My New Dresser is Finished!

Are you ready?

Ta-da!!!

Here she is, my new dresser. I love it!

I actually finished it Thursday, two days ahead of what I thought it would be. Overall, not a hard project.

Here is a dresser mirror I bought a year and a half ago. I got it for $10 at a furniture store that was closing. I didn't have a use for it at the time, but it was such a good deal, I couldn't pass it up. I knew I would one day use it. It's a nice, sturdy, heavy mirror. I actually lifted it up on the dresser the other day, just to see how it looked. Then, later regretted it when the knots in my back starting hurting. Eh-heh. :) It looked so nice though. Hopefully this weekend, we'll get around to attaching it to the dresser. We have to figure out a way to do so, but I don't think it will be that difficult.

Here is a close-up of the knobs I got for it. Ironically, the knobs altogether cost more than I paid for the dresser!!! Knobs are expensive! I got these at Lowes and they were on clearance, $3 for one. I almost didn't get them because I thought they were too expensive, then decided I might not find them cheaper, so I bought them. I went to Walmart yesterday, hoping they would have cheaper ones. They did, but not in the right finish. So, I got impatient and just decided to keep them.

Here are some pictures of the process. I meant to take a picture of it all sanded, but forgot. Here, I started priming the top and the front is sanded. Sanding this baby was so easy! I had to do some by hand, but even then it wasn't that bad.

Priming in the garage (We're still working on that mess in the corner).

I always paint furniture in the kitchen. I don't like to do it outside because of the wind and all the dirt in our backyard. If I ever drip, it's tile and cleans up easily.

Before

After
Dresser-$20

Knobs-$24

Primer-$12

Paint- $2??? I bought a gallon and

barely made a dent in it.

Total cost-$58

Not too shabby for a dresser. I'm still kind of disappointed in how much I spent on knobs, but oh well. They look nice! I have really enjoyed buying furniture for cheap and making it look nice. As much as I would love to buy new furniture, I just can't bring myself to spend that much money. It's really amazing how much money you can save by redoing furniture yourself. When I was pregnant, we bought a really nice dresser for Anna. In hindsight, I almost wish we had waited. However, we lived in an apartment and the concept of buying cheap and redoing stuff hadn't entered my head yet. So, she actually has a nicer dresser than us. :)

Just when you think you're done sanding for a while, another project pops up. I got this night stand at Goodwill for $10! Dan really needs a new one. His is very ugly. This should be a simple project. Not too much to sand or paint. I'm just so happy I found it. Our bedroom furniture is finally coming together!

I love craigslist!

I am so excited! After months and months of searching, I finally found a dresser on craigslist. AND it only cost $20! I am so stoked. As soon as I saw it and the owner emailed me the dimensions, I just knew it was going to work in our bedroom and that it would be mine.

Here it is. I love that it's a classic style. It's not too dated and has a little character to it. I was super happy to see it wasn't painted, just had a light finish on it. Sanding it was so easy!

It has a lot of scratches on top and stickers stuck on the drawers, but sanding took care of all that. It's pretty sturdy too.

I have sanded it all down and have started to prime it. My hand is starting to hurt from holding down the spray paint bottle, but oh well. A small sacrifice to pay. :) I should be able to finish priming it today and start painting it tomorrow. I'm really hoping to have it done by Saturday. I am just so thankful that I finally found one. It's really been on my mind lately.

It's kind of funny, because the day or two before I found it, I just really felt this urgency to check craigslist, like ALL the time. I was talking to my mom and mentioned this. We started talking about how Heavenly Father knows what you need and want and He helps you get those things when you're doing your part. During the summer my mom had a garage sale. She had a bunch of my brother's stuff in her garage that she was trying to get rid of. There was this big chair that was really taking a lot of room, but no one seemed interested in it. My mom said a prayer, just asking Heavenly Father to please help her sell it. Then all of a sudden over the next hour, about 5 people stopped by and asked to buy it. By then, she was holding it for another person. She said how kind it was of Heavenly Father to be so generous and help her out like that. I don't mean to get all spiritual over a dresser, but I know that Heavenly Father led me to this dresser and I'm so appreciative of it. He knew it was something I really wanted and would make me happy.

Hopefully, my next post will be about the finished product. :)

Barrett Holder

I found the cutest way to make a barrett holder from a new blog I found. As soon as I saw it, I wanted to make it. It's so easy and very cute. Here is the idea I found. The blog is http://theidearoom.blogspot.com

She has a lot of cute ideas and a lot of fun recipes.

Here is the one I made. The light is kind of funny because it looked horrible using the flash, so this is what I got.

Here is how you make it. Get a frame and either use the backing for it, or cut out cardboard or whatever. Just make sure it fits in the frame. I got my frame for 99 cents at Goodwill. I spray painted it brown. Next cut out batting to fit the backing of the frame. Then cover it with material. I was super lazy and just taped it to the board. Next cut strips of ribbon and tape them to the back. You can put how many ever strips you want.

Add some cute bows and then place it in the frame and there you go! It was so easy and it looks cute. I like the idea of using batting. It gives it a nice look.

Here is a picture frame my mom gave me last Christmas. I had it hanging in Anna's room and then took it down when we painted. I haven't put it back up yet because the frame is black. Well, I was looking at it the other day and decided to try sanding it and see if it was wood or not. Well, it was wood, so I sanded the whole thing and spray painted it brown. Now, it matches Anna's room and I can hang it up.

I still want to put something above Anna's crib, but it's going to have to be vinyl or something. I can't hang anything there in case it falls down. Pretend the vacuum isn't there. :) I still don't have a good place to put that thing.

Family photos finally on the wall!

We got our family portrait taken back at the end of October. We ended up getting some other shots of Anna and us. I meant to get them up asap, but that didn't quite happen. Lately, I've been in decorating mode, so I finally got them up! What do you think? I love the picture of Anna, it's so cute (no bias here).

The red frame is metal and was originally gray. I got it for $1 at Kohls and painted it red. The black frames I got from IKEA a year ago. I think I paid around $5 for them. They were originally light wood. I painted them black and put red scrapbook paper behind the pictures. I like how it all looks. However, I feel I'm stuck in a rut of using black and red. I love the two together, but I think I'm using it too much. I need to find a way to incorporate other colors into the decor of the family room, but it's hard! Any suggestions???

I'm especially happy because this wall has been empty ever since we moved in, and finally it has something on it. It's not the best position for family pictures. It's right next to the front door. I would have liked to have put it somewhere else, but with the present placement of the family furniture, it's the only wall that works. I'm REALLY hoping to switch the computer desk and piano around. The family room is really bugging me. It feels so cluttered and not very organized. However, there's some complications of outlets and the computer, blah, blah, blah. I just need to keep persuading Dan that it will all be okay. :)

Here is the entire wall. All red and black. I think I might change the vinyl I have with my wedding pictures. it's kind of bugging me now (naturally, after I spent forever putting it up).

Unfortunately, today's project was not without some mishaps. I had hung the red frame and was putting in a nail for the black frame, but the red frame fell down and the corner of it hit the baseboard! Ooops. I was really mad about that. Then, when I was nailing again, I stupidly forgot to take down the red frame and it fell down again onto the black frame and dented it in the side. THEN, I was holding five things in my hand, including the hammer and stepped up onto the stool. Well, Anna decided to get up on the stool with me. I was trying to avoid stepping on her, when the hammer fell a little and hit me on the head! I have a little goose egg on my forehead now. But, it's all done now, but what a time I had getting it all up!

So, as I mentioned before I am really in decorating mode. There are some decorating blogs I follow and they have so many cute ideas! Sunday, I spent forever looking at this one blog http://www.allthingsthrifty.com/
They have so many good ideas. I just want to have all this time to get all these ideas I have (mostly borrowed, can't claim all the credit) done. I know that won't happen, so I'm slowly trying to work on some stuff. I love looking at these blogs and seeing how easy it is to make cute stuff for your house for super cheap.

Here are some pillows from that site. So cute! I'm thinking of making one for Anna's room with pink and brown material.

The best part is the flower! She made them out of felt. How easy is that?

I love how these curtains are tied with ribbon. It's such a simple idea, but I don't think I ever would have thought of that.

I thought these towel things were a good idea. It's such an easy way to incorporate more color and variety into the bathroom and this would be so easy to make.

I could go on all day about decorating, so I'll stop here. Check out the site!

Throw pillow and Anna pictures!

Well, I finally got around to making a throw pillow for our bed. I've been meaning to do it for a long time, but with the holidays and being sick, I just didn't get around to it. So here it is. I think it adds a bit of variety to the bed. I had wanted some beige material with a pattern to it, but couldn't find one. If you look closely at this one, there are small lines in the material. I added a border with the same material as the duvet cover. Of course I didn't follow a pattern, I just made one up, so that lengthened the amount of time this took. I first had sewn all three sides with just the beige material and realized it was too plain. I played around with other designs of how to add red material. I finally decided I liked the border one, but had to take out the seams of the pillow. Let's just say, I didn't plan this out very well, so it took a little longer than I would have liked.

I had bought a small pillow a while ago, so I just sewed around it. To close up the pillow, I had to sew it by hand. It wasn't hard, just did small little stitches and you can't even see them when the pillow is on the bed.

Here is the whole side, sewn up.

No post would be complete without some Anna pictures. This one absolutely cracks me up!

We were at the chiropractor waiting for Dan to finish up. One of the girls that works there, brought out some stickers for Anna. Anna kept wanting more, so the girl kept putting them on Anna. This was the end product!

She kept the one on her nose the whole time.

Anna, in her cute pj's from Grandma Phelan, standing in Dan's motorcycle boots.

Anna falling over in Dan's boots.

This little girl decided it would be a good idea to write on her tummy. Of course, her dad did nothing to stop her.

Oh how we love our little Anna!

2 Rolls of Toilet Paper!

Would you believe it? I, with a little help from Anna, have gone through two rolls of toilet paper this week! For what? Blowing my nose. Yes, I promise it's true. I wish it wasn't, but sadly it is. It's been a loooooooong week.

Anna got sick last Friday, the night we had gotten back from Utah. She was sick for a few days, with no sign of getting better, so we took her to the doctor. Turns out she had an ear infection. The day before we took her (Monday), I started getting sick. I was congested, had a horrible cough, a runny nose, fever, chills, etc. A half hour after she got back from the doctor with her diagnosis, my ears started feeling funny. So I tried a home remedy of putting a few drops of olive oil in my ears. I guess garlic oil is really what you're supposed to use, but I didn't have any, so I soaked crushed garlic in it. My ears didn't get any worse for a few days and I kind of started feeling better. Until Friday, I woke up and my right ear was plugged up. I'm still kicking myself for not calling the doctor that day. I thought it would just get better, but Saturday it kept getting worse and worse. I finally went to urgent care and by this point, it was really hurting. I got it flushed out and it turns it is infected. I got some antibiotics and came home. My ear hurt so bad. All I could do was lay on the couch for an hour. A few hours later the medicine kicked in, and the pain started to subside.

I now feel much better, even though my nose is still runny and I still have a cough. Luckily, Dan was still off of work, otherwise life would have been even more miserable with both me and Anna sick. Unfortunately, it pretty much ruined his last week of vacation. So, that was too bad. At least we have spring break to look forward to. Only a little over 2 months for that one!

Well, here are some Christmas pictures I wanted to post a while ago.

Right before opening presents, Anna decided she wanted to wear her boots over her sleeper.

Anna and her new doll from grandma.

Opening her homemade wooden blocks from grandpa!

She loves building towers and knocking them down.

Later that day, we made ginger bread houses with Dan's family.

Good thing I was paired up with the artistic one. :)

Our finished product!

Dan's family is all extremely musically talented. That day that had a jam session and Anna decided to help out with the drums. :)

Dan goes back to work tomorrow and it's back to the grindstone for all of us. I can't wait to go to the gym! I've only been able to go twice in 2 weeks. I've also finally been able to eat some chocolate! How I've missed it. :) I guess it's okay I didn't work out, because I wasn't eating a ton, so at least I didn't gain weight. I went to two different doctors this week and I weighed the same at both of them. But, oh, I can't wait to have my full health back!

Bed make over

I'm participating in Thrifty Decor Chick's Before and After party.

Ever since buying a house, I have loved doing DIY projects and saving money! I bought this honey colored bed off of craigslist for $40. However, I really wanted a black bed. There was no way I was going to try and sand off the finish. There were too many corners and crevices that would be impossible to get. I tried to just paint over it, but the finish wouldn't absorb the paint. I thought all was lost, until my husband suggested I use primer first. I don't know why I didn't think of that first! So I tried a small area and it worked!

I took it apart, primed the whole thing for about $12. Unfortunately, I used cheap primer, so on the end, there are some corners that we brush up against with our legs when we walk by, so the paint will come off a bit. Word to the wise, use quality primer with big projects. :) I got a free can of Glidden paint through a paint promotion, and it was enough for the whole bed.

My nice "new" black bed.

However, I have a down comforter and needed a duvet cover. Those things are like $100! They cost more than the comforter did! Well, luckily there's a whole sale fabric store in my town and I got this fabric for $3 a yard! For $30, I made a duvet cover.

I then needed some pillow shams to match my duvet cover, so I decided to make some of those too. At the same fabric store, I got similar material for $3 a yard. It cost me $6 to make these.

I've been wanting to paint our bedroom for ages and finally got around to it. This color is from Home Depot. I can't remember the color and I can't find the sample, sorry.

The finished product!

Well, kind of.

I now need to find a new night stand for my husband and put up some wall decor. The total cost for my bed and bed makeover was $86 (excluding the paint on the walls).

I love the difference!