Sunburst Mirror $7!

This is probably my favorite DIY project to date due to:

• Cost of supplies  ($7)
• Time spent to create( About an hour)
• It...looks...lovely!

This is floating all over the pinterest world, and I followed the tutorial from the Nesting Place, although mine turned out a little differently.

I bought the mirror at Hobby Lobby for $6 (price after 40% off coupon)
AND their posterboard was on sale 4 sheets for a dollar.  Score.

Then you need scissors, a pencil, and a glue gun with glue sticks.

It did take me a while to get the size and shape of the rays I wanted just right.  Cutting process took a while, and it took all 4 sheets of poster board. 

Basically you cut out strips of posterboard, fold them in half,

and draw the 'ray' shape you like. (In pencil, just used marker below to show) Then cut with the middle of the ray being the folded side, so you will have symmetrical rays..  Repeat lots!

I made 4 short rays, 4 medium sized rays, and 16 large.


IMPORTANT:  make sure you are folding the poster paper the right way.  Give one piece a practice shot.  There is a 'grain' and one way is easier to fold than the other.  Make sure you get this right to avoid headaches. 
Check every piece...my last piece was turned a different way than the other poster board pieces and I just assumed it was ready to cut with the grain going correctly.  Wrong.  I was halfway through cutting and tested a strip.  It was folded against the grain.  I almost didn't end up having enough poster board to finish said project. 

I then hot glued them to the back of the mirror using a north/south/east/west pattern in several positions, closely modeling the one done at the Nesting Place tutorial. 

My mirror wasn't completely flat in the back like hers, and my posterboard didn't lay flat on the back of the mirror, but it still worked and looks lovely (I think!).  Seriously for $7? 
                                                                               I LOVE it. 

Even though my husband came home from work, saw it, and said "Uhh, what IS that?"  He later told me he was impressed, just didn't know what to call it. 

I put it above our new entertainement center in our playroom/office.  The furniture is a craigslist purchase and needs some TLC.  I am thinking of painting it gray, and putting some heavy duty wrapping paper where the glass doors are to camoflauge the toy situation.  It IS a toy storage dream, I cant wait to fix it up. (update: Media stand makeover)

Linking up at Kammys Corner

&

If It's Not Baroque

DIY Pine Desk

This project took some trial and error but was totally worth it.  Here is our cluttery dismal starting point.

The loft area in our home houses the office as well as the playroom, and it needs a major overhaul. So I wanted to combine all those elements into one smooth desk area. 

We had two cheap laminate desks that were clogging the space, and inbetween them was a filing cabinet we had gotten for free from my husbands work that was basically just being used as dumping grounds for odds and ends. 

So, I came up with an idea after seeing this awesome desk.  I loved it and it sounded pretty easy to do (me feeling hopeful!)  

Via Little House Blog

I talk my husband into it and we head to Home Depot

Supplies Needed:

• 3 pine boards cut to length you choose.
• trim pieces (1.5 x 3/4 in size, come in 8 foot long pieces)
• wood pegs, screws, wood glue, stain and stainable wood filler
• power saw, sawhorses, hand sander, drill, paintbrush, tape measure, large clamps (dont skip these)  and handy significant other
• something to support the desk. (We made 2 white cupboards for either end from white particle board found at the store, and then we had an old filing cabinet we had gotten for free as our third support post)

Free Super Heavy Filing Cabinet

End Support

Please excuse my most basic knowledge of tools and techniques, as I attempt to explain how we put this together.


Step 1: Pick out 3 finished pine boards from hardware store.  Have them cut the board to the length you want (I think our desk was about 11 feet long) Make sure to look around and buy boards that are priced per board, NOT BY the FOOT!
***The one thing we should have done but did not was to lay down all the pine boards on the ground at the store to make sure they lined up as straight as possible.  We had a terrible time later on getting them to come together because one board was slightly bowed.** 
Also buy trim pieces, and white particle board for cabinets underneath.

Step 2: Lay out 3 pine boards on sawhorses in working area.  My husband pre-drilled in between
the boards and added pegs to fit the boards together.


We used wood glue and clamps (very important these clamps.  A few other tutorials I read said they just 'placed' the boards together, one even said they used string to tie the boards together while the glue was setting.  YEAH RIGHT!)  We really had to use the clamps to force the boards together and for them to be flush, and let it set overnight. 

We also reinforced the wood with these scrap pieces, drilling them in on the bottom of the desk.

Step 3: My husband also cut smaller trim pieces to fit around the entire desk for added strength and to improve the look of the desk.

Step 4: We then used wood filler for any gaps, and then sanded...and sanded...and sanded... until it was about as even as we could manage.

I then stained it with one coat of dark wood stain, then a coat of polycryclic.

Step 5:  We hauled this upstairs into our loft and office area and set it on our filing cabinet and 2 cupboard stands my husband had drilled together using particle board.  He made a shelf in each one also.  He then drilled down from the plank desk into the cupboards to stabilize the whole thing. The trim piece he added makes a nice overhang on the front of the desk.

He had measured before to make sure that the desk would be centered and fit on our 3 supports perfectly. And to make sure that we would have enough 'leg room' for each computer chair.  The measurements came out to be such that our desk was 11ft long, and 22 inches deep.  The cabinets were 20 wide inches across, 28 inches tall, 24 inches deep. The filing cabinet was 3 feet long and same heighth and depth as the cabinets.  Then there were 27 inches across of leg space for each desk area.

Step 6:  Cover up the holes with filler and stain where we drilled from the top desktop into the cabinet with screws. (We have yet to do that) Add computers, desk stuff, and make it work!  Baskets, organizers etc. So far we really like it, and have plenty of storage in the cabinets.  This one project was quite a test of our patience, so we need a rest for now.  But we did it!  Blood sweat and tears. And we love it!

Painting Countertops and Cabinets

I hated our kitchen so much I just wanted to move.  But with the housing market so low, not a great option.  So instead I was on the internet for weeks trying to figure this out.

I hated my cabinets.  Ugly, cheap, pine colored wood.  But I knew that removing them and getting new was ridiculous.  Way too expensive, we didn't plan on living here forever, and we were not putting brand new nice cabinets in this cookie-cutter starter home.  Plus there was nothing wrong with the cabinets.

So for 5 years my kitchen was this way and I loathed it.

After searching the internet for weeks,  I learned that many home improvement stores have kits designed to paint or stain over the existing cabinets. 

And if you are really brave its possible to paint your ugly green countertops too.

So we took the plunge.  I figured whats the worse that could happen.  It couldn't get any uglier in this kitchen. First I read this awesome blogpost with many tutorials on different ways to paint your countertops.  I followed "The StarterHome's" post. And then I dove right in.
Washed everything down, taped it off, then painted on a primer, then a coat of black paint (with a roller and a brush).  I really wanted to cry with joy.  The black was better looking than the green. 
They say black is the base color to all granite, and since mine were green to start with I wanted to make sure it was all covered up. 

I then bought small bottles of acryclic paint for $1.79 per bottle in various shades of brown and cream.  I purchased 7.

  And I sponged away in 4 different colors until I though it looked right.  SO EASY. And kind of fun for someone like myself who struggles to pay attention to details.

The difficult part was the epoxy/clear coat.  Its called Envirotex Lite and can be found at most hardware or craft stores.  I had my husband help me (he is super-precise) and we still had some issues.  This is STILL totally doable...just a little tricky to work with. 

Its a big goopy mix that is clear and you mix it together in a large bucket and then literally pour the entire contents over the countertop, and it evens itself out.  Scary!!

If we did this again I would definitely recommend removing the kitchen sink first.  We weren't sure how to do that and its a little rough around the edges. 








 We still love it, even though it has a few imperfections.  We have gotten many compliments on it, and for the most part only we can tell where there are imperfections.  But it looks 10 times better than the green, and we are so glad we did this.



For the cabinets....be prepared for this to take lots of time and work...and going out to eat because you wont feel up to cooking (does anyone ever though?)   There are some awesome cabinet restoring kits out there from any home improvement store and that's what we decided to do. The kits are about $70.  And they come with everything you need including a video of how to.  Our kitchen is smaller, and we only needed one kit.  Here is how it went down:

I chose the white cabinet color, and then there was a glaze that goes over the top which turns it a more cream color for the finished look.  I liked the white almost enough to keep it but went ahead and used the glaze since it was included.

I had to disassemble, clean, dry and de-gloss all the frames and cabinet doors...front and back. 


So....many...cabinet...doors....

Then we primed the cabinets...2 coats...then painted...2 coats...then glazed...one coat.  Front and back.  Dry times for hours in between.  LOTS OF WORK.

I love the outcome, but again when you DIY you learn things along the way too.  Like how I should have paid closer attention to the amount of glaze on each door.  Some are slightly lighter/darker than

 others.  There are a few finger print smudges on one door.  And there are a few places where the glaze wasn't wiped off properly and it looks smeared.  I was just delirious from so much painting and late nights and impatience to get this done, is where I ran into problems with my craftsmanship.  If it bugs you, take your time and be meticulous.  I need to do better at that.

I like the aged shabbier look of the glazed doors.....the only problem I didn't foresee was them being super matchy-matchy to the tile.  Hmmm

So nice and fresh, it feels much better than that red/pine/and dusty greenery mess that it was before.  So glad to be done with this one.

**Update:  A year later the cabinets and countertops have held up well.  No scratching, peeling, signs of wear.  They still look great. We did eventually sell this home, and I will say that the painted countertops were an issue with many potential buyers, but we did end up selling it just fine without replacing them***