OKLAHOMA

I'm in Oklahoma! My husband is stationed at Fort Sill for the next 4 1/2 months. Officer training. The housing situation was screwed up, very long story, bottom line we were supposed to be in a three bedroom house with a basement for me to continue on with my "obsession". We are now in a hotel room with a kitchenette. Yeah! But I'm not going to complain, anymore, we are together as a family and that is what matters! All the crap we brought with us is in a storage unit including my previous tools! So now that I don't get to play with my tools, I'm focusing on the "diapers" part of "Diapers and Drills". It's way past time! Gabriel is past 3 now and still has no desire to potty train. I haven't been pushing him because I know that won't work. But if I have to change another diaper I might freak out! It's time! So thus begins my adventure of potty training! Tomorrow is day 1. I will let you know how it goes! 

Before and After-Buffet to Entertainment Center

 Allyson and Gayle's Craigslist find.

 They had the large entertainment center that we had before flat panel tvs became so popular. They found this beautiful piece for a great price and brought it to me. 

I used my fav, Kona stain by Rustoleum. And for all you DIYers out there I used Rustoleum polyurethane and LOVED it! It is cloudy when you apply it but dries clear. I liked it because you could see where you were applying. And it dries fast!! LOVE LOVE LOVE

Since they will be using this as an entertainment center, we needed a place to hide the electronics. 

SO I took the drawer apart, attached the bottom of the drawer on the inside to create a shelf and put hinges on the drawer face so they have a great hiding place. I don't love working with hinges because they always seem to end up being a pain in my butt! So thanks to my sister Tiffanie and her hubby Micheal for their help in figuring that out!! 

P.S. the hinges are for a kitchen cabinet door. 

Before and After-2 tone dresser

Sorry this is the only picture I could find of the dresser Before.

AFTER

I used Kona stain on the drawers and top. I painted the base of the dresser in antique silver from Glidden. 

The brownish distressed (dirty) look was actually done by mixing a little stain with the polyurethane. This way I was sealing it while giving it that old world look. 

Hope you like :)

I'm selling this on craigslist, if anyone is interested :)

Twin Headboard

I made this headboard from cedar fence posts. The stain color is Kona (Lowes).

I printed the name out on my computer, traced it onto the wood, then used my dremel tool to engrave it. The name stood out too much, in my opinion, so I stained it. 

If you are interested in having a headboard made, let me know.

Twin $75

Full/Queen $100

King $125

Before and After-Dining Table and Chairs

Sherry's table and chairs. Sherry and her husband removed the material before bring them to me. They decided to do that part themselves. The material they purchased for the chairs is gorgeous. I can't wait to see it completely finished.

AFTER

I used the same Valspar Antique White and Antique Glaze that I used on the hutch. I stripped the top and stained it with Kona color stain! My Fav.

 I also found my new favorite table top sealer. I have tried a few now and finally found the best one. Sherry has six kids so it needed to be very durable. I refinished my sister's table and polyurethaned the top with 3 coats. I had planned on doing more but didn't have time. One month later and  it had scratches. I will have to tell you that story another time....nightmare. Anyway.....So I talked to a very helpful lady at Lowes.

 And so here is my TIP: 

Epoxy- really think like a bar top. But it was not easy to work with and ended up being a nightmare! (My sister's table) I'm sure I did something wrong but I recommend trying this on a small project first. 

Polyurethane- Great product but you would have to apply many coats to a table top. Best use for this is really any other project, dressers, chairs, anything you stain and need to seal and protect.

Urethane-This is what you want!! This is just thicker than the poly. You apply it basically the same way but it will go on much thicker. Make sure you use even strokes and don't over-brush. To get this beautiful think look only took 2 coats.

Before and After-Hutch

Spent almost 3 weeks in Vegas over Christmas. I stayed a week longer than planned because my friend Kristin's mom passed away. She was an amazing woman that made you feel welcomed and loved always, and I know that she is with her family that has gone on before her. I'm so thankful for the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ and the testimony that I have that families are forever! 

And since I was there I worked on a few extra projects. This is Sherry's laminate hutch. 

AFTER

I used Valspar Antique White paint and then sanded, glazed and hand painted black in the distressed parts. The top and middle were painted with Valspar Black.

Before and After-Antique Chair

BEFORE

This antique chair was in the bulk of stuff that I got a couple of months ago. I got a ton of stuff for twenty bucks so I guess you could say that this cost me about 3 bucks! One arm needed to be repaired and all the joints needed a little wood glue but that was easy. :) 

After many hours of cutting, stapling, hammering and even some blood(good thing I got that tetanus shot!)..................Here it is...

AFTER

I just love how it turned out! 

I was able to reuse all the original tack strip. My sister helped me pull it off. So much fun for her that I don't think she will ever help me again! Putting it back on was even harder! NOTE: If you are going to attempt this plan for several hours. 

This is going in my living room. The husband wants me to sell it, which I guess is a compliment, he thinks we could sell it easily. But, NOPE it's all mine! 

Remembering the lesson I learned from the couch I used the old material for a pattern. But I did learn a couple other lessons....

LESSON: When working with a pattern make sure everything is going in the same direction. On the first try, the top was perfect but after cutting the seat out the pattern was facing backwards! AHHHHHHH. Had to go back to the store because I didn't have enough. 

LESSON: When using the old material make sure you check the direction and then flip the material over to trace the pattern. When I got more material I started tracing it and realized I was making the same mistake. But because I was tracing on the pattern side I had pencil marks going through part of the material I needed to use!AHHHHHHHH again. I'm sure there is a special pencil or something but I don't have one. 

Hope these help.