Roadkill Rescue ~ Delightful Desk, part 2

As I said in the previous post, this reveal has been a long time coming. Beckie at Infarrantly Creative inspired me to start crafting again last year, and I saw a soon-to-be-beautiful desk out on a neighbor's curb right after hearing about Beckie's Roadkill Rescue party. Perfect timing! "Where will we put it?" was my husband's first (and only, bless him) question. Turns out, we actually needed a work area for my husband at home.

We were on our way home from church when we spotted it. Too be fair, it was less "spotted" and more "espied" -- every curbside trash heap came under scrutiny in my efforts to find something, anything to make over. This looked perfect, ripe for rescue: water stains, gouges, graffiti...it was even missing hardware!




We checked to see how the drawers pulled out (just fine) and noticed this inside one of them:


Free pen cap! No, no...and not the "vintage" contact paper lining the drawers, either. It's hardwood, people!!! Score! The only downside to this treasure was the horrendous stench.


Pee-yew! Whoever owned it before must've been a chain smoker, because this thing smelled absolutely disgusting. If we'd had a garage, the desk would've lived in there...but we didn't. I honestly got migraines while we waited for good enough weather to take it outside. And let me just say, there are a zillion-and-one opinions online for how to get smoke out of wood furniture, but what worked for us was a combination of stripping off the finish and then sealing it back up. No more smell!

On to the stripping. First, the contact paper had to go...and it took some of the laminate with it. We also found the aforementioned pen cap, an unsharpened pencil, a penny, and two charms in the drawers. And lots of spider webs. Ick.


On my birthday, my fabulous hubby borrowed his dad's power sander and stripped the desk down for me.



He even did all the details and spindles by hand!



To keep him from getting distracted, I set a task master over him.


6 month-olds are impossible to bribe when you're the non-lactating parent.


He did ask to be a little closer to the action, though.


Can you hear the whip cracking? Whh-chh! (And no, he couldn't reach those scissors.)


Put your back into it! Whh-chh!


Don't think I didn't appreciate all of his hard work! Ewww...dust.


All finished! After hours of sweaty, dusty work, we thought about just clear-coating it. DH really liked the shabby look. But I had a spray painting jones, so I won.



Stay tuned for part 3: painting!

Roadkill Rescue ~ Delightful Desk

Wow, this has been a long time coming.

We rescued this desk on the way home from church on October 4, 2009. It wasn't sanded down until the 18th or painted until the 20th. The drawer fronts weren't put on until...well, technically, they're just Photoshopped on right now, but the designs did get printed today! Details of all to come in another post! ETA: here's part 2!





Here's a little detail:


Technically, this is what it looks like right now (which is still better than we found it). The most tremendous part of this "rescue" cannot be captured in a picture: the smell. When we found it, the desk REEKED of cigarette smoke. While we still have some additional tweaks to make, it's definitely finished enough to be called an "after"...and hey, we live with it every day like this!



ETA: I entered this in the CSI project: red, white, and blue challenge. I love that it's an alternative to what you'd expect from a "red, white, and blue" theme — although some of the papers do look like fireworks!

Roadkill Rescue ~ Halloween 2009

Yeah, yeah. I keep crashing Beckie's parties with technicalities (and yes, I am still working on that darn lazy susan that started it all). Honestly and truly, I have an actual "Roadkill Rescue" in my living room that is this ===> <=== close to being finished, but we haven't had a chance yet, with my annual Customer Appreciation Open House a couple weeks ago. So, here's my entry for this shindig: a Halloween costume. Yes, most of it was free and "rescued" from various friends' "Do you want this, before I throw it away?" piles.

Our big conundrum this year was "What kind of costume can we do if the baby's in the Moby Wrap?" I have to be honest — my very first immediate thought was the alien-emerging-from-the-stomach scene. But let's be practical, shall we? The baby's head would be sticking out much too high to pass for a real gastrointestinal alien. So we went with my second brainstorm...

1. Take one "free" baby (don't get me started) and one free Moby Wrap (thanks, mom & dad!).
2. Add a free "MKmen" ball cap, borrowed coveralls (thanks, Deb!), and borrowed work gloves (thanks, FIL!).
3. Add a smokin'-hot daddy (thanks, God!).
4. Take a sheet of free blue craft foam and spray it with paid-for grey primer. Greatly appreciate the splatter effect. Pretend it was a result of your mad spray painting skillz.
   
   
5. Wear out a grey Sharpie trying to draw lines on top of the primed craft foam (see my little scribble sheet, where I tried to get the Sharpie juice flowing again?). In case you're wondering, the blue patch in the lower-right corner is where the clothespin held the craft foam, so I could spray it without getting my hands dirty (this was Halloween night, and the grass was wet). BTW, don't try denying that you want my leopard-print mouse (thanks, Duncan!).
   
6. E-6000 two free orange balloons together, then decorate with a dark orange Sharpie. (Yes, I have a drawer just for "Fine" Sharpies...AND it's labeled with a label-maker label. Hate me.)
   
   
7. Shell out real money for a used bathmat at Goodwill, add a free baby hat (which technically did come out of a garbage bag), lots of staples, and some more free craft foam, Sharpied brown and artfully cut up.
   
   
8. Add four large safety pins and a free green onesie, then step back and revel in your homemade "Oscar the Grouch and his trashman, Bruno" costume! Roadkill Rescue Bonus: the costume is even trash-themed!
   

When we went trunk-or-treating at a friend's church, the baby was turned facing inward and the coveralls were zipped up over him. His hat was so heavy, it actually kept tilting down to cover his head and neck...which was great, considering how cold and windy it turned out to be! I was so close to putting little eyeballs on the hat, too, but wanted the baby to be the face. My husband wasn't committed enough to the costume to let me give him a fake nose and eyebrows. Psh.

How to Make-Over a Glass Lazy Susan, part 2

How to Make-Over a Glass Lazy Susan, part 2

1. Avoid additional painting for two days because you're paralyzed by the thought of "screwing up".
2. Conclude that the first 5.1 coats weren't opaque enough to cover the fruit from every angle (especially when light shines behind it...which it won't if it's set on the table, but...). Consider découpaging instead of painting more.
   
   
3. Ask husband's opinion (he votes "découpage"); get grapes from fridge for sustenance.
   
4. Research technique online and find the website for "The National Guild of Decoupeurs" (who knew?). Read through their FAQ, then head to Craftown.com instead.
5. Look through "Découpage-able" drawer (yes, it's labeled that way) for inspiration.
6. Find a great poem on an old wedding card, but no background materials.
   
   
7. Realize in a flash that you have three humongo storage tubs of gift wrap to plunder! Research "découpaging gift wrap" and find Durwin Rice's site. Get distracted there, then check out Mod Podge online.
   
8. Wonder if cellophane is découpage-able.
9. Settle on some lovely hydrangea-covered wrapping paper that you've been hoarding. The date on the paper says MCMXCIX. How ironic — it was probably on a wedding gift!
   
   
10. Unfold the paper and realize that it probably was not on a wedding gift. Sigh.
    
    

Okay, blogoshere — what should I do? Can I still use this paper, in patches? How can I do that without it looking weird? Should I find something else I can just cut the full circle out of? Should I try painting again, instead? Would thicker coats of paint be good? Aaaggghh!

Separate question: have you had any success in printing things on an inkjet (quotes from old wedding cards, for example) and then découpaging them onto something without the text smearing and bleeding? I could hand-paint the quote instead, but [shudder].

Last question: do you have any idea what kind of determination it takes to reach for the Function and Alt keys with your pinned-down hand just so you can type an accented character while NAK? :p LOL


This post originally appeared on my family blog and is reprinted with permission.

Roadkill Rescue ~ Glass Lazy Susan

Here is my before-and-after for the Roadkill Rescue party by infarrantly creative:




"Wait," you say, "that isn't even finished! How lame!"

Well, savvy reader, there are two important tidbits which must be considered at this point. First, I will replace the "after" picture with the real "after" when the project is actually finished. Second, the contest didn't stipulate that the project had to be in hands-off finished mode in order to qualify. So, just in case life happens (HA!) and I don't get to paint more on my lazy susan today, I will still have a before-and-after to submit for the contest. After all, the new silver lazy susan already fits our style better than the fruity one did. Thank you, fruity-lazy-susan-giver, for providing me with a project to do! What an AWESOME gift!!! (seriously, no joke)

What? You think I should post another set of before-and-after makeover pictures that still fits the contest rules, just in case? Okay!



Ha! Yes, this makeover (on myself) technically fits all the stipulated rules of the contest. And hey, it's what I do! While I don't get to refinish furniture or refab yard sale finds on a regular basis, I do get to exercise a little creativity in making-over damaged skin and poor color choices. And it helps other women in the process — what a joy!


This post originally appeared on my family blog and is reprinted with permission.

How to Make-Over a Glass Lazy Susan, part 1

1. Clean the styrofoam bits off the surface and rub with alcohol.
   
   
2. Freak out about paint choices.
   
   
3. Attempt to scuff surface with fine sandpaper.
   
   
4. Do another alcohol rub.
5. Get sandpaper grit all over forearms while leaning to reach keyboard to type steps 1-5.
6. Put on Thoroughly Modern Millie soundtrack.
7. Bite the bullet and mix Plaid Apple Barrel Colors Craft Paint in Pure Silver with DecoArt Multi-Purpose Sealer, then apply with a sponge brush.
   
   
   
8. Repeat step 7, only more so.
   
   
9. Enjoy the streaky effect.
   
   
10. Wonder how flexible the "Let dry 1 hour" instruction is.
11. Take 5 minutes to type steps 6-10, then touch the paint to see if it's dry.
    
    
12. Attempt to fix fingerprint with brush; decide surface is dry enough for a second coat anyway.
13. Make a mental note to do all future painting projects on a rotating stand.
    
    
14. Wonder why paint won't stick to this one st*pid spot.
    
    
15. Wonder if continually spinning the lazy susan as in the picture in step 13 would aid the drying process.
16. Resist urge to touch second coat.
17. Paint coat three with happily-opaque results.
    
    
18. Realize you're leaning over your project to reach the keyboard; put on painting shirt.
    
19. Mix more paint-n-sealer.
20. Appreciate the freedom to wipe a drip of sealer purposely right on your shirt...then hope it doesn't seep through onto nursing bra.
21. Paint coat four.
    
    
22. Debate what to paint on finished surface: swirls using dabs of paint and a static brush on a rotating surface? Taped-off geometric shapes? Freehand painted designs? A quote?
23. Wonder whether just to use more sealer on top of finished piece or Anita's Water Clean-Up Polyurethane.
24. Paint coat five. Resist urge to pour paint on top of surface and just spread it around.
25. Hear baby wake up and cry. Push chair back to leave office. Hear toddler tenderly comfort baby with by shouting, "Perrin-Perrin-bo-berrin! Banana-fana-fo-ferrin!"
26. Dip sleeve in paint on edge of surface by typing from new, pushed-back position.
27. Attempt to fix dipped area.
28. Fix attempted fix from step 27.
    
    
29. Try to clean-up paint on edges by spinning the lazy susan against the brush, thereby creating a raised edge of paint on top of surface.
30. Try wiping off new raised edge; spoil entire surface edge; fix new ickies with coat 5.1.
31. Discover paint underneath surface of lazy susan (AKA stabilizing place to put fingers).
    
    
32. Leave office to check on baby, show silver fingertips to toddler, and get mini dark chocolate Reese's cup. Close door to prevent kitty participation.
    
33. Realize it has been the length of Monsters Inc. plus both shorts. Forgo chocolate and nurse baby.

End of Day One. Stay tuned!



This post originally appeared on my family blog and is reprinted with permission.