DIY Tutorials

DIY Preschool Counting Cards Post

**************************************************************************************************************

DIY Custom Window Shades:

I have a gross confession. For the past year or so {ever since we moved here} the window covering in Little’s room has been a disgustingly colored fleece blanket pinned up over the window a la trashy style to keep the sun out of the room during his naps. It was lovely. Believe me. Martha would be so proud.

I’ve had this project on my back burner for a while and finally got it done a couple of weekends ago, and it looks so good!

I’m going to sew a simple valance in a coordinating fabric. But here’s what you’ll need for this project:

A cotton fabric in a print you like. I bought 2 yards.
Spray adhesive. I found this at Joann’s Fabrics
Blackout window shades. The kind that pull down and adjust to the size of window you need. These were $8 at Walmart.

Here’s whatcha do!

Measure your window and determine how much or how little the shade needs to be adjusted to fit. These shades are SO easy to adjust.
Measure your shade and cut fabric accordingly. I did not cover the entire shade. I covered it just enough so that when it’s pulled down completely over the window, the fabric shows.
The spray part was frustrating. It took husband’s help to get this right. We sprayed the back of the fabric and the surface of the shade and affixed the fabric to the shade. I left it on the front porch to try for an hour.
Hang your shade and enjoy! It completely blocks out the sun during his nap time, and looks like a custom shade!

Total project cost: $22

********************************************************

DIY Dresser/Changing Table Project:

My motto with this kind of stuff is: If I can do it, you can do it. I want to say that I had the idea to refinish and repurpose an old dresser a loooonnnng time ago, but had a hard time finding the right dresser. I found the dresser on Craig’s List for $50, and was inspired by Southern Lovely’s dresser re-do, because her dresser find looks incredibly similar to the one we found!

Our supplies:

Wood glue {for any repairs}, primer, paint, enamle, new hardware. Not pictured: Sand paper, paint for hardware {if desired}.

The dresser:

Before: Craig’s List dresser. Yikes.

The help:

Have your two year old sand that sucka down. It may take him a while. Expect it to. Their tiny hands are great for getting in the smallest crevices though, so you won’t regret the use of child labor one bit. Enjoy some coffee.

Take Breaks:

Take breaks often to hop around the front porch chasing frogs that came out to enjoy the morning rain. Ribbit at them loudly. They like this.

We used 3 grades of sandpaper to really get it smooth. You do what works for you and your time.

We used 2 electrical sanders to make the job go faster, but still had to sand the tiny nooks and crannies of the drawers by hand.

Time Freeze Moment:

Little boy wearing his swim diapers and a Bird Flu mask on his head, happily helping mommy and daddy.

After sanding, we primed all the pieces for painting with one layer of white Primer.

Primed and ready for painting.

We let that dry according to whatever the can said, and in the meantime we painted our hardware. To save money, we purchased the cheap $1.50 wooden knobs at Home Depot and painted them a happy complimentary color.

Once dried, we also sprayed these with clear gloss enamel.

Following the can’s directions, we painted the main body and the drawers a “Summer squash” yellow and sealed it with several coats of clear gloss enamel to withstand baby and toddler wear and tear!

Dry in a non-windy place so they aren’t covered in dirt when you’re done.

And the final reveal! I bought a light green terry cloth diaper changing pad cover at Baby’s R Us on sale and found that fun square-shade Target brand lamp brand new for $6 at Good Will.

New addition.

Right side is Little Bug’s clothes, left side is baby sister’s growing stash and the center drawers keep the diapers, wipes and creams out of sight.

So, what do you think? For around $100, we combined a space-hogging old dresser and a dilapidated changing table into one space saving and organized piece. It also adds a bright cheeriness to the room!