A Little Bit of Coffee...

Oh friends...last week? Well, last week was one of those weeks. You know what I mean, the one week that is seems like a month's worth of activities were squeezed in to 5 days.

The to-do list wasn't bad. There was a microdermabrasion from a friend practicing before her final exam to become a licensed esthetician. And a morning spent junking with another friend that was a blast. And a morning taking my mom to another eye appointment that will hopefully lead to her vision getting back to normal.

But the business leads to not enough time to work...and that leads to me stressing out...and in a weird way leads to my creative juices flowing.

And inspiration hit over a cup of coffee while browsing Pinterest....

 

And a whole lot of prayers that Monday afternoon to be able to make it through the week.

A perfect little sign that combines the two things that keep me going.

I love the fun quirky font mixed with the sweeping lines of the hand lettered font. I like to think the heavy distressing is a reminder that some of the most beautiful people {or things} in my life, got that way by weathering the storm called life.

Of course this sign is listed in my Etsy shop {just click here!}...you know, just in case you need a little coffee with a whole lot of Jesus!

A Gentle and Quiet Spirit

Little girls are the best. They're adorable and have dreams of one day becoming a princess.

But little girls turn in to preteen and teenage girls and that brings a whole new storm. One day they are following you around, wanting to be just like you, and it seems the next day they are closed up in their room texting and the only time you see them is if food or you buying them stuff is involved.

Oh. And they start worrying what everyone else is wearing, friends opinions will seem to matter more than yours and if they don't have that cute new shirt that so-and-so from YouTube designed they simply.will.die....

And you know that they won't because you start to remember those years and that you never believed your mom's advice and you call your mom to apologize with each new growing phase you face. {Again, sorry mom.}

But in all reality, I'm learning to take each new battle {or eye roll} as a learning experience for all of us. The biggest lesson I'm trying to teach them right now is that things are things. They're true beauty will always come from deep within and that they need to be able to look at themselves in the mirror at the end of the day and know that they were the absolute best person they could have been. And if they weren't, well, tomorrow is a new day.

I found a picture of this passage on Pinterest when I first signed up a few years ago. I never knew how important this passage would be for myself and my girls.

And the fact that it would start a bathroom remodel that should have happened a long time ago. I'm shocked I have ever been allowed to pick colors for our home after this pink. It's now painted in an eye pleasing sparrow gray and I will be keeping you up to date as it all comes together!

I whitewashed the sign to allow the wood to come through. Once I was done with the lettering, I distressed the front of the sign and painted some lattice boards the same black as the lettering and attached them to add a little dimension. I'm not sure exactly where in the bathroom it will hang yet, but I love that it will be there as a daily reminder to the girls before they head out in to the world for the day.

I do have this sign listed in my Etsy shop if you would like to take a peek and will be soon offering it in different sizes to fit every budget!

This post is also being shared here:
http://diyshowoff.com/category/other/that-diy-party/
Inspiration Monday at www.ishouldbemoppingthefloor.com

Faux Vintage Ikea Step Stool

Funny story about step stools. I always wanted an old wooden step stool for my girls when they couldn't reach the sink to brush their teeth, but our budget allowed for the small plastic step stools that have the little characters on them. You know the ones that will hold a toddler but not a full grown man? Twice...yes, twice my husband used their step stools only to come crashing down. I still remember hearing the snap and crash when he broke our oldest daughter's step stool, followed by her tiny voice yelling, "You BROKE it!!!" Maybe if we had one of these (weight limit 100 pounds) at the time, their step stools might have stood a chance against Dad.

This is one of those projects that can be easily done in a weekend. That is, the weekend after you go to IKEA because we all know that no one just runs in to IKEA for one thing. If you are that person, I salute you.

I picked up this stool on our last IKEA trip. At $14.99 you can't beat the price for a solid wood step stool, but it lacks a little in appearances. I wanted mine to have a vintage, justsnaggedthisbabyfrommygrandparent'sattic feel.

I grabbed a jar of "oops" paint I had. I really wish I knew what color this is. I do know that I love Behr paint with the primer included. I love a good thick paint that I know will give me great coverage in only a coat or two.

And at that price, I can't resist picking up colors that catch my eye.

Because of all the corners, I decided to paint all the parts before I assembled the stool. This really helped on the time it took to paint. Once it was all painted I put it together and got ready to distress it for the vintage look. Even without distressing it looked so much better.

When it comes to distressing, I like to mix it up. I knew that I wanted the top and the step to look like it had been used for years. That called for my palm sander with 100 grit sandpaper. I wanted the edges to look like they had been worn down from being carried around and knocked in to things over the years. I again used 100 grit sandpaper but hand sanded those parts.

 

 

When it comes to sealing a piece, I am a fan of paste furniture wax. It gives the piece a satiny, smooth finish that doesn't get sticky or yellow over time. You can also reapply as needed.

 

 



A big plus for me with the paste wax is that you wipe it one, give a few minutes and then buff it out. No long dry times or worrying about air bubbles that come with using poly. The one bit of info that I like to pass along is that the paste wax will deepen the paint color. Not a lot, just a bit. You can see it in this photo, I had only waxed the step at this point.

After waxing the entire stool {and getting my arms workout for the week!}, it was time to play.

My youngest daughter decided to take it for a spin and said it's just the perfect size for her to be able to reach her toes. :)