DIY

09.02.2014

DIY Concrete Table Top

Earlier this summer, I visited my sister, Heather, and fell in love with her DIY concrete topped coffee table.

I went home and decided that the side table we had inherited from the previous homeowner would be AMAZING with a concrete top.

It’s pretty traditional, and I really thought I could turn it into something I will call “industrial chic” – perfect for Steve’s man cave! Once school started, I scheduled a date to work on the concrete top with my sister. I put my two older kids on the bus and hopped in the car with my youngest and drove two hours to see my sister. We only had about three hours to work with (I had to be back home in time for the kids to get off the bus), so the pressure was on. Heather is a DIY genius. This Concrete Table Top tutorial isn’t hard, AND it doesn’t require any extra tools! Heather already had the concrete. It’s actually a lighter (“feather”) concrete. We just mixed small amounts at a time. My coffee table really did not require much – and remember you can always make more!

We used a disposable paint tray to mix the cement.

We slowly added water using a watering can and used a paint stick to stir.

We went with a cake batter consistency. This stuff smells – and it doesn’t smell great. My best description is that it smells like baby poop. 🙂

After you have left the mixture sit for about 10 minutes, you can lightly slather it on the top of the table. Remember to keep the concrete thin. You will want to do several thin layers. (I sanded my tabletop with an electric sander before I added the cement.)

We used a plastic scraper to smooth out the concrete and wiped away the extra on a rag.

You will repeat this process several times. We did three coats on my side table.

We found that an old sock was helpful for smooth out the cement – especially the sides of the table.

We were short on time, so we used a fan to dry the concrete quicker.

You can sand in-between coats, but I just (lightly) sanded at the end of the final (3rd) coat.

After the concrete is dry, you can add the sealer. (My sister says I should tell you 24 hours to be safe.) I also did about three coats of this. (Once the sealer coat was dry, I added the next. The sealer dried pretty quickly.)

We poured a little bit on the top and used an old t-shirt to rub the sealer into the concrete. We repeated this process three times and added another layer of sealer once the previous layer was dry. And that was it for the concrete top – no special tools required! This is where the concrete tutorial ends. But I wanted that worn rustic wood look that Heather had with her coffee table, so I continued…

I wanted to get rid of the wood’s orangey look, so I used a stripper to get rid of the glossy finish in hopes that I could stain the wood a darker color.

I used a brush to paint the stripper on.

I waited 30 minutes and started scraping. Stripping is NOT easy. And I lost interest. Quickly. I scraped as long as I could, and then I wiped away the rest of the old finish/stripper. It was a mess.

I added a dark walnut stain to the piece. It does have more of the industrial-chic look I was looking for. (Whatever that means, right?!)

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Decor

08.12.2014

50’s Themed Party

My in-laws both turned 60 this year, and all of us “kids” threw them a giant 50’s themed party to celebrate!

All they knew was that we were having a party. The invitations went out about three weeks prior to the big day. We encouraged our guests to dress up 50s style.

Our guests of honor arrived in a beautiful vintage car we borrowed.

We then had all our guests post for a photo in front of the car before they entered the party. My friend Lexi of Alexis Smith Photography took the photos that night. Most of the photos in this blog are her beautiful work.

We rented a tent, table & chairs, and (white, red, and turquoise) linens. We had huge balloons coming off of each table.

We cut circles from thick foam boards and covered them with black & white gingham fabric for the center of the tables. On each table, we had mason jars filled with daisies, candles, and hard candy sticks. (The mason jar decor was the work of a family friend, Karen.) We also made menus that were on each table – we served hot dogs, popcorn, fruit, cans, cupcakes, and ice cream.

We bought a bunch of old, scratched-up records off of eBay and placed one at each seat so they became chargers for the guests.

We used the leftover fabric from the centerpieces for the dessert table. Karen also arranged the cupcake towers and candy bouquets for us.

The cupcakes were Pinterest-inspired (You can see more amazing 50’s diner party inspiration at the Hostess with the Mostess Blog.) We had our local grocery store make cupcakes with turquoise icing and we added the cherries, white & red straws, and striped cupcake holders ourselves.

We rented a popcorn machine and hired several friends to help us serve our guests.

My super talented brother-in-law made the most fantastic video celebrating Wil & Cindy.

And we topped off an amazing evening with an outdoor (drive-in) showing of the movie Grease.

Overall, it was a wonderful evening and my in-laws (Wil & Cindy) were well celebrated and loved – which was the goal!

Are you new to my blog? Go HERE to see my home tour and HERE to shop for items I use in our home. Find me on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Pinterest

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Printables

08.07.2014

Jeremiah 33:3 Print

I’m excited to share this FREE Jeremiah 33:3 Print with you today.

Call to Me and I will answer you. And I will tell you great and mighty things which you do not know. – Jeremiah 33:3

If you haven’t already been joining us, please do! My kids and I am memorizing a new verse each month, and I’m creating a monthly Bible verse printable that I’m sharing here on the blog. This month’s free printable is Jeremiah 33:3

It’s such a powerful reminder, isn’t it?

I’m sharing the FREE Jeremiah 33:3 Print here as a PDF:

Jeremiah 33*3

Or, if you prefer a JPG file for this Jeremiah 33:3 print, just click and save the image below.

I have several other Bible verse printables here on the blog and share several links if you scroll down a bit.

*Art for this months printable is by CreateTheCut.

Go create something!

Are you new to my blog? Go HERE to see my home tour and HERE to shop for items I use in our home.

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*All Sincerely Sara D. printables are for personal, non-commercial use only. Use it, gift it, but don’t alter it, sell it or otherwise distribute the print or the file.

I have several other free printables on the blog:

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Paint

08.05.2014

Argyle Painted Wall

Learn how to create a painted argyle wall with this tutorial.

Recently an old friend contacted me to paint her nursery wall in an argyle pattern. She’s expecting a boy, and since her husband is a golf pro, they wanted a vintage golf-themed nursery.

I asked for her wall dimensions beforehand, and I made a game plan.

The wall height and width helped determine the height and width of my diamonds. Luckily it worked mathematically to have five diamonds running across and three diamonds running vertically.

It was a little overwhelming when I walked into the room and saw the blank wall. (My friend had painted it the color of the lighter diamond.)

We used Porter Paints for this wall in Ghost Writer and Hot Stone.

I used lots of rulers on this project – level ruler, “regular” ruler, and a tape measure.

I went across the wall and drew lines down the length of the wall – one (center) line for each of the five rows of diamonds. (This is where the level ruler comes in REALLY handy!)

From there, I marked (with dots) the corners of all the diamonds. Then, I connected my dots to draw the diamonds.

I had to paint the diamonds in sections. I did every other diamond in my first round.

Then I went back through and painted the second batch of diamonds.

(After I saw the above picture, I immediately schedule an appointment with my hairdresser to fix the bleach-out bun.)

Once the diamonds are all painted and dried, you can start on the “stripes.” Again, there was a lot of measure and dots involved. I went through and found the center of each diamond and drew a diagonal line connecting them all before I started painting.

For each diagonal line, I used three pieces of tape. I then removed the centerpiece since that is the one I’ll paint.

I then went through and repeated the diagonal lines going the other direction.

The amount of tape I went through was pretty impressive (3 rolls of Frog Tape.) Although it’s expensive, Frog Tape is well worth your money. It really helps prevent the seepage you see with some other painter’s tape.

And that’s it! An argyle painted wall. Simple! No…not really. 🙂 However, it is doable. I completed this wall in 6 kid-free hours. To see my friend’s reveal of the nursery, click HERE.

Are you new to my blog? Go HERE to see my home tour and HERE to shop for items I use in our home.

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DIY

07.28.2014

Kid Chalkboard Travel Box

This kid chalkboard travel box is perfect for your next road trip.

With three kids, traveling can be a little hectic. I have an easy (and inexpensive!) solution that will help keep your kid(s) entertained while letting you keep your sanity. You can make your own kid’s chalkboard travel box for around $5.

I hate when my kids are on the screen the entire car trip, and these boxes help inspire creativity instead of more screen time.

I painted the top of the travel boxes with chalkboard paint.

Learn from my mistake and use a primer BEFORE you paint the chalkboard paint. It will peel off the plastic if you don’t…

Using painter’s tape, tape off the chalkboard area, prime and paint with chalkboard paint! Make sure you allow the paint to dry fully in between coats of paint.

I spent around $5 on the plastic box filled with fun little items to help keep the kids entertained in the car. You can find so many fun toys at the dollar store.

Not a bad investment for this kid chalkboard travel box!

Are you new to my blog? Go HERE to see my home tour and HERE to shop for items I use in our home. Find me on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Pinterest

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Paint

07.10.2014

Chalk Painted Dresser

I’m still painting things. Check out this chalk painted dresser.

A family member had this amazing dresser which I immediately knew could be given a second life with chalk paint:

It was pretty worn, but it was SO unusual and beautiful! About half of the finish was worn off, and there were lots of nicks and scratches. But, I knew chalk paint would give it a new life:

I painted the dresser with Annie Sloan chalk paint and used Paris Grey and Pure White. This is a picture of the dresser before the wax was applied. I used clear and dark wax, and you’ll notice in the after pictures how well the dark wax brings out the details of the piece. The bottom drawer was missing part of the flourish detail.

So, I took the bottom drawer out until I can fix it correctly. However, I’m liking the open concept of the bottom drawer. I use the drawer turned shelf for our family photo albums.

The rest of the piece holds my craft supplies. This dresser is in my office, and it makes a wonderful storage solution!

Want some chalk paint tips? Check out an earlier post HERE or click on the image below:

Are you new to my blog? Go HERE to see my home tour and HERE to shop for items I use in our home. Find me on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Pinterest

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Paint

07.08.2014

Painting a Faucet – 3 month update

Painting a faucet – 3-month update

It has been over three months since I painted my bathroom faucet and wanted to share a 3-month update on painting a faucet. Here is a picture of what it looks like now:

There is slight wear on the handle, and a little paint has chipped away on the base of both handles.

It was really easy to touch up with a small brush, and overall I am pleased with how well they have held up. This faucet sees a LOT of use. It’s the bathroom on our main floor, and our family and guests use it. Also, I don’t mess around with germs, so this faucet has seen lots of Scrubbing Bubbles. Now that I feel confident about how the paint has held up on the faucet, I painted the faucets in our master bath and my boys’ bathroom. This time, I did use a primer.

It is Rust-Oleum and easy to use. Now, I know you’re not supposed to spray paint inside, but it makes it SO much easier. You MUST make sure you prep the faucet/sink area before you prime and paint.

If you look through the pics above, you can see the before. Next, I taped around the faucets with Frog Tape and used bags to protect the sink. I also completely encased the sink area and mirror/walls with a drop cloth. I did a couple of light/quick coats of primer and then I painted three coats of oil bronze paint. As you can see in the last pic, I did have a bunch of touch-up work despite all my prepping. The excess paint I scraped away with a small flathead screwdriver and/or a rag with mineral spirits. It really was only a 5-10 minute clean-up. It looks MUCH worse. I used a small brush to paint the areas that need a paint touch-up. My only complaint about using the primer (besides an added step) is that the paint did not go on as smoothly as it did the first time I painted a faucet without the primer. I’m curious to see if the primed faucets hold up better than the original unprimed one – I’ll continue to post updates as time goes on.

Hopefully, this 3-month update on painting a faucet was helpful!

*UPDATE:

Unfortunately, the primer wasn’t very helpful. My faucet without the primer has held up just as well as those I used primer on. The Rust-Oleum paint is pretty amazing on its own!

I did eventually replace all the painted faucets in our home (after 2.5 years). It was a great way to buy time before buying new faucets, but painting a faucet (in my experience) is a TEMPORARY FIX.

To see more about how to paint a faucet click HERE.

Go create something!

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Printables

07.03.2014

Fruit of the Spirit Print

I’m excited to share this Fruit of the Spirit print with you today.

If you haven’t already been joining us, please do! My kids and I are memorizing a new verse each month, and I’m creating monthly Bible verse printables that I’m sharing here on the blog.

This month’s verse is from Galatians 5:22-23: The Fruit of the Spirit.

Click on the file below to save your own PDF copy of the Fruit of the Spirit print:

Fruit of the Spirit

Or, if you want the JPG file of the Fruit of the Spirit Print, simply click and save the image below.

Go create something!

Are you new to my blog? Go HERE to see my home tour and HERE to shop for items I use in our home.

Find me on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Pinterest *All Sincerely Sara D. printables are for personal, non-commercial use only. Use it, gift it, but don’t alter it, sell it or otherwise distribute the print or the file.

I have several other free printables on the blog:

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DIY

07.01.2014

Easy Instagram Art

I’m going to show you an easy way to create art with your Instagram photos!

I found an old frame at a thrift store for my project.

I ordered my Instagram prints from Foxgram. Foxgram was inexpensive and provided (really) fast shipping.

To begin, layout the photos to see how many rows of photos are needed to cover the area. (I ordered 3-inch photos with a white border. I ended up using 80 photos for my 23.5″ x 29.5″ canvas.)

I did slightly overlap the photos to make them all fit in my canvas.

Once you have a layout plan, use Mod Podge to adhere to the photos.

Cover the back of the photo with Mod Podge and adhere. Make sure to smooth each photo to avoid air bubbles.

Once the photos are down and glued, add a layer of Mod Podge across the entire surface.

Try to keep your brush strokes (or in my case, sponge strokes) all going in the same direction.

Once complete, let the Mod Podge dry. You will have a fun piece of art created from your Instagram photos! This Instagram art makes a great keepsake for yourself and/or for friends and family!

Are you new to my blog? Go HERE to see my home tour and HERE to shop for items I use in our home. Find me on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Pinterest

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Paint

06.05.2014

Chalk Paint Tips

I’m not a “certified” chalk painter, but I’ve done a lot of research (Pinterest and YouTube videos). 🙂 More importantly, I’ve painted A BUNCH of things with chalk paint. I’ve compiled all that knowledge, and I’m going to share some chalk paint tips with you today!

I taught my first (ever!) class this past weekend on chalk paint. It was a small class, but we had a lot of fun.

At my class, I shared a page of helpful hints for using chalk paint.

Chalk paint is a miracle. There isn’t any prep, sanding, or primer! And, you can paint over anything: laminate, wood, glass, plastic, FABRIC!

Apply the first coat and let dry (around 30 mins).
Add a second coat of paint and let dry (another 30 mins).
Apply wax with a brush and wipe off extra (with a lint-free cloth).
Sand if you want a distressed look.

Before you begin:

Make sure the paint is well mixed. Tip the can over for 30 mins and then give it a good shake.
Clean/dust your piece before painting.

While you’re painting:

Keep in mind the paint dries very quickly!
Don’t load your paintbrush with paint. The paint is thick.
Quick brushstrokes work best.
Most pieces take 1.5 – 2 coats of paint.
In between coats of paint, put your brushes in ziplock bags.
Keep your paint covered. It can thicken when exposed to air.
You can use a roller for chalk paint. *
You can add one coat and add a wash of a second coat (or even second color!) with watered-down paint.

While you’re waxing:

Don’t overwax! Think about how you apply hand lotion – put on a small bit and massage until it is absorbed.
Use a brush to apply the wax and a lint-free cloth to wipe off excess.
YOU MUST USE CLEAR WAX FIRST BEFORE APPLYING THE DARK WAX.
The dark wax adds dimension and age.
You can use the clear wax as an eraser if you’ve added too much dark wax.

After you’re done painting:

To clean brushes (paint & wax), wash with soap and water.
Buff your piece 24 hours after your last coat of wax if you want a (slight) glass effect.

Misc:

You can mix chalk paint colors!
Don’t overthink a piece. Just start to paint it – in a color you love!

{If you want all these tips in one place, you can download them below.}

ChalkPaintTips

If you want to learn more about specific projects I’ve done using chalk paint, click on the pictures below:

At the class, we painted wooden plaques. One of the girls at my class later mod podge a photo to the plaque and created some inexpensive (but really cute) photo art!

To see more about the photo art, click HERE or on the photo below:

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DIY

06.03.2014

Chalkboard Ideas and Tips

I’m (slightly) obsessed with chalkboards, and today I’m sharing a roundup of some of my own ideas and tips for chalkboards as well as some amazing ones from others.

I created a monthly chalkboard calendar from an old mirror. Check out my chalkboard calendar post for a full tutorial and (free!) downloads.

I love a good chalkboard – especially an extra-large one! Check out this chalkboard Angela at Unexpected Elegance made from a door.

I added chalkboard paint to our fridge, and now we have a weekly calendar as well as a small art/reminder gallery. Check out the post for a tutorial and downloads.

While we’re in the kitchen, check out this other great (kitchen) chalkboard idea from Anderson and Grant.

This is one of my favorite chalkboards in our home. It hangs in our dining room and was made from an old mirror. This post includes a detailed tutorial on getting perfect chalkboard lettering – every time!

Who knew there were so many chalk options? Check out this great post from Emily at Jones Design Company.

Chalkboards are also great in the garage! Need a way to organize your kids’ weekly sports schedule? Check out how-to HERE.

And check out these amazing (FREE!) templates from Kristen at Ella Claire. There are so many great chalkboard ideas and tips out there!

Are you new to my blog? Go HERE to see my home tour and HERE to shop for items I use in our home. Find me on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Pinterest

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Paint

05.22.2014

Painted Upholstered Chair

See how this painted upholstered chair turned out!

I recently painted an upholstered chair I found at a consignment shop. Before the redo, the chair looked like it belonged on the set of the Huxtables – circa 1988. Now, thanks to Americana Decor Chalky Finish Paint, it has a cool vintage {French?} vibe! For this particular project, I used:

Americana Decor Chalky Paint – Everlasting
Americana Decor Chalk Paint – Vintage
Americana Decor Creme Wax – clear
Americana Decor Cream Wax – Deep Brown
Chip Brush
Americana Decor Round Waxing Brush
Sandpaper
Lint-free cloth

(These products can all be found at Home Depot.)

Here’s a close-up of the fabric before I painted it:

The fabric was in good shape, but it was dingy and outdated. So, I tackled the fabric first – with paint!

I watered down the paint: 1 part water to 1 part paint. Then, I stirred the paint and water and started painting the fabric. I let the first coat dry and applied the second coat. Once the second coat dried (and I painted the rest of the chair), I applied 2 coats of clear wax to the fabric.

Next, I started painting the actual chair. It’s basically the same process as painting the fabric, but you don’t water down the paint.

I painted 2-3 coats of paint on the entire chair – letting each coat dry before applying the next coat.
Then, I waxed the entire chair with clear wax. (I also added some dark wax to the chair, but I’ll get to that later.)
Next, you buff the wax after it has dried with a light, lint-free cloth.
Finally, you can sand if you prefer the more vintage look.

I used dark wax because I wanted a really vintage look. If you use dark wax, you must apply clear wax first. It provides a base for the dark wax, and it’s much easier to wipe away the dark wax with a clear coat underneath. As you can see in the picture above:

Clear wax
Dark wax
After buffing away some of the dark wax

I used a cheap chip brush for painting, and Americana’s wax brush for waxing. Seriously, this brush (as seen in the pic above) is awesome!

And, there you have it! I am loving my “new” chair and found the Americana Chalky Finish Paints to be easy to use. I also have to mention that they are low odor – I painted (and waxed!) inside my home.

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