I am not sure the original purpose of this piece of furniture. Is it a stool, a plant stand, a one person table, or something else? I do not know. But when I found it sitting at the curb on garbage day, I thought this would make a great plant stand. That’s how my Rusty Plant Stand Makeover all started.

Once I brought it home, my first mission was rust removal.

I soaked a rag in white vinegar and wrapped the infested sections of the plant stand up with it. This is how it looked after three hours.

The rust was starting to “melt” away, but it took one more three hour wrapping session to rid the metal of the reddish orange coloring.

Next, I grabbed a can of white spray paint and freshened up the legs of the stand. For the top, which by the way is made out of some sort of cardboard composite stuff, I primed it and spray painted it navy blue for a pop of color. Do you like my small drop clothe? It was left over from our Dining Chairs Update.

Lookin’ good!

This was such an easy transformation. Even if I don’t know what it was suppose to be, it still turned out great! What do you think?
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Alright, I’ve got problems! But that’s a completely different story. For this post, I am just sharing a solution to a few kitchen decorating flaws my husband and I possess. We have had a blank wall in our kitchen pretty much the entire time we’ve lived here and could not seem to find anything that fit the space, our style, and price range. On a different note, we’d also relocated our microwave to the basement to save on kitchen counter space. So, the fix for these two ridiculous “problems” was to build a buffet table for our blank space that would also house the microwave. (I totally made that sound like I was a part of the building process, but honestly my husband, Adam, deserves all the building credit here.)

Adam generally followed the plans provided for free at Craftsman Drive with a few adjustments in lumber size and tools.

The building process only took a few hours and I am absolutely thrilled that he took the time to make this for us. It was something on my to-do list for a while, but I just couldn’t seem to find the time to fit it in.

This is the first project we have ever used a Countersink Drill Bit when drilling pilot holes. The results were amazing. No screw heads sticking our of the wood for this table! We wish we had had one of these magical bits while making our dining room table. If you have never used one before, I encourage you to try one on your next furniture building adventure.

After Adam put his blood, sweat, and tears into building this sturdy table, it was my turn to finish it off.

First, I primed the entire table.

Next, I used a natural bristle brush to paint on two coats of white paint.

Finally, 4 layers of Minwas Polycrylic were applied to the buffet using a synthetic bristle brush. This will provide protection against long-term normal wear and tear.

What do you think of this charming new piece?

I am head over heels for this beautiful addition to our kitchen. Simple yet functional! And on the plus side, there will be no more running up and down the stairs to the basement to warm up leftovers, as now the microwave has the perfect new home.

This is a re-post of one of my first projects for Elizabeth Joan Designs. The original content had been erased during our “Accidental Blog Deleting Incident of 2013.” These super easy DIY String Paintings were so much fun to make and are still hanging up lookin’ all cute in my bathroom. This is the type of project I feel anyone can pull off and I wanted to re-share the information with everyone in case you are looking for budget friendly artwork.

I used three separate methods for my wonderful works of art.

For the first painting, I simply wrapped a canvas with string creating horizontal, diagonal, and criss-crossed lines. I took a foam brush and used the string as a guide to paint the canvas.

My second technique was a little bit tricky.

First, I created a stamp by tightly wrapping the string around a block of wood and tapping the ends to the back.

Next, I used a foam brush to paint the home-made stamp.

Finally, I pressed the stamp firmly onto the canvas transferring the string design. I did this six different times rotating the stamp each time. Paint was reapplied in between pressings to ensure good stampage. (That’s a word. Right?)

*When using this technique, do not expect perfection or you will be extremely disappointed. It may take a little practiced to get the exact amount of paint figured out to make each pressing even.

Last but not least, here is how I made my free-hand string printing.

I dipped a long string into my chosen color of paint, carefully placed it onto the canvas, and repeated this several times until I was satisfied with my art. “Carefully” is the key word here for placing it on and taking it off.

*Warning: Haphazard string painting could lead to a mess.

What to you think? I love how these turned out! Cheap, fun and easy. My favorite kind of art!