Trick For Spray Painting MDF

Have you ever spray painted MDF? It sucks, right? MDF stands for Medium Density Fiberboard. For those curious minds, there is a Low Density Fiberboard (A.K.A. particle board), and a High Density Fiberboard (A.K.A. Hardboard).

If You Like Me, You'll LOVE Them

Being a blogger, I kinda feel like its my job to read other blogs and stay up on what's new (that's what I tell my husband anyways). I often get asked which blogs I follow. I follow a wide mix of different blogs; some DIY, some craft, some home design, and a couple recipe. When it comes to DIY and furniture, I have my standbys that I make sure to read everyday.

Talkin' Tools #4: Angle Grinder

Man, its been a while since I've written a "Talkin' Tools" post. To find my other tutorials, click the "Talkin' Tools" tab. After sharing how to build an Easy Industrial Coffee Table last week, I realized I need to explain grinders a little more but first, I want to announce the winner of the Finish Max Pro giveaway.

50 DIY Industrial Decor Ideas

Okay, I'll admit it. A lot of my work has "a look". What can I say? I'm a vintage industrial junkie. After browsing the web, it looks like I'm not alone. Worn wood and metal seem to be popular these days. I've compiled my 50 favorite DIY Industrial Decor Ideas to share with you.  

EASY Industrial Coffee Table (No Welding!)

I often get asked what is my favorite piece of furniture I have built. Although there have been many pieces I've loved, I am especially proud of my World Market "Aiden" Knock-off. This is the first piece I welded by my self, and it totally fits my style. 

Vintage Yellow Dresser

In Tuesday's post, I showed a couple photos of my latest furniture make-over. By the way, the giveaway is still running till Monday, September 1st, so head over here and enter for a chance to win a *Finish Max Pro paint gun.

The BEST Paint Sprayer Giveaway!

*This post contains affiliate links and sponsored product. All opinions are mine and have not been influenced. I honestly LOVE and use this product.

Last year, I professed my love the the Finish Max by HomeRight. You can read my review about it here. 

At SNAP conference this year, I ran into a blogging friend who has been working with HomeRight. I gushed about how awesome the Finish Max is and she said "You need to try the Finish Max Pro! It's even better!" (As I type this, I realize that it sounds made up. I promise you, DIY bloggers really do get this excited over things like paint sprayers). Flash forward a few weeks, and I got a chance to play with my very own *Finish Max Pro. 

How to Make a Wood Toner

*This post contains affiliate links.

Ever have a staining project not turn out how you imagined? Last week, I was working on a little maple dresser. If you have ever worked with maple before, you know it sucks to stain. Like, majorly. Even after using a pre-stain conditioner, I was still left with a splotchy mess. After sanding, and re-staining. I decided to work with what I have, and apply a wood toner. Best. Decision. Ever.

DIY Back-to-School Storage Ideas

My brain is in back-to-school mode. I shared a tutorial to build your own Homework and Backpack Center with you last week, and now I'm sharing some other DIY back to school storage ideas with you. If you have school aged kids, I'm sure one of these will fit your needs. 

DIY Backpack and Homework Center

*EDIT: I have updated and improved this project. For the updated version with FREE building plans, click here. 

Most of you know that I have twin boys. Well, this year they started the big "K". Yep, Kindergarten. After the first day of school, I knew we were going to need some sort of organization. 

Music and Decorating (Blog Buddy Edition)

Who doesn't love music? Music is great. If you are anything like me, you have Pandora playing right now. I might have a weird brain, but I connect songs with images. I almost always have a song in my head. Its like I have my own personal soundtrack of my life. 

Decorating is also pretty awesome. 

Gold Rope Trim Bench

I've made a few of these upholstered benches before. You can see the first two I made here. 

Black Edwardian Mirror

I have a before and after to share with you today. Last year, I scored a walnut dresser built around 1890, at a garage sale of all places. I refinished the dresser long ago, and left the poor, sad mirror to sit in my garage for almost a year. 

Faux Gear Tutorial

You may remember in Monday's post, I mention that I had a foam project I was working on. Well, it all started when I was at SNAP Conference in April and I stopped by the Floracraft booth. The reps showed me a couple of their new products and I started getting ideas. A couple months later, the kind people of Floracraft sent me a massive box filled with goodies! 

Furniture Feast

I love furniture. It gets my heart racing. 

I know I'm not the only one who experiences this kind of lust. So, I browsed and put together some images for my fellow furniture lovers. 

Tour Through Blogland with Me

I got a pretty cool email last week from my friend Kim from Reposhture Studio. It was an invitation to take part in A Tour Through Blogland. The tour is a cool way for us bloggers to introduce you to blogs that we read and are inspired by. 

Another Bathroom Upgrade & Giveaway Winner!!

Happy Friday everyone! First, I want to thank everyone who entered my Simpson Strong-Tie Workbench or Shelving Kit giveaway, and second, I have a winner.

DIY Counter Top Make-Up Storage

If you are new here, I have been sloooowly updating my master bathroom. In addition to darkening my stock vanity cabinets, DIYing concrete counter-tops, and upgrading my lighting and hardware, I've been trying to spruce up the decor a bit. 

Back when I was a teenager, my mom had a best friend that I idolized. She was only like, 12 years older than me, beautiful, and hilarious. I remember one day when I was in her bathroom, I discovered that she kept her make-up in a decorative chest on the counter. Great idea! Kill 2 birds with one stone. Free up scarce drawer space, and add a cute design element. I was using the same, dirty chest I bought for my first apartment. Time for something new. 

I know a few ladies that use little plastic drawer things to hold and organize their make-up. Since this is going to be on display, I think I can do better than that. 

I started with my favorite reclaimed wood substitute, AKA fence boards. I used the wider of the two commonly found sizes, approximately 5.5". 

I cut two pieces at 17" and five at 11" long.

Assembling the frame is pretty basic. Its like building a basic box, you just add more dividers. For an easy way to ensure the bottom board is square, use a scrape piece of wood as a spacer block. This way, you are sure your board will be joined at the same height on both sides.

I used wood glue and 1 1/4" brad nails to join the pieces, starting with the bottom, then the top, and finally the 3 center dividers.

Now that I had a frame, it was time to make the drawer boxes. Do these look familiar? They were made from the same plywood and in the same manner as these 30 boxes. Once again, pretty easy.

Now that everything was built, it was time to start the finishing process. The first step was to brush all the wood with  homemade oxidizing solution. The next day, I gave both the frame and drawers the worst paint job ever, using a bluish gray, latex paint. I knew I was going for a super distressed-reclaimed look, so I intentionally was very sparse with my application.

Once that was dry, I pulled out some Antique Crackle from Old Fashioned Milk Paint. This stuff is fun to play with. If you aren't looking for large, 90's-ish cracks, I have a little trick that I share here.

 It does create cracks, but more importantly, it causes this great, antique texture in the paint.

After the crackle medium, I applied another crappy coat of paint, this time in white.

I placed everything outside to dry, which in Arizona during the summer took about 3 minutes. Next, I went crazy with the sander and some 60-grit.

I intentionally took off the majority of the paint. I wanted to see the wood underneath. I sealed everything with a coat of wax and allowed it to dry. Once dry, the last step was to attach the label holder pulls, which were generously donated by D. Lawless Hardware.

Here is the final result. It looks like it was drug behind a truck, AKA, perfect.

It gives me TONS of storage, and I love how the 4 drawers help me organize my make-up. Before with the chest, everything was just thrown in and eventually got broken and covered in the remnants of 100 different types of powder. So much better this way.

Okay, I have a confession. I ordered the label holder pulls in black. They looked fabulous, but a little too "new" next to the super chippy wood. I fixed that with a little of this and a little of that. Mostly, gray primer, black spray paint, and aging dust. They still look black...just old black.

And here is where my new storage box will stay. Proudly out in the open. My make-up hiding in plain sight.

What do you think? Would you "hide" your make-up this way? Or, do you have any other clever ideas for make-up storage?

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Easy HEAVY-DUTY Shelving (Plus Giveaway!)

As a blogger, I have the chance to work with brands and try out new products.  Some bloggers try to hide the fact that they are working for brands. I'm not here to trick you, just being real.  I can honestly say that I only work with companies and products that I believe in and use personally. Its pretty exciting when I get an email from a big company who has been following my little blog. I probably should act cool and not tell you this, but I still freak out every time.

How I Mask Off a Circle

I have a quick tip to share with you today. Ever try to mask off a circle using painter's tape? Yeah, its not fun. I came up with a little trick that works much better.

I have this little table clock that my mom "antiqued" several years ago. I decided it was time for a quick update.

The first step is to determine the size of the circle. The best way to do this would be to use a compass, but if you don't have one, look around the house for something the same diameter. It will work fine.

Now, here's the secret. Trace the circle on a piece of contact paper. The contact paper will take place of painter's tape.

Pull back about 1/3 of the paper backing. Starting along one edge, align the circle and pull the rest of the backing off as you smooth the contact paper down.

Now, rub like crazy. Make sure all your edges are smoothed down and you don't have any gaps.

Now you can spray or brush almost any coating without fear of bleeding.

You can see in the photo that I still have some paint nibs that I need to sand, but the face is looking great.

So do you have a mirror or clock around your house in need of an update? Dig up some contact paper, bust out some paint and voila! 

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Linking at:

www.remodelaholic.com