What Have I Gotten Myself Into!

I may have taken on more than I can handle. I've started several projects at the same time. Opps! So far I have dining room table legs to paint,

8 dining chairs to paint and reupholster,

 2 old hotel refrigerator holders to paint and turn into cabinets,

custom frames to take apart and put back together,

paint the new office desk (Sorry no pic it's crazy messy at the moment), and paint the guest bedroom that is still blue.I know, what was I thinking, right? I had every intention to start this weekend, but Juan caught the flu. So, all plans to start any projects have been put on hold because I have to take care of my darling hubby. Juan has been so sick, he couldn't get out of bed until 2pm this afternoon. I haven't had the flu before so I can't relate, but I know it's no walk in the park. What I love about him is that even though he's feeling like crap he still can make me laugh my head off. He's such a clown! And he always tells me he's sorry because he knows I have to take care of my three babies (him included). Gotta love him! The girls are not sick, thank God! They have gotten their flu shots, but Juan is still staying away from them.

I will keep you posted as projects (eventually) get done. It's going to be interesting as I haven't done any of these projects before. That's right peeps! Total newbie to painting dining sets and reupholstering anything. I hope to not lose an eye or a finger in the process so start praying for me now! :)

If I Had A Garage...Oh the Possibilities!

Pinterest has open my eyes to the tremendous possibilities in everything. There are so many ideas about crafts and DIY projects that I make up excuses and create events to give myself the opportunity to be creative. I'm not alone on this, right? I'm on the hunt now for a few big ticket items on a small budget. I've been scouring thrift stores, second hand shops and consignment stores and hoping to find things cheap that may need a little love. Here's the problem, I don't have anywhere to do these projects!!! I live in a condo and have no garage to create amazing pieces of furniture from someone's throw-aways. Check out this piece from a local blogger, Lauren, over at Baylor Says.

She turned this FREE chaise into

Fabulous isn't it? She was able to take off the old fabric and paint the frame herself in her garage. If I were given this chaise it would still be in it's original skin and I would be dieing to rip it apart.

Here are some other projects I would do if I had a garage to do them in.

Reupholster chairs I got for $10

littlemisspennywenny.blogspot.com

Why buy a new dining table when you can refinish and old one? Or if you're tired of your current one, paint it a bold color!

littlemisspennywenny.blogspot.com

Make my own headboard. Do you know how expensive these can get!!! The first one is made from an old door. Whaaat!

go.tipjunkie.com

meedandpea.blogspot.com

You've seen these before. If you're on a budget, but it reminds you of grandma's house, paint and put some new hardware on it!

beforemeetsafterblog.com

Chevron is all the rage now, so these rugs cost a pretty penny. But you can paint your own for a fraction of the cost.

hayleyphotography.blogspot.com

Is there anyone kind enough to let me use their garage?

My New World of Fabrics...Exciting!

When I was in high school my amazing art teacher taught us how to make quilts by hand. It was very simple and once I started I couldn't stop. I started with a very small 2'x2' quilt and graduated to a queen sized quilt. I continued making them all through high school. My last one was for my grandmother who lives in Puerto Rico. I made one of the Puerto Rican flag, my biggest and most complicated to date. I had to make a sketch on grid paper to make sure I got it right. I haven't fiddled with fabric since, until I got a hold of these cane back chairs at my local Goodwill!

I know they don't look like much now, but wait until I reupholster them in something amazing! Some inspiration pics for what could these chairs become. 

littlemisspennywenny.blogspot.com

caitlinwilsondesign.blogspot.com

etsy.com

gorgeousshinythings.blogspot.com

So many possibilities! I don't think I will be painting mine, but I could be swayed. I've been so into fabric the last couple days as noted by my new Pinterest board. A blogger a keep up with, Lauren over at Baylor Says, suggested that I visit Fabric.com and HawthorneFabrics.com. Both are great suggestions and so began my hunt for my chairs. I haven't chosen one, but I do sense a color I'm going for.

Love them all, but I can't have them all! I know I want something with color and boldness. Both are lacking in my home. The first one reminds me of my dining room inspiration pic.

Cozamia.com

See the peacock feathered chairs? Love it!! Who would've thought my work with fabrics would evolve into reupholstering furniture? I'll keep you posted!

My Little Table Project

Hello there! Did you miss me? Well I'll have to update you on what's been going on at the Hernandez household. But first I want to tell you about my project! So proud, I am!

I've been on this slightly obsessive path that's all about my house. I cannot stop looking at furniture, fabrics or thrift stores. So I've decided that little by little I'm going to turn my house into a home. Instead of nit-picking it to death, I'm going to do something about it. And since I'm on a budget like everyone else, I'm looking for high impact at the lowest possible price. My first piece of furniture I found next to my dumpster.

 

When I saw that it was a drop leaf table I snatched it up the second I put the girls in the house.

I started by filling in some cracks and scratches it had. It was pretty beat up.

Then I rented a palm sander and got to work. No pic of me sanding, but know that it took about 5 sheets of sand paper. Then it sat on my balcony for 3 months. LOL I wasn't motivated to finish it because I didn't know the amount of work that would be needed. My original idea was to sand it all down (2 coats of paint and varnish) and re-stain it to bring it back to its former glory. It wasn't happening. Let's just say I have a new found respect for people who restore old furniture. Then I got the idea to just paint it and TADA!

Yea I'm definitely not good at staging it to look pretty, but It's finally finished. Is it perfect? Not by a long shot, but I can work wit it. I think I might change it a little bit, but for now I'm just glad it's done and off my balcony. It's new home will be the guest bedroom/office. A you can see in the picture, we have new floors (YAY!) and the walls still need to be painted. Can't get much done during the girls nap time. Not bad for my first furniture project if I do say so myself lol. I have another project in the works right now. Tell you all about it when I'm done. Any projects you're working on?