Refurb $8 Yard Sale Table

I found this little side table at a local yard sale for $8. Since this was my first sand and repaint job, I was hesitant to buy anything bigger & more expensive. This table looked like the perfect job. Call me, Danny Ocean. I've got the perfect plan and assembled the perfect sidekicks (aka spray paints).

I know what you're thinking, "Are those doilies?" Yes, yes they are. And they were glued down. Why someone thought that was a good idea is beyond me. What good do glued down doilies do? A 90 year old woman must've been afraid her doilies were going to run away. But I digress. I ripped the doilies off, used a knife to peel off the leftover glue, and sanded the whole table down. Here's where I am now:

I had the joy of wearing a mask and attempting to breath on this muggy February Florida day while sanding and spray painting this afternoon. Next up came priming and painting. I've been doing my research on spray painting versus brush painting, and spray painting is the best option to avoid lines (as long as you spray properly). I chose a cream for the table because I thought straight white would be too harsh and wouldn't fit in with my decor. I then created a floral stencil from an image I found online. Click here for the quick run down on how I managed this AMAZING feat. (Pretend you're impressed...pretty please?)

Here's my final product and the spray paints I used:

I actually think it didn't turn out half bad! I couldn't get all of the glue off from the doilies, so the spray paint is a little messed up, but it could be a lot worse. Now all I need to do is learn how to sew and finish reupholstering my favorite reading chair (It's currently in pieces strewn about our back patio), so I can pop this little beauty in my reading nook.



Here's a breakdown of my costs:

Table: $8 (It's probably worth less, but the sale was for a local charity, so I didn't feel right bargaining them down)
Spray Paint: $8 (I used primer & two mini spray paints that I had from my Painted Geese project)
Stencil: $0
Hobby Knife: $3
Mask & Safety Goggles: $9
Lowe's cheap-o Tool belt: $.98

Total Cost: $28.98 (Loving the 10% military discount at Lowe's right about now!)

Now that I'm accumulating various assorted DIY accessories

Where Have I Been?

Dear Blog Readers,

My apologies for pulling a Harry Houdini on you. I'm back now with a new attitude, a new house, a new kitten, and a new DIY/baking/decorating obsession.

I know many of you have been wondering where this obsession desire came from. I can narrow it down to two key factors; cable television and our new house.

Until January 2011, I had lived without cable for over a year, and not felt like I was missing out on much. When we moved into our new house, we opted into cable tv, and I haven't been able to pull myself from HGTV. Glorious! As for the new house factor, this one has a much better layout and color scheme than the old one (brown walls and dark purple carpet don't brighten anything up). I could wax poetic about our new place for hours, so, instead, I'll show you a few of my most recent projects that it inspired, from completely from scratch cupcakes to chair reupholstering!

Valentine's Day Cupcakes (2.5 hours to bake & decorate with my new Wilton cake decorator!!)

Brass Spray Painted Geese, adding bit of color to my bookcase (I'm sorry, dear audience members, but I forgot to do a "Before" shot).

Before: Craigslist chairs ($50 for all 5!)

After: Reupholstered and lookin' good. Think I'll leave the wood as-is for now, though. Thoughts?

I have new projects on my To Do list, and will update my blog with them and many of my other life observations as they arise.

Stay Tuned!

**I'm officially on the hunt for new refurb/DIY ideas, so if anyone has something they've repainted, reupholstered, refurbished, handmade, poured their hearts into, I'd love to see it! And any blogs, websites, magazines, etc that can offer inspiration or how-tos pass along my way. One of my current faves is Young House Love. (Thanks to Stacey for sending YHL to me!)

Yay Heart Health!

I swear a new (real) post is in the works and will be posted in the next couple of days!

Grocery Bag Bunny-trooper

I had a flashback tonight to the many times when I was a wee one and tried to make a parachute out of a grocery bag. When I say "make" I mean that I tied it to my poor, soon-to-be-smashed-into-the-hardwood bunny. She plummeted to her death with her short life passing before her bead-y eyes, and all I could think was, "maybe this time she'll survive!" You would think after years of failed attempts I would have stopped, but I continued to do something over and over again, expecting different results. What am I saying? I'm saying that, according to Albert Einstein, I am insane.

He's judging me with his eyes...

My poor bunny suffered through multiple skydiving sessions over the years, countless broken bones and serious brain damage. Why would I torture her so? Because someone was foolish enough to let me roam free in the drugstore toy aisle where I stumbled upon a pack of toy paratroopers. How come the toy paratroopers floated so gracefully to the ground, but my bunny fell to the ground before gravity even had a chance to blink? How dare those foolish, colorful men were better at floating like a butterfly than my beautiful, pink bunny! Stupid little men. 18 years later, they still taunt me...

Write It Now

Why have I been MIA for the past 2 weeks? Honestly, I froze. I hit a wall when it comes to my blog. I was hearing from a few family and friends that people were really enjoying it, but I still couldn't come up with anything. I'm a racing horse who has won a few Saratoga races, but refuses to leave the gate at The Derby. Crumble under pressure much?

I've been checking books out of the library on writing inspiration and writing styles in an attempt to get myself restarted. A few gave me some topics that I'd like to explore more in depth, but, up until today, I hadn't read anything that really got me going. While at the library, I try to look for books that aren't so much about technique or "rules", but more about inspiring the reader to flesh out the ideas in his/her brain. My latest batch of books has been especially helpful, and in the first lines of one I found what I needed to write (at least) this post. "The only way to begin is to begin, and begin right now...I have no doubt the day is coming when you will be wiser or better informed or more highly skilled than you are now, but you will never be more ready to begin writing than you are right this minute." (The Modern Library Writer's Workshop, Stephen Koch) Cliche attack - there is no better time than the present. Stop watching tv, intensely surfing Facebook, and get your hand out of that bag of chips. Start now. Whether it be writing or some other venture you've been thinking about for weeks, months, or years.

I am still embarrassed to tell people I hardly know that I write a blog, or even to drop the comment "I wrote about that recently in my blog" at a gathering of friends, but the whole reason I started this blog was to let myself go and write whatever I want, whenever I want. I'm here to refine my writing skills, and if people are entertained or bored, I want their feedback. There's no reason to hide out for weeks after getting negative or positive feedback, but to take that information and run with it. Tweak (thanks, Mom) something that's good to make it great, and fix something that's bad to make it work.

This has been a lot of "me" talk, but it applies to anyone who is struggling with their fear of actually putting words, thoughts, feelings onto paper and sharing it with the public. The only way you can get better is to get the information out of your head, and into the minds of others. No one can get better by keeping everything bottled up. You've got to share yourself with others at some point in order to improve.

The takeaway principle from the first few pages* of Koch's book, which is useful no matter what you're writing is simply this;

write it now

*I will admit that I have only gotten through the first few pages before realizing that I really should "write it now".

Also, I'm sorry there are no pictures in this post. I couldn't think of anything pertinent. Please, don't hate me. WAIT --

How can you stay mad at that face?