Update an Old Shelf

When you are presented with a DIY challenge you take it. You start thinking about what you are going to do, how you are going to make it a masterpiece.

Then there are some challenges you should just not even think about. 

I was asked by a friend if I could do something with her shelf. At first glance, I said, "Sure, throw it away".

I mean really...you would have said the same thing.

It was old, outdated and just plain ugly. But, she loved her shelf and it was the perfect size in her bathroom next to her sink. So what the heck. I wanted to see what I could do. 

First thing I did was pull the tarnished, faded gold brassy bar off. I could have puttied the holes, sanded and refinished it. But, instead I decided to paint the bar with Rust-oleum's Metallic Satin Nickel

Then I lightly sanded the shelf and stained it with Minwax PolyShades Bombay Mahogany.

I really like how it darkened the natural wood grain and it seemed to have brought the shelf to life. 

Or, I got it at least out of the 80's. LOL

After a couple coats and putting the freshly painted rail back on I kept thinking the shelf needed something. So I had a small spring curtain rod that I sprayed with the Satin Nickel spray paint and glued it to the wood brackets.

And, here you have it an updated shelf with a towel rod. 

It now has a multi-purpose use in her bathroom. 

A little stain and paint can go a long way to a new look on an old shelf. 

Don't you think?

Most Recent GGP posts:

Antique Photo Canvas

AirStone Backsplash

Fresh Coat of Paint

Painted Kitchen Cabinets 

Clean your Oven

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Design your life with a little SPARKLE!

AirStone Back-splash

While browsing one of my favorite home improvement stores, Lowes. I came across the best product EVER. And, if I say so then you know it's true ;-)

I wanted to redo our back-splash but I knew I couldn't really fit it in my budget. Oh what am I saying we didn't even have a back-splash. This is what I was dealing with.

**OH YEAH...BE PREPARED THIS IS A LENGTHY POST BUT I PROMISE YOU WILL LOVE IT!

It really did need something. And, that something is AirStone. It's a natural very light weight stone that only uses putty and a hacksaw. 

BEST PART: It was in my cheap budget. 

Now we have to remember that "The Mr." is not handy so if he can do it anyone can. He laid out the stone, read them directions and was ready to go.

This is how simple this is. You cut the stone with a hacksaw or jigsaw.

Slap some putty on the back of the stone and press it up against the wall and WAA-LAA!!

This has been the easiest project that has had the biggest impact on our kitchen make-over. See the difference for yourself and you tell me?

Can I say we are in love with this stuff. I want to stone everything in my house...LOL

How's that for a quick transformation for you. 

Oh yeah! We couldn't help ourselves and if you knew the deal you wouldn't have either. Am I a fan of stainless steel....the jury is still out on that one!!

Now let's take care of this side of the kitchen.

I'm working on new rugs. They should be here any day :-)

But, let's get back to work. This is all the tools we needed. 

(Can you see my cute little under the counter lights...love).

You can see how easy it was to layout the stone. And, here's the finished project.

Now for some fun Before & After pics.

(Not sure why the color is so off on this one. 

Must be my awesome photography skills)

Even though it was a bit long I hope that you are not only enjoying our kitchen transformation but that you are being inspired. 

Just a few more projects left in the kitchen and then I will have a final reveal. If you missed any of the previous kitchen makeover posts, don't worry. I got your back.

Fresh Coat of Paint

Painted Kitchen Cabinets 

Sneak Peek Kitchen Remodel

Kitchen Remodel Beginning

And if you are new and haven't seen the new home before we started all this you can see it here. 

We will have a new look very soon here at GGP so make sure you come back and visit. 

Don't forget to....

~Design your life with a little SPARKLE~

** I have not been paid or compensated for my post today. This has been my own personal experience and review. And, if it was crap I would be the first one to say so. LOL

Stenciled Canvas Curtains & Giveaway...

One of my main goals this year is to re-do every room in my house. It is time for new decor and since I am on a budget then most of it will be done by my own two little hands. I have been working on the home office and have hit the point that I was ready for some new curtains. So, off to Hobby Lobby and JoAnn Fabrics I went to buy some material to make some great ones to match the rooms decor.

Time to switch gears real fast. I came home to find an e-mail from Cutting Edge Stencils, asking if I would be interested in doing a review for them. Well, HECK YA! I get a stencil and get to craft and write about it. Now that is perfection. There are so many wonderful stencils and the one I choose was Entwined Allover. 

I very well couldn't stencil on the material I bought to make curtains so I had to come up with a new game plan. I am getting ready to turn a bedroom into a guest room so I will just make some curtains for that room. 

Now, I've never painted curtains before so I had to do a little research. Thanks to some wonderful fellow bloggers, I got some questions answered. Off to Lowe's for some painter's canvas.

My materials list: Painter's Canvas, Drop cloth, Foam rollers and Tray, Paint, and Stencil.

First thing I did was lay my canvas cloth on the floor and cut it in half straight up the middle 

I used Stitch Witchery to hem the cut edges of the canvas and to make the pocket for the curtain rod. I also ironed out all the wrinkles. I would suggest washing them first before you do anything to soften them up a bit. I am just too darn impatient and went to town. 

Now the fun begins! Whatever you do, MAKE SURE YOU LAY DOWN PLASTIC OR SOMETHING TO PROTECT THE SERVICE YOU ARE WORKING ON. The paint will bleed through.

Tape your stencil to your canvas using either painter's tape or masking tape.And, then get ready to roll your paint. Make sure you do not have a lot of paint on your foam rollers. You don't want to soak your cloth with paint. Go ahead ask me how I know? LOL

Just follow your pattern and move on down your curtains. I chose to paint the curtains black with an Apple Green trim. 

Not perfect but not bad for my first time. But, it is a much needed improvement to a window with no curtain on it.

So much better, don't you think?

I'm not keeping the purple decor because I decided to do the room in Apple Green and Navy Blue. But, sometimes you just have to decorate with what you have for now, and these vase are from my office when it was Apple Green and Purple. 

ARE YOU READY FOR THE BEST PART???

Cutting Edge Stencils is offering one of my lucky friends any stencil {up to a $50 value} from their amazing collection.  The hardest part is going to be picking out a stencil, there are so many wonderful designs.

It really is amazing how much of an impact a stencil can make and it is probably one of the cheapest ways to decorate your space!  And, not too mention all the wonderful things you can do with a stencil and paint. Don't just limit yourself to a wall. Stencil a pillow or throw rugs, table runner, or add a design to some furniture. Be creative!!!

I will tell you that it requires some time and patience, but I think that the results were definitely worth it. Here's a quick "How to Stencil" video to show you how easy it is!

So who wants to win a stencil????

a Rafflecopter giveaway

                     

I am also guest posting over at The Taylor-House ...Make sure you stop on over and say, "Hi". Even stay awhile and check out Chrissy fantastic little place in blogland!!

"Good Luck"

and

Have a CRAZY BEAUTIFUL week!!

Dressed up bookshelves...

Now that it's the new year one of my goals is to finally get some projects done that I've had on the back burner. And, one of these projects was these bookshelves in my office.

I have been wanting to re-do them for awhile and since I just couldn't figure it out it became a catch all. I knew I didn't want to paint them...Love the black! The decision was to paint the back, wall paper, scrapbook paper, stencil...so many options.

The decision I made was to cover it with fabric. I didn't do the back of the shelves on all three bookcases I changed it up. That's how I roll. I like to be different. 

Since I'm always changing things around here I didn't want to do anything permanent. So I went to my favorite craft store....Big shout out to HOBBY LOBBY!! And, bought some foam board. I measured the shelves and the back of the shelves and sketched out the measurements on to the foam board.

Next step was to cut them out. Easy enough, right? NOT!! Do not use scissors they don't work well cutting foam boards.

The best thing to use is a utility knife. I had to enlist the help of hubby because I don't have much strength in my right arm and hand. And, for other reason's he doesn't like me to play with knives. 

And, this is why he doesn't let me play with knives. All I had to do was cut the corners out and if that knife would have slipped it would have been a bloody disaster.

 I'm a hair stylist and cut my hands all the time....I'm not scared!!!!

And, here's where me being different comes in. I'm covering the actual shelves on the two end units. And, the boards fit perfect.

Now that I have them all cut, it's time to add some fabric.

I use spray adhesive and I can tell you this is the best stuff, EVER!! Just don't be like me and spray it working on your floor. I now have tacky carpet. It's OK, we are moving AGAIN in a couple months.

I measured and cut the fabric.

Sprayed adhesive lightly on the foam board.

Laid the fabric over the foam board and smooth it out.

Then I flipped over the foam board and sprayed the edges and corners. Pretty perfect if I do say so myself.

All done...

Now let's see how they look...

I am jumping up and down doing the happy dance...I love them...love, love, love!!

I did the same thing to the center shelf, I just made boards for the back instead of the actual shelves. I did not have to tack anything down. The fit was nice and snug. 

Here's some before and afters of my finished bookshelves...

The shelves are in my office and I'm doing the room with French Vintage, Burgundy and Aqua accents. So I do have a few things to still do but I SOOOOO love my book shelves.

Sorry for the long post. But, I hope you enjoyed it as my as I enjoyed this transformation.

{sorry for blurry photo...I'm working on my photography skills -promise}

Oh yeah...I almost forgot a big one...I'm a new, regular guest contributor over at The Taylor-House . I'm really excited about it and want to give a big "THANK YOU" to Chrissy for having me. 

Hop on over and read about the Dresser that I Dressed Up!!

~Have a CRAZY BEAUTIFUL week~