This is going to be a good week, I can feel it man! I thought it would be fun to kick it off with some amazing furniture scores (since I cant seem to get over the one that got away). Hundreds of you have linked up your finds to the #colddeadfingers hashtag and it is HORRIBLE picking just a few. You will want to check that out on Instagram, pinky promise.
Pretty sure that I could do a whole post on just the goods that Katie finds. Seriously. she is a master hunter.
Make sure that you link up your favorite finds so that we can all oogle and be jealous, alright? It is pretty inspiring to see what can be found that you never knew you needed.
Hey guys!! I have a story to tell you, but you have to promise that you wont get all judgy. Deal?
Every once in a while you find something while thrifting or Craigslisting that slips through your fingers, and no matter how badly you try, you just cant get over it. I haven’t had something like this happen since the couch, but I think I am through the grief cycle and can finally talk about it.
I was heading to pick up some stuff from a store on the other side of town for the Hoard Sale. As I was pulling out of my driveway, I had a nagging feeling to stop at the DI (the main thrift store in St. George that owns my heart and 25% of my life). I was like “Nagging Feeling (proper noun because it is a real thing), I’ll stop on the way back. I have to get to this store before they close.” The nagging feeling was all “Hmph, fine then. I guess you don’t trust me. You will regret this for the rest of your life.” and then it disappeared. In my defense, usually the nagging feeling that comes when I pull out of my driveway is telling me to go and get a Swig sugar cookie. I am used to telling it shush.
Like planned, I picked up my goods and stopped at the DI on the way home. I walked in, feeling pretty great about the way things were going. I had had a shower that day, the store was air conditioned, I was going to go and get a snow cone after. Just down right content, ya know? I dropped my phone in my bag and looked up.
Have you ever witnessed something that makes you feel like your uterus has fallen out? Just right there on the ground? Welp that’s what happened.
There in front of me was an adorable lady with her two teenage daughters waiting in the check out line.
Do you know what they had in their cart? (Of course you don’t because I haven’t been able to speak of it until today.)
In her cart was a perfect condition vintage hanging rattan chair. Super similar to this one my girls at A Beautiful Mess have:
The nice air conditioning that I had just praised, all of a sudden felt mighty cold as all of the blood was draining from my body.
Gulp. Think Mandi, THINK.
I couldn’t run up to her and beg for a chance to buy it. I couldn’t drop to my knees and wail in horror, all I could do was mentally pick my uterus back up and calmly walk past them….
…into the nearest clothing rack. (By into I mean intentionally, not like I ran into it. But I can see how one might think, that because of my current mental state we actually collided.)
I had to watch. Because I just wasn’t ready to say hello and goodbye that quickly.
The problem? The line was sort of long and in order for it to not get reeeeally uncomfortable I had to pretend that I cared about the men’s xxxl button up Bermuda shirts that I found myself in.
I just couldn’t stop staring. So I blindly moved, while I stared. Sometimes closer, sometimes further but I was not taking my eyes off that thing for a second. Our love story and what could have been flashed before my eyes. It would have been so perfect in Ivie’s room, with a cute pillow and serape blanket tucked in.
Phew. Keep it together girl.
Finally it was the cute lady’s turn to check out. By this time I had not so casually meandered over to the children’s clothes and was in earshot of the entire transaction.
I mean, I don’t know what I expected to have happen? That she would turn around and say “You haven’t blinked for the last 6 minutes, that is quite the feat. Here let me give you this chair to buy as a reward.”?! But.I.couldn’t.leave.
She paid for the chair, and my world darkened. I felt like Maleficent when she discovered that her wings had been cut off. (Pssst. such a good movie!) But alas, it was just not meant to be. I hope her daughters love that chair the way we would have loved it. Fully. Completely. Eternally.
I found out later that the chair had been at the store for 3 hours and it was marked at $20. *#$(&#.
Hey guys! Last November I told you about my friend Amanda and her little boy Boston. Boston had just been diagnosed with A.L.L. We were completely overwhelmed at the love and support that you guys showed to their family. You guys raised more money for Bos, than they had ever raised in a single month. THANK YOU!!!
I asked Amanda if she could share an update on how our little fighter is doing.
Boston is doing really well right now. After a few setbacks, we finally entered the Maintenance phase of his treatment. This is the phase he will stay in for the next 2.5+ years. This means we only have scheduled monthly clinic visits and a few different meds and chemotherapies given at home each day. We love only having to go to clinic once a month! Boston’s lost all of his hair during the last phase, but it has started growing back over the last month. I will miss that cute bald head, I think I kissed it a hundred times a day. We are loving that it’s summer time, we are finally able to go outside and slowly bring Boston to more places. After months of being stuck at home, its so nice to see him outside playing again. He still has a limp from months of not walking, but he’s getting stronger every day. He is so resilient and brave! He has been through a lot since October, but he continues to amaze us every day with how happy he is. We are so lucky to call him ours!!
P.S. I Adore You, the AMAZING company that made all of the donations for Boston possible, recently shot a video all about what they do. The lives of families all over the country are being blessed because of you.
Every month PS I Adore You chooses a Cancer Cutie, all of the donations for the month will go directly to their family. This month’s Cancer Cutie hits incredibly close to home. Taleah is from the same smallish town that I live in. It has been amazing to see how many people have rallied around her family. She is fighting cancer for the second time and needs all the love and prayers that you can spare. You can read her story here.
I hope you have the best day, and hug your littles extra tight!
I am still alive! (well barely. What day of the week is it?) The Hoard Sale was a MASSIVE success. Stay tuned for a post all about it,
Last week I shared my tip for getting a perfect paint job, so today I thought it would be fun to show you a project that got just that.
IKEA Rast dressers are utterly fantastic for a nightstand replacement. They are inexpensive ($34.99), small, and made out of solid wood. They were just what I needed for Macie’s Bedroom. But here is the thing. Sometimes you don’t want it to look like a Rast. Sometimes you want it to look a little nicer. Ya feel me?
After putting the dressers together the first thing that I did was putty all of the pre drilled holes and the screws. I like using the pink putty that dries white.
Pile it on nice and tall. Sort of like a wad of bubble gum. Don’t try and make it perfect at this point.
Make sure the your putty is completely dry before you start sanding.
To sand I used a 220 grit sanding sponge and a small circular motion.
Once everything is nice and smooth, give you dresser a quick wipe down with a slightly damp cloth to get the dust off. (You can also use tack cloth, but lets be honest, who has that on hand at all times?)
Once it is time to paint, you will want to follow this tutorial to a T. It will give you a perfect finish.
For those interested, here is the paint formula for the custom pink color:
Now for the REALLY fun part. Bring on the leather and brass!!
I stated by cutting a campaign shaped pull out of leather (you can upload this image into Design Space if you have a Cricut Explore and cut it with that, or you can print it off and trace it!)
The corner pieces and brass pulls are from Home Depot. To find them you will want to go down the aisle that has the pulls and knobs.
The pulls can be found right by the hinges and brackets. They are called Brass Utility Pulls. You will need 3 of these puppies too.
Start by gluing your leather piece onto the drawer. I decided to move mine to the top of the drawer instead of putting it in the center. Make sure that it is centered and level.
Then hold your brass handle onto the leather and mark where the screws will go.
Using a small drill bit, drill pilot holes through the leather and into the wood. Then attach the pull.
You will want to drill pilot holes for the corner brackets as well, so that you don’t split the wood.
So I sort of have this thing that happens when I get stressed. Even though I feel calm inside, when a big deadline is looming the middle of my back starts to hurt. Guess what? My back is hurting. But for good reason, the Hoard Sale is TOMORROW!!
I am sending out the email with directions later today, so if you haven’t signed up to receive it yet, you can do that at the end of this post.
Did you hear that Waffle Love is coming all the way down from Provo to share in the festivities!? I am seriously excited about it. Rumor has it that the reason that they are so amazing is because there are actual unicorn tears in them, from the unicorns that cry because they are just so delicious.
Also, have you ever wanted to be my next door neighbor? Well it is your lucky day! The house that they have been working on next door is done and it is BEAUTIFUL. They are hosting an open house during the sale so you can go and check it out while you are here.
I will be posting pictures all day to #hoardsale2014 on Instagram with sneak peeks of some of the goods we are selling. Like this lady…
I hate to post and run but I have a mountain of things to do! Cant wait to see you tomorrow!!
Hey guys!! I have a really fun project for you today, its easy and a show stopper. Win win!
All you need is a tired picture frame and mat, ScotchBlue ™ Painter’s Tape for Delicate Surfaces with Advanced Edge-Lock™ Paint Line Protector (2080EL), and Copper Spray Paint.
Start by cutting your painters tape into different shapes. I used delicate surface tape so that I didnt pull the paper off of the mat!
Give it a couple of coats of Copper spray paint. This picture is after the first one, the paper matting absorbs the metallic sheen on the first coat, that is why you will need a few.
When you paint is dry, peel off the ScotchBlue™ Painters Tape. Perfect lines make me so happy. It’s the simple things friends.
To make the hexagon art, place a few pieces of Scotchblue™ Painter’s Tape for Multi-Surface with Advanced Edge-Lock™ Paint Line Protector (2093EL)in a hexagon shape. It doesn’t have to be perfect! We are going for a little abstract here.
Dry brush some acrylic paint on the inside of the shape.
Peel your tape off and dry brush the edges just a little bit.
Add a little splash of color with watercolors or watered down acrylic paint.
Now I have some exciting news! Everyone loves a summer goal right?
Home of ScotchBlue™ Painter’s Tape Contest now through July 15, 2014 and you could win $5,000 to put towards a home makeover! The first 500 to submit an eligible entry will receive one (1) roll of the new ScotchBlue™ Painter’s Tape with Advanced Edge-Lock™ Paint Line Protector! Dudes, do you even know how exciting $5,000 is?!!
Check out this project as a featured project example in the contest!
I am proud to be a 3M sponsored blogger, and, as part of my responsibilities, I get the opportunity to evaluate new products from ScotchBlue™ Painter’s Tape. Opinions are my own and additional product used in the project were selected by me.
Contest open to legal residents of the U.S. and D.C. (excluding AZ, MD, NJ, ND, TN and VT), who are 18+ (19+ in AL & NE and 21+ in MS) at the time of entry. Void where prohibited. Enter from June 2, 2014 at 12:00:01 a.m. CT through 11:59:59 p.m. CT on July 15 2014. All contest communications, entry/judging criteria and details subject to the full Official Rules. Sponsor: 3M Construction and Home Improvement Markets Division, St. Paul, MN
See my How To Paint Furniture Guide here! It’s full of updated information!! Painting furniture has long been one of my favorite pastimes. It is always amazing to me how a little love can totally change a piece from horrifying to awe inspiring. My go to technique has always been spray painting because every time I tried to paint with normal paint it was a HORRIBLE experience. Now, I know that there are people that swear by good brushes, foam rollers, and Floetrol and I am sure that they work for some…but I have never been able to master the paint from a can technique…until now.
First lets chat about the 3 most common problems when it comes to painting.
1. Brush Strokes. Also the acronym for brush strokes is BS. Just putting that out there. Brush strokes happen when your paint dries before it has a chance to level. The stiffer (I am just going to say it, and crappier) your brush the worse it is going to look. Chip brushes are literally your worst nightmare when painting furniture. But even with expensive brushes I have never been able to paint something brush stroke free.
2. Flashing. Flashing is unevenness in a paint finish sheen. It happens for a few reasons. If you are using cheap paint, especially cheap paint that has a high sheen, trying to get too much paint out of a roller, not leaving a wet edge, and rolling all willy nilly. Flashing is extremely noticeable when light reflects off of a piece. White foam rollers are like a shifty teenager in a trench coat on the sidelines of the homecoming football game. They are perfectly poised to ruin your crowning moment. Also foam rollers=light texture. Not enough to start over but FOR SURE enough to make you want to kick the dresser every time you walk by it.
3. Stickiness After Drying. Have you guys ever been in contact with a piece of furniture that never fully cured? It is eternally sticky to the touch. This happened once to a piece that was in my Mother In Law’s house. It was a four poster bed that was painted high gloss black and it was unusable because it was so sticky. This can happen for a few reasons, your paint could be crappy quality, there wasn’t adequate dry time between layers. It seems like the higher the sheen, the more you risk this being a factor. Plain and simple, latex wall paint is not ideal for furniture.
So do you want to know what the secret combo is for a perfect paint job?
Start by prepping you piece with a light sanding and a good cleaning. (By light sanding i mean the way you would wipe down a wall)
Load your roller.
This is the most important part so listen and listen good. Roll it on with only a few passes, I am talking 3. Don’t worry so much about coverage, you can do more than one coat. Just make sure that there aren’t any globby areas.
Now put your roller down and walk away. When the paint starts to dry and you mess with it, it is just a recipe for disaster and will always look worse when you are done.
And then you will hate yourself. So just trust.
This is a freshly rolled drawer vs. one that has had time to dry, can you see how much the paint relaxes and evens out?
I have never had something work so well time and time again. You guys, this is the real deal.
My only request? Don’t hug me too tight when you see me next. I love my guts intact.
