!

Fall Wreath from the....DOLLAR STORE

I had so much fun a few days ago making this wreath that I found on blogland....would you believe it actually came from the DOLLAR STORE??!! I was shocked too. Allison from the House of Hepworths did a great tutorial on this wreath that only cost $10 dollars! You can find the tutorial here.

I ended up using all the fall leaves plus I only used a few of the decorative pumpkins (although I did buy an extra leaf bunch- I love the colors of the fall leaves (especially since here in Southern CA they're hard to come by) so I decided to keep the focus on the leaves. I'm in love!

An "aha" moment

I just had one of those moments tonight....anyone have a junk drawer like this....anyone??

This is our junk drawer central for our home, one of the drawers in my dining room hutch. I've been wanting to get all of these flashcards and card games organized, but obviously the cardboard holders they all come in have long been destroyed...what to do? I have specifically tried to buy card games that come in a metal (aka unbreakable) tin - luckily I found one for Uno, but what about for Phase 10, regular cards, and others? I love these games but I hate finding random cards strewn around in drawers!

It finally dawned on me. I had an old plastic pencilbox that one of my sons used in his classroom last year, the ones you can get for a buck or less during back to school season. I had it in my sons room thinking about using it for his colored pencils or crayons so that I can get my nice lined wicker basket back that they have taken. But tonight a better idea! I could use it for those card games to keep them sorted!

I love it. Now I think I need to run to the store to buy a bunch more to finish cleaning out the junk drawer of all those flashcards - hopefully they're still under a buck! :)

I'm so happy that now they can go with all the other games!

Cheap One Hour Fix

When we first moved into this home, we had the home painted top to bottom (it needed it). The painter did my son's room in "lego" red on the bottom and swiss coffee on top. I was responsible to put whatever border that I wanted. That was almost 3 years ago. I thought about putting a removable wallpaper border on in the beginning, but I couldn't find anything that I loved. So I decided on a paint border, something classic and easy that he wouldn't outgrow and get tired of.

First off, you can definitely tell that this room was not "staged". This was my son's room as-is. Typical boys room. (The T-shirt? Yeah, that's off the wall now, nice try son). See that bookcase? I got that for 20 bucks at a garage sale. I have big plans for that, paint and new moulding... (OK, I'm getting sidetracked). I decided I could finish the paint border right before picking him up from school. (Deadlines get me motivated)

All I needed? Duck tape (yes its called duck), a measuring tape, pencil, and small paint sample. Those samples are the BEST. Can't beat $2.97! This one is from Lowe's, I chose a dark navy blue to mimic the color of his curtains. (Although Home Depot now has them for the same price but in plastic with a screw on lid too! I know where I'm getting my paint samples from now on!)

Taping off the wall for the border

Voila! Another project off the list.... ((Believe it or not, my son's room is quite clean now; carpets cleaned (white carpet?? yeah, that wasn't our choice, that was what the previous owner put in, who OBVIOUSLY didn't have small kids, especially 3 boys) desk has been de-junked....if you know me well I really dislike clutter, especially paper))

I'm still here!..............

I can't believe its been so long since I updated this blog, it is EMBARRASSING! I've been actively working on the kitchen remodel, it took 2 more months of figuring out what kind of paint I could use, unfortunately I wasn't able to spray paint since I couldn't do that to the cabinet boxes inside.... such a bummer. So now I'm painstakingly painting all the doors. I'm hoping that it will be completely done by next week so that I can finally post pics!!! I really wanted the kitchen to be the next blog entry that I did, sorry that its been SO long!

Testing Industrial Spray Paint for the Kitchen Cabinets

As I prepare to take on one of my biggest challenges - the kitchen - I found out about some high pigmentation industrial spray paint that would stand up to the rigors that kitchen cabinets go through. I ordered a gray primer and a can of power white to try a test board on as well as to do my own "quality control check".

I picked up an unfinished door at my local Habitat for Humanity Restore for 2 dollars - can't beat that! Put on a coat of primer and 2 coats of white. Let it dry completely between each coat. Then a few days later decided I'd try out a few potential "threats" these cabinet doors would receive due to wear and tear. I raided my cleaning closet and fridge - I didn't go out to the store to buy anything special. On the left you have Shaklee's Basic H, virtually harmless, you could brush your teeth with it. Second from left, Tile and Grout Magic. I would NEVER put this on my cabinet doors, but since it removes grime, soap scum, and more I figured it would be a good harsher chemical to test the paint's chemical resistance. Third one is Minwax's Wood Cleaner which cleans cabinets, furniture, and doors. The final one - good ol' spaghetti sauce. I put each of these on the door and left them on for 3 days. Below is the result.

Basic H? Untouched. Tile and Grout Magic left a stain- but didn't go through the paint at all. Miniwax's Wood Cleaner left nothing, and the spaghetti sauce surprisingly came up extremely easy! I took my scrubber brush with a little water, took a few scrubs, used the scraper edge, and it just slid right off! Now this is my kind of paint!! (Too bad I can't coat my dishes and pans with this) It left a very slight discoloration, but you really have to look to see it. I'm SOLD!

AFTER: Dining Room Set

Here's a BEFORE photo again of the dining set.....

And its finally done! Here is the AFTER shot.

It took about 7 cans of primer and 7 cans of black satin spray paint ( both Valspar) from Lowe's.

I'm debating putting on a wipe on polyurethane finish, I have the bottle, just haven't tested a spot yet. It's amazing what a change of COLOR can do!

Cabinet Door Makeover

I absolutely love this cabinet door makeover! Jen, over at Noting Grace gives step by step instructions on how to make this great piece of decor! You can also use vinyl lettering for this as well. I've gone to the Habitat for Humanity Restores and they sell different shapes and sizes of cabinet doors for around 3 dollars a piece which is a huge bargain! You should have a store in your area. This is definitely on my upcoming project list!

Master Bedroom Furniture Painting Completed!

I have finally finished painting all the bedroom furniture, woohoo! All the furniture was a honey oak color, we purchased the headboard at a garage sale for 150 dollars (it was custom made, if you look at it close up the detail is incredible), and the dresser and two end tables I got off craigslist for 225 dollars. All quality solid wood furniture built to last.

The headboard and nightstands have been done for a while now....but I just recently conquered the dreaded dresser...

And after many coats, its finally done! Phew! I love the whole coastal cottage look!

Spray Paint Project #2: Dining Room Set

My hubby finally agreed to let me paint the dining set black - so it will match the hutch (see the first post below) that is behind it and the black mirror in front of it. We agreed that I would only do one chair at a time so that we could all use the table and other chairs in the meantime.

One chair is done....Here's a sneak peek!!!!

What do you think?

My Love Affair with Spray Paint Project 1: End Table

I found this worn end table at our local Salvation Army for 15 bucks. This is a picture after I sanded it, but there was some water damage on the top and lots of scratches and gouges on top, so I did my best to sand those out. I loved that this was a solid piece with the large beadboard panels in it - plus I loved the furniture feet! A well built solid piece.

Of course I love to spray paint furniture, so I chose black for this end table.

And here it sits in its happy new home. Took less than 2 cans of black spray paint. I also spray painted the tin can that is on it as well, it was silver - I thought cream would look much more nicer. I am on a spray paint frenzy right now!!! The dining room table and chairs are next!!

Easy DIY Burlap Wreath

After Christmas was over, I was ready for a different wreath on the door. I found a great easy tutorial for this really easy to make burlap wreath over at the blog Where the Heart Is. (Click on the link and it will take you there) Super cheap to make!

Hutch Makeover from 2009

I thought I'd start out the blog with a furniture transformation that I did last year and had great success with! My sister in law had gotten a steal of a deal on a black bookcase from an overstock furniture store for $175.00. When I went there, they were already sold out. But I loved it so much that I was determined to make my own and got my creative mind in gear! I bought this oak china hutch off Craigslist for 150 bucks. I removed the doors, primed it, took out the two center supports, and painted it dark kettle black (from Lowes) which is the same paint that we used on our built in entertainment unit that came with the house. I even kept the original hardware - I primed it and then spray painted it with appliance epoxy spray paint in stainless steel. (That stuff is DURABLE)



It took hours, but I love the result!