Captured

Rhett somehow managed to take these pictures on a recent trip to Joann's.

I love little moment he captured.

Me.

Happy.

With by little guy.

Buying fabric.

Simple, but good. :)

Ultra distressed high boy

Oh boy...this high boy.

I snagged it from an auction MONTHS ago and stuck it in my booth in almost as is condition.

I loved the lines but didn't know what to do with it.

I was thinking something like this, a really bold, sleek look. 

But the piece had so many natural worm holes and divits and I was honestly to lazy to try and fill all of them. 

And one day I was a little emotional and a little frustrated, so I took all that and used it on the distressing. 

Here's how it turned out.  

I'm really happy with out it turned out.

So much distressing isn't my normal style but I love how the piece has kind of a romantic industrial look.

And the sweet little hanging rack above the dresser was made from a leftover detail piece from a large mirror. 

Like the dresser, I painted it also in Old Ochre, lightly distressed it and added knobs to the existing screw holes where it would have attached to the mirrors.

I used my Dremel to cut the screws on the hardware down to size. 

It took like 5 minutes, just make sure you wear protective eye wear. :) 

The dresser is available in The SHOP at the top of the page. 

Click HERE for more info. 

Rolling out the red carpet for Cassie!

Friends I am so excited to have Cassie from Primitive and Proper here today!

She is an amazing friend, blogger and talent and I am so happy to roll the red carpet out for her!

So Cassie take it away!

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Hello 551 East fans!  I am Cassie from Primitive and Proper and I am SO excited to be here!  I just adore Julia- she is super sweet, adorable, and freaking talented beyond all get out, yo.  She clearly brings out the gangsta in me because she is that cool.

Julia and I both love to dabble in furniture makeovers and we both share a love of color, a little bit of funk, and a little bit of glam, mixed with a dash of bohemian.  I thought I would share a happy colored makeover with you today.

I found this dresser recently on my local craigslist.  Whenever I find this style for a decent price, I try to purchase it.  I just love it's classic look!

The only drawback to this dresser was that often times, the wood tends to bleed through primer and paint once the finish has been sanded off.  To save myself that trouble of sanding and dealing with bleeding I decided to make my own chalk paint.
I use my good friend Ann Marie's recipe: 1/2 c. plaster of paris mixed into 1/2 c. warm water.  Once that is mixed add it to 1 c. flat or eggshell paint and mix well.  Then you are good to go- no sanding or priming needed!

I gave this dresser two coats and then distressed it by hand with 150 grit sandpaper.  Then I used a wax brush to apply a natural wax finish.  Once the wax dried, I buffed it for a smooth like buttah feel!  Here is the after:

DIY chalk paint is one of the easiest and most inexpensive ways to go!  I strongly recommend trying it!
Julia, thank you SO much for having me here today!

Ruffled Burlap Framed Chalkboards

I had some extra burlap left from the pleated burlap wreath I made last week so I decided to frame a chalkboard with it. 

So. Stinkin'. Easy. 

Here's what you'll need.

Step 1: Lightly sand and clean your wood. 

Step 2: Squirt a couple of small dollops of the chalk board paint on the wood.

Step 3: Using the roller spread the paint evenly on the wood. 

(I did 2 coats.)

Step 4: Take your burlap (you'll need about 2 1/2 times as much the perimeter of your piece of wood) and sew it into a ruffle. 

For ruffle tutorials click HERE, HERE, and HERE.   

Step 5: Using your glue gun, glue the ruffle in sections to the perimeter.  

Step 6: Rub chalk over the surface of your board to treat it and wipe it off when you're ready to write a message. 

You're done! 

Did you realize that was less then 10 steps?!

Obviously I forgot to write something deep and profound on mine before I took the pictures, but you get the idea. :)

Total cost:

Burlap: Left over, about $1.00

Chalkboard paint: $3.00 (w/coupon at Michael's and I barely used any of it.)

Wood, chalk, roller, glue gun: Free (already had on hand)

Total: $4 or less

Yay for burlap. :)

Urban Bronze

One of my favorite things about working with paint is discovering the unique qualities that show themselves as the paint is applied and dries.

Yes, I like watching paint dry. :) 

For this piece the color I used was Behr's Urban Bronze.

It's a rich gray with subtle bronzes undertones and even a tint of green. 

Since it was a slightly more masculine color, I wanted to make sure the softer details of the piece showed through so I used glass door knobs for the hardware. 

I think they add an antique quirkiness to an urban color.

The dresser has been lacquered and buffed for s sleek look and feel.

Oh so smooth. :)

The piece is for sale and for more info look under the The SHOP tab at the top of the page. 

If you leave your husband a to-do list

Asking him to pickup some blackout curtains for your son's room, while you are out of town.

You might come home to his interpretation of your request. 

A Ninja Turtle blanket and a monkey blanket nailed to the wall.

Close honey, but not quite what I was thinking. 

Pleated burlap wreath tutorial

I keep forgetting that it's only the beginning of June. 

Here in Arizona it's been over a hundred degrees for weeks now, and I can't believe for most of the country, spring is just ending.

But either way, I'm showing you today how to make a beautiful, super easy, Spring-ish burlap wreath.

Here are the materials you'll need:

1/2 a yard of tan burlap

1/2 a yard of white washed burlap

1/2 a yard of bone burlap

1/2 yard white cotton or muslin

fabric scissors 

metal hanger

Step 1:

Cut your fabric into strips that are about 4 fingers width wide.

Step 2: 

Fold the strips of fabric, accordion or pleated style 

Step 4: This step is only necessary for the cotton/muslin fabric. Since the wire isn't able to go through the material without a hole, you need to snip one.

Fold the accordion fabric strip in half and snip a small hole through all the layers. 

It will look like this.

Step 5: Push the wire through the hole you snipped.

Step 6: Fold the burlap accordion style as you did with cotton/muslin.

You won't need to snip a hole for the wire to go through with the burlap.

Since it's so loosely woven, it's really easy to slide the wire through the fabric.

Step 7: Alternate the strips of burlap and fabric as you desire, making sure the wreath is full.

Step 8: Bend the wire into a circle and shape it till you achieve the look you want.

Step 9: Twist the ends of the wire securely together and use wire cutters to remove the excess.

Step 10: Using the remaining cotton or burlap strips, tie a loop around the twisted ends of the wire.

Step 11: Hang and enjoy! 

Total cost:

Hanger: Free

White Cotton: $1.99*

Tan Burlap (1/2 yard): $1.50*

White Washed Burlap (1/2 yard): $1.50*

Bone Burlap (1/2 yard):  $1.50*

(*Sale price)

Total: $5.50

Total time: About 20 minutes.

Easy and cute make for some of my favorite projects. :)