My DIY Dresser!

Here's the story: Years ago, my mom bought a dresser from a garage sale for, she says, something like $10.  It was painted in a thick, pale pink color and had no knobs or drawer pulls, but my artsy mom must have seen the potential in it.  My dad [quite hypocritically] asked why the heck she brought home the nasty thing - until he realized it was made of real wood!  None of that compressed woodboard.

Ugggg-ly.  And this picture doesn't show all the dings and chips; darn.

Well, I needed to find my own furniture for this school year, and since we already had this dresser, I thought, why not take a stab at shaping it up.

I started by wiping off all the grime and dust (and, my friend, was there a lot!).  We happened to have a chemical that vowed to dissolve and remove any paint from furniture and the like without sanding or scraping.  Well, it lied.  I did a day's worth of scraping, but that's what happens when you use old chemicals.  It did help a lot, especially compared to sanding, but it took time for sure.  Invest in something (but a NEW bottle!) that really will take the paint off.

And then I began sanding, mostly with a random-orbit electric sander.  I used rougher sandpaper first, on everything, and then switched to less roughness.  I finished off the pre-paint prep by sanding it all down quickly with the smoothest sandpaper I had, perfecting the finish of the dresser for my tastes.  If you have to putty any holes as I did, you would want to do that now.  I used Spackle and a scraper, lightly sanding it to make it blend with the wood.  Another thorough brush off and wipe down, and it was ready for paint


My favorite part: Painting, so much better than the prep work!  I used a Valspar semi-gloss black exterior paint, which was perfect.  Remember to paint one coat, in the same direction as the wood grain; wait several hours if not a day, then add another coat if desired.

I waited an additional day so that the paint had no tackiness at all, and then installed the cute knobs I had bought at Hobby Lobby (they were 50% off!).  Anyone adventurous enough to redo your old furniture? :)

Up-cycle those koozies for your summer drinks!

My family has so many koozies, the insulated drink holders.  Most of them have ugly writing on them, with the names of businesses or election candidates.  I grew tired of looking at all these - and advertising for these randoms - and decided to get crafty.  Though these are nothing fancy and far from my best, this is an easy project using materials that almost everyone has - and just in time to dress up those drab koozies you've accumulated this summer!

From the overflowing bin where my parents with slight hoarding tendencies keep our mass of koozies, I picked out a few in coordinating colors and found ribbon that could be paired with them.  I started playing with what colors worked best, then applied each ribbon with Tacky Glue (that's the architecture student in me!  Plus, hot glue usually dries with a raised texture that would be visible beneath the ribbon.). And voila!  Fun koozies for your summer get-togethers.

Let me know if you try this at home - I'd love to see your "new" koozies!

Oats Muffins

These scrumptious oats muffins are my first post and most recent creation.  I had been thinking of making these for awhile and although I needed to make a trip to the grocery store quite badly, I fortunately had basic ingredients, which is all these muffins really need! Also, they are pretty healthy.  I did not do much measuring, just guessed and tasted and repeated as necessary.  Here are the basic things that I used, with my suggestions:

First, the base:
A few cups of quick oats
A few cups of flour (whole wheat flour or granola would add fiber and still be delicious!)

Some texture:
Craisins (or other dried fruit or nuts, such as chopped pecans or chopped and lightly toasted almonds)

And a touch of sweetness:
A spoonful of Nutella (chocolate chips would work well too)
A few drips of honey

And a touch of canola or olive oil to prevent stickiness!

Once you collect a variety of the above ingredients, mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl.  Then, add everything else, mashing and mixing with a fork until well combined.  Drop them into a Pam-sprayed muffin pan (or just use cupcake liners), filling each compartment about 2/3 full.  Pop them into a oven preheated around 325 degrees for around 10 minutes, or until they are a little crispy on top.

The bottoms will be a touch brown.  My favorite part was the chewiness of the Craisins inside with the touch of chocolate from the Nutella. Enjoy!

So it begins!

Runner. Crafter. Pinterest lover. And everything that finds me in and out between.  I'm in college . . . which, aside from all the fun and some learning, means little time, little money.  But with these two obstacles I still like to get a little artsy and craft up some things from time to time.  Pinterest, as you probably know, is Heaven for craft lovers.  I like to try different ideas from it, as well as recipes I find.  It can be difficult to eat well under the aforementioned conditions in college, but being a runner, I try to eat the best I can.  I have always wanted to share on Pinterest the things I create, and blogs seem to be a great way to link them back.  So here it is: maggie undefined.