DIY Part 1

Now that my little buglet is getting a wee bit bigger, we had to rearrange her room a little and make some room for the important stuff...shoes, toys and stuffed animals!  I searched around for some sort of shelving unit that was nice, but not insanely expensive, and that would not be so huge that it would take up all the floor space in her room.  The whole point was to make room for her to be able to play.  After weeks of searching, while going through the basement preparing for a Garage Sale, I found an entertainment center that used to be in our second family room which was primary used for gaming systems.  It held a large TV and then had a number of shelves on the left side that were spaced far enough apart to hold consoles, controllers, games, etc.  It also had a nice large sturdy base that kept it from being wobbly.  All in all it was a great unit and we had gotten quite a bit of use out of it.  So I had my guys haul it upstairs and contemplated how much I could sell it for.  Then, it hit me...this was the perfect piece for Harper's bedroom.  It had the shelves I needed, a relatively small footprint, and the lower shelves were low enough for her to reach, while the upper shelves could hold things I didn't want her getting to.  The only thing was...it was ugly.  Not hideous or anything, it was perfectly acceptable for a family room/living room area.  But for a cute little girls room.  Just didn't have the look I was wanting.

One quick trip to the local hardware store later, I was ready.  I brought it one of the shelves and talked to one of the very helpful guys there and he said it was definitely something that could be spray painted, but I'd need to use the Krylon paint that was made to adhere to different surfaces.  Since Harper's room is light pink and chocolate brown, I picked up 3 cans of each color and headed home.  The base was a breeze...the brown covered the icky dark gray quickly and evenly, 2 coats and I was done and let it sit in the sun to dry.  Confident in my spray-painting abilities, I tackled the shelves with the light pink...and quickly realized it wasn't going to be as easy.  Since the pink was so much lighter than the original color, it wasn't covering evenly at all and was looking splotchy.  Also, I realized that with the pink/chocolate walls in her room, painting this the same exact colors was just too much.  So I headed back to the hardware store...and found a perfect brighter pink that would go well with the existing colors, but add a little pop at the same time.

A few hours, and 3 coats of paint later, my shelves were done and looked great!  We (and by we I mean my guys) hauled everything up 2 flights of stairs, to Harper's bedroom, and reassembled the shelving unit.  It's perfect!!!  We moved some furniture around and found the perfect spot, on the largest wall of the room under where we had placed the words "Every Child is a Story Yet to be Told".  It seemed the perfect place to put the stuffed animals, toys and books that we'd gotten her, hoping to inspire her imagination.

Lessons learned:

1.  Starting with a clean dry surface is very important.
2.  Allow each coat of paint to dry completely, then wipe the surface down with a clean/dry cloth to get rid of any dust that might have collected during the drying process.
3.  Paint the bottoms of your shelves/surfaces first.  Since they aren't visible when it's assembled, it's a good place to test and see how heavy or light you'll need to apply the paint in order to get the coverage you are looking for.
4.  Don't be afraid of color!!!

The top shelf hold her Ballerina Piggy Bank, and her many pairs of shoes.  The rest of the shelves have assorted stuffed animals, books, toys, etc.  She loves to take everything off the shelves, and thankfully is now learning how to put things back.  I wish I could say it always stayed looking neat and organized, but, well, that just isn't the case.  It does however, keep everything off the floor so things don't get stepped on and tripped over, which is exactly what I wanted.  I also love how the "new" pink on the shelves matches the bright pink in the floor run that I'd picked up on clearance at Target, but wasn't convinced it looked right in the room.  The shelves tied everything together perfectly!

I snapped a couple pictures tonight, I tried to put everything on it so it looked nice and neat, but of course Harper had other plans, and decided she wanted to be in the pictures as well.  I think she adds a certain something to the pictures...don't you?

A new addition

In honor of Mother's Day, I decided to add a new section to our store...which I do consider my baby in a strange and non-cuddly way.  So, without further ado, we are announcing the addition of a blog to our site...(pause for thunderous applause).

Since starting this store, I've become a bit obsessed with the concept of repurposing/reusing items.  I've done two DIY projects that both turned out great, and I'm now always on the lookout for things around the house, around my parents house, at thrift stores, etc...that I can jazz up a bit and give a new life to...either in my house, or someone elses!  I love taking something that was just sitting around collecting dust, and a few days later, putting it to use and saying, wow - that looks great and now I don't have to go spend money on this item!  It's a wonderful feeling!

I'll be highlighting a DIY project (either by me or someone else) weekly...sometimes they'll be simple projects, othertimes something a bit challenging and complex.  And don't worry, I'm not so proud that I won't highlight my failures when I have them...which I'm sure I will!  So keep checking back here and be sure to let me know what you think!  Oh, and if you have a DIY project, or saw one that you loved...let me know!  I'd love to include it here and give you the shoutout you deserve!!!