Tag Archives: DIY

May 6, 2013 · 1:16 am

Decoupage Furniture with Fabric and ModPodge

Hope you all had a super weekend. I had a really busy week, so I was thankful to have a relaxing and fun weekend. I spent some time finishing or nearly finishing some of my many projects. I finished decoupaging one of two little chairs. I still need to seal everything with ModPodge and then I am going to seal the whole chair with a Poly Acrylic. I have to do the other chair, but it should be easier now, since I know a few shortcuts and better ways to do things. I used fabric instead of paper, and it turned out really nice.

I’m almost done with the other school desk I am refinishing, I should be able to finish it tomorrow, at least I hope I will. Then, I have to start on my 3rd desk project and start working on refinishing an antique desk for my studio/office. After that, I plan to start that stair painting project that I told you about for the basement stairs, and the stairs to my studio. I cannot wait to start painting the stairs! All I need is time.

I need to decide whether I am painting the table that goes with the little chairs with grape or turquoise paint. I am also toying with the idea of decoupaging the table top, but I don’t think I will, because I think the paint will be a nice contrast. Who knows though, I may change my mind and decoupage the table. You can see the chair below that needs to be sealed. Let me know what you think of it.

Have you ever done any decoupaging with fabric. Let me know if you have, and how it turned out.

9 Comments

Filed under Crafts, DIY, hobby

Tagged as Chairs, Crafts, Decoupage, DIY, Fabric, Mod Podge, ModPodge, Mommy Ramblings, table

April 29, 2013 · 11:52 pm

DIY Projects, Playing Hard In The Woods & Campfires With Smores. Just a Few Highlights Of Our Weekend!!!

Wow, we have had a busy few days and going headstrong into a busy week. So many projects and so little time seems to be my mantra. I am going to give you a visual at some of the things I have been up to and will be bringing you upcoming posts on.

I am almost done with the school desk you will see below. The little chair you see is a chair from my table and chair set as a child I am redoing them again. The picture with the blue paint is when I ripped of the old decals I had on them. I am going to decoupage fabric onto both chairs and then paint the table either a turquoise or grape and put it up in my studio/sewing/craft room.

We also had to take time to play and play we did, I am not afraid to let my kids get dirty climbing and jumping on our land. It’s nothing a hot bath can’t fix. Of course it’s great to end the day as a family seated around our fire pit with our dogs, husband playing the guitar and lots of smores. Truly just a few of my favorite things that I am so blessed to be a part of. Hope you all had a wonderful weekend. What have you been up to?

One of the larger school desks I had as a kid that has suffered and needs a new life. Don’t worry already looking much better.

Priming the metal, don’t mind the huge mess I work in with all my stuff. I also recycle old tablecloths as drop cloths.

Still has the glaze on from the Modge Podge.

Partially done

The woodpeckers are back in full force and it sounds like a housing development is going up. We got to see some of their reno work up close and down low.

A Whole Lotta Painting Going On!!!

I know it may seem like I am slacking with the reviews/giveaways that you have come to expect, but I promise I have definitely not been slacking. I have great reviews and giveaways coming as always but also some great DIY projects I can’t wait to share with you. I wish there were more hours in a day because I just can’t seem to finish fast enough.

Some of the things I am going to be sharing in the next few days:

Turning an antique vanity into a great sewing table for my studio/sewing/craft room
Refinishing 2 more vintage school desks
Transforming an antique desk into a new timeless treasure
Decoupage crafts and accessories
Decoupage on a children’s table and chair set with fabric
Painting and decoupaging the stairs leading to my studio
Painting our basement stairs in a fun family project
Painting and glazing ladder back chairs
A great ceiling fan project
Much, much more

Restoration Of A Vintage Little School Desk–A Labor of Love!!!

My father was a great man and he had a very successful career as an Engineer. With his own business he designed and built churches, schools, industrial buildings, custom homes and much more. More than once he brought home some school desks (quite a few) of various sizes. They were mostly in pristine condition and having several I had my own classroom for my dolls and bears in my playroom.

The desks got shuffled between our lake house and our full-time home. I know at one point when I had the first of my kids I had one brought up here but it remained in the basement of the lake house. Several years ago I bought paint and had every intention of freshening it up but it never happened. 2 more kids happened and at some point it must have become damp or wet and rust happened.

However, I was steadfast in my determination and added it to my great list of projects. Friday afternoon I unearthed it from my garage. Yikes! It was sad, and in very rough condition but I had a vision. My husband also gave me some tools to achieve my vision. First I went over the whole thing with a wire brush and next my husband gave me a very powerful drill with a circular metal bristle whosiawatzit that just like magic buffed and grinded that rust away and left me with bare metal to work with.

After rust removal and primer.

First coat of paint and sanding in progress.

We added some wood glue where there was a little bit of separation in some of the wood layers and yes, we are being funny with all the clamps.

Started drizzling (never amounted to anything) while I was staining and so I had to move to the garage.

After it was cleaned up, I applied a primer. Let that dry, that was Friday night. Saturday which was a busy day because it was Ethan’s birthday, I applied a coat of high gloss gray Rustoleum paint. Then today, Sunday, I sanded the seat and backrest. I taped and applied a second coat of paint, then stained the seat and backrest and applied a coat of polyurethane.

The completed project only took a few hours in total between late Friday afternoon and late Sunday afternoon. The poly is drying and I will bring it inside in about an hour to get some nicer pictures. I am really proud to have this memory of mine in my house, to be used by my little ones. It truly was a labor of love and it was amazing to breathe some new life into a tired, sad, little desk.

This is the first of many projects I have planned. So stay tuned for lots of transformations of all kinds. Okay, off to add some felt feet and bring this baby inside. I will update with a picture soon of the finished project.

7 Comments

Filed under Crafts, Decorating, DIY, hobby, Home & Garden

Tagged as Antiques, Crafts, DIY, Hobby, Painting, refinishing, restoration, sanding, school desk

April 5, 2013 · 11:04 pm

No Sew DIY Birthday Shirt #2!!!

Okay, back again with some enhancements on the birthday shirt. Someone pointed out in my last post that I had the peace signs upside down on my last example. Well, a perfectionist like myself could not let that stay that way, and while remaking the shirt, I made some other changes. Whichever shirt you decide to make, if you do make one, your child will love it!

I used the same t-shirt, ultra hold and peace sign accent fabric. I added some iron on letters for his name and then I also added six stars for another way to show he is 6 and of course a super star! I have really liked making the shirts and I have lots of ideas for more and want to add some decorative outline stitching with my new sewing machine and you can expect to see a lot more examples of unique and fun kid’s shirts in the future.

Love to hear your comments and about some creations that you have made! We love comments!!!

DIY No Sew Birthday Shirt!!!

If you are looking for a super easy and inexpensive way to add fun and great memories to your child’s birthday, you will like this. To make this shirt you will need a plain t-shirt. I found some inexpensive Hanes Beefy T-Shirts , some fabric and heat n bond ultra.

Next, you can search on Google for a number template and print that out, then pin it to the fabric and cut it out. Apply the fabric to the backing and then peel the paper liner off.

Now you will have an iron on applique you just need to iron on your T-Shirt. After ironing on the number you are all done. Fast, easy and so fun for the birthday girl or boy!

What do you think of the finished project? We added some enhancements, check it out HERE. Check out my other Birthday Shirt Tutorial Post for another version.