When Pinterest meets real life...WARNING!

This post has been a work in progress, because moving/decorating/making it my home has been a work in progress. Nothing says you have your first big girl apartment, like a fair share of craft projects. Here is the guide to the projects that have helped make this white walled place my new home.

Entry Dresser
The dresser was spotted in my Nanny's attic and need a little tender, love, and care. I wasn't sure if it would work as a physical dresser in my room or to be used else where. I saw in a blog an entry wall decorated with a dresser and love that idea. It's a great place for storage (gift wrap, placemats, candles, jeans, and sweatshirts), a lamp, and my keys! 

1. Cleaned the dresser off then removed all hardware
2. Sanded down the drawers and dresser, pudding up the old hardware holes
3. The base coat is Valspar Paint & Primer-in-one Heirloom Red. It took us two coats.
4. Using an old candle or a wax bar rub down the dresser and drawers. Remembering wherever the wax is, is where paint will chip off. And the more wax in one place, the more paint that'll be removed.
5. The top coat is also a Valspar Paint & Primer-in-one . This also took us two coats.
6. Using a low-grit sandpaper, whip down the dresser, removing the top coat paint to add the vintage, distressed look.
7. Knobs were found at a local craft store and added to complete the dresser
   

Monthly Calendar
Needing to be more organized between due dates, bills, pay day, assignments, and lectures I wanted a cute/trendy/resourceful calendar.

1. At a local craft store, buy a picture frame (this is a 15" x 17")
2. Using any washable glue, adhere paint swatches to the back panel of the frame. (My paint swatches already had the cut-outs)
3. Add the days of the week, if desired using a permanent marker, like a Sharpie or scrapbook letters
4. Write on the frame with any dry erase marker! (I write the month across the top, as you can see my filled in calendar in the picture above)

Chalkboard Platters
Mama took many trips to our local antique store to look for apartment nick-nacks. She found this metal platter for only $3 and the larger, oval one on the yellow dresser for $9. Mine now hang over my kitchen sink and on a stand in my entry way.

1. Tape off the outside edge using painters tape, if desired.
2.  Using  chalkboard paint, paint the desired section of the platters. (I think we used close to 4 coats, to make sure it had turned into a chalkboard)
3.  Let dry, but make sure it's not in direct sunlight, otherwise the platter will get too hot and the paint will bubble!
4.  Start writing and enjoy 

Coffee Table
Everyone needs a solid table for the living room, but I was too particular to find was I wanted in a store. My dad and I did a bit of online research and found multiple tables that I liked parts of - so then we created one of my favorite pieces in my apartment. Dad found many, many pallets to make this. 

1. Take apart the pallets (removing the nails, sand them down) and portion the pieces of pallets based off condition, size, and style.
2. The lengths are actual parts of pallets. The widths are just flat 2x4s.
3. After a trip to our local home improvement store we found table feet to use to create legs, a stain for the top ("Gunsmoke" by Minwax), as well as our base coat and top coat of paint.
4. The top was pieced together and nail gummed into the base of the table after being stained.
5. The sides and legs were painted Roasted Coffee by Valspar with 2 coats and let to dry.
6. Took an old candle/wax before painting the top coat Toasted Wheat by Valspar. After being let to dry, a low grit sandpaper was used to add the distressed look to the table.

Side Table Lamp
This lamp has had quite a life. I think Mama found it on clearance at a home decor store, like Pier 1 or HomeGoods. My older sister used it for some 2/3 years and now I am working on my 3rd year with it, too. It was okay in my old place because it was up on a dresser, but it needed a face lift. Mama went to our local fabric store to find a neutral fabric to use. We cut it into strips and sewed the fabric so we could gather it into ruffles

1. Cut fabric into strips then sew it down the middle then create the ruffles (lengthen your machine stitch to the longest possibility, loosen your top thread tension, sew your parallel line, pull the bottom or bobbin thread lightly with some force to create the ruffle)
2. Starting at the top (more difficult going from the bottom up), use a fabric glue on the thread/stitching then press it against the shade. I lined the stitching up against the top seam of the lampshade & the seam of the ruffles against the seam of the lampshade. (Our strips were two sown together so that way one strip of fabric would go fully around the circumference of the shade, so I wouldn't have to patch fabric.)
3. After 6 rows of ruffles were glued, I trimmed up the extra long strings, cut the pulled thread down

Barrel Side Table
Every 1st apartment has some new items, but many many hand-me-downs. To me, there is nothing better than a hand-me-down. I was able to raid both of my grandparents' homes plus my parent's to find some great pieces. In my Nanny's attic, we found kitchen storage containers that scream the 1960s and a barrel table. Dad and I took it home, refinished the barrel, added a new top and refinished it as well. Ta a-dah!  

Soap Stands
Since my apartment has limited counter space, I was trying to be resourceful. In both my bathroom and kitchen, I made these cute stands from candle sticks and ceramic plates. I found the candlesticks at my local craft store and they had more options than imagined. Finding the plates was a bit more difficult because of course, I found the candlesticks first. The red/blue plate I found at a local craft store, Hobby Lobby and the brown/blue plate I found at one of my favorite boutiques in Knoxville, Bliss.

1. Wash the plates to remove an sticky from the price tag, dust, etc.
2. Place the plate face down and mark the center. Leaving it down, wet the back of the plate with a moist rag.
3. Apply a firm-setting glue (ie, Gorilla glue) to the candlestick then adfix the candlestick to the plate.
4. Leave them alone. I placed a book ontop of the candlestick base to make sure the two surfaces were tightly joining together.

Pallet Wine Rack
Dad and I found many wine racks online to create/build, so we chose the perks to each one to create our own.

1. Find pallets, take them apart, and remove all nails. Organize the pieces so you can find the best ones! This one measured 33".
2. Sand down the boards. And stain if so desired. We used "Gunsmoke" by Minwax, which we found at our local home improvement store.
3. Building back to front, we nailed the back boards to the vertical supports.
4. Using a nail gun, nail the base and front boards and the top shelf.

Dotted Wine Glasses
(You can spot the glasses in the wine rack picture above) Go to a consignment store, like TJ Maxx, Homegoods, or Marshalls to find a cheap yet decent set of wine glasses. I chose a set of steamless ones, since my other set had steams. Luckily, I have a small stash of acrylic paint, if not you can find small bottle at any craft store. I wanted each glass to look different, you would easily coordinate them or make them all match, well to the best of your artistic ability.

1. Hand wash the glasses in warm soapy water and let them dry fully. 
2. Take a cotton swab or small paintbrush to crate the dots. I head the glass with my hand inside or placed the glass upside down to paint. I recommend doing one color at a time, then gradually filling it up with the additional colors you have chosen.
3. Place the glasses upside down onto a flat cookie sheet or baking sheet into a cold oven. 
4. Heat the oven to 350oF with the glasses inside. 
5. Bake for 30 minutes then let the glasses cool down before removing them from the oven. It'll take close to an hour. Now your paint has been 'fired'!

Indoor Garden Wall 


Around my Dad's shop, we found this piece of Cedar wood. Using plumbing wire, we adhered these Mason jars to hold indoor herbs! We painted the little "name plates" out of chalkboard paint so I could mark which herb I am growing!


FYI - this is a 2 man job because you need 2 sets of hands.


White Washed Headboard
And the great debate began, headboard or no? In my typical fashion, I didn't want one but then again I kept telling myself if I saw one that I liked, I would gladly want it! Like any other great dad, he did some online research and we found one that I loved. Here it is! The wood was found at our local home improvement store along with the white-wash paint for about $100. He distressed it and built it in 3 hours! Thank-you again, Daddy. I love it, still. You can add a foot board if desired. We did mount the bed frame to the headboard for support; it is not mounted to the wall.   

"Picked Fence" Pallet Coat Rack  
This started out as a crazy idea for Mom, but thanks again to my dad we found some great Valspar spray paint at our local home improvement store. Mom found the bird hooks at our local craft store on clearance. Except for using the electric table saw, Dad let me do this one all on my own!






Happy crafting and decorating!
Good Golly



PS. My apartment is always changing, but I think that's the perk of having your own place and no roommates.