DIY: Plant Stand Makeover

Thrifting is all about the hunt. Truth be told, I've spent a couple of years looking for a specific item. Sure, I could go purchase it new from a big box store or even look on eBay, but the reality is that the hunt is more exciting than finding the item. Sometimes I even find what I'm looking for and decide to be picky and pass that particular product over to find one in better shape. 

This spring I took my mom antiquing, or "teeking" as my grandmother calls it. It's something that we both enjoy and it's a good excuse to spend some quality time together. While out and about in some unchartered teeking territory, we came upon not only a humble little shop, but a honey hole of inexpensive and unique items.

The only find I'm going to blabber on about today is this $7 plant stand. It was handmade by some form of carpenter, who knows how long ago. I was immediately drawn to the size (which would pair well with a taller stand and a ground-level pot) and the fun shape.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that all this little gem needed was a fresh coat of paint and new home. Both are things that I happen to be able to provide.

I made quick stop in the paint aisle during my subsequent home store trip and picked up this $3 can of shiny gold paint. Then I zipped home and ran the grittiest sandpaper I could find over the stand.

Within ten minutes I took this stand from 1970 to 2016 and I couldn't be happier with the end result!

Thanks for stopping by the Humble Hammock! Be sure to follow this page or bookmark it in your browser for more great DIY inspiration later!

DIY: Staining Furniture

Thanks for sticking with me through part two of my furniture overhaul! I know in the last post I focused heavily on the curio cabinet, but today I'm going to show how I stained my accompanying tables and then reveal the finished camera holder.

As I mentioned, the curio cabinet was made of pine wood. The end tables were already cherry. Since I wanted the two to match it was easier to use a red/cherry stain on the cabinet versus trying to dull down the redness of the tables.

Miniwax (found at your local Lowes / Home Depot) makes some great stain that enhances the quality of the wood without looking overly waxy/finished. I did my due diligence and scoured the internet for feedback on how to match pine to cherry and landed here. I'm very happy with the result but I'll leave it to you to determine how well it worked.

I started by adding one coat of stain to the tables and leaving it on for five minutes before wiping away the unabsorbed stain. I didn't want the tables to be much darker than they already were so the less time the better. I then took the bottom side of one of the curio cabinet shelves and tested (in five minute increments) how long it would take to get the closest color match. The result - 20 minutes!

Here's a half and half of the table progress. Talk about instant gratification!

This is the color difference between a stripped pine shelf and one being stained (before excess was wiped).

And now... the end result(s)! The staining took a bit longer (~1 week) with application AND dry time. I did this during the summer months (in humid Indiana) and it remained tacky longer than I'd hoped. 

*More on my fabulous lamps at another time.

DIY: Stripping Furniture

In due time I'll write a blog post about my Brownie Camera Collection and the hunt that continually ensues. Until then, I'll tell you that I've been looking for a curio cabinet for these beautiful cameras for nearly a decade. 

Most of my friends have heard about my infatuation with Facebook's garage sale groups. I've alluded to them before. I rarely purchase items but I'm always on the prowl for very specific items. 

I found this cabinet *yes, this is a screen shot from my phone* and knew right away that the scalloped portion on top would pair nicely with a pair of vintage end tables my mother gave me. The going price was $75, but I managed to talk the seller down to $60. There was a loose leg and the glass was popped out on one side, but I had faith in myself and my husband's tool box.

Pine can be stained to match other woods fairly easily as it has a neutral undertone and can be tinted to match woods with stronger hues. So off I went to strip this pine cabinet and ultimately tint it to match my cherry end tables. 

For those of you who have never stripped furniture I recommend pulling the item completely apart so that you can move quickly once you get the stripping process started. Be sure to make room for the wood to dry (standing up) and invest in some thick rubber gloves (I use elbow-high dishwashing gloves from the local grocery). I also like to do the stripping over a drop cloth or trash can to mitigate extra mess.

Citristrip (sold at Home Depot) is one of my favorite stripping agents. It costs less than $20 and will last through multiple pieces of furniture. It's orange based unlike many of the harsh chemical based strippers. The smell is far less overpowering, but don't be fooled - it still packs a tough strip. When using this product I pair it with:

1.  blue shop towels
2. a stripping tool
3. old plastic cup and sponge
4. elbow-length rubber gloves

To strip:

• Slip on your rubber gloves
• Pour some Citristrip into the old cup and add the sponge
• Glob the product onto the wood with the sponge and begin scrubbing/rubbing onto the wood

At this point the wood will begin to appear watery as the stain/top coat loosens. Keep working the sponge and breaking loose the old covering. If it becomes tacky you'll need to add more Citristrip and keep it moving. DON'T TRY SCRAPING IF IT'S TACKY. You will easily damage the grain of the wood. 

Don't cut corners like I did in these photos. These gloves were leaking Citristrip and caused my hands to peel for more than a week. Don't do this to yourself...

Once the watery top coat is covering the top of the wood, grab your scraper tool and begin to apply pressure and push the solution to the top of the tool before wiping in your shop towel. See the demonstration below...

This is going to be a longer process for pieces with multiple layers of sealant or paint. Be prepared to take your time on each piece to do a quality job before moving on to the next piece. If the wood appears "shiny" after the top coat has been removed there is still remaining topcoat. You may need to repeat steps 2-3 times to see results.

Here's my before and after progress!

And here is the stripped cabinet! This cabinet had one layer of a light stain and came off fairly easily. I had the cabinet and shelves stripped in just a couple of hours.

These tables weren't as compliant. Although incomplete, you can see the difference in the thick coated seal on the back table versus the semi-stripped front table. Each of these tables took me 3-4 hours of tedious stripping. The rounded detail on the core and legs were a challenge for my flat headed stripping tool.

Thanks for stopping by the Humble Hammock! Stay tuned for part two of this post where I cover the staining process!

Desk Chair Refresh

DISCLAIMER: This post is extremely simple and is only being posted for those with before/after infatuations.

I've had this chair since I was a little girl. It was once white, then brown, and most recently cream with a monogram (see below).

You probably know by now that I can't leave any craft unattempted, so I decided to upgrade my sturdy old chair with a fresh coat of paint. I like to categorize the covering of the monogram and cheesy craft paint as "adulting."

Sherwin Williams, among other brands, have paint samples (yes, for walls. if you can't handle that I put wall paint on this chair you are free to continue surfing the internet) that go on sale every so often at various home stores for somewhere in the ballpark of $2 or less. I got this 3.75 oz jar from Lowes in January and chose a nice shade of blue/grey called Grayish.

Truth be told it ended up on my chair because we repainted our entire downstairs hallway with a different blue/grey paint and I wasn't going to use this sample on any of my walls. 

It took two coats a little patience but it didn't look too shabby once I finished! I have a chair cushion that I use on this chair that I'll be recovering to match. We'll save that whole excursion for another post...

And now.... before and after!

Thanks for stopping by the Humble Hammock. Come back soon to see what other projects I manage to tackle!

Cara

DIY: $25 Coat Hanger

Unlike most men, my ball and chain prefers to see what I want to hang on the walls before I do so. This is sweet, but his standards can be pretty pesky. I came up with this coat hanger to combat our mini-closets. This is really for our guests to use so when they walk in our door immediately know where their coat can hang while we visit.

It all began with a trip to Hobby Lobby. I bought the hook backboard for $6 and each hook was $6 - $7. I used my 40% off coupon (off a regular priced item) which you can easily use on the CouponSherpa app. We could have drilled these little hooks into the wall, but it would have resulted in 8 holes that weren't anchored or sturdy. This backing added stability. Plus, it's easy to remove if I ever want to relocate it.

Laying your idea out before starting, helps your project look more thought out.

I started by painting the back board with a white craft paint I had in my stash. I didn't paint it completely and left some of the wood exposed on the edges. This made it look distressed without sanding.

                          

Next, my handy man helped me screw the hooks into place. We 'eyed' the measurements which was really hard for him, but I savored the compromise. The outer hooks were porcelain. Said helper didn't realize how fragile it was, so after he cracked the outer hook, I had to get creative with the glue.

We finished by adding three sawtooth hangers to the back before measuring against the wall and hanging it in place.

It's that easy! Thanks for stopping by the Humble Hammock, please come back for a visit :)

Cara

DIY Edition Off the Wall

In my last post, Finding DIY Inspiration, I blogged about other uses for "wall decals that also work on a trillion other things." Here are some odds and ends that I have used wall decals to decorate.

FURNITURE
Slapping those wordy wall decals on a piece of furniture is a great way to spice up a boring piece. I haven't done this one yet, but I came across a great example. The wall decal is just layered latex paint that you mush onto a surface. By placing the decal and scratching with a flat object (I use a pan scraping tool, myself) it'll be stuck on in a few seconds.

DOORS
Here's one I did at my house. I bought a simple "Welcome" sign and put it right on my front door. It's visible from the road and matches the trim on the outside of our house. I love the little bit of coziness that it brings to our curb appeal.

WALLS [of course]
Obviously these decals were designed for walls and they do well there. I have found that they can leave a residue upon removal, but it's nothing that the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser can't handle. [I promise I don't get sponsor money for talking about Mr. Clean all the time...] I had this Clint Eastwood decal in my first apartment for a couple of years. I was sad when I moved out to not take it with me, but I could have put it on a glass frame and done just that.

GLASS
This is one of my favorite uses for the wall decals. Here's my rendition of sticking the decal on glass. The glass is still washable and the decal can be removed with heat. If washing in hot water do not attempt to dry by hand. Do NOT put these items in the dishwasher. Here is an example of how I would use these decals on glass.

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Thanks for stopping by the HumbleHammock and looking around; do come back!

Cara