Archives For Projects

Turquoise Coffee Table

02.24.13 — 6 Comments

There’s a cold front moving in to Oklahoma and before it hits I thought I should finish that coffee table. I’ve spent the afternoon switching between episodes of Breaking Bad and adding coats of sealer to the table.

I’m nearing the three year mark of living in this urban casa. (How is that even possible!) After three years, I believe I have this living room exactly how I want it. (Just in time to pack boxes, I suppose.)

Every piece of furniture or decor in the urban casa has been acquired from a thrift job, been re-purposed or found at a garage sale. Yes, even the leather furniture was purchased secondhand. To the couple who sold the less than two-year-old, perfect-condition furniture for only $250, bless your hearts.

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What do you think? It’s come a long way since its hunter green days. I suppose the big question is: Will T approve of turquoise accent furniture in our someday home?

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Do you see the globe on the side table? That was my great grandpa’s, who was a dairy farmer in Indiana. (I googled him for fun – look what I found.) At his estate auction, my mom let me pick one item and allowed me to bid on it myself. No one in their right mind would bid against a cute little girl. Good move, Mom.

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I’ve been fortunate to have a plenty of work space in the urban casa. Work space is a must in our someday home.

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It’s about time I start deciding which pieces of furniture make the move and which are left behind. This table – it’s going. I think.

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Project Progression: Coffee Table Makeover.

02.17.13 — 8 Comments

Travel days usually wipe me out – especially those beginning in the 6 o’clocks (5 CST). After leaving the snow in Charlotte, I returned to Oklahoma where the temperatures were flirting with that 70 degree mark.

It made perfect sense to skip an afternoon nap to tackle the coffee table I’ve been saving for a sunny day.

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I stole this table from my mother. She’s incredibly gifted at finding furniture to refurnish. (Shout out to every piece of furniture in my house…) It had potential don’t you think?

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The top was covered in pink and blue nail polish. I’m assuming this was some little girls craft table.

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I almost guarantee someone’s mother said “this is why we can’t have nice things!” after seeing the polish splatter across this table. Using my newest toy, I ridded the world of that awful polish.

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I chose turquoise for the base to match the end table that receives so many compliments. If people only knew I use HQ spray paint! (Is that considered cheating?)

The key is to use a lot of light coats as opposed to one thick coat. Laura at the Steen Style has used spray paint for a lot of projects so clearly it’s what the cool kids are doing.

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Tonight, I started staining the top. I’ll allow the top to dry over night, lightly sand over the stain, apply a second coat and finish with a sealer.

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It looks better already! Hopefully only a few more days until this finds its way into the living room.

My list for that someday house so far includes: a huge backyard, a girl cave and a workshop. T can have the kitchen. I’m not really interested in anything that goes down in that room.

For this project:
Minwax Wood Finish: Dark Walnut
Rust-oleum spray paint: Lagoon
Sander
Awesome playlist.

In other news, the kids in the ‘hood inspired me to run a little faster with their marshmallow guns. Rude, kids. Just rude.

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We’ve got that Super Bass.

11.01.12 — 2 Comments

I have wonderful news for my future nieces – the ones who will be born many, many years from now. I have successfully made two tutus in my life. The first one for a superhero costume and the other for last night’s Halloween costume.

Courtney and I couldn’t disappoint the church group who comes to the little urban casa every Wednesday. We told them we’d dress up and I believe there were a few serious pinkie promises in the mix.

This side-by-side is a little creepy. Is that me as a child? Oh dear goodness.

As a child I was about as annoying as they come. Always talking, always the center of attention and always talking a few octaves too high my parents had their hands full with me.

Clearly, it makes perfect sense I would fall in love with the little tutu-wearing rapper, Sophia Grace.

Courtney, the Rosie to my Sophia, was and is the perfect hype girl.

This may be the best costume of my life, and I once dressed up as a really awesome dinosaur.

They’re just quite lovely.

Sigh. Could someone loan me their child? I’ll teach them a few Nicki Manaj lyrics, put them in a tutu and send them right back.

Also, anyone need a tutu? There’s really no room in my closet for this.

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Sophia Grace > Honey Boo Boo

10.31.12 — 3 Comments

Happy Halloween, creepers!

I hope you have those costumes ready for the trick-or-treaters. Are you dressing up as well?

Do you know my homie Sophia Grace? The first time I saw her my eyes filled with tears. I remember than moment like it was yesterday. It was the day I feared having children. What if they’re like me? I’m a lot  to handle.

I wish I was this cool at eight.

Also, yes, I have a hype girl. There is a Rosie to my Sophia Grace.

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Tacky Christmas.

11.03.11 — 3 Comments

Halloween is over and it’s time to start planning my tacky Christmas outfit. If you’re not excited about this, you can take your un-excited rear end back to Scroogeville.

I found this little diddy on Pinterest and after the initial, “awwwwwwl,” I snapped back to reality and had the best idea.

Source: etsy.com via Brooke on Pinterest

 

 

I can make this in a grown up version and have the best costume – ever.

What do you think? Can I pull this off?

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For SALE.

07.22.11 — 4 Comments

Remember when I purchased this table?

And, then I tortured my roommate by spending way too many hours sanding, scraping, sanding, scraping, painting, staining, and sealing?


Because, I was determined to turn this table into something I would want to keep in our house. If Lauren had a nickel for everytime I said, “I cannot get attached to this table!” She could buy 3 rounds at Sonic happy hour. (The chair represents the “before” in the picture)

It’s finnished!

What do you think?

It comes with 4 chairs and glass to cover the top.

Do you like it enough to buy it?

Seriously – it’s for sale.

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How you doin’?

07.02.11 — 7 Comments

Thanks to a few blogging friends I’ve recently become addicted to Pinterest. Pinterest is a website where you can pin images to boards dedicated to certain topics. It’s basically a virtual bulletin board where you can organize your thoughts and see others’ ideas.


I recently pinned this image to one of my boards, “Projects.” It reminded me of a shabby chic version of the door from the television show Friends.


So what’s a girl to do when she has a frame like this?


A frame that only cost a dollar.


Well, for starters – paint it turquoise.


Embellish it with black accents and top it off with a clear top coat.


And, hang it on the front door.

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Garage Sale, Pinterest, Project.

06.26.11 — 2 Comments


I promise there is a reasonable explanation for this picture. First, I just got back from the farm and had yet to change out of my pajamas. Being an Indiana girl pre-transplant to Oklahoma, there doesn’t really need to be an explanation for the shirt. The boots; however, need one.

I was tromping through the pasture and there was no way I was going to wear anything but boots out there – there are snakes out there! Don’t believe me, read this post.

Soon after buying this dinning room {for $70!!} set I texted this picture to a few of my fellow social media friends. Crystal Cattle pointed me to recent pin to her Pinterest Board.

This is the goal for the new shabby chic table? What do you think?

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Cheap or Smart?

06.15.11 — 3 Comments

Every summer of my life I’ve been outdoors. Whether is was playing in the sprinkler as teeny-human or building fence as a teenager – summers were for outside. However, when you grow up, you sit in an office from 8-5. And by “grow up,” I mean when you work in an urban environment and your office is downtown.

I’ve learned to combat this with one simple solution: projects. Because of projects, I am forced to get off my rear end and do something.

When I first started do-it-yourself projects I told myself it was because I was “cheap.” Fresh out of college with a job in communications…. you do the math. But it turns out, I look forward to projects, to almost an obsessive level. {I realize I’ve been posting a lot of projects lately, but it’s really what I’ve been up to.}

Currently, I’m waiting for manfriend to make a backboard for an amazing frame I found in the back room of an antique store.

 


Lauren {the new roomie} and I have huge plans to make this picture frame into a chalk board similar to this one I found at the shabbymcfabby Etsy Shop.  This one is listed for $148. However, I can make one myself with a large picture frame ($30) and chalk board spray paint ($8).

Our plans are to use our chalk board to track our Must See in OKC list. Each Wednesday we’re going to visit a new, random place in the OKC Metro. (Have any suggestions??)

Is it cheap or just smart? Encouragment from others has landed me on the Dave Ramsey plan for life. And, by plan – I mean, the I mess up and buy shoes I shouldn’t every now and then but then I get right back on my plan – plan.

Honestly, who cares about reasoning. Its fun. And, I find a little bit of pleasure trying to scrap paint off my nails while riding the elevator up to my downtown office.

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Shabby Chic Chair.

06.13.11 — 9 Comments


My entire dining room set tells a story. Each chair contributes a story that I’ll happily tell visitors! Three chairs came from my ag teacher’s barn. They were heavily covered in dirt and spider webs and now they have a perfect spot in the dinning room. Two others came from a trip to this awesome store called The Rink with the manfriend’s mom and sister.

This chair came from a little store in Franklin, Indiana, called the Lord’s Cupboard. My grandmother’s mother was on the committee who started this store and now a piece of it gets to be in my urban casa more than 700 miles away.


There’s one little thing: in its current state it wasn’t going to fit in in the urban casa. After running over this with a piece of sandpaper, I put a coat of your ordinary black spray paint. For those out there who are firm believers in a bucket of paint and a paint brush – more power to you! However, I just don’t have the patience.


While the paint was drying, I recovered the seat using a staple gun ($8 from Home Depot) and fabric that I’ve had stored away. For covering chairs, I recommend using a thicker fabric.


So much better!


This project took 30 minutes start-to-finish.


Having a cute house doesn’t have to break the piggy bank. This table was a garage sale find for $25 (Thanks, mom!). It’s all about being resourceful and knowing everything is always a little cuter with a makeover (aka – paint).

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