I posted this photo a few days ago on instagr.am with an allusive “Sneak peek of one of Harlow’s birthday gifts that I’ve been working on!” caption.

I know.  It was mean of me.  Y’all were just dying to know what it was.

Ha.  I’m kidding.

Today I want to show you my most recent project.  [I will share with you the amazing coffee table my husband just finished soon!]

But first, let me tell you a few things about myself.

  1. I am a crazy artist.
  2. I dream big.
  3. I like to push myself creatively.
  4. I’m a perfectionist.
  5. Sometimes I can be overwhelming when I rattle off said crazy ideas, but in my gut: I know that they can be done.
  6. My husband is a very patient man.

So.  Like I said: I’m a bit cray cray.  I like to lace together soccer balls made of clay.  I like to draw Willie Nelson.  + I like to make junk into treasure.

Friends, meet junk.  Junk, meet my friends.

We’ll call him Des.  He was a 5 dollar find at a local Goodwill.  I really thought my mother-in-law was going to sneak it home with her after I told her my plan was to refinish it, but thankfully, she didn’t.  She was afraid I would ruin it, but I’m happy to say: she has seen the final product + has announced me a non-ruiner.

I decided about a week ago to dig it out of the basement + finish it for Harlow’s first birthday.

I know.  She’s a little young.  But considering her finger painting skills, I know it’s only a matter of time before she’s coloring + painting up a storm!

Back to the desk.  

I knew I wanted to sand + re-stain the wood.  I’ve worked with wood quite a bit, but I’ve never actually sanded + reapplied stain, so it was a fun challenge.

First I took the entire desk apart.  It was crazy how many types of screws + wood they used!  Not one for consistency apparently!

Next, using a random orbital sander [I wanted to call it a “circular sander,” but according to my husband, that’s not what it’s called…] + regular old sandpaper, I sanded each piece to remove the finish.

+ because I’m really not so great as remembering to take photos of each step.  That’s all you get.

On to the staining.

We had some leftover stain from a sample we had put together for our staircase + it was exactly what I’d wanted.  I envisioned a deep, chocolate color – something that would hide the various colors of wood that was used to put it together.

I stained each piece separately.

I think I’m just going to start doing before + after shots.  I’m boring myself.

Me + tutorials/how-to guides?  = boring, boring Kacia.

Is anyone even still reading?  c’mon Kac, let’s make this a little more lively.

yup. I’m still boring.

I put the desk together + started my first coat of lacquer.

I used steel wool to smooth the first coat + put down one more coat of lacquer.

+ while this all was taking place, I was figuring what to do with this old chalkboard.

It was warped.  It was dirty.  I wasn’t sure I wanted chalk dust all over my housey-house.

So then I got all I-am-genius-watch-my-IQ-score-go-through-the-roof…

And I turned it into a white board.

oh what’s that? You’d like to see a few more photos?  ;o]

Before.

After.

I am floored at how it turned out.  I had an idea in my brain …. and usually? It doesn’t meet that idea.  But this time? It far exceeded my expectations!

So the awesomesauce etching on the lucite?

Using the “before” photo above, I was able to separate the letters + numbers enough to turn it into a black + white image.  I was then able to etch exactly what had been on the chalkboard onto the lucite for her whiteboard.  I wanted it to still have some of it’s vintage charm, without being, well, dirty + falling apart.

Want to see a few more photos?

Oh, you do?  [it’s okay if you’re just humoring me.  I’ll still show you.]

Before.

I knew that I wouldn’t be able to make the old peg-board [or whatever it’s called] look nice, so I had my trusty husband cut lucite for both the front + back spaces.  I spray painted them this fabulous shade of green. ;o]

After.

Ahhhhh! Sorry.  I wish this was my size.  Please call before you come over, or you might find me drawing pictures on her little whiteboard desk.

I love it so.

Okay.  So it’s safe to say that this girl is about to take that circular-orbital-spinning-sander to every vintage piece in our house.

It was way too much fun.

+ because the before + after still kind of amazes me:

Happy Monday, y’all! I cannot wait to share photos from this past weekend with you!  Thank you for all the sweet birthday wishes for Harlow!  She is one loved little girl: thank you for being such amazing friends!! I cannot wait to meet those I don’t know in-real-life someday [hopefully] soon!

xoxo

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