The Jackman's first "real" dresser

I refinished my first piece of furniture.  It isn't perfect, but I am very happy with the way it turned out.  I bought a wood dresser on craigslist and then painted it.  After much debate, and a lot of conflicting opinions on HOW to paint it, I just decided to go with the ol' paintbrush.  I was really patient and did at least three super thin coats (besides the primer).  There are brush strokes, but it is better than I thought I could do.

While I was putting it back together in the girl's room, I thought about how fun it would be to line the drawers with some paper (I've seen this done all over blogland).  I ran downstairs and got some green wrapping paper and began cutting and mod-podging it to the inside of the drawers.  About 1/2 way through, I was not really in love with the results.  I wanted something more durable than paper.  Then, I remembered that I had some fabric left over from when we had a cushion made for their window seat.  I ran and got it, measured twice, cut once, and hot-glued the fabric to the bottoms of the drawers.  This whole scenario happened during naptime.  Here is a picture of the process.

  

Do you see the green paper and then MUCH cuter pink fabric?

I was so excited by the way the drawers were turning out, that I decided to use some fabric in a drawer for this table which sits at the foot of Emma's bed.  The top has a glass cutout so you can see directly into the drawer and the fabric there makes the table really punch.  Plus, it ties it into the room more. (I am already on the lookout for the perfect fabric to put in Aiden's dresser).











I spent too much on these knobs (from Amazon), but by then, I just wanted to be down with it.  So, Brent installed them for me, and I sat and stared at their dresser in all it's glory.

I finished about a week ago, and I don't even want to talk about the scratches or pen marks that have appeared in that time.....Such is life with my kids.  It was perfect for about two whole days.

Crafts are the best

I bought a few birdhouses last spring and had the girls paint them. We hung them on our tree in the backyard. I was surprised how cute they looked and how happy it made me to see them hanging out there, adding color and a little whimsy to our otherwise sad backyard. So, when I saw them on sale again while running errands yesterday, I bought some. I am planning on getting a whole bunch by the time spring is in bloom. I will post some pictures once they're all hung and our tree is green again. For now, you can enjoy the pictures of us doing the painting.



It was fun to see Taylor try to paint. She did a pretty good job dipping her brush and putting it on the birdhouse. However, her age came through near the end when she threw her brush on the floor, stuck her fingers deep into the paint and then started eating it.

Crafts are my girl's favorite way to spend time. They would even rather do this than watch tv! (I know, hard to imagine)

Even Aiden had a great time. He is starting to enjoy "projects" (his manly word for crafts). His goal was to get as many layers on his birdhouse as possible. He did this when we painted rocks for preschool a few weeks ago. Once dry, the paint just peeled off and was at least 1/4 inch thick.

Randomness

The kids got a hold of the camera, the other day and took the following pictures. Brent, clearly you need to teach these kids a thing or two about photography. But, I thought I'd share a small glimpse into a rather boring day at our house.




All of my kids have loved this red chair. We bought it when Emma was little and is has been our reading chair for years. Taylor will get books and schootch (the official term) her little bottom on this chair and pretend to be reading. It's adorable.

Isn't she just cute?

Taylor is in the collecting phase. Here she is collecting all the hangers . She has been known to collect: rubberbands, jewelry, shoes, hairbows, marbles, and money. If I am missing a lot of a certain item, I can usually find it stuffed in a purse/box somewhere in Taylor's vicinity.


Yes, this is how the girls' room looks on any given day. Why is is so hard to hang up your dresses after church? or make your bed? or put away toys? I love the way the girls' room has been decorated, but I can only enjoy it when it's clean. Thus, I often find myself just closing their door and pretending like the mess is not there. Someday, the girls will not share a room, and we'll get to see who the worst offender is (although, I'm pretty sure I already know).