Don’t hate me when I tell you this…I have had this project done since January. BUT I couldn’t show it to you because I had to redo Dylan’s room to do it justice! We’ve all seen the cute kitchen play sets from repurposed crap (I super love this one from YHL)

We arent really a kitchen type family, BUT we are a dress up type family.

Dun dun dun dun!

Pin It

So cute right!?!

Pin It Pin It

So do you want to know how to bust it out?

Start with an ugly entertainment center (I found this one on Craigslist for $20)

After removing the unneseccary elements (doors, shelves etc.) it looked like this:

Also for those that are new, we have a rule at Vintage Revivals call Don’t Judge My Hoard. So please abide by it. Thankyousomuch.

The first step was to get the closet door attached. Bought a piece of ply and had it cut to the right size at the store. We originally used MDF but were concerned with the durability and switched to 3/4 plywood. A few of the pictures below show the MDF before we decided to switch.

We attached it with hinges (by we I mean Court)

Then I trimmed it out. (ALL BY MYSELF!) I used preprimed chair rail moulding. Just make sure before you head to Home Depot or Lowes that you measure EVERY SINGLE THING. Got it?

I used my trusty nail gun to attach it.

Notice the gaps in the moulding at the hinges. I needed a small cut out of it to accommodate them. This could be SUPER complicate if you want it to be. Or you could do it the easy Mandilicious way. Cut a piece that is the right height and then cut it skinnier so that it still lines up. Hold on let me just show you.

Then you just putty the seams! Awesome right?!

The paneling was pretty easy to install. You can have your home improvement store cut it the right size but you will most likely have to notch out some corners. Then just slide it in through the back.

Because we were installing lighting in it we needed a sturdy back piece. This we had cut to exact measurements to fit in that space. If you are doing this take this thickness into account when you are measuring for your inside panel pieces or else you will have to trim them.

Now its time to putty, caulk and paint! Make sure you clean it REALLY well before. Rough it up with 150 grit sandpaper and use Kilz to prime. I needed 2 cans of Kilz and 3 cans of Krylon White Gloss.

Oh and you need to make sure that your elements all fit in the space.

For lighting I used super cute Jelly Jar lights from Home Depot (they are like $8-$10 each). And because you are not hardwiring it you will need a cord with an outlet plug at the end (these are like $5-$8)

PICTURE

Drill a hole for your wire and screw in your crossbars.

You will just use wire nuts to connect the cord wire to the light wires

and after you screw the light in place you are done!

*If you are not familiar with electrical work you can always contact an electrician to help you! Also we used a SUPER low wattage bulb so that it doesn’t get too hot and have made my daughters aware that under no circumstances are they allowed to touch the lights.

I will be posting a tutorial later this week on how to paint the wood grain ply.

Once they were painted we attached them to the sides with short finishing nails.

The door was trimmed out once it was attached also.

We super lucked out with the mirror, there were small spots all along the edges that we could put screws. If you are using a mirror that doesn’t have this you could glue it on with Gorilla Glue and I think it would be fine.

I will be posting a tutorial for how to make 3D play makeup too!

You can see the other elements in Dylan’s Room Makeover Here. If you have any questions leave a comment and I will do my best to answer it there!!

If you liked this project I would love for you to vote Vintage Revivals for the Best DIY Blog over at Apartment Therapy. The top 6 become finalists and I am currently #7….And I am FREAKING out! You have to register with Apartment Therapy to be able to vote but it’s the easy 30 second FB kind! You guys are AMAZING!

Love Your Guts, Mandi

The post Dress Up Station From Old Entertainment Center appeared first on Vintage Revivals.

I just need to share with you guys what a miracle this is! So many times in the last 9 years I didn’t think that this day was ever going to come.

But MAN I am glad that it has! I have the most supportive husband in the world. Especially when it comes to Vintage Revivals.

He is many times the muscle of the operation (and the brains but don’t tell him I told you!)

Also you should know that the GIANT pile of furniture is only in that back corner of the garage!! Are you proud of me?!

When he comes home from the restaurant and I am going on day 2 in my pj’s he still loves me.

He is hands down my favorite person in the world.

He has given hope to thousands of people with his strength and recovery story.

And lets face it, he’s pretty hot.

Happy Anniversary Lover!!

The post Today is my 9 year Anniversary! appeared first on Vintage Revivals.

Last year we started a tradition. It involves dressing up in insanely ridiculous outfits and taking the ultimate family photo.

In case you missed last years you can see it here.

So, we would like to wish you a very Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

And now for the close ups…

I will be spending the next few days with these wonderful people. I hope your holidays are as amazing as you are!

[mv_create title=”Annual Family Christmas Picture” key=”16″ thumbnail=”https://vintagerevivals.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Final_WT_family_2.jpg” type=”list” layout=”circles”]

The post White Trash Family Pic 2011 appeared first on Vintage Revivals.

No, I am not preggo. But thanks for thinking that…

At this very moment Me, Court and my 2 sisters are on a plane headed back to New York to do another round with Nate! (you can see pics from Round 1 Here) Does that explain the crazy project mode that I’ve been in for the last 3 weeks?!

I am SO excited about the segments and about the opportunity to be back!

So, because I feel super bad that you all cant come with me I am going to be doing a ton of posts and sharing lots of pictures and behind the scenes of our trip over on the Vintage Revivals Facebook page!! So make sure that you “like” it so that you are in the loop!

Last time we were in NYC we did a ton of fun touristy things. Now we want to do the REALLY good stuff. So those that have been to NYC, what are your FAVORITE places!?

Also have you entered the SNAP conference pass giveaway yet? If not then you must not understand how amazing it would be, and how excited I am to hang out with YOU! So please go and enter!!

Aaaannnnnnnnnnnnddd I have a HUGE gift card giveaway from my FAVORITE store tomorrow…Do you want a clue?!

The post I’ve Been Keeping A Big FAT Secret From You… appeared first on Vintage Revivals.

*Hello Friends! FYI, Its about to get spiritual up in here. If you are not comfortable with that please click away and come back tomorrow for an awesome tutorial!

Love your guts,

Mandi

It has been one year to the day since the original posting of My Real Life Story Part 1. It is the story about how I met my cute husband,  how we battled his addiction to prescription pain meds  for 10 years and how we have finally found hope and recovery. It is a story that might make you cry,   it is also something that you can probably relate to. When you are in the midst of addiction you feel like you are being buried alive. If you have not had the chance to read it to this point I would love for you to read it here.

It wasn’t until a few months into his recovery that I came to the realization that I too was an addict. Although I was not addicted to a drug like Court was, behind every addict is usually a flaming co-dependent. I was addicted to my addict. I was addicted to controlling, punishing, guilt tripping, crying over, forcing and freaking out on his every move.

When I realized that I was going to smother his recovery I began to find recovery and peace and hope for myself. That is where our story left off.

So where are we a year later?

There have been so many miracles that we have received. The biggest being the chance that we had to be sealed in the St. George Temple in July. For those that are not of the LDS faith, you can read about what that means to us here.

I ended Part 5 with this scripture:

“I could remember my pains no more; yea, I was harrowed up by the memory of my sins no more. And oh, what joy, and what marvelous light I did behold; yea, my soul was filled with joy as exceeding as was my pain!”

(Alma 36:19–20).

When we finally found our way into the rooms of an LDS 12 Step Meeting this scripture was part of the step that they were reading that night. It zapped my heart. I knew how much pain I had been in. And it didn’t seem humanly possible to experience joy at that same magnitude. But I wanted that more than anything. So had faith, and it kept me going.

The beautiful sunny Saturday that my family was sealed for all eternity in the temple surrounded by people that we loved, was filled with so much joy. So much that it easily consumed the worst moment of my pain.

The Atonement of Jesus Christ has the power to take away ALL things that we are unable or unwilling to bear. I am left with a memory of those moments but I don’t feel pain when I think of them anymore. I am mostly just grateful.

I think sometimes it is so easy to get caught up in the evils of the world,  Satan seems to have so much control over everything. Sometimes it can be easy to forget that our Savior has already conquered everything that Satan can throw our way. He is more powerful. Always.

There are so many things that I want to share will you,  I wish I could share the hundreds of emails that I have gotten from courageous readers that bring me to tears every.single.time. Addiction is something that effects so many peoples lives. If you have sent me a note or left a comment I want you to know how much it means to me.

I wish I could show you the healing that we have been blessed with. I want you to know that my marriage is FAR from perfect,  we still have lots and lots of problems just like everyone else.

When I am having a hard day this quote pulls me out of my sadness and renews my hope.

When in situations of stress, we wonder if there is any more in us to give. We can be comforted to know that God, who knows our capacity perfectly, placed us here to succeed. No one was foreordained to fail or be wicked. Let us remember that we were measured before and were found equal to our tasks; therefore, let us continue with a more determined discipleship. When we feel overwhelmed, let us recall the assurance that God will not over-program us; He will not press upon us more than we can bear.”
–Neal A. Maxwell

I am grateful that I have had the opportunity to share a small part of our story with the world.

I have not yet known the anguish of having lost a spouse. Or the tragedy that natural disasters leave in their wake. I am blessed to have not yet had to deal with the questions and pain and what ifs of the death a child, or a life robbing illness.

But I have had to deal with the common denominator to all of these things.

I have been pulled down into the darkest place that can exist on this earth. The thick black that will suffocate any light.

The darkness of having no hope.

Christ has saved and healed our family.

I often think about what it was like when Court was finally sober. In the very beginning we were so broken, starved for hope and had grown accustomed to the darkness. It was so easy to put aside our pride and realize how much in control of our lives the Lord truly was. I could feel his protection and his arms around me, healing me from within. Nursing our family back to health. Now we are healthy, we are grateful and we have many great adventures ahead of us. But I will never forget the feeling of complete surrender. I ache for that feeling at times.

See, the people that I spoke of just a bit ago that have had to go through things that I have not, are different from me. Their actual trials are not like mine. But all that is unique is the simple fact that we take different paths to end up in the same place; at the feet of our Savior.

Heavenly Father loves each of us enough to bless us with a way to understand the real reason that we are here, to bring us back to Him. I am grateful for addiction and tragedy. It, like a tornado, destroys our lives, and tears them completely apart. Painfully it reminds us daily of the utter mess that we have made in every single aspect of our existence. The unmanageable and complete chaos that consume everything, but because of that it also shows us that He is the ONLY ONE that can put them back together again. Stronger for next time because we have been reinforced with miracles and understanding from The One who loves us regardless of what we have done.

We all have to go through things that surely will bring us to our knees. But isn’t that the point?

I just want you to know that no matter how lost and hopeless we feel, no matter how it seems like NO ONE can understand the hurt that we live with, no matter what type of demons are knocking at our door; PLEASE understand that there is hope, always.

LDS Family Services just released a new manual and started a new support group for the families of those that are addicts. It is such an amazing meeting. If you are in a situation where you could use some support and someone to help you understand how to help your addict these meeting will give you invaluable insight.

The post My Real Life Story Part 6: My Joy appeared first on Vintage Revivals.

So. Some of you (probably not many cause I only had like 500 followers last December) might remember our family pictures from last year.

Really, you will want to enlarge that.

I promise.

We have been prepping for this years epic family photo. Court and I went to the DI yesterday in search of some awesome apparel. We totally scored.

I just had to share my boots with you, cause they are my favorite find.

The post Those are HOT. appeared first on Vintage Revivals.

He says he is throwing EVERYTHING away! So now I have to help him clean it to save ”The Hoard” as he so lovingly calls it.

Join us on our adventure over on the Vintage Revivals Facebook Fan Page. You can help me convince him to keep junk I love, see whats going on Craigslist and feel better about the state of your garage!!

We’ve already had this convo this morning…

Court: I am throwing away those bags of clothes.

Me: No you cant! They are too small for Ivie but too big for Dylan. We have to save them.

Court: Nope they are going

Me: There is no where else to put them

Court: How about in the top of the closets?

Me: They need to be in storage bins

Court: Then do it!

Me: I don’t have any money.

Court: Cause you keep feeding the Hoard.

I just walked away laughing cause it is SOOO true!

LOL he just walked by and said “Must conquer the Hoard.”

The post AHHHHH! Save My Crap! appeared first on Vintage Revivals.

Friends! I have missed you!! Thanks so much for the emails and tweets wondering if I am alright and telling me that your lives are not complete without regular Vintage Revivals posts. You guys make me feel way more important that I really am…

So here is the question of the day.

What do you do when you are feeling not-in-the-least inspired?

How do you get your creative mojo back?

There are tons of people that generate creativity by browsing their fave blogs, hanging out on pintrest, reading mags etc.

When I hit a creative block I just shut everything down.

No blogs, no pintrest, no nothin.

Am I crazy? Well, that is a different post in itself…

The reason that I do this is totally selfish.

I want you to come to Vintage Revivals to get ideas that you haven’t seen anywhere else. I mean yes, there are absolutely things here that I have knocked off from someone amazing, but as I am growing my style and growing my voice I want it to be as pure and inspired and organically Mandi as it can be.

Is this starting to feel like a Kashi commercial?

If I sit for hours on pintrest I can totally come up with projects but they are not MINE. Does that make sense?

So I don’t force it. And you shouldn’t either.

If I want to spend time with my girls making s’more popcorn and pipe cleaner bracelets then that’s what I am going to be doing.

So after a week or 2 off I have a whole new room design that is AWESOME and original and motivates ME to get working again.

Also.

Did you know that I have the most amazing husband in the world? Really I do. Tonight at 6:30 I told him I wanted to get a wall in our bedroom done. (something that I have been putting off since the beginning of June.) Instead of getting frustrated with me because there is weeks worth of laundry to do, he understands that sometimes I need to create to clear my head. So he proceeds to bust out the ladder and the saw with only 45 minutes until he has to leave for a meeting. I love him so dang much.

And just so you don’t think all I have been doing is watching weeks worth of DVRed shows and eating lots and lots of popcicles,

This is what we have been up to this week…

Only the most important thing that will ever happen to our little family….EVER.

(I am working on writing part 6 of My Real Life Story that will talk about this special day a little more.)

There were lots of preparations made, dresses sewn for the girls (out of my wedding dress, and no I am not doing a tutorial on it cause all of the real life sewers would burn me at the stake immediately.) Then Ivie’s dress was resewn…3 times…until it was just right.

So I hope that you will take a little time for yourself to recharge, how ever that may be.

And really I want to know what inspires you, so leave a comment about it alright?

The post Why I Have Been MIA, A Little Insight Into My Brain. appeared first on Vintage Revivals.

I have the best husband in the entire world.

Literally we have been to Hell and back together. If you don’t believe me read my Real Life Story.

He is the most perfect soul in the world for me and I am so blessed that he is going to be mine forever. Sorry ladies;)

Court is the most supportive man in the entire world. He hasn’t missed one of my tv appearances. Everyone just knows that he is my handy man assistant…

Sometimes it doesn’t work out so well though…watch my last Studio 5 show if you don’t believe me.

He is super strong and mucho sexy.

He lets me decorate however I want and is ALWAYS there to help me (even when he would rather be golfing)

He doesn’t get mad that I am not so slowly filling our garage up with furniture we will never be able to fit in our house…

I love that every Wed. and Sun. I get to hear him share his testimony of Christ and share hope of recovery with other addicts.

I also think its so awesome that he reads my blog, and tells me when I am whack.

He is my very Best Friend in the entire world.

He is the funnest Dad on the planet. Lately we have been outside when he gets home from work super late, the girls literally bounce all the way to his car.

Love you more than anything Court, Happy Fathers Day!

The post Don’t Be Jealous But… appeared first on Vintage Revivals.

This week I am guest judging over at The CSI Project. Have you ever been over there? It’s a contest linky party with a weekly theme ran by Tatertot Jen and Becky @ Infarrantly Creative. The prize is a cute button for your blog and the satisfaction that you rock. The theme this week is:

How perfect is that? I have seen your awesome garage sale/thrift store makeovers so here is my idea…don’t tell anyone this, its just between me and my readers. I would love to have all VR gals in the top 10 so lets blow this linky out of the water alright?

I will post a link when the contest goes live on Wed.

And I had the funnest weekend. Most of my fam came down from SLC for my cousins wedding. We spent the entire night dancing and laughing.

I went with my sistur and her friend to watch his sister play softball in the Special Olympics. I am so excited to introduce you to her next monday.

I went golfing with the hubs, sistur and future brotha (just kidding Stephen…maybe, Insert snap dance.) and it was so much fun.

The weather was perfection.

That afternoon we went to the main street splash pad and I had this overwhelming feeling of gratitude. Gratitude for my wonderful family, for my beautiful daughters, my husband who works so hard, for my faith, and that I am lucky to live in such a great community. The only thing that could have made it better was is if Court could have been there with us instead of at the restaurant

Do you have moments like that where you almost want to cry because you are just so grateful? Tell me about them!!

The post I Want To Judge You and Weekend Gratitude appeared first on Vintage Revivals.