The Distressed Hutch

Ha! I have to laugh at this project every time I look at it! It was a joy to do... and alot more than I really asked for at this time in my life.

First of all, I decided to do it in the middle of our move. You know, when I thought it would be easy to just take everything out, pack up and paint it with two little ones on the run. Ya. Muuuhahaha!

Second, I ended up NOT liking the yellow I originally picked. (mustard yellow... my hubby hated it! lol. I wont even tell you what color he called it!)

And finally, it took alot longer than I expected... because of my crazy life and moving our family.

I LOVE IT THOUGH and wouldn't change a thing!

So you wonderful individuals out there who are looking for a way to spruce up some old furniture, take a look at this distressed look!

Materials:

Paint (2 colors semigloss), paint brush, screw driver, sand paper, cloth, SOS pad

Step 1. The Color

Originally I chose yellow. A country yellow. So I went to the hardware store to pick it out. LOVED IT!

RECOMMENDATION: Get those tiny test paint jars of a couple colors you like. Paint them on your project to see which one you favor. And viola! No headache.

I didn't like the yellow when I was done but it worked out to my benefit as I painted blue over it.

Step 2. Take Off Hardware

Take your drill and remove any hardware. Door knobs/hinges etc.

Step 3: Sand lightly and Rough it up

In order for your paint to stick, your going to sand the outside. It won't take much so don't worry about putting your back into it or taking layers off with sand paper. It's not necessary. Just a little sanding will do the trick.

Now, to rough it up you need your bag of screws and hardware. Remove the hinges from the bag. Seal. And start banging on your furniture with the bag of screws. This "ages" your furniture making it look distressed. It leaves little dents to add character.

Bang on edges where desired.

Step 4: Wipe Down

It's simple enough. Wipe off sawdust with cloth so it's ready to paint.

Step 5: Paint

Simple enough. Don't forget your paint cloths (it will get everywhere!) And don't forget to pretend your Karate Kid painting Mr. Miyagi's fence. I know Im crazy but I kept saying to myself, "Danielsan, it's all in da wrist....uuppp.... down........ verrry good!" to get me through hours of painting. Make sure your strokes are smooth and have no clumps, or drips. Don't let it sit very long if your working on making it smooth either.

Step 6: SOS

Once your paint is dry, take your SOS brillow pad (steel wool) and rub it all over the painted surface to remove any blemishes. Wipe clean with cloth.

Step 7: Paint Again with Second Color

Step 8: Sand Until it Pop's

Yes! You want to sand the edges until you see that yellow (or what have you)"pop." Where ever you want your first color to come through, sand it until it does. This is called distressing. Mmmmm... love it. I think this was my favorite part.

Step 9: Wax and Polish

Put a coat of this on it and let it sit for an hour or two. With an old towel or cloth polish it into the wood using circular motions. It should shine once its all rubbed in.

And that's it! Your done! Finally! Have fun distressing... and don't stress over your project... sorry for the bad photos...

Tie Dye Spider

Hello! So sorry it's been a while. Between packing up our entire house, playing with my babies, vacationing, hubby, living out of a suitcase, moving, unpacking, and adjusting to our new life away from everything we have known, I have had little time to blog. Scratch that! I have had NO time to blog let alone see what is going on out there in the world today. Well, Im glad to tell you that Immmm baaaaaack! So let's get started shall we!

Today Im going to show you how to do a spider tie dye! Ooooooooooooo! Get excited! It's oh so easy and oh so fun! This last camping vacation we all tie dyed so I took some shots! It was fun.... in a non-tree-hugging sort of way. :)

If you missed the first tie dying post, I recommend you click HERE

Materials:

-Dharma dye (your desired colors, you need at least 1 dark color for the spider)

-Soda Ash Fixative

-Dust Mask

-2 buckets (one for soda ash and one for rinsing water)

-8 oz squeeze bottles

-Cooling rack

-Old metal pot

-Paper Towels

-White shirt (onezies, T-shirt, kid shirt, whatever you want)

-Latex gloves (to protect your hands from being dyed)

-Rubber bands or string

-Gallon plastic freezer bags

- 1 Wooden Cloths pin

Now your going to follow all the necessary instructions as you did in my first tutorial (Mix dye, soak clothing in soda ash, and prepare a work surface).

The only thing you are going to do different is: tying the clothing and squirting the dye.

1. Tying the Spider:

After your material has soaked in the soda ash, ring out excess and lay on work surface.

Fold in half.........

Take your handy dandy cloths pin, clip the center of the shirt and roll it in a circular motion until you reach the end. (I used my fingertips, but a cloths pin works best!)

Once you wrap your circle in rubber bands or string, it's spider time!

2. Dying the Spider:

Now this is the fun part! Your going to grab your darkest color and work from the center until you get to the outside. Think Cinnamon rolls and you'll do fine! ;) See picture below for details.

Fill the empty white spots with a lighter color or two. Flip over gently and repeat the same dark pattern on other side (yes the dark lines should be the same or close to it on each side) Fill in with lighter color again.

Place in zip lock and let sit for 12-24 hours. Wash and tada! Spider Man! Or baby! Or what have you. Happy tie dying!

Oh My Nelly!

Oh my Nelly! It has been a while! Don't worry though. I'll be posting soon! (My Hutch and Tie Dye! Yay!)

If you didn't know, we have been living out of suitcases for the past few weeks. Im not complaining! I love vacationing! But moving in the process of vacationing is not so fun! We are basically up in the air right now. So, I apologize for the lack of blogging! Give me a little more time to settle down from our move this week and we will be golden! Until we're settled I hope you are all well out there!

More to come soon!!!!! Loves!

Rachel

Marble Tie Dye

Marble Tie Dye

So I know I lost my marbles for starting a painting project BEFORE we make the big move before my hubby starts school, BUT it sure will be cute once I finish it up. (Im going with the country yellow french distressed technique! Mmmm.... get excited!) So while you are waiting for my happy sun shiny yellow hutch to be done, here is something fun to do this summer with the kids! I'll start out with an easy one. (MORE TO COME....)

Marble Tie

Supplies:

-Dharma dye (your desired colors, I used dark purple and light purple)

-Soda Ash Fixative

-Dust Mask

-2 buckets (one for soda ash and one for rinsing water)

-8 oz squeeze bottles

-Cooling rack

-Old metal pot

-Paper Towels

-White shirt (onezies, T-shirt, kid shirt, whatever you want)

-Latex gloves (to protect your hands from being dyed)

-Rubber bands or string

-Gallon plastic freezer bags

-Marbles

Now tye dyeing is lots of fun! My family loves to do it! I think you can call us the tye dye family because of the many shirts we have made for family reunions and such. NOOOO!!! We are not hippies but just have alot of fun with it. It's kindof addicting and exciting to see the creations you make. Anywho, we love it!

1. Mix your Dye:

Put on your lovely mask and gloves baby! Lets get started. Combine water with dye gradually in a seprate measuring cup according to dye directions. (they vary but my favorite is Dharma) Pour into squeeze bottles and your ready to go!

2. The Soak:

Grab your bucket. Dissolve 1 Cup of Soda Ash Fixer per gallon of warm water. Soak your shirts (or whatever your tye dying) for about 15 minutes. The soda ash helps your clothing to take in the dye. Reuse until gone with all items your dying. After soaking remove clothing and squeeze out excess so that your garment is damp (not dripping).

3. Marble:

Lay shirt flat on table. Tie marbles onto shirt in whatever pattern you desire.

Then scrunch up the excess material around the marbles keeping it flat. Tie with string or rubber bands. I found the string to be more forgiving. It would stay in place when the rubber bands would slip off. Once tightly tied, place on clean cooling rack.

4. Work Surface:

Place a couple paper towels in the bottom of your old pot to abrorb extra dye and prevent splashing. Place cooling rack on top of pot (or old bowl, tupperware, etc.)

Place prepared shirt on top of rack and grab your squirt bottle of dye.

5. Squirting the Dye:

On this marbled onezie, put dark dye on the marbles. Then light dye on the rest. If you want more white in the shirt, DONT soak it with dye.

6. Zip it:

Place into Zip lock bag. Let sit for 12-24 hours to ensure it takes.

7. Undo it:

Undo ties and take out marbles. Wash and Viola! You have the cutest tie dye baby walking around!

Happy tie dyeing! 

The Hutch

Coming soon! The hutch project!

So we are getting ready to move and it's probably the worst time to even think about doing a project right now...... but every time I sit down at my kitchen table I can hear my hutch calling my name. Yup... I think it want's to be painted. Soooo, since it's a plain light wood color (blah!) with NO character whatsoever, I've decided to spruce it up a bit. (YAY!!!) Im thinking yellow. Ya, yellow is my favorite color so I think we have a winner there!

I have to take everything out of it anyway to pack right? It won't be a big deal..... first step. Packing up the dishes inside. Ooooooooooo...........

If I only had today...

Just a thought.

I was thinking about what it is like to be a Mommy. My sweet husband is working and I was just having a "Mommy Moment" while my boys play together.

Being a Mom is amazing. I never thought I could love so much in my life, but I do. I am a happy mother of 2 crazy boys! They bring an added zing to my life. I love them so much!

Yet, sometimes I let "things" get in the way of truly being a mom. I often strive to be the best I can each day, but you know.... some times you just have those days. The ones where you wish everything could be clean, orderly, tantrum-less, less chaotic..... Ha!

Well, I heard this song by Hilary Weeks and thought, "Ya! I want to be like that!"

If there were no more tomorrows

and I knew that I could not stay

I'd know how I'd spend every minute

If I only had today

I'd hold you and listen

I'd let the dishes sit in the sink

I'd tell you I love you over and over

and for once I'd just let the phone ring

and I'd remind you of Forever

and how our love would never change

If I only had today

Id wake up before the sun did

and Id watch as you quietly sleep

Id pray for time to move slowly

knowing the moment wont keep

all the gifts that heaven has given

every blessing thats come my way

wouldn't mean anything without you

So if I only had today

I'd hold you and listen

Id memorize every detail of your face

Id tell you I love you over and over

I wouldn't let excuses get in the way

Then I'd remind you of Forever

and how our love would never change

If I only had today........

Not like we all don't try to do it every day! Many of us have families, jobs, kids, crafts & hobbies and life that we are often catching up with..... BUT imagine..... if we truly took time out of our day to be moms! Not to just get through Motherhood, but to really ENJOY it! To be a Mom for our kids. To find joy in the hard moments and simply laugh instead! Taking every moment to teach, to prepare, to smile, to nurture, to bake, to sing, to love, to laugh, to kiss, to lift, to find joy, to snuggle, to play, and do more with our loved ones. I hope to. And if there are any of you out there that have mastered this, please tell me how you do it! Im all ears! Loves!

Rachel

Wicked!

Ok ladies! Sorry it's been a while but I'll post some new crafty business soon! In the mean time I figured Id update you! We recently had a girls night. You know, those nights where you go out with the girls only and have a break from the cute little kiddo's! Well, my girls and I headed to San Fran to see Wicked! WICKED!!! Whoooo Whooooo! And let me tell you, if you haven't seen the show.... GO! Go right now! Cause it is awesome! We had a blast! After getting lost, walking the Pier, eating clam chowder bowls and doughnuts, taking pictures, laughing and goofing off, and watching the show... we were wiped! It was so much fun though!