A Boy's Desk

This student desk had definitely seen better days and it took me quite a while to fill in the scratches and smooth the top out completely.  But I've finally finished.  Here's how it looked before...

The white stuff at the bottom is overspray from my spray gun.  I didn't really care as I thought I was going to end up throwing it out.

(Depends on which David you're talking about, although I don't mind Eminem.)

After lots of sprucing and Mod Podge-ing...

The paper that I picked out for the front...

Am I the last person who knew what Instagram was?  I've just discovered it and couldn't help myself.

I was completely lost as to what type of fabric to use to line the drawers.  I searched everywhere for a fabric that would look cool but not be too busy as to clash with the drawer front.  My Mum suggested old jeans (washed of course).  I kinda dig it, but I'm not too sure yet.  I just placed this bit inside to see what it looked like.  What do you think?

The top just needs one more coat but we have been having crap weather at the moment.  I LOVE winter but it does have it's restrictions.

I'm hoping that whoever the desk's new owner will be that they won't attack it with a knife like the last owner.  I'd hate to see my glossy top ruined :(

My poor blog has been so neglected over the past few weeks with rehearsals and then school holidays.  The kids have just gone back to school this week but over the holidays I was *ahem* instructed that I had to remodel their big dollhouse to suit their Monster High dolls (which they are absolutely nuts about).  I must say I have really enjoyed redecorating it and "gothing" it up.  Makes a nice change from the typical Barbie pink and plastic.  It is still a work in progress and is taking me a little longer than expected (because I'm too fussy).  I have made lots of things out of recycled materials etc.  I will have some photos to post very soon.

Hope you all enjoy your weekend.

Megs x

My Mini Makeovers for Under $10

These are a couple of small makeovers I did the other day.  I was so sure I had taken proper "before" photos but I can't find them anywhere!  I'm losing my mind.  Anyhoo, I came across a couple of accidental ones.

Firstly, here's a lamp that was given to me that had been severely hit with the ugly stick.  The photo is really bad but I had to crop it quite subtantially to get a close up of it.  But be it near or far, it was still butt ugly.

I was going to attempt to recover the shade but it had almost a carpet-like texture and I thought it would test my patience too much.  After some spray paint and a new lamp shade I got from Target for $9 here is it how it looks now:

It'll look perfect in my home office once I've finished doing it up (photos soon).

Next up is an old cane chair I found by the roadside.  I LOVE these chairs and funnily enough had been looking for one to go into the office.

Again, the photo is terrible, but it's the only one I could find to show you the colour it was at least (excuse the shoulder)...

Now sprayed white, but still with the hole in the seat...

I initially wanted to make a cushion cover with a zip and everything, but it wasn't to be after I tried getting my head around how to make it.  So I cut a piece of board, cut my foam and sewed the front of my cheap Ikea fabric to tidy it up and make it look like a "box", then stapled underneath.

After it was all done, I changed my mind and put it in my 7 year old daughter's bedroom and it looks terrific!

Side on...

See at the bottom right leg where the cane has come away?  I didn't know how to fix it and frankly I didn't really care, neither does my daughter.  It still looks great in her room :)  I might attempt this a bit later down the track.

It's far from perfect I know, but I love it AND it all fit perfectly within my price range :)

Megs x

Indi's Dresser

A while back a friend mentioned how much she admired my blue side table I did last year.  She had asked me how I did it and after I told her she must have come to the conclusion that she didn't have the time or inclination so she commissioned me to do a dresser for her in the same finish for her daughter.

The before...

It was really easy to work with as it didn't have any paint to strip nor did it have any varnish or stain to strip off.  This is what I did over the Easter weekend:

The table top originally had two square chunks taken out at the back where there obviously used to be a mirror.  Rather than try to block them up, which would have really stuck out like dog's you-know-whats after staining, I decided to cut it back therefore bringing the top back a little and having it all squared off nicely.  It meant the part at the front hanging over was shorter, but it still looks good.

The colour I used is Aquajet by Solvers.  I then rubbed a walnut stain over the top to dull it down as it's very bright.  I used Ash Brown stain for the top.

The original handles were a poo brown colour so I sprayed them black.  Much nicer.

I had this fabric in my collection which I thought would be perfect for a 7 year old girl.

One happy customer!

I am working on a couple of desks at the moment that I'm hoping to have finished in the next week or so.

There is still a mountain of projects sitting out there screaming at me to finish them, but now with rehearsals taking up my time and school holidays I just can't seem to finish anything.  My New Years resolution was to have everything done and cleared out of my garage by the end of April.  Yeah pfft.  Not gonna happen.

Megs x