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After nearly four months, I am nearing the end of my many furniture refinishing projects. So far, I have shared photos of my coffee table, the post for which doubles as a general tutorial, as well as the nightstand and bookshelf that Mr. Handsome built.Last week, I completed our dining table, and a few days ago, I finished the third chair, out of four.
We had an unexpected cold snap in late January and early February, so I worked on the furniture indoors and then hauled it out to our heated shed to allow it to dry. But by the second week of February, the weather had turned unusually warm, with a few days hitting 80F (26C), so I was able to do the bulk of the work outdoors.
My second project was a nightstand that Mr. Handsome made in high school wood shop class.
After refinishing a small entertainment stand that I purchased on Facebook Marketplace for $25, I finally felt skilled enough to tackle our dining room table (pictures coming soon). Now I’m working my way through our four dining chairs, which are bar stool height and have curved backs that make them quite challenging to sand and stain. I also have a couple other pieces that I’m hoping to refinish, including an end table and a stool.
You might remember my post about the free bookshelf I received from Mr. Handsome’s aunt in 2015. It has served us well for two and a half years, but our ever-expanding book collection has outgrown it. I spent quite a bit of time searching for a solid wood bookshelf that I could refinish, but I couldn’t find anything that worked.
For Valentine’s Day, my wonderful Mr. Handsome offered to make me a bookshelf! He constructed the entire thing, complete with routed edges, using two slabs of wood that we purchased from a wood supplier. The shelf took the better part of two days to build, and when it was finished, I did the staining, using the same method and materials explained in my coffee table post.
Mr. Handsome plans to write up a tutorial for his DIY bookshelf, but I wanted to give you a sneak peek.
Last summer, my sister-in-law (the one who married Mr. Handsome’s youngest brother one year ago) found an amazing deal at Goodwill: a large, solid wood coffee table for $8. It was an ugly, faded red color and was quite beat up, but the price was right, so she bought it with plans to refinish it.
A few days later, they were preparing to host four guests in their tiny, one-bedroom apartment, so my brother-in-law dropped the table off at our house. He said it was temporary, but I think he secretly hoped it would never make its way back to their place. (He’s a bit of a minimalist.)
Fast-forward to last week. It had been seven months, and the coffee table was still with us. (It lived under our covered back porch because it was just too ugly for me to allow it inside.) I looked at it one day and decided that it had been at our home long enough that it was officially ours. We didn’t have a coffee table, so I set to work fixing it up.
I’ll admit that this was my first furniture refinishing project. Before getting started, I read articles online, spoke with a woodworker friend, and talked to the friendly folks at The Home Depot. The project took about 10 hours and a lot of elbow grease, but the finished product turned out better than I could have imagined. I also didn’t have to go to the gym for a week because sanding and applying stain and polyurethane was enough of a workout, so that was a plus!
My first step was sanding the entire table with #80 sandpaper and then wiping all the sawdust away with a damp cloth. After the old finish was removed, I followed with #220 sandpaper and then wiped it down again. Below is what the table looked like when I was done. I was tempted to skip the stain and go right to the polyurethane, but I knew the light color wouldn’t match our decor.
When the table was completely dry, I applied Minwax Water Based Pre-Stain Wood Conditioner, according to the instructions on the can. The next step was the Minwax Wood Finish Penetrating Oil Based Stain (Dark Walnut 2716). I applied 2 coats, also according to the instructions on the can. The first was fairly thick because I wanted a nice, dark color, so I allowed it to dry for 24 hours. The second was thinner, so it only needed to dry for 6 hours.
The last step was the Minwax Fast-Drying Polyurethane (Clear Satin), according to the instructions on the can. I applied 3 coats using foam brushes and waiting about 4 hours between each coat.
I was so pleased with the results that I went out and bought an inexpensive random orbital sander and started another refinishing project.
In addition to the above-mentioned sandpaper, conditioner, stain, and polyurethane, I used plastic drop cloths, a mask and gloves specifically for strong chemicals, eye protection, a paint can opener, a paint stir stick, and several foam brushes in different sizes (for best results, use a new one for every step). You’ll also want to wear old clothes that you don’t care about.
As promised, I have written up my Christmas wreath tutorial. Whether you’re looking for a holiday craft to do with friends, homemade gift ideas, or a decoration to “spruce up” (no pun intended) your front door, you’re going to love this tutorial.
Just take it slow on your first try, and you’ll find that these wreaths are far from difficult to make. If you run into a problem, you can always remove the wire, burlap, and ribbon and start over. Even if you do this craft with several other people and all use the same materials, each person’s wreath will be uniquely different.
Materials:
12-inch wire wreath form
15 feet of 5.5-inch-wide burlap ribbon (not wire-edged)
Wire-edged accent ribbon* (2 or 2.5-inch wide is ideal)
Floral wire
Wire cutters
Wire-edged ribbon for bow (2 or 2.5 inch-wide is ideal)
Embellishments for your wreath (optional)**
Glue gun
Wreath hanger
*You can use as little or as much accent ribbon as you desire, but you likely won’t need anywhere near a full roll.
**Ideas for embellishments include pine cones, ornaments, garland, artificial cranberries, and artificial greenery. Most craft stores have tons of options in their Christmas section. Hobby Lobby has an entire aisle devoted to such items.
Instructions:
Use a piece of floral wire to securely anchor the end of your burlap ribbon to the wire wreath form.
Leaving excess burlap, secure burlap with another piece of floral wire 3 to 5 inches from the first one.
As you go along, be sure to wrap the wire tightly around the burlap, and then wrap any excess wire along the back of the wreath form.
Continue once around the wreath form. Feel free to vary the distance between the wire pieces or keep the distance the same throughout. It’s entirely up to you. There’s no wrong way to make a burlap wreath.
Once you have gone around one full time, go around a second time to fill it out.
If you think your wreath needs more burlap, feel free to go around a third time.
When you’re done, securely anchor the end of the burlap to the wreath form with a piece of wire.
Do the same thing with your accent ribbon. Remember, you can use as much or as little as you want, depending on the look you are going for. You can wrap in the ribbon in the same direction as the burlap, or you can wrap it as I have done below:
Be sure to secure your ribbon to the wreath form with pieces of wire.
To make a bow, let out a piece of ribbon the length you want your tail to be, and then make a loop (making sure the design is facing out). Pinch the ribbon with your thumb and forefinger.
Twist the ribbon so the design is still facing out, make a second loop, and pinch the ribbon together.
Repeat for as many loops as you desire. I did six. When you’re finished, let out enough ribbon for the second tail, and cut. Use a piece of floral wire to tightly hold the center of the bow (where you have been pinching) together. If your bow doesn’t turn out the way you envisioned, don’t be afraid to start over. If you need more help, YouTube has tons of Christmas bow tutorials.
Add your embellishments. If they are on wire sticks, wrap the wire sticks around the back of the wreath form, and then secure with a long piece of floral wire. Secure your bow using floral wire. Next, you’ll want to heat up your glue gun and use glue to anchor the embellishments and bow (making sure the glue is not visible from the front).
When your wreath is finished, you’ll want to go over all the floral wire and burlap/ribbon ends with the glue gun. This will help keep them in place and ensure that the wire does not scratch the door or wall where you hang your wreath.
To keep the tails of the bow from fraying, I rolled the ends up just a bit and gently used a tiny dab of glue from the glue gun to keep them from unrolling.
Hang your finished product on the wall, or use a wreath hanger to hang it on a door.
Feel free to choose another holiday word, such as Noel, Rejoice, Hope, Advent, Jolly, or Holly. If you’re feeling really crafty (and have a lot of Mason jars lying around), try Merry Christmas or Visions of Sugar Plumbs…Okay, that might be a bit excessive.
If you make these lanterns and want to take a minute to email me your photos, I would love to see them!
Another day, another party hosted by Anne the party planner. This summer, I was helping brainstorm ideas for her son’s first birthday party. We both agreed that “Turning One Is Fun” is corny and overdone. Rather than a rhyming theme, I came up with the idea of doing something with Legos, and Anne loved that.
Fast-forward a few months, and she just pulled off the absolute cutest Lego-themed party (scroll down for photos). Below are the links to pictures from other parties Anne has planned:
Nursing/Healthcare Themed Party
Turning 3 Under the Sea
Fiesta-Themed Gender Reveal Party
Let Love Grow Bridal Shower
Turning 2 With Winnie the Pooh
Pink and Blue Gender Reveal Party
Fall-Themed Bridal Shower
Love Is Brewing Wedding Shower
The Lego party was an outdoor gathering, to which Anne invited family and a few close friends.
Anne and her husband served Lego pizza and made a fire for guests to roast hotdogs.
Lego character balloons…
They did a cake smash, but the birthday boy wasn’t too into it. He just sat calmly and picked at the icing.
Lego sugar cookies…
Lego rice krispie marshmallow treats
Lemonade in a Lego face pitcher…
Cute decor…But in all seriousness, has anyone ever stepped on a Lego in bare feet? It’s extremely painful. Walking across Legos is no easy feat!
Table decor…
Anyone seen The Lego Movie? Be sure to fast-forward through the “Everything is Awesome” song, or you will have it playing in your head for days.
Lego napkin holder…
Plastic cutlery in colorful cups…
Lego plate holders…
Guess how many Legos game…
First-year milestones…
More decor…
Life-sized Legos (boxes covered in butcher paper)…
Gear-shaped decorations…
My party-planning sister-in-law, Anne, recently decided to host a tea for two friends who passed their nursing board exams. Per her usual self, she wanted to do a healthcare theme. The results were quite clever! These ideas could be replicated for a party for anyone in the healthcare field.
Last year, I posted photos from my niece’s “Turning Two with Winnie the Pooh” birthday party.A few months ago, my sister-in-law Anne texted me and told me that she was planning a third birthday party for her daughter and needed a catchy theme. She was tickled with my Winnie the Pooh idea last year and was looking for another cute suggestion.
I mulled it over in my mind for about five minutes, thinking about words that rhyme with three, and came up with “Turning Three Under the Sea.” Anne was thrilled, and she started planning immediately.
The party was a huge success, which didn’t surprise me at all because Anne is Miss Party Planning Extraordinaire. Everyone met at the local family aquatic center to swim and then headed over to a park to eat. Here are some photos:
Sweet Sea Tea
It’s a boy!
Mother’s Day is just around the corner. How will you honor the special women in your life?
Mr. Handsome’s grandma led guests in this creative game at an early Mother’s Day tea. I wasn’t able to attend, but she emailed me a copy so I could share it with my readers.
Try your hand at the game, and let me know how you did in the comments section. (The answers are listed below the game.)
1. Mother _____________ No bone for her dog
2. Mother ______________ A fowl start to the game
3. Mother ________________ A rich find in mining
4. Mother ________________ Mother of the weather
5. Mother _____ _______ The question asked by Shakespeare’s Hamlet
6. Mother ______ ________ A game in which you must ask permission
7. Mother ________________ The Supreme Court decides this
8. Mother ________________ Mother recognized for helping others
9. Mother of ____________ A substance used in jewelry found in a shell
10. Mother ______________ Mother of the planet
11._____________Mother England’s monarch
12. Mother ______________ The head of a Christian order for females
13. ____________ Mother A famous art piece
14. ____________Mother Another word for stair
15. Mommy ____________ Joan Crawford
16. ____________mother Deity
17. ____________mother Mother’s mother
18. Mother_____________ A location mentioned in rap music
19. ___________________ The best mother in the world.
1. Mother Hubbard
2. Mother Goose
3. Mother Lode
4. Mother Nature
5. Mother To Be
6. Mother May I?
7. Mother-In-Law
8. Mother Teresa
9. Mother of Pearl
10. Mother Earth
11. Queen Mother
12. Mother Superior
13. Whistler’s Mother
14. Step-Mother
15. Mommy Dearest
16. Godmother
17. Grandmother
18. Motherhood
19. Your own mother
