Fun times to be had by all....

Things I have found that will make creating much more fun.

My first discovery with painting was

Yes Mod Podge....this stuff is AWESOME

Big tip - make sure you invest in a wall paper applier. It is a flat tool that you use to smooth out wallpaper. This tool saved me so much time and help smooth out the bubbles that form.

A good idea is let the glue get a bit tacky before you lay down your paper, it will stick better and slowly put the paper down using the tool to help smooth it as it goes down. - If it is a flat surface, put a book or something heavy on top for a good hour or two to weigh it down, this will help keep the bubbles from forming.

My next discovery is.... Annie Sloan Chalk Paint & wax

I can't wait to get started on my next project and use this stuff. The reviews on the paint are beyond awesome so I am expecting great results on using it. I will keep you posted on what I think.
There is only one store in all of Edmonton that carries this paint www.appleboxboutique.ca
So if you are from Edmonton or surrounding area check this small quaint place out.

With this paint all you need is 1 to 2 coats max. the coverage is suppose to be smooth and goes on thick...you can actually thin this paint out with plain old water, you can mix different annie sloan paints together to get a new colour and it is suppose to not be murky but be crisp.
The paint is a bit expensive @ 51.95 a can of paint, if you want to make any sort of profit on your items..you must choose carefully on what you are wanting to paint with this. A 20.00 piece of chipped or broken furniture that you can only sell for 20.00 or less is not going to cut it, but a 5 dollar old school desk that is in perfect condition will yield a good profit and you will have paint left over for another project to sell. 

Like mother like son.

So this is my 8 yr old son and yesterday he was bored on his first day of summer holidays. I told him that he could have this bench that I picked up last weekend at a garage sale for 10 bucks and he could refurbish it.
Well he spent two days sanding this thing down - it is literally as smooth as a babies bottom...he did such a great job at that.

Then today after he washed it down and had his lunch waiting for it to dry he painted it in a grey color (the same paint as my first set of tables) so it can be taken outside or inside because it's exterior paint & primer in one.

It was a great project for him and bench turned out really great.

My awesome find on Kijiji.

Thank you Better After for featuring my creations. I love to take something someone thinks is junk and making it look amazing again...check out my other blog posts to see what else I have done.

I am at it again...it never seems to stop for me.
Well searching on kijiji there was a lady moving and wanted to get rid of of a coffee table and two side tables. It was an amazing deal that I couldn't pass up. It was only 5 bucks for all 3 items. A real steal of a deal. Always keep your eye open for people not really wanting things, they give them away either for free or cheap just to move it, but it is worth much more with a bit of elbow grease.

coffee table.

The tables were very beat up, so I sanded them down in my little hand electric sander, filled in the nicks with wood filler and waited for that to dry. Then gave it another sand down.

I painted the tables completely white and found this great graphic wallpaper at Home Depot that was ripped and out of the wrapper so I took it to customer service and asked if they would sell it to me at a discount - good frugal tip...always look for damaged items. This roll had just a slight tear at the very front of the roll but the rest was perfect....why pay full price when you can get a bargain. I had some mod podge at home so I decided it would be a great bold statement on the tables to take them from blah white to a pop of pizzaz. 

This is the coffee table.

The side tables.

close up of one of the side tables.

Subscribe to my blog to watch the other things I am going to create...it will be fun. Make sure to check out my other diy transformation on this blog.

A great find Mirror

Well this morning I headed to Goodwill to see what fun things came in over the weekend. I don't go as often as I should but I had 20 bucks and wanted to find something to add into my house. Upon inspection of tons of great finds I spotted this sad looking wood framed mirror. It was badly nicked up, however the mirror was perfect condition.  I bought it for 19.00 and brought it home, put some wood filler in the nicks and sanded it down.

I think this beauty would look perfect in an antique white to make it look more vintage. Plus it will look perfect in my dinning room.

I taped up the glass very well and took a spray paint can and went to town. this is just the first coat. Still 3 more to go before it shines like a brand new mirror.

Here is the final look for the mirror. I think it turned out very pretty. I just have to put some hanging wire on the back and put it on the wall. I am happy with the end result.