Did you guys see my guest post over at Creating my way to Success?

You didn't!?!?!?!?!

You must go see it. Now. Here's the link - LINK!

Ok, so that console is now done. Yay!

I picked up this beaut at the Salvation Army a few months ago, and knew that she was going to replace the black console that had been in this spot since we moved in. Here's the console that was there.
She wasn't a bad console. Just low and doesn't have a lot of storage. Oh and we have a white dog. Guess what shows up super well on black furniture? Yep, you guessed it. Fur and dust. blech.

So here is what the piece looked like before. :)  I don't have great before pictures, but you get the idea. The piece is a Bassett furniture number, and its HEAVY. I had to make sure to have the thing moved inside before Steve left for Vegas. I just made it.

So now that you've seen her ugly beginnings, lets take a look at her transformation, and how I'm utilizing her oh-so-amazing drawers. :)
 LOOK! They hold the DVDs so very nicely. Not that my children put the DVDs away any better than they did with the baskets, but still they're completely hidden when they are in the drawer!


 I used two different knobs on this piece, which is a first for me. The nickel knobs are from Target and the pretty ceramic knobs are from Hobby Lobby (from my trip to Nashville in June) :) I decided to paint the original backplates a nickel color to match the Target knobs, but to also make the ceramic knobs stand out.



The top is stained with one coat of Minwax Jacobean stain and I protected the whole piece with a coat of wax. The paint color is Metro Mist by Valspar and I primed the body of the piece with tinted Kilz oil-based primer. Oh then I did a light glazing with Valspar Asphaltum glaze. Love the result! Especially against the orange of the family room.


So what do you guys think? Did I do a good job? I love the character that this piece has, not to mention all the storage.

Oh do you want to see how I hooked this baby up without Steve's help?

Yep. I took pictures of how the DVD thing and the DVR cables were aligned. They helped a lot because I hooked it up right the first time! Yay me!

Stephen was quite happy with the change when he got home. The best part? Harrison can't reach the boxes anymore. Oh Yea!

See you guys tomorrow!


Linking up to:

I feel so bad. I have had a piece of furniture in my house that I forgot to show off. I refinished it a few years ago. The very first piece that I ever finished with stain and  {spray} paint. This was originally my grandmother's, but then Dad adopted it, and now she's comfortably hiding DS games and accessories along with various Wii items.


I don't have any pictures of before, but the back shows off the original finish. You can see some of the over spray....oops. :)


I added legs to the table to make it a bit taller. The back legs are just parsons legs that I had to cut down, and the front are turned bun feet.

I got the glass handles from Target. I love me some Target.

The top is finished in Early American by Minwax, and then the whole thing is poly'ed. I put 6 coats of poly on the top, and yes, I know that is a bit excessive, but the boys have not been able to dent it.  :)


The paint is American Traditions Heirloom White. I haven't been able to find this color for a while, but Antique White by Valspar is nice and a close match. The darker finish on this piece hid all of the wonderful architectural elements of this piece. The lighter color really brings them out.



There is a lot of love on this piece. The poly is yellowing a bit, and there is grime in some of the corners that I can't get out, and I don't even want to begin to guess what it is, but the boys have not been able to chip it all (that's not saying the movers didn't). This has been a very versatile piece....its resided in our entry and the family room and the sun room. The white goes with anything!

Have a great day and enjoy!

So we've all seen them. Some of us have made them, and you can do a Google search on how to make them, but I still wanted to add my $.02 to the pile. I am, of course, talking about the monkey fist knot. Originally used in sailing so that there was something substantial to grab a hold of at the end of a rope, it is now commonly used in home decorating.

Unlike some people, I don't really follow video instruction very well. Written instructions and I get along much better. So when I found this site on how to construct a monkey's fist I was ecstatic. I decided to take some  pictures along the way of the making of my knot, which was quite hard to do as one hand was constantly holding the knot for a bit. :) Oh and this was a pajama day craft.....


So let's make sure we have all of our supplies:
milk - check
pajamas - check
bed head - check
sisal rope and tennis ball - check & check

Ok let's go!



















So that's how I made the knot, but I don't like the color, so out came the stain. I just took a foam brush and painted and blotted the stain into all the nooks and crannies, and let it dry for about two days. It took forever to dry!  So here's the finished product...

I'm in love with them. I think I need a third. That and I'm waiting for some night when Stephen finally notices that they're there and comes out with some joke. :) They accent the towel rack in Harrison's bathroom perfectly though, don't they? :)

Sorry for the delay today, but I had to drop our car off at the shop for some new boots, fluid change and state inspection. Oh the joys of being a car owner. :) Oh and in case you're wondering.....Monkey Shine is my mom's nickname for me and Dev. :)

Have a wonderful day and enjoy!