“..From the Chandelierrrr”

The title of this blog is a newer song reference, in case you are confused.  If you do not know this song then, do not worry, in my opinion you are not missing out.  It is one of those songs that will get stuck in your head all day!  Especially, when you are working on a chandelier!! Then you will absolutely feel the need to sing and it will drive you crazy.  And then, your son will start singing it at the time when it finally leaves your head and it will get stuck back up there yet again.

I knew right away, when my baby girl was finally going to have a room of her own, that I wanted to put a chandelier in it.  One wonderful thing about having a daughter for me is that all my hidden girly girlness can have an outlet.  I have never been much of a girly girl and still don’t like a lot of frill or bright colors but goodness, the enjoyment I get out of dressing up my little lady and making a girly room tells me that I am way more girly than I thought.

Here is the light that was there. 

Since I have, in case you couldn't tell, been trying to redo everything in our home that we have been in for only a month, I have had to make sure that I make every project as cheap as possible.  I had been looking online at chandeliers for Adelaide (sweet 10 month old daughter) since we started house hunting.  

I settled on a small basic one from IKEA http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/20089464/ since I couldn't even find a reasonable one to make over.   This one was super simple but added the bit of bling that I wanted. When I finally decided to buy it, I went to the store and it was out of stock.  I continued to check online for two weeks to see if it was back in stock with no luck.

After that I started looking again.  I really couldn't justify dropping too much money on a chandelier, so I was mostly looking on local Facebook sale pages.  Finally, I gave up and posted on our local site asking if anyone had a simple chandelier that they would sell me.  Right away, one of my neighbors from when I was a kid messaged me that she had one.  Done. 

Here it is! 

I ordered two packs of acrylic chandelier crystals.  I was really surprised at how cheap these were on Amazon and how nice they looked! Tear Drop Crystals

I began by doing a light sanding all over the chandelier with just a piece of sandpaper. I used 140 grit but anything that will rough up the surface a bit will be fine.  Then, I wiped the whole thing down. I also, stuck a piece of painters tape over each “candlestick”.

I hung the chandelier on a hook on a shelf in my garage with a drop cloth hung behind it and draped below.   

I used this really cheap white spray paint.  It was around $3. (Just in case you do not read any further, I do not recommend this kind)

I sprayed and sprayed.  This was one  that you have to shake a lot and can’t tilt at all or it won’t spray.  I actually ended up using the whole can!  With Rust-oleum I am not even on my second can after doing a bunch of hardware, doorknobs and a light fixture.  

It did come out nice.  I let it sit for about a half hour before I began hanging the crystals. The crystals I used came apart by hand very easy.  They have metal rings between each crystal that you can just pull apart to attach however you wish. 

Now for the fun part!  I didn't realize switching out fixtures would be so easy.  It is really not as scary as I thought.  Thanks to my Dad who Facetimed with me through the process, I have changing light fixtures down!  Thanks Dad! With light fixtures, you don’t have to turn the breaker off.  As long as the light switch stays off you will not be in danger of getting shocked. An electrician might suggest otherwise.  I do not know, since I am not an electrician but I am still alive and so is my Dad who has changed a ton of fixtures in his life.  I suggest that you put tape over the switches if you are not the only one home. You definitely do not want someone flicking the light on while you are changing a fixture. 

                Once the switch is off, you can start taking the old fixture down.  Ceiling fans can be tricky because of how they are put together (not sure if this is with all fans). With this fan I had to take it all apart to get it down.  

As you can see above, I had to take all the blades off, the shade off and the motor off before I could get to where this connected to the ceiling. I might post a tutorial about how to switch out fixtures at a later time.

I found proof that the ceilings were once white.  Uhh.  This is still not a project for today.  Maybe next week I will paint them all white again…maybe. Seriously, if anyone is passionate about painting ceilings, I will let you paint mine!

This did make it so I had an awkward white spot on my ceiling.  Darn, I needed a ceiling medallion to cover it. J I grabbed one of these at Home Depot. Medallian.

I am very happy with how this came out.  Adelaide seems to like it too J

What I Would Do Different:

-I would use Rust-oleum.  The spray paint I used was definitely worth the cheap price I paid but not only is Rust-oleum easier to use, it also goes a lot further, works a lot better and is a very similar price! Rust-oleum ends up a lot cheaper if you have more than one project.

-If given the choice, I would have chosen a bit smaller of a chandelier. This one looks great but is a bit larger than I would have wanted for this space.  I actually think that if I colored it different it would look awesome in the master bedroom.  I might end up spraying it dark and putting a white shade around it and then putting it in the master.  Or putting a shade around it and keeping it in Adelaide's room.  Hmmm. We will see.  

In Conclusion:

Light fixtures are so much fun to make over.  I really think that you could make over or update almost any fixture out there!  It is cheap too!  I bought this chandelier for $20 and spent about $10 on supplies.  Not bad for $30! 

Thanks for reading!  Please feel free to comment or ask questions!

Erica

A Crib Makeover!

A wonderful co-worker bought this crib for me when I was expecting my first.  It was a not real wood, Wal-Mart one.  The crib was the one essential we were not gifted.  Anyway, this crib sure served its purpose with my son; however, he beat it up!  Little wild thing that he is.  The whole side had scraps all along from where he chewed it up. Yes, chewed it!  Some babies do that evidently! I noticed he had been chewing a bit too late and he probably ate more fake wood then he should of.  Live and learn, right?  So here is the crib.  In true Ericaness I forgot to take a picture before I disassembled the crib. I was too excited!!!

 

 I finally decided to try Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.  I was hesitant because pins I have seen often look way too distressed for me.  I like the distressed look, I do, but some pieces seem to be trying too hard :).   After lots of research, I decided to give it a go.  I realized the versatility and that I can distress it if I want.  I really loved the mat finish.  Also, I learned I didn't have to sand! Umm sold.  You cannot get this paint on Amazon or in most stores.  Annie Sloan likes to sell in small local shops.  You can order from them or find a shop on her site http://www.anniesloan.com/  

I walked into my local store with an idea in my head.  I was going to paint the room a light gray, have a white crib to match the furniture and have purple accents with a chandelier.  I go into the store and right away see a piece done in a light tealish color (Duck Egg Blue) up against a gray wall.  It was all over.  White was suddenly way too boring.  With the prices of Annie Sloan (around $30 for a small can of paint and another $30 for wax) I was not about to leave that store with boring white.  Annie Sloan has very few colors but the wonderful thing is that her colors are absolutely gorgeous! If you are not so good at picking out colors then you can pretty much rest assure that if you just pick one of her colors that makes you smile then your good to go. (Well there is a yellowish color that I am not too keen on but yellow and I don't always get along) Fitting it with your room or decor is another story...but your piece will look great!

I got to work sanding and then washing the crib.  I only sanded the parts of the crib that had chew marks with my new favorite little toy.  A Black and Decker Mouse Sander.  Cleaning wipes such as Clorox Disinfecting Wipes (or any kind you like) work great and are super easy.  I did not have any on hand so I used a little dish soap and water.  I used two tubs.  One to wash and one for rinsing.

I love my new toy!  Felt all powerful with my little sander ;)

 I did not buy the fancy brushes.  I am sure they are wonderful but I had spent enough!  I started painting and this stuff covers incredibly.  The paint hardly has a smell to it.  Once it was painted, I sealed it with the Annie Sloan clear wax.  Just rub it all over your piece with a tightly woven piece of cotton.  I used old burp cloths. Of course, you can buy the official stuff for waxing that Annie sells but we all have old T-shirts, underwear whatever. The wax stinks!  It is strong! If you are doing this inside make sure that your room is very well ventilated and do not do this with children running around. 

  Here is the finished project.
 

 I love, love, love this crib.  I still have to get a chandelier and the other girly touches in here but I love this space.  I told my husband I might need to make this my room :) He wasn't OK with that. 

I got the pretty lacy curtains from IKEA.  Nice and long and so beautiful.  Here they are! http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/20112011/  They are cheap too!!!!!Sorry for the random curtain rant :)

What I would do different-  

I would be to be in a better ventilated area with the waxing.  Pretty sure I got a little high....but hey at least my kids weren't around!

Also I would be more thorough with the wax.  It looks like I missed a couple spots.  Not a big deal and I will go back and touch up.  The only problem is it takes a good 30 plus hours to seal once you wax. Annie says that you can use the furniture right away but the wax isn't fully ready for 30 days.  Yes days.  It seems ready after an hour. With it being a crib I would wait before putting baby girl back in.  

I might have considered making my own Chalk Paint and just matching the color but in all honesty it was not only easier to just buy Annie Sloan. I also really like to support little local shops so I am happy to once in a while pay a little more to do so. I will make Chalk Paint when I do my sons dresser so stay tuned for that experiment.

I might....might distress this a little.  I can't decide!!!!! For now I am happy and really if I do distress this and hate it then it would be easy enough to do a quick coat over it to bring it back to this.

Thanks for reading!

Erica

Armoire and Night Stand

These two pieces were my grandparents.  I love the idea of having furniture that was used by loved ones but do not love the idea so much of ugly furniture.  I know, so shallow.  I can't help it I am way to visual for my own good!!!  I am really bad at remembering to take a picture before I start a project.  I get way to excited to start!  I remembered after removing some hardware....and starting on one of the drawers of the night stand.

There was an old Culligan Coaster that had been glued to the top of this night stand.   My grandpa worked for Culligan Water.  My aunt speculates that he had been getting in trouble by my Grandma for not using a coaster and leaving a ring or marking it up from his cigars so he  glued a coaster on.  :) Sounds about right.



 

I started with the hardware. First, I removed it all and scratched it up with some sandpaper.  I then primed it (any primer will do). I then sprayed it down with the Rust-oleum metalic spray. I was planning to buy new hardware but then discovered this.   Sometimes it pays to be cheap!!


This stuff is AMAZING!  I am now using it all the time in our new house.  Doorknobs. Fixtures. Whatever.  More of that to come in my later blogs. 

Next step,  I lightly sanded the furniture.  Be sure to wash your furniture well!!! Especially the old stuff.  Primed with the same primer. No dry time needed because as soon as I was done priming where I started was dry.  Make sure to remove the drawers to avoid unnecessary sticking and headaches. Two coats paint and......



Finished Results!!

 My little guy was so proud of his mama :)   I love these pieces now!!! I hope to use them for years to come.  The great thing about refinishing furniture is that I know when styles change and these are suddenly so 2015 I can just refinish them again!!!!!!!! AMAZING!

What I would do different

As stated in my last blog...chalk paint.  Normal white paint worked fine but chalk paint is more pleasant to work with.

I would have scrubbed really hard when cleaning.   I did just a wipe down but should have cleaned it a bit more.  Only trouble this caused was needing a third coat in spots.  All needed two coats.

I can't even imagine loving furniture more then I love these pieces in my baby girls room.  She seems to like them too!!!