Everyone needs a Bar



 

 



With all the crazy holiday shopping, cooking, wrapping, sending out cards, more shopping and more wrapping I'm already exhausted! I was way over due for some *ME* time. I'm sure I spend my "me time" a little different than  most. As much as I love relaxing in a bubble bath I love creating even more. My me time was going to consist of creating something for my very own and NOT to sell! That doesn't happen very often or ... at all actually! I had this piece lying for years...

When I bought it from my neighbor many years ago I loved it. The style was unique and well... what woman doesn't love margaritas! With my kitchen being somewhat smaller than what I'd like I had to get creative because I wanted the bar and I also needed the space for prepping and cooking. This was the perfect piece for doing so. Knowing the uses for this bar I made sure the top was going to be durable and ready to withstand much use. With the kitchen being the first rooom you see when you enter my home I also want it to be stylish.

PROCESS: First like most pieces it needed a light sanding so that the paint would stick better and rid of the many stains on the top. After sanding wipe with a tack cloth to clear your surface. I used BEHR paint and primer in one. I have used this paint several times and was astonished when it worked quite well! (I'm used to using primer separately... you get to skip a step using this paint!) If I wasn't doing all this in my kitchen I would have loved to use a sprayer for this project. The paint got very tedious with the many divots and crevices. I did two coats and let it dry completely. Now for the top I bought this...

 

 

I've wanted to use this many times before but it's a bit pricey for me. Just under $30 for 1 box. Depending on how thick you'd like your coverage to be you may need more than one box. I like it to be pretty thick so this one box did it for my small coverage area. It comes with clear directions so follow them carefully. Just make sure when you pick the super glaze up you also purchase containers for mixing (measurements need to be on the containers), and also mixing sticks. All the required items needed I purchased at my local Home Depot Store (www.homedepot.com). Now the stylish design on the top is actually fabric. I measured the top and cut the fabric to fit. I sprayed the back of the fabric with adhesive so when I poured the glaze over the fabric it didn't move. F.Y.I the super glaze does have a very strong oder so I do reccomend that you use it in a well ventilated area. I used painters tape around the egdges so the glaze wouldn't drip....

 

 

And finally the complete project when everything was dry and ready for use ...  

 

 

Room Make Over- An Office Transformation

So it's pretty much become a daily routine for me to find something around the house or even some room to redecorate (Yes, I’ve painted each room several times). I think that I get this from my dad. When I was young he would go from room to room redecorating and when he reached the last room he would just start over. Since this redecorating happens to often I'm on a VERY tight budget. I'm often finding ways to get stuff for FREE (tag sale leftovers, craigslist) and if it's not free well then it's pretty darn cheap (thrift stores). I'm a believer that anything can be recycled. When I moved my office from one room to another I decided that I wanted more vibrant colors incorporated with the room being smaller. So this is what I did...

       Key Lime Green!! It's such an invigorating color. It really does... somehow... help keep me motivated. These lamps were free from a friend who moved and wanted to trash them. They were once an ugly brown with even uglier off white marble shades. So all I did here was spray paint them! Rust-oleum is all I use for spray paint. The bases were done in metallic silver. The shades were a bit trickier because I had to stuff plastic bags on the insides and use painters tape to tape the edges so the paint didn't bleed on the inside. I used a Key Lime to spray the shades.

 

I live by the quote "Organization is Key" so I am constantly finding creative ways to organize EVERYTHING! So here we have a couple of accents vases. I use these for everything from a simple flower to spruce up the room (yes every now and then my boyfriend surprises me, but it has reverted to more of a then so I don't mind replacing real flower with fake one ;) to the obvious pens pencils and other office supplies. These were a great way to add color and not take up too much space.

 

  

Once again, back to the organization! I get a lot of both of these ^Bills ^ and ^Mail^ .. unfortunately. So to make my life easier I found the most convenient way to keep up with both. I also have a few more baskets for other business related paperwork and receipts. The baskets were from Joann’s and were a whopping 80% off! I customized them using scrapbooking materials and hot glued them on. You can get scrapbooking supplies at any craft store. I'm a fan of A.C Moore because I'll print a coupon for 50% off any regular priced item and just make frequent trips. It totally pays off!

 

I'm a corkboard hoarder. I use them at home and work so when I find one I don't let it go. There are so many ways to customize your corkboard. You can get fancy using anything from ribbons to fabric or stay simple and just use paint. I needed this one done pretty fast so I'm guilty of not giving my ultimate perfection here (as you can probably see). All this entire project needed was the three variety of colors and some painters tape. It’s the drying time that had me tapping my nails.  

 

And last we have these candle holders. I added these to the room for a more cozy and homely feel. I bought these on clearance at a store closing. They were more of a bronze and although I didn't mind the color it just wouldn't match with my new theme. So using the same metallic spray paint I updated the look. Candles are pretty cheap in a variety of stores so just keep your eyes peeled!

 

 

Easy Accent Jars

I am always looking for fast, easy, cheap (did I say cheap!) projects to help stage my larger pieces of furniture. Adding accent pieces can help others see an item in a way they wouldn’t have otherwise viewed it. And to me… the cheaper the better! So a great way to add some color would be these Bright Accent Jars. I save EVERY glass jar from the spaghetti sauce jar to the Starbucks Ice Coffee (saves my day) and even down to the small salsa jars. Variety is always better to me and you never know what you'll need it for!

 

This project is very simple. First you can sprits the glass bottles with a primer (for glass), RUSTOLEUM is my recommendation. Let dry. Drying time is important in between all coats for a smooth finish. Believe me! I’ve been in a rush many a times and was left with some unexpected surprises. Choose your colors. To me the brighter … the better. So I chose Rust-Oleum American Accents Ultra Cover 2X seaside, key lime, and real orange. Spray each bottle and don’t forget the inside (top only). You can spruce the jar up a bit using a simple clamp ($1.30 at hardware stores). I spray the clamps with the same three colors and and switched them up so they would pop. Some jars will come with added flare already but others (like my spaghetti jars) are quite plain. To add some quick detail I took a hot glue gun and wrote the famous words… *LIVE* LAUGH* and *LOVE* (before spray painting). There are many ways to spruce up any jars lying around the house so don't be afraid to play with some ideas!

 

And WALA! They are great for a variety of uses and add some pop of color! ENJOY!