DIY Tiled Table Top Tutorial

This is a project we completed a few months ago and I thought I'd show it off.
This used to be the night stand that goes with our bed set. Seeing as our bedroom is tiny and it doesn't fit in there, it now serves as a hallway stand and is the main dumping ground for EVERYTHING as we walk in the door. We originally just painted it white, but with such high traffic, the top was getting very scratched.

At Home Depot, we grabbed two 'square foot' sheets of glass tiles for about $15 each. We figured out the layout, cut to size and then transferred our "design" to the floor.

We also bought pre mixed Adhesive & Grout (about $9) and a notched trowel (about $4). We have lots of grout left over which we'll be using when we tile our kitchen back splash.
We also bought a log plastic rail/ edge that is meant to give the whole project a clean edge, but we ditched it because we thought it looked funny.

First, we slapped on the grout, then spread it out evenly.

Then we placed the tiles on top. We had already cut, measured and figured out the placement of the tiles, so we just transferred our design from the floor to the table top.

More grout, more tiles...

Then we pressed down on the tiles firmly so they would take hold on the grout.

We then let it sit for a week because we were busy working. We only needed to let it sit for 24 hours though...

The following weekend, hubby went back and covered all the tiles in grout, making sure to fill in the gaps between each tile.

We then let it sit for a few hours then grabbed a wet sponge and rubbed the grout off the top of the tiles.

The tiles then appeared through, nice and shiny.

And here is our (almost) finished masterpiece (we went back and fixed up a few of the imperfections you can see here - gaps in the edges etc.). I am no longer afraid that I am going to scratch the top of the furniture; these tiles are taking a beating and they are holding up very well. I think it also adds a bit of pizazz to the front entrance and makes the piece look a little bit less like a nightstand.

For a first attempt at tiling, I am pretty proud of our efforts and *think* we might be able to tackle the back splash ourselves when we renovate our kitchen.

Ottoman Slip Covers

We recently bought an awesome white faux-leather storage ottoman with two smaller ottomans inside. The only problem is that the smaller ottomans were stained by the under side of the big ottoman's lid (big black trays that flip over).

Our $20 additional insurance that was SUPPOSED to take care of it, however because it was a store fault, our only option was to haul it all back to Calgary. I despise Calgary, with a passion. So instead of wasting another very valuable Saturday, I simply sewed these ottoman covers (half an hour each) to cover them up. They're easy to remove (and wash!) and a great alternative to arguing with more useless store reps.

 

The blue piece of fabric is a large octagon (hemmed around the base) and the white sash is just a loop that slips over the blue cover to keep it in place. Easy peasy.

Secretary Desk Turned Craft Desk

One of my favourite pieces of furniture is my refinished secretary desk. We bought it on Kijiji for $70 after I fell in love with it and begged hubby to let me keep it. He was less than thrilled at first, possibly because we had to drive to Calgary for it and we had great difficulty fitting it in our old car... but then he sanded it and painted it for me and now he's satisfied and I am OVER THE MOON!!!

 Ta-da!

 I have since filled the top shelves with craft supplies, all housed in re-purposed coffee cans (wrapped in pretty wrapping paper), mason jars and other pretty things. The inside of the desk is a right mess, so it will have to wait a bit.

 

The swirly details remind me of the closet from Beauty and the Beast. Love. It. 

Update: Check out the inside!!!

Hinged Jewellery Hanger

I have been wanting to make these for AGES and began stocking up supplies before we even moved into our place. The best part about these is that they are drilled into the wall (a homeowners luxury) in order for the hinges to work.

I found some matching frames at the thrift store ($1 for both of them) and removed the glass and backs of them. Hubby spray painted them for me (I am terrible at spray painting) and then I glued in some of the lace from my 'First Attempt Wedding Dress'. I shoved some cardboard strips in on top of the hot glue to keep the lace from flopping out of the frame. We then attached some tiny hinges to some old paint stirrers, screwed it all to the wall, added some hooks to the front and viola! Jewellery hangers!

 

Here you can see the dodgy paint job, the strips of cardboard to hold the lace firmly in place, the hinges and the old paint stirrers (it was the only old, thin piece of wood I could find).

 

I had to tie a piece of ribbon between the hooks on the left-side one, to hang my hoop earrings.

 

 And they open for easy access to get the butterfly clips off the studs :)

Thrift Store Find - $5 Chair

Found a very sad looking chair at the thrift store, so we gave it a semi-makeover by adding some padding and reupholstering the seat and the back. Total cost: $9. I would like to paint the wooden frame because it's quite scratched, but it will have to wait until the summer when I can haul it out onto the patio.

Ta-da!

I thought it would be a great chair to watch movies on in hubby's office (on his new iMac) but Molly has since claimed it as hers. I guess I will just need to keep an eye out for another sad chair...