DIY Collegiate Table

My husband and I are getting ready to move into a home where we're finally going to have a study.  I was looking at desks online and the only ones I liked were outrageously priced. I decided for his Christmas present, I would tackle a big DIY Project: refinishing an old table into something AWESOME. He's a Texas A&M alumni, and we're getting ready to move back to College Station, so what else could be better than a Texas A&M desk?

Final Project!

Supplies:
Inexpensive Desk (I found mine for FREE! on Craigslist)
Primer
Paint Color of your choosing
Brushes
Paint Rollers
Drop Cloth or towels (don't want to spill paint on your floors)
Tape (if you do a design like mine)

The Table Before (with a little primer on it)

This was actually pretty simple. First, I just used primer on the entire desk. I used a brush...but a paint roller would have taken a LOT less time.
*I didn't have to sand down the desk since it isn't real wood. Just a nice coat of primer did the job.*

I waited for the primer to dry and then started with my paint. I applied two coats (I'll be going back after we move and applying a 3rd coat)

After the black paint on the top of the desk was 110% dry, I started adding tape for a logo stencil. Thank goodness the A&M logo is pretty square and easy to do with tape, or else I would have probably lightly drawn it on with a pencil. Adding the tape outline took longer than priming and painting the darn thing, but it was better than me free-handing it!

The "A" ended up being a little off, but HEY, it adds character :)

I used a smaller brush and painted inside the tape outlines. I applied two coats and then carefully removed the tape from the desk. After that, I just went around the desk and touched up any areas that needed it.  Hopefully after we move we'll get a glass top for the table to make sure it stays clean and safe.

Finishing Touch: Underneath the desk I wrote a personalize, little note for my husband with the date.

I finished this DIY project in two days (probably 5-6 hours). A lot of the time was just waiting for the paint to dry! My husband LOVES his new, personalized work desk. We can't wait to move and put it in his "official" study!

What do you think? 

Before I added an extra coat in the drawers. But the maroon inside the drawers adds a nice pop of color!

DIY Halloween Wine-O-Lantern

So this is my rendition of something I saw on Pinterest! I LOVE Holiday's and love decorating for fall and winter (especially Halloween and Christmas).
I had a few wine bottles laying around (I didn't drink them all for this. No worries) and decided I wanted to make some Halloween/Autumn Pumpkins.

What I used:

• Empty Wine Bottle & Empty Wine Jug
• Acrylic Paint
• Paint Sponge/Brush
• Knife (to take off the label) 
• Black fabric paint (I didn't have any other paint :)

I ran the bottle and labels under hot water, started to scrape the labels off with a knife and then did a final rinse of soap and water. 

Dry the bottle thoroughly. 

Then I simply painted the bottle. Let the first layer dry and do enough layers until you think it's opaque enough. Let the paint dry and then design a fun face with the black paint (you could probably do a witch or a ghost too.. I'm going to try another and post later) 

You could put a glow stick inside to illuminate it as well. 

It's super easy and cute. If you have someone who isn't picky about having the label on the wine, this would be a super cute gift if you had a full bottle of wine!

What do you think? 

DIY Table Refinish

So, over a year ago I ordered a coffee table and two side tables. Well they were the wrong color. SO Wrong. I got busy and just forgot to exchange them (since it was the fault of the store).   My handyman grandpa came to town recently and I decided it would be the perfect time to refinish my tables.
(*You can't tell in the picture, but the "before" was actually a lot lighter in person. The "After" is black*)

What I used:

• power Sander (I think that's what it's called.:)
• Black Satin Spray Paint

It was so easy, so this is going to be a super short blog. 

First, I sanded the tables down.  They already had a shine finish and I wanted the paint to hold better, so I just sanded them. *Be careful to not round of the edges with the sandpaper*

Then add a layer of spray paint... let it dry... spray again... let it dry. 

I'm thinking about adding a clear coat, but I'm not sure. Any thoughts? 

DIY Frosted Glasses

I have a few too many plain glasses for martinis and other alcoholic beverages. I decided to use some supplies I already had and create these great, frosted glasses.

What You'll Need: 

• Masking Tape
• Plain Glasses
• Frosted Spray Paint

All the necessary supplies

First, just start adding tape in whatever pattern/shape you want.  I love the chevron pattern so I decided to use that for the cylindrical glass.

Took me a while to get the pattern straight

Next, spray away. Try to get the spray paint even everywhere and let it dry for 20-30 minutes.  I know that it feels dry sooner, but let it dry for a long time.  As you'll see, I did the martini glass, and I'm currently drinking out of it and it smudged big time. Bummer.

I'm going to add a clear coat in a little bit and it should be good to go!

I think I might make the one above a candle holder instead of for drinks.

Tip: Do not put in the dishwasher. Hand wash. 

Final Chevron Glass/Candle Holder

As a candle holder

Martini Glass. Pre Smudge. 

What do you think? Pretty simple, huh? Are you going to try it? 

Frosted DIY Candle Holders

Sorry I haven't posted in a while, I have been in the process of moving into a new apartment. I finally found where I packed all of my crafting stuff and decided to take on a simple, quick project. I made the DIY Candle-holder and it took all of 25 min (20 of which was drying time).

Supplies Needed:

• Clear, Glass Candle-holder (whichever size & shape you want) 
• Frosted Glass Spray paint -white (you can use other colors... the one I used was white)
• Rubber bands... tape... anything along those lines. (i used a variety so I could have different width lines)

My cylinder candle-holder with one rubber band already on it & frosted glass spray from Michael's

• Wrap the rubber bands, tape... whatever you're using, around the holder. Make sure it's all tightly on there so you get clear lines. 

*Hint: the masking tape was my favorite because it was easy to get off & I didn't have to wait for the spray paint to totally dry before taking it off. Yes, I am so impatient that I can’t wait 20 minutes for spray paint to dry. *

• Spray paint the candle-holder outside. Make sure you don’t get too happy with the spray paint can because it will run and not look super even.

*Hint: I sprayed too much in one area so I wiped the running paint off with my finger and sprayed it. Now, you can’t really tell that I messed up. The very first picture in the blog shows the side with the smudge.. not super noticeable. 

Pretty and lit. I have it on
my mantle & love it. 

• Let it dry for 20-30 minutes just to be safe. Carefully remove the rubber bands, tape, etc.  Voila! You have a fancy, expensive-looking candle holder!  (In my picture, I have a small candle in a large holder. I need to get a larger candle. That would make it look better… not quite as empty!Obviously)

Do you think you’ll try this DIY Project? If you have, let  me know how it goes! 

Picture of it without a candle lit in it.

DIY Sweatshirt Fix

I'm sure everyone has a sweatshirt that just doesn't fit right. Mine is in the form of a hoodie my parents got me from Hawaii. I love sweatshirts but this one fit weird. The sleeves are at least 1.5" short and the hoodie pretty much choked me out every time I'd try to wear it. So what did I do? Took scissors to it. I'm sure I could have been "fancier" or more creative but hey, I wanted to fix it.

One of my final products

What you'll need: 

• Sweatshirt you don't mind cutting into
• Scissors

This is literally the easiest and fastest outfit fix I've done! First, I lined up the sweatshirt so I didn't cut it unevenly. 

Sweatshirt Before (and my nosy dog)

Lining up the sweatshirt and just starting to cut away

Next, the sleeves. The super short sleeves. I wasn't quite sure what to do with them. So I did what I'm good at... cutting with the scissors.  Below shows how I did it. After they were cut, i just rolled them up a little. I was going to sew them, but I decided I like them rolled.

I cut off a little bit of the sleeve and then just rolled it twice

I thought about cutting it shorter too on the bottom. However, I thought about the pocket and I didn't want to mess that up!  The final product is below! I'm proud of it, I'm actually going to wear this sweatshirt now! Yay! 

It's a lot cuter in person... I promise. lol Here it looks bulky, but that's just the sweatshirt itself

The neckline

Pretty easy, huh? What do you think? I did another one as well, it's the pink one on top!

DIY Cork Chandelier

So I saw a "ball of corks" if you will, and I thought that it would be so cute with lights wrapped around it as a "cork chandelier". My first issue, there were no instructions for making this "Cork Chandelier" but hey, I can do anything I put my mind to, right?

What you'll need: 

• Foam ball (whichever size you want, I used an 8" one from Michael's)
• Hot glue
• a TON of corks (if you use a larger ball.) 
• Chain
• Mini Christmas Lights

This is actually a really easy project, it just took a lot longer than I thought it was. I underestimated the amount of time it would take to glue on 150+ corks. 

The one thing you do need to do is cut a hole through the middle. I used a drill to drill a hole through the middle of the ball so I could hang it with a small chain... or whatever I use. (the picture below shows about how much space I left around the drilled hole) 

One issue I did come across is that I got impatient, and would rotate the ball to add more corks before other glue dried. I didn't pay attention and a few times the cork would dry crooked or tilted. So if that happens, just glue around the edges to hold it down... or (i did this a few times) gently pull the cork off of the ball, clean it off and re-glue it. Easy Fix. The picture below shows me fixing one of the corks...

To be honest, there is not a lot of skill involved in this project (if I can do this, anyone can:)... just start gluing. Mine took probably 3-4 hours for gluing. 

Partially Done 

I'm moving on Friday so as soon as I hang it and unpack some lights to wrap in it, I will take a picture and post it! ( I need to make sure I get a strong... but cute chain because this sucker is heavy!!!)

*Disclaimer: Nope, I did not drink that much wine in order to acquire that many corks! My good friend is a restaurant manager, so she brought me a box full of probably 300 corks! :)*

Currently what it looks like. I think when I get some mini lights wrapped in there (I'm going to try and find ones with dark cords) you won't see the foam as much. 

What do you think? Do you think you'll try and make one? I'd love to hear your honest thoughts on it! 

Inexpensive DIY Candle Holders

This is a unique, cute idea (I think) for some really unique candle holders. It's simple and after I got the supplies together and ready, it took about 5-7 minutes to make. 

What You'll Need: 

• Whatever pretty candle holder you want (i picked a short, cylindrical one) 
• Mod Podge
• Sponge Applicator
• Epsom Salt
• Clear Coat Spray
• Paper Plate (just for pouring the Epsom salt onto) 

First, you to pour a generous amount of Epsom salt onto the paper plate. 

Then, apply a thin layer of Mod-Podge onto the entire vase/candle holder.. whatever you use. *Make sure it's even. I made the mistake of applying it thicker in one spot and it's a little noticeable. Doesn't look bad but would look better even :) 

I applied the Mod Podge while I had my hand in the vase so I didn't have to worry about getting it on my hand. 

Next,  while keeping your hand in the vase, roll it in the Epsom salt which is on the paper plate. 

Let it sit for a little bit (I waited around 10 minute) and then lightly tap the candle holder to shake off the excess Epsom salt. 

Then, spray a light layer of the clear coating on it to make sure the Epsom salt stays in place! 

Voila! You have a cute candle holder that has a gorgeous glow!!! 

 What do you think? Will you try this? 

Chic DIY Mossy Letters

I saw a similar DIY project on Pinterest and I though the letters looked very shabby chic. I tried it for myself and it was a little messier and turned out a bit more "woodsy" than I had anticipated (I think I just got the wrong type of moss).

What You'll Need: 
Bag of Moss (I got mine from Michaels for about 7.99 I think)
Hot glue/gun
Wooden letters - Whichever size works for you. (I bought mine from Michaels for $3.99 each)
Newspaper (something to keep your mess to a minimum)

I didn't do anything special, just heated up the glue gun, grabbed a bit of moss and started gluing.

I like them now (see final project at the top of the blog). My boyfriend and I are moving at the end of March and I'm going to hang these in our bathroom or kitchen... I'll post a final picture then. You could also do deeper letters so they stand on their own.

What do you think about the mossy letters? Will you try them? 

(Spoiler Alert: My next DIY Craft that I will post will be DIY candle holders with Epsom salt!)