The Least Exciting Project Ever?

I'm almost ashamed to even be posting this, except that at least it accounts for what I've been doing with my time.  We're starting to finish our basement and so everything from down there, had to go in the garage or go-go!

While the basement project is VERY exciting, I needed to do a project that got one more thing out of the garage.  We were given a nice, working file cabinet, but it was horribly rusted on the sides.

I quickly sanded down the worst of the rust and then srayed it with some primer to seal in the rust.

Next came two coats of cream-colored spray paint. Then I printed out some numbers on cute scrapbook paper to label the drawers.

And then the major transfer of all those files for a family of 8 from the way-too-small filing cabinet to the fresh, almost-new-but-fits-our-family-better cabinet.

So there it is.  The most boing post ever, but I'm happy to be a bit more organized and have one more thing out of the garage! And unrelated to decorating, I did just finish 4 baby blankets for some close friends, one of which was this cute one:

I fell in love with those darling owls and knew I HAD to make a quilt out of them!  I followed the quilt tutorial here and the best quilt binding tutorial ever here.It was my first time trying out a little machine quilting.  It was fun to try and hopefully I'll get better at it with a little practice.

Hopefully I'll have some exciting and thrilling project to share next time! Have fun!

A quick project

No, I haven't forgotten about this blog!  We had a crazy last few weeks of school and then I was off to join my husband on his business trip to Lisbon, Portugal.  It was a wonderful trip and now I'm all recharged and ready to do projects again.  Until I get some finished and pictures to post, here is a minor project I managed to finish before things got nuts.

I made this "vintage" ticket sign to go in our basement once it's complete. We're putting in a twisty tube slide to the basement so I thought this would be fun near the entrance to the slide (my husband has always wanted to have a slide to a basement and wouldn't you know, we found a way to make it work for this house. Yipee. I wish we could skip all the other finishing and just get the slide done!)  For now, the sign is in a different spot, but you get the idea.

I found this gnarled, old piece of wood for $1 at a garage sale a few months ago and knew it'd make an awesome sign. Look at that lovely, rotten edge (I know, I'm partly insane to be excited about decayed wood!)

I lightly sanded it and then sprayed it sparsely with some off white spray paint.

Once again, I gently sanded it. I then printed out the lettering I wanted in a banner-making program. I taped it onto the wood and put a sheet of carbon paper under it.  I then traced the letters with pencil. All I had to do then was fill in all the lines with a black paint pen.

And voila, a faux vintage sign for our hopefully, very fun basement.

Here are some fun photos I found as inspiration for my vintage sign:

(morningt blog)

Look at that lovely piece of wood above the door.  Love it against that blue wall!

(byveryirie)

Isn't that the cutest sign? It's actually taken from a Jimmy Buffet song.  I've GOT to make one of these for the rec room downstairs.  Love the color and everything.

I'm linking to:

Frugal Friday at the Shabby Nest

Thrifty Thursday at Bloggeritaville

Sundae Scoop party at iheartnaptime

Remodelaholic anonymous party

Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Front Porch

DIY showoff showcase

Check me Out Party at I am only One

Trash to treasure Tuesday at Reinvented

Show and Share at Just a Girl

Unique Products I'm dying to Try!!!

You know, what I love about the internet is how many cool products come your way that you might never have known about.  Here are some that I would love to try out when I get a chance and see how they turn out (anyone locally here want to be a guinea pig?)

1. Laminate Countertop Resurfacing Kit

I first saw this product on a Today show feature and have been researching this.  The overall results are that people LOVE this product.  Found only a Lowe's, "Modern Masters" (www.modernmasterstransformations.com/) provides a kit of everything needed to recoat 50 sq. feet of laminate.  It costs $250 but compared to the cost of replacing your countertops in even laminate, you're saving a TON!  Don't live with those 90's mauve or teal countertops another day!  Here's a blogger who tried it and shows the process she took: http://suburbanpostcard.blogspot.com/.

2. Spray Upholstery Dye

Made by "Simply Spray", you can re-color your upholstery.  It would be great for those chairs that are in great shape, but the color just doesn't work anymore.  Depending on the fabric, you'll still see the texture and shape of the upholstery's design, but after it'll be all one color.  There aren't many colors, but I'm thinking that black would be great for accent chairs.  The website says that Hobby Lobby is going to be carrying it, so I forsee my heading there with a 40% off coupon and trying it! The few people I've read about trying it say it's a bit stiff at first, but with wiping it with a stiff brush and a few weeks, it really softens back up.  Also, it is water/color safe after painting it. 

(DIY decorating ideas)

(Little Green Notebook)

3. Stainless Steel Paint

    

There are cheaper paints out there that are "stainless steel" in color, but are in fact NOT made of stainless steel.  Those types won't look real enough or wear as well. This product from Thomas Stainless Steel is actually liquid stainless steel, meant to be brush applied to look like brushed stainless steel.  It is supposed to be durable after you give it it's 3 light coats of steel and 2-3 coats of topcoat.  It looks nice in most of the pictures I've seen.  I do have one problem that I'm seeing.  It sometimes looks fake to me when people paint the handles or the control panels on their appliances.  If you look at the new appliances, those parts are rarely stainless steel as well.  I think it'd look more realistic if you painted part of it in black appliance paint and not try to go for 100% stainless steel look.  It looks like it'd cost about $60 to do all three appliances in your kitchen.  I would think this would be great for those brass door knobs, light fixtures, a table or island top or that rangehood.  (I also love black appliance paint for updating appliances.  You don't HAVE to jump on the stainless steel bandwagon.  It is a fad...this would be a much cheaper option.)

See, I dont' really like the handles painted.  In fact, look at my home's stainless appliances:

If you stuck with the black appliance paint on the sides, handles and other areas, you'd be able to use less of the expensive stainless steel paint and also make it look more realistic.

4. Colored Chalkboard Paint

Hudson Paints makes gorgeous colors for chalkboards.  No longer does it need to be just black. Look at some of these cute ideas:

A chalkboard wall mural for a nursery.

(pottery barn chalkboard center)

(Hudson paints-menu board)

Rustoleum's tintable version.  A bit cheaper, but not as many colors.

If you want your writing to show up better/stronger, use the liquid chalk pens! (BTW, there is also magnetic paint and dry erase paint out there now!)

5. ORB- Oil Rubbed Bronze

This IS the finish of choice right now.  I love this spray paint to give a great ORB finish:

These are the two best ORB finish paints I've tried.  Re-do those awful bronze light fixtures, freshen up the vents, give your lamps an updated finish.  Just about anything can be painted as long as you prime it right. The best finish is one where you either do a light coat, letting some of the original metal shine through slightly or after painting, use some rub'n'buff paint to add a little dimension and highlights.  It just makes a subtle, more realistic difference.

(thiftydecorchick.blogspot.com)

(asoftplace.net)                                                              (mrshappyhousewife.blogspot.com)

(decormama)

You can freshen up your kitchen's hardware with this paint or order these fun half-moon pulls (and knobs) from this awesome wholesaler.  You can get 25 pulls for $14!! I've ordered a few times from these guys and it IS real!!! Check out Cripe Distributing for these:

I love how these look on painted cabinets! Heck, at those prices, buy them and spray paint them whatever color you need!

6.Muriatic Acid to Age Mirrors

Wouldn't you love to recreate the look or old, aged and distressed mirrors like these:

Well, it can be done. There's a great Tutorial here.  You use a pool cleaning chemical to erode the mirror backing (after stripping off the painted back to the mirror.)  I really want to try this one with a gorgeous mirror I have and use it in my future "shabby chic" basement decor.

Hope you found some fun, new products that you'd like to experiment with as well.  I share any that I do in future blogs!  Have fun!