I have wanted to refinish this dresser my Grandparents gave me and turn it into a TV console for seriously like two years! This summer I finally made it happen.
I was in such a hurry to get going on this project that I didn't take a before picture! I'm so mad now that I didn't. If you can imagine it, before I painted the dresser it was that light-brown, laminate wood color before.
First, I took off the hardware and lightly sanded the entire dresser. Then I cleaned it all with rubbing alcohol. I used a black primer first, then I painted over it with an ivory color. After the paint dried (the next day) I distressed it using sandpaper. Then I used a black wood stain and rubbed it over the entire dresser. I let it sink into the creases and wiped the excess off. When that dried, at used polyurethane to seal it. I'm super excited with how it turned out! However, now I feel like I need to redecorate our entire living room around this piece, and I don't think Brian will have the same thoughts on this issue. : )
We are still in our cute little two bedroom rental on Stoddard Lane so for right now, baby boy will be sharing a room with Lydia when he gets here. So, Lydia's side of the room is all cute and girly, but now the poor girl will have to give up some of her wall space for her baby brother. Since she is only 2, I don't think she'll mind too much.
I was looking on pintrest for ideas on how I wanted to do his side of the room and I totally copied this lady's nursery. It was just too cute and I had the perfect old dresser to refinish into a toolbox.
I remembered to take a before picture right before I began sanding this project. This dresser is actually one I had refinished a few years ago. I liked how it turned out, but it was perfect for a toolbox dresser so I decided to repaint it again. It was a pistachio color before so I sanded all the paint off. I painted this part of the dresser candy apple red, and painted the 3 drawers black.
My grandma got me some super cute stickers to put on the dresser. I just put on one for now. Isn't it cute! I can't wait to find some silver pulls the put on the drawers. We looked at Home Depot and couldn't find any that would work. Now, we need to make a stop at Lowe's next time we're in Ogden.
I wanted to make a pegboard to put above his dresser, like Vanessa's blog. So, we went to Home Depot one Saturday and bought some white pegboard, and trim. I painted the trim red to match the dresser, and painted the letter's of his name navy blue. And yes, we decided to name him Casen. :)
Brian cut the pegboard, the trim, and he glued it together for me. He did a great job! Surprisingly enough when it comes to projects he is way more a perfectionist than I am. I tend to get in a hurry and have the "it looks good enough" attitude. Brian will pour over a project for hours just make sure everything is straight, and looks perfect. He was the man for the job, cause I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have gotten the trim as straight as he did.
I can't wait to put some tools around Casen's name, and get some wire baskets to hold his diapers and wipes. I'll post pictures of the dresser and pegboard when all the final touches have been made.
For Christmas last year Brian got me a sewing machine. I'm a novice seamstress, and I don't count my Home EC. class in 8th grade as a background in sewing. I'm now, regretfully paying the price from not keeping my mouth shut during class. So, I'm currently reteaching myself everything I should already know. It has been super fun sewing beginner projects for my kiddos though!
Since Casen's due date is during Brian's elk hunt, Brian wanted me to make him a camo car seat cover. I decided to do the Mossy Oak camo on top, and hunter's orange minky underneath. I think it turned out pretty cute. Even if I was cursing at the minky while sewing. I learned the hard way that you have to use ALOT of pins when working with minky fabric. That stuff moves, and drives me crazy! I found the tutorial on pintrest, like I do everything else. Here is the tutorial is any of you guys are looking for an easy one to follow.
This is what the underneath looks like. The hunter's orange I think, makes it super fun!
My last project that I finished up this month was a blanket I wanted to crochet for Casen. I already have a pretty good collection of blue and green blankets, so I wanted to do some different colors. I went with a granite and almond color of yarn. I LOVE how it turned out! The pattern was super easy to follow. You can ready the tutorial here if you are interested.
August has been so crazy so far with finishing all of my projects, but it feels so good to have them all done. I wanted the big projects done before I felt to big to bend over, and at a little over 31 weeks, I'm starting to get to that point. 9 weeks left! Hooray we can't wait for Casen to get here!!
