Nightstand Before & After

Okay, don't judge me too harshly, as I bought this bedroom set more than 10 yrs ago. Rattan was big back then! It was from Pier One! The height of sophistication!

Before: A rattan monstrosity



After: A decoupage dream!



The hardest part of this project was prying off that darn rattan -- each piece was individually stapled down! But once I got it all off, all I had to do was cut pieces of fabric about an inch and a half bigger than the drawer fronts, and apply them with (what else?) Mod Podge. Then sand, prime, and paint the rest of the nightstand with white flat paint. Once that was dry, I decoupaged the fabric on to the top and side panels. After adding a couple of pretty drawer pulls (from Anthropologie, naturally), and a piece of custom-cut plexi for the top, I was done!

Looking back, I would have used a semi gloss paint for the night stand. It makes dusting so much easier (not that I do a lot of dusting, mind you). But overall, I love the splash of color this lends to my bedroom. Next project: making over the matching dresser!

Decoupage Birdhouse

Spring is here! Every morning I am greeted by two little sparrows tapping on my window, and I can't help but think they are asking to come in for breakfast (little do they know the content of my fridge consists of Tim Tams and expired condiments). So, I thought I would give them a dedicated space of their own.

I simply painted the outside of the birdhouse brown and blue, then did the inside in a contrasting red. Once everything was dry, I used several coats of my old standby, Mod Podge, to apply the craft paper flowers to the roof. Since the house is going to be out in the elements, I sealed everything (including the inside) with an all-purpose sealer.

Michaels has a wide assortment of unfinished birdhouses that you can do up to suit your own purposes.



By the way, I found out after completing this project that there are different kinds of houses for different types of birds. It's quite possible that the Michaels birdhouses were never intended for actual bird use. If you want to investigate before buying, check out this site for tips and guidelines.

Tile Coasters

It's craft night again! This time we're making tile coasters, inspired by Curbly.com. They used paper napkins, which may or may not have proved easier than using stiff craft paper, as we did. But it is hard to imagine anything being easier than this simple craft.

Just cut squares of your paper to the size of your tile (available at your local hardware store for about 14 cents each), and apply with Mod Podge. Now, this part is important: before putting on your top coat of Mod Podge, put your coasters under something heavy (the phone book works great -- it's basically the only reason I haven't recycled it yet) and let them dry thoroughly.

Once they're dry and free of bubbles, apply top coats of the Podge, letting it dry in between. Then add a felt footy to each corner of the underside of the tile, and you're done! Now I have six coordinating coasters that can also double as trivets in a pinch. Neat!