Thrift Store Find


I simple little project.  I found this "key" box in a local thrift store.  It was painted white and cost about $4.00.

I started by giving it a light sanding.  I do this so the new coat of paint will adhere.  It only needed one coat of ivory to get the look I wanted.

My next step was to use white and brown acrylic paint that I randomly applied to the front.

After the paint dried, I sanded just where I placed the white and brown paint for a distressed look.

The grand finale included a simple hand painted design on the front.  When you close the door, the design meets.

Now we have a place to store the keys!

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Sink Jewelry

Bathrooms need updating, correct?  But who has the money to replace all of the fixtures, cabinets and floors? So the question becomes: how do you update, improve and bring up the value of your bathrooms?  There are at least a few things you can do that won't cost you tons of money.

1. Painting is cheap and easy.  It can give you a new look, a fresh feel and make it look new again.
2. The cabinets can be painted, stained or faux finished.  New handles can help update those old, tired cabinets.  Since you won't need many handles, it doesn't cost lots of money.
3. New curtains, rugs and towel fixtures can help as well.

I have posted plenty of tips on all these ideas in the past so you can always scan through the archives and check things out.  A while ago I took a good look at my bathroom on the main floor.  It had recently been painted and I had refinished all the cabinets and the floor was still in good shape, but it needed something.  Perhaps a new faucet?  Yes, indeed, that is what it needed.  The old one was a cheap, contractor grade faucet.  I enlisted some help from my brother in law and picked out a new one at Home Depot.  I've had him help me before replacing faucets, and I must admit that I'm getting better at it by watching and helping.  Actually I have found that taking out the original is hardest part!

This is what I replaced it with.     It kind of reminds me of an old time water pump.  I love the look and especially the dark bronze finish.


But, it needed something else.  Maybe some artwork? Sink jewelry?

yup....

So I decided to add some art.  Specifically mosaic art.  I looked around the Internet and found these leaf shaped tile.  I placed them around the sink in a design that looks good to me.

 Next, I glued them on using Weldbond glue. In the past, I have mentioned this glue.  It is the very best for mosaics and other tough jobs.  Goes on white but dries clear.  Below is a closer look of the mosaic leafs.

Here is a shot of the completed sink.  I know what you may be thinking.....is it hard to clean?  No, it really isn't.  I use a large soft brush and wipe.  No problem.

I feel like the bathroom is truly updated now.  Painted walls, cabinets, a wood frame around the plain mirror, new faucet and some sink jewelry. People who visit always comment on the design, like they've never seen anything like......maybe they haven't.

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Faux wood graining saves the day.

Faux Wood Technique

Out on my back porch there are several wood columns that are currently painted white. I decided to change the color scheme of the entire porch from gray/white to soft gold/dark brown. To make a long story short, I had a problem....

I painted the columns a dark brown. Three coats. Still streaky? ugh. I did sand them before painting but they still remained streaky. A few family members mentioned that the streaky look was appealing......... which gave me an idea. Why not try to do a faux wood finish on the columns to make it look just like a real piece of wood. I just happen to have a faux wood tool downstairs, so why not give it a try?

Here's the tool.

And how do you use it? I watched some videos on Utube.com first and did a little research on Google. Basically it's a rock and drag motion. The more you rock, the more circular wood like grain you get. It's all in the wrist!

I mixed up the original paint (dark brown) with black glaze. 3 parts paint and 1 part black glaze. The glaze takes some time to dry so you really have some time to work with it. If you make a mistake, you can fix it. I practiced the technique on an old piece of wood before starting this project.

This is the streaky piece of wood that I didn't like: it actually looks like wood right now.

Here it is after applying the faux wood technique.

Now you can see a real distinct wood grain.

Although you can't really see the column that well from the picture above, you get the idea! They now all look like that and a lot better than before, so the faux wood technique rescued my streaky paint job!

and..................

My "sneaker head" son dared me to custom paint a pair of his sneakers. He wanted them painted in the "nerf" design (whatever that is). He downloaded a photo and gave it to me.

He gave me a pair of white sneakers to work with.

I had to use leather paints and a leather finisher.

Here they are: I won the bet!!

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