Pinterest Challenge: Matchbox Car rack

We have serious problems with toy organization in our house. If you have ever seen the play area in our basement, you already know this. I am always looking for fun and unique ways to organize our toys. When Aiden was using Pinterest he came across this project and asked if we could do it for his room - it seemed simple enough so we went for it one week when my husband was out of town.

Supplies:

• Two cans of spray paint (paint and primer) 
• 2 packages shoe racks from Bed, Bath, and Beyond
• Drop cloth
• L Brackets with two holes on each side (6)
• Screws and Molly's to hang the racks

First, you have to lay your drop cloth and spray paint these racks. You can throw all of the extra wood pieces away, just keep the rack part.

After letting them dry, stack them two wide and use L brackets to screw them together. Drill pilot holes so the wood does not split, then use a screw driver. 

Lastly, attach the three separate pieces to the wall using a molly and screw. We attached them close together so it looks like there is one solid piece. 

So far it has kept the cars organized and clean! 

DIY Watercolor Pictures

This post is kind of like beating a dead a horse in blog land, but I really need to share my love for this amazingness of an app! If you follow my Facebook page for this blog, you may have seen my cover photo and that it is a watercolor picture.

If you have not downloaded this app, it is called Waterlogue (iPhone and iPad only) you NEED to! I am so excited for my grass to get green, my flowers to be planted, and bushes to bloom so I can take one of our house and get it printed out!

Here are some photos I stole from my parents Facebook pages and "watercolored" for them!

Marquette, Michigan

Breckenridge, Colorado

Marco Island, Florida

Marquette, Michigan

Somewhere in this country?

I hope you all can use this app as much as I do! I am so excited to print some pictures off and get them hung around our house to add some color! 

Laundry room mock chalkboard print.

I seriously love this quote. One of the reasons I am doing my laundry room so girly is because I am surrounded by messy, tough, dirty boys. Since I am the only one that does laundry (except for the occasional load my husband does), this can be my space. I even bought crystal door knobs! This saying is so important to how I need to be thinking because some days I am just dying for my boys to grow up. I want them to stop hitting, stop yelling, stop peeing in their pants, and doing all the other dirty things little boys do. But I know I need to cherish these times when they are so little and need me. I am sure, before I know it, they will want me out of their circle and I will be so sad when that day comes. So, for right now I suppose I will rejoice in being their favorite!

Supplies:

• 5.0 mm Panel from Home Depot (made for drawer bottoms) 11 x 14
• Large picture hanger
• Black chalk paint (Annie Sloan Graphite)
• White paint
• Paint brush
• Tiny paint brush
• Printer
• Scotch Tape
• Painters Tape
• Ballpoint pen
• Sharpie Paint Pen

I bought a board from Home Depot for $5.98 and had them cut it to my size (11 x 14), which they do for free! When I got home I sanded the rough edges and put a trash bag on my counter to protect it. I would normally do these things in the garage, but with the boys being awake, I needed them contained within the confines of my house so they aren't running in the street or fighting over some ridiculous outdoor toy. 

I also chose the side with the least amount of knots because that can prevent straight lines when tracing over the "stencil." I painted the board in two coats of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Graphite. I also used an Annie Sloan brush. They just come off smoother and leave less stroke marks. I did not use wax on this project because I wanted the chalkboard style look. I also only bought a sample of this color, but after seeing it in person I wish I would have bought the entire quart because it is a beautiful color! 

Next, I printed out the print that I threw together in Photoshop and since I do not have a printer that can print 11 x 14, I had to puzzle the pieces together to create an 11 x 14. This was annoying, I would recommend getting one printed at Kinkos, Office Depot, or Staples or somewhere like that. 

Here is my version of the saying that you can use if you would like. If you have any problems getting to it, comment with you e-mail and I can send you a bigger copy. 

Once everything was pieced together, I used painters tape to center the saying on the board and make sure everything was level and stayed in place. 

Next, I used my ballpoint pen to trace over the letters, and you have to push hard, and it kind of hurts your hand, but then you get a great stencil on your painted board. 

Then I used my smaller brush and painted in the lines. This takes a little bit, but it is worth it to get the chalk board look. Next, after I let the paint dry, I took my Sharpie White Paint marker to touch up the lines. Once the paint marker dries, I will put on the backer. Be careful when doing this because it could split your board. Gentle hammers! 

Here is the finished product!

It is not perfect, like most of my projects, but it will be perfect for our laundry room. I can't wait to show you what it looks like in the finished room! 

A how-to guide: Annie Sloan Chalk Paint

I kid you not, this is the absolute easiest way to do a furniture makeover (and it is so fast)! Since I have been a part of the "Annie Sloan Anonymous" addicts club for about six months (cat is out of the bag now), I thought I would throw together a quick guide for doing a furniture makeover!

Things you will need:

• Annie Sloan Paint
• Annie Sloan Clear Wax (you can get the dark wax for the antique look - but do not share your wax brushes!)
• Krud Kutter
• Old t-shirt (or inside of a cloth diaper)
• Trash bag to protect your surface
• Annie Sloan wax brush and paint brush (you can use regular paint brushes, but your surface will not be as smooth!)
• Odorless Mineral Spirits

The best part about chalk paint is you do not need to sand! If my piece has some chipped areas or peeling areas I will sand so that the paint adheres better. 

I got this cute stool for $10 off of our last neighborhood Facebook sale page. It was in rough shape, but sturdy for little boys trying to wash their hands. 

I lightly sanded the top to make sure that the peeling finish would not affect the paint. Then I sprayed the whole thing with Krud Kutter to clean any sticky surfaces that could affect the paint in the long run. 

Using my Annie Sloan paint brush, I did long strokes to keep the finish as smooth as possible. 

This is what the paint looks like while wet. You have to be sure it is completely dry before painting the second coat.

You will see little spots like this as the first coat dries. It takes about 20 minutes to fully dry. 

Do not worry that you are not covering the entire surface with a thick paint the first time, the second coat catches all those little see-through areas. After waiting for the second coat to completely dry, time for wax. 

Put a small amount of wax on your Annie Sloan was brush, and spread it over one surface at a time. I did the top first, then I wiped all the wax off the top and moved on to the legs. 

To clean your paint brush just use a milk soap and warm water. To clean your wax brush, swirl in odorless mineral spirits until all wax is gone. I store mine in paper towels. 

I think it looks much nicer than the light wood color that clashed with our floors. We used to have this little cute stool on our fireplace stone, but Aiden needs it now for washing hands! 

First of the year DIY hack: Pottery Barn Painted Oars.

We are getting SO very close to putting together the finishing touches in little Luke's nursery. Besides this little, VERY easy project, we my husband also sanded down his previous blue dresser so we could stain it back to it original, antique glory. Why we ever went blue with it is beyond me.

Here is your first sneak peak to what the theme of his room is....

Except these adorable oars (really they are paddles) are a little out of our budget. But I got to thinking, how hard could it seriously be to do something just like these? Off to Craig's List to search in our area for some paddles. I luckily found two, one is three feet and one is 3.5 feet, I got them BOTH for $25. Score! 

For this project you will need:

• Sanding block
• Painters tape
• Oars/paddles
• Brown paint (sample of Valspar's Journey)
• White paint (left over Valspar Ultra White)
• kitchen sponge
• plastic drop cloth

After I sanded both paddles down, I used my sponge to 'blot' the brown paint on the oar. The sponge gives the oar an aged looked. The right paddle is the one after I applied the paint.

After waiting for the paint to dry for about 5 hours (you want it to be dry enough that the painters tape will not remove the paint)... I added tape in rows along the paddles. 

Then I used the white paint to sponge the interior part of the painters tape. 

After about thirty minutes, I removed the tape while the white paint was still a little sticky, and let them dry for the remaining for the evening. 

They turned out pretty darn good, and all for under $30! Now, I just have to find a way to rig them to the wall above the crib in order to make sure they stay up there for good! Sorry for the poor lighting, I did not feel like waiting until the morning to take pictures! Happy New Year everyone!

Coffee table makeover.

When visiting all of the model homes while our house was still being built, they all had big, square coffee tables. Well after searching IKEA, Target, American Furniture Warehouse, Larabee's, and all of out other typical go-to's.... we came up with NOTHING. Literally, every 40 x 40 coffee table is over $700 dollars, which was just not happening.

We started thinking of making one. Well, re-doing on. We went to Salvation Army (I know, bad store and I can't believe I gave them our money!), but they had a 50% off sale and we found 'the one!'

It was 38 x 38, so close enough. We were planning on doing a slight over hang anyway. It is U.G.L.Y.  That may even be an understatement. The metal bars have these springs on them, they just needed to go. But, it was $25 dollars so we bought it. 

Then we started brainstorming and came up with a farmhouse coffee table. We bought six 1 x 8's (pine) and cut them to 40 inches long. (First we bought 5, because five times 8 is 40 = perfect. Well, make sure you measure because the supposed 1 x 8, was really 1 x 7.25. We ended up having to go get another one so it is slightly not square anymore.) We also bought ebony stain and used some wood filler we had. 

SIDE NOTE: Wood putty and Wood Filler are not the same. Wood putty does not dry - don't use it to fill holes!! (lesson learned)

I also bought a new quart of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Country Grey. I used about 1/8 of the can so that really equates to about $4 for the paint. 

My lovely husband stained the wood for me, we let it sit over night, and then we used liquid nails to place them on the filled, painted, table. We also used some old 1.5 inch screws that we had to secure the boards.

Now we have this....

I am kind of in love with it. LOVE it! 

Before: 

After:

This project cost us $48 dollars all together. I'd say that is much better than the $700 plus that it would cost for a table this size through another store.