Happy Memorial Day weekend! So grateful for this time of year and to live in the land of the free.

The Coffee Table Project. {Before and After DIY}

The thing about blogs and pinterest and all these online DIYers, is that when you read them, you tend to get big ideas. Ideas that are so big that when you are in the middle of them you think, "why the heck did I think this was a good idea? Now I know why they just painted this thing black. This is a big headache and it's probably going to only be a week before my kids scratch it, knick it, and chip it." Well, either way, I did it. I love the way it looks now. But I think next time, I'll just wait till I'm rich and have money to buy exactly what I want! Sorry, if you were looking for DIY inspiration, this probably isn't the best post :) But I don't like to paint or stain furniture in the first place, so I don't know why I thought stripping and refinishing would be any better. So hopefully you are better at this stuff than me!

We got this coffee table second hand from some friends. It went to my husband's office, then we inherited it when his office closed. Which I was really excited about since we haven't had a coffee table for 5 years and this one is solid wood and substantial. The black paint they had done over the original finish was chipping and peeling so I figured it was time for this table to get a new life. After I saw someone do this on a blog, then read about it on ehow, it sounded easy peasy. So I read all the instructions and got some stripper from the hardware store. 

Here is the table BEFORE:

After I put the first coat of stripper on, I forgot to read the part that said "do not do in direct sunlight." OOps. It dried right up and didn't strip. So then I moved it to the shade and tried again. It worked, a little. So then I applied it again, and again. And then again in certain stubborn spots, using almost the whole can. Then I took it into the garage because I realized this was not going to happen in one day. In the garage I added some more stripper to certain spots again. Then I sanded the top. Originally I wanted to stain the entire thing a lovely brown. After stripping the top I realized it was going to be near impossible to get it all off the legs and curves and lines and grooves, so I gave up on that. So I sanded what I could of the rest to paint over.

Here it is DURING:

I used some leftover stain we had from a dresser then bought a little can of paint mixed "Wedding Cake" from True Value. It's a lovely delicious white with a hint of buttercream. (haha. Cake? Buttercream?) A n y w a y s..... I put 3 coats of stain and 4 coats of paint on it, followed by a can of glossy polyeurethane I found in our garage. I love the way it turned out (after several weeks!) and I have no idea how long the finish will hold out, but it's good enough. The total cost for this project was about $12, $8 for the stripper and $4 for the paint, the stripping knife, sander, sandpaper, sponge brushes and poly I already had.

Here she is AFTER:

What do you think? I like it so much I thought it might look cute to paint another one of our tables all white on the bottom.... BUT, let's not get any more crazy ideas.

Have a great weekend :)

Adding link to http://www.lizmarieblog.com/2014/05/inspire-please-linky-party-9/
http://thriftydecorchick.blogspot.com/2014/06/june-before-and-after.html

A Happy Mother's Day, What I Read, and What I'm Reading Next

There are two things I really, really like to have for Mother's Day: Breakfast in Bed....

.... and a Book. A book to sit and read all day with no interruptions, no guilt, and nothing else to do. It's awesome :) This year, I chose to read "Hatchet," a Newberry honor book by Gary Paulsen for young readers. My husband suggested it, as it was "the book that changed his life" in 5th grade.

The official summary is "After a plane crash, thirteen-year-old Brian spends fifty-four days in the wilderness, learning to survive initially with only the aid of a hatchet given by his mother, and learning also to survive his parents' divorce."

I really liked this book. It is an easy read, I read it all today. It is adventurous, suspenseful, and enlightening. You feel like you are there, with him in the wilderness. It's awesome to see him learn to survive and live off the land and it's actually a little unbelievably sad when it comes to an end and you think of how outside of living in the wild, how easily all these crucial things come to us: fire, food, shelter, that we all take so much for granted.

My next book is "Spirit Animals" by Brandon Mull. I haven't read any of his books but heard they were good. This one was recommended to me by my third-grader, who reads at about a 2 grades higher level :) I have already read the first 2 chapters and am intrigued.

I hope you had a Happy Mother's Day!

May Teacher & Volunteer Appreciation Idea {end of school year gift}

This month's teacher appreciation also included a year end gift for all the parent volunteers. I needed something cheap and easy for mass production (38 staff members and 50 volunteers). Did you know that Walmart sells 6 packs of full sized candy bars for less than $4??? Super awesome, super easy, super cheap. I typed up a tag in a word document, hole punched, cut, tied, done.

Done till next school year, that is!!!