first flea market trip, i would call it a success

My sister and I went to our first flea market last weekend and I think we did a pretty good job, I got myself a wooden work bench and a wooden/metal crate for $30. Once I got home I spent some time cleaning up the bench and thought it would make a perfect coffee table since we've been using an end table as a filler. After some extensive scrubbing I finally got this bad boy cleaned up, take a look.

When I found this crate I thought it would be perfect to hold the blankets in the living room.

I also scored myself a table cloth for $2 and a light meter for my grandpas camera for $5. Now I just have to figure out how to work it.

finished...well almost

I was finally able to bring my kitchen table home, I simply have to put a last coat of polyurethane on the table top and attach it to the base. Here's what it looks like. 

once i finish attaching the table top the boards should straighten out, hopefully

getting there

I am making some slow but steady progress on my dining table and I thought I would share. Enjoy :)

 Here is the table top so far. I still need to sand it, fill in the holes, and polyurethane it. Also I plan to cut to top apart and so I have two leaves that will go under the table top, similar to the original design.

Heres the bottom of the table. Originally I was planning on painting it glossy black and I am so glad my dad told me to paint it a flat black. The look it so much softer than I anticipated and I am very pleased with the outcome so far. 

Cant wait to finish it up. :)

its so good to see you, its been way too long

I'm a bit embarrassed to realize that I haven't written a post since February, originally my plan was to write a new post everyday but apparently I didn't count on life getting in the way. However, schools almost done and I plan to fill my summer with loads of projects.

I just bought a table and chairs on craigslist for my friend Emily and I's new apartment and I have big plans to make it stunning. After being a bit discouraged to find that I probably paid too much for it I decided to put that aside and look ahead to what I want it to be. Here are the before pictures. I am hoping by posting these I will be determined to get this project done in a timely manner so I can show you the results.

I love the style of the bottom of this table and it was also one of my reasons for purchasing. I'm not sure what to do with it however, I really like this dark wood look but I need to fix some of these scraps. I am considering painting it black but I just love the look of wood so I may just leave it. My indecisiveness is taking over as you can tell. I have decided for the time being that I will just sand down the scraped parts and assess the situation later. To decide another day.

As you can see the table top is in crappy condition and I plan to replace it. What I really wanted from this table was the workings of it. I wanted to have a small table that could be made larger. There are leaves that slide out on the sides and pop up to align with the top piece, I just love all of the mechanics of it. 

Last weekend I spent a surprising amount of time taking the old seat covers off, finding that underneath the pleather was the original fabric and wood fibers used as a cushion. It was pretty dusty and one of the seats was rotted so I need to make a new one.

Now I need to decide what kind of fabric to use for the seats. I think I'm going to leave that for last, since its my favorite part. Any suggestions?

I need some suggestions

I finally settled on a duvet for my bed and it came on Friday. Now I am just waiting for the new comforter to go in it. The only thing I need to figure out now is what kind of sheets I should get. Originally I wanted to dip dyed stripes but I'm not exactly sure how it will look with my duvet cover. 

Here are some pictures of my new duvet cover. I got it on sale from Urban Outfitters. 

and here is what I was thinking of in terms of the dip dyed sheets except in reverse, with the blue stripes being skinnier and the white stripes being wider. 

I'm not sure if this idea works anymore but I do want a pattern of some sort. If anyone has any ideas feel free to share. 

Holy snow

I got up this morning wondering how much snow we got. So I took a quick peak out the front window. It looked like a lot of snow but not too bad. It wasn't until my roommate went outside and told me to come out that I realized that the other side of the street was a completely different story. 

Heres some pictures from our balcony of the one side of the street that got all of the snow.

You can see how the other side doesn't look nearly as bad. I was going to go to a few places today but the buses are shut down for the day, so I guess thats not happening.

THE SUPER BOWL

Well the Super Bowl is this weekend and I was planning on making myself a Packer shirt. My stepmom got me one so I no longer needed it. However my friend Britt was without and I still wanted to give it a try. I just bought a plain shirt at walmart in the mens department and removed the pocket. Here are some pics of the shirt before and after I altered it. I painted the helmet on with fabric paint. 

before

after 

I took in the sides of the shirt and turned the crew neck into a V-neck. 

Can't wait for Sunday. 

Maybe I'll post a picture of Britt modeling the shirt later. 

Im pretty pleased with the end result

My new nightstand

A while back my dad and I made a shelf for me to use as a nightstand. It took longer to finally get it hung up than it did to make it, but nonetheless it is hung and looks so good. The wood, I believe, is from the old shed that my dad and brother tore down a couple of years ago. Love it! Thanks dad. 

Here are some of my favorite mementos: 

-A picture of my grandpa when he was a little boy, I just think it is so adorable.

-The blue bird is a gift from my great grandma, she was such a sweet women and I like to see this little guy as a reminder when I wake up every morning.

-When I was in 8th grade our log house burnt down and a friend of my moms took some of the logs and made these beautiful containers for us. I love it because it's nice to have a piece of our old home but also it is beautifully made.

-The little heart shape jewelry box is a gift one of my best friends gave me. It is so cute. 

Making Progress

So I have finally started making some progress on my bedroom. Ok so some very minimal progress, but progress none-the-less. I spent a few hours yesterday making myself a headboard (with a lot of help from my uncle). 

I found this idea on design sponge, it was a before and after project. 

heres a picture after just finishing the project...

and heres a picture after my dad and I attached it to my bed. 

My next project is to make a duvet cover similar to this one from rough linen or this one from 

Serena & Lily so that I can get rid of the comforter I have had since 8th grade. 

Oh and there is my beautiful sewing machine on the left. I just got back from two weeks at home and can't wait to start sewing. :)