Dressing Up an Ikea Dresser

So this was the entrance to our apartment before.  Plain, boring and that table is entirely too small.  It had been bugging me FOREVER! I couldn't stand it.

It was always supposed to be something temporary, I just didn't know what exactly I wanted to put there.  I searched and searched every thrift store, yard sale and craigslist and couldn't find anything that was the right size or shape.  It was always one or the other.  So of course the next logical move was Ikea.  Something simple, inexpensive (I'm on a small budget here!) and ready to be hacked.  I found this.  

Poifect.  Unfinished, so no sanding needed, simple shape, PERFECT size, ready to be dressed up and $79.99 I can deal.  So then it was time to drive up to Northern VA for a little Ikea shopping trip with my friend Elyse.  Okay, maybe not so little of a trip, driving almost 2 hours to a store takes some serious prepping.  Elyse and I both made lists, searched the Ikea website and catalog over and over making sure we knew exactly what we were going to get because forgetting something was NOT an option.  So off we went and we SCORED!

4 hours of Ikea shopping later, we were on our way home and ready to start building.  Okay, maybe just I was ready to build, Elyse not so much.  It took me about an hour and a half to build this bad boy, but that could have just been because I kept getting distracted by Bones.  Love that show, and love that the wonderful boyfriend got me all the seasons on DVD for Christmas.  Miller was no help what so ever.  Then again he never really is.  

I was doing great until it came to the drawers.  They were NOT going in right and I was getting so frustrated until I realize, I had put the sliding bar thingies (technical swedish term) on upside down.  OOPS!  Now that it was a good and done, I placed it in it's new home and immediately fell in love.

It was so much better than that tiny little table.  And wow, after looking at these pictures it seems as though you can see the touch ups on our front door.  Awesome.  My OCD is not going to like that.  Anyways, the size was great, I loved the storage possibilities, however that unfinished pine was NOT doing it for me.  I wasn't exactly sure exactly what I wanted to do with the dresser just yet, But I was 95% sure I wanted to stain the top and sides a dark color to tie in the console on the other wall and then possibly paint the drawers a fun stencil.  So I looked around the apartment at the different stains we had and I chose a dark walnut and got to staining.

I'm still getting used to this whole blogging thing and forgot to take pictures of the staining process, but I just brushed on some stain and then wiped it off with an old rag.  Here she blows all stained and pretty...

I stained the drawers because originally I was thinking about finding a great stencil and leaving part of the drawers stained.  I looked online for some great stencils and found a nice scallop one.  But at $50 something dollars, I decided I could make my own.  I don't want to go into great detail about the stencil, but I got some plain stencil paper, took an exacto knife and made a scalloped stencil and began painting.  I got one drawer in and wasn't feeling it.

I love the scallops but the design wasn't coming across exactly the way I wanted it to.  So on to plan B. I painted all of the drawers blue.  The paint was actually left over sample from painting our bedroom.  The color is Sherwin-Williams Tranquil Aqua. 

Yup.  Already liking this a lot more.  My only complaint about this dresser was that it was looking really flat.  It needed some dimension to it.  That is what I was attempting with the stencil, adding dimension.  So instead I thought of some sort of border and something white to brighten it up.  I'm not exactly sure my thought process on the design I settled with, I probably saw it somewhere on Pinterest or on the stencil websites I was searching, who knows.  But I began taping it out with some regular ole painters tape.

Now for a crazy, wordy explanation.  I measured 2 inches in from the edge and placed the tape to the left of the 2 inch mark.  I then measured 1 inch to the right of the tape and then placed another strip of tape, creating a 1 inch gap between the two pieces of tape.  I then repeated this on all 4 edges so it looked almost like a grid when I was done.

Okay that makes no sense, so instead here is a picture of what I'm talking about.  Again, not so great at taking progress pictures so ignore the white paint.  Let me tell you, it was all trial and error before I got it right.  And I didn't fully get it until the last drawer.  Urgh.

Now comes the REALLY confusing part.  I wanted to make 1 inch square cutouts in the corners of the 1 in thick white border.  So I used an exacto knife to cut the tape that was covering sections I wanted to be white and added tape to areas I wanted to keep blue.  Here's what I mean...

The black lines indicate where to trim the tape.  They are 1 inch sections.  I then had to add a 1 inch square where I wanted the "cutout" part in the corners to be.  This way that part with stay blue and the white border will have a step down of sorts in the corners.

Then comes the cutting part.  I took an exacto knife and cut slowly and carefully making sure not to go too deep into the drawer.

Then I peeled away the tape and voila!

After all the crazy taping and cutting and measuring over and over and over again, I began painting and then waited for it to dry.  Then came the reveal!

As for the knobs, I wanted something glam and settled on some mercury glass knobs. I found them at Anthropologie.  They have a sort of floral shape which matches some other knobs I bought in Amsterdam when I was there 2 years ago.  I like how they tie in with the other knobs around our apartment.  They weren't exactly the cheapest knobs around at $8 a pop, but I loved them and was being too impatient to shop around anymore.  I later have found some similar ones online for a little cheaper.

Then it was time to place the new dresser into its new home.

Now every time I come home and put my purse down on it, it makes me a little happy.  Just look how much better it looks than that old table!

Hope this helps someone else make something plain and simple from Ikea something they absolutely LOVE!

No Sew Dog Bed Cover

So I bought this fabric from my local discount fabric store for $8.99 a yard wanting to make a new cover for Miller's bed. I got 1 and 1/2 yards of fabric just to make sure.  Before we had an ugly poop brown dog bed we got at home goods for $20. I had been covering it with a blue blanket to make it a little less ugly.

I was so excited to make an envelope pillow cover to cover the ugly bed so I went straight home to start my sewing. One problem... My sewing machine was acting up. I spent probably a good hour or two taking the thing apart trying to figure it out. But I couldn't. I'm not exactly the patient type so I printed out some coupons and headed to JoAnns. I found some Stich Witchery for $6.99 for 13 yards.

I decided to get two since I had a 40% coupon thinking I could use the rest for something else. Well turns out JoAnns takes competitors coupons and I had a 40% Hobby Lobby coupon with me as well! JACKPOT!

I got home and plugged in my iron.  I followed the direction for the Stich Witchery which says to place a damp cloth over the fabric and press the hot iron on for 10 seconds without sliding.

To make an envelope pillow case is probably the easiest thing ever.  Being as impatient as I am, its my go to for pillow cases.  In the end, it looks like this on the backside...

I took Miller's bed and placed it on the fabric.  I made the cover a little longer than the bed is because I also wanted to stuff a blanket in there to give it some extra cushion.  I made sure that the fabric was a little more than twice as wide as the bed.  I cut the fabric to the appropriate size.

I then ironed the hem for the "envelope" part to make sure the edges were neat.  I then placed the stitch witchery in between the pieces of fabric and began ironing.

I was pleasantly surprised how well the Stitch Witchery worked!!!  After I finished the two hems, I folded the fabric in half (wrong side out) and made sure the two hemmed edges were overlapping at least 2 inches and pinned the sides.  You can kind of see the overlapping here... I need to take better pictures.

I then placed the Stitch Witchery between the two pieces on fabric and began ironing.

Once both sides were done I waited for it too cool off and then turned it right side out.  I then took Miller's bed, some old pillows and a blanket and stuffed them inside.

ALL DONE!

 Miller got in the way....

Apparently he wanted to be in the picture!

Well there we go! It probably took me all of 30min to make.  Here's the breakdown...

1 and 1/2 yards of fabric: $8.99 a yard, 1 and 1/2 yard = about $14

Stitch Witchery: 2 for $4.20 for 13 yards (40% Joanns coupon and 40% Hobby Lobby coupon) 

Total: about $18.20

Not too shabby! A friend's Mom said she would embroider his name on it so that the next step!  This is also perfect because when it gets dirty or you are crazy like me and wash everything constantly, it is easy to just unstuff and throw in the machine!

Update: I'm thinking about getting some velcro or snaps to close the back better.  Normally with small throw pillows its not needed but since this is so big, it doesn't stay closed very well.  I'll let you know what I decide to do!