Dee from "DeeConstructed Design" Visits!

Today, we welcome Dee from DeeConstructed. :) She's pretty awesome. Make sure subscribe to her feed and follow her on Facebook!

Enjoy!

When Evey asked me to put something together for a cameo appearance on Sweet Songbird, I drew a blank. Over in my corner of the interweb, I chatter about rehoming curbside furniture or cutting apart expensive artwork. Sometimes, I post long-winded sentimental blurbs about days gone by but you won't find a single, solitary recipe anywhere on my blog. Nope, to me the kitchen's sole purpose is to mix up color concoctions and hose off paintbrushes. So yeah, how this chick and I became friends is a mystery to me too. Nonetheless, I couldn't leave her stranded so I searched the archives (a.k.a. meeeeellions of unedited photos) and remembered a project I whipped up for a girlfriend a few months back. Jenny and I used to be neighbors. Her daughter, Natalie, took a liking to me way back when My Littlest Pet Shop was all the rage (is it still??) and we bonded over the super cute pups in the lineup. At some point this little girl sprouted up and was all ready for her 'not a girl, not yet a woman' teen bedroom makeover. Since I'm really good at annoying reminding my friends of my thrifty decorating sense (and penchant for power tools) she asked if I could work my magic to create a message center a la Pottery Barn Teen. Apparently, Nat had been drooling over their Blue Bubble Dottie Style Tile Set but the $300+ price tag made Jenny gag. Since she already had (4) style tiles I had a head start on the project. The two cork boards were covered in batting and fabric and the two whiteboards got a new coat of chalkboard paint.
 I know I'm not exactly blazing home decor trails here, people, and that all over DIY-land folks have ventured down this path before me. (yawn) But the vast majority of them conveniently scaled their projects down to fit ready-made frames. I did not have that luxury and I had a rep to protect. Challenge accepted. Anytime I spy baseboard molding on sale I scoop it up. I checked my stock and found some with an attractive profile in 48" lengths. After building a box from 1" x 2"s for the tiles to nest in, I measured and mitered the molding.
If you follow my blog you already know I take plenty of shortcuts. Some prove hazardous but most save a lot of time and frustration and usually have something to do with getting out of doing math. Here's my stupid simple solution for mitering 45 degree angles. Hopefully that makes sense. Feel free to pin that baby for future reference. Now a close up for the mobile folks...

 
 I always draw the arrows in the direction I want to cut. It's amazing how confused you can get walking from the kitchen into the garage. Plus, if you have someone else cutting your wood you just saved a good 15 mins of arguing about who screwed up what. After all the cuts were made, I glued up the corners and smacked in some staples for good measure...
...before securing the frame to the box with a few more 'l' brackets. Then the square tiles were installed and I added a couple horizontal 1" x 3"s for additional support. The whole piece got painted white before I added some  d-ring hangers.
 
Overall, this piece measured 4' x 4'. Yowza! And it was heavy. I made sure to tell Jenny to find at least one stud to screw in to since I wasn't about to be responsible for any broken toes.

So what do you think? Not bad for under $20 huh? Take that Pottery Barn! And because I know how finicky teen girls can be the entire piece can be disassembled and used separately in the future. Thanks for following along and thank you for having me Evey! ~Dee

Teacher Gifts- Evey-style

Hi y'all! Did you know it's almost Teacher Appreciation week here in Jersey? It's next month!  I decided to share last year's gifts with you so that you might have some ideas for this year! :)

Of course, baked goods are always a must! :)  Nothing says "thank you" quite like homemade treats do!  A sweet and easy way to package mini loaves of banana bread, for example, is to take some wax paper, wrap the bread in it, then take a piece of scrapbook paper, cut with cute scalloped scissors, and wrap it around the wax paper, tying it off with some pretty baker's twine.

Doesn't that look so pretty!?

As for the sign, I took some leftover scrapwood and painted it, then sanded it to distress the red.  I had all of the kids in the classroom place their thumbprints where the petals would go and added the chalkboard paint square.  The lettering was done using the same method found in my "Love Conquers All" Block Tutorial. I filled it in with a permanent paint marker.  Easy, peasy!

Cupcakes are always a good idea, as well!

xoxo

Evey Owner/Creator, Evey's Creations Tel: 201-281-6696  http://sweetsongbird.eveyscreations.com FB: www.facebook.com/EveysCreations G+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/105370121686355288267/posts Twitter: @EveysCreations Instagram: @EveysCreations Hometalk: http://www.hometalk.com/eveya

Chalkboard Top Desk Tutorial

:) I have a confession to make, y'all.  I'm the girl you see stopping at dangerous intersections, streets and busy county roads attempting to haul off whatever curbside "treasure" or junk (and junk to me is AHH-mazing, by the way) and stuff it into my super deeeeee duper Mommy-van...yuuup! I'm THAT girl!  A badge I wear proudly.  A "picker", "dumpster diver".  You see, the word "Free" turns me into a crazed maniac, but can you blame me?! :) I believe in rescuing poor, mistreated, left for dead furniture and turning it into something amazing.  We all deserve a second chance, right?!  (Yes, I realize I'm personifying furniture.  Don't you JUDGE me!)

::Sigh::

I guess I should just dive right in, huh?  :)

Painted Desk Tutorial- Evey's Creations-Style!

First, you MUST be awesome enough to stalk local Facebook pages like my town has! (Go Deb, go!)

Then, when someone posts "Free furniture, curbside", you must RACE there BEFORE ANYONE ELSE DOES!  (Even if you ARE in the middle of a client's cake, that may or may not have had a frosting mishap, and your client is due in a few hours to claim said cake. Sorry, unnamed but AWESOME client, I did finish it though!)

BEFORE- Vintage Child's Desk (FREE)

Fact: Proper sanding DOES matter!  In order for your primer and paint to adhere properly, you must prepare the surface properly.  I rely on my handy-dandy power mouse sander for small pieces like this and always have a sanding block ready for those spots my power sander can't reach.  Though you don't have to sand down too much for paint jobs, you MUST completely sand down for stain jobs. 

So sand your piece of furniture properly.  If it's possible that you're as awesome as I am, do this step in a pretty dress and nice shoes while grooving to your iPod while waiting for everyone else to get ready for church! ;)

Clean your sanded piece thoroughly with a damp cloth.  Allow it to dry.

Time to prime.  I use both Kilz spray and traditional primer.  If spray priming, follow the directions on the can and make sure you shake the can VIGOROUSLY first for the duration of time stated on the paint can to avoid bumpy and grainy painting. Allow it to dry THOROUGHLY in between coats.  Sand with 220 sanding sponge, for a smooth finish.  I like the 3M brand.  Clean your piece again.  (I know, it's tedious BUT WELL WORTH IT!)

Now time to paint.  For this piece I used leftover free (Yes, I said free) flat Glidden paint from the vanity I redid last year.  The color is called "Driftwood Grey" and I LOVE it!  I used the dry brush method since I wanted to go for the aged, distressed look.  You can find that tutorial on this blog.  I like her video at the end.  :)

You can see the brush strokes if you look closely in this image. Yes, the type of brush you use DOES also matter.  Many people (bloggers) I know swear by the "Purdy Brush" brand and many others love "Annie Sloan's brushes" when using her chalk paints.  I like the "Purdy" brand, myself.

Now on to distressing.  Some people hate this look.  I LOVE it!

I used my 220 grit 3M sanding sponge to distress where a piece would naturally distress over time, such as corners and edges.  

:)  This piece makes me happy.

The last step should not be skipped unless you want your hard work to go kaput.  Seal it all with either a wax (I like the Minwax brand), or some polyurethane.  

For the top, I decided to use chalkboard paint.  If you know me, you know I LOVE chalkboards.  I used the Rustoleum brand.  (DON'T WAX OR SEAL THE CHALKBOARD PART!)

Tip: Let the paint FULLY dry in between coats.  For a smooth finish use a foam brush instead of a bristle one.  Also, it normally takes about 3-4 coats for full coverage.  Also, follow the can's instructions and "cure" the chalkboard once it's fully dry.  This simply means to take the side of a piece of chalk and rub it over the entire surface.  Let it sit overnight or according to the brand's instructions.  This ensures that your chalkboard will clean easily.

There you have it!  My Peanut AKA Aspieboy was THRILLED with his new desk!  I am, too!

xoxo,

Evey