Reclaimed Gym Floor Dining Table

Yes you read that correctly- GYM FLOOR DINING TABLE FINISHED!!!! Excuse me if I'm a little excited about this particular project because I've only been working on it for well over a year.

TA-DA!!

If you're not up to speed on the fabulousness that is the table see these posts:

The Find

Progress

Just Kickin It

If you're looking for something design-y today I'm sorry but I have to disappoint you. Today I have to brag a little on the Con-Man. He started playing soccer for the first time this year! This is a big deal for me because I played soccer from 3rd grade all the way into college. I'm also his coach so I am one proud Momma right now.

Post game snack 

His team name is the Teal Turkeys (I didn't pick it but the kids sure do love it!) I don't have a ton of pictures because I'm busy during the game trying to get the kids to actually go for the ball- 4 year olds are pretty funny in soccer. 

Here he is about to kick off!

Check him out going for the ball!

Half Time Snack- I think snack time is the kids favorite part of the game. 

I don't want to get too excited but he is pretty good! He can dribble well and kicks hard and accurately. The Hubs would love for him to be a baseball star but I think soccer would be a much better career path; just my humble opinion.

Even the Saw-Man likes to get into the game-

Maybe we'll have some soccer stars in our future!

The Old Switcheroo

Do you ever switch furniture around in your house to achieve a new look of feel? This past weekend I did some switching around in preparation for the new dining table that I will (hopefully, crossing fingers, praying) done with this week.

First change is to our bedroom. I switched the out the white bank box console for the credenza I bought a while back. It matches the dresser I've been using, I like the warm wood, and I think we'll use it more than the bank boxes in the bedroom. 

And I love love love it with my new blue chair!!! Gorgeous~~~ I still love the grey slipcovered one but I felt like the blue went better with the room scheme. The grey chair is currently in our dining room, not sure where it's new home will be. This is what happens when you have a chair fetish, it's a sickness really.

The other change I made in the bedroom is switching up our end tables. I placed the new cherry table I won at our family reunion on my side of the room and flipped the marble top one to the Hubs side.

And another thrifty find- this awesome brass plate! I had seen it in one of the shops in town and finally broke down and bought it.

And you can see here that I am letting you in on a dirty little secret: I never made the upholstered footboard for our bed. Getting on that ASAP!

So those are the bedroom changes, here is the dining room with it's new bank box credenza:

As I mentioned earlier hoping to have a new table in here soon! Con-Man will loose his racetrack space but oh well for him! And since I no longer need that empty spot in the credenza for the TV box I'm thinking it will be a new wine storage area. Yep, always need more of that!

Do you ever rearrange your furniture for a new feel? Or go "shopping" in your house for new items??

Twin-Tastic Nursery Design

OMG everyone I cannot tell you enough how excited I am over the weather we have been having here in OK. As I just typed that I thought it was kind of sad that I am starting a post talking about weather. But, in my defense, we endure 3-4 months of 100+ degree summers The past few days have been around 70-80 degrees and I have just been reveling in it! Running, picnicking, enjoying our backyard, ect.

Anyway, to the task at hand. A good friend of mine as I mentioned a week or so ago is having boy/girl twins. Now if twins weren't exciting enough my friend already has 2 boys. And as a mother of 2 boys also I can tell you that the prospect of having a girl is big news!! So she is over the moon with the twin news and that one of them is a girl is the icing on the cake. 

Dremel Weekends: Colorful Wall Hanger DIY

Today I wanted to share with you a DIY project that could make your kiddo do this:

(This is his surprised face BTW)

A few weeks ago I was contacted by the awesome folks over a Dremel to see if I wanted to take part in one of their Dremel Weekends projects. If you haven't been to the Dremel Website lately they have a lot of cool ideas that can be completed in a weekend. From crafty, to DIY and outdoor projects. The skill level ranges from beginner to expert- so there is something for everyone!

I choose to tackle the Wooden Wall Hanger project. I knew it was something that we could use around our house as Con-Man's backpack and hats (which usually get thrown in the laundry room since we don't have a real mudroom) and I'd be able to try out my new SawMax!!

Source

I found this project pretty easy to complete and won't bore you with a lot of details because the directions they have on the website are straightforward and very easy to follow.

First cuts with the new Saw-Max! I have to say the Saw Max was easy to learn how to use and worked great. It cut through the wood and metal with no problem and the grip/ on off switch was intuitive and easy to get the hang of. This is a great saw- especially handy if like me you don't have a lot of space or money to invest in a large mitre saw.

After all my straight cuts were made I lined them up to see how I wanted the final layout.

Next up was cutting the actual hangers. They rotate in and out so they needed a 45 degree angle at the bottom. I don't have a true mitre guide so I rigged one up:

Again the Saw-Max was great at cutting, even the angle cuts!

After all my wood was cut I painted them all. The directions say to paint/stain at the end but since mine were all different colors I choose to paint them individually first. I used leftover paint from my myriad of paint projects!

Then I started drilling the holes where the support rod would thread through. I pretty much eyeballed this since the slats are supposed to be staggered anyway.

Once that was all finished it was time to glue onto the support beam. I glued all the slats (except the ones that move!) Then added hooks to hang it on. For added support I put wall anchors in the wall since the finished wall hook was somewhat heavy.

And the finished product! 

Hooks closed

Hooks Open

Now Con-Man had his own place to hang his backpack, hat, and soon his sweaters with winter coming soon. He was really excited to see it all finished and that it was just for him.

Both Con and I love how it turned out and we've been using it a lot already. If you're looking for project inspiration the Dremel Weekend website is a great place to start!

*I was offered the opportunity to try out the Dremel SawMax for this project but all opinions are my own.*

Workspace/ Retail Progress

OMG I am ready for the weekend. This has been a hectic week! I've been coaching Con-Man's soccer practices (Alone I may add since the head coach has been out of town), been a woodworking bad @ss, and just been kicking butt in general. ;)

I've also been working on the Retail/Workspace project I have talked about before. SInce this is something I am working on solo, mainly to grow my portfolio, it's been hard to get motivated to put time in on it when I'd rather just veg out and watch TV. I've refined the floor plan, drew up some preliminary elevations, and working on my SketchUp skills. For those who don't know SketchUp is a 3D modeling program. Check it out!

Here is an overall view of the space looking down from above:

On the left hand side of the picture is the "work area". Where artisans can come and build and design their products to sell. There are large work tables along the exterior of the space and a high top table for computer or office type work. There is a conference room, break room, office, and storage as well. There is still a lot to be added- shelving, detail, color, and other furniture.

The more interesting part of the space right now is the retail area on the right hand side. This area is designed for the artisans to sell their wares to the public. Basically they built and create their products to sell in the work area then sell it in the front!

I still need to add more furniture for display but for now I've started designing the check out counter, the large wooden columns that separate the retail area from the display window, and a large display wall wit built in shelving. Here's a closer look:

Here's an elevation view of the display wall. It is covered in sough wood slats, has display shelving popping out of the wall for small sale items, and large shelves built into the wall for large sale items.

And finally an exterior view looking in through the large glass windows:

I'm no SketchUp expert but I've been having fun practicing and honing my skills. What do you think so far? Do you ever work on things just for fun or for practice?

A Sunny Chair Makeover

~Before we dive into our makeover today I just want to take a moment to remember those who lost their lives and were affected by the events on 9/11~

So I lost my first Fantasy Football Game. I thought that maybe I could make a come back in Monday night's games but alas it was not to be. Oh well, try again this weekend! And do you know what day it is?

That commercial cracks me up!

Anyway- let's get to the subject at hand here. Today I wanted to share with you a chair makeover that I had finished up last week. Remember these two sad guys? 

I bought them for super cheap because one had a broken leg. (See how I fixed it here)

After that was taken care of it was time for painting. I've been wanting to try chalk paint for a while now and thought this was a good opportunity to see what the fuss is all about. Using a recipe I found online I went the plaster paris route. Which included mixing plaster of paris with water:

Then adding my paint (I used Pantone Chamomeille) 

I love how thick and creamy it is!

Overall my first chalk paint experience was a good one. I can see why everyone loves this type of paint! A little bit of paint goes a long way, it goes on smooth, and not a lot of prep work is required.

Ta-Daaaa!!!

I used some leftover Dwell fabric from my slipcovered chair, I thought the modern grey print worked well to contrast with the traditional shape of the chairs and the soft yellow paint. And the chalk paint was great at getting just the right amount of chippy-ness when I sanded the details.

To seal the paint I didn't go the traditional soft wax method as is used in most chalk paint applications. Instead I went with a non-gloss sealant. The chairs are for sale and I wanted to be sure they are super durable.

I like how they turned out, a far cry from where they started! And I'm a new chalk paint enthusiast. 

No Rest for the Wicked~

Usually I try to have a makeover of DIY project to share on Mondays but I have gotten way behind on projects lately. Probably because I've taken on a little to much as of late...

Today while both kids were in school/ MDO I tried to play catch up:

That would be the 3 wood projects I was working on today. The moon is a photography prop for a friend. I need to get it finished so she can start using it for her newborn shoots.

The wood slats in the foreground will hopefully be a modern hang-all in the near future, and the wood slats in the background are some more of my gym floor table top. Which now looks like this after the work I put into it today--

And since I just scored this off the classified page, (since we don't have a Craigslist this is what our town uses to sell stuff) cutting the slab down will be easy. 

I talked them down to $30! Because the AF Base Wood Shop closed down (thanks a lot furlough!) I was in need of some tools of my own. I'm excited to try it out!

I've had some recent acquisitions as well! I had been drooling over this gorgeous blue chair for a few weeks now. 

I saw it in the window of one our local vintage shops and have been debating on buying it. I of course don't need another chair but it was perfect for our bedroom! I finally caved and bought it. It's in perfect condition, soft blue velvet and I love it!! And for $55 I thought it was a pretty decent deal.

I also bought this little table, also from our classifieds page for $5. 

As if I need any more projects to take on... This guy will get a sand and repaint job, then hopefully resell.

And if that wasn't enough I've still been at work behind the scenes on my Retail Shop Design.

And I'm super excited to be helping a friend who is expecting Boy/ Girl Twins design their nursery! Her idea is to bring in accessories from her world travels, she is not afraid of color, and there are going to be lots of fun DIY's. I can't wait to start pulling all our ideas together.

So is that enough to have on one's plate?

It's Geaux Time

It's that time of year! Football Season is here!! I'm so excited that LSU Football is back and season and my Saints are ready to play.

Last weekend for the Labor Day Holiday we headed down to Dallas for the first LSU Football game. We spent most of the day at a catered tailgate. Practically my whole family came- parents, sister, MIL, friends from all over came to partake in the festivities.

It was a fun time but the temperature was over 100 degrees! Needless to say the kids only lasted about 2 hrs before we took them back to the hotel. Later in the evening I went back to the party (left the kids with the MIL!!) and we got ready to go to the game.

Me and the Hubs waiting for the bus to take us to the stadium. 

I even got my toes done for the occasion!

This weekend is no different. My Tigers are playing on TV and I have my Fall Wreath up on our door.

And our Girls Fantasy Football League is up and running. Once again this Sa-Weet Pink Trophy is up for grabs!

Are you getting geared up for Football Season?

Getting A Handle On It

Sorry for the lack of posting after Labor Day Weekend- things have been busy around here as of late! Just a quick DIY for you today. Do you remember back when I mentioned our old house was the gift that kept on giving? Well it's still giving two years later and we don't even live there anymore!

I had saved several old door knobs from our 1930's house and brought them with us when we moved. I already used most of them but still had the glass one left to make something out of.

(See how I made these useable in this post)

For the glass knob I made this:

Pretty simple but I like the contrast of the glass and the old salvaged wood. The wood is left over from my Pallet Texas, the knob and key hole from our old home. 

I just cut some wood down to size, sanded, screwed the key hole on, then predrilled a hole to screw my door knob into. 

(Only picture I had depicting screw in a door knob)

Simple and effective! Have you created anything for free lately?