Refurbished Heart Shelf for My Little Lady

I spotted this country style heart shelf from Goodwill the other day for $6. While it’s not really my style, I thought a little paint could really transform this into a nice little accent piece for my daughter’s bedroom.

The shelf was in great condition for only $6. I really didn’t have to do any sanding since the surface was smooth and the wood was untreated. I just wiped off all the debris with a wet washcloth to prepare for my primer. This time I chose Zinsser Bulls Eye 123 Primer which works great for all surfaces.

Once the primer was dry, I painted the heart shelf with two coats of Rustoleum semi gloss white spray paint. Since the shelf had so many niches, I found the spray paint was the smoothest coverage.



I love the way the white pops, but I thought adding some fabric behind the shelves would really set it off from her light blue walls.



While shopping at WalMart, I noticed they sell quarter singles, 18x22 inch pieces of fabric normally used for quilting. I thought this would be perfect since each quarter single is only $1.30. I picked up three colors, pink, olive green and blue.

I had to iron the fabric since it came folded and I didn’t want to see any creases behind the shelves.



Next I measured the space between the shelves so I could cut the fabric to fit. I added 2 inches to each side so I had plenty of room to attach to the wooden frame.

I used a staple gun to adhere the fabric, starting in one corner, then attached the opposite corner. Once the four corners were secure, I stapled all the way around the frame. I followed this suit with each shelf.



I finally got all of the fabric in place and secure. I flipped over the heart shelf and voilà! Beautiful smooth colored shelf liners that really pop from the painted white shelf!



I added a couple of my daughter’s trinkets for now until I find some little photo frames to show off some of her pictures through the years. I’m happy for now tough.



Final costs: $6 for the shelf from Goodwill, $4.50 for the Zinsser white spray paint primer, $3.50 for Rustoleum semi gloss white spray paint, $4 for the three fabric quarter singles. My total was $17 to transform the country heart shelf to a bright and colorful shelf for my daughter’s bedroom! Not too shabby.



But alas, I was shopping at JoAnn’s Fabric over Memorial Day and spotted this modern pattern for $2.99 a yard that perfectly goes with my daughter’s room. So I ripped off the old fabric and stapled on the new stuff! It only took me 10 minutes to fully change out and get back up on the wall. Man, I love the fact that I can change the heart shelf fabric backing out as often and easily as I change my mind :)

Revamped Desk for Kids Play Room

My daughter is a budding artist so I really thought she’d love a space to create and color of her own. While I was at Goodwill a couple of weeks ago, I found a great desk for $30 that was in pretty good shape. When I called my hubby to see if he could pick it up, he mentioned that his mother had an old desk in the basement from when he was a kiddo that we could have... for free!



I nervously passed on the desk from Goodwill to see if I could turn my mother-in-law’s trash into treasure. Luckily, when I saw the desk in the back of her basement covered in toys and books, it was worth the wait! While it had some scratches and dents, overall it was a steal.

So here’s the before... and after! Here’s how I completed the transformation:



The first thing I did after getting the old desk home was give it a complete cleaning. The bottom was covered in cobwebs and the drawers were a little dirty. I washed everything with some light soap and water. Then I sanded the entire desk down.

The top had a large ball of puddy stuck to the top which I had to use the power sander to fix. For the drawers and crevices, I just used some light grade sandpaper. Once I was finished giving the desk a light sanding, I wiped down the table again to make sure it was clear of any leftover dust and grime.



To prime the table, I used Zinsser cover stain with the brown label. I used a roller to cover the large areas of the desk, a brush to get into the crevices and the spray paint version to cover the drawers with a smooth finish. I decided to prime the desk with two coats since I knew it would get a lot of wear and tear, sanding the desk lightly between each coat.



Once it was fully cured, I sanded the desk down once more and wiped off all debris. Now, this desk is going in a play room for now, but eventually I hope on having this playroom turn into a nursery and move this desk into my daughter’s bedroom. So, in order to do this, I had to make sure the color scheme would fit in both rooms.

For the actual top coat, I decided to use Rustoleum white semi gloss spray paint on the base of the desk. For the drawers, I used an offsetting color of spray paint, Sweet Cream by Krylon. I wanted the drawers to pop a little bit off the rest of the desk, and I thought the Sweet Cream color would go perfectly with my daughter’s bedroom set once it’s moved.

To finish the project off, I coated the desk in Minwax polyurethane spray paint in semi gloss. This will really protect my paint job and give it some durability.



Total cost of this project: $23 for the can of Zinsser cover stain paint (with plenty of leftover for future projects!), $7 for two cans of Rustoleum white spray paint, $7 for Minwax polyurethane and $12 for rollers and paint trays. The rest of the supplies I already had in my paint closet, mostly just drop clothes and sandpaper. So, the total was $49 (yeah, remember I got the desk for free!). LOVE IT.

For the desk accessories, I found the pencil holder and organizer from WalMart for $10. I wrapped a green and brown striped ribbon around the pencil holder to bring out the colors of the room. I filled the accessories with my daughter’s favorite art supplies.



I will probably line the drawers in the future with some cool scrapbook paper and of course I need a chair, but until then it’s perfect!

Damask Stencil Wall for Daughters Bedroom

Just recently I redecorated my daughter’s bedroom from its prior hot pink princess look and feel to a more serene setting with shades of blue, green and rose.

As blogged here, I’ve finished most of the redesign, I now just have a couple of finishing touches.



First task on my list, the accent wall that just seemed a little bland. With a little bit of internet searching, I decided to stencil the back light blue wall with a silver damask to spruce it up a bit.

I ordered one from Cutting Edge Stencils, a source I found online, and chose the Verde Damask. This stencil measures 17 inches wide and 22 inches tall, just the perfect size to cover her 10x10ft back wall.



I bought some silver acrylic paint from Michaels on clearance for $2.99 and watered it down a bit to it would have a translucent effect. I purchased a large sponge brush from Lowe’s (only $6) to apply the paint. You can actually use a roller brush, but I just felt like I had more control with something handheld.



I practiced my technique on a sample board first which I highly suggest to get your color combination right and to get comfortable with the stencil. Once I was content with my sample board, I started with the left hand side of the wall, about 2/3 of the way up (I decided on this strategy since I knew I had shadow boxes that would be placed on the wall at a certain height). I taped the stencil with blue painter’s tape and applied my first coat with a stencil sponge.



I peeled up the stencil every so often just to check that I was using the right pressure. I wanted a subtle effect, but needed to make sure it was even across the stencil.

When I was finished with the first round, I let it dry for a couple of minutes then I slowly peeled up the painter’s tape. The stencil has built in guides to lay the next piece so you can’t mess up the alignment.



The whole process when very smoothly! It only took me about 4 hours to complete the entire room, but mostly because this was my first time stenciling and I was going quite slow to make sure I wouldn’t mess up! I let the paint dry for 2 hours then moved back the furniture. It looks great! And I love how the light reflects off the metallic silver from the window and ceiling lights.



So the total cost of this project: $46 for the wall stencil from Cutting Edge Stencils with shipping (get 20% off when you use the promo code SPRING), $6 for the paint and $6 for the paintbrush. Under $60 total!

A New Bedroom Fit for a Princess

I’m currently in the process of trying to redecorate my daughter’s bedroom. It’s been a long overhaul to say the least! Before the remodel my three year old had a hot pink accent wall which really overpowered the entire room. I thought it was a good idea to paint the wall this color when I decorated the room with Disney princesses, but it really limited any future designs.

So there’s the before... and after! Here’s how I transformed the room (thus far).

So with a new plain white comforter from Target that I got on sale for $79.99 in January, I got the bug to re-vamp the rest of her room to match! I purchased a green, blue and rose argyle rug from www.capeldealers.com for $138. Yeah, it’s kind of a stretch for me to spend this much on one piece, but I knew I really wanted to base the room these colors so I splurged!

I finally got around to painting the hot pink wall light blue to match the other three walls. I have plans to do a damask stencil design but the overall blue walls is a big change thus far! I put a green glider from her old nursery in the corner with a pink accent pillow to bring out the rose color in the new rug. I’d really like to find a desk to refurbish for that area, but until then this is a perfect place to read her favorite books!

I also purchased a mirror from Pier 1 Imports on clearance for $20. It was an off white so I painted it green to match the chair, then sanded it down to give it a rustic feel. While I was there, I picked up a green damask pillow on clearance for $17 for her bed.

Next I found some silver shadow boxes on clearance from Michaels ($32 for 4 total) and lined them with scrapbooking paper to match the decor in her room (only $8 for the paper!). I also used multi-colored scrapbook paper to cover the wall letters from her former nursery and give them an up-to-date look.

Ah, the transformation is almost complete. I know her light and breezy color scheme doesn’t really go with the rest of my house, but I love it! Just waiting to get my large damask wall stencil from Cutting Edge Stencils to get delivered so I can finish her walls. Keep checking back to see how it turns out!