The Big Reveal "The desk"

Howdy! k, so remember the old desk (from my sneak a peek post) that I got a century ago from a friend, that I was supposed to fix up? Well, I'm just about done with it. If you've forgotten how it looked before, here it is. . . .

It had some cosmetic issues including wonderful crayon art compliments of the kiddos. Also, it was pink. . . .and I do NOT have any girls in my house (besides me), so although pink is one of my faves, it had to go!

And did I mention the leg was not attached?

Aaah, here it is.

Well, after doing some work on it, I pretty much finished the desk except I hadn't put any hardware on it yet.

K, don't be angry with me but. . .I didn't take pics of the process but I will tell you that it was basic and simple. I worked on the drawers and the desk at 2 different times but they both got the same basic treatment.

1. Sand

I sanded the desk.

2. Fix

 I re-attached the broken leg. 

3. Paint

I painted the desk covering each area with several thin coats.

4. Wait

 I waited at least overnight for the desk to dry before I used it.

Here's the already sanded desk on it's side waiting for it's leg to be fixed. I used my mouse sander and because it couldn't get everywhere (like all the intricately carved places), I hand sanded it. As you can see, I did not have to sand all the "pink" off  as long as I passed over it once with sandpaper. I used only a 150 grit sandpaper although because I was trying to strip paint, I could've used a more coarse paper. I decided not to distress the desk (although it would've looked awesome!) because the finish of the desk wouldn't have gone with the finishes of the other furniture in the room I wanted to put it in. Plus I was really lazy and I needed to finish it because I had guests coming.

I also had some helpers. . .

My hubby helped fix the broken leg and my baby helped by entertaining himself while we worked.

I love hot glue! I personally believe that hot glue will fix anything! To fix the desk leg, 1.we hot glued it to the desk so it would stay in place and 2. we attached the leg onto the desk with skinny finishing nails. It was important to use the skinny nails instead of thick nails or screws because it could 've damaged the desk further and made it harder to cover the cosmetic damages.

Here's the paint that I used. It's our leftover housepaint. I would rather use paint I already have then buy new paint unless that paint is in the clearance aisle*;) (I also used this same paint to redo my guest bedroom headboard)

I'll be posting this one up. . .someday!

I covered each area of the desk in several thin layers one after the other. For example, I did the top of the desk, then the left front, then the right front, then the left side, and finally, the right side and then I started again. By the time you get to the top of the desk again, it should already be dry and you can start all over. It seems very time consuming but actually, it went really quickly. Several thin layers of paint is better than 1 or 2 thick layers. The thin layers dry faster and cover better.

 Here's the hardware that I wanted to use on the desk. I got it off an old dresser at my mom's when I went back to Hawaii in March. I would've brought the dresser back to AZ with me (cuz my mom was gonna chuck it anyway) but I couldn't fit it in my bag*;(

whaddya think? I may not even use these because it won't go with the decor of the place I'm thinking 'bout putting it. Oh well, we'll see.

Stay tuned to see where I put my desk. . . .here's a sneak peek!

Brandi-Lee

Shopping Spree! (the paint aisle)

Hey Everybody! So I was stuck at Walmart one day while waiting for the hardworking Walmart employees to give my car an oil change and. . .don't laugh. . .I decided to whip out my trusty camera phone and show ya'll some of my favorite aisles to peruse (<----love using that word!).

Yes, I'm pretty sure people thought I was mental snappin all those pictures of wonderful Walmart merchandise but I was doing it on behalf the cause! (The "knocking it off" Cause that helps impact lives around the world by sharing ways decorate for "as free as can be") LOL!

The first aisle on my list. . .The Paint Aisle. These are the things that are in the paint aisle that I either look at, want, have used, or think is cool. I've chosen to focus mostly on the spraypaint.

K, here's my first picture. . .

This is a pic of all those wonderful 98 cent Walmart brand spraypaints that Mileka and I use so often. If you have tried out different brands of spraypaint before, you will notice that the product fits the price. This paint is not the best one to use on all your projects, but if  you're looking to save some moolah and tackle smaller projects, it fits the bill. You will probably use more paint to get better coverage but with the awesome price tag, you will still come out ahead.

I guess I'll tell ya'll about the differences in finishes. Do you see the spraypaint covers above? There is a distinct difference in the look and feel of the finishes on the covers. It's like when you order photo prints from the printers. They ask you to check which finish you want on each print. If you want a "shinier" picture, you choose glossy. If you want a smoother, less glossy picture, you would choose matte. Think about the project you are doing. Would it look better done with a glossy finish? or a satiny/matte finish? The good thing is that YOU get to choose which one you want. Oh, almost forgot to mention that the color of the cap, is also the exact color of the paint.

*Cue the Angels singing

 K, picture the heavens opening and a beam of light shining down upon this spraypaint. My personal opinion is that Krylon is the very best brand when it comes to spraypaint (I love Rustoleum as well).

With greater quality comes a bigger price tag. I believe it's worth it depending on what you're willing to spend for your project. These last a lot longer than the cheapy brand meaning 1 can goes a long way!

This Krylon paint is specially formulated for plastics. I've used it on many different shiny finishes that other paints would just run off and it has come out beautifully and "sticks to the surface" wonderfully! I think this one is my favorite! When purchasing spraypaint, always make sure you read the back of the can to see what kind of material that particular paint will cover.

Here's Flourescent paint to mark areas that need to be seen.

Here's paint that has a metallic look.

These Rustoleum paints have an awesome trigger sprayer that reduces hand fatique (I'm sounding like a commercial now!) and lets you spray at any angle. These have a hammered finish and because it's Rustoleum, it stops rust on your metals. This paint is an all-surface paint and will spray on wood, metal, plastic, masonry and more! Awesomeness!

These paints (above and below) have a textured, multicolored finish sort of like stone. The bottom one re-creates the natural look of stone!

So Cool!

I thought this was cool as well. If you have chips or scratches on your appliances, you can fill them with this epoxy touch up. Who comes up with these things!!

How awesome is this? You can paint these onto different surfaces to create a chalkboard finish! I haven't used the spraypaint yet but I love the paint in the can. This sucker lasts forever! Fun, fun, fun for children's rooms! I've seen  painted pantry doors for menus and entire walls made into a chalkboard so the kiddies have a place to scribble. Tape the surface off (with painter's tape) just like you would when using regular paint. Use your imagination with these. Imagine where you would want a chalkboard, and paint one there!

These are clear coats. They seal and help protect basecoat from scratches, water damage, etc. Some clear coats also help protect the finish from UV rays. The lacquer clear coat, has a very high luster coating kinda like those japanese rice bowls. Very Shiny!

Yay!!! One of the most wonderful sights that you could ever see in the paint aisle. Whenever you see a red tag, it means you will save money on paint. The paint may not always be the color you may want but it's always good to take a look because you never know!

This price tag is for 1 entire gallon of paint in this color. What a great find! This'll last me forever!  Most times they get rid of paint that the customer feels is a "tint'' off. Does that little tint off make a big difference? You be the judge of that. Sometimes they are just getting rid of paint that is old stock or they are discontinuing. Whatever the reason, you always come out the winner!

Well, there's the paint aisle for you. Hope you learned something from this post. Stay tuned for other posts from the Walmart aisles (I had a whole 3 hours to kill there!!!). Have fun painting!

Brandi-Lee