Reuse, Redesign, Repurpose: A Desk Part I

 

I bought this desk at a neighbor's garage sale
shortly after moving into our new home.

 

I loved the carved out legs and the overall minimalistic feel of it:
the open shelves, the petite size. It would be the perfect writing desk.

The legs had some serious wear, but I wasn't concerned because I
was planning on painting it from the moment I saw it.

Desk: $10

What I hadn't noticed before were the two large cracks,
one on the top and one on the bottom shelf.

 

The top crack was noticeable but didn't damage the structure. 

However, the shelf crack was a different story.
Due to time and age, the wood had warped and refused to re-fuse with super glue.
So no heavy books on that shelf. :/

The makeover of the desk was not as breezy as I had anticipated.  

 

This day was the first without rain in a week and a half.
With storm clouds looming above, I opted for the quick-dry option of spray paint.

I went to Home Depot and bought a sanding sponge ($3) and one can of white spray paint with varnish ($5). I thought it would take me one, maybe two cans, but since we don't live that far from the old depot,
I only bought one. 

Here's the process: 

Sand until your paint level is even. I then washed the desk because it had been sitting outside all day at the garage sale. If you are going to wash an item made of wood, make sure it doesn't soak in. If you are diligent about this, it should only need about 5 minutes in the sun before you're ready to paint.

My first can was a dud. 

Most of the paint collected at the top of the can and dripped down the side. Yikes. So Cory went out and purchased another one. About halfway through that can, I realized I was going to run out of paint again, and he ran back out and bought me two more.

Are you keeping track? That's 4 cans of spray paint ($20!) and one priceless fiancé.

 Suffice to say, I should have just bought a can of paint and a brush.

Total cost of project:  $33  -  I was planning on spending about $20. 
Lesson learned, next time research different paint options.

A close-up of the painted desk. 

Check out Part II of this post to see it decked out and in action!

Bon Nuit!

 

The Laziest Way to an Outfit

 

Remember college?

The days of not showering and wearing the same cardigan for 2 weeks? Or was that just me?

Although I rarely applied it back then, somewhere along my collegiate path I learned the easiest way to get dressed is to wear one.

  

 Think about it. 

It's an entire outfit in one piece of clothing. 

There is no mixing of pieces. A printed shift like this can stand on its own without jewelry.  

I bought this gem at St. Vincent de Paul in Mt. Washington in January. I think it was around $5.

I paired it with a slim black belt for structure and black ankle motorcycle boots.

Boots and I are like Britney and Justin. Even though time moves on, the seasons change and Justin marries Jessica, you still want them to be together. Right? Or am I alone in this again?

These bad boys came with me to LA and went into the ocean. 

Turns out, they're not water proof.

I tend to assume all boots are and end up with wet feet.

 

 

And because we're talking looking "pulled together,"

above is a dose of reality in terms of photo shooting and of life.

My hair may never stand up to the elements but the dress sure does!

That's why they say jersey is the fabric of the gods!*

*may or may not be an actual saying.

The dress out and about at Findlay.

Bon Nuit!

Guys, I'm Alive

I promise.

I will post again real soon-like. It's been a crazy couple of months. Cory and I moved to a (rented) house (hooray)! When I wasn't packing boxes or moving furniture, I was writing spec scripts for television fellowships. Side note: I'm currently work on a spec script (as in example script for applicant purposes) for The League. If you're familiar with the show it's about a bunch of Chicago guys who play fantasy football. Of course, in my script no one has mentioned football. At all.

New posts are coming soon! I promise! I may even back date! Is that cheating? Whatever it is please don't feel neglected, large readership (i.e. Mom and Lebron James). I have neglected not only you, but my friends and family (sorry guys :/ miss you! Calling soon).

Peace, love and hoping for no more flash floods.

Bon Nuit!

Amy

Eyelet of April

 

I've recently become obsessed with buying 100% cotton tops.

 

 

I fell for this airy J. Jill swing style button down.

 

 Purchased from St. Vincent de Paul on Beechmont.

(3.99)

 I probably should have steamed this before taking photos. Oops.

Seen here with J.Crew cropped jeans I found at the same time.

($2.50) It was half off jeans day.

 

Here's the shirt in action.

And by action I mean napping in Ault park on a beautiful spring day .

 And trying to read but distracted by ants.

This was last Sunday the 14th.

The trees were looking gorgeous per usual.

(courtesy of Cory's photography skills)

All That Glitters

2013, so far, has happened in a flash. 

 

It was like staring at a fist full of glitter. Or this shirt. (Eh?)

Recently, I went to L.A. for a week to visit friends.

It was a magical time, filled with a day of vintage shopping on Melrose. 

 

I found this vintage star sequin top at American Vintage.

The shorts were jeans that I cut off and rolled. 

Top ($8) Shorts ($2.50)

 This hat was my one typical vacay souvenir.

 Found in downtown L.A. ($10)

 And just for fun, a mixed-media option.

Dress. Target. ($25)

Until next time, Bon nuit!

The Cubicle Makeover

I knew I wanted to transform my brown cube

because it looked like this...

 

As you can see, it was very brown. 

Brown walls, brown desk, brown cube walls, brown carpet.

All that fine and dandy for an office setting but

personally, I need color.

 

 

Thrift stores are often a box of puzzle pieces. 

Luckily, I'm a person who enjoys solving problems.

This fun, bright curtain was clearly the answer.

Curtain, $3, Target brand, Goodwill where Beechmont and 275 meet.

 The vertical pattern appealed to me.  

Who doesn't want their space to look taller?

 

Before

 For Christmas, my family gave me a heavy duty sewing machine.

It's sort of magic. However, I am not yet magical at sewing.

 As you can see my cube has panels.
I cut the curtain into four equal pieces and hemmed all the edges.
  I thought this would be an easy project. 
While it wasn't too difficult pinning the hem did take patience, a skill I'm still acquiring.

 After

 

 

Before                        After

 

 

Color energies me and lets the creativity flow.

 

 

The cube walls are a cork-like material.

The ease of attaching anything to the walls was the source of inspiration for this project.

Sliver thumb tacks were used to adhere the fabric and gave it an upholstered look.

Thumb tacks, $2, Michael's

 

 I did visit a fabric store during the search,

and similar prints were 4-10 dollars a yard.

I'm waaaaaaay too thrifty for that. 

While sitting at my desk,  I wanted to feel inspired not think to myself

was it worth the money?

It took about four different thrift stores trips to find the right fabric.  

Of course thrifting is a hobby of mine, so it didn't feel like work.

I suggest making thrift lists so you don't feel like you're finding nothing.

Bonsoir à partir Cincinnati Thrift!

The Green Military Sweater: Part II

 So I decided to dye my green sweater. 

When I found this sweater at Goodwill in Florence, KY, I loved the fit but wasn't crazy about the color.

See the previous post in the series here: The Green Military Sweater

Dyeing thrifted items has been an educational experience.

Problems I thought I would have, like even coloring or looking homemade, haven't been issues.
The challenges has been shrinkage (I'm guessing something to do with the chemicals in the dye)
and not achieving the total color. 
This was the issue with this dye. 

Believe it or not, I put the sweater on the left in black dye. 

As you can see, it came out dark green. 
The dye was for cotton and wool, so all polyesters, like the zipper and thread, did not dye.

You can see the zipper contrast better in this close up. 

Frankly, I'm glad it dyed dark green instead of black. That contrast would have been too harsh.

To read more about my different dyeing activities click a link below:

The Cardigan 

From Cincinnati Thrift, have a very happy New Year!