What a Wednesday!

So I think my new productive day is Wednesday. After work, I finished the nightstand YAY!!!!!!!!! But then kept going and put my bed together at my parent's place and attached my fabulous headboard, and then moved onto making some of the throw pillows for my bed! This took me about 5hours, and by the time I got home, I was soooo super tired I went to bed (hence the Wednesday title on Thursday).

For organizational and chronological purposes, I'll enlighten you all about my headboard and throw pillows in this separate post (we all know we like an organized blog). So stay tuned for my Nightstand Part Three post, but refresh yourselves on Part One and Part Two in the meantime!

I went to Joann's Fabric and I bought the fabric for the headboard and some throw pillows, and also got a few pillow forms. I want my bed to look like it should be in a magazine, that is my ultimate goal, I think it's doable.. right?

I already recovered the headboard, but just had to attach it to the bedframe. All you have do to is screw on two posts, and then bolt the posts to the bedframe. Super easy! Also, I recommend adding felt pads or something on the posts so it won't scratch the walls.

It looks even better with a real bed with it, see?!

My total cost of the HeadBoard was $19.23, which was the cost of the the Fabric. I know that's expensive for just fabric, but it's thick upholstery material and my only expense. A new headboard would have cost at least $100, so I think I made out on the deal.

Moving onto pillows:
I had two oversized pillows I bought from Linens and Things when it was going out of business, but they don't match anything I have and will not match anything in my new room. So I decided to take them and make new pillows! I bought the fabric at Joann's on clearance (cause I love a bargain) to make it match my new bedroom decor.

So the pillows from Linen's and Things look like this:

and I made one into the pillows on either end:

**The gray on the end has a pink backing**


The two pillow forms now look like this (close up):

I still have one of the big pink pillows to transform, but I need more fabric, so that will come soon!

Cost Breakdown of my 4 new throw pillows:
Two pillow forms (on sale): $8.48
Gray rosette fabric (on sale): $3
Pink Fabric (on sale): $1.75
Leftover Headboard fabric: $0
Filling from old pillows: $0

Total cost for 4 Pillows: $13.23 which equals $3.31 per pillow!! Throw pillows at cost are usually at minimum $12 each! What a deal! It was SO easy to make the pillows too!

All you have to do is lay the fabric together so it'll look inside out, and stitch (by hand or machine, I used machine, WAY easier) a straight line down. I went over each corner a few times just to make sure it wouldn't come apart. Then pull the pillow right side out, and insert the pillow/stuffing. To seal the pillow, stuff it partially then stitch the majority of the top, finish stuffing it, then seal it off. Again I go over the corners to make sure it won't come apart. And Voila, pillows!

Please note my Facebook FanPage "Autumn Mae's Road to the Big Day" please 'like' it on Facebook!

Stay tuned. Stay crafty and stay excited for the big reveal of the nightstand!!

Nightstand Re-Fab: Part One

I was in such a foul mood all day. All I wanted to do was come home and lay down in the dark and sleep the night away. Why? I have no idea. Just middle of the week slump I guess. I wanted to go to the gym, but my bad mood threw that idea out the fitness window. I didn't want to waste my evening, so I decided to get a jump start on re-fabbing (re-fabulous-ing, new term, its probably the next big thing) a part of my bedroom beautification on a budget.

So the task, taking a nightstand that was my part of mom's bedroom set from when she was little and re-finishing it to go with my new room.

Here are the before pictures, it is a brown/gold, that turned green over time.. The paint started chipping and lifting in certain spots.

**Note my cat laying underneath the nightstand =D

Step One, Sanding. I have never sanded anything before, well I have, but nothing this intense or that I actually cared about working on. I had some help and advice from my dad on this one, which I am extremely grateful for. I took off the hardware for the drawer, which I will have to soak to get the rust off, but also I had to remove the wooden applique. One of them fell off during the move, and when I was taking the other off, it cracked. So rather than being able to save it for another project, it is beyond repair and in the big workshop in the sky. Now, when you start sanding something, start with the coursest sandpaper, and work your way to the finest piece. This will help get the last coat of paint or finish off, and then work the item down to getting a better paint job on the piece in the end. TIP: I recommend working outside, so the dust doesn't consume the inside of your home. TIP: I recommend using something firm to wrap the sand paper around, a block would work, to use for the edging or small cracks and crevises, otherwise your fingers will be killing you.. lesson learned =/

Progress pictures

Step Two, Painting. I've never painted a piece of furniture this detailed, but it wasn't that bad. TIP: Make sure you clean off all the dust before you start painting, using a wet cloth will work best. TIP: Taking long strokes, and not having a ton of paint on the brush made it a little easier to paint all the detail. This way there weren't any globs or drips that you'll have to go back and sand then paint over later.

Also, make sure there is enough lighting whereever you're painting, this way you'll be able to tell the spots you miss to get a better job done the first time around. Also, make sure everything is smooth and the paint it even on the surfaces.

I'm still working on the second coat but here is the nightstand of of now:

Still left to do: Second coat of paint, figure out how to get the rust off the hardware for the drawer and potentially figure out a new detail for the corners.

I don't know why, but just focusing on a project and letting all your frustration out was a great stress release, and now, I'm in a great mood! I'm really excited to finish the nightstand and see how the final product turns out!

Stay crafty, stay happy and stay tuned!