Dress(er) You Up With My Love

This week, Steve and I undertook a pretty hefty project (for us).

We bought an old oak dresser and refinished it.

Slap a little paint, drill some hardware, load ‘er up with clothes, and you’re good to go, right?

Oh no. This was an endeavor. As in, I lost my sh*t probably three times a night for an entire week kind of endeavor.

This post isn’t a tutorial on painting, because this project was a big learning experience for me. Mostly it’s a post to show everyone point A and point Z and nothing about how we got from one to the next.

Painting a large piece of furniture is a labor of hate love. You paint a coat, wait a day, sand/buff it out. Repeat. Four times.

Next is going through the meticulous process of attaching the hardware. Let me tell you – that is a lot tougher than it seems. There is a strong likelihood that you will throw at least one drawer and drill down the hallway in frustration. That’s a good time to stop working and have a Popsicle. Or if you aren’t suffering from constant sobriety, a hearty glass of wine.

All that being said, the final result was worth the hard work.

Getting started.

Final result.

Hardware pulls, Amerock brand, were purchased from Miner’s Hardware.

This little handle was purchased from Anthropologie. Definitely worth the splurge of $12.

Drawer liners are an inexpensive way to add a nice personal touch to your dresser. I found this and many other amazing patterns here.

While I was at it, I put together a little storage cabinet to use too. I used the extra drawer liners to back the cubes that are exposed.

I raided some items from my childhood to help stock the nursery. I’m sure the kid is going to LOVE outdated junk from the early 1980s. I mean, who wouldn’t?

And our cat still seems to think the room is being redone just for him.

Cardboard Safari

Our nursery’s theme is something along the lines of woodland creatures. So far I’ve only been working on sewing projects for the space, so up to this point it looks like a showroom for my novice skillz.

Yeah, that’s right.

Skillz with a Z. Get over it.

Anyway, the room is in dire needs of wall art. I have a few ideas in mind, but while ruminating on those, I came across Cardboard Safari.

This little business makes animal busts out of cardboard that you assemble and hang on your wall. Talk about whimsical fun!

Image c/o Cardboard Safari

So, I ordered a small buck bust for the nursery. When it arrived, I assembled it and it seemed…. unfinished.

I contemplated what to do. Do I cover it with paper? Do I decorate it with a bedazzler?

I eventually opted for the high-risk route of painting it.

Paint + cardboard = certain disaster, right?

At first, I felt like I made a huge mistake. As in, I almost threw the whole thing into the garbage a few times. Each side took three layers of paint, and I was certain the whole thing would turn out terribly.

However, I stuck with it. Tenacity, am-I-right?

I’m glad I did – the project actually turned out pretty well.

The moisture of the paint did warp one or two of the cardboard pieces just a tiny bit (where they bowed in a certain direction), but that was straightened out once painting was finished and I reassembled the bust.

I think the final result adds a fun element to the nursery.

I used Martha Stewart’s craft paint in Satin, color Surf.

Avian Abode

For the past month or two, Beverly’s has featured a customized Mod Podge birdhouse project. After walking by it for weeks on end, reaching the point of being inappropriate, I decided to pick up the brochure and materials to make one for my grandmother’s birthday.

Step 1: Paint birdhouse

Step 2: Apply Washi tape

Step 3: Paint fine coat of Mod Podge & colorful twine.

Step 4: Gift away