Refreshing A Little Old Bench

I love giving furniture a new life. Whether its stripping and refinishing antiques or as simple as this little bench I'm about to show you. I'd much rather put time into making something old new again and keeping the character than buying something that tries to look old but isn't.

I found this little bench for $19 at a local antique sale. I have been looking for something that would make a nice side table in our guest room and this fit the bill. Here's how I made it look nice and in tune with the room's current black wrought iron bed and accessories. (Finally a before and after on a project too!)

Here is the original bench

This is the fabric I chose that fits in with what's already in the guestroom. You want to find a fabric that's strong and durable and doesn't stretch when you pull on it from either direction. I found this at JoAnn Fabric in the home decor fabrics for 50% off.

I took the seat off the bench. I then took the new fabric and cut a rectangle large enough that I could wrap the fabric around and staple it to the bottom of the seat. I was lucky that the old cushion and fabric were in decent shape and I could leave them and just re-cover the seat.

Stapling the sides

The corners can be sort of funny so I'm posting pictures of these too.

I decided to paint the bottom wood part of the bench. When painting something like this its better to sand it down so that the paint will better adhere and be absorbed.

I'm cheap and didn't want to buy a whole quart of black paint for a little project so I just used the sample cans you can get at Lowe's - this one is a Satin finish by Valspar and I had plenty to do two coats.

Then I put it all back together and got this super cute little bench that I'll use as a bed side table.

 The project total came to about $30 including the bench.

My Family Wall

Ever since we bought and moved into our 1890's little old house I've had my eye on the wall going up the stairs. I wanted it to be what every home has - a family wall. As my friends know AJ and I's families get a little interesting but I thought that a wall would help showcase all the bits and pieces that do come together as our family and help others understand where we come from. The project has been a work in progress for many months but I finally pulled it together last night and think that it came together nicely. The crafty part of this project was the actual window/text graphic/picture I've put in the middle. I really should have taken a before and after on this one! I will do better with that in the future I promise! Here's what I did:

1.  I found the "Our Family" wall graphic in an uppercase living catalog and ordered it in chocolate brown (an accent color of that particular room in my house)
2. I knew that I didn't want to apply the graphic directly to the wall just in case I wanted to move it in the future so I decided that I would apply it to an old window that still had its glass. This way it was framed like a picture and I could always move it. 
3. I went in search of an old window that was just the right size and had a little bit of character. The one I chose had a little bit of the old hardware - just enough so you would know it was a window and fit the graphic nicely.
4. Once I found it I really didn't like the color (a pinky mauvey color that the paint looked too fresh for my taste) so I, for the first time, worked with crackle paint or the antiquing affect you can do with the Valspar Weathered Crackle Glaze.
5. I painted the first layer with dark brown Satin paint. This is the layer that will show through the top layer where the paint cracks. This way the brown all pulled together. 
6. Then you apply the Valspar Weathered Crackle Glaze - I followed the directions on the glaze exactly - THIS IS IMPORTANT!
7. Then I finsihed the top layer with plain white flat paint. All the trim in this room is white - again trying to pull all the colors together. This is for sure the hardest step!
8. At this point my window finally looked the way I wanted it to. I then applied the uppercase living graphic to the glass
9. I also had to rig up a strong way to hang this window so that I didn't ruin all my efforts if I fell off the wall. 
10. I hung my window picture centered on the wall
11. I gathered family photos in various frames and hung them around my window picture and this is the final product.

Old Recipes Collage

This project idea was spurred when I found these old newspaper clippings in my Dad's Victorian house he purchased when I was younger. They were all stuffed into an old trunk and originate from 1940-1946 from the DesMoines Register (Iowa's major paper). I love them because it's from a time when people needed to ration during WWII, when canning was essential and women made a home in their kitchen. Basically all I did was :

1. find a frame (it can be old or new) and a special place where I wanted to hang my masterpiece (for me it was in the kitchen of course)
2. color coordinate the frame, scrapbook paper, embellishments and kitchen colors so everything tied together
3. picked some fresh herbs from my garden and pressed them (you can find these pre-done at your local Hobby Lobby or craft store)
4. put it all together as if it were a scrapbook page 

I envision doing this same type of project with old sheet music, magazine pages, or any other mementos from the past. I did this project with a group of friends at our monthly craft night and it was a hit! It's something everyone can put their own twist on and incorporate into any color pallet and home decor. I'm planning to make one now for my Grandma who loved mine. I'll post pictures of the final. 

Me Blogging?

I have to be upfront about the fact that I thought I would be the last person to ever blog! I quite frankly don't think I do anything exciting enough to share - that is until I took an interest in reading about other crafters sharing their DIY projects over a blog. I have made a few fun projects that surprising turned out and I now take a lot of pride in. But, what fun are these projects if you can't share them with anyone - thus came my idea to blog and "a dash of jenny." Now, please don't be mistaken that this is going to be all about my best projects or showing off my talents (not much talent here). I plan to share my successes and failures since that is what DIY is all about - right? Hopefully you'll find something you like about my projects to try at home and learn from my mistakes! Enjoy.