Mod Podge DOES Rock!!

I finally decided to take a stab at a Mod Podge project of my own. I have been watching all of the fun projects post to a blog I follow, Mod Podge Rocks!. There are TONS of cool and crafty ideas posted on this blog. I've heard varying opinions on Mod Podge but I really enjoyed the project and thought it turned out pretty cute too!


I started out with a small child's bench that the neighbors' little one had out grown. I imagine she probably displayed her stuffed animals on it.  We've been looking at and pricing dog food stands but they are just so darn pricey for what they are..if you know what I mean. So Mr. Bliss cut two holes into the seat of the bench to fit our metal dog food dishes. That was a stopping point for a little bit. I had not decided how I wanted to decorate the stand.


Here it is white and ugly but working perfectly:

I then decided to paint it a shiny black.. improving...

While the bench was drying I got to work on my letters and designs to be Mod Podged onto the back and top of the bench. I purchased a large Mod Podge "Matte" from Michael's, along with a cool pad of pretty paper. Total cost was under $10. I used cheap paper letter stencils(can be found at Lowe's or Walmart) to trace out the names of each dog and then carefully cut them out with my exacto knife.


I then went online and found some dog paw images via google and printed them out as a guide. This part took me the longest b/c I was being very picky and wanted smooth little paw pads. Small circles with the exacto knife were a little bit harder than the letters for me.


Once I had all of my letters and paw pieces cut out I started playing around with the layout. When I had it like I wanted it I pasted the letters and paws onto the back of the bench. I used a 1" sponge brush and some Mod Podge making sure they were secure and exactly where I wanted them. Then I applied coat after coat of Mod Podge, letting each dry completely before applying another, until I thought they were nicely sealed. Lastly, I Mod Podged some trimmed up pages of my pretty paper to the section where the bowls rest..... and voila!!

Our very own personalized dog food stand. Isn't it grand!!


More Mod Podge fun in the works including washer jewelry and a fancy lamp shade:) Thanks for stopping by!

DIY Projects Galore!

The past couple of weekends have been such fun. I began to tackle the DIY projects that have been floating around blog land and hence swirling around in my head. Today I'm here to share my first DIY Success. Old coffee table turned into lovely ottoman.

I have been drooling over many posts I've seen of these circulating on the interwebs and just had to give it a go. My original inspiration came from Little Green Notebook , one of the first DIY blogs I followed. When inspired by Little Green's  post I had only dreamed of attempting any kind of DIY project, but as my blog following became a more serious habit, I was filled with confidence that I too could do this and gave it a shot.

My coffee table of choice is not quite square like Jenny's but VERY rectangle. I was ok with that though b/c its size is better suited for the space it will fill. A definite blast from the past, this was actually my parents' coffee table while I was growing up. When they were through with it she, yes it's now a she, was banished to the garage. When I left my parents' nest and was in need of furniture I found her waiting patiently for me in the garage. I painted her white and she tagged along through most of my twenties. After my last move she was once again banished to the garage....Until now.

Last week I pulled her out and here she is in all of her white-ness and glory.

I then removed her shelves, which I'll save for another revamp project of some sort.

 Next I Removed her under brackets and legs...
 

 
And was left with this...

I have never reupholstered ANYTHING! This was the most intimidating part for me. Rather than spend a fortune on fabric, I used the wonderful advice of Traci from Beneath My Heart about using drop cloths to redecorate. I love the linen look of all the drop cloth projects she has on her blog.



My ottoman took half of a 6x9 drop cloth and that's probably a bit more than usual being that this was my first attempt doing this. For the foam, I was thrifty and used an old tempurpedic-ish mattress topper that was the perfect thickness. I would love to thank all of the wonderful ladies out there who mentioned using a bread knife for cutting the foam. It went through like BUTTER. I washed, dried, and ironed the drop cloth, cut the foam to size, gave her legs a bit of a spray tan and then got to work with the help of Mr. Bliss and my handy new electric stapler. Check her out............she's back:):):)

....and with sexy black legs to boot!!......

Back soon with my next project!!! Thanks for stopping by!