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July 22, 2016

Coffee Table Transformation & a Fun Announcement!!

Hello friends!!

It's been a couple crazy weeks around here and then I suddenly realized that school starts in less than a month!!!!! What!?!

So we've been kicking it into high gear around here to try and finish a bunch of projects I had on my summer to do list. 
One of which involves having 3 of the rooms in our house painted. Eek!
I'm excited about the finished product but I can't say that I'm excited about packing all of those rooms up to paint them. Ick. 

So things are going to be even more chaotic next week when the painters arrive. 

Another thing that has caused me to be a bit distracted is that I FINALLY took the plunge and opened an Etsy shop!
Can you believe it?? 

I've been researching and thinking and thinking some more for over a year.
But I finally just went through with it. 

I'll be selling mostly custom made onesies/shirts & children accessories- you didn't know that I was in that world, huh? 
If you follow me on Instagram, then you may know that I'm slightly obsessed with fun toddler fashion so I'm just having fun with it right now. 
I"ll be adding more items in the next couple months so if you love cute kid clothes & accessories- and adult graphic tees- then you'll love my shop!


I'd love to have you visit it, you'll find it here: Tattered and Inked Etsy Shop


So then, onto the most recent furniture redo. 

I recently found several cute coffee tables during my thrifting hunts & I have so many fun ideas for them!

But for this particular one, I had a good friend I was hunting for because they needed something longer & a little more colorful for their new home. 

I found this pretty little coffee table while perusing through Goodwill a few months ago & just knew it'd be perfect for them!!


It had pretty lines, a slightly curved top and storage both with the shelf underneath and a small drawer. 
It was in ok condition, scratches & worn areas like crazy though. 

First things first, we had to pick a color. 
She was wanting something that would bring a pop of color to their living room, but nothing too bright- more of a subtle color pop :) 

We found this gorgeous grey-blue color called Aquaverde & knew it was the instant winner!


It's so hard to show a good & accurate picture of the color during painting, but it was beautiful. 
I mixed together my own chalk paint with Plaster of Paris, water, and the Aquaverde paint from Sherwin Williams.
I wanted that pretty chalky finish and it worked amazing!!

After painting three coats, I wanted to add a little more depth to it rather than just the flat color. 

Here it is after adding a bit of glaze to it: 


See how it adds so much more depth to it?? 
I think it makes it look much more finished this way. 
Plus a little aging always make things looks better right?!?

I still wanted a little more to it and since I"m obsessed with anything industrial-inspired, I thought adding a few nailheads would be just the ticket. 


I always pick up a couple boxes of these when I'm in Hobby Lobby because they are the perfect finishing touch to nearly anything. 
I got them in the larger size and in Antique gold for this project. 

Then I just carefully hammered them into each corner of the table. 
Use a soft cloth in between the hammer & the nailhead to keep it from getting scratched up. 

It's all the details so I love adding surprising touches to pieces!
I also decided to spraypaint the inside of the drawer white before painting it, the drawer was the same dark wood as the table and I didn't like opening it to see the original color- I wanted it to flow more with the new color.


The hunt for the perfect new knob was a lot quicker than I imagined!
I have these pretties in my laundry room (which I"ll be sharing soon!!) and knew it would look perfect on the table too.

Ready to see the whole thing??


You can see more of the blue coloring now, can't you? 
I just love, love, love the finish on it!!







For something so small, the nailhead accents sure add a lot to it! 
The antique gold was the perfect pairing with the glazed finish. 



My biggest tip with glazing, especially if you're working in the blazing heat like I am, is to have a paintbrush with your original color (in this case, the blue) on hand as you're going. If I ever get too much glaze for my taste, rubbing doesn't always take off what I want. So I just lightly run my blue paintbrush back over it and it usually tones it down perfectly. It helps it blend into the original color much better. 


I sealed it with finishing wax for a buttery finish. 
Aren't those legs beautiful?!? 


I loved the color so much, I may have painted something in my own house with it!
Stay tuned on that one :) 



Ready to see the befores & Afters of this beauty? 
Here ya go...





It was the perfect finishing touch to their living room!
I mean, how could you go wrong with adding blue anyways? 

What do you think, are you loving the new look? 









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July 07, 2016

Discarded Sink Turned Sand & Water Table

I am beyond excited to share this fun trash to treasure project with you!!!
It's seriously one of my most favorite projects to date. 



I have had in my head to do some sort of water play table for Baby M this summer since Arkansas summers are scorchers and water play is essential to survival during the summer months. 

I searched for a few but never found one that I really liked. 
We used to have a plastic one that we liked ok for when little man was a baby but it got nasty quick & just wasn't something we loved. 

Enter in a random idea that my sweet hubby saw on Facebook (sorry but I don't have the original source) and we knew what we wanted to do!
Plus it wasn't just going to be a water table, I'd get to add sand to it too!!!
If you know me, my little OT heart was jumping up and down at all the sensory play we'd get to do!

The idea all revolves around re-using an old metal sink. 
So I immediately ran to my favorite discard junk palace, the Habitat Restore, and was in luck!
They had several sinks that would do the trick but I really wanted metal and double basin. 

Here's what I came home with for about $30. 


I was so excited to find exactly what I was looking for on my first trip! 
That rarely happens :)

So let's talk supplies. 
Hubby actually did the building part of this project so I'm not super exact on lumber/measurements. And all of that will completely depend on the sink that you're working with. So understand that before starting. 
Hubby used the inspiration picture as a jumping-off point and pretty much just came up with the plan in his head. 

Here's the supply list: 
Double basin sink 
2x4 (we used approx. 2 8 ft. pieces.)
1x2 (we used part of a 10 ft. piece) 
We used scrap pieces for the legs but 2x4s could work for this as well 
Wood screws
Cordless nail gun & nails
Rustoleum spraypaint in White
Rustoleum Clear Coat Spraypaint
Paint color of choice (I used Meadow Mist by SW)
1 50lb bag of sand
1 drain cover
Liquid Nails
1 Drain Plug


You'll need to start by constructing the base that your sink will sit in. 
Hubby built this so I don't have a complete step by step but it's very basic. 
He used the measurement of the sink to determine what width needed to be for the top surround. 
We used scrap pieces of wood for legs and attached them on the inside of the base that was created. 

We decided to add a shelf below for buckets and toys by creating slats with 1x4's and 1x1's in an alternating pattern. 

While hubby worked on creating the base (he used wood screws for everything except attaching the shelf pieces. For that, he used our cordless nail gun), I worked on the sink itself. 

Of course, you could just leave it in the stainless steel that it came in. 
Ours was actually in pretty decent condition too. 
But, of course, I had to glam it up a bit. 

Any chance to make it girly, right? 
This would be perfect for if the sink you found had rusty spots too. 


Grab a can of Rustoleum's enamel spraypaint in white. 
Perfect for adding color, adding even more rust protection and it'll cover up all those ugly scratches and wear. 

Check it out after applying several thin coats...


After spraying it white, I went over the whole thing with a clear protective coat as well. Never hurts to be extra cautious. Since I knew it'd get a lot of wear as well as the added grittiness of sand and water, I figured extra protection was best in this case. 

After glamming the sink up, I turned to adding some color to the wooden base. 
I chose my favorite 'meadow mist' that I had leftover from our recent foyer table makeover. 


After several coats of the gorgeous minty blue, it's time to put it all together!!!
Are you ready for this???? 


Isn't it just gorgeous???
I was so giddy as we were putting it all together. 

The sink set down in the base perfectly. 
We decided to add a scrap piece of wood over the top of the sink where the holes from where the faucet would have been were. Some of those edges were sharp and it looked a whole lot cleaner with the wood there. 

It's easily taken off with the drill if we ever need to lift the sink out for storage. 


The white against the blue is just gorgeous.
I mean, why aren't kitchens all including mint cabinets with white sinks???


The cute pink bucket was a Target dollar spot find around easter. I added the name in vinyl and gave it to her as her Easter basket filled with gardening tools & a watering can. 
Little did I know that they'd be perfect for her new water table too!


I added a couple buckets underneath and couldn't resist making them a little cuter with a wood plaque and labels for what they held. 
One for water toys, one for sand. 


I found the cutest little mini sandcastle forms at Michaels and we had several sand toys from our beach trips that were perfect for the table.
We obviously need to bulk up on the water toys though. 
I plan to throw her plastic animals and cubes in there too. 
The net with the fish were a huge hit!!

Let's talk logistics for a moment. 


It was SUPER hard to get a good picture of it, but, if you recall, there were holes on both sides of the sink where drains had been.

The water side wasn't a big deal as it still had the drain intact. We just used a regular sink plug for it. 
The sand side, however, had a gaping hole in the bottom. 
We bought a tub cover (those plastic ones) in hopes that it would cover enough but it still felt too flimsy. Especially for 50 lbs of sand!

I ended up rigging it by adding a ring of Liquid Nails around the rim and pressing the rubber seal onto it. It sat overnight and was firmly on there come morning. 
We haven't had any crazy sand problems yet :) 


One regular 50 lb bag of play sand filled it up nicely. Then just add water to the other side & you're ready to play!!!


I was so excited with how it turned out- I was dying to share it with little miss. 
The sand plug problem held us off for a night while I waited for it to dry but we got it out immediately the next morning. 




I'm thinking it was a HUGE hit. 



We're still working on liking the texture of sand though :) 


I'm thinking that when summer is over, it'll be amazing with rice & beans in it too.
I love a good sensory table.

Little miss had a ball playing in it- the big kids even enjoyed it too! 
After you're done playing, just slip a bucket underneath the water side, pull the plug out and let it drain. 
We set a lid over the sand side while it's in the garage so our cats don't think it's...for them. 

Isn't it the best before & after???



It's one of my most favorite trash to treasure transformations & I know it will be well-loved for a long time to come.
I'll keep you update on how it holds up too! 

So, keep an eye out for a sad old sink & turn it into something fun!!!






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July 03, 2016

"O Say Can You See' Wooden Blocks

Ok, I'm back!!!
Remember how I said I wanted to share one more crazy easy project with you before tomorrow?!? 
Well, here I am!!

When creating my 4th of July display for our foyer, I realized I still needed a few small 'filler' pieces to make it all look right. 
I wanted something small, super easy to throw together, and, of course, patriotic. 

So these little patriotic blocks are what my mind came up with...


And they were seriously the quickest things to throw together ever!!

Here's what you need: 
Scrap Wood (I literally used tiny scrap pieces that were rough on most of their edges) 
Red & White acrylic paints
Vinyl 
Sandpaper

First things first, if you don't already have scrap blocks lying around, cut a few lengths of a thin board and you're good to go! 
I didn't even bother with smoothing my edges because I didn't mind the unfinished look. 

Paint in your desired colors. 
I switched off red & white in acrylic paints. 
Let dry. 


After they're dry, run some sandpaper over the edges to distress it a bit. 
See the difference? 


Next, just add your vinyl. 
I've made it even easier for you and included my cut file with my words already created for you!!

You can download that file here
As far as I know, you can only download and open the file if you have Silhouette Studio software. You should be able to then size the words to fit your pieces that you have!!

Easy peasy. 


Apply your vinyl & you are finished!!!


They were the perfect addition to the foyer decor &  you can't beat free & quick!!!
So even if you're needing something to jazz up your table or patio area for the 4th tomorrow, you should be able to whip them up this evening no problem!!

Happy Fourth of July friends!!






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Quick & Easy "Land That I Love" Centerpiece

If you guys swung by here a couple days ago, you may have noticed that I decorated our foyer in red, white & blue for the Fourth!

If you haven't had a chance, you can take a peek at it here



One of my favorite new additions to my decor this year was the super cute "Land that I Love' piece that I altered to make into a centerpiece. 


Didn't it turn out cute? 
And it was one of the easiest things ever to throw together!!
I'm a terrible blogger though & didn't take pictures as I was going, so I don't have a great before picture to share :/ So sorry. 

Here's a great pic of what the little USA sign looked like before I messed with it, courtesy of Mad in Crafts
Check out how she transformed her wooden sign into a cute wreath for her patriotic porch- I love seeing all the different things you can do with things!!


I picked up this cute wooden sign from the Target Dollar Spot at the beginning of the summer and knew it would be perfect in a fourth of July display!
Here's the run-down of the items I used:
Wooden sign: Target Dollar Spot
Red Scrap Fabric
Hot Glue Gun
White Paint
Wooden pallet style sign 

First things first, create your 'backdrop' for your sign to be on. 
I ended up using the back of a sign that I already had and wasn't using. 
If you don't have random wood lying around, a cabinet door would work great or create your own pallet sign using 1x4s and a nail gun. 

I painted my backdrop white to let the wood color of the USA sign pop against it. 


After creating the back piece, let's work on the wooden country itself. 
In order to make the words really stand out, I wanted something behind it that would be colorful. 
I dug through my fabric stash and found the perfect red and white polka dotted design. 
I laid the fabric across the back of my sign and hot glued it into place. 
So quick and it makes a big difference! 


Isn't the color from the fabric perfect for highlighting the fun cut out words?? 


To put it all together, just add a few dots of hot glue to the edges of the wooden sign and attach it to your backdrop. 

Then either just lean it against your display or use an easel like I did to make it the star! 



The best thing is that the hot glue doesn't make it super permanent so if I decide to use it in another way next year, it'll be easy to change up! 

Gotta love the dollar spot. 
When I see certain things like this cute wooden country sign, I'll snatch it up even if I"m not 100% sure what I"m going to do with it. 
At some point, something fun will pop into mind!
Sometimes just having inspiring things lying around are enough to spark some quick creativity!

Hope you guys are having a great Fourth of July weekend so far!
I have one more quick project I want to share with you before tomorrow so I may be back later today :) Be on the lookout!!
Happy Fourth!




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