Outdoor lights

It's the little things that make my heart happy.  I found these lights at the restore.  Lucky for me they were also half off.

All they needed were a good strubbing and a fresh coat of paint. Squeeky clean...

 I just used a flat black spray paint.

Here's what is currently outside in the back...don't worry the front light doesn't match at all.

And up goes the new one...

A little comparison.

Gray Ottoman

I really wanted an ottoman for my living room.  Couple of donated items and I'm ready to piece it together.  So I began with an end table, cut the legs down to size keeping in mind how tall the cushion was.  For sure wanted the ottoman height to be less than the wing back chair (which I plan to reupholster, as you may recall it's red....to see the status of that project click here).

After cutting all 4 legs off, I used the table saw for this and scared myself a bit...so be careful.  I also cut a piece of particle board into the same dimensions as the inner part of the table.  The particle board is what I'll use to attach the fabric and padding (old couch cushion), then I'll screw the table and particle board together (from underneath the table).

After the 1st coat of paint, I went with Annie Sloan's Old White chalk paint.  Because the table was so dark, I'll probably do 3-4 coats...also I plan to paint the wing back chair legs the same color.

I added a clear coat of polycrylic

I picked up sheets of cork at Sutherlands.  It came with 4 sheets.  I'm going to use this as a leg pad so my floors don't get scratched up.

I used an exacto knife to cut it to size and used E6000 glue to keep it in place.

So....anyone notice anything after I brought the soon to be ottoman upstairs?

Yeah....you're right...it's way too tall.  So I cut about 3" more off the bottom of the legs and will have to re-do the cork.

That looks a little better...

But on a positive note, my son was a big helper with picking out fabric.

(the bottom printed fabric is what I'll be using to cover the cushion)

I've been working on a dual project, this as well as the wing back chair.  When one isn't going so well...I switch to the other.

I've made ottomans before so this clearly won't be any big deal, right?

Wrong.  Well, my cat is a fan but I don't care for it.  It reminds me of the mushroom from Alice in Wonderland.

So next idea is to go with what I know.  I know that I love the way my tufted bench turned out so I'll just add some screws and do some faux tufting.  Please note this was also after trimming the cushion down more (big mistake).

I thought I would get real crafty by adding some decorative trim nails.  I got this holder for the trim nails that's supposed to allow you to hammer them in straight.  Well, the holder was too small for the nails and didn't really work.  So I made my own holder out of cardboard from a blog I saw....and that's what resulted in the picture below.  I even tried to drill pilot holes, alas nothing was working.

To make matters worse, I decided that I would get a strand of decorative nails (the kind that you only have to hammer in about every 5th one).  Although they were much simpler to use.....HOLY MOLY I can't stand the sight of this thing.  So it's time to stop and go back to the chair project.

So far this has been a "what not to do" kind of post.  Since I've been a negative nancy majority of this post let me say something positive.  I am thankful that I have 2 cushions so I can have another shot at making this great.

Round 3

I took everything apart again, and I covered the cushion with batting (used my spare couch cushion I picked up).

After that I worked on my buttons for the faux tufting.  I picked these button covers up from Walmart and they are much easier to use than the last ones I got at Joann's.

After that I used some fabric glue and did my 1, 2, 3 method.

1. Fabric glue on button
2. A wad of newspaper
3. Something heavy to weigh it down

Let it dry for 24 hours

For sure, we are on the right road now.

A couple of views

The cushion turned out absolutely enormous.  It's not my favorite...but maybe after the chair is finished it will pull it all together.  I'm so bummed about the trim nails, I really wanted to use them on both the chair and the ottoman.  I'm too nervous to try them again somewhere else.  Any thoughts or ideas feel free to leave a comment.

Sliding door

My sliding glass door to the backyard is in need of some attention.  #1 it's brown...not my color, everything in this house seemed so dark when I bought it.  I want to lighten and brighten this place up!  I've read a few articles on people who have painted their sliding glass door frame and it doesn't seem too terrible, for certain it's better than purchasing a new door and installing it so.....let's give it a try.

Here's what it looks like currently.  View from the inside and the outside.

It also has this lock on it, that's currently being held together by duck tape...yuck.

And of course the handle that doesn't lock at all.

And some more broken pieces....

I kept searching the internet trying to figure out what this piece is called...well, I came up short.  So I'm going to try to use white weather stripping in there and see what happens.

First order of business is getting rid of the duck tape.  Spent an hour fiddling with this lock, and what do you know...it can be fixed.  Saves me money no longer needing to order a new one.  Bye bye duck tape!

Next, I need to cover the window panes with newspaper and painters tape and do the same for my trim.  I'll be painting both the inside as well as the outside of the door frame.  Also, I think the frame could use a good scrubbing, I read that it's best to use TSP so I'll give that a try.

1st coat of paint on.  I used this enamel spray paint from Rust-Oleum, it's a white semi-gloss.  I read some reviews that it sticks well and dries fast.

Here's the new handle I got.  I ordered it off Amazon.

So I ran in to a bit of a snag.  My already drilled holes in the door don't quite match up with the handle.  So I'll need to fiddle with that for a little bit before I can put the handle on.  Not to bad for a couple coats of paint, eh?

Here's a comparison picture so far...

So the handle I order was quite the ordeal.  I read the reviews before I ordered it and seemed like everyone had the same complaint, that the screws it came with were too short.  Well, it was one of the cheaper one's out there and I, like everyone else, also found that the screws provided weren't long enough.  A trip to Lowe's and a coat of spray paint solved that dilemma...but I was without a door handle for about 3 days.

I also, after the same 3 days, got to take the newspaper off outside!  Finally!  I'm sure my neighbors were just about as sick looking at it as I was.

I'm still fiddling with the side of the door.  I never did find the right piece of trim to go in there, but I did find some PVC trim that I think I can make work with some silicone.  It's not perfect but it will do.

I ended up using about 3 cans of spray paint...so we'll say around $15 in paint and $28 for a new handle set....last thing I need to get is a screen door and I should be all set.

Lego table

I think I've had this idea saved on my Pinterest since the beginning of time.  I've seen so many of these tables at thrift stores and right when I'm ready to tackle this project, I only ran across one.  Lucky me.

So first thing is to cut a hole on the top big enough to fit a plastic bin.  I traced the upper part of the bin onto the table with a permanent marker,  Then, I made a smaller template by bringing it in about 1/4".  The first few times the bin wouldn't go in right so I just kept trimming until it did.  Snug as a bug.

 I lightly sanded some of it, I wasn't being too particular about it just any rougher areas that I felt.

First coat of chalk paint is on, I used Relic from Americana Decor.

This paint covers pretty well, I think I'll only need 2 coats on it.  After the 2nd coat dried I put a coat of clear wax on it.

I also ordered the lego plate from Amazon as well.  Just some E6000 glue on the back to hold it down.  I put a heavy object on top of the plate and let it dry over night.

Simple enough project, just in time for Christmas.  Hope he loves it.

Before and after.