Antique Phone Table and a New Pillow

Two weeks ago, I found this beauty while "gargage saling". I'm told it's an antique phone table. I love this piece antique or not, especially for only $20 bucks!!

 

My original idea was to distress and possibly paint this piece. However, when I "googled" the "How To's":

I kept seeing this...

Step one: Make sure your piece is not a valuable antique. Changing the finish could destroy its worth.

So, I "googled" antique phone table and everything else similar, but I couldn't find it or anything close to it anywhere. I thought about it a little more, and because I didn't want to ruin this piece and because it already matches the wood in our living room, I decided I would restore versus redo.... for now! :o)

I mixed up 3/4 of vegtable oil and 1/4 of vinegar courtesy of a post I found at Miss Mustard Seed's Blog and applied it with 000 steel wool very gently. It was already in such great condition, and this process made it look even better!

 

I thought a fun pillow would be a nice accessory for my phone table. This is wall art in our house... but if you look close, it could be a great stencil too!

I used a white canvas like fabric (it's softer than actual canvas), turned my wall art around so my paint wouldn't ruin it, and mixed up some green!

I had some left over burlap from a previous project, so I "framed" my art with it. I didn't get too fancy here. I just used hot glue!

I also added some twine on the inside of my burlap with hot glue. Then, sewed my pillow with a fun brown, tan and green trim.

As a side note: This was my first sewing project! I took Home Economics in high school, but was never good at sewing and did very little. My mom brought my grandpa's sister's old sewing machine to me over Christmas and I told myself I was going to learn. I found and bought the manual online and I'm so excited to start sewing!! I broke 3 needles on this project!!!! Yes, I said 3 needles... on a pillow!! I'm a beginner for sure!! :o)

 

I'm pretty thrilled how everything turned out!!

It's like it was made for this spot in our home!

If anyone knows more about this "antique" I would love if you left me a comment or emailed me about it!

Find it at these Link Parties!

Tea Party Table

Over the weekend the "Little Lady" and I stumbled along quite a bit of fun. We checked out a little antique shop and a few thrift stores. Along the way I saw a couple of garage sale signs. So, of course, we stopped there too! You never know what kind of awesome junk you are going to find!

This is what we found! Something for both of us!

This piece was snagged for $2! I thought it would be a super cute "Tea Party Table". Let's face it, it's a table, so it's perfect for a million things! We have so many toys, which means limited space. It's mini size is pretty ideal!

It definitely needs some work!

First step, sanding! I used a fine sandpaper, 150. The electric sander was used on the table top and I manually sanded the legs.

My supplies were extra paint from the baby's room, wood trim, wood embellishments and Gorilla Glue for wood.

I thought the wood trim would be a good cover up here- (I flipped the table upside down for this part.)

Just apply your Gorilla Glue, add your trim...

Wipe off the excess glue, and use wood clamps or place something heavy on the trim for 20-30 minutes.

Repeat the process with the wood embellishments.

The fun part! Let's paint!! I like to add water to my paint when I am working with pieces with several imperfections. My thought is it keeps the paint from looking too "perfect".

After one coat of my water/paint mixture, I applied light pink paint sporadically.

I gave the table some time to dry. Then, I added more of the dark pink, water/paint mixture randomly. I let it dry completely, and I'm done! This cutie is going in the soon to be craft room / playroom!

 

 Pinkies Up!

Linked To:

 Beyond the Picket Fence

Chic on a Shoe String Decorating

 Coastal Charm

 Finding Fabulous

Funky Junk Interiors
 Mad in Crafts
Funky Polka Dot Giraffe
Paisley Passions

Hope Studios

 House of Grace

  Miss Mustard Seed

 Sassy Sites

Somewhat Simple

Talent Tuesday

The Shabby Nest

Today's Creative Blog

Elements Interiors

Vanity DIY

Ready to transform your vanity from this...

to this...

Check out the full bath transformation here.

Well, it's actually easier than you might think. I looked everywhere for our specific size vanity and all I ever heard was, "We don't carry that size. We would have to do a custom order." The custom order quotes always came in at a price I was just not willing to pay! Finally, I decided it was time to DIY! After all, stain and new hardware is much cheaper than a custom vanity.

Supplies:

Stain: $8.00 (I used two different colors, but I already had one.)

Hardware: $17

Steel Wool: $2.00

Tack Rags: $3.00

Brush: $2.00

Sandpaper: $2.00

Total: $34.00!!!!

Estimate for Custom Vanity: $500

Grand Savings: $466!!!!

These are the actual stains I used. Bombay Mahogany Satin was the first coat and Antique Walnut Gloss was the second.

Remove the drawers and doors and get to sanding! You can use an electric sander or do it by hand depending on the size of your vanity.

Reminder: Make sure you always sand with the grain of the wood, and manually sand edges and small details.

Pictured above and below is the first coat of stain. Apply light amount and again go with the grain of the wood. Stain needs at least 6 hours to dry. Then, sand it again, this time using the steel wool. (You will need type 000 for the steel wool.) Use the tack rags to clean your vanity, doors and drawers after sanding with the steel wool. Then, apply your second coat.

More Reminders: Make sure you get everything you sanded cleaned up with the tack rags or your stain will not be smooth! I know this will shock you, but stain, stains! Make sure you cover your work space properly & wear gloves!!

Once everything is completely dry reassemble your vanity. Now just add your new hardware!

Tip: Take sandpaper to all the edges of your vanity to give it some character!

I'm so glad I didn't waste $500 on a custom vanity!

Linked to:

  
Blessed Little Nest

C.R.A.F.T

Dittle Dattle

  Miss Crafty Pants

Miss Mustard Seed

Not Just a Housewife

Polly Want a Crafter

 Sassy Sites

 Texas Monkey

The DIY Showoff

11's Heaven Heaven Homemaking Haven

Vanity DIY

Anyone interested in a bathroom upgrade for under $200??

Well, I am here to tell you it can be done!! It all started a couple of weeks ago when I did something I have wanted to do for a VERY, VERY long time!!! I took down the guest bathroom mirror! I can't even begin to tell you how awesome it felt! In fact, I couldn't stop there. I decided the light had to go too! Next thing I know, I replaced the shelf, towel bars and restained the vanity. I'm all about upgrades, but not at the massive amounts they can cost. Especially, if I'm doing them for someone else. We will outgrow our home in a couple of years. So, I want to make it into a home we love while we are living in it, but I also don't want to make it too fancy when we won't be the one's enjoying it forever.

Let's take a tour of what we started with. There is nothing terribly wrong with the before... if you're into out of date fixtures.

I looked forever for the REAL before pictures. Real as in before I changed it to blue walls and the ocean theme. Before me, the walls were hunter green with palm tree wallpaper and sponge painted brown on top of the green. Let's just say I don't know what the people before us were thinking, and I don't know what I was thinking when I put that white shelf on the wall. Don't even get me started on how much space is between it and the toilet!

Yes, I know we've all seen blue walls and the ocean theme in bathrooms. I know it's sooo the 90's, but I didn't change it. First, I love the ocean/sailboats and second, I love blue!! One of my teachers had a quote on his wall. I read it everyday! "A ship is safe in the harbor, but that's not where ships belong." One of my favorite quotes ever. I know, I know, these are sailboats not ships, but they still make me think of the quote. Anyways, this picture is really just to show my sad towelbar. It's a tight squeeze!

My lovely vanity. Not a fan of the color or hardware! I haven't replaced the vanity top or the faucet yet. I'm saving those projects for another day.

This is the mirror that started it all! Not a fan of it, the light fixture or the hand towel holder.

Am I really sharing a picture of my unorganized cabinet??? Gross!! I was only willing to share because, hopefully, you will never see something like this in my house again!! This was one of those out of site out of mind moments.

Are you ready for some after pictures?? I am!!

I put up a new mirror. Luckily, we already had this one. I just matched everything else up to the frame color. The lights are actually supposed to be facing the floor (as directed on the box), but I like it much better this way. This glass shelf is so much better than the white one! Goodbye round towel holder, hello hook! If you look in the mirror you can even see my new, LARGER towel bar!

 I LOVE my new vanity! Much better color and hardware!!

 See what a basket and cabinet liners can do!! I have to admit organizing spaces gets to be a bit addicting. I figure, it's a positive addiction! (Obviously, this picture was taken before the vanity was complete.)

Next post, steps to get a vanity like this!

Linked With:

Finding Fabulous

Funky Junk Interiors

House of Hepworths

Paisley Passion

Tater Tots & Jello

The Shabby Nest
Thrifty Decor Chick