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DIY Craft Desk!

I don’t know about you, but I HATE clutter. I just can not get anything done when I feel like there is to much stuff. And let me tell you, my craft room/office was just that… CLUTTERED! Between unfinished projects, a homeless sewing maching and my photo studio, there was just too much to deal with. Nevermind that I was using a coffee table as a craft table, and you can only imagine how my back felt after a day of leaning over that thing!

I feel better when everything has a place, and I love my coffee table, but it just was not working for me any longer. I couldn’t bare parting with it, so I decided to incorporate it into my new DIY craft desk so that I could have some extra storage, and my kids could still use it as a craft desk. After searching for a desk that would fit my needs, I found this beauty but could not foresee myself spending that much, plus I feared it may be too small. So, I decided I was going to build my own and any reason to use power tools is a plus!

What I used:

(2) Closetmaid 9-Cube Organizers  that I picked up on sale for $30 each

(2) 2x4x8 pieces of lumber that I had on hand already

(1) 5/8 thick piece of plywood cut down to 40in wide by 62in long (my local hardware store cut it for me)

2 1/2 wood screws that I had on hand already

1 1/3 wood screws that I had on hand already

White Paint that I had on hand already

4 yards of fabric that I had on hand already

First I put my two 9-cube organizers together and placed them on each side of my existing coffee table.

I than cut my two 2×4 pieces of lumber to size and secured them to the organizer by screwing them in from the inside of the organizer.

Next, I used the 2 1/2 screws to secure a center support so that the top did not end up bowing in from use.

After everything was secure, I placed my plywood top on. If you can find a melamine coated piece large enough, I recommend using it so that you do not have to paint. My local store did not have any large enough for my project though.

I secured the top by screwing in 1 1/3 screws from the underside of the organizers. I than finished off the top with 2 coats of enamel paint.

To finish it off, I used some fabric I had laying around to give it a skirt on the two open ends.

Now everything has a home, and I can display some of my dishes I use for food photography instead of having them tucked away in a corner! I am super happy with the way it turned out, and now I can not wait to get crafting again!

I think Eclipse our cat is happy for a nice new hideout as well.

Trash Can Remodel! Make Your Trash Can Pretty!

I think I may have a small addiction. Last week, I did a project on how to make your own Inspirational Wall Art, and since then all I have been doing is wanting to use my new Silhouette cutter for EVERYTHING! Since I am giving my office a face lift, I figured why not make my trash can pretty too?

It was just a basic stainless steel trash can, but it has much love over the past few years, and I felt the need to give it some love. If I have to have it in my office, it might as well be pretty.

This was fairly easy project, and only needed a few items to do it.

Items Needed:

Old trash can

Rustoleum Spray paint

A favorite quote printed on vinyl (or you could totally stencil something awesome onto it too!)

Painters tape

I started by taping off all of the black on the trash can so it would not get covered in paint.

Once that was done, I just hauled it outside and gave it two good coats of spray paint and let it dry completely.

Then just remove the painters tape, and apply your vinyl decal or get to stenciling!

Simple right? Oh, and did I mention I did this same project on my ugly old filing cabinet? Yeah, I may have an addiction, but now I have a beautiful trash can and a super awesome filing cabinet!

I am thinking I may have to make my kitchen trash can pretty too so it doesn’t get jealous.

DIY Inspirational Wall Art

I am in the midst of organizing and giving my office a minor facelift this week. I have a love/hate relationship with this room though. I use it to blog, take my photos and do homework, so it needs to be somewhere that I want to be. I love it because two walls are covered in windows, so it is nice and bright. But, one wall is my desk wall which is covered by my desk and wall unit. The last wall has a glass double door, so there is not a whole lot of wall space to hang photos of things that I love. So, since the space is limited, I wanted to do something that was inspirational to me. So, I decided to make some DIY Inspirational Wall Art.

I was super happy when I received a Silhouette Portrait for Mother’s Day, and I couldn’t wait to put it to work!  You can totally do this project without one though, so do not get discouraged! Instead of cutting out your inspirational phrase, you can easily use letter stickers to do the trick!

 

Items Needed:

Blank framed canvas

Brightly colored paint of choice

Black Paint

Inspirational Phrase printed on vinyl, or alphabet stickers.

Paint brushes

Once I printed off my phrase, I placed it over the canvas to get an idea of there I wanted it. Since I wanted the word “Crazy” to be a different color, I marked the area where it would be placed for painting.

Once That was done, I got to painting. I painted the canvas in my favorite blue, and the area I marked off, I swirled with a bright green. Allow this paint to dry for 2-3 hours.

Once paint has dried completely, I add my vinyl cutout of my quote. Make sure that it is stuck on there good so paint does not bleed under it.

Apply a good coat of black paint over everything. I started by painting over the letters first, then moved on to coat the entire canvas. Depending on the type of paint, it may require two coats. Allow paint to dry again for 2-3 hours.

Once the final coat is completely dry, carefully remove the vinyl (or stickers) from the canvas. Then simply display in an area that you need the most inspiration.

What is your favorite inspirational quote?