The Toy Box

For a while now I’ve been wanting a toy box for Lydia.  I knew exactly what type I wanted but all of them I found like that were around $40 - $50.  I found this one at a thrift store and it was exactly what I was looking for.  To make it even better, they had it priced at $18 and it was pretty rickety - mission some of the hardware that held the panels together.  They had marked it down to $8 and with my senior discount if was $7.20 plus tax.  

There was a little water damage on top and overall it was in pretty rough shape.  

I replaced the missing hardware and tightened everything up.  It took quite a bit of sanding and a few coats of paint, but I think it turned out nice.  It holds most of her toys, but not all.  We also have a bin purchased at Ikea that holds her stuffed animals and it's overflowing too.  

Map Lamp Shades

I had a couple of pretty ugly lamp shades but I saw online where it was pretty easy to cover the lamp shades with maps.  I have a few places that are near and dear to me so I anticipate doing a few more of these.  They would also make for a great gift for someone.  

The Little Armoire

I found this small armoire on Craigslist and fell in love with it even though it was priced a little higher than I wanted to pay.  It was priced at $79 and others I found that would hold significantly more were only a little higher.  But, for some reason I fell in love with this one and thought I could really do something special with it.  It was in a used furniture store and unfortunately I delayed in going to look at it and they raised the price to $89.  When I finally did go to see it they informed me that they had just sold it.  So, I began searching again and I found the same armoire listed again the next day (a different picture, but definitely the same one) - now the price was $59.  It was late in the afternoon and I called the store and they told me they were holding it for someone but they didn't think they would show up to get it.  I asked them if they didn't show up could they hold it for me and they said no.  I went there the next morning as soon as they opened and bought it.    

As I was getting ready to pay for it the store owner told me that one of the drawer rails was shot.  He said they had put that in the listing but it wasn't there.  He took $9 off and sold it to me for $50.

I really didn't like all the scroll type trim at the bottom so I reconfigured it to the way I wanted it to look.   The small picture above show how it looked originally. 

I removed all the hardware and the drawers as well as the shelves.  I covered the shelves with a light colored contact paper and did a little sanding and painting.  

I installed new drawer glides on both drawers with ball bearings and full extension.  This made both drawers very stable.  

I painted the whole armoire with a paint called Vintage Antique Lace (flat) and put all the hardware back on.  I left the doors off because the hinges were brass and I needed a satin nickel finish.  I had to order them online.  

And here it is with the doors back on.  

I'm really happy with how it turned out.  The total investment was:

                                                 Armoire               $ 53.00  

                                                 Drawer Slides     $ 17.60

                                                 Hinges                $ 10.60

                                                 Total                    $ 81.20

The Old Cabinet Project

I bought this old cabinet quite a while ago and used it in the dining room to store extra pots and pans, etc.  Eventually it was taken to the shed.  It had an old laminate countertop I had lying around which was never really attached to the cabinet.  I never wanted to get rid of this old thing because I knew that one day I would find a special place for it.  Next I had my son cut off about 3 to 4 inches (the kick plate) at the bottom and I had 4 heavy duty casters attached to the bottom. 

 

 

 

 

The next part of this project was to make a new top.  I spent a little more than I wanted to on the hardwood plywood I purchased for it and had it cut to the size I wanted.  I also purchased some trim to add to the front and sides.  

 

 

I didn't want to just paint the top because I loved the look of the unfinished wood.  At first I thought about doing a kind of white wash on it and I had some light gray paint leftover from an earlier project, so I randomly added a little to the top to see how it would look.  I wasn't really happy with that look. 

 

I had used a product before called Restor - A- Finish which has a little stain in it and is used to restore a finish to an item.  I chose dark mahogany and applied it with a rag to the top.

 

I really like the way the finish turned out.  I did add a few more light gray strokes with a dry brush. 

 

It worked perfect in my office area to hold the mini fridge and a few other things.  Onto the next project!

The Dresser

For about as long as I can remember I've loved dressers.  I think it might come from the time when I was a kid and didn't have one and my Step-Father nailed a cardboard box to the wall for me to keep my clothes in.  

A couple of weeks ago I was looking for a dresser for the spare room.  I found one I liked on Craig's List but the person who had the dresser for sale was really flakey, never had time to show it and then said someone else had contacted her after I did and so I could look after that person.  Needless to say, that was enough of that.  So, I started looking again.  

I found a unique looking dresser on Craig's List that I thought would work in my bedroom and I could move the one I had to the other bedroom.  So, I purchased it.  

It was a little rough looking, it had beautiful wood but had been neglected and had quite a bit of damage.  Of course not all of the damage was shown in the pictures.  I find value in bringing new life to things.  I'm not a really picky person so the makeover doesn't have to be perfect.  

I would have loved to have been able to leave the wood on the front as it was but one of the drawers had the whole corner broke off.  I repaired it and decided I would paint the drawers.

The top was in really bad shape in quite a few places.  I tried to fill the ares in with some wood filler but every time I tried the moisture would make it bubble up near the damaged area.  I got it as good as I could and painted the top white.   

I kind of like the two toned look, kind of 50's looking I think.  I didn't like the hardware that was on it and I just happened to have enough glass knobs for all the drawers.  I'm happy with how it turned out and it gave me a lot more storage.  

The Lamp

I have this lamp in my bedroom on my desk that my Daughter doesn't like.  She thinks it belongs in a funeral parlor.  It has one of those silky sheer shades and I have to admit that it sometimes makes me think that too.  I like the lamp though, it's extra tall and silver and has the pull chain and a barrel shaped shade, and to make it even better  -  I found it on clearance!

 

Now I'm not a seamstress by any means but I thought of this really simple project I could do with the lamp without ruining the original shade.  I found some material on clearance at the store and picked up a small package of elastic and made my lamp a new outfit!





I really like how it turned out and it goes with my room perfectly.  The material was $1.00 and the elastic was about the same.  A pretty inexpensive way to change the look. 

Photo Ledge

I absolutely love projects that cost very little and are easy to do.  The photo ledge is definitely one of those projects.  It can be done in a very short amount of time, it looks great and the cost is minimal. 

The items you will need include:

• lumber
• screws (1 1/2" and 2")
• wood putty
• sand paper
• paint
• wood glue
• drill

I purchased the following lumber in 6 foot lengths:

• 1  1x2
• 1  1x3
• 1  1x4

You can cut the lumber in any length you want and you could even experiment with the sizes of the lumber.  Sand all of the lumber until it's smooth.

Assembler the lumber as follows:

Pre-drill and countersink screw locations.  

Apply wood glue to lumber to be screwed together. 

Place 1 1/2" screws in these locations every 12 - 18 inches. 

Sand all of the screw hole areas until smooth.

Fill screw holes with wood putty and allow to dry. 

After the screw holes are dry, sand again until all areas are smooth and free of dust, etc.

Paint all of the lumber in desired color.  You can use more than one color if you like. 

Pre-drill holes where the ledge will be attached to the wall and attach to the wall at stud locations with 2" screws.