Old Dresser = Entertainment Center!!!

BEFORE

 

 

AFTER!!!

 

 

Want to make something that adds that spark of color to your living room?  Find yourself an old "ugly" dresser!  It doesn't have to be one exactly like the one I found.  Just make sure it fits the space where you want to put it and get down to business with your imagination and tools.

 

1.  Find a dresser made of solid WOOD.  No particle board, tile, plastic, or other random stuff.  The one I found was only $60 and is WAY heavy.

 

2.  Decide on which drawers (if any) you are going to pull out and keep out for your DVD player and game consoles.

 

3.  Find some cute knobs or drawer pulls, if the ones on your old dresser are not your style.  I found mine at Hobby Lobby.  If you go to Hobby Lobby, make sure to wait until they are all on their 50% sale. 

 

4.  Pull out all the drawers, take out the runners where the drawers will no longer be, and take off the drawer pulls/knobs.  If your new pulls/knobs don't match up with the holes from the old pulls/knobs, use wood filler and fill in the old holes.  Make sure to scrape off the access with a putty knife! 

 

5.  After the wood filler is dry, sand down everything.  Make sure to be careful around the carved out details!  You don't want to break anything off or have the details/corners too flat or rounded. 

 

6.  Pick your paint!  This is the fun part.  You can do any color that you want!  I was going to go with a yellow or a mint color, but then found this teal and just could not pass it up.  We used an air compressor with an attachable spray paint gun, but you can use a paint brush if you do not have an air compressor.  They both work the same.  And as you can see, we chose to stain the top instead of painting it, but you can do whatever you wish.

*Wait for it to dry and then do a second coat of paint*

 

7.  Let the paint dry for a day.  Now it is time to "paint on" the sealant.  You can use either paste wax or a Polyacrylic sealer.  Either one will work just fine.  We painted on the sealant, let it dry for a day, and then applied a second coat.  We let it sit and "dry" in our garage for about a week and then brought it into the house.

 

Wala!  It is finished!  Add the TV and the other gadgets and you have yourself a super cute entertainment center.   



Play Kitchen

BEFORE

 

 

AFTER

 

This cute little kitchen was made for my sweet little Emryn for Christmas by my husband and I.  After searching and searching for the perfect old entertainment center, I came across this beauty only for $20.  All wood and was just the right size.  To some the entertainment center was just a piece of junk taking up space, but I saw a masterpiece in the making!  I still have yet to hang the damask curtains in the "window", but all in all it is still amazing.  Don't you think?

 

Ever get sick of those dinky little plastic kitchens you see being sold for a lot of money at the stores?  Those little kitchens your kids will outgrow by the time they actually want to play with it, so why not make something a little bigger that will last? 

 

I'm not going to go into detail of how we went about redoing the entertainment center into this kitchen.  That would take FOREVER.  I will tell you this, it took a lot of time, energy and imagination.

 

The "fridge" has magnetic metal sheeting on the front.  How cool is that?!  And inside it has multiple shelves so she can fit all her play food in.  The oven does have a metal oven rack in the center and the door falls forward like a normal oven.  The sink is made out of a big bowl I found at the DI.  And the faucet and oven knobs are all real, so she can turn them and they will not break off!

 

If you would like to know more info on how we made this, just email me at pacificpanda@gmail.com and I will try my best to answer all of your questions.

 

 

 

 

Dry Erase Menu Board

This is THE easiest project I have yet done and it didn't take much time at all!  One trip to Hobby Lobby and I was set to do this project. 

What You Need:
* Large Picture Frame w/Glass
* Scrapbook Paper
* Bold Sticky Letters from the scrapbook/sticker section
* Scissors
* Glue Stick
* Dry Erase Marker(s)
Optional Items:
* Stamp that says "Family" along with stamp ink
* Brown (or other color) "chalk" paint for distressing
* Brads
* Any other embellishments you may want to add!  Remember, they have to fit under the glass of the frame.  Nothing too bold.

This menu board is pretty self-explanatory from the picture.  All you really need to know is...
1.  Use the cardboard in the frame to paste your scrapbook paper (you may need to cut this accordingly to fit your frame). 
2.  Lay out your letters how you would like them.
3.  Add any and all other embellishments you would like to.
4.  Put it all together with the glass in front and you've got yourself a cute menu board that cleans easily week after week with just a damp paper towel!

Large & Cheap Wall Pics

 

What You Will Need:

 

*Engineering Prints

*Insulation Foam Board

*Acid Free Spray Glue (I used Photo Mount)

*White or Black Paint - for those of you wishing to paint the sides instead of do a "canvas wrap"- DO NOT USE SPRAY PAINT!!!

*Exacto Knife

*Large Plastic Table Cloth

*Clean Microfiber Cloth

*Poster No-Damage Wall Hangers

 

I first saw this idea on Pinterest and thought I would put my own spin on it and give it a try.  Using the photos from our pics taken last year by a family friend, I used photo editing to crop and size the pics to the size I wanted for my wall(s).  This took the most time, because I didn't know exactly which photos I wanted to use.  After cropping the photos as such, I made a copy of them onto my flash drive and made a note of the sizes I wanted.  I then took a trip over to our local Staples, where I asked for the pictures to be printed as Engineering Prints.  Please note that Engineering Prints are NOT photo quality and are similar to newspaper.  They also cannot make them in color, so before taking your photos to be printed by them turn them to black and white!  For the four photos it was about $14... about $3.50 per print.  I then drove on over to our local Lowes and bought one of their large pieces of blue insulation foam.  This was about $11 and can be cheaper or more expensive depending on the foam you buy.  The more expensive stuff is firmer and makes a nicer cut, which I definitely think is worth the extra money in the long run.  Once home, you will want to do this outside or in the garage.  If planning to do this inside, make sure you have a large enough work space and an old plastic table cloth underneath you so nothing gets ruined from the spray glue.

 

Now lets get started... 

1. Lay the photo out on the insulation foam board and measure where you would like it to go.  If you want to wrap your photo around the edges for that "wrapped canvas look" make sure to leave at least three inches of overhang.  If you rather paint the edges and not have it wrapped, just skip to #3.

2. Cut out your foam board with the exacto knife.  You will want to go slowly and make some shallow cuts at first and then go deeper with the second and third cuts until the foam board gives way.  If you are painting, cut carefully with the line of your picture.

3. Line up your picture and then carefully spray the foam board with your spray glue.  Make sure to not go too heavy on the spray glue, or it will seep through to your picture and cause a mess and bubbles.

4. Carefully and slowly, roll out your picture.  Using a clean microfiber cloth, softly smooth out the picture onto the insulation board until it is all glued down and smooth.

5.  If you are painting the edges, skip back up to #2 and then proceed to 5B. 
A) For those of you wrapping your photos, you will want to use your best gift wrapping experience.  Try to get the edges laying flat and wrap the photo around the board to the back.  Once you have the desired creases and know which way you are folding things, spray glue around the edge of the back of the board and start pressing down your photo until all the edges are flat and your photos are complete and ready to hang.
B) Painters!  DO NOT USE SPRAY PAINT!  Spray paint will eat the foam board and you will not only have a big mess, but you will have to go buy more foam and start the project all over!  Okay, now paint the edges by hand.  This is the most time consuming, but once it is finished it looks SO nice.  You will need to be careful and do a few coats, but once you are done let it dry and walla!  Your pics are ready to hang on the wall.

6.  To hang these, all it takes are the poster no damage wall hangers.  You can find them at Walmart, Target, or K-Mart.  Follow the directions on the packaging and hang where you desire.

"I Spy" Kids Bags

A friend of mine is doing a Toddler Busy Bag party and this is what I decided to make all 15 ladies (16 including myself)!  You know the "I Spy" books that your children just love and can spend hours looking at finding things?  Well, this idea originated from those books and is a fun item to have for the kids.  It is great to take to church, doctor's appointments, car trips, etc...  I've seen these done with felt before, but have heard complaints about the various items getting stuck on the felt inside and the kids not being able to find them.  So I came up with this!

Items Needed:
~ Pencil Case with clear plastic window (found at Walmart for .97)
~ Poly-Pellets.  (They're Non-Toxic and can be found at Hobby Lobby, Joann's, and Michael's in their doll making area.)
~ Small Fun Items.  (Some can be found around the house... marbles, dice, pennies, paperclips, buttons, etc.  And the others I found at various craft stores.)
~ Large Ribbon
~ Super Glue
~ Fabric Glue

*OPTIONAL:  Before you start to make your "I Spy" Bags, take a picture of all your small fun items on a a white sheet of paper.  Copy and paste that picture to a desired computer working space, shrink to a smaller size (I fit SIX onto one sheet of paper), label items, and print them out.  Have them laminated.  Cut them out.  And last but not least, attach to pencil case with a hole punch and string.*
1.  Fill the pencil case with 2.5 CUPS of poly-pellets.
2.  Add small fun items to bag (I used 14 items)
3.  Zip bag shut and take off the dangling part of the zipper pulley.  (You may need to use needle nose pliers for this step.)
4.  Put a small dab of Super Glue where the zipper pulley is on each side.
5.  Measure out your large ribbon, long enough to fit across zipper area and be able to fold around the edges to the backside of pencil case and cut to desired length.
6.  Use the Fabric Glue to glue the large ribbon on top of the zipper and around the back to the edges.  Allow to dry for about three hours.

Your "I Spy" Bag is now ready for your kids to play with!  My two year old doesn't understand that she should be looking for certain items yet, but she still enjoys looking at all the items in the bag.  So I definitely think this is a fun item for both younger and older kids!

52 Reasons I LOVE YOU!

I saw this idea on Pinterest and thought I would give it a try for my husband for Valentine's Day!  I know it has been awhile since Valentine's Day, but forgive me in that I am just now getting around to posting this.

All you need:
1.  A regular deck of playing cards
2.  Scapbooking paper of your choice AND cardstock paper
3.  Two large binder rings
4.  Hole punch
5.  ColorBox Fluid Chalk Inkpad (I used dark brown for antiquing)   
6.  Paper cutter or Scissors
7.  2 Glue Sticks
8.  Any embellishments (like the key and heart lock) that you would like to add!

STEP ONE:  Come up with the 52 reasons of why you love that person.  (This can be given to a boyfriend or girlfriend, husband or wife, son or daughter, etc...)  You can either type them all down on the computer or write them all down by hand.  This is the fun part, so get creative and put some heart into it!

STEP TWO:  After coming up with all your reasons, format each of them on the computer (or by hand) to the correct size and style to fit onto the card.  I did mine on Microsoft Word instead of hand written, because I found it to look nicer and easier to fix any mistakes.  Print onto cardstock paper.

STEP THREE:  Cut out and paste with glue stick all the "reasons" onto your cards!

STEP FOUR:  To make the cover of your "52 Reasons I Love You" cut a piece of scrapbook paper to the size of the card and paste onto one of the Joker or Blank cards.  Print from computer (or hand print) the title you want on the front of your cards onto cardstock paper.  Cut out and paste to cover.

STEP FIVE:  Hole punch the cards with two punches each.  To get them exactly lined up, I used one of the big hole punchers with the measurements on it.  However, you can do it the hard way and use a one hand hole punch, but just remember to take a ruler and measure out where you want the holes first before punching so all the cards line up nice and neat!

STEP SIX:  Put all the cards in the order you would like them and hook them onto the binder rings to make a "book".  This part can be a bit frustrating, but in the end it looks so nice.

STEP SEVEN:  Add any and all embellishment.  As you can see from the photo, I added some antiquing to the edge of the cards, put a key and heart lock on the binder rings, and added some "ruby" stickers.  Please note that if you antique all the cards like I did, that it takes awhile!

When I gave these cards to my husband, the biggest smile lit up his face and he truly LOVES them.  He even took them to work and they now sit on his desk for him to look at any time.  It's a great heartfelt gift and is a great way to show someone how much they really mean to you.

Toddler Bed

This is my daughter's new toddler bed made out of an old table!  Very simple and easy to make.  Here is what you need:

~ A regular sized four chair table with nice legs (must be big enough to fit a crib sized mattress)
~ Furniture feet from The Home Depot or hardware type store
~ Sander or sandpaper
~ Electric Drill
~ Screwdriver
~ Paint

Now, before you get started you must know that I could not find a cheap table with nice legs.  I ended up purchasing a used table for $10 with not so nice legs.  I kept a look out for a cheap bed frame with nice posts.  I was finally able to find one at the DI for $20, which is much cheaper than buying nice looking legs at The Home Depot for $100+.  We took off the table legs, which was a simple matter of taking some screws out.  We cut off the bed frame posts and attached them to the table, as if they were legs!  Hence the reason that two of the table "legs" are shorter than the other two in the pic.

1.  Sand down the table and the legs.  You do this so the paint will adhere better to the wood.

2.  Attach the feet.  Use the electric drill to make the holes for the screws.  Screw in the feet.  They should come with screws for easy attachment, but if not you may have to buy some screws to drill in and attach.  Please note that 'Hard As Nails' Liquid glue does NOT work for this.

3.  Paint!  Make sure to get all the nooks and crannies!  You may want to do more than one coat of paint.  We did two.  Leave to dry.

4.  Set up in your kid's room, put in the mattress, and enjoy!

All in all this cute little toddler bed cost us around $40 total!  What a steal and a great project to work on as a couple or as a family!