Category: Kids Bedroom

How To: Refinish a Bookshelf

Published on by Our Humble Abode1 Comment

We have this little bookshelf in the boys’ room.  My mom gave it to us, but it was originally her grandparent’s shelf.  It’s functional and cute, right? 

Well, it’s not so cute when the books have been removed; the finish has seen better days. 

The top was even worse, too!

We have had this bookshelf for three years (or more) and have never done a thing to it.  Until now, that is.  I finally got an itch to refinish this sad little guy. 

It all began with a random orbital sander.  I started by sanding the top with 220 grit paper to completely strip the stain finish.  Then, I worked my way down the sides, sanding with the grain of the wood. 

Once I had the top and outsides sanded, Ben removed the back and I worked on sanding the fixed shelves (both the top and under sides) as well as the inside walls. 

After completing all the smooth flat surface areas, I began the tedious, time-consuming task of hand sanding the detailed areas of fluted half round and the finials.  This involved 100 grit sandpaper, folded in half to get into the crevices of the fluting.  It took a good two hours to get the detailed areas sanded smooth, but I knew the end result would be worth it.

I wanted to keep the dark wood tone, so I bought a quart of Minwax Dark Walnut stain.   

Using a synthetic bristle brush, I began applying the stain in small areas to the shelves.  Working quickly, I wiped the area with an old, cut up T shirt to remove excess stain.  I kept a ‘wet edge’ of stain to prevent any overlapping that might make the color uneven.  I continued this process until the entire bookshelf had a coat of stain. 

I let the stain dry overnight.  Once Everett went down for his morning nap, Vincent and I went back to the garage to give the shelf one more coat of stain.  The second coat gave the rich, luxurious walnut tone I had in mind.

Now that I had the color I wanted, I needed to protect my hard work.  I applied two coats of Varathane Diamond Water Based Polyurathane satin finish to seal the wood and prevent scratches and future damage. 

Just a little note:  This was my first attempt to completely refinish a piece of furniture.  By no means am I an expert, but I think the bookshelf turned out pretty great.  It was time consuming, but not very difficult or expensive.  Speaking of expenses, I here’s a budget breakdown.

Sander and paper: $0.00 (already owned)

1 Quart Minwax Stain: $7.78

Varathane Polyurathane: $0.00 (already owned)

Total Spent:  $7.78

Time:

Sanding: 4 hours

Staining:  2 1/2 hours

Polyurathane Application:  2 hours

Total Time Spent:  8 1/2 hours

Not too shabby, huh?

Paper Party Banner

Published on by Our Humble Abode5 Comments

Vincent’s third birthday is tomorrow!  I cannot believe he is already three; time flies.  We’re having a birthday for him on Saturday with friends and family, so I whipped up a simple, affordable and reusable party decoration. 

To make this banner, you’ll need paper or cardstock in any color(s) that tickle your fancy, a circle cutter or punch, string, glue or Mod Podge, and an old paint brush.

I used a handy-dandy adjustable circle cutter made by Making Memories.  I got this as a hand me down from a friend and never used it until now.  The beauty of this tool is the ability to cut circles from 2 inches to 9 inches in diameter, all with one tool.  I set the blade at three inches and started cutting.  It takes a few tries to get it to cut nicely, but after that, its smooth sailing.  The trick is to lightly run the blade around a few times, rather than one heavy round, which will tear the paper. 

So, cut out tons of circles. 

Then, fold in half, aligning the edges.  If you used cardstock, you may want to run a bone folder along the crease to make it sharp.

Gather your glue, paint brush and string and get ready to assemble. 

First, tie a loop in the string, to make it easy to hang.  Do not cut your string yet, unless you have a specific size you need.  Then, apply a thin layer of glue or Mod Podge to one side of the folded circle, adding a little more in the crease.  Try to keep the glue thin so it won’t spill over the edges.  

Place the string into the crease and fold the top over, pressing tight.  To make sure your spacing is even, cut a piece of scrap paper to the desired width and place between each circle. 

Continue gluing circles until the desired length has been reached.  Cut the string, leave about 6 inches from the end of a circle.  Make another loop for hanging.  You’re ready to decorate. 

I plan to hang these banners in the trees at the party, but I wanted to give you a sneak peek.  So, for now, the banners are hanging from the ceiling  in the boy’s room.  The colors of the party happen to be the same colors we chose for the boy’s room. 

Just a little note: if you are interested in this project, but don’t like the look of the half circles, you could do this with any shape.  You will have to cut twice as many shapes, then follow every step except the folding.  Instead, place another shape on the other side. 

What are your favorite DIY party decorations?  Cupcake toppers?  Tissue paper pom poms?  Do tell!

I See a Red Bed and I Want it Painted Yellow

Published on by Our Humble Abode12 Comments

Yep, that was my DIY version of The Rolling Stones ‘Paint it Black.’

Two years ago, we got a hand me down twin mattress and frame for Vincent.  It’s a simple, 100-year-old steel bed, reminiscent of an old hospital bed.  The frame was green, but we painted it red to work better in Vincent’s newly designed room.

I loved it, until recently.  Now, I want to add a light aqua, lemon grass green and sun yellow to freshen up our boys’ room without repainting.  Initially, I wanted to make an upholstered headboard, but that would require buying a new mattress, box spring, and frame because the current bed is about 5 inches wider than standard twin beds.  We don’t want to buy a new bed yet, so we opted to repaint the bed frame.

I sent Ben to the hardware store and he picked up Rustoleum’s Sun Yellow spray paint.  Rustoleum claims to have 2 times the coverage, so maybe we won’t have to prime.  After disassembling the bed and setting it up outside on wood blocks, Ben started painting.

Sure enough, Rustoleum does have two times the coverage.

While Ben was painting, the boy’s room was a mess.  Fortunately, it didn’t last too long, but here is what it looked like.

Better yet, Rustoleum dries to the touch in 20 minutes and to handle in 1 hour.  That’s great for impatient people, such as myself.  We left the bed outside for 5 hours or so, just to let it air out.  We brought it inside and added bedding.  Vincent did not sleep in the bed, as it was a little smelly, but I love the new look.

I really love the yellow bed with the chevron painted rug.

Next step, bedding!  I have debated between a sun yellow/charcoal grey color palette and sun yellow, light aqua, and lemon grass-green.  I think the yellow/grey is a little too sophisticated for a kids room, so we decided on yellow, aqua and green.  What is your favorite color combination?

Magazine Artwork

Published on by Our Humble Abode18 Comments

The first time I saw the Skinny Cow ads was when Young House Love turned it into art for their nursery.  I fell in love with it right away, and the colors were perfect for our boys’ room.  So, I Googled around to find more ads.  I found one print ad and a few more designs used on the Skinny Cow website. 

I love that the dachshund is being held up by a balloon to share with the giraffe. 

Aren’t the monkeys from this coupon cute, too?

I couldn’t find other printed designs, so I went to You Tube and found two commercials. 

I paused on the frames I liked and did a print screen and saved the image to my computer.  Then, I opened the images in Photoshop to make alterations as I liked.  After an hour or so of playing around, I had five new 5 inch by 7 inch art pieces to frame. 

I had to recreate the koala and monkey images to place them on a solid background.

 I didn’t have to do much to the other images, except remove the ice cream and text for the actual ad.  I bought five ugly faux wood $3.00 frames from Wal-Mart and gave them a quick coat of gloss white spray paint.

I love how the group of five looks in the room, adding a dose of whimsy and a pop of color.  Not bad for $15.00.  Have you turned any magazine pages into artwork?

Letter Magnets

Published on by Our Humble Abode12 Comments

We have officially started redecorating our boys’ room by adding some pops of sunny yellow, including this magnet board.

I love the magnet board, but not the ugly plastic letters.  Fortunately, I found this great tutorial at Nice Girl Notes detailing how to create pretty magnet letters.  What a fantastic (and cheap!) idea!  Using the tutorial as my starting point, I headed off to Hobby Lobby to buy my supplies.

At Hobby Lobby, I found 2 inch round wooden discs for $3.99 per pack of 22.  I chose to use plain green and aqua acrylic paints, rather than spray painting my circles.  I bought 44 discs and decided to make 3 of each vowel, so I removed 15.  Then, I painted the remaining discs aqua on all sides.  The paint dries quickly, so I applied another coat. 

I knew I wanted to incorporate both green and blue, so I made the vowels green, figuring the boys would learn their vowels easier if they were different.  After painting the aqua, I mixed up my green.  I couldn’t find the exact green I had in mind, so I added some white to get the right color.  Once I had my color, I painted all sides of the 15 reserved discs green. 

The tutorial used rub-on transfer letters, but I couldn’t find a font I liked.  Yes, I am very picky.  Instead, I used a pencil to draw the letters, keeping them roughly the same size.  Then, using chocolate-brown paint and a fine tipped brush, I traced over my penciled lines. 

I didn’t have time to look for magnet strips while at Hobby Lobby, so Ben picked up a roll of adhesive-backed magnet from Lowe’s.  Simply cut the roll into 3/4 inch or so pieces, remove the backing and place on the back, pressing firmly to attach.  I considered using Gorilla glue, but the adhesive seems to stick pretty well, so I’ll glue if any magnets fall off. 

Vincent started playing with his new magnets, but quickly scuffed them up.  Luckily, I had a jar of glossy Mod Podge on hand, so I quickly gave the front side of each magnet two coats.  Worked like a charm.

Don’t the new magnets look so much better than the plastic ones?  Better than the looks, this project was cheap and easy-just the way I like ’em.  Even better?  Vincent loves to play with them. 

This is not in the photos, but we had a toy mail box from Target’s dollar department that I glued magnets to.  It’s the perfect holder for the magnets!