Before & After Cragslist Finds

So now that I have more time on my hands and I'm in need of some new decorations for our new home in Utah. I have become a little bit addicted to cragslist and the distribution center, don't judge me... I love finding something real cheap that has hidden potential. Then using some elbow grease to create something unique. Here are two of my recent purchases.

So I needed a new vanity and there it was on cragslist for $15 oh yeah that baby was mine.

After some elbow grease and some paint here is what I got.

Next, I found this great dresser for $10. When I saw it I fell in love with the vintage look. Not so much the color. Remember you need to look beyond the paint and see the bones of the furniture.

From this ugly painted Forrest green monster to this...

So I used the same painting technique on both pieces to get that old worn vintage look.

With the dresser I did start differently, as you can see someone painted it green and didn't do a good job. First, I tried sanding it but then I went to Home Depot and got some paint stripper. Let me tell you that stuff is amazing. I got the spray, I just sprayed it on and like 3 min later the 3 layers of paint just scraped right off. It actually was kinda of fun peeling it off, like peeling off a sunburn.  After that this is what I did to get that fabulous paint job...

First. I painted the furniture a base coat, that will later show through the top coat, I used Rust-Oleum Satin Espresso. I used spray paint on both pieces of furniture, cause I wanted a clean finish. But you can use any kind of paint.

Second. I took Vaseline and put it on the parts I wanted the brown to show through. So it looked old and vintage.

Third. I spray painted on the top coat. I used Rust-Oleum Satin Vintage white.

Fourth. I used my finger nail to scrap off the top coat where I applied Vaseline. Then I used a sanding block to rough up the edges. The more you sand the older and more worn it looks. When sanding think of how the furniture would naturally wear.

Fifth. I did spray a top coat on the top of the dresser and vanity, cause I knew that was going to be wiped down the most.

Sixth. I installed the handles. For the vanity I wanted the pop of color so I got these pretty green porcelain knobs at Hobby Lobby. For the dresser I really wanted to salvage the original handles but those ugly layers of paint did not want to come off. So I got these vintage looking handles from Home Depot.

Thanks for looking, let me know how your Redo projects go.

Fisher Photo Wall

After I got those great Family pictures I couldn't wait to get them on my wall. I had a Perfect spot and I already had frames from the old Arizona house screaming to be hung up on the wall.

So like with my other photo wall I started with paper templates. They are easy to move around on the wall to get your placement just how you like it.

Since I'm renting my Home right now I want to be easy on the walls so I used Command strips. I can't tell you how much I love these things and one of the biggest perks when using these is your pictures stay straight.

I love the big pictures of my family shining bright on my wall. We miss home all the time and it nice to see every ones beautiful smile. Crazy they are already out of date, we have two new additions to the Fisher Family. What can I say we multiply fast.

Thanks for stopping by let me know what you think.

Photo Wall

So excited my photo wall is done. It came out so cute and the pictures Bedie Price took for us look so great.

So, I have been planning for this and stressing that it wouldn't come out the way I pictured in my head, but it turned out better. yeahhhhhh.

So, of course Bedie took the pictures of us before we left Arizona. We took them at the Mesa temple as a way to have great reminder of Arizona. When taking them I had an idea of how I wanted them on my wall. I knew I wanted them to be big, Some up close shots of the kids and some fun poses. I knew I wanted to use this frame that was 20 by 9 which is a bit weird. I thought it would be perfect for an up close picture of our feet. Bedie was great she took some of my suggestions and then worked some of her own magic and when we got them I was soooooo pleased. They all came out A-MA-ZING. I couldn't wait to get them up on my wall. Of course I had to wait till I moved up to Utah.

First. I researched frames and made a rough plan on paper. I went with the Ribba frames from Ikea. They come in a lot of fun sizes, all look uniform and are pretty cheap. Plus if you know me you know how much I love Ikea. So, I went to my favorite store and picked them up. I went with the black finish. I almost went with the new silver finish but it didn't come in all the sizes I was thinking of using in silver.

Second. I came home and made templates of the frames with wrapping paper, so I could easily work out the pattern on the wall without putting holes in the wall. I am renting this beautiful home.

Third. Came printing the pictures. Well of course Ikea picture frames are weird sizes, those Swedes are silly. I looked at a couple of places comparing price and print sizes. I went with Costco, their price was great, they print in an hour and after picking them up I was so happy with them. The quality was so good.

I was worried about how a few would come out, for example that 20 by 9 frame, I had to print a 20 by 16 photo and cut it down. I was worried it but in the end it looks great. Here is the 20 by 20 frame that I had to cut out of a 20 by 30 picture... love it.

Forth. Then came hanging. Like I said I'm renting, so I used the 3M Command picture frame strips. I can't tell you how much I love these things. So great for not damaging walls and for pictures they are even better cause the picture stays level. But big note I did used nails for the 20 by 20 frame due to the frame being to front heavy and having a thin frame.

Also, with this move I have been trying to work with things I have from our Arizona house. I have been so please with the challenge and the way everything has been coming together. For this project I re-purposed our Fisher sign I made out of an old cabinet door and some vinyl lettering. Our blue "All because two people fell in love" sign also worked so perfect with us all wearing blue in our pictures.

Thanks for stopping by I would love to see your picture wall and don't forget to leave a comment. Have fun creating your showcase.