Hand Painted Anchor Table

So I'm not sure about everyone else, but I think I had the best weekend I've had in a while! Such a beautiful 3 day weekend full of friends and family. I took a nice little break from blogging and simply relaxed. It was fabulous!! Now that I'm all recharged, I am here and ready to post another project. If you are into the beachy/nautical craze that I am going through right now, you might like this post. It's all about my new hand painted anchor side table. Here is a peak of the final product:

This is how it first started out...

It all began a few years ago when I discovered some old cabinet doors that needed some sprucing. It was not a table at this point, but I had an idea and went with it. Soon after, I found some old banisters that were just about the right height for some legs. A few trim pieces later, a side table was born! With a lot of help from my dad of course;) This was back in college when I was around 19 or so and it's stayed with me ever since! After years of moving houses and growing up, I eventually lost the spark I initially had for this little table. Over time, I found other pieces that I like better and it pretty much always lost the battle of "Do I like {this} better, or do I like {that} better?" Like I said... it normally lost out and always got shuffled to another place that was "less" important. This table meant a lot to me though and I knew I didn't want to get rid of it. It was one of the first DIY projects I had created with my dad and I just didn't want to see it go. I knew it needed a makeover because I needed to regain that love I once had!

After some debating, I eventually decided I wanted it on my porch. Although I've already posted on my {mostly finished} porch, I'm always working on making it more "me". This table was a perfect fit and just needed a bit of paint and love. I found a navy{ish} blue paint spray at wal-mart and got to work. 

This was far too bright for the direction I wanted to take it, so of course I added some antiquing glaze. You can find this at most local home improvement stores. A little bit goes a long way so I was able to use some I already had. You also might notice I didn't paint the legs. Well thats because they will be covered up and I didn't want to waste any paint if it wouldn't even be seen. Cheap... I know. As much as I like the legs on this table, they were a bit too chunky for the space and just didn't work.

Here is the top of the table after an intense glazing session. Much better, right??? Not as bright and shiny as before. I applied the glaze mainly in the corners and also generally throughout the top as well. 

As you might see, I also used an old drop cloth as the skirt. This side of it had been painted on, so I simply flipped it over and used the other side. It was already the perfect size, so luckily I didn't have to do much. After the top was painted, I began stapling on the skirt. By leaving about an inch as a "ruffle" along the top, it hid the staples along with adding a cute little decorative touch. 

I then began painting on the anchor image. I found a vector image online of an anchor shape that I was happy with and printed it off. I then simply cut it out and traced it lightly onto the table. It didn't show up well since I used a pencil, but all I needed was a general guideline, so it was ok. Most of the anchor was dry brushed on because I didn't want it to be perfect looking. I wanted that aged look, so the dry brush technique was the best solution. I also used the antiquing glaze a little bit over the finished anchor because the cream colored paint was just too bright. 

After the anchor was painted, I took a small piece of sand paper and scraped up the edges a bit. Then, I was done! So what to you think of the final product?

I hope ya'll enjoyed my makeover and had a great holiday weekend. I also got this little cutie today. We adopted her from a local shelter and named her Bailey {short for Baylor}. She's a 5 week old fur ball and just too sweet. I'm normally allergic to most animals, but haven't had a reaction yet, so cross your fingers I won't be allergic!!!

Happy Tuesday everyone!

How To: Age Wood

A few weeks ago I posted about my recent { DIY Factory Cart Table }. During that process, I discovered an amazing process to aging wood.  In the past when I needed to age wood for a project, I typically grew impatient and didn't put in the time or effort to do it right. I did the whole {hit it with a hammer} trick, and called it quits. I blame it mainly on my laziness and desire to finish the project quickly, but after researching actual vintage pieces, I really grew a true love for the real thing. But... as we all know,  sometimes you just can't always get the real thing. That's when I knew I needed to dedicate the time to more authentic process.

I will warn you that this process isn't as short and sweet as we all might hope, but it will be worth it, I promise!!! Below is my step by step process:

What you will need:

 

- Decking wood

- Hammer, or any hard object to hit or scrape against the wood

- Sand paper or electric sander (or both!)

- Stain

- Rubber gloves 

- Old rag or brush for stain

Step by Step:

1. Buy decking wood at your local home improvement store. I chose the most beat up pieces - chipped edges, knots, holes, you name it. If the wood looked bad, I bought it! I also used the pieces with the stamps showing from the lumber yard. It adds to the vintage feel:)

2. The edges at the end of the wood are not rounded out like the rest of the wood. I hammered these down to give it a vintage feel and also to match the rest of the wood.

3. I then began to beat the wood with any tool I could find - hammers, screw drivers, anything I could find. I scrapped, hit, and dropped. Basically, I beat up the wood as much as I could without breaking it. I will warn you that it might look like you have aged it too much, but keep calm, it will sand down later if it's too much. Some of the aging was done in random patterns, but other areas I made tighter patterns. Imagine if you found some old wood laying in a barn. It's knocked around for years, and some damage is random, but other damage is focused into one area. That's exactly what I wanted my wood to look and feel like - old, weathered and worn.

4. Once the aging process was finished, I began to stain the wood. I used a combination of a dark and light stain. I started with a lighter stain and then layered the dark stain on top. I didn't use the dark stain in all of the areas because I wanted it to look natural. Also, make sure to let the dark stain seep into the holes and cracks of the wood. Before it totally dried, I blended them together in certain areas. By doing this blending method, you get a high variety of tone in the wood. You can use a brush to apply the stain or an old rag - either will work, but make sure to wear some heavy duty rubber gloves so you don't stain your hands!

5. I then began sanding off some of the stain in random areas. More concentrated in some areas, and more rare in others. I focused sanding on the edges and corners as well to really enhance the vintage look.

6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 until you get your desired look. If you over sand in step number 5, no problem, just add a bit more stain until you are happy with the final result. 

7. Step back, and enjoy!

{ And here is the before once more }

{ And the after! }

So I hope this will help you during your future projects! I know the next time I'll be aging wood, I will for sure put in all the time and effort needed in order to make it look completely authentic. It's always worth it in the end:)

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Eye Candy to *swoon* Over

Hello all! Hope everyone has had a beautiful weekend so far. Today I'm going to give y'all some eye candy to drool over for the week. There are just too many beautiful homes out there not to share! Some of these inspirations are from Pinterest, but a lot are also from Pottery Barn. Yes... I got the new catalog this week and I've already looked through it twice. As much as I wish I had enough money to buy out the entire store, I'm also kind of thankful I don't. I'm forced to be more creative knowing I have to make things on my own - it's just more fun that way! I also plan on posting a {Pottery Barn Do's & Don't} post with tips on what to buy and what to find imitations of. That will probably be coming next week though, so make sure to come back to check it out. For now, I will just show you all of the pretty pretty pictures! Enjoy:)

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I have told myself that one day I will own this Seagrass sectional from Pottery Barn. I don't care what it takes, or how long it takes for me to obtain it, but I will own it. I'm just sayin... When the day comes that I finally post about my new couch, I will link it back to this post. I'm a girl on a mission. I NEED THIS!

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Ooo so prettyyyy. All the rope, all the beachy beautifulness. {yes, I know that's not a real word} Looks like another Lowes trip is in order to find, buy, and age some rope. 

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This settee is a little hint on a recent find of mine. No, it's not this exact one, but I can drool right??

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So I am totally in love with navy right now. This is just one of the photos that has inspired me to paint our guest bathroom navy. Just another project to add to the list!

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Yupp. More navy. This canopy bed is what I would like to do for our master bedroom. Been trying to figure out how to configure it for a while, but I'm still working on it. We'll see if it actually happens.

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Oh the colors!! Love the sea foam and orange together. Such a happy color scheme.

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Yes please! I just can't get over this kitchen. *swoon*

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 Coral, cream, and navy blue.  No wonder I'm in love with this room!!

Alrighty folks, that's it for today! I've got so much fun stuff coming up though. I went antique shopping with my mother-n-law this weekend and found so much great stuff! I'm also about to head on over to Home Goods later this afternoon. yippeeee! Hope everyone has a great Sunday ~ adios!

Frame it up!

Hey guys - so as I promised I am back with more projects! This time it's a small little makeover, but none the less, it's still a project! This was so simple to do and really made such a big difference. When I made over my {laundry room} a few weeks ago, I stole a piece of artwork I had hanging in the kitchen. I now had a blank wall in my kitchen that needed to be filled. And as we all know, you can't just leave a wall blank! Especially when you had something there already. It just looked naked and incomplete, so I had to fix it.

As you can see in the {before} picture below, I was going to use this frame in my laundry room, but when everything was finished, it just wasn't tall enough. It was however the perfect size for a small wall in our kitchen. So I made a swap! But before I could actually hang it in it's new home, I had to make some drastic changes. Below is a short how-to on my makeover.

{Before}

{ After }

 

Supply list:

1. Frame - new or old (mine happened to be a vintage frame)

2. Spray paint - I used a matte white

3. Swatch of fabric - large enough to fit the frame

4. Staple gun and staples

5. Wooden spoons - I found mine at Marshalls

6. Hanging nails (for spoons to sit on)

Below is a short step-by-step of my process:

{Step 1 - Tape off what you don't want painted} 

This frame had a canvas border (which I LOVED) so I taped it off

{ Step 2 - Spray paint remaining frame }

{ Step 3 - Sand edges down to your preference } 

Any type of sand paper will work. I just used what I had on hand.

{ Step 4 - Cut fabric to fit the back of frame, pull tight & staple }

I already had this fabric and since the frame wasn't very large, I was able to use leftover scraps.

{ Step 5 - Hang frame & nail in wooden spoons }

I nailed the hanging nails directly into the wall through the fabric. It seemed to work just fine!

 

So what do you think?? It seems to fit the space well, and was a very cheap project considering I already had all my supplies on hand. Hope you all enjoyed and had a great week!

Project Schedule - Don't miss out!

Hello all! So I know I haven't been able to post a new project since last week's {Factory Cart Post}, but things have been super busy around here lately! Work has been crazy busy, and on top of that, I have had a few {mini} projects going on around the house. BUT, don't worry my friends - I have not forgotten about you! I have gathered up a few sneak peek's of what I will be posting for you all in the upcoming days/weeks. Some projects are small and some are large. Make sure to come back to see what I've got going on! And remember folks, I'm still what I call a {baby} blogger, so make sure to follow along if you like what you see!!

These are not in any particular order because... well... I'm just not that organized yet! Sorry guys, I'm getting there! At least I've got a list, so thats a start - right?


1.) Painted Outdoor Rug

Ok guys, so I am very excited about this one! I follow a very popular blog called {Addicted 2 Decorating} and she recently posted about a DIY outdoor rug. I am ALL about painting anything I can get my hands on. I paint furniture, art, walls, fabric, you name it. I guess thats just the artist in me - give me a brush and I'm off! I have been wanting to paint a rug FOREVER, but never found one cheap enough. Well, I will let you know that {A2D} has found the CHEAPEST rug at Home Depot for only $17! ahh I was jumping up and down when I saw this. I have already ordered 2 of them for my patio and hope to get them in soon. Make sure to check out her post {HERE}. And below is what I'm going to paint mine as. Of course, nautical navy stripes. What else???

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2.) Chevron  Curtians

As you might have seen from some previous posts of mine {HERE} & {HERE}, I have some yellow painted chevron curtains hanging in my formal dining and living room. Now didn't I tell you I will paint anything I can get my hands on? And yes, I won't count curtains out either. This will be a fun post because as long as you've got some patience, it will be super easy. Anyone can do it - no problem:)

3.) Outdoor {Hand Painted} Nautical Table

This project actually turned out much better than I anticipated. So much so that I really don't want to put it on my porch. It's actually sitting in my living room right now because I don't want it to get weathered... Oh boy. I'm silly. But yes, if you are into nautical or navy as much as I am, you might enjoy this side table makeover. This table was actually built by my dad and I many years ago out of an old cabinet door and some old posts as legs. I just might have to write up a little how-to on that as well:)

And here she is before her makeover! Man, looks like I've used that dropcloth for a lot of projects!

You might be asking yourself... why is she posting a picture of an another old dropcloth? Well, well, well my friends, this old {paint stained} dropcloth will be used for the makeover as well. Yes, paint stained and all!

4.) Vintage Frame Makeover

My sweet sweet mother-n-law gave me an old vintage frame that she found in the garage a few months ago. It was brown and not quite my style. With just a little paint and fabric, I transformed it into something more my taste.

Here is the before - this was taken before my {Laundry Room Makeover}.

5.) Backyard Additions

I posted a few weeks ago about my {Porch Makeover}, but even since then I have changed it up a bit. I know, I know... It's only been a few weeks and I've already mix it up again. What can I say?? I like change every now and then;) I mean, everything can always improve, right?

We also have been in the process of adding "fluff" to our pool area as well. And by "fluff" I mean furniture, pillows, flowers, etc.

Below is one of our {unfinished} additions - a side table that will be used between our layout chairs by our pool. This thrifty find was also found on {A2D}. Found at Home Depot for $14!

So I hope you are looking forward to my lineup! Those are just a few of the projects I will be posting - there will be even more than that, so don't miss out!  Happy Wednesday everyone!

A Feature at Knock Off Decor!

Hello all! Well today is another beautiful day for a fun feature:) Last week I finally finished up my DIY Factory Cart Table and wrote up a little { how-to } post on our design & building process. After talking with Beckie from Knock Off Decor, she was sweet enough to feature the project!



 I was so so so excited when I found out because I have been getting ideas from her blog for so long now. I seriously couldn't believe one of my projects made it!!! I hope you all get a chance to hop on over to check it out. She has so many great knock off projects from places like Restoration Hardware, Horchow, Ballard Designs, and so much more. Enjoy!! Click { HERE } to visit the feature.