Two New Creations

I have to apologize to my whopping eleven readers for being absent for three months now. I have been extremely busy working on something. His name is Garrett. Can you believe I made this adorable guy? He became a finished product on April 3rd. Wow, five kids has been a real trip. But it's been a fun trip.

And I finally finished the picnic table I've been wanting to build the kids for months now. Life seemed to prevent it (understandably so) but I finally found the time to do it. And I'm happy to say that my dining room floor has stayed remarkably clean as of late because my kids have insisted on eating all of their meals out on their new table. I need to take a picture of them all sitting around it. One of these days. It fits six children perfectly, from my seven year old down to my twenty month old. I love how it turned out! It is sanded and ready for a finish of some sort. I'm debating between an apple red enamel or a natural looking wood stain. Either one will be weather resistant of course. Decisions decisions! My good friend pointed out that it looks just like something she saw in a Pottery Barn catalog once. And I know the exact one she is thinking of. It too was candy apple red and it cost $350. Yikes!

I've had people ask me about this little table and if they can get one. Of course! I will make one for you at a price of $100. It will only be for local pick up (Salt Lake City area) so if you are interested, let me know. I will also do any finish you want for an extra $25, or you can get it sanded and naked and finish ready at no additional cost. I can also cut a hole in the center of the middle plank for an umbrella. The dimensions are 48" long and 38" wide. Contact me vnandrew555@yahoo.com

Homemade Wall Shelf

We have an awkward sized wall in our dining area, and for the five and half years we have lived here, I have not been crazy about what's been on it. I've tried out a few different things, but it always seems to look too cluttered or too bare. I've wanted a simple shelf along that wall, hanging high enough so heads don't hit it, but low enough to be able to display things. But as my problem always is, our studs don't ever line up to anything I like, AND everything I find is either too expensive or just not the right size.

So what did I do? I decided to make something of course. All I did was get a 1x8 pine board and two pre-holed brackets in a style that I liked. The best part? The board was only $8 and the brackets were $1.98 a piece. I picked them up at Home Depot and you can find them in the lumber dept. But after looking at it, it looked a little too plain. So picked up a long piece of trim that I liked. I like this leaf pattern because it goes along with a lot of stuff in our house (and it cost about $5 for the whole piece).

I cut the board to the length I wanted, and it's somewhere around 4 feet long. Can't quite remember. I sanded it down very well, and the glued on the trim (making certain it was all cut to size to fit the three sides) and then used finishing nails to nail it in place. Then I spray painted the trimmed and molded board and the brackets in Rustoleum colonial red. Then I added just a hint of glaze to make the detail on the trim pop out.

I was lucky enough to find studs in the wall that were "almost" centered to hang my brackets on. This part was a little tricky, as is getting anything centered and LEVELED on a wall. If it's not level, it looks horrible. So first I hung the brackets, then I put some wood glue on top, placed the board exactly where it needed to be, let it dry, took the whole thing off the wall (being extremely careful because it wasn't quite sturdy and I didn't want the newly dried brackets to snap off). Then I nailed the brackets securely into the board while the whole thing was on the floor. I didn't want to be nailing the pieces together while it was delicately hanging on the wall.

Now that it's all glued and nailed together, it's very sturdy. It is just the right size for that wall and for what I wanted to display on it. Do you like the "LUCKY" blocks? I made those a few years ago and they were super simple. It's just pieces of 2x4s, green paint, and white lettering. I am pleased with how the ensemble turned out!

Basement Plans

We have lived in our house for 5 1/2 years. We had this house built which was a first for us, and like everything you do for the first time, you learn from your mistakes. One big mistake we made was not having the builder finish the basement for us. We tried to save money and figured "Oh, we can do it for much cheaper than the builder will charge!" Ha. Big mistake. Because we have lived with only a 2/3 finished house now for half a decade and it's been a challenge.

With a new baby on our heels, we have felt intense pressure to get this project underway. I am thrilled to say that we now have a CAD drawing (thanks to my incredibly talented engineer father) so we know exactly what we are looking at. We have spent hundreds of hours down in that basement, dreaming and scheming over the years, of what we would like it to become one day. "Oh, wouldn't it be nice if one day we..." Now that day is here!

We have framing scheduled for about ten days from now and I couldn't be more excited. Who would have thought the idea of having hundreds of pounds of lumber delivered into our driveway would thrill me so? Friday after next can not get here fast enough. After the framing, we are having all of the electrical done. Then the city comes out to inspect it, then we will possibly have it re-insulated. Then the first thing to be fully finished is Ethan's bedroom. Our sleeping situation in our current three bedrooms is interesting, and poor Ethan has been dying for his own room for months now. Or mabye even years now. I have so many fun decorating ideas for his bedroom and I can't wait until we are to that point!

After Ethan's bedroom is completely finished we will do the family room, which will also be fun. We are making a cove in the wall which will house our television with built in shelves below it. But my favorite part about this room will be the large walk-in storage closet and neighboring work station. The work station will consist of a large built in desk with cabinets below, and shelves all the way to the ceiling. It will be a great place for the family computer and for kids to work on projects. Then on the other side of the bathroom door will be a floor to ceiling built in bookcase. We will also be replacing the current sliding exterior doors (upstairs as well) with nice French doors.

The bathroom and the laundry room will be the last things finished, probably within a few months of finishing everything else. Since it is still very livable being unfinsihed, we don't feel the same urgency to get them done. Ethan can hoof it upstairs to use the bathroom and shower when he needs to.

Stay tuned for fun things we are doing to our basement! It's going to be quite the adventure!

Valentine Shelf Sitters

I know Valentine's Day was a week ago, but I am just now getting a chance to document a couple little things I made for the holiday. I always have 2x4s or scraps of 2x4s sitting in my garage, and I love to find uses for them. I made a couple of shelf sitters and I only used what I had on hand. Scrapbook paper, a little paint, distressing tools, Mod Podge, and ribbon. Notice I did NOT mention vinyl. Do I have a vinyl cutting machine? I wish. It's on my long list of things I'd like to have. Maybe for my birthday I will splurge a little and buy something like that for myself!

Doing faux vinyl on something like this is super easy, and when it's all done, you can't tell the difference. I simply fed my paper into my laser printer and printed off the words. If you have ample ink in your cartridges, it seriously looks just like vinyl letters. When you go to Mod Podge the paper onto the wood, brush all around the lettering and then at the very end give a quick swipe over the entire word surface, just to make sure it has the same sheen as the rest of it. If it gets too wet or you brush it too much, the ink can streak just a tad. But still, it takes quite a bit of glue application to even make it streak in the slightest.
I made a set of these "LOVE" blocks for each sister I visit teach from church. I love that this project didn't cost me anything! Go out and buy yourself a couple of 2x4s because they are very cheap (about $3 for 8 feet) and they are great to have on hand for when you get the crafting bug!

Tea Party Chairs- Complete!

Another project completed! Still a ton to do before the end of March when I officially need to be off my feet in preparation for this baby's debut. These chairs were extremely easy to do. I made the first one from start to finish before I even began the second one. When building something I have never done before, I always like to make one "prototype" in case I make a mistake or don't like a part of the plans. But there wasn't anything I would change about these plans. You can check them out here.

They are said to be "$4 chairs", but builder beware. I did only spend about $3.85 on lumber. But then I added in three cans of spray paint at about $4 a piece and about $8 in screws. Plus there is the wood glue, but I already had that on hand. For paint I used Rustoleum Sweet Pea satin (about 1 1/2 cans) and Rustoleum French Lilac satin (about half a can for the seat slats). I also used all 1 1/2 inch #6 Philps head screws, about 40 for each chair.

I built the entire chair base and painted it before adding in the seat slats. Since I wanted them in different colors, I painted them seperately. And it worked out great since the slats are the very last thing to go on. I distressed the slats and had every intention of distressing the pink on the chairs, but I am tired and worn out and SICK of sanding. Maybe one of these days I will distress them further, but for now I am happy with them.
The girls were very excited to see them completed last night! Today they wanted to have a Valentine's tea party lunch with their "new" table and chairs. I am very pleased with how the set turned out!

Kid Sized Ballet Barre

My little ballerinas have been getting ready for their upcoming recital next month. The other day Hailey was practicing in the living room but kept losing her balance during one of the moves. In frustration, she said "Mom, it's not fair that I keep falling! I never fall in ballet class!" I told her it was because they used a barre in class to keep balance.

And then it hit me. My friend Alicia made a simple ballet barre as a gift for her niece. I remembered seeing it once and when I looked at the picture again, my mind imediately started modifying and building it. Thanks, Alicia, for giving me the inspiration!

I had several 2x4s in my garage, along with some scrap pieces of 1x2s and plenty of screws. All I needed was a rod, so after a quick trip to Ace and forking over $5.99, I had everything I needed to make my girls their very own ballet barre. The design is very simple, but I learned a few things as I went and after some tweaking, this is what I came up with. I still need to sand and paint it. I have the perfect color of off white paint that I'm going to use to keep it nice and feminine.
I used 2 1/2 inch #8 Philips screws for everything except drilling the 1x2 braces into the side beams. I started by drilling the bottom 51" piece into the side beams (27" pieces). Then I drilled the rod into the top using a single screw on each end.

Next I drilled the 24" base beams onto the 51" cross beam. I thought I was done, but nope! Upon flipping it back over, I found that it was very wobbly. So I then used two more 12" 2x4s to make the braces on the bottom beam. I thought I was done. Nope! Still wobbly from front to back.

So I grabbed some scrap 1x2s and made four more 12" mitered braces for the front and back. Aaaaahhh, perfect! It may not be the most aesthetically pleasing design because of all the braces, but I didn't want it to get twisted and broken when a kid decides to hang from it, rather than use it for what it should be used for.

When it's painted, it's going to look great. I tried to get a picture of both girls in front of it to show that it's the perfect size for two small children, but alas. Lauren wouldn't stop playing outside to come in for a picture. Hailey has already informed me that she wants a "dark purple" stereo for their room so she can play her own ballet music while practicing (don't know where I'll find a stereo in THAT color...) They are quite the little divas!

Valentine Ice Cream Pie

We had a yummy and VERY easy treat for family home evening tonight (for FHE the kids made valentines for the classmates). Not a whole lot to it and this is all you'll need for this variety-

1 graham cracker pie crust

3 cups softened vanilla ice cream

2-3 Tbsp strawberry lemonade powder (depending on how strong you like it)

1/3 C cold water

2 cups Cool Whip

sprinkles

Disolve the drink mix and water together. Add in the icre cream and beat with an electric mixer until just blended. Stir in the Cool Whip by hand, then pour it into the pie crust. Put a few sprinkles on top and then freeze for about an hour. This was really yummy and PINK! I should have added a little bit of red food coloring for that extra something. You can do this with anything...I think for St. Patty's day I will use an Oreo pie crust and mint chocolate chip ice cream instead, with a little more green coloring in it. You should try it!

Tea Party Table Complete!

One more thing marked off my list! I am so happy with how the table turned out. The top was completely beaten up, but it was very salvagable and I couldn't deny what good shape the structure of the table was in. You can see what it used to look like here. Still can't believe this beauty was only $5.

I sanded it a lot, mainly on the top and the apron sides. The aprons were already distressed looking, but that is the look I was going for anyway. I still sanded the apron sides, but left quite a bit of the "cracked" look. Then I primed the whole thing (I used spray on the legs because I didn't want it to drip and look streaky on those ridges.) Then I used "heirloom white" spray paint from Rustoleum. After it dried completely, I distressed it quite a bit, then glazed it with Ralph Lauren's "manchester brown" (which is the same glaze I used on my six foot wall ledges). Obviously I was wanting the table to look antiqued and I think I accomplished that.

I left some of the cracking on the surface as well, and the glaze filled right in those cracks adding to the distressed look. Too bad you can't see the detail very well in these pictures.

The girls were very excited about it! Now if I can just find some time this week to finish their chairs. When I finish them, I will use the same technique with the distressing and the glazing. They are going to be light pink and lavender in parts. Talk about girly!

Entertainment Buffet

This has been a very difficult couple of weeks at our house because everyone has been sick. Well, I have not been sick, but I've played nurse to everyone and it's been exhausting. Being 30 weeks pregnant while doing it is really hard, so unfortnuately many of my projects have taken a backseat to the sickies around here.

I have been able to get a few things done, like tonight I put the finishing touches on the tea party table. It's completely done, and I must say it looks awesome. Lauren saw it tonight and she squealed with delight! Tomorrow the glaze coat will be dry and the lighting will be good, so I can take pictures. The 40 pieces of lumber are cut for the chairs. I intended to have them constructed by this weekend, but alas. Real life hit. If everyone would get healthy again, maybe I could find a few minutes to finish them!

In other news...

We have been using the same piece of garbage Sauder entertainment center that Cody bought for $99 on clearance when we were dating. I hated it then, and I've hated it even more since it's been in my house ever since we married. Sauder is terrible furniture, but it's cheap and I guess you get what you can afford. Well the thing always held our 32 inch TV, until that thing died and we upgraded to a 42 in flat screen. Obviously that doesn't fit into the same cubbie as the old TV, so we now have the TV tower going. Know what I'm talking about? Not only do I hate our Sauder entertainment center, I hate even more the white trash look of a really nice TV sitting all the way on the top, with a huge gaping 35 inch hole down below where the old TV once resided.

I have been dying to get something different to use as an entertainment center for years. However, we have two significant problems.

#1- Money. Isn't this always the ruling factor? Everything I like is way too expensive.

#2- The wall it sits on. It is a very small area and worse yet, there is a blasted floor vent right below it. I DESPISE floor vents because they dictate everything with furniture placement! Right now, the Eye Sore sits right on top of the vent and we've never had air flow there, unless the whole unit is moved 18 inches away from the wall. Dear Hubs thinks there is nothing wrong with keeping it out from the wall. Yuck. He likes to live in a room as if it's perpetually being painted.

I have been browsing around at the type of piece I'd like as an entertainment center to house our big TV. As I looked around and realized what I liked, it dawned on me that these "entertainment buffets" are nothing more than a glorified dresser! $600 for something like that? I think not!

As much as I like the look of doors in front, the practicality of them with toddlers is non-existent. Doors are way too easy for little ones to open. And glass? I'd prefer to NOT expose that hazard and NOT display my unorganized mess behind them. But depending on the drawer type and hardware, it can be much more tricky for a little one to open and raid a drawer.

So I thought about it and thought about it. One day I was at a thrift store and I came across this dresser. The finish was HORRIBLE. The hardware was even more HORRIBLE. But the overall quality...impecible. The drawers were superb and even dove winged. Everything was super duper solid wood and in very good shape. The best part is the base because the front trim is elevated, as to allow air flow beneath it. All I need is a vent extender and problem solved! The opening at the bottom is about 2 inches, which is perfect. I always carry a tape measure with me just in case I come across a furniture piece that I am considering. So I measured it, and even better, the dimensions were exactly what I'd been looking for in every way.

Oh, and the price? $20. I had gobs of sand paper, primer, and even enamel and glaze in the colors I wanted.

Yes, I had all four kids with me and I still managed (with a lot of rope and help from the workers at the store) to get it home in the van in one perfect piece. You can't really tell, but it is pretty narrow in depth. That's one of my favorite things about it because it's not at all bulky like your typical dresser.

I really love the drawers. They are modern but old looking. Drawers are the absolute best thing to store DVDs in. Ha ha ha, and I am designating one of the drawers for diaper changing supplies because I do most diaper changes in the living room, but everythis is currently stored in plain sight in a basket. Tacky.

You can see the slightly elevated edge here. Can't believe I struck gold like this! I spent three days sanding and sanding this thing. It had a lot of knicks and scratches on the finish but after I was done, it was smooth as a baby's bottom. Then I primed it and painted it Forest Black from Behr.

Why do I not have an after picture? Because it's not complete. I still need to distress the edges all the way around and on the drawer fronts, then I need to glaze it. I did this right before Thanksgiving and well, time has not been my friend in months. The next thing I need to do it find the perfect hardware to go on it. We are still living with the Eye Sore in the family room until this gem is completed. When it's all done and I have the TV and stuff arranged like it needs to be, I'll for sure take "after" pics.

Valentine Candy Cane Suckers

Do you have any leftover mini cnady canes from Christmas? I was shocked to find some hiding in the back of the pantry, so I had to make these cute suckers (taken from The Idea Room). They were really easy to do and I made them tonight while I was finishing up dinner. The simple steps allowed me to multitask!

Grease a cookie sheet VERY well. Lay down wax paper, and then grease the wax paper VERY VERY well. Unwrap your candy canes and lay them out like this around your sucker sticks. Make sure you leave space between cane tops like I did, because you will be bending them into shape.

Heat the oven to 350 and bake them for 3 minutes. It doesn't take long for the candy to soften, and it doesn't take long for the candy to bubble either! 3 minutes was just about right.

Enlist the help of another person because you have to work really fast in this step before the candy cools and hardens too much. Shape the soften candy to form a heart. No need to make it conform around the stick because the melted chocolate will meld it all together.

(I don't know why I picked the most crooked heart to take a picture of! The other ones looked better.) Do NOT remove them from the pan until they are 100% cool, and do NOT put them in the fridge to let them cool. The sudden cold on the hot candy will cause them to crack. Let them cool at room temp while you do something else, for about half an hour. Then carefully remove them from the wax paper.

Melt your chocolate pieces in a bowl. I used pink and red pieces from Wilton, about 1/4 a bag for each. It doesn't take much chocolate to fill in the candy cane hearts. Heat them in the microwave on 50% power for 90 seconds, stir, then heat again until you have a smooth texture.

Spoon the chocolate into the center of the hearts and smooth it out. Then sprinkle with something fun!

Now you can put them in the fridge to let them set up. In about half an hour you can eat them!

$10 Collage Ledges

I love marking a project off my list! I finished my ledges and I am so happy with how they turned out. Ever since we moved into our house 5 1/2 years ago, I have hated this long empty wall. It's been hard figuring out how to decorate it with out it looking too cluttered. And it's ONLY taken me this long to settle upon an idea!

You can check out the plans for these ledges here. The lumber only cost about $9 for one. I made mine six feet instead of eight feet because the size suited my needs better. I already had a ton of frames on hand (I tend to collect them) and I had the paint as well. I like the red, black, and white together, although you can't tell some of them are red in this lighting. The other night I uploaded about 50 pictures to put inside them, all in black and white (still need tp pick them up). I think this collection is going to look great.

I painted them with Behr paint that I already had on hand. The color is "off white". After they had two coats of paint, I sanded them again to distress the edges all around. Then I glazed them with Ralph Lauren's faux glaze in "manchester brown" to give them a rustic look. I love how the wood looks really old. Just what I was going for!

A word of caution- when you go to purchase your 1x4s, make absolutely sure that your wood is not bent or warped. I was careless about it and I bought a couple pieces that should have been more straight. If you look closely, you can see that one ledge is slightly warped on one side. But it just adds to the antiquish look...right?? RIGHT??

Also, the plans say to use 2" finishing nails in the front. That is way too long and only makes it more likely that they will split the wood. Since you are only nailing them into a very thin piece which is less than 1" in thickness, chances are you will nail it in slightly off center and 2" nails almost ensures it will not be a good thing. So go with thin nails at about 1" in length.

Have fun building!

New Projects On the Horizon

As much as I love each individual season, I think I am ready for the weather to warm up again. Utah in January can be brutal. The main reason I need it to be warmer outside is so I can be comfortable in my garage. I have been trying to finish my framed peg boards but I am at a standstill. The next step is to paint them BEFORE I can install the frames {which are cut and ready to be drilled in}. But I can't paint because it needs to be about 20 degrees warmer in the garage for the paint to perform like it should. Ugh!

Good thing our basement is still unfinished {and this is the only good thing about it} because it is my temporary workspace. Who cares if I get sawdust and paint everywhere, right? Today I almost finished my 6 foot ledges that will go along the long wall in our upstairs family room. Tomorrow I will distress them and add the topcoat of glaze, let them dry, and then hopefully be ready to install/hang them on Sunday afternoon while Hubby is here to help me do it. It's for sure a two person job! And yes {GASP} I am going to do it on a Sunday! I can't wait for it to be all done so I can take pictures. Aaaaaah, accomplishment.

I have all the supplies ready to build these chairs. Remember the tea party table? Well I sanded it like crazy this week and it's ready to prime and paint. I am painting it "heirloom white" by Rustoleum with a "manchester brown" glaze from Ralph Lauren. It's going to be adorable! All day long while I was finishing the ledges, my daughter kept coming in to see if I was done with her table yet. Sorry Sweetie! A few more days, I promise.

The chairs are going to look similar to what is shown above, except the seat slats are going to be lavender. It ties in their already lavender bedroom, plus my five year old is overly obsessed with purple and insists on a splash of purple on everything. These chairs will hopefully be done by the end of next weekend!

And next on the list {and this is a biggie} is our new dining table and benches. Our table is going to look very similar to the above one but with a different stain. The benches will be these exact ones but will be distressed/antiqued black. My goal in the next year is to acquire the perfect antiquish captains chairs for the ends of the tables, which I will also refinish to match the benches. Yes, I say a year, because I am realistic and I want to find the perfect chairs. I am in no rush!

And then there is this adorable bench. Do I have a need for it? Not really. But it's so cute and I'm racking my brain trying to think of a good place for it in our house. I might try to modify it a bit so it can go by the front door on the porch. It would be great to put potted plants on {and around} during the spring and summer. I'm thinking a very rustic barn like red...think "Old Glory".

Ever since we bought our house, I have wanted a table and chair set for the backyard. We grill a lot in the summer and there is nothing better than gathering around an outdoor table and eating corn on the cob and watermelon. But like always, bringing myself to spend $400 on a table set is crazy. Plus, most sets only come with six chairs and that usually isn't enough. This is why I am a huge fan of benches for a larger family.

This table and bench set is a for sure thing this summer. I am already excited thinking about it being an awesome shade of aqua, and maybe I'll find the perfect red umbrella to go with it. Oh yeah, I will make a hole in the center of the table to accomodate a large umbrella. Gotta have some shade back there!

And the last thing on my long list are a couple of these guys. There is something about adirondack chairs that shouts tranquility to me. I think of a breeze on the shores of Cape Cod, even though I have never ventured out that way. But I found these plans and although they are tricky, I want to make two of them for the back porch. And I would coordinate them in with my aqua and red table/bench set, and maybe make some perfect throw pillows to rest on the seats. It's going to be a great summer!

Entry Way Bookshelf

Would you ever have thought to use wainscoating as the backing to a bookshelf?? Me neither!

We have this space next to our front door that is empty. But it shouldn't be empty. It should be a place for a cute shelf or table with a funky lamp and a vase of something and maybe a favorite family photo, and maybe even a cool dish to throw car keys into. I have been wanting to fill that space with something like this, but there are two problems I keep running into.

#1, the space is only about 30 inches wide.

#2, there is a floor vent right there and nothing can cover it up. Dang those floor vents. They seem to rule our house.

I came across this plan for a bookshelf and I fell in love. The dimensions are almost perfect, but that's the great thing about building something yourself- you can modify as you need to. The great thing about this plan is that the shelf sits up on legs! Therefore, it can sit over a floor vent because air can flow out from underneath it.

I know what most of the lumber will cost and a rough estimate will be well under $30. Where else can you find something like this for an amount like that? This project is number four on my "project priority list". Can't wait to get started!

Refinished Piano Chairs

Several months ago, right in the middle of piano lessons, my bench broke. It's an antique piano and matching bench and the joints in the bench finally gave out beyond repair. Finding an independent bench is nearly impossible, and trust me, I'd looked. I'd gone to several piano stores, antique stores, and thrift stores. My searches always left me benchless.

So I started thinking about the possiblity of NOT using a bench, but rather a chair. Given that it was the correct height, it would probably work! But a chair at a piano? I wasn't sure if it would look right. PLUS, when I start teaching again, I'd need two chairs and I thought I'd be lucky enough just to find one that I liked.

This is the type of chair I envisioned in my mind (not crazy about the wicker seat, but I really loved the shape and style). Pottery Barn, I have a deep love hate relationship with you. Why must your beautiful chairs cost $200 a piece?

One afternoon in late October I was taking a load to DI (our local thrift store) and I had a feeling that I should go inside and just look around. I was not looking for a chair, but I'm always on the lookout for a good piece of wood that I can refinish. I rounded a corner, and I found two matching chairs and my heart stopped. The shape and style was perfect. The horrible bright blue and brown paint on them, hideous. I looked the chairs over with a fine tooth comb and I was flabergasted to find what incredible shape they were in. They were solid wood and the joints were in pristine condition. The rungs were sturdy as well as the cross bars on the legs. My guess is that someone else had redone them and after they looked at the horrible shade of blue and brown, decided they had made a huge mistake but were too lazy to re-do them. Ha ha ha, their mistake was my fortune!

Oh, and here's the fantastic part. The chairs were only $5 a piece. I wanted to scream from sheer excitment!! I grabbed them, paid, stuffed them in the car, made a quick stop at the hardware store for the perfect shade of paint, and headed home.

For two days I did nothing but work on these chairs. The blue paint was chipping off everywhere and I had a ton of sanding to do. I sanded and sanded and primed and primed. Then I gave them each two coats of Rustoleum spray paint in colonial red. I am thrilled with how turned out. Looking at them, even closely, you would never guess they came from anywhere but a place like PB. DEFINITELY not a thrift store! The best thing is that I now have two chairs to use for piano lessons. I keep one at the piano right now, and the other stays hidden down in the basement for safe keeping. I am in love!

Kids Coat Rack

Are you tired of your kids leaving their stuff all over the floor? Our house is set up in a way (we have a multi level house) that doesn't allow for a really good rack system on the main living floor. So we constantly have dance bags, coats, and backpacks all over the place. I had been looking at racks at places like Home Depot, but they are all so expensive for ones that are big enough. But more than that, I hate that they each have pre-drilled brackets on the back. Meaning, if your studs don't line up just right, you can't hang it into your studs so it negates the whole purpose, right? Our house builder did not frame our studs in the standard way that most stuff is pre-drilled for. It drives me crazy.

So one day I found an old 1x4 that I had lying around. I figured the perfect place for a rack was right by the garage door so the kids can hang stuff up as soon as we walk in. I bought some nice but inexpensive hooks for about $3 a piece, and I already had everything else on hand.

First I cut the wood to the correct size that I wanted. Then I primed and painted it with what I had on hand (I really like black because it's classic, doesn't show finger prints as easily, and it goes with everything.) I found my studs in the wall, marked them, then figured where I wanted to line up my wood on the wall.

Hanging the piece of wood was the tricky part because you really need more than two hands. Enlist the help of another person and it will be pretty easy. Drill the holes and put in your screws directly into the front of the wood (or nails will work just fine too because you are putting them into studs and you can cover up the nail heads or screw heads with more paint). You will need to use a countersink drill bit if you are using screws, to make them flush with the surface of the wood.

After it is hanging and is completely level, you are ready to install your hooks. Again, very simple. Measure twice, drill the holes, and screw them in! Easy as pie. The rack is far more sturdy than anything that has brackets on the back. The fact that the screws go directly in through the front of the wood and into the studs makes all the difference. And the hooks hanging independently AWAY from sheetrock only adds to the stability. Kids can practically hang from the hooks and it won't move a bit!