Chalkpaint Furniture D.I.T.

I'm not much of a D.I.Yer. but I love making things with people...especially my mom! My mom loves furniture, so while I was home for the weekend, I wanted to make something special with her. I must admit,  she did most of the work. I picked out things I wanted and worked alongside her, but she was the one to keep this little project going. 

Before 

This was the desk/bookshelf in our attic that I was eager to transform!

During

We made the chalkpaint for this project. It was very simple to make and it only required water, plaster of Paris, and flat paint. After we put a few coats on, we  my mom rubbed it with wax to protect the finish. 

The finished product

I love the soft finish of this desk and bookshelf combo. The knobs were from the clearance section at Anthropology and I really dig them. I can't wait to use this desk in the future! 

Curious why we used ChalkPaint? Read more about it.

Do you like customizing furniture? Feel free to link up projects you have made or like in the comments! I would love to see them.

Urban Apartment Divider

I made a DIY furniture piece, read about it:

I call this an urban divider for two reasons:
1) The fabric on the panels is from Urban Outfitters.
2) The divider itself is from the streets of New York City, which in my book, is pretty urban. 

Here's the story: I came across the divider during a cold day in October. I was walking with a friend visiting me from MN and we saw it laying behind a fence. I really wanted a divider because my living room is huge and I wanted to make it into two rooms so my guests can have privacy and so the room has two defined sections. So I stood there pondering for a second. The fence was at least 6 feet high. My friend wanted to keep moving, but I couldn't give up without trying. A lady came and I asked her if she had a key to open the gate. She didn't, but now she was equally determined to get over the gate and rescue the divider and the table from being thrown out. I tried climbing the fence without support, but was unable to. However, we noticed a mattress a few feet away resting on the fence. I climbed onto the mattress and  was able to jump the fence to get to the other side. I slipped the divider through and handed the table over. Then I climbed back over the fence and jumped onto the mattress for a safe landing.
Were you able to picture that? If not, just imagine me jumping and climbing. I guess I was desperate.

From there I stripped the white fabric from the divider and on black friday I picked up fabric from Urban Outfitters that was 40% off ($23 total). To attach the fabric I cut it the size of the panels and then used my hot glue gun. Simple as that!

Love it!

Hot glue the fabric on and fold over the fabric.

The naked divider

Privacy!

I'm particularly proud of this DIY because:

1. It's practical and useful. 

2. It makes my apartment more "guest-friendly" because it gives them privacy. It also gives my roommates and I privacy. 

3. It was a good value. This divider costs $113 from the store. Mine only cost $23 plus a little time...and climbing. 

4. It's pretty!

My mom would be proud. She is the queen of restorations and DIY in the Anfinson family.

Of Halloween

Halloween is definitely a holiday in my book. Costumes, chocolate, cheap Chipotle, and the color orange are the greatest and they all join forces on one night. What's not to love? Plus the line for chipotle took like 2 minutes.

I wanted to share the costume I made this year. It was an owl. I saw a picture of an owl costume and wanted to make one from scratch. I went and bought a cheap black dress from goodwill and then got some fabric and a glue gun. From there I cut little "feathers" and glued away. I was happy with the outcome! 

I also made owl eyes and owl ears but I am too embarrassed to show them. Truth. 

This was my inspiration

Seablanket.com

Okay, fine. Here's a picture of my head gear. Go ahead, laugh!