Mirror Re-Do & Spring Happenings

In my last post, I painted my entry table and mentioned that I was working on something to hang over it.  Well people.... here she is.  Well at least this is what it used to look like.

My dad found this gigundo mirror for me last year at a yard sale.  The tag said $1.00, but Dad got them down to $0.50!  Can you believe that!  

I'm telling you, this thing is HUGE!  The picture really doesn't do it justice.  

I knew I loved the mirror, but for a long time I couldn't decide what I wanted to do with it, so it sat in my storage room for a year.  Once I finished my entry table re-do, I knew I wanted it there.  And since the entry table is white, I went with ORB (oil rubbed bronze) spray paint for the mirror.

First thing I had to do was clean it up.  After that, I taped craft paper over the mirror part just leaving the frame exposed.

Done!  Now just to let it dry.... I'm extremely impatient.... luckily I had a little girl to distract me for a couple hours.

Not only is this thing huge, it's HEAVY!  I struggled carrying it up the stairs, but I got it.  I'm super woman.

I was going to hang it above the table, but once I got it upstairs and realized how big it was compared to the table, I decided to just prop it up on the table and lean it against the wall .

Ahhhh.... I love it.

While I was at it, I decided to go ahead and infuse a little bit of Springtime into the table decorations.  It's colder than an Eskimo's booty outside... I'm tired of this.... I just want Spring.  Well, at least my entry table can feel sunny and warm.

First off, a vase full of tall flowers.  I really needed these because they are so big.  I needed them to balance out the mirror a bit.  The little glass jar with yellow flowers was just a little extra sunshine.

Next I added the change jar.  This isn't for Spring (obviously).  It'll stay here throughout the seasons.  My dad actually found this jar for me in an old building.

A little digging on Pinterest and I found this free printable from The 36th Avenue here.

And last but not least, I added this shovel (that my Dad got for me at a yard sale for $0.25- go figure) as a nod to my garden I plan to plant soon.

So if anyone was keeping track, my Dad got me the mirror, the coin jar and the shovel.  Oh, and he also got me the chest under the table.  Thanks for my entry table Daddy :)

Here is the progression of my entry table in the last couple week.  I think I can finally stick a fork in her and call her done.

-Brooke

Entry Table Re-Do

My entry table has lived many lives.  

When I was a teenager, mom and dad bought me a vanity for my room.  It was a little desk with a mirror attached that had picture frames attached to the side of the mirror.  I loved it.  I put all of my little perfume bottles on it and felt like an adult.  :)  I tried my best to find a picture of one similar online, but Bing wasn't my friend today.

When I got married I took it with me, but our bedroom was so small that I didn't have room for it.  So, instead, I removed the mirror and put it in our living room as a desk.  

Once we moved into this house, I used it as an entry table for a while, but then moved it to the family room to use as a desk.  With the desk Chris built for me last month, I was finally able to move it back to the living room as an entry table.

Here she is in all her glory.

I've had plans to re-do this table for a long time.  I really think a table this size has great potential for an entry table, but I wasn't feeling the 90's style of it.  Plus, the table had seen it's better days.  Here's a look at the top of it.... not so pretty.  

So I took her outside and broke out the palm sander.

Yep, that's the look of a crazed woman using a power tool!  #powertoolselfie (confession time, I have no clue what hash tags do or mean)

I sanded the whole thing down and was left with this.

Since I was planning on painting it, I wasn't worried about getting all of the stain off, I just needed to rough it up enough that the paint would stick.

There were some holes on the top where the mirror used to be connected, but some wood putty took care of it.

I wiped the whole thing down to remove dust and took it inside to paint.  (it was still a little cold for painting outside)

I used Valspar Ultra Paint + Primer in Ultra White with a semi-gloss finish.

One coat down...

After 4 coats, it was nice sparkly white.  But I wanted more.  So I decided to add stripes.  I measured the top and divided by 5 in order to get 5 stripes.  I taped it off and then painted every other stripe in Sherwin Williams Chopsticks that I had leftover from the walls in the hall, kitchen and family room.

Right about now the angels were singing and I was falling in love.  But I still needed more.  So I figured a little distressing was in order.  I took out some stain we had on hand and carefully rubbed a little on all of the edges, corners and very lightly down the legs and very, very lightly on the top.

When distressing, you want to be careful, but at the same time don't make it look too perfect.  Just have fun with it.

And finally, for the drawer handle.  I didn't want to buy anything, so I went digging through my supplies and came up with burlap.  I simply pushed the burlap into the holes on either side, leaving enough hanging out the front to make a handle and hot glued on the inside of the drawer.  I knew this drawer doesn't get used much.  if you have a heavily used drawer, you may want to staple it to secure it better.

And now for the afters!!  YAY!!

I LOVE it!!  And the best part?  It was free!!  I had all the materials I used!

My next project going to be something to hang above it.  

UPDATE- to see part 2 of this post, click here.

- Brooke

Khloe's Play Kitchen :)

Ever since Khloe was born I've been all about starting traditions- mainly Christmas traditions.  I have things I remember from when I was little that we did ever year and Chris has the same from his childhood.  We've taken a few from each family and also added a few of our own to carry on with Khloe and future kiddos.  One of the things I wanted to do was make Khloe something homemade every year for Christmas.  I just want her to know as she gets older that we didn't just go to the store at the last minute and hurry and pick the last thing on the shelves.  I want her know that on at least one of her gifts, we put real effort into it and took time just thinking about her while we worked on it... It's gettin' cheesy 'round here... better just get to the DIY part...

Through the past year, Khloe has shown a real interest in cooking... even though she's just 1.  Every time I cook, she literally gets mad if she's not on my hip helping.  So, when we started thinking about what to make her for Christmas, the choice was clear... a play kitchen!!  I knew I wanted to make it out of a cabinet, so I went to the Habitat for Humanity Restore and picked up this little beauty for $5.

Oh yeah, she was a looker.  Plastic doors, missing handle, cobwebs... yep this little lady was the whole package, but she was begging for a makeover.  

We started by removing the doors and cleaning everything really well.  Then I sprayed it with Krylon Fusion spray paint in glossy white.  This paint boasts that it will bond to plastic, but it's also good for wood, metal, etc.  I sprayed everything white except for one door.  I went with silver on this door because it would eventually be her oven door.  Once everything was good and covered (it took around 3 coats of paint) I sprayed the whole thing with clear coat to help protect it. 

When Chris reattached the doors, he attached the left one back in it's original position, but he attached the right one at the bottom so it would open like an oven door.

To make the counter top, we bought a plain board from Lowe's.  Chris routed the edges so they weren't sharp or splintery.  He then cut a whole in the top for the faucet and the bowl for the sink (which was just a small mixing bowl).  

We really wanted the look of a real counter top, so we painted it with Rustoleum Stone textured spray paint in Pebble.  If you've never used this type of spray paint, let me just say- coolest.stuff.ever.  The first coat looks like you just splattered a few chucks of something on it, so I was a little worried.  But, as we put more and more coats on, it started filling in and it's just awesome.  After it was covered and dry, we put a coat of clear coat on this to give it a smoother feel. 

After it was all done, we glued the bowl for the sink in place and installed the faucet (without connecting water of course).  Then came time for the finishing touches.  

New handles.

Knobs for the stove.  I used small wooden disks from Michael's that I painted black and wrote on H, M and L on for High, Medium and Low.  Chris installed these loosely with a bolt and nut so she can easily turn them.

For the stove top, I bought a wooden plaque from the craft section at Walmart and sprayed it the same silver as the over door.  Then I added some painted details to it with black paint.  Chris glued it in place with wood glue.

A chalkboard on the side.

Add some cute kitchen accessories and we're finished!! 

We had it sitting in the family room on Christmas morning when she woke up ( I may or may not have been more excited than she was).  She loves it.  She plays with it every day and I know it's something she will continue to play with for years.

Since she's still a little shortcake, we have a step stool that she uses to play with it.

Later on I plan to add a shelf inside for more storage and I would love to actually cut out a square on the oven door and install some plexi-glass.  But for right now, it's finished :)

-Brooke