Union Jack Dresser!

My Union Jack!! 

I picked up this little beauty at a garage sale and it was just screaming for a makeover and what better than a UNION JACK...I mean look at it what a perfect candidate! 

SO although its shape was perfect it had its flaws the sides and bottom had a veneer that was all chipped and cracked and the top had major steam damage and quite a few scratches, lets just say I had my work cut out form me! Once I repaired the veneer I sanded down the top to find BEAUTIFUL wood which I decided to stain a lovely dark walnut......Here it is painted a navy blue (pre-stain)

LOOK AT THAT WOOD!!!

Then I got to work with my design.......AND here it is folks! 

 A few close ups......

Now keep in mind this is a VINTAGE hand painted piece so yeah it has its flaws but that's why I love it!!!

Bookshelf to Bar

So this past weekend while garage sailing with my mom (one of my favorite weekend activities) I came across a random piece ..I am calling it a bookshelf because I think that is what it used to be??? AND it was only $2.00!!!! At first glimpse I did not have a clue what to do with it but it was only $2.00 so obviously I bought it...so after some thought mom and I thought i would make a great floating bar/shelf ..only it needed some minor modifications!! So we decided to build a glass rack on the bottom to hang fun eclectic glasses on. Here she is upside down in the construction process:

We started by flipping the shelf upside down and constructing the glass rack. We had some wooden stakes left over from a previous project so that's what we used for the wood. Being that we had never done this before we got one of our margarita glasses to use as a spacer, then we started cutting the pieces and believe it or not the spacing worked out perfect!!

We glued the wood in place then nailed it with a nail gun. Then it was time to sand this little beauty down....

Here it is again right side up and ready for paint! 

We decided to do a bright turquoise paint with a navy glaze using paint from Lowe's, we chose Olympic ONE in Safe Harbor with an eggshell finish and Valspar Signature Color Tintable Glaze in Royal Navy. 

Once the piece was painted and glazed (and dried for one day) we distressed the finish slightly! 

We plan on screwing this directly into the wall so that it appears as a floating "BAR" and the glasses can then hang from the bottom! 

I just love the way it turned out and can not wait to hang it up. 

Here is a close up of the finish:

Bunk Bed Re-Do

This bunk bed was a fabulous Craigslist find but it needed a little styling help and I couldn't wait to get started! So I was off to Home Depot for supplies ..... I purchased BEHR Interior/Exterior Oil-Base Semi-Gloss Enamel paint in a bright red and BEHR Premium Plus with style FAUX GLAZE which I had mixed in Black. Here's what they should look like: 

Next I started out by painting the entire bed in the red oil-based paint ...just a side note I was not a huge fan of the oil-based paint I found it hard to work with and I am not sure if it was worth it. I know it is technically suppose to be more durable but I don't know if I would use it again..I think water based would work fine especially for this distressed look. OH and also it takes WAY longer to dry.

 So once you have everything is painted with your base color and its its all dry you are ready for your glaze!! YAY! 

If you have never used glaze this is a great tutorial  http://www.sawdustandembryos.com/2011/08/furniture-glazing-tutorial.html

I used an old sock for a rag and just rubbed a heavy amount on a small area at a time then wiped it with another rag (this one was damp). Work in smaller areas because the glaze will dry fairly quick. Do this process until you have glazed everything. Here is a picture of mine in the works: (notice I am working inside because I live in Texas and well its summer so you figure that out)

I should tell you that these bunk beds are going in a "bunk-room" to be used as guest beds that will not necessarily be used for small children so I decided to remove the side rails from the upper bunk by simply removing the top two bars (see below) to make them look bigger and more "adult like*" 

*can bunk beds look adult like??

Anyway...

.Just unscrew the bold and the top bars will come right off

Here is what the bed looks like without the side rails and almost

finished: 

I still need to fill some holes, do some touch up painting, (I scratched it a few times moving it upstairs) get mattresses, attach the ladder, oh and style the bed of course! Once that's all done I will upload the finished product! 

NOW GO CHECK CRAIGSLIST! 

End Table Turned Puppy Palace!

I finished this project a while back and actually sold it this summer, however I wanted to share this fun project! As you know my passion is to transform ugly things into fabulous statement pieces..as I did here. Unfortunately I do not have before pictures for this one but hopefully you will get the idea anyway. Start with an old funky end table from a garage sale, thrift store, craigslist, or even the dumpster (you might laugh but that's actually where mine came from) Hey another mans trash ...well....becomes another persons fabulous pet bed in this case! 
For those of you wondering what I did about the actual bed bed part or the cushion here is what I did... I was lucky because in this particular bed a standard pillow fit perfectly!! Can you believe it :) So all I had to do was sew a simple pillow case that was removable (so its washable ..trust me make it washable) Anyone with basic sewing skills can accomplish this however you could also use a standard pillow case from any store. (Look for a random fun pattern on clearance somewhere,, you only need one). 

GET CRAFTY PEOPLE!!!!

oh and here is the finished project again without my scribbles :)