Rustic DIY and Enamel Tag Tutorial

  • Beautiful reclaimed barnwood
  • Lovely painted distressed furniture
  • Numbers!

I love each of those things, don’t you? Meet: Kimberly from

serendipity blog

Kimberly is a professional home stager and decorator and a nature at decorating and do-it-yourself projects. Here are some of my favorites:

100 year old reclaimed barnwood before:

reclaimed barnwood

Now: Reclaimed Barnwood Hutch

DIY barnwood hutch

Love!

Dresser Before and After

And a tired old dresser before…

wood dresser before

gets a new distressed paint technique and a new purpose in the dining room… oh-la-la!

painted distressed dresser

See those pretty number tags too? I don’t know what it is about numbers but I love the charm it adds to decor, don’t you? Kimberly shares how to make these sweet little charms…

Here’s what you need:

  • Key tag blanks. (I got mine from Ace Hardware, they are steel with a brass finish and are about 1 and 1/2″ across)
  • Paint and primer (white..but I’m considering doing some blue  or dark green ones with white numbers)
  • StazOn Stamp Ink (and number stamps)
  • Embossing Enamel (clear)
DIY enamel tag supplies
Prime and paint the tags. Once dry, stamp the numbers using StazOn.
number tag tutorial
Line a skillet (frying pan) with foil. (or use an electric skillet). Place the tag on the foil and sprinkle with the embossing powder.
DIY enamel tags
Turn the heat to medium and watch as the embossing powder turns to liquid.
enamel tag tutorial
When the embossing powder is completely smooth and transparent, gently remove the foil (with the tag on it) from the pan and place it on a rack to cool.
enamel number tag tutorial
When the tag is partly cool, but before it is completely cool, gently peel the foil from the tag. and return the tag to the rack until it is completely cool. I also used a nail to remove the powder which had filled the hole while the tag was still warm.
So cool!
dresser after
To pin from original sources and to see more creative DIY and decorating from Kimberly, visit Serendipity.

For more information on enamel tags, see the original inspiration at Can’t Stop Making Things.

Easy Ottoman Makeover

Wow! Martha from

Leone Design

makes her ottoman makeover so easy, I want to tear mine apart right now and give it a makeover! Take a look at this for inspiration:

Thrift store ottoman – before shot:

1. First, remove upholstery nails and save for use on the finished piece.
2. She covered the top and sides with the same fabric (so that it would show through the burlap).
3. Next she covered the sides with strips of coffee sacks.

4. She painted the legs to bring the light cream.
5. Martha used tacky glue and duct tape (to hold in place) to tack down the sides/seams.

After an hour or so of drying, She simply removed the duct tape.

Isn’t this so fun? I love the mix of striped fabric with grain sack burlap! Great job, Martha!



What do you think? Love it, right?!

To pin from the original source and see more amazing DIY from Martha (so many furniture makeovers with lots of helpful tips) at

leonedesign.wordpress.com.


DIY Play Kitchen before and after

I’ve introduced you to Tanya from

Dans le Towhouse blog

in the past. She has some awesome DIY skills and talent. She recently made a play kitchen for her little cousin. This is one of the sweetest hand made gifts ever!

Before:

microwave cart

 

See full tutorial at DIY Play Kitchen Reveal.

Awesome after photos:

kids pot holders
DIY play kitchen 
DIY play kitchen from microwave cart
DIY kids kitchen
One more before and after:
old microwave cart, cheap furniture
Before
diy cute play kitchen
After
Super sweet! I want to play! Look how real, even down to the dish soap…
DIY play sink

I am so smitten with this kitchen and all of that fun food and accessories!

diy play kitchen
play kitchen, DIY
do-it-yourself play kitchen
I want the accessories for my real grown up kitchen. Adorable!
play kitchen
diy play kitchen
diy play kitchen
play kitchen
Cost breakdown (not including applicable taxes):
  • Microwave stand: $6.99 (included cute, wooden handles that I painted)
  • Faucet: $15.00 (with a bit of negotiating, bought from kijiji.ca)
  • “Sink”: $3.99 (it’s actually a stainless mixing bowl from the thrift store)
  • “Element”: $1.25 (a cork trivet from dollarama)
  • Wood for shelf brackets + dowel: $5.00
  • Primer & paint: leftovers
  • Legs: Free! (Mom had them lying around)

Total kitchen cost, having paid the tax man (but minus accessories):  $34.65 

LInks to the DIY accessories:

Tanya! You’re the best cousin ever! This is just so sweet, so amazing. I love it!  Thank you so much for sharing. I definitely need to add this to my DIY list for my nephew’s 3rd birthday. I love that you kept things neutral and included a set of ‘boyish’ accessories too…

diy play kitchen

I love ALL of Tanya’s DIY. She is super talented. Please visit her at

Dans le Towhouse blog

to pin from the original source and see MORE great DIY ideas!