DIY Dresser to TV Stand

DIY Dresser to TV Stand

....and some other projects :)

Over the past few weekends I've been searching for new projects, not only for my blog but for....well our home. I wanted a new entertainment stand, one that would be almost "custom made" to our taste and needs. This is the perfect way to do so! Not only did we get a great tv stand, but I also managed to find a sofa table, coffee table, and side table to re-do as well. 

If you have ever seen DIY projects on Pinterest or YouTube and thought to yourself, "man that's a great idea, I should do something like that".... You're right, and you should! I'm telling you, all 4 of the projects you're about to see I finished in ONE weekend. That's right... ONE weekend. It's possible to add a new feature to your home that you created by yourself (or with help). So what are you waiting for? Hit up your local craigslist, or better yet GARAGE SALES! I even head over to the local thrift stores as well. If you can imagine it, you can do it. 

Now, lets see here. I purchased all the items posted below in one day. The dresser I found at a local "antique mall" for $120, steep price? Yes, but it's real maple wood and sturdy as all get out. I'll pay the $120 before I ever buy something out of a box again. The sofa table, coffee table, and side table I bought all together for $70 off of an app called Varage Sales. It's linked up with Facebook I believe, pretty cool website. 

Dresser :

 Sofa Table and Side Table

Coffee Table

Side Table

My sister-in-law also moved back from college (so proud of her), and she wanted to re-do a FREE dresser she snagged from one of our close friends. So we helped her learn the ropes on how to DIY things and get crafty... :)

So first we had to do our most favorite part (not!), sanding all the furniture down until the top shiny coat was gone. We used palm sanders and a 80 grit sandpaper for all surfaces. Messy... messy... messy! Thankfully I have a garage now to do all these projects. I highly suggest you do this in an open area, even outside on a sunny day would be best!

Husband, getting it started on Shae's dresser. :)

And Miss Shae herself. Isn't she cute? lol. 

Next was priming. We did about two-three coats on all surfaces that were going to be painted. Unfortunately, I did not get a picture of this since there was soo much to do already. But this is the Primer we used (Valspar Bare Wood Primer) bought at Lowes for around $8 I believe. 

While the primer was drying I previously took off all the hardware and wanted to vamp it up. You can't find stuff like this anymore and I wanted to keep it with the design of the dresser. So I snagged some Rust-Oleum Metallic Spray Paint, and Rust-Oleum Universal Metallic Spray Paint. 2 Coats of the Metallic Universal Spray, and one coat of the regular shiny Metallic Spray. I also had help from one of my best friends, Cassidy who sprayed these bad boys down while I painted :). She was a big help since this was a big project. I love the way the handles came out!

After priming, it was time for paint. I had chosen the brightest WHITE you could find at Lowes. The associate there told me that I should pick the brightest one or else it would've looked off white against my tan walls. Didn't want that, I wanted them to pop by themselves. We did about 3-4 coats of this paint.... Valspar's Ultra Paint & Primer in "Ultra White" with a Satin Finish. This was about $14

After everything was dry I put the hardware back in, and with this "sample" size jar of Valspar paint I added a pop of color to the top inside of the dresser. I'm a huge fan of aqua, teal, turquoise, tiffany blue blah blah you get the drift. It's my favorite, and I wanted to incorporate it into this project. 

You can barely see it, but in the trim of the sofa table, coffee table, and side table, I added that aqua color into it to give it a little something and help it match the TV Stand/dresser.

Now for the most time consuming part of this whole project.... the stencil, and PAINTING the stencil lol. Oh wow, it was work I tell ya. I made this stencil off of adobe photoshop, printed it out and cut it out onto a blank stencil sheet I bought at hobby lobby ($1.99). This was a pain, then traced in pencil onto the top of the sofa table. And then Cassidy and I hand painted and filled in between the lines. Took us about 3 hours I'd say. Worth it? YES. It came out great. Cassidy almost killed me, but lol yes it was worth it. 

My husband and I are gamers. We like to play video games, and such. We're not those people that stay up weeks on end and play games, but we do like to sit down and get our game on. So with that said, my husband has every game consoles which takes up a lot of room. Not to mention all the wires you normally see. With that in mind, I made holes in the back of the dresser for the wires and holes in the dresser drawers so things could be "hidden". Our Direct TV box doesn't need to be out in order for us to get a connection with our remotes, so I made a home specifically for them.... you're welcome Direct TV (pricey bastards). Anyways.... so yes. It's very convenient to have homes for everything, including the charging docks for the game controllers. 

And here's the finished project........

As always, thank you for stopping by and checking out my blog. I hope you enjoyed these weekend projects. Not only that, but I hope I inspired some of you to get out there and create something of your own! I LOVE diy's and specially making something beautiful again with my own twist. Please don't hesitate to ask questions or leave a comment below! I check my emails, and blog every day and I'm always here to help.

Until next project....

DIY Lace Jeans (easy fix)

Hello lovely peeps, I've got another super fast and easy DIY for you today.

DIY Lace Jeans. When I say this is easy, I mean it is done in 20 minutes or less. Recommended drying time is 24 hours, but as far as doing the project.... easy peasy. I absolutely love my Silver Jeans mainly because they were destroyed, but the holes got a LOT bigger. Ha, thinking about it I actually tried wearing them out with the larger holes and people stared me down. So, I got crafty and thought about what I found on Pinterest years ago. So this is my take on it, and if you'd like to do it too please continue reading!

• You're going to need a good ol' pair of destroyed jeans or shorts (or destroy them yourself).
• A pair of scissors
• Some fabric glue. The kind I used was "Liquid Stitch Stitchless Sewing". I purchased mine at Hobby Lobby for $4.99
• Some lace fabric, I bought a yard (but you could use less). Also purchased at Hobby Lobby. It was $8.99 a yard but I had a coupon for 40% off.

Turn your lovely jeans or shorts inside out, and smooth out the surface as much as possible. If you have to iron before hand I would do so now. You want a clean smooth surface to work with :).

Take you lace fabric and line it up to the outside and inside of the stitching for the width. For the length will depend on how many holes you're covering. I made a large piece because I have a lot of holes to fill. 

Then cut along the outside stitching.

It should look something like this for both legs, or one if that's what you're doing.

Take your fabric glue, and make a small dot under each corner of your fabric so you know where the lace will lay. Take the lace off and set to the side. Then place the glue all over the surface where your lace will sit, staying away from the center of the open holes. You can do the edging but be careful to go lightly around the holes. 

Grab your lace that you set aside and place on top of the sticky glue. You can either use a sponge to firmly smooth the lace over the glue, or just use your good ol' hands like I did. Definitely wasn't the most exciting feeling in the world, but it washed off with regular tap water :). Just make sure to smooth out the surface and press all over the surface to insure a good hold.

Yay! Hard part is done. Don't mind my fabulous no makeup mug.

Now, ironing is optional but I took a piece of an old jean patch and used it for a buffer between the lace and the iron. Put the iron on the "cotton" setting and very gently go over the jean patch till it is warm. Then, slowly take the jean patch off and repeat to each surface that has not been touched yet. This just helped it dry a tad so I could take the after photo for you guys. :D But it can also insure that it's not going anywhere!

After that all you have to do is lay them out to dry for 24 hours and viola! You vamped up some old jeans that you were probably thinking about ditching! It's almost like you have a new pair of jeans without buying them. Like I said, these are my favorite jeans and for about $10 I saved them. One of the easiest DIY's I have ever done! Hope this inspires you to get out those old jeans (or new) that you'd like to add a little extra too.

Get out there and start crafting people, it's too easy not to :).

Questions or Comments? Post below!

Until Next Project, Thanks for stopping by.... :P