I MADE MY OWN "SKINNY" JEANS

I have no idea why they call skinny jeans skinny jeans because nothing makes my normal size body look heavier than a pair of these bad boys!  Either I shop at all the wrong places or I am just not made to swear them, I could NOT find a pair that looked even half way decent on me!  They all made my butt look really flat or my legs looks large and totally look like I had "mom" jeans on, which wasn't the look I was going for.

I am all about cutting and sewing and doing whatever it takes to make something fit better in this new world of really odd fitting clothes.  I have taken in a lot of tops in the side and waist area because the new styles all look like maternity tops on me. Now it was time for the pants!

I have a handful (ok, about 15 pair) of jeans that I can't get rid of, they are either too tight and I AM going to get back into them or too long or too short or whatever.  They are ALL boot cut, which I totally prefer on my body.  But because I am evidently the only person in the world that does not have a pair of skinny jeans, I was thought I should try this route before I give up altogether.

I picked a few pair that looked good in the butt, (which really is the most important factor) but that I didn't mind tossing out if my experiment didn't work.


I put them on and going with the seam that is stitched on the INSIDE, determined where I was going to start taking them in and put a pin there and then again at the bottom.  I turned them inside out and with a sharpe, made a gradual line to the bottom hem.

My seamstress grandmother would kill me for my very unprofessional method but to be honest, I HATE SEWING andmy patience level is zero when it comes to these kind of projects.

I stitched along the lines I drew and actually cut off the hem so they they would be more comfortable zipped up in a tall boot, which is really the only way I was going to wear these, so I didn't really care about the bottom hem looking like crap...it's all about the butt!

Excuse my pictures in the kids bathroom, I really wasn't planning on doing a post/tutorial, I was just going to send these to my sis. But at least I wasn't standing on the toilet!

I really like how they all turned out.

SAVING THE "JUNK" FOR MY FAMILY

Ok, maybe this is not "junk", but certainly not what I would sell to a customer.  Is was pre-painted, something I typically shy away from and did not have rails, something I typically do not even look at.  But because the standards for myself are obviously WAAAAY lower than what I would want for a customer...It was perfect!!!

My girls are 9 and 11 and they share a room.  As you can imagine, storage is an issue.  They have great closet space, but the amount of t-shirts, pj pants, mismatched socks, tanks and underwear are CRAZY!!  Every few months I do a "ok, lets go through this stuff and get rid of what you don't want". They seem to only come across 1 or 2 items.  I don't get it.

This beauty sat over in my "what the hell am I getting myself into pile" for months.  I knew it wasn't up to most of my customers standards but look at those lines!!!  So pretty and unique.  I just couldn't part with it.

Their room is not lacking in color whatsoever, but there was no way I could put another creamy white dresser in their room.  It had to be (another) pop of color. I used BM- sweet vibrations.  Ever since I did a huge coffee table a few weeks back for a customer I have been dying to use this on a piece.  But I know that it's not the easiest to sell something with such a strong color, so I am glad I found piece for myself to use it on.

I did some distressing because I had a feeling that the because the drawers didn't have rails, they were going to get a little "naturally" distressed anyway.

And because I am cheap and didn't want to fill in holes for new hardware, I just refinished the existing hardware in white.  Which ended up being the perfect choice I think.

2 FUN NEW PIECES AND FIXING A BROKEN DRAWER

I love little accent pieces just as much a big substantial ones.  Fun and bold way to add great a pop of color to a room.  That's just what my customer was thinking as well.

This antique desk look great in with the modern yellow finish.

And I KNEW this guy was going to look awesome... sitting all alone in the corner of my "stash", waiting for someone to notice it's potential:)

Little gold "rub and buff" on the original dingy hardware and they look perfect with this piece!

I knew the desk was SUPER old and needed some TLC before I even got to sanding.  It became more apparent when I removed one of the drawers and it fell onto the floor into 5 pieces!!  OOPS!!!

Wood glue and a nail gun to the rescue.  It's really like a puzzle, dabbing wood glue in the groves, taping it back together and bungee strap it tight until it's completely dry.  If you have a nailer, throw in a few nails too.  But if you don't, the wood glue will work just fine:)

Super easy to fix a broken drawer.  I actually ended up wood gluing all the drawers, just in case.

All better!

Check out the "before" pics...how sad did they look!!

USING FINIALS AS DRESSER HARDWARE

I just finished this dresser for a customer and she was really interested in finding big fat ornate hardware...under $30 a piece. There are great pieces on line and at higher end hardware stores, but they get pretty pricey.  This might not be a problem if you only need one of 2, but 6 pieces, that can get a bit expensive.

I suggested looking at curtain rod finials, as I know they can get pretty big and funky.  Naturally, Hobby Lobby had just the piece she was looking for.  I simply found hardware screws large enough to fit the existing holes.

I also love the green olive color with brown glaze on top.  Completely changed the look of this piece!

Oh my....

NEW DINING TABLE AND CHAIRS SET

(SET IS SOLD)

I am just finishing up a project that I didn't really have time for, but just wanted to do because I KNEW how much crazy awesome potential it had!

I was actually going to bring it upstairs and do by photos with it staged in my dining room and thought that probably would not be a good idea.  If I set it up in there, I don't think I would be able to take it back out!!! SOOO PRETTY!

The before picture. They definitely needed some love and I got lots of love to give!

After the fun job of stripping the top, I put a couple coats of walnut stain.  I didn't want it to be too dark and blend in with the black base and chairs, but rich and pretty.

I really can't stand how cool these chairs are! So unique.  No way you will find about set like this. I knew I wanted a fabric with a pattern but because these chairs have so much detail, it had to be a pretty simple pattern to not compete too much.

Who doesn't love a classic chevron fabric?!?

COVERING UP A TRICKY FIXED PIECE ON YOUR FURNITURE AND MY NEW FAVORITE COLOR!

First I have to tell you how much I am LOVING this color!  This color is SW- Centenial Gold and is much deeper and prettier than these pictures show.  But because I obviously suck at using a camera...the color looks substantially lighter.  But still pretty!

This was originally an old radio cabinet and really has nice storage inside.  I believe my customer is going to use this to keep the towels in by the door leading to her hot tub...such a great idea!  

Love the turned legs and detail. 

Here is the before picture....BOOORING!

Here is my little "tip" for the day:)  When you have a fixed piece, such as this emblem that is on the inside of the cabinet door or any item that is not easily removable there is an easy way of covering it nicely.

  Simply put a layer of tape over the top, sealing the edges well.  Take a VERY SHARP razor blade (a dull one will just pull the tape) and cut along the edge.

Not rocket science, but hope it helps someone:)

THE PERFECT RED!

Red is super hard to get perfect.  Sometimes it can be too orange/tomatoeish, or maybe too bright or dark.  Unfortunatley, I have no idea what color this red is because we did a color match to an object without a color "name", but I would say that is is closest to SW-Stolen Kiss.

Nothing is better than a good "before" shot (which naturally,  I forgot to do for the nightstand). 

The nighstand is not actually an exact match to the dresser, but my customer did a little hunting and found a pretty close match.  I think she did good!

The existing hardware had to go...in the trash!  My customer was originally thinking of the classic cup pulls that are on the top drawer, but after seeing the pieces sprayed out, we thought a dark, rustic color would look best to go with the look she was shooting for in her sons bedroom.

These were found at Hobby Lobby and if you can get them 1/2 off, it's a great deal.  I love this hardware, but unfortunately the "rustic" nature of them tends to not have the holes PERFECTLY lined up, making for scarry hardware installation!  No wine for me tonight!  I need to THINK!!!!!

It's amazing how a boring traditional oak set can turn out so modern and beautiful! LOVE everything about it!

MY FAVORITE WOOD FILLERS AND TIPS FOR BETTER RESULTS

I have used a lot of different fillers, trying to find the miracle product but always go back to good ol' Elmers wood putty.  I am not crazy about the terrible NON air tight lid, but overall...it's a good product.

Because the lid is so bad I sometimes put a few drops of water inside before I put on the lid and use a rubberband to keep it tighter, but the best tip...just buy the small containers and put it in one of your own nice air tight containers.  Lasts MUCH longer.

This is another product that I really like too.  A few months back I was standing in the "filler" isle at Lowes and stuck up a conversation to two of the nicest old men who have been refinishing for years.  You can learn so much from older people who have years of experience!  And I love how they usually stick to the old school methods.  

These gentlemen highly recommended this product, Durham's,  for filling in deeper holes.  I LOVE that it will never dry out and that you can mix up as much or as little as you want.  I almost ALWAYS add too much water, but that's ok...just add more powder!  I think what I like most about it is that I love making little concoctions:)  I usually make too much and when I do, I run around my shop patching up everything I can see on other pieces that might need it too.  Hate to waste it. 

So remember...A LITTLE water and a LITTLE powder goes a LONG way!

Because this stuff dries FAST and HARD! It is perfect for that first coat of filling in old hardware holes.  I always to do a good first coat of this, getting it deep into the holes, not worring about it looking good yet, and let it dry, which does not take long.

I have learned that there is no sence in trying to get the holes filled in perfectly with one coat of any type of filler. It usually sinks in a bit or has air holes.  Best to accept the fact that it is a two step process and do it right.

After I let the Durham's dry, I do a nice, light coat of the Elmer wood filler, leaving only a little mound.  The less of this you use, the faster it will dry and the easier it will be to sand smooth.

Awesome results!

I had heard a lot about the product Bondo.  I really wanted to like it.  But I just don't:(  For me, it dries too fast and I find it is VERY difficult to sand out and doesn't give me the result I am looking for.  But it is fun to mix!

Another tip that might help...I like to use a straight edge of some sort (scrap wood) when filling in an area that is on an end or edge.  Just butt up the wood to area that needs filling and use to keep the filler nice and even.  Elmers (and not Durham's) works best for edges because Elmers is less brittle.

This nice clean edge is easier and faster to sand out evenly.