This is what I've been singing along to!

Refurbished Nightstand

Hello! This, by far, has been my most exciting project! I am such a sucker for "before and after" anything! I love seeing something not so great turn in to something awesome. So, I'm sure you can understand my excitement for this project. I like the feeling of pushing myself to learn about more tools and feeling confident while using them. I am proud to say I am now a beast at sanding anything! 

What You Will Need:

Random piece of beat up furniture

Palm Sander ( I got mine at Harber Freight for $15)

Extra sand paper

Paint 

Screwdriver

 1. As you can see this nightstand has been through a lot! I got it from a local thrift store for $20. Don't waste your time refurbishing furniture that's not real wood. The end result might look neat but why spend time on something that could just fall apart. Start off by unscrewing the drawer pulls. I really like the look of vintage hanging pulls so I decided not to update them.

 2. Start sanding the crap out of it! The top had a very thick poly coating on it so I just sanded the top shiny coat off and left the rest. 

 3. Get all that sanding dust off of it. It tends to build up inside so I used an air compressor to blow everything off of it.

 4. Start Painting! I love the painting process because that's when you can see your vision coming to life.Be careful not to get too much paint on your brush because there is nothing more tacky than furniture with a thick coat of paint. So don't let it puddle and watch the for the build up in the cracks.

 5. Let it sit out to dry for a while. Since the layer of paint I put on was so thin it didn't take very long to dry.

6. Put your drawer pulls back on, bring inside, and show it off!

Pallet Shelf

Hey there! It's been a while since I've posted but with the holidays and vacations over I can finally post what I've been working on! I made this shelf for our back deck since we had all of our stuff just piled up. The pallets were free from Lowe's so all I had to buy was stain and a 2x4. Its a perfect project to do in one day to heal your boardom!  

What You'll Need:

2 skinny pallets or 1 large one cut in half

2x4

wood stain

1 pound box of screws (you wont use all of them)

Drill

 1. Start off by staining the entire pallet. It's way easier to stain before it is put together. I got too excited and started screwing it together first lol but hey im learning as I go!

2. The pallets we had were a little wide so my lovely boyfriend cut it down for me. I'm still getting comfortable with power tools and was not about to risk cutting my arm off. If it were for inside the house i would have made it thinner but I wanted something wide to put plate's on when we are bbqing. 

3. Decide how tall you want the shelf to be. Then cut 4 pieces the same length from the 2x4. "Measure Twice, Cut Once" isn't just a saying!  I put 2 screws on the inside of the leg and 1 screw going in from the outside. That might be a little over kill but it turned out to be very sturdy.

4. While it is still upside down, place the other pallet on top upside down. Be sure the leg is straight before screwing in through the bottom of the pallet.

5. Touch up any spots you missed with the stain. I dabbed a little over each screw head so they wouldn't be so noticeable. And your done! 

After using it for a while to steady my arm, it was finally moved and used for its intended purpose lol

Hope Box

This is the hope box my Love secretly made me for Christmas. He knows the way to a simple girls heart :)
He also knew I would want to stain it myself lol. Ill post an updated picture as soon as I find time to work work on it!

Hope Box

DYI Earring Organizer

Hi everyone! This is my most recent project I made for my sister-in-law for Christmas. It cost me under $10 and looks rad. If I would have concentrated on this one project i could have finished it in a few hours but since I like to work on several projects, it took me a while..Hope you like :)

What you will need:

Frame you like ( this one was a clearance mirror from Hobby Lobby.)

Glue gun and glue sticks

Lace or what ever fabric you like

String of beads

Picture hanger

DYI Earring Organizer 

 1. Decide the pattern you want for your lace.

 2. Cut to length and hot glue lace when its stretched tightly. If it is too loosthe weight of your earrings will make the lace sag.

 3. Hot glue your beads around the edge to make it look more complete.

 4. Fill in large gaps between lace with a different colored ribbon. The ribbon doesn't really serve any purpose but it looks cute!

5. Since most frames from Hobby Lobby are made from resin and not wood, you can't nail a picture hanger to the back. The force of the hammer will usually just crack parts of the frame off . Instead, I used pliers to bend the picture hanger in the shape of the frame. Then,I hot glued it on the inner edge with the teeth of the hanger bent down. That way the weight of the frame won't be on the glue but on the frame itself. Also, with the teeth folded down it will still hook on a nail without the worry of it falling off.

 I think this is a great gift because it is so easy to make and who doesn't love handmade presents. I know This girl does!

UPDATE: She Loves It!

How to make an anchor with String Art

Hi everyone! I got this idea from this blogger and thought it was so different and cool. I plan on giving this to my dad for Christmas since he is a sailor. The project took about 4 hours total but that was because I was watching Workaholics at the time and that show tends to distract me. Enjoy!

Anchor String Art

What You Will Need:

a board (Lowes sometimes gives out scrap pieces for free)

wire brads 18-gauge 5/8 in. (Lowes item #58174)

picture hangers (Lowes item #121140)

foam sponge sandpaper-fine

embroidery thread (Hobby Lobby has pretty much every color you can think of)

hammer

pliers

glue (I used Tacky Glue and it worked great)

Sand the edges of the board on each side until they are smooth. You can also sand the front as well but it shouldn't take much sanding.

Print out the shape you are wanting to use.

Cut the shape out and trace it onto the board in pencil so you can erase the lines when you are done. The anchor I used didn't have a loop so....I traced a Yahtzee cup lol 

Here comes the tedious part. Measure out the distance you want your nails and put dots where each nail should go. I used 1 in. between each nail. I marked the inches on a piece of thread so I could measure around curves easier. I also marked on my pliers how far I wanted the nails to go in so they all would be the same height.

Once the nails are in place you are ready for the embroidery thread. Tie a knot at around the first nail to keep the string in place and a knot at the end. If you keep tension on  the string it will look a lot neater than having the string sag. Once you are finished stringing, cut off all the loose ends from the knots and dab a little glue to hold the knot.

Add a picture hanger on the back and and you are done!

Thank you for reading and feel free to leave comments and questions!

UPDATE: He Loves It!