DIY refacing, and painting filing cabinets

 Now that Evan works from home the mini armoire we have in our "office/playroom" was not cutting it. Poor Ev was crammed into this thing. While its nice we can close the doors when company comes over, Ev's desk has exploded with papers everywhere.

This is where the filing cabinets/desk will be-we need to re attach the door, and refinish that valence too.

Evan's parents had two extra old metal filing cabinets laying around that we took off their hands. I started by sanding them down, then priming them with Rustoleum primer for spray paint. Next we decided to spray paint them a nice bright YELLOW to brighten up the space.  When I saw this DIY blog post I had to do it to spruce up the old filing cabinets, to give them some class!

http://www.designsponge.com/2009/08/diy-project-caseys-wallpaper-file-cabinet.html

Instead of using wallpaper I used some old fabric I had on hand instead.  I think it looks super fun now considering it was an old dingy filing cabinet. Here are the pics of the entire process.
BEFORE 

PRIMED

Spray painting in process took about 4 cans to cover thoroughly 

 Next up was recovering the drawer fronts. I cut my fabric to size about an inch overlap on each edge, oh and remove the existing drawer hardware before you start obviously.

 I used laundry pins to hold it in place to align the pattern perfectly on top, next I used the ol' mod podge to glue it down to the drawer.

Once I got the main surface glued down I did the edges and used the laundry pins to secure it while it dried.

 Once it was secure on all edges and dried I applied a thick coat of mod podge to the top of the fabric. You want to do this to protect the fabric from stains,etc. It creates a plastic like protective covering on top.

 BEFORE

AFTER: 

The only thing I didn't like about how this turned out was the top drawer I didn't align the pattern straight across so it looks a lil off on the top left, but other than that I think its lined up okay.

AFTER:

 And can you believe this old thing used to be Evan's fan? We saw it in the spare closet at his parents house and I had to grab it once I saw it. It will look perfect on the desk we will create using the newly refinished filing cabinets. Stay tuned to see that!

People pay good money for these vintage looking fans, lucky us!

 Now that Evan works from home the mini armoire we have in our "office/playroom" was not cutting it. Poor Ev was crammed into this thing. While its nice we can close the doors when company comes over, Ev's desk has exploded with papers everywhere.

This is where the filing cabinets/desk will be-we need to re attach the door, and refinish that valence too.

Evan's parents had two extra old metal filing cabinets laying around that we took off their hands. I started by sanding them down, then priming them with Rustoleum primer for spray paint. Next we decided to spray paint them a nice bright YELLOW to brighten up the space.  When I saw this DIY blog post I had to do it to spruce up the old filing cabinets, to give them some class!

http://www.designsponge.com/2009/08/diy-project-caseys-wallpaper-file-cabinet.html

Instead of using wallpaper I used some old fabric I had on hand instead.  I think it looks super fun now considering it was an old dingy filing cabinet. Here are the pics of the entire process.
BEFORE 

PRIMED

Spray painting in process took about 4 cans to cover thoroughly 

 Next up was recovering the drawer fronts. I cut my fabric to size about an inch overlap on each edge, oh and remove the existing drawer hardware before you start obviously.

 I used laundry pins to hold it in place to align the pattern perfectly on top, next I used the ol' mod podge to glue it down to the drawer.

Once I got the main surface glued down I did the edges and used the laundry pins to secure it while it dried.

 Once it was secure on all edges and dried I applied a thick coat of mod podge to the top of the fabric. You want to do this to protect the fabric from stains,etc. It creates a plastic like protective covering on top.

 BEFORE

AFTER: 

The only thing I didn't like about how this turned out was the top drawer I didn't align the pattern straight across so it looks a lil off on the top left, but other than that I think its lined up okay.

AFTER:

 And can you believe this old thing used to be Evan's fan? We saw it in the spare closet at his parents house and I had to grab it once I saw it. It will look perfect on the desk we will create using the newly refinished filing cabinets. Stay tuned to see that!

People pay good money for these vintage looking fans, lucky us!

Another DIY project-"LOVE IS SPOKEN HERE"

I recall the 1st time I ever entered Evan's Aunt Martha's home she had a cute saying displayed on her bookshelf that said "English is spoken here." It was very fitting bc her entire family were teachers or in the education system and appreciated the English Language and using it properly. I still recall my hubby correcting me when I would say to our dog Mia : "mia lay down" he would promptly say "its lie, lie down, not lay down." Ok gotcha, I have never made that mistake again, LOL. Anyhow what does this have to do with this weeks DIY project, well while googling (I heart google) "images of cute sayings" I found a saying that said:
"LOVE IS SPOKEN HERE" I was sold. I needed to do something with this definitely!

So while we are re-painting our kitchen and changing out old decor and adding some new things I decided to paint over this French looking plaque I had hanging in our kitchen. I simply painted it a tan color that I already had on hand so that was free. Then I printed the image out on my home printer-FREE. 

Then I adhered the image onto my painted plaque and added a layer of my fav, Mod Podge

Viola, And this is the finished project.  I placed it in our window right in front of the kitchen sink. I think it turned out cute.

I recall the 1st time I ever entered Evan's Aunt Martha's home she had a cute saying displayed on her bookshelf that said "English is spoken here." It was very fitting bc her entire family were teachers or in the education system and appreciated the English Language and using it properly. I still recall my hubby correcting me when I would say to our dog Mia : "mia lay down" he would promptly say "its lie, lie down, not lay down." Ok gotcha, I have never made that mistake again, LOL. Anyhow what does this have to do with this weeks DIY project, well while googling (I heart google) "images of cute sayings" I found a saying that said:
"LOVE IS SPOKEN HERE" I was sold. I needed to do something with this definitely!

So while we are re-painting our kitchen and changing out old decor and adding some new things I decided to paint over this French looking plaque I had hanging in our kitchen. I simply painted it a tan color that I already had on hand so that was free. Then I printed the image out on my home printer-FREE. 

Then I adhered the image onto my painted plaque and added a layer of my fav, Mod Podge

Viola, And this is the finished project.  I placed it in our window right in front of the kitchen sink. I think it turned out cute.

DIY artwork time

So I was thinking tonight as I was searching blogs and blogs for DIY artwork ideas and I thought to myself, why haven't I ever posted How-to's on my own DIY projects?? Well for one I am too lazy to take extravagant pictures of each and every step bc usually I am too excited to just get it started and done before my son wakes up from his nap. I can now appreciate the blogs I have seen called "nap time is my craft time" and "nap time is my favorite time" I get it now! So anyhow, a lot of my decor in my home is DIY so I will try to rethink the steps of my past projects and make a point to try to post one project per week.
Here goes:
So I stole this idea from a friend who also stole this idea from a local home decor store. The artist was selling an item very similar to this one for over $800.
It cost me:
$20 canvas which was 50% off at Michaels, I love their sales!
$2.50 old dictionaries from Good Will on clearance that day also
$5 for acrylic paint
TOTAL: $27.50 woohoo!!
I already had on hand foam paint brushes and glue.

To get started I started with a large canvas bc I wanted the size to be substantial for our LR.  You can use whatever size you find fitting. I made two others for my mom and sister in diff sizes also.

I began by painting my entire canvas including the edges with a orange color called terra cotta.  I ended up needing two of these from Michaels to ensure I got good coverage on my entire canvas.


Next I made a paisley template using a thick cardboard.

After that I sat for awhile and picked out words in the dictionary that meant something to us. For instance, I used LOVE, FAMILY, GOLDEN RETRIEVER, MOM, DAD you get the point.  I placed my paisley template on top of the dictionary pages and traced the paisley and then cut out the shapes, I ended up using about 28 paisleys for my large canvas, but you do what you like, more or less.
The cool thing about buying an old recycled dictionary from the Good Will is that it was super old and the pages were thin like a bible. And the insert pages were this red wine colored ribbon textured paper. I ended up using those also by cutting out paisleys using the ribbon pages in the dictionary to add a POP of color.  I really like that added touch. If your dictionary doesn't have that option you could always use cool scrap book paper in a pattern or design that you fancy.

So anyhoo, I then layed out my paisleys on my dried canvas in the design that I liked. I used a non yellowing glue to adhere the paisleys to the canvas in the design that I had layed out.  Have fun with it lay then upside down and sideways. I ended up doing a sort of fan design up my canvas that thins out toward th top. But you can do whatever you like to make it your own.  Viola!
I suppose if you wanted you could add a layer of Mod Podge to the top to protect it, what is Modge Podge you ask? Well its my new favorite decopage.

Here are some more images of the DIY canvas art upclose and in my LR.

I think you will find my next project will involve my new found love of Mod Podge!! I got mine at Joann's, FYI Michaels did not have it!

So I was thinking tonight as I was searching blogs and blogs for DIY artwork ideas and I thought to myself, why haven't I ever posted How-to's on my own DIY projects?? Well for one I am too lazy to take extravagant pictures of each and every step bc usually I am too excited to just get it started and done before my son wakes up from his nap. I can now appreciate the blogs I have seen called "nap time is my craft time" and "nap time is my favorite time" I get it now! So anyhow, a lot of my decor in my home is DIY so I will try to rethink the steps of my past projects and make a point to try to post one project per week.
Here goes:
So I stole this idea from a friend who also stole this idea from a local home decor store. The artist was selling an item very similar to this one for over $800.
It cost me:
$20 canvas which was 50% off at Michaels, I love their sales!
$2.50 old dictionaries from Good Will on clearance that day also
$5 for acrylic paint
TOTAL: $27.50 woohoo!!
I already had on hand foam paint brushes and glue.

To get started I started with a large canvas bc I wanted the size to be substantial for our LR.  You can use whatever size you find fitting. I made two others for my mom and sister in diff sizes also.

I began by painting my entire canvas including the edges with a orange color called terra cotta.  I ended up needing two of these from Michaels to ensure I got good coverage on my entire canvas.


Next I made a paisley template using a thick cardboard.

After that I sat for awhile and picked out words in the dictionary that meant something to us. For instance, I used LOVE, FAMILY, GOLDEN RETRIEVER, MOM, DAD you get the point.  I placed my paisley template on top of the dictionary pages and traced the paisley and then cut out the shapes, I ended up using about 28 paisleys for my large canvas, but you do what you like, more or less.
The cool thing about buying an old recycled dictionary from the Good Will is that it was super old and the pages were thin like a bible. And the insert pages were this red wine colored ribbon textured paper. I ended up using those also by cutting out paisleys using the ribbon pages in the dictionary to add a POP of color.  I really like that added touch. If your dictionary doesn't have that option you could always use cool scrap book paper in a pattern or design that you fancy.

So anyhoo, I then layed out my paisleys on my dried canvas in the design that I liked. I used a non yellowing glue to adhere the paisleys to the canvas in the design that I had layed out.  Have fun with it lay then upside down and sideways. I ended up doing a sort of fan design up my canvas that thins out toward th top. But you can do whatever you like to make it your own.  Viola!
I suppose if you wanted you could add a layer of Mod Podge to the top to protect it, what is Modge Podge you ask? Well its my new favorite decopage.

Here are some more images of the DIY canvas art upclose and in my LR.

I think you will find my next project will involve my new found love of Mod Podge!! I got mine at Joann's, FYI Michaels did not have it!