DIY Rustic Western Dresser TV Stand

I'm at it again!!!  Last year I showed you my first attempt at turning a thrift store dresser into a TV stand (tutorial here), it's in our living room and we still love it! In fact I've received so many compliments on it, I made another as a gift!  But this time I decided to go for a two toned, more rustic look and tried a few new ideas and I couldn't be happier with how it turned out. 

This is the dresser after I gave it a coat of ivory paint and sanded the edges (it was originally a scratched, faded, water stained blonde wood color).

Then, I took out the top drawers, including the metal runners.  In this dresser the shelf or layer under the drawers was very thin and dipped down so to even everything out, re-enforce the shelf and make everything look a little more polished I cut a piece of bead board that I had left over from another project and nailed it in place.  Next, because I found some amazing turquoise knobs at Hobby Lobby that look like big chunky pieces of actual stone I removed the old drawer pulls and filled in the holes with wood filler. 

I liked how the ivory looked but I decided it needed something else so I painted the top of the dresser, the entire bead board shelf area, as well as the drawer fronts and the inside of the drawers a deep chocolate brown. 

 Then I drilled new holes, added the fabulous knobs and cut a small hole in the back of the dresser just above the bead board shelf for the DVD and satellite box cords.

Finally to seal it all and add a little rustic antique effect, I used one coat each of Annie Sloan clear and dark wax (I love that stuff).

So much better than some boring generic TV stand.. don't you think?!?  These are so fun to make, my husband better watch out or I'll soon have one in every room!

Enjoy,

$1 Wood Frame Easy DIY Father's Day Gift

It's almost Father's Day and if the guy in your life is anything like mine, he is impossible to buy for especially when I'm trying to think of things for the kiddos to give him.  Their piggies banks (or Mommy's for that matter) can't quite cover an Alaskan hunting excursion so I came up with this quick and easy little frame and he LOVED it! 

It all started when I saw these wood frames at Michael's for $1.  They are wood so I knew I could paint them or let the kids do something with them to make it personal, but then I remembered that I had a sack of letter tiles that I bought for a project and never used and this gift was born.  Just a tip if you are ordering the scrabble tiles online make sure you get a "complete set" and not just random tiles, I made that mistake, couldn't spell anything and had to order more.

To get started the entire frame got a couple quick coats of flat black spray paint.

Even the back and the little stick that it rests on became black to help it look finished from all sides.

I love this picture of my two favorite Carhartt models, so I knew that would be the perfect picture to go inside and since they are "best buddies" this is what I came up with.  But the words and where you place them are totally up to you.  A little glue to hold the tiles on and you are done. So if you are in need of a quick last minute gift, this one is perfect!

Wow, do I love those two :) Happy Father's day to all the great Dad's out there who are hero's to their kids too!!!

Enjoy,

DIY Rusty Metal Saloon Sign

After some amazing family time this procrastinating blogger is back with a fun new sign that I hope will make up for my recent lack of posts!!  It's rusty and easy.. am I winning you over yet !?!  I sure hope so! 

To get started you need some big, cheap letters.  I got these at Hobby Lobby for around a dollar a piece.   

Then I painted the back, front and sides with black paint, any that you have or can get your hands on for cheap will work perfect. Next I put a very thin coat of bright red paint just on the front.  Once the red dried I used a piece of sandpaper to distress the paint a bit and let some of the black show through.

The tin is a chunk of a larger piece that I got for free.  It came off of an old barn and was covered in dirt and rust, just the way I wanted it.  Sorry no pictures for this step, but next I dusted off the loose grime and used tin snips to cut down the big piece to something more manageable.  Using tin snips is a bit of a pain and slow going but since I got the tin for free I won't complain.. at least not for too long!  

(

To attach the letters, first I arranged them overlapping each other in a haphazard way then used small dabs of gorilla glue to attach the wood letter to each other (small being the key here, this stuff expands so a little goes a very long way).  Once the letters were secure I used more gorilla glue to attach the wood to the tin.

You could finish this off with some old barn wood around the edges to form a frame, but I wanted to get this up and just didn't feel like measuring so I drilled two holes in the tin near the top about 6 inches in from each side.  Then I put a screw through the front and used a bolt on the back to keep it in place, this gave me a spot to securely wrap some picture hanging wire and hang it on the wall.  But the shiny, new screw looked out of place so I did what any good DIY'er does and "googled it" .. did you know that cinnamon sprinkled on glue (I used a spray adhesive) dries and looks like rust??  Me either!!!  But it works just dab or spray the glue where you want there to be a rust spot, sprinkle on some cinnamon let it dry, dust off the excess and like magic the area looks aged.  The best part is you don't have to be very precise just spray and sprinkle the messier the more realistic I think.. oh and it smells great!

In a very short time this too could be in your house!  

In our house the sign is above a hutch I found on craigslist that was in pretty rough shape.  But a fresh coat of flat black paint, a little distressing, a few upholstery tacks and some booze later, we now love our little Saloon and hope you do too!

Enjoy,

Reclaimed Wood Coat & Key Rack

One of my friends and my local "partner in crime" is undergoing a huge house remodel and she was kind enough to give me some of the great old wood that she and her husband took off of their house.  As soon as I got my hands on this chunk I knew I wanted to do a quick project for the space just inside our front door to drop my junk and maybe save myself time and sanity looking for my keys.  So this simple coat and key rack was born and it took maybe an hour!!!

I did a similar project last year on a piece of pallet wood to hang necklaces (tutorial here), but this time I wanted to add paint.  I'm a bad bad blogger be because I forgot to take a picture of the wood before, but it was covered in chipping white paint so I brushed off the paint that was really loose and then covered the top and sides with a dark chocolate acrylic paint (the cheap stuff in the small bottle for under a buck) and once it was dry I lightly sanded the stop letting the white paint underneath shine through.  To finish off the paint I added a little Annie Sloan dark wax to give it some extra character, but that step is totally up to you.

Then pick some random knobs, drill some holes, add a couple claw hangers on the back and you are done!  I chose  inexpensive knobs from home depot in different metal finishes, but Hobby Lobby is also a great a place for amazing knobs!  We just got one in my area (after I made this) and I will never buy knobs anywhere else EVER AGAIN!!!

This could not have been easier or less expensive, unless someone gave me a coat rack I guess!

Plus, it is the perfect addition to my entry with the great old school desk that I scored at an antique store for a few bucks because it needed a little TLC! After a good sanding and some fresh stain the seat is now a bench for the kids to sit and put on their shoes, the desk top is a shelf for bags and the new reclaimed wood coat and key rack gives us a spot for our coats and my keys that are always disappearing!

Not too shabby for a nap time project!!!  Hope you like it!

Enjoy,