Life and Promises

THE UPDATE (as promised) from Plumbing Pipe and CurtainRods:

Okay, here’s the thing – I have failed. Ha! And this is not the first time I have admitted this particular failure. I have failed at keeping up with my blog as promised, but it’s time that I start again. So, I’m setting a goal for myself to post something weekly…..actually let’s say bi-weekly. I don’t want to get too ambitious here. I want to do this for many reasons, but mostly because I enjoy writing and another because I love sharing my life with my friends and family in a more creative way than posting pictures on Facebook (side note…. if you haven’t “liked” the ConsignedDesign Facebook page, you should get on that).

I recently visited a very special person in my life and she told me that I needed to write in my blog more. Issue: I currently live in an apartment….without a garage…do you know how hard it is to write in a blog about furniture redos when you have no garage? It’s pretty hard! Her response:  it was okay to write about life.

So here it is…a little about life…..

Life is something that continues to amaze me. I have no other way to describe it other than it’s a true blessing. Recently Hubs and I made the decision to leave our home away from home of Houston, Texas and move back to our hometown of Tulsa. I would like to say that there was a lot of discussion around this decision, but there really wasn’t. Something told us it was time to go home and whatever that “something” was, was right. Now that we have been back for a little over 3 months we know we made the right decision. Houston was great to us and moving there was the best thing we could have done for ourselves. Its sounds very cliché but we learned a lot about ourselves individually and as a couple by being away from home. Houston, our people in Houston (who I miss SO much and think about daily), and the adventure of living in that city will always hold a special place in our hearts. There are many MANY reasons to go back to visit, so don’t worry, we will be back often.

Okay, enough of the mushy gushy stuff……..I’m really excited about my most recent accomplishment and career change so I’m going to brag on myself for a minute. With the decision to move home, gave me the opportunity to pursue a career that I have been dreaming about for years. I FINALLY got my Real Estate License and am working for a WONDERFUL local real estate company. It feels great to be a part of this “family” and doing something that I truly love. Y’all, there is something to be said about chasing your dream and loving your job. When you love your job, it’s not a job. End of story. I am so fortunate that I can do this and have my husband’s undeniable support. This is one happy girl right here!! And, guess what? I just had my first sale………

Hubs and I purchased our first home!!!!

Look at that cute house! This was the plan once we moved back to Tulsa but we really didn’t expect it to happen this quickly. But, we fell in love and couldn’t pass up this home. We have a laundry list of things we want to do once we are in the house, like updating the shower, maybe tearing down a wall, a few cosmetic upgrades, and of course we have some furniture we want to redo. So excited! And yes, this will ALL be posted on the blog. I’m excited to share before and after pictures of our upcoming projects with you.

So, as always, stay tuned and stay safe!

Much Love, XO-KC

Plumbing Pipe and Curtain Rods

Okay yes, I know I said that I was going to make an effort to post more often, and I have failed. BUT, there has a been a lot going on around here that I will have to tell you about later. So stay tuned and I will update in a later post. 

....................

Hubs and I got some beautiful curtains a couple years ago for our wedding. I wanted to figure out a creative way to get these suckers hung up. Since we have so many windows across the back wall of our living room, I wanted to try to avoid putting a large curtain rod all the way across the wall. Solutions to that...? How about plumbing pipe??? 

Yes, plumbing pipe. Why not? This is such a cheap and chic alternative to a fancy, expensive, decorative curtain rod. I really have always hated trying to hang pictures and curtains, etc. the "correct" way so I, needless to say, tend to lean towards the "eyeballing" approach. Finally you can forget the drill and the level for this super simple project. 

All you will need is:

1/2 inch black plumbing pipe (I think we used 12" long pipe)

End caps

Screw Hooks 

We had this stuff literally laying around the house. The plumbing pipe was leftover from some of our shelf making which was on the "Plumbing Pipe and Wooden Shelves" post, so you might have to run out to your nearest home and improvement store to pick some up!

Screw in the hooks, thread your curtain onto the pipe, and hang. That simple! No level and no drill needed. Woohoo!!

The sun wasn't on my side for these pictures....

Stay safe y'all- XO

KC

Bare Legs and Milk Paint

Alright y'all - this is what a "boring" weekend without plans turns into at my house....a dinning room table redo!

One morning, hubs and I were sitting at our kitchen island enjoying our morning, freshly pressed cup of Costa Rican coffee when we suddenly realized we had no plans for the weekend! Let me tell you, I could hear angles singing! Ever since Thanksgiving we have been constantly on the go so when a weekend approaches us where we don't have much on the agenda....well....we start redoing furniture we already own. Ha! 

I know...normal people would enjoy a free weekend by doing nothing, but not us. We would rather redo our dinning room table and take advantage of this nice February weather unseasonable (for most of the US) weather. 

I have owned this table since my sophomore year of college. It's old. Not THAT old but for something I picked up for 120 bucks at a garden center several years ago, it has seen better days. It has lived through college, at least 4 moves that I can think of, and a kitten using it as a chewing toy. It needs some love. Hubs and I don't really have black in our house anymore and, really, the table was starting to look very out of place so we decided to give it a little face lift! And let me tell you, this project taught me a lot of patience. 

Here's the before picture: 

I really had no plans for this table so I basically made this up as I went. Luckily, it worked out! Once I had it out in the driveway and could get a good look at it, I decided it needed a new top. Of course Hubs keeps a pile of scrap wood sitting in the garage so I started laying out the pieces on the top of the table, in no particular pattern, and then this happened...

Ta da! You can clearly tell that this was scrap wood, test pieces, wood we have pulled off of other furniture, and some left over scrap wood from our Barn Wood Bench. After I got everything laid out how I liked it, I used a little wood glue to secure the pieces, and then started in with the nail gun.  Once my new table top was in place, it was time to get the existing colors off, and get this thing prepped for some major overhaul. Thankfully, the sanding was pretty simple. Orbital sander and some coarse sand paper and it was looking like new already!

Now it was time for Hubs to step in. I knew the top looked a bit unfinished so Hubs finished off the edges with some trim pieces that REALLY made this table look uniform and complete. 

Okay, ya'll, I hate doing this too, but you REALLY need to take the time to cake this thing with wood filler. Don't be shy...use a lot of it! Since this will be used as a dinning table, we didn't want anything to be uneven so once we got wood filler into all the nooks and crannies, Hubs took the ole mighty belt sander to the top of this thing and made it silky smooth. 

**This is a must! Take the time to do this. It's not fun, I know. But, it will be worth it in the end. Deep breath....patience. 

Oh, and while we had the belt sander out, we went ahead and stripped the legs of the black paint and let 'er bare legs show. 

Now on to the fun part - stain! So, this process really tests my patience because I crave instant gratification...which I get with stain...but I am always so anxious to see the finished product. It would be so easy to skip may of these steps, but from experience, I have learned that it's not worth it. Breathe.....

Okay so first thing's first, this wood needs some conditioning! This is simple. One coat, 15 minutes, and you're ready to start staining. You can either use a pre-stain or a wood conditioner. Either one will get the job done. 

Now, you can begin to apply your stain. In the past I have always used an old t-shirt to apply the stain but this time I used a sponge brush (and will use this technique for all projects going forward). To really make sure the grain of the wood shows through you will want to work in small sections. Apply your stain, wait 2 minutes, then wipe it off with a lent free cloth (or an old t-shirt). Do this across your whole piece. Once you have covered the entire surface and let it dry for 1-2 hours, give it a quick light sanding with the orbital using fine grit sand paper, and then start the process again. I believe we did this 3 times. 

We're getting there!

Again, since this is actually going to be used as our dinning room table (for now), we wanted the top to be smooth. But with smooth, I also wanted to make sure it was protected from hot plates and any wine spills that may happen on a dinning table. Cue the polyurethane! Seriously, this stuff might be my new best friend. I've used it in the past but never knew it's full potential until now. A-mazing. I put a coat of polyurethane (or "poly-blah-blah-blah" as Hubs likes to call it) on this table top every chance I got! You can put as many coats as you want and you are only helping the furniture, so don't hold back. It is important to let it dry for 1-2 hours between coats, but go crazy. I think we put 2-3 coats on this thing every day for 5 days before we decided that it was probably as good as it was going to get. Ha! Definitely worth it. See...the patience is paying off!

Now for those bare legs. 

Instead of staining the entire table one color, I decided I really wanted some contrast. I wanted the top to be dark but I wanted the bottom to have a more antiqued finish. I have done this before but with more effort than I ever cared to exert. Ha! This is a whole new experience we are about to embark on together but it should make the desired results a little bit easier to accomplish. The completion of this table calls for a trip to the store to find gel stain and milk paint. And yes, you have to go to a specialty store to find this.

Oh and I couldn't have done this with out a little help from Ana White.

Here's how this works: first, make sure your bare legs are prepared with some pre-stain (Keep in mind when using the pre-stain, this isn't something you can let sit over night. You must allow at least 15 minutes for the conditioner to set in, but no longer than 2 hours. Directions may vary depending on the brand so look at your can). Open your can of gel stain and get to stirring, don't shake! This stuff is thick and needs to be worked on for a couple minutes before use. Apply as directed and let dry at least 24 hours between coats and/or before moving on to the milk paint. 

On to the milk paint! This stuff is a new experience for me and comes in a variety of colors, so get creative! It's not exactly cheap but I would recommend trying it out on some scrap wood before slapping it on your furniture. It took me some trial and error and again practicing my patience. But here's what we figured out: the packaging calls for equal parts milk paint and water. I found that it was much easier to deal with it if there was just a little more milk paint in the mixture than water...but don't go overboard. It should be a little bit thicker than the consistency of milk...maybe more like a milkshake? Your call. 

The first coat seams to go on a little streaky but I was pleasantly surprised with what the second coat looked like. Oh, and I didn't waste any time between the first and second application. Now....again I have to practice patience. This HAS to sit for a good 24 hours before you can do anything with it. Technically this is supposed to crackle and look awesome after it drys....we will see how it goes!

So after we let this sit for 24 hours, we noticed it was crackling in some spots but not all over like we had hoped. So, we lightly went over all the legs and the skirt with the orbital sander and very fine grit sand paper. The milk paint began to flake off in areas and it was looking great. We finished the legs off with two coats of "poly-blah-blah-blah"  and moved it back inside! I was very pleased with the end results and will be using milk paint for future projects!! Hope y'all like it. 

Oh, and the kitten I mentioned in beginning of this post....he was happy to have his table back. I think he approves. Hopefully he's out grown the chewing stage. And yes, he's actually that big. Ha!

Whew! Now for the chairs..... (coming soon!)

Stay safe- KC

Pink Flamingos and Christmas Wreaths

Happy New Year's Eve, y'all! I guess this will be the last post of 2014! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas Holiday. 

As y'all know I have been on a bit of a wreath kick recently (which reminds me, I need to post all of the Christmas wreaths I've been making!). A friend of mine came to me with a couple of wreaths she wanted to make for her grown kids. Let me give you some background before we dive into this because it's not your typical Christmas story....

This friend of mine lived in Hawaii for 10+ years and raised her two children there. Their holidays were filled with sunshine, beaches, and old St. Nick running around in swimming trunks...oh, and flamingos. Wait....what??? Yes, I said flamingos! Actually, the flamingo thing started as a joke when her daughter got married. Apparently her and her son in law exchange obnoxious flamingo souvenirs every year for Christmas (and all throughout the year when they find a flamingo that is worthy enough to be displayed with all the others). Well this year, Friend decided to change things up and really give the son in law (who lives in snowy Boston) something that represented a true Hawaiian Christmas filled with pink flamingos. I'm so confused. 

The wreaths I have been making have been filled with greenery, fake snow, jingle bells, and bright red ribbon. So I was really excited when Friend came to me with this idea. So instead of doing the typical burlap bubble wreath that goes perfect with any Christmas decor, I got to switch things up, and get in the mind set of being in Hawaii for Christmas (cue the ocean waves on the noise machine!). This time, burlap just wasn't going to cut it. Sooooo here's what was decided! 

The scrap fabric wreath! Except, I went out and bought this fabric because, I don't know about you, but I don't have any flamingo inspired fabric scraps laying around my house. 

Here's what you will need: Fabric scissors (or one of those fancy straight line fabric cutters...which I do not own...hint hint...), about 4 yards of fabric (mix it up - I do a half a yard to a yard of a few different patterns and colors) and a few spools of ribbon, along with the well known wire wreath (this was an 18 inch wreath). 

Now, get to cutting. The strips do not have be perfect by any means but typically mine are about 6 inches long by 1 inch wide. Same for the ribbon. 

*Tip: fold your fabric up and cut several layers at once - this makes the process a little faster. 

Now, one at a time, alternating different fabric and ribbon, start tying them onto the wire. It's very simple but somewhat tedious. 

*Tip: you don't have to fill each section of the wreath completely. I went about half way before I started on the next section. Once you get all the fabric on there and fluff it up and spread it out, it will look full - so, no need to completely fill the wreath (unless you just want to). 

Now you will start seeing what the finish product will look like.

And the final product! 

I finished it off with a flamingo themed Christmas stocking and then Friend added a Mele Kalikimaka sign to make it Hawaii Christmas official. 

*Picture coming soon!*

Also, here's a picture of the other Hawaii inspired Christmas wreath made for her Son and Daughter in law. I think they turned out great!

I wish everyone a very safe and Happy New Year! 

xo - KC

Long Flights and India Nights

Well, we survived! Our trip to India was quiet the adventure.... 

Where to start? I'm not going to go into full detail of every day, because I could write a book about our trip. But, I will say that we were full of emotion from the time we landed in Delhi to the time we took off. It's overwhelming for a not so seasoned traveler. And by that, I mean I LOVE to travel but I've only gone a few places. I love throwing myself into the different day to day activities of other cultures. I've hung out with the natives of Costa Rica in their local bars, I've walked high street morning and night of a small British village to pick up a pastry for breakfast or a bottle of wine and some fish and chips for the night's meal. I've danced to the music of the Dominican and taken shots of the most awful tasting liquor I have ever tasted, but the locals always insisted. But I didn't consider myself seasoned, until this trip. 

The flights were long....very long. After traveling for 22 hours, Hubs and I were ready for a nap. But first we had to fight the morning's traffic back to our hotel room. Wow! I thought Houston traffic was bad but boy was I wrong. Traffic signs and laws are just suggestions...cars going anyway they please. But the funny part is, I think the traffic moved a little better than Houston traffic. If you get in a grid lock, you just push your way through the crowd, tap on your horn to let people know you are there, and come out on the other side. Cows in your way? No worries, just give them a little nudge...they'll move! Ha! So amusing, but it works. Finally we reach our destination and we immediately started in on the wedding festivities. The ceremony's for India weddings are like nothing you could ever imagine. The rituals are filled with the most wonderful colors, unforgettable scents, and some of the most genuine people I have ever met. The food was bold and full of flavor and the music wouldn't let you sit still. Everyone was constantly making sure we were comfortable, we couldn't have asked for a better experience. Oh, and if you want to taste Indian food, find a wedding to go to - I thought my family liked to eat but our meals are nothing compared to these all night feasts! 

The poverty in the city was a hard pill to swallow, but that just comes with it. I don't think I fully understood poor until I walked the streets of India. And honestly, Hubs and I were a little uncomfortable until some of our new friends took us out shopping around the markets and we learned more about our surroundings. Yes, it's poor, and yes kids are begging for food and money right along side the dogs roaming the streets, but they survive, they make it work. It's really beautiful to see families working so hard together and seeing how much love and support they have for each other. We learned quiet a bit walking the streets of Ghaziabad. We learned that the coconut water and fruit juices are amazingly fresh and completely take over your taste buds, that you can bargain for anything, and we also learned to love riding on the back of a rickshaw (picture below - basically an over sized basket on the back of a bicycle). 

I would say the most stressful day of our trip was when we set out to see the Taj Mahal. Agra is an interesting city that sits about 150 miles south of New Delhi. Kind of quaint but at the same time it's a busy busy place! Monkeys are EVERYWHERE. I saw more monkeys in the middle of the city of Agra than I did in the rain forest of Costa Rica. And they were very mischievous! Did you know that the Taj Mahal (translates to the Crown Palace - one of many things I learned!) isn't out in the middle of no where? I always thought it was! But it sits in the middle of Agra. Once we got onto the grounds, we were overwhelmed with the amount of people wanting to help us. After meeting our tour guide, picking our ride into the park (camel or golf cart? Which would you choose?), and buying our entry tickets, we were walked through the most amazing gates and finally got our first glimpse of the white gem. It nearly takes your breath away. Gorgeous! We were very thankful for our tour guide as he really helped with picture taking and showing us around the property. That was our last day in India. On the drive back to Delhi, Steven and I were reflecting on our trip and all the memories we made with our new friends. We had some minor "bumps" in the road on the way back to Delhi that day....that lead to a complete meltdown later on....but we made it and we were SO ready to catch that plane home...oh, and eat some pizza!! 

We will never forget the experience we had in India. The food, the people, and most of all the memories we will have for a lifetime. Below are some pictures of our trip. I hope you enjoy!

Coconut water

Ride in the Rickshaw

Beautiful mehndi/henna - we were letting it dry...for 3 hours... 

The next day

The beautiful bride and groom at the reception 

Wedding site

Hubs and I showin' off our traditional India wedding outfit

 

Taj Mahal

Be safe! XO - KC

Plumbing Pipe and Wooden Shelves

Hey, y'all! It's Friday!

I wanted to post this real quick before I go sit in traffic for an hour or longer... blah!

Hubs and I are making these shelves! Made out of plumbing pipe, they have a lot of character and are great for an office or any home decor. This particular one was made for an office - very basic. Share with your family and friends and let me know if anyone wants to get going on their Christmas shopping! We'd love to make you a shelf!

I thought this would also be a good shelf to have in your kitchen to hold spices, flour, and sugar. You could also easily screw hooks in the bottom to hang coffee mugs on. 

KC Tip: You know how I always say flip things around, turn them over, and look at them at all different angles?? Well here's a tip with this shelf...flip it upside down! When you flip it over, the top (or bottom..?) still works as a shelf and the bar in the middle becomes a towel rack. This piece would be great in bathroom to hold a towel and some toiletries for your guests. 

Xo! Have a great weekend and as always, stay safe!

KC

New Bottoms, New Nightstand

Good evening, all! It's Sunday night which means I unfortunately have to go back to my day job tomorrow. Sunday's also start this horrible emotion that I like to call "Sunday Grumpies" which basically means, I've had such a fabulous weekend spending time with Hubs, doing some household crafts and furniture redo's (of course!), and thinking about how much I wish I could do all of this for a living. But hey, we all have to work, so back to the grind tomorrow!

Things have been a little crazy for Hub's and I lately. Busy busy! There have been weddings, trips, and life that have really been keeping us on the go! Oh, and we also decided to go to India to see a dear friend celebrate his wedding (coming soon to a post near you in December! Eeek!!). So, yes, I'm a little behind on the posts!

Okay, enough excuses as to why I haven't been posting. Let's get down to business! I had mentioned in  previous posts, Barn Wood Bench and A Vase and a Lamp Shade, that Hubs and I have a list of things we needed for our bedroom. Well guess what?! Today I finally get to cross everything off that list! We finally found the prefect nightstand to perform a little bit of Consigned Design magic on. Excited? I am!

Here's what we found:

Flea Market find: $100....minus $40 after a little bit of negotiating. This thing is ugly but it had great bones...well sort of. I'll get into that a little later.

First step was to get all of this ugly paint off of this poor piece of furniture. Little did we know how much paint was actually on this thing. LAYERS and layers. So, needless to say, this took a little a lot of elbow grease. I couldn't have done this without my friend, Paint Stripper. Actually, we used a spray on paint remover that worked great! You should be able to find this at any local home improvement store.

PLEASE be sure to use protective gloves, eye wear, and long sleeves to do this. If the wind catches any of this mist and gets on you, it will burn a little. This stuff is no joke. So please use with extreme caution. Also, do this in a well ventilated area, aka - outside, the smell is intense.

First, just spray the paint remover on like spray paint. Let it sit for about 5-10 minutes until the paint starts to bubble (be sure to read instructions on the can as well!). The longer you let this sit, the easier it is to scrape off the old paint. Then use a steel paint scraper and get to scrapping! It's best to work in small sections. I started with the drawers and then did the rest of the piece.

Since there was so much paint on this silly thing, we had no choice but to sand off all the excess. But, I still think it's a good idea to do just to make sure your surface is nice and smooth. We used 80 grit sand paper for this.

Ignore the gardening, I never said I had a green thumb!

Back to the bones: Here's a little reminder to you while you are out junkin' (definition - going into the most run down places that have piles of crap in them and dig for a gem) - be sure to look at your piece entirely. We made the mistake of only opening the top two drawers of this piece while at the flea market, but once we got it home we realized the bottom drawers were falling apart. So, we decided to go ahead and put new bottoms in all of the drawers. Hubs went out and got some fancy ply wood (yes, I said fancy) and made new bottoms for each of the drawers. They turned out great!

I really wish I had taken a before picture of these drawers. You would have been shocked to see what the bottoms of them looked like.

Next step, prime! This is when I think the piece really starts to look like a new.

Last are the finishing touches. You can really finish this up however you would like. We actually bought a piece of furniture (I know! It was the first piece of furniture that we had actually bought new in a long time. Ha!) that we loved the finish on so we were trying to match it. We used the same antique gray paint we had finished our Barn Wood Bench with. Remember - once you do a coat of paint, let it dry for 24 hours, sand it down, and paint it again. I always try to do this a few times. It takes A LOT of patience but it's worth the extra time and work. Once the painting was complete, I sanded some key parts of the nightstand to really give it an antiqued look. After I got it roughed up a bit, I used some glaze and dark stain to complete the look.

Oh, and I can't forget about the new hardware! The original "hardware" (if you can call it that) that was on this piece only needed one screw to get it secured into place. We wanted to switch this up so we covered the old holes with some wood filler. Then Hubs got the new hardware put on. Here's another reminder - always measure twice. Don't tell him I told you this but the bottom drawer's hardware is a little off....actually its way off...which is why the final pictures are taken at an angle. Ha! Hopefully you can't tell.

Finished product!

Cost of redo: Approximately $70

Total cost of nightstand: About $130

Alright - bed time. Night y'all! Stay safe.

KC

PS - I will upload a picture soon of the finished product in its new home. You'll love it!