Starting Out Southern

Starting Out Southern

I am going to take a moment to do a little Mommy Bragging!  My sweet baby girl (well, not baby really but you know what I mean) has started a new blog to share what she is experiencing as a new college graduate, working her first job, decorating her first home, getting her first puppy and all the other fun firsts coming her way!  I hope you will pop over and see what a GREAT job she has done on her first apartment.  She is a talented DIYer and totally gets working on a budget!!!  Starting Out Southern

DIY Car Care Tip: Headlight Clearing!

I know you have all seen those headlight clearing kits or even seen advertisements to have it done at local auto shops but I decided to try out a DIY trick I had seen on Pinterest (of course!)  My headlights were pretty fogged over and I thought I was stuck with it or would have to shell out some major bucks to get them shiny and clear again but with NO bucks (my favorite!) and a few minutes I was pleasantly surprised at how well this technique worked. 

Here is a before shot:

Here is what I used, I just brushed my lights

with the toothpaste and rinsed off:

TaaDAAAA...here are the after shots:

Pretty cool, huh? 

Dining Room Teaser....

Yes, I am a tease! 

This is just a tiny peek at what I will be posting about next week.  Wallpaper has been removed and we decided to go with paint instead of more wallpaper.  Window treatments have been completed and hung and we are ready to host Thanksgiving...just in the nick of time!  So, check back next week to see a before and after (dramatic after, I might add) of our DIY Dining Room face lift.

Can you tell I am excited about the results?

Decorating Delimmas Party...Round 5!

Today I am not going to be tardy to the Party! I am participating in Amanda's Decorating Dilemmas (or in my case, Solution) Party:

http://serenitynow4amanda.blogspot.com/2010/01/decorating-dilemmas-partyround-5.html

NEW HOPE for this CHEST!

Isn't this delightful? In an 80's kind of way? This isn't a photo of my actual Hope Chest (do people still call them that?), as I got all caught up in my project and forgot to take a before photo, but this is very similar to what I started with...except this sad fabric is way, way better than what I actually started with ~ yes, it was THAT bad. The oak finish is the same, and the lovely handles are identical as well, so work with me here.

You may even be wondering why I would bother to redo this chest, but it really does have a deep sentimental value to me as my DH bought it for me one Christmas when we were dating. It is a cedar lined Lane Hope Chest. It currently holds all kinds of memories from our life together and I don't think I could ever bring myself to get rid of it. Although I can't part with it, I was for sure convinced it needed a face lift.

So, I grabbed some fabric, light grained sand paper, wood filler, tack cloth, black paint, natural cherry stain, new knobs, and in 8 easy steps I had a "new" chest.

1. First, I removed the upholstered top and recovered with fabric using a staple gun
2. Next, removed original handles and filled holes with wood filler/Spackle and let dry (the original handles had 2 screws but the new ones only had 1)
3. Lightly sanded the original oak finish to make it adhere to the paint better and to smooth out where I had filled the handle screw holes
4. Wiped it all down with a tack cloth to remove any sanding residue
5. Painted with fast drying black latex paint (2 coats) - let dry
6. Brushed on 1 coat of Minwax Polyshades (stain & solyurethane in 1) of natural cherry satin stain on the lip below where the upholster top, which I wanted to leave wood grain but needed it to be redder than the original oak finish to coordinate with my new knobs - let dry
7. Re-attached upholstered top
8. Drilled holes for new knobs and attached!
   

TAAAAAHDAAAAH!

Cost of project, less than $20! Time, less than 1 day depending on drying time!