Ikea Duktig Kitchen Makeover

I knew I wanted to get my girl a play kitchen for Christmas. A lot of them are just eye sores, too big or cost a small fortune. I have seen several Ikea Duktig play kitchen makeovers and loved them. I finally decided that this was the best option for me. I love the size of the kitchen and that it is not to large, but it does come a little to plain for my liking. This makes it the perfect piece for glam up though and it is a great price point at $99. 

Here is what I used:

• Ikea Duktig
•  White Spray Paint + Primer
• Gold Spray Paint + Primer
• Marble Contact Paper
• Gold Bar Pulls (3) (You need your pulls to have holes 5 inches apart)
• Rifle Paper Gift Wrap Sheet
• Staple Gun/Staples
• Painter's Tape
• Foam Poster Board

So with these supplies and a few afternoons you can transform this plain kitchen into a fun, unique piece. I had a lot of fun with this DIY and I am totally jealous of my daughter's kitchen :)

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1.  

So the first thing I did was lay out all the pieces. This is Ikea so you know there are A LOT. I I then used the white spray paint and sprayed the sides white that would be showing that were not already white. On the bottom pieces I just did the outside because I didn't care if the inside was white and on the side pieces and shelf I did both sides since they both show. I am very impatient with my DIY projects and want to finish them all in a day. Don't be like me and spray your pieces and give them a day to dry in between and you will be much happier with your finished product.

This was my first time to use spray paint on a project and I am not that great at it. Make sure you take your time and spray evenly while constantly moving so you don't get any runs like I did. I was worried about my spray paint job but then remembered a 2 year old will be playing with it and have it destroyed in no time ha :) 

I also spray painted everything that I wanted gold. I had originally planned to spray paint the handles that it came with but found new handles at a great price online so did that instead and I really think that the new handles add a lot to it. I spray painted the riser, the sink, faucet, pole and hooks all gold. The faucet is a little tricky but I just sprayed it and let it dry then sprayed it from another angle. After completing the kitchen I also went back and painted the silver trim around the stove gold. I used painters tape to tape the whole top. 

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While I waited for my pieces to dry I went ahead and installed my marble countertops. I used this contact paper and just laid it over the top and smoothed out all the bubbles. I took a box opener and cut out the place for the sink and stove. The hardest part here is doing the corners. Mine are far from perfect. 

After everything is dry you then put everything together following the included instructions. It was a pretty easy build and I was able to do it all by myself. After the kitchen is built I took a foam poster board and used double sided tape to attach my Rifle Paper wrapping sheet to it. You could use many things I just happened to have the tape. The wrapping sheet is pretty close to the size of the back of the kitchen. I just used the box cutter to trip it to size and then used a staple gun to attach it to the back of the kitchen. You then have a fun, new play kitchen! This was so fun to have under the tree Christmas morning. My girl loved it even though she was a little disappointed that there was no running water.

Nursery: Dresser Makeover

We have been preparing for the arrival of our baby girl for several months now. As soon as I found out we were having a girl I started planning her nursery. I quickly found out how expensive it can be to create the perfect space for a little one.

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I drooled over this campaign dresser from Pottery Barn Baby for several months and finally ordered it. Unfortunately it was on backorder and would not be delivered until after our due date and I wanted everything to be ready before her arrival. I disappointedly canceled the order since it would not be here and it was too much of a splurge for us even with being able to purchase half of it in gift cards. 

As much as I was tired of doing DIY projects and was just ready to have something in the room we turned to Craigslist and started the search for the right dresser to redo. This was our first Craigslist experience and we were happy to have loved the first piece we went and looked at and scored it for $140 - a fraction of the cost of the Pottery Barn Dresser. I loved the mid century look of the dresser and that it was a really unique and fun style. 

As usual, I purchased a quart of Annie Sloan Pure White paint and re-painted the dresser. We removed the mirror it came with and purchased new hardware for the piece from Hobby Lobby. My husband drilled new holes for the hardware and was able to cover the old ones with wood filler without noticing them at all. 

We both love the way the finished dresser turned out (and how much we saved!) and can't wait to have the nursery completed. Check back soon to see the completed space :) 

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Garage Sale China Cabinet Makeover

I have been trying to convince my husband since we got married that our wedding china needed a pretty place to call home instead of sitting in boxes. After deciding to move back to East Texas and into a bigger space I immediately starting searching for a piece to display our fun Pip Studio china we received for our wedding. 

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We both learned real quick how expensive furniture is as we looked at pieces for our new home. I liked the idea of redoing a piece for a fraction of the price and my husband really loved the idea. We decided to go to a few garage sales one Saturday morning to look for a china cabinet or hutch piece. The first one we went to we found this mid century china cabinet for $150. It was not what I had in mind at first because I was thinking of something a little more cottage feeling, but my husband loved it, loved the price, and loved that it was right in front of us and we could stop our search for one. 

After texting my mom a few pictures of the piece and getting her approval I decided I could make it work so we purchased the piece and ended up getting it for $115. I started loving it more and more and really liked that it had a lot of display space.

I have always wanted to use this Anthropologie wallpaper somewhere and figured my husband would go for it on the back of my china cabinet better than our bedroom walls. The wallpaper was definitely a splurge, but I did have a coupon :) 

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As usual, I used Annie Sloan paint on this piece. I went with pure white to match our kitchen cabinets that I painted. I am really happy with how this piece turned out and that I can see my pretty china collection every time I walk through the kitchen. Here are a few pictures of my finished piece. I still need to touch up a few places and seal it, but who knows when that will happen :) 

Annie Sloan Kitchen Makeover

My husband and I recently purchased our first home. We're excited to be out of the city and closer to our family. There are several things on our new homeowners to-do list, and painting the kitchen was at the top. 
 

We both wanted white cabinets to brighten up the kitchen but we didn't have the budget to hire someone. Luckily I like a good DIY project, so I enlisted by brother's help and tackled the kitchen paint job. 

The thought of taking cabinets apart, sanding, painting, and replacing them seemed like a nightmare. I've used Annie Sloan Chalk Paint on smaller projects but never something this big. I researched things and decided it would work. Annie Sloan is more expensive than traditional paint but you make up the cost by avoiding sanding and priming. 

I went with Pure White Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. I painted the whole kitchen with only four quarts of paint. The only prep work I did was wipe down the cabinets! I learned that painting kitchen cabinets isn't easy but the final product was worth the effort. 

Here is the kitchen before:

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My brother, Carson, helping me paint the kitchen. He made the job a lot easier on me! 

I put three coats on the cabinets. The chalk paint gives the textured and imperfect finish that I like. I worried about waxing the cabinets because I thought it would wear off in a high-use area like the kitchen. I didn't want to have to re-wax them every few years so I decided to finish the cabinets with Annie Sloan Floor Lacquer instead of wax. I'm very pleased with the results and believe it will prove to be a more durable finish that can be wiped off time and again. If you choose to lacquer your cabinets, make sure you use a water-based sealer so you don't experience any yellowing. 
 

The project took three days from start to finish and cost less than $300.00. I also highly recommend using the Annie Sloan Paint Brush. Annie is proud of her brushes but they're worth the price.

and after:

Annie Sloan Furniture Makeover

After a few months of marriage my husband and I quickly realized that sharing one dresser was not going to cut it for us. Instead of purchasing another dresser I retrieved my childhood dresser from my parents house and gave it a facelift.

I remember when I died off for this antique dresser because the top lifted up to reveal a jewelry box. It is a great antique piece that just needed some attention.

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I have heard a lot about chalk paint and have seen numerous DIY recipes for it. After some research I decided that making the paint wasn't the route for me even though the leading brands can be pretty pricey. I ended up going with the most well known chalk paint on the market, Annie Sloan. While it was hard to swallow the $34.95 price tag for just a quart of paint plus the wax to seal it, the reviews were great and I loved the idea of no prepping before I paint so it made it worth it.

I ordered my paint and wax online from the Purple Painted Lady and received it within a week along with very detailed information about the product. This was the cheapest site I found that sold the paint and they have great resources on how to use their products. They suggest using a specialty Annie Sloan paint brush, but I was not ready to invest in a $35 brush so I went with a cheaper on the site for about $8 and it worked great for me. 

I must admit I was a bit skeptical about the no prepping claim that Annie Sloan Chalk Paint makes. I decided to paint my old desk as well that was a bright turquoise color. I could not imagine anything covering this deep color, but it did! I was very surprised with my results. With one quart of paint I was able to paint my dresser and desk using two coats on each piece. I waxed each piece, which I really recommend. It gives them a nice finish and protects the paint from wear and tear. I still have 3/4 of my can of wax left.

I spent around $150 to makeover both my desk and dresser. I got new knobs for them at Home Depot which made a huge difference. After using the Annie Sloan paint I am a huge fan and will definitely use it on future projects. It is so easy to use and you really do not have to do any prep work which I love. I love the finished look of the matte paint. 

So if you are wanting to update an old piece of furniture I highly recommend Annie Sloan chalk paint. All you have to do is get the paint and you are ready to start your project. I did not like the look of just one coat on my pieces, it was a little to rustic looking for me. I applied two coats, waxed and then used sand paper to sand some of the edges to give it a distressed look. 

Here are some pictures I took during my project. Let me know if you have any questions about the paint, wax or how to use them. 

DIY He Is Risen Easter Wreath

Well since it is March I figured it was time to finally take down my Christmas wreath and replace it with something new. So I decided I would make an Easter wreath to celebrate this special time of the year. 

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   Here is what you will need:

• glue gun/glue Sticks
• styrofoam wreath base
• vintage broaches/flowers/embellishments
• burlap ribbon (2-3 inches wide) 
• moss ribbon
• baker's twine
• mini clothespins
• alphabet stamps/ink pad
• two sewing pins
• ribbon/tulle

To start your wreath the first thing you need to do is wrap the styrofoam base with the burlap ribbon. I added a little bit of hot glue to the base and attatched my ribbon. After that I just wrapped the entire base until it was covered and hot glued the end so that it would stay in place. Then I did the same with my moss ribbon at the bottom of the wreath. 

So now is the fun part. I glued various embellishments onto my wreath. You can really do anything and put things wherever you think looks best. I found some really great packages of fabric flowers with vintage looking broaches at Michaels. Then I added a tulle bow to the top of the wreath to hang it from. 

Now for the letters. I got two sewing pins and placed them across from each other and tied a piece of pink baker's twine to them. I used a scalloped circle punch and punched out circles out of scrapbook paper scraps and stamped He Is Risen on them. Then I hung the stamped circles on the twine with mini clothespins. I tried other methods and this turned out the best and the cutest. 

And then you have a beautiful wreath to celebrate the Easter season! 

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He is not here; He has risen, just as He said. Come and see the place where He lay.

-Matthew 28:6

DIY - Moss Covered Letters

I recently got married in October so my mind was on DIY wedding craft mode for 8 months. I saw several places where I could order moss covered letters but I was not satisfied with paying over $30 per letter. Instead I paid under $30 to create my whole new last name. 

Here is what you will need:

• flat wooden letters (I got mine at Hobby Lobby 1/2 off for around $2 each) 
• 1 large bag of loose moss
• glue gun and glue sticks
• a cup of ice cold water - for when you come in close contact with hot glue :( 

Then all you have to do is cover a small areas at a time with the hot glue. Then get a clump of the moss and press over it. Make sure you get a thick layer that way you do not burn yourself while pressing it down. I also worked over a large bag because the moss can be pretty messy.

Then you have beautiful moss letters for a fraction of the price. I just placed them in a window seal at my wedding. To add something extra you could hang them with ribbon - which would look great for a wedding, party, or even a nursery.