Furniture Flip

I've been really into the show Flea Market Flip lately and it inspired me to make a flip of my own. For a while now, I've been looking for a dresser for my bedroom. But I also wanted a colorful piece of furniture as opposed to black or brown. I found a few pieces I liked at various stores but the price tag was always well above $250 and I just couldn't afford that. After my FMF marathon and some Pinterest browsing, I set out on a mission to revamp an old dresser.

Step 1 was to acquire a used dresser at a reasonable price. I lucked up and found one at Goodwill in my hometown for $40. I tried to haggle with them to keep the mirror and let me purchase the dresser for $30 but apparently they don't go for that. I did find someone who wanted the mirror though so it worked out.

Step 2 was acquire other necessities. I bought a quart of Zinsser Bulls Eye 1-2-3 primer, a quart of Behr outdoor paint and a quart of water-based Polycrylic sealant, along with brushes, rollers and sand paper at Home Depot. My total HD purchase was around $75.

Step 3 was to sand the surface of the dresser to help paint stick. Even though the primer I bought said it would help paint stick without sanding, I wanted to at least sand the existing finish off of the dresser.

Step 4 involved cleaning and priming. You do want to make sure you clean all of the dust and dirt off before you paint. I also let the primer dry overnight after the second coat just to be sure it was completely dried before I started with my purple paint.

Step 5 is to apply you paint color. I did two coats on the inside and three on the outside of my dresser, letting it dry at least an hour or so in between coats.

Step 6. Add your sealant. Word to the wise, I am not an expert in finishing. Perhaps it was the cold weather (I was painting in my garage in January, though I did have a heater running the entire time) or maybe it is the crazy humidity in GA or my lack of paint brushing skills... in any case, my top coats (I put two) show brush strokes. Instead of trying to sand it again, I decided they gave my furniture character and left it alone. If you want yours to be smooth, try lightly sanding in between top coats.

Step 7 was to paint my existing knobs and hinges. I considered purchasing new knobs for my drawers but decided it would come out just as well (and cheaper) to just spray paint them. I used Rust-Oleum spray paint and it worked really well. Total cost- $5.

Step 8. Put it all together. Just so you can get the full impact of the dresser on my room, here is a before picture:

And here is the after shot:

It turned out pretty good for my first attempt if I do say so myself. (Also, in case you were wondering, some friends of mine gave me the larger TV a few months ago and I just hadn't hooked it up yet because I didn't have anything large enough to sit it on.) 

The total cost for my project came out somewhere around $120. It did take a lot more work than simply buying a new dresser at the store, but did save me at least $100.

So if you're ever in the market for something fresh and new, try flipping something you already have or something from a local thrift store. You might be surprised at the results!

Now, onto my next project: a crafting area!

Getting Crafty- Cork Board Map

I've wanted a map of the US to hang on my wall for a while. I thought it would be neat to have one I could use to mark states I've been to. I found a few different ideas (adding photos in the shape of each state was a good one!) but ultimately decided on a cork board map. I made one for myself and one for Courtney, my oftentimes travel companion, for Christmas.

What you'll need:

• Cork board
• Printout of the US
• Pencil
• Sharpie
• Scissors
• Ribbon
• Hot Glue
• Push Pins
• Stickers (optional)

I bought two cork board's from Walmart (about $8 each). I printed a map of the US using Microsoft Publisher so that I could make it larger than a regular 8x11 sheet of paper, the only size paper I had. I cut out the map and traced the outline on my cork board. Then, I cut out a few states at a time, tracing them from West to East. 

Once I got it all traced, it looked like this. (Side note- I drew Hawaii in the wrong direction on the map below. This was the first map I drew so the second one turned out better.)

I traced back over my pencil lines with a sharpie to make it stand out more.

I found stickers in the scrapbook section at Michael's of all state license plates ($3 each) and I bought large push pins at Office Depot ($4 for 50pk). I hot glued the stickers on the push pins so they wouldn't fall off.

Next, I, with the help of my co-worker, made bows with ribbon I bought a Michael's. I cut a longer piece of the ribbon and attached it in two spots on the back of the cork board with staples and hot glue and then hot glued the bow to the top of the ribbon. (Note- It is better to attached the bow separately so that it does not pull loose once you hang it on the wall.)

I attempted to paint my cork board frame black (they only had one black one when I bought them) but paint wouldn't stick to the frame too well. It worked out though because now it looks artistic. :)

They turned out better than I expected. Now I just have to fill in all of those states!

Also that's one thing off of my list! Technically I'm not 27 yet, but I'm still counting it!

Getting Crafty- Burlap Wreath Edition

I'm not usually that crafty. I spend a lot of time on Pinterest admiring things other people have done, but rarely do I give those crafts a try myself. But one of my co-workers recently got into making wreaths. She showed me how she made them and I decided to give it a shot. This is how it turned out:

Not too bad if I do say so myself.

I didn't take pictures of the step by step but I'll try to explain it. I took a wreath frame like this one ($4.99 at Michael's): 

I bought two rolls of burlap from Walmart ($3.47 each) and two rolls of black mesh ribbon from Michael's ($9.99 each).

All I did to make my wreath was feed the fabric, burlap/ribbon/burlap/ribbon/etc., up through each of the three layers all the way around. The closest tutorial I found is the one below:

http://www.kenarry.com/diy-summer-burlap-wreath/

The M was actually attached to the bow at the top and was given to me by my boss for Christmas last year. I think she got it from Kirklands. I attached it to the top with pipe cleaners. 

It was actually a lot easier than I thought it would be. I did make it twice because the first time I made it too tight. I like wreaths to be floofy. All in all it took me about an hour and a half, but that was making it twice. 

Even if you don't think you're crafty, give it a shot every once in a while. You might surprise yourself.