Introducing a new guest nester! Australian Abby Matthews blogs about the things that inspire her at Two Little Dicky Birds. Abby’s remake of this tired, chipped pine dressing table reminds me of my wallpapered cart, but she used an entirely different (and better?) process, so I had to share it with you. Abby writes: “I was inspired by Bryonie Porter’s wallpapered furniture, but wasn’t confident that I could carry off wallpapering the entire table, so I decided to just apply the paper to the top. It was just as well, as I botched the first wallpaper application and used up the bulk of the paper the second time around. The wallpaper I used is a Florence Broadhurst design from an offcut won on eBay. It’s currently used as a writing/computer desk in our living area and is definitely my favourite piece of furniture.” Thanks, Abby!

Wallpapered dressing table

Supplies

• dressing table
• painter’s tape
• sandpaper
• sugar soap (a.k.a. TSP in the U.S.)
• sealer and primer
• spray paint
• wallpaper
• permanent spray adhesive
• clear acrylic spray

Tools

• cloth and/or tack cloth
• sanding block
• pencil
• scissors and/or Stanley knife (a.k.a. utility knife)

1. The dressing table originally came with a mirror attached. This was removed and set aside. Remove the drawers and either tape the handles with painters tape or remove completely and set aside.

2. If necessary, strip and prepare surface. Sand back any glossy varnish or peeling paint. Wipe clean with sugar soap (½ cup sugar soap to ½ bucket of water) and a cloth. Leave to dry. (Don’t forget the drawers!)

NB. If you want to leave the finish as it is, just give it a good clean with sugar soap and leave to dry.

3. Prime the surface before spray painting. This will reduce the number of coats required and prevent any bleed-through of remaining stain or paint. Dry according to instructions on can.

4. Lightly sand and wipe down with a damp rag or tack cloth.

5. Apply a coat of spray paint. It is best to spray a few light coats rather than a thicker coat as otherwise it will tend to run. Once you have sufficiently covered the dresser, leave it to dry overnight.

6. Cut the wallpaper to size. Roll it out, face down, on a clean, dry surface. Place the dresser upside down on the paper and trace around the outside with pencil. Cut with scissors or a Stanley knife. Turn dresser back upright and check the fit. You may need to trim it slightly for a better fit.

NB. As my dresser had a rounded edge I had to take 2-5mm (~1/8 inch) off to avoid papering the curved edge. It is difficult to adhere the wallpaper to a curve, so it’s best to stick with flat surfaces where possible.

7. Spray both the table and paper with permanent spray adhesive. Wait a few seconds until both feel tacky to the touch, otherwise they won’t stick (as I found out the hard way!). The dresser may need two coats as it can absorb quite a bit of glue. Now the tricky part: Line up the wallpaper with the top of the table, working quickly as the glue will stick quite quickly, smoothing out any air bubbles as you go. Leave to dry overnight or even for a couple of days. This is really important. Don’t be tempted to skip to the next step early or the paint finish is likely to run.

8. Brush or spray on clear acrylic. This helps the wallpaper bond to the furniture, protects it from spills and scratches, and makes it a lot easier to clean. If you’re using spray, you’ll need a few coats (five or more), leaving to dry (as per the manufacturer’s instructions) between each coat.

9. Reattach the handles on the drawers if you have removed them, and replace in the table. Congratulations – you’re all finished!

Our new guest nester, Maria Romvari, transformed this corner of her house for her Hungarian blog A Hoover-gáton is túl, and she’s sharing her tutorial with us! Maria used ordinary thrift store items—side table, vase, and mismatched frames—totaling $10.67 to create this stunning vignette. Another $17.75 spent on paint, primer, and a brush bring the total to less than $30. Add some of her own photos and candle holders, and she was ready to start the transformation. Maria loves the clean, fresh look of white (a girl after my own heart!), but her husband wasn’t keen on the idea (he said white reminds him of hospitals), so he suggested staining the tabletop. It all came together beautifully, don’t you think?

Side table

Supplies and tools

• latex paint (Maria used Olympic Dogwood Blossom [D20-1])
• primer
• wood stain (Maria used gunstock colored stain)
• satin polyurethane
• newspaper or drop cloth
• fine sandpaper
• paint brush
• screwdriver
• mineral spirits (needed to clean polyurethane off paint bush)

1. Disassemble the table. Lightly sand the base and legs.

2. Cover your work surface, then apply two coats of primer to the base and legs. Maria’s husband shared this tip that made painting the legs easier: Hammer a nail into the bottom of each leg so you can hold and spin the legs without touching the fresh paint. Great idea! Let the primer dry, then apply one to two coats of paint. Let dry between coats. When finished, let dry overnight.

3. Sand the tabletop smooth. Again, protect your work surface, then apply two to three coats of stain. Let dry and lightly sand between coats.

4. Apply two to three coats of polyurethane. Let dry and lightly sand between coats. Let dry overnight, then reassemble the table.

Frames

Supplies

• latex paint (Maria used Olympic Dogwood Blossom [D20-1])
• primer
• newspaper or drop cloth

1. Disassemble the picture frames. Protect your work surface, then apply two coats of primer. Let dry after each coat. Apply one to two coats of paint. Let dry between coats. Reassemble the frames, add mats and art or photos as desired. Don’t forget to clean the glass!

Vase

Supplies and tools

• spray paint (Maria used a vanilla white shade from Michaels)
• masking tape
• newspaper

1. Slice masking tape into various widths (or purchase tape in various widths) and tape around the vase in your desired pattern. Protect your work surface with newspaper, then spray with spray paint. Let dry.

Candle holders

Supplies and tools

• frosted glass spray paint
• newspaper
• votives/tealights

1. Clean and dry your glass candle holders. Cover your work surface with newspaper, then spray with frosted spray paint. Let dry.

Thanks, Maria! You can find her original post here.

Inspired by West Elm's gorgeous Abaca pendant lamps

Super talented Heika DeHart strikes again. These pendant lamps she made of hemp string are genius. Plus, don’t you love how they look with her wallpaper? Heika writes: “I fell in love with West Elm’s Abaca pendent lamp a few years ago but, as usual, my taste was more expensive than my wallet could support. However, I was sure that I could copy them at a fraction of the cost.” I love the natural look of the hemp, but you could also use white or colored string. I’ve seen others make string lamps using balloons (which are oval), but Heika has an innovative solution for achieving perfectly round lamps.

Hemp pendant lamps

Supplies and tools

• large bouncy balls of various sizes
• clear drying craft glue (such as Aleene’s Clear Gel Tacky Glue) 1 bottle per ball approx.
• hemp string 20lb. weight
  estimated amounts needed:
  16 inch diameter ball—400 yards
  14 inch diameter ball—300 yards
  9 inch diameter ball—100 yards
• plastic gloves (optional)
• trash bag or small drop cloth
• permanent marker
• ball inflating needle (available at sporting goods stores or bike shops)
• light fixture and hardware (any one of these pendant fitters at Lowe’s, Ikea’s Januari cord set or Hemma cord set will work)

1. Draw a circle on the ball with a permanent marker. This circle will mark a space on the lamp that needs to remain clear of string. The empty circle will be used in assembling the light fixture and will allow you to have access for changing light bulbs. If the light fixture you are using has lamp shades, make sure that the circles are big enough for the shades to easily pass through.

2. Cover your work surface with trash bags or a drop cloth, and put on gloves (this gets messy).

3. The best way, I found, to apply the glue is to squeeze a quarter size amount onto your fingers and run the hemp string through the glue and then wrap it around the ball. The string should stick fairly easily to the ball. I tried two other methods that also worked reasonably well, but were much more time consuming and made a bigger mess. You can fill a shallow tub with the glue and run the hemp string through it, or you can apply the glue directly to the string from the bottle.

4. Glue and wrap, glue and wrap, glue and wrap.  Just keep going.  Try to wrap randomly to avoid criss-cross patterns. The more densely wrapped the lamp is the stronger it will be.

5. Make sure to avoid wrapping string over the circle area. If there are any areas that seem weak, you can apply a little extra glue to give it more strength.

6. Repeat the steps 1-5 to make multiple lamps. Let the glue dry completely. (The glue I recommended takes about 48 hours to cure completely.)

7. Use the inflating needle to deflate the ball.

8. Remove the deflated ball from the lamp.

9. This part takes some basic electrical skills. Follow the installation instructions that come with your light fixture. While installing the light string, feed the wires through the circle hole of the lamp and up through the top, so that the light bulb will hang down in the center of the sphere.

My new friend, Heika DeHart, shared these images of her daughter Aspen’s adorable bedroom. Nearly every decoration in the room was created from scratch by Heika herself. My favorite project is the stunning dresser. I loved the result so much, I asked her to share her instructions. She tells how she made her own stencils, how she cut silhouettes of her daughter, and more. Thanks, Heika!

Stenciled dresser

I bought this old dresser at a university auction for $15. It was structurally sound but in serious need of a face-lift. Paint and new knobs did the trick. Here’s how to do it:

Supplies and tools

• sand paper or steel wool
• paint roller and tray (if latex paint is used)
• interior latex paint or spray paint
• polyurethane clear finish (optional)
• stencil adhesive spray
• sponge paint brush
• butcher paper
• craft knife (such as an X-Acto knife)
• overhead projector
• glass drawer pulls

1. Prep
Remove all hardware, and take the drawers out of the dresser. Lightly sand all the surfaces that are going to be painted with low grit sandpaper or steel wool, which will help the new paint adhere better.

2. Paint
Two options for painting furniture that work well:

Latex interior paint: I recommend rolling it on rather than using a paintbrush where possible because the result is smoother. Use a foam brush to get in any tight corners or hard to reach places (dabbing paint on with a foam brush will give the same appearance as the rolled-on paint). For the dresser, place it on 2x4s or anything that will raise it off the ground so that you can easily paint all the way to the bottom. Coat everything twice or until it looks completely covered.

Spray paint: This is my preferred method of painting furniture. The only drawback is a limited color palette to choose from. After sanding, prep the dresser by taping over any surface you don’t want painted. The trick with spray paint is to stand back and try to achieve a light, consistent coat, which will minimize drips. It dries to a tacky phase in about 15 minutes and can be given multiple coats in a short period of time.

3. Make a stencil
Find a picture with simple lines, then transfer the image onto a clear overhead projection page. Tape a big piece of butcher paper onto the wall and project the image onto the paper. After measuring to make sure the image is the desired size, trace the outlines of the picture onto the paper. Then cut out the positive spaces of the stencil with a craft knife. You can also use a pre-made stencil. The Stencil Library has a huge selection.

4. Paint the stencil
When the paint on the dresser is completely dry, paint the stencil on. Lay the dresser on its back and replace the drawers, so the drawers face up. Spray stencil adhesive to the back of the stencil and place the stencil on the drawers. Tape off any exposed parts of the dresser front that you don’t want to be painted, then spray paint over the stencil. (Spray paint makes a much cleaner line than dabbing paint on, which inevitably bleeds under the stencil.)

5. Optional top coat
To give the paint a tougher kid-proof finish, paint a layer of polyurethane clear coat onto the dresser. It will keep the paint from getting scratched easily and will make cleaning  children’s messy fingerprints easier.

6. New hardware
The finishing touch for the makeover was new glass drawer pulls. Replacing hardware is a quick and easy way to update any piece of furniture.

Paper silhouettes

This was a simple, inexpensive project. I thought it would be sweet to have silhouettes of my daughter hanging on her wall but found it impossible to keep her still long enough to trace her outline. I settled on this solution. I found these simple frames at a dollar store. The entire project cost less than $10, but it adds a personal touch to her room. Here’s how to do it:

Supplies and tools

• photographs
• scrapbook paper
• glue stick
• white card stock
• frames
• double-sided tape
• printer or photo copier
• scissors

1. Search your photo collection to find images that are profile or silhouette shots. Copy or print them as large as possible on an 8-1/2- x 11-inches sheet of paper.

2. Tape the photo page and scrapbook paper back-to-back then cut out around shape of the child in the photo.

3. Glue the silhouettes onto white card stock and frame them.

Update: I found an awesome photo tutorial for making silhouettes using this same process at Simple Gifts. Check it out here.

Stenciled wall

This project was quite time-consuming, but the final product was worth all of the work. I made this stencil the same way I did for the dresser. I originally saw this stencil painted on a wall in Domino magazine and fell in love with it. It is such an unusual and fun way of breaking up the wall space in a room. Here’s how to do it:

Supplies and tools

• 2 shades of interior latex paint
• paint roller and tray
• photo paper
• stencil paintbrush
• craft knife (such as an X-Acto knife)
• small tip artist paint brush
• stencil adhesive spray
• edging tools
• measuring tape
• level
• masking tape
• drop cloth
• overhead projector

1. Make the stencil
Photocopy an image (I copied the page from Domino), then have the image transferred onto a clear overhead projector sheet. (I went to Kinko’s, but the sheets can also be run through regular copiers.) Measure the projected image to make sure it’s the desired height, then trace it onto photo paper (it’s thicker paper that holds up for multiple uses). The stencil should be at least 1-1/2 of the pattern length so that it’s easy to line up later. Cut out the negative space (light pink) of the stencil using a craft knife.

2. Pre-prep
Move furniture out of the way and cover with plastic. Cover floor with drop cloth.

3. Create a guide line
Measure up from the floor 3-1/2 feet. Using a level, tape off a line.

4. Painting walls
Paint the top half (light pink) first, from ceiling to the tape line. Use edging tools to make crisp lines at the ceiling and around moulding. Once it’s dry, remove the tape and paint the dark pink (again using edging tools around moulding) up to the light pink. (My stencil is about six inches tall, so I painted the dark pink a little more than six inches higher than where I wanted the stencil to start.)

5. Stencil
When the paint is completely dry, measure again and tape off a level line at three feet from the floor. Next spray the back side of the stencil with adhesive spray (the adhesive spray remains sticky enough to use the stencil many times before having to reapply it). Then line the stencil up with the top of the tape line and stick it to the wall. Using the light pink paint and a stencil paint brush, I stenciled around the entire room, making a border between the two colors of paint.

Tip: It’s difficult to keep paint from seeping under the edge of the stencil (even with adhesive spray), especially when the stencil is used repeatedly. I wanted the lines to be crisp because the two pinks were quite close in color. So, after the stenciling was dry, I took a fine tip artist brush and dark pink paint and touched up any splotches, where paint seeped under the stencil.

Poof flowers

I can’t take any credit for these. I bought a Martha Stewart kit. Of course, once I found out how easy they are to make, I cursed myself for spending $20 on a kit when I could have just bought the tissue paper for $5 and made them entirely on my own. Oh well, live and learn.

Our first guest nesters! Jessie and Dee Lorimer gave me the instructions to make these adorable accordion-style books. They’re a little more complicated than my bound books, but they don’t require any specialized tools or supplies. Plus, they’re well worth the effort!

Mini accordion books

Supplies

• 12- by 12-inch decorative sheet of paper (or fabric, wallpaper, etc.)
• cereal box
• glue stick
• ribbon
• 5 sheets of colored paper

Tools

• scissors or paper cutter
• ruler
• pencil

1. Fold each sheet of colored paper diagonally into a square. Cut off the excess and discard.

2. Fold each sheet again diagonally, then fold side to side into four squares.

3. Glue the top left square of one sheet to the bottom right square of another sheet. Repeat.

4. Fold accordion style. It’s impossible to explain this, so I hope this video helps…

5. Using a square as a measurement (4-1/4 inches), cut two pieces of cardboard from the cereal box that are 1/2 inch larger (4-3/4 inches). These will be the covers.

4. Cut two pieces of decorative paper about 3/4 inch larger than the cardboard all the way around. Glue the cardboard to the center back of the decorative paper. Then fold and glue each corner.

5. Then fold and glue the sides down.

6. Cut a piece of ribbon about 26 inches long. Glue the center to the inside of one of the covers. Glue 4-1/4 inch pieces of scrap paper over to secure (shown) or 4-3/4 inch pieces of decorative paper (recommended).

7. Glue the colored pages to the cardboard by placing the wrong side of the cardboard under the outermost squares.

8. Cut two pieces of decorative paper the same size as a square (4-1/4 inches). Glue these onto the outermost corners for a clean finish.

9. Glue your pictures, text, or scrap to each square (front and back).

10. Refold accordion style.

11. Tie closed with the ribbon.