DIY Credenza...Take 3

The third one is always a charm!!

A couple weeks ago I found these two amazing Mid- Century dressers on Craig's list.  The guy had just listed them and knowing they would go really fast I called him right away.  The girls and I hitched the trailer and we left to go pick them up.  He was selling them both for $95.00.  Whoop Whoop!!  This older man just thought he was selling some old dressers...not knowing this kind of stuff goes like hot cakes!!  As I was driving there he called me to confirm I was on my way because he was getting so many calls on them.  I knew when I saw these dressers this was going to be the DIY Credenza I had long waiting for.  The set consisted of two (one long and one short) dressers.  In this picture I had already removed the legs. 

 The dressers were old and the wood was dry and dull.  The top had a laminate top but that was okay because I was going to be painting it anyway.

 Here is the smaller one with the legs.

 I lightly sanded all of the drawers and gave them a good coat of Danish Oil.  Look at the difference!  Love it!!!

 There were quite a bit of chips, nothing wood filler couldn't take care of.  You would never know now there were chips.

While I was working on the dressers my girls were busy finding treasure around the yard.  They made necklaces with the treasures. DIY necklace with rusted washer lol.

 Here is the almost finished product.  I painted the sides and top white.  You'll notice the legs are different.  As much as I liked the white legs I thought it might look better with some satin legs.  The white legs reveal that it's a mid- century piece, not that that's a bad thing, but my eyes seem to go right to the legs and that wasn't really the look I was going for.  I thought the satin legs modernized it more and now the attention was no longer on the legs

 The Finished Product...

 I love it so much!  I love how long it is, I love the color, I love that I didn't spend $3000 (that is what my dream credenza cost) and I love that I got to work on it with my own hands...makes me appreciate it all the more!!

I have been waiting and waiting for that perfect piece for this wall.  At times I was tempted to just go buy something because I never thought I would find the right length, color etc...But just like everything else, I knew if I waited long enough, eventually I would find something.  It's better than I had hoped for!  So thankful!!  Okay, I just noticed my lamp shade is crooked in these pics...gotta go fix it.

Another Wooden Stump

Of all the places to find a wooden stump, Good Will was the last place I thought I would find one!!  This sucker is huge and HEAVY.  My dad and I had to roll it into a wheel barrel out of the car and then roll it out of the wheel barrel onto the carport.  Unfortunantly there is this other stupid piece of wood that was nailed to it and when I say nailed, I mean huge, thick monster nails!!!  So the first task was to remove the two pieces of wood.

 See the hammer behind the stump.  I spent a lot of time whacking the wood with the hammer.  If there was ever a time to get some aggression out, this was the time!!  I was whacking that sucker so hard!  I had sweat pouring out my pores!

Then came the crow bar.  Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh.  I will seperate you!!!!

That little bit of separation took  F O R E V E R!!

What I was doing looked like so much fun to the girls so minus the hammer and crow bar, I let them try to separate it.  They decided...Hey if you can't seprate it, ride it!! They were having so much more fun than me. 

I finally did give up and ended up letting hubby take care of it.  Kind of funny cause he though it was going to be a breeze. 

 Unfortunately there were these weird draggon flies that were in the wood.  Some kind of indentation? What would I do without my sander!!

After sanding it I polyurethaned it with oil based poly and it really brought out the richness of the wood.  It's a seat outside for now but I have a feeling it's going to make it's way inside soon.

DIY Credenza

So I have been on this hunt for a Credenza and while I'm looking I figured I might as well get some more DIY experience.  I found this one on Craig's list for a low $.  It's not really what I was looking for but I saw a picture of a Credenza I did like and this one had a similar look so I thought I would try to transform it a bit and then resale it.  I am still so bad a taking before pics!!  I had already taken the sliding doors off but I think you can kind of get the picture?  You'll see the doors in the end.

BEFORE

 So I gave it a good sand job...which I am really starting to not like sanding!!  Then I stained it darker.  Ugh, didn't turn out the way I wish it would have.  Sorry, didn't take a pic of that either.  Note to self, don't bother staining oak...just paint it.  So after all that hard work, wanting to kick myself and take a big sledge hammer to the whole project, I walked away and started again another day.  I decided to paint it all.  I primed it and then painted the body of it white and the doors and shelves in a light grey paint that I already had.

AFTER

 It turned out quite nice.  I'm glad I did not take a sledge hammer to it lol!!  I sold it the next day on Craig's List.  In fact I had a guy commit to buying it and picking it up that following weekend due to the fact that he had to get his buddy's truck to haul it.  In the mean time I had a nutty lady who wouldn't stop texting me and emailing me, asking me to sell it to her instead.  She told me she would pay more than my asking price if I let her buy it.  Sorry lady, a commitment is a commitment...you can't put a price on integrity.

I have already found my next project or should I say next 3 projects.  My carport looks like a furniture store. 

A Fun Little DIY Project

Who dosent have mason jars???  And if not, run down to the local "big will"  (haha that's what my youngest calls it) and pick up a few for a buck 50.  While your out, grab some spray paint.  Spray the inside untill well coated and poof!  A cute vase.

I like how it still looks glassy on the outside. 

My silly monkey is not a fan of "big will".  She dosen't like the fact that big will takes her old toys.  "I don't want big will to take my toys."  I wonder if she thinks big will is the man who stands outside of the Good Will collecting the stuff out of your car??

Craig's List, An Ocean of Opportunity

I love how gracious the Lord is when He points out how self focused I can be.  I get a little too excited about the great deals to be had and get a wee bit wrapped up in MY intentions in the moment.  My focus seems to shift.  I get somewhat of an addictive high when I find such good deals and unfortunately today's high came at the expense of another.  That high suddenly became such a huge huge low.

So to back up a bit...earlier today I found some AMAZING deals on Craig's list.  I was so excited for the price and the furniture I was about to get.  The prices were so fabulously low and I knew the potential they had, wa-hoo score for me.  I couldn't wait to get my hands on the new pieces.  The girls and I hitched the trailer and set out for our first stop.  I met a nice family, we swapped some stories, picked up the two new (old) dressers and off we went to our second stop.  As we pulled up to the next house I was on this high because things were going so well...thinking yea for me...and then...the good deal turned bad, so bad.  Pain struck my heart soon after the lady of the house opened the door.  She asked me to please excuse her mess of  a house, she was preparing to move.  Last Sunday this mother of five, not to much older than me, lost her husband suddenly.  She can't keep the house, she is scrambling to selling most of their stuff.  She and her five boys are moving in with her parents.  She shared that one of her sons wakes up screaming in the middle of the night for his daddy...another one looks up to Heaven begging Heaven to give his daddy back. 
A total stranger shared her grief stricken heart with another stranger. This trip to Gilbert today was not about a dresser...it was about an opportunity.

If you are reading this please take 2 minutes to lift this family up in prayer.  I have her contact info and I have a couple ideas that I am praying over that I would like to do for her.  I am not sure what God would have me do???  I am overwhelmed with her situation and all that she shared.  I cannot even fathom what she is going through but I do know that God can.  I know today was orchestrated by a Sovereign God who hears our cry.

Like I said, it was a gracious reminder to me that it's ALWAYS about Him...every single second of the day.  All of a sudden my trailer of worldly goods seem so. so. completely. unimportant.

If then you were raised together with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated on the right hand of God.  Set your mind on the things that are above, not on the things that are upon the earth.  Colossians 3:1&2

Somethign I am Dreaming about

I am on this everlasting search for an affordable credenza.  I have found these AMAZING credenzas but they are so outrageously expensive.  If I could just find one with straight lines then I would be able to refinish it but even that has been almost impossible!!  I will keep on dreaming and searching....

This is the one I have now and it has become a bit too retro for my taste.  I already have a buyer as soon as I can find a new one. 

Princess Chest Re-Do

I am giving the girls room a face lift.  Changing the color of their dresser, drapes, bedding and princess chest.  I am finishing up on the dresser today.  Yesterday I finished thier chest.  I am so excited because I think it turned out so cute!  It started of as a plain white cheap chest from Target....

I took the lid off and ulpholstered it with some soft charcol fabric. 

And because under the lid looked so bad I put some leftover fabric on the back side to cover all the staples. Then I painted the base dark pink. Screwed the lid back on and there you go....a new fabulous chest. YAY!!

Can't wait to show you the finished room!!

Rickety Benches

So a little while back our next door neighbor move out of state.  After he left we saw that he had left some stuff in his back yard (yes we peaked, but our fence is low so it's hard not to).  Anyway, my hubby texted him and asked him what his plans were the for the left over stuff... he told us to have at it!!  Yay for us!  My husband got this really nice Rubbermaid shed, which was so great because we were in need of one and we had been searching Craig's list for one.  Then we found a nice set of car tires so we grabbed those, listed them on Craig's list and may a couple hundy!  I also saw a couple old rickety benches I thought I could possible do something with.  They were sun beaten, splintered and dirty...nothing a little sanding and paint couldn't take care of.
Here is a before pic...

Since we are re-doing the back patio I figured we could never have enough seating so I upholstered one to make it more comfy.  I was going to do both but I didn't have enough fabric.  I am kind of thinking I may make a coffee table out of the other one since I am kind of into that worn wood look.  Maybe slap some grey stain on and a piece of glass on top??? 


Anyway, here was my morning project...

I painted the legs white and then sanded them up a bit.  Then I added the foam, batting and fabric.  After a million staples and one very sore thumb....A new bench for my back patio. 

In one of the pictures is one of two chairs that I am going to be using at the farm table (another Craig's list buy and re-do).  And the humongous farm table that is some what in the photo is our dining table for outside but since the back yard is under construction it is in our kitchen.  My house is a bit crowded!!  I have been meaning to post the before and after pics of the table and the crazy sanding/ painting story that goes with it.