Nursery Furniture Progress

I've been making quite a mess in the basement lately.  I've been working on refinishing my midcentury craigslist finds for my future nephew's nursery. It's amazing what some high grit sandpaper can do. The dresser on the left is all sanded and ready for its new finishes.  The cabinet on the right is untouched (the dresser was just as bad as that to start with, too).

Steel wool also does wonders on the brass accents.

I'm hoping to have the prep work all done by the weekend.  If all goes as planned (I hope), I'll have an awesome transformation to show you next week!

p.s. Pop over to Roadkill Rescue where my recent deco desk lamp redo is featured!

Better than Mike Wolfe

Remember when I found this lamp at a tag sale for a whole $3?

Well, about a month ago, I was watching American Pickers and Mike Wolfe picked the same light!!  AAANNNDDD  he paid FOUR TIMES what I did at a whopping $12.  I totally get lucky every once in a while rock!

Take that Mike Wolfe! (And that is said with much adoration and respect of course, since I love American Pickers so much)

Before the weather turned totally rotten, my lamp got a much-needed coat of spray paint.  It's been hanging around for the past few months, patiently waiting to be rewired.  I decided when I got it, that my sexy deco desk light needed to stay true to itself.  That meant I had to hunt down a good source for cloth-covered wire.  I did a quick Google search and found Sundial Wire.  Jackpot!  Not only are they a local Massachusetts company, but their prices are fantastic!  It made me kind of giddy.

After New Years, I ordered 10 feet (extra just in case) of snazzy(that's right, I said snazzy) red cotton twisted wire

and a vintage style plug

Having never rewired anything before, I armed myself with tips from Handy Dad and watched this youtube clip: [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNcUst55t5s] It may have taken me a full hour to accomplish what she does in about 4 minutes, but I have a feeling that wasn't her first tango.

Check out what my deco desk lamp looks like today!

And look- it works!!

DIY ADD

That's a lot of letters, so you know it's got to be serious.  DIY ADD is a severe condition brought on by having a diy list a mile long, limited free time, and a pinterest addiction.

I had SOOO many plans for this past weekend, but it's very hard to have a productive weekend when you catch your hubby's flu.  Boooooo.  I've been trying to play catch-up the past few days.  I think I've finally caught up: the Christmas decorations are down, B's bridal shower invites are finally in the mail, laundry is done (for now)... all things that were planned for the weekend.   So, now back to my list- the catalyst for my DIY ADD condition.

As I mentioned in my New Years post, I've got a lot in my pipeline.

First up is B's bridal shower next month.  On top of some baking, other food prep, & games, the designer in me is going ca-ray-zay.

Favors:

I'm going pretty literal on this one.  B is a vintage-lover like me, and for less than $1.50 per person, I thought this was perfect.  I got 7.2 lbs of old fashioned hard candy in the mail today.  I still have to get the wrappers, ribbon and make cute little labels.

Centerpieces:

Not sure what I'll end up doing- I have some good ideas.  I'm not going to be copying any specific centerpiece, but creating an eclectic mix.  It'll be pretty.

Signs:

With the shower in the clubhouse at her future in-laws condo, what better way to direct the guests?  One of the other bridesmaid's is in the process of building a house, so scrap wood is plentiful, making this project cost a whopping $0.

The shower's a month away, but I don't want to be scrambling at the last minute, so these will be ongoing projects.

In unrelated DIYing, I also have an order on it's way from Sundial Cloth Covered Wire that I'm uber excited about.

Exciting things are happening!

Sources: marthastewardweddings.com via pinterest, 100layercake.com via pinterest, thehandmadehome.net via pinterest