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Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Furniture Fit for a Princess: Upcycled Dress Up Cabinet



Have you ever had times where you have a million projects going on at once but can’t seem to finish one? That’s been my situation for almost three weeks now. I have a list of things to do that’s a mile long, but I haven’t been able to cross anything off…until now. I finally finished something! And boy,  was it worth it!
I currently keep all of my daughter’s dress up clothes in a box on shelves in her room. It makes it difficult for her to find matching pieces and is just so disorganized. There is absolutely no more room in her closet to hang them up, so I decided to make a dress up cabinet from an old dresser I found at a thrift store. Here’s a tutorial of how I created it.

I found this dresser at a thrift store for $10. It’s made of particle board with a wood laminate cover, but it will do the trick.
First, I removed the drawers and knocked out the wood holding the drawers with a hammer. The metal track that the drawers slid on were stapled into the wood.

I had to go to Home Depot to buy a tack remover to pry the staples out because the darn things wouldn’t budge.


Once that was finished, I sanded the piece and used wood puddy to fill in any staple or nail holes. I sanded again.

I then used a spray primer to prime the piece. I was originally going to paint it a bright pink, so I got a gray primer. It was a big mistake when I changed my mind and decided to go with white. It took about four good coats to get it where I wanted.  

I bought some Behr painter and primer in one to paint the inside pink. That actually took very well since there was no laminate on the inside.
I painted “Let’s Play Dress Up” at the bottom.

I hung a dowel rod at the top to hang the costumes.

At first I was going to glue it in, but the glue wouldn’t hold on the paint. I then drilled screws in the sides to hold it, which left ugly screws. I tried painting them but it just wouldn’t cut it.
So, I went to plan B and bought two jeweled crown pins to cover the screws. I removed the pins and glued the crowns over the screws. Worked like a charm.


I was going to make a mirror out and frame it with an old spray painted frame to hang on the side, but  I couldn’t find a mirror that was already cut to fit. I found this mirror at Hobby Lobby for $9.99 which I purchased for $6.00 with a coupon. Because it was cheap, it was also light and hung on the side of the cabinet nicely. The color also matched pretty well, so I didn’t have to paint it.


On the other side, I screwed in a hook which I painted pink to match the inside of the cabinet.
When I FINALLY finished, it looked great, and was ready for all of my little munchkins dress up clothes and accessories!









Here’s the breakdown of what it cost me to make:
Dresser: $10
Rod: $1.49, Michaels
Mirror: $6.00 (with 40% off coupon), Hobby Lobby
Crown Screw Covers: $3.58 (with 2 40% off coupons) Hobby Lobby
Behr Paint Sample in Pink: $2.94, Home Depot
Hook: $3.50 (50% off sale), Hobby Lobby
Primer: 3.98, Home Depot
Spray Paint: $3.87, Home Depot (used nearly 2 cans, but already had one on hand)

Grand Total: $35.38


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Friday, August 17, 2012

Crazy about Chevron



I am obsessed with chevron! Not the oil company, but the super cute pattern that keeps popping up on Pinterest. My newest project is a cute little table with a chevron pattern painted on the table top. Hopefully I'll be done with it this weekend and be able to show everyone. Until then, I've gathered a collection of the cutest chevron finds from Pinterest. Some finds have great tutorials and others can be used for inspiration. Enjoy!


I absolutely love this wall art! Cute for a girl’s room or nursery. It’s $34 on Etsy.

Wall Flower – Light Pink Dahlia on Gray and White Chevron 12 x 12” Canvas Wall Art
Courtesy of Etsy via bedbuggs


This is a super cute lamp courtesy of Shades of Light. It’s $372, but I could totally see this as a DIY project.

Mary McDonald Chevron Strip Lamp
Courtesy of Shades of Light


I just love the dresser redo! The colors are great, and the chevron pattern is fabulous.

Great Ideas – DIY Inspiration
Courtesy of Tatertots and Jello


This is a really cute paint project. I absolutely love the colors. Very bold yet beautiful.

Lila’s Chevron Nursery
Courtesy of Project Nursery


This is a great tutorial for painting a chevron pattern on anything. The fact that it’s on a lazy susan makes it even better.

Lazy Susan makeover & chevron stipe tutorial


This is a super fun distressed frame tutorial using Vaseline. I love the chevron scrapbook paper used.



Aqua Distressed Monogram Frame {Vaseline Method}

Courtesy of The Baeza Blog




I haven't really gotten on the ombre kick yet, but this is too cute! This is a tutorial on how to paint an ombre chevron pattern on curtains.   

Ombre Painted Chevron Curtains Tutorial


Here’s a very cute table setting for a wedding in Malibu. The yellow is a fantastic choice, and the chevron table runner adds a nice touch.

Intimate Yellow Malibu Wedding
Courtesy of Ruffled


These pillow covers are just too darn cute! I love the two-toned chevron patterns. The large pillow cover is $29 at West Elm, but for those who sew, it is a DIY project in the making.

Chevron Pillow Cover
Courtesy of West Elm


Halloween is coming soon, and we'll all be putting out our decorations. This is a fun tutorial on painting chevron stripes on a plain orange pumpkin to liven it up.

Pumpkin Fun
Courtesy of Feeling Lovesome


And, last but not least, a tutorial on painting a chevron pattern on your wall using contact paper. I love this! It stands out but doesn't take over the room. My hubby would also love the antlered mount. He'd prefer a real one, but I'm not putting Bambi's head in my living room.

Tutorial: Contact Paper Chevron Wall