Happy "Holly" Days

In December I started hunting for a new storage solution for my 12 year old daughter as she was taking over the bathroom she shares with her brother.

Hairslides, hairbands, flowers, nailpolish, need I go on.....

I came across this old desk, it was sitting in a corner of a thrift store getting a little more attention than Id  have liked. I had to make a quick decision and decided it would do the job perfectly.

The gentleman who was sitting at it at the time was not amused when he was told it was sold, but you have gotta be quick.

It was really heavy and just fit and no more into the back of my car.

As I was going to do it as a surprise I had to try and hide my project ( which wasnt easy)

I started with the handles they took a good few coats before i could give them a coat of poly.

Next I started on the drawers.

I sprayed the insides and the top Glossy pink.

 I wasnt sure whether to sand them so I did one drawer front  as an experiment....not good, the paint wasnt adhering so I decided to prime them all and not sand them.

 I masked off the top so we had a nice edge around the top edge

It took a few coats even after the primer to get a nice crisp white finish. I used a semi gloss and thought it would be bump proof.....it was obvious after a few days in use this wasnt going to be the case, so I have decided to give it a few coats of clear poly for durability.

I also picked up this dented old mirror, afterall this is for a young ladies room. I primed and painted it white aswell.

Holly added a few little momentos under the glass top to personalize it

 

As you can see all of Hollys  junk treasured possessions are now in place and she loves it.



Spotty and Girly

Hollys room is coming along...slowly but surely, 

weve tried the bed in many different locations, and the furniture always seems to on the move aswell.

Weve decided to tackle the closet, big enough for a twelve year old im sure you will agree. It just needs a little organisation...and a little color injection.

The sides werent being used as they were hard to access and became a dumping ground, so we

 added some new rails to organise Hollys clothes better.  

We have moved her drawers on top of each other so better access is given to the sides of the closet.

 

 

As the rest of the decor has a spotty theme the drawers were mod podged and given a spotty makeover. The top drawer handles were sprayed with a few coats of gloss white and now they match together nicely.
 

 

 

 

and they can be hidden too

 

 

 

 Very girly indeed.  

Holly loves them....
 

We are still sorting through storage on the top shelves.

 

We made a white roman blind with a blackout lining to block out our sunny skies and bright lightening storms. 

We also added some brightly colored buttons to add a little interest.

 

The old brown and brass fan was updated too.
A little hand painting, a little spray painting and a new mirrored shade.

 

The headboard is another project. 

We used a 2inch sponge and covered it with heavy duty white canvas and attached it to a board. We used the same buttons as we did on the blind, and egded it with a spotty ribbon.

 

The spotty theme goes on.......

The bedding is from Target.com and looks great with all Hollys homemade cushions and extras. 

The canopy has been in Hollys room for years and it came from a french company called Vertbaudet, it has a great selection of kiddi decor.

 

This definitely is a room in progress, im on the lookout for a nice vintage dressing table for her, Ill let you know if I find one.

Little Frenchys first taste of my own Chalk paint.

I couldnt wait to start on my newest find

It was an old end table or nightstand, not sure which, all battered and looking for a new home....mine !!

 

 

I removed the hardware and left it over night to soak in white vinegar, it was badly tarnished but turned out to be a lovely copper color in the morning.

 

 

 

 

 

I had been reading how everyone was making their own version of chalk paint and decided to give it a go.

I used the recipe of 1 cup of paint with 1/4 cup of baking soda.

 

The results were fab, I carefully sanded down the table and set to paint.

The paint wasnt unlike another chalk paint I have used in the past.

 After painting and patiently waiting for it to dry....this is what always takes the longest...

 I used a fine grade sandpaper to buff and distress the table. The tabletop was a little too damaged to leave as it was so after deliberation of what to do I decided to get a custom piece of mirror to fit.

 

 

Here is the result.

 

 

 

Hope you like it....

 



My Burlap/Hessian project

I love all the natural projects which are making the rounds at the moment.

I fancied trying one myself and decided on a window pelmet for my little kitchen diner.

A visit to my local fabric store was in order but they didnt have the color I wanted    :( 

Not phased by this I wandered into the fabric dye ailse.

 

 

In the past Ive dyed everything and anything you could think of using Dylon Dyes for the washing machine, but as im in a new country with new appliances I was a little scared.

After deciding against the washing machine ones I went with the Rit Teal color to do in a bucket. :)

 

 

This is how it went

 

I followed all the directions Step by step

 

 

 

 

I added the salt and water....the color looked great and I left it to steep for a little while

 

 

After taking it out and drying it off, I noticed it was a little patchy (note to self....dont leave it in the bucket when you go to collect the kids from school)

 

 

 

 

The pelmet project was now a non starter...what could I use it for now ?????

 

 

This is what I decided on

 

 

 

 

I have enough fabric for maybe a couple more...Ill see how it goes.

The Big Old Brown Dresser/Console

Well ...theres a Habitat for Humanity moved in next to my local post office, it would be rude not to pop in for a look so thats what I did.

I was looking for an old mirror or frame but this one piece caught my eye. I even queried the price as I thought it may have had the wrong sticker on, but no... it was right, so it had to be mine.

I borrowed a tape measure and measured the space in the car.

It fit with inches to spare.

Not thinking how I would get it out of the car once I got home, it was loaded into the trunk by two big burly men.

My thought was that this would be my first piece I would redo and resell.

My lovely neighbors helped me unload it from the car...

its heavy !!!

It had definitely seen better days and looked like a cat had maybe used it as a scratcher. It was also missing a handle from a drawer

( I was hoping it would be hiding in a drawer, but no such luck )

After a little light sanding, I gave it a good priming, I wasnt sure whether it needed it but did it just to be on the safe side.

The hardware all came off and I swithered whether to paint them or clean them up.

After giving the feet a good sanding I used some wood filler to reshape them back to how they were (before the cat got them)

A couple of coats of paint later and its starting to look good.

I decided to spray the handles black, thats when it started looking like it belonged in our house.

Im always a little cautious about distressing but I just went for it, and I love it.

The question now is can I bear to part with it ???

This was my first project ever and the start of my new addiction.

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