Black Dresser for my Bedroom

April 4, 2010 AT 11:23 pm 51 Comments

UPDATE: I have had a bunch of questions about my Easter outfit. :) You girls are so funny! The dress is Calvin Klein, and I got it at Marshall’s on clearance for $44.00 (which is actually kind of pricey for me). The shoes I got at Payless for $14.99, and I already had the necklace and earrings. There ya go, sweet things!

I hope you had a wonderful Easter weekend.

The weather here was absolutely perfect, and I enjoyed spending time with both sides of our family.

I did get a couple pics that I wanted to share with you.

Me and my boys…

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The loves of my life!…

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The whole crew after church…

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I missed Mom terribly. I have such wonderful memories of Easter as a child. Mom played a big part in making it so special. I pray that my boys will also look back on these days and feel the same love that I did growing up.

The best part of the day was being in the Lord’s house and celebrating Jesus’ love for us all!

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Now to another piece of furniture that I finished for our master bedroom makeover.

Remember this inspiration picture I shared with you?….

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And remember this dresser I found at an antique mall?…

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Well, I broke down and bought her. They were asking $250.00 for the dresser. (Remember I had a $700.00 budget from the money I made selling my previous cherry bedroom suite.)

I did NOT want to pay that much!! I am sooo cheap! I knew that as soon as I bought the dresser, I would find one like it at a garage sale for like 25 bucks, and I would be totally kicking myself!

So I waited for about two weeks as I looked at every used furniture store, Goodwill, and antique mall I could find, and I saw NOTHING like this dresser.

I went back to the antique mall and offered them $200.00 cash, but they didn’t take it. So I called my Aunt Sue who buys and sells antiques, and ask her what I should do.

Long story short, my Aunt Sue went to the antique mall and talked the dealers down to $210.00. That’s as low as they would go, and since it was exactly what I was looking for, I decided to get it. :)

Thank you, Aunt Sue!

And here she is now…

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Isn’t she cute?

I followed the same painting steps on this dresser that I used for my black armoire, except I cover the whole dresser with primer. You can read about the details HERE. I also will probably be putting a coat of polyurethane on this dresser for extra durability.

I did want to share with you how I did the drawer pulls.

They looked like this at first…

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My husband primed them with some self-etching primer that he uses on his cars. (You could use regular spray primer.)

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Then I spray painted them black (look at the handle at the top of the picture.)

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I used a Folk Art paint from Walmart called Metallic Antique Gold ($1.25) and wiped it over the black handle with a paper towel.

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It gave me exactly the look I was after! Can you see the difference in the picture below?

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I love the way they look on my dresser…

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Pretty close to my inspiration picture, don’t ya think?

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LOVE IT!

Now for the hard part…accessorizing! I always struggle with this step. I’m not sure what I want to put on it…lamp?….pictures?….flowers?….we’ll see…

I am linking this project up to these wonderful parties…

Before and After Party at Thrifty Decor Chick,

Thrifty Treasures at Southern Hospitality,

Make it for Monday at Cottage Instincts,

DIY Day at A Soft Place to Land

Furniture Feature Friday at Mustard Seed Creations

Blessings!

Traci




Armoire Re-do

March 29, 2010 AT 12:34 am 48 Comments

 

I have been working fast and furiously on my master bedroom re-do. I have gotten a lot done but still have more to do.

I wanted to share with you the entertainment armoire that I found for our bedroom.

As I told you before, I wanted to be able to hide the tv in our bedroom. To do this, I decided to try and find an entertainment armoire to re-do.

I searched at some antique malls and on Craig’s list, but had no luck. The ones on Craig’s list were all $200 to $300, and I didn’t want to pay that much. (Remember, I am doing my master bedroom re-do on a $700.00 budget.)

One day I ran into a Habitat store and saw this armoire…

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I walked over to check the price and expected it to be way more than what I would have wanted to pay.

So you can imagine my surprise when I saw that it was only $40.00!!! I was so excited!

To be honest, it wasn’t exactly the style I was looking for, but for 40 bucks, I could learn to love it!

When I opened the doors, I quickly realized why it was only 40 dollars…

The back was gone!!

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But that didn’t bother me or Eli one bit! That was an easy fix! (My 8 year old help me take these pictures.) :)

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I called my honey and said, “Honey, I found an armoire for 40 bucks!”

He said, “Great!”

I said, “The back is gone.”

He said, “Oh.”

“Can you put a back on it for me?”

“Yup.”

So I paid my forty dollars and took that baby home! :)

Here it is from behind…

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My hubby applied wood glue to the edges…

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And then used his staple gun to nail the new back on…

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( 4 x 8 sheet of birch plywood – $18.00 at Lowe’s)

I also need some more storage space inside the armoire for baskets, so my hubby built some extra shelving. He used a 4 x 8 sheet of MDF board for the shelves since we were going to paint them. It cost approximately $ 15.00 at Lowe’s, but we only used a little of it. My husband used the leftover wood to make a work table for his garage.

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Here are the products I used…

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First I applied a liquid deglosser over the entire piece to prepare the surface for painting.

Then I primed the fronts of the armoire with KILZ. Technically, I should have primed the entire armoire for the paint to adhere properly. However, I knew that I wanted to sand down the edges of the armoire after I painted it. If I had primed the edges, the white primer would have shown through, and I didn’t want that.

So I didn’t prime any of the parts that I was planning on sanding. Again, this is my way, not necessarily the right way. :)

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I did prime the insides of the armoire because I knew I would be painting them black.

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I used my favorite Valspar paint in black satin to paint it.

Then I used a medium grit sanding sponge to sand the edges like this…

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I love the way the cherry wood shows through.

Here it is in my room…

(I am sorry these pictures are not the best, but I think I had my camera on the wrong setting. Now it is nighttime and too late to take any good pictures.)

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I love the way it turned out!

I just threw some things on top to take these pictures. :)

And I haven’t bought any handles yet. I am still trying to decide what type I want.

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Here is the inside of the armoire…

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I got the baskets at Gordman’s. They were 10 dollars a piece. We are using them to store socks and such.

I love the way the doors slide back into the armoire. And the tv is up good and high so we can see it perfectly from our bed! :)

We are using the bottom of the armoire to hold some of my husband’s clothing.

Here are the total costs:

Armoire – $40

Wood for back and shelves – approx. $25.00

Paint – $9.00

Baskets – $20.00

So the whole project cost me less than $100.00! Not bad.

I found this armoire at an antique mall a few weeks ago and almost bought it…

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They were asking $375.00 for it. I think my armoire turned out just as nice, and I saved $275.00 by being a little creative!

So I used the money I saved to buy a little “bling” for my room!

Here’s a sneak peak…

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Ooh-la-la…I love it!

Stay tuned for more of my master bedroom makeover!

I am linking this project up to…

Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch

Make it for Monday at Cottage Instincts

DIY day at A Soft Place to Land

Furniture Feature Friday at Mustard Seed Creations

Thanks for stopping by and have a blessed day!

Traci




Great “before and after” Pictures!

March 20, 2010 AT 10:08 pm 16 Comments

Just had to share with you another great email I got from one of my readers a couple of weeks ago.

I love it when I receive these emails and pictures! :)

It is so much fun to hear and see that people are actually using the ideas I post about on my blog in their own homes.

What a blessing!

My friend, Gina, had written me last fall about the steps I took to paint the hutch in my kitchen black. Here is the picture of my hutch that she is talking about…

BEFORE…

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AFTER…

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Here is the email I received from Gina:

Hi Tracy-

I don’t know if you’ll remember e-mailing back and forth last October, so I just replied to your last e-mail to refresh your memory. After all these months, I was finally able to get to my china hutch. Here are the before and after pictures. It’s really hard to get a good picture of it. It looks better in person. I completely copied your hutch. I hope you don’t mind. Ever since I saw what you did with yours, I’ve wanted that for our dining room, even the white dishes. It took me awhile to find dishes that I liked. I found mine at Ross for $13. I had been collecting other things for awhile. I love the white platter on the bottom that was $10 at Goodwill. The green pitcher was a fluke. I saw that at Ross also and just loved the color. I had it somewhere else in the kitchen, but I love it in the hutch. If you look closely at the pictures, you’ll see I even have birdies in there! I got those at the dollar store and sprayed them gloss white.

Here’s what I did to this $65 hutch from Craigslist, with a little help from my husband. I added the beadboard to the back of the top part of the hutch. I wanted a “Ballard Designs” kind of look. The doors on the bottom took a little more work. I was kind of “winging” it as I went along. But, I basically replaced that hideous molding around the outside edges with something more simple and added new handles. I used a spray gun attached to our compressor and I loved using it. I’m very happy with how it turned out. The total cost including the cost of the hutch was around $150. I’m working on our dining room now and have a buffet that I got for $20 at goodwill that I’ve started on. I’ll send that along when I get done. Hopefully, it won’t take 4 months!
Thanks for your inspiration! I absolutely love doing this stuff and it helps to have ideas from creative and talented people like you!
:-)Gina

Here is her “before”…

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And her “after”…

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Bottom half “before”…

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I love the way she took the molding off the doors. I wouldn’t have thought of that!

Here’s the “after”…

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She also sent me a picture of a dresser she got off Craig’s list for 40 bucks…

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She repainted the dresser and the hardware for her daughter’s room, and I think it is absolutely adorable now!!!

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And here are some more pictures she sent me of the buffet she refinished. I love how she changed the look of the buffet by adding different feet to the bottom.

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The buffet also had rounded edges on top, so her dad used his router to create a more interesting edge. I love that idea!!!

Edge before…

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Edge after…

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Gina, it turned out beautifully!!! I have been inspired by YOU to think outside of the box when picking out
furniture.

You definitely have the gift of seeing the diamond in the rough!

Thank you for taking the time to email these pictures to me. :)

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Have a blessed Sunday,

Traci




Bed has been painted!

March 5, 2010 AT 6:28 pm 63 Comments

Good day, friends!

This sun is shining in the beautiful state of Kentucky, and it makes my heart feel lighter. :)

I hope you have some sunshine headed your way today too.

I wanted to quickly share with you the progress I have made in the Master Bedroom.

I shared with you at the beginning of the week that we sold our 5 piece bedroom set on Craigslist. I sold it for $700.00, and that is the budget for my bedroom makeover.

(That does not include the price of the new flooring, but I will explain that situation later.) :)

The starting point for the makeover was our new bed. It’s not new, but “new to me”. It was Mom and Dad’s king four poster bed at their house.

Dad has moved in with my sister since Mom passed away, so he does not need all of the furniture that was in their house. Some of their furniture was put in storage, and the rest was divided among us kids.

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I got their cherry four poster bed. And I knew immediately that I would be painting it black.

Now please don’t think I am horrible for painting this bed.

First of all, it is not a sentimental piece of furniture. They had gotten it off of Craig’s list just a few years earlier. Dad also gave me one of Mom’s cherry bedroom sets that she had custom made over 20 years ago, and I would NEVER paint it. It is very sentimental to me.

Secondly, I know some of you think I am crazy for painting over cherry, but cherry furniture is just not my style right now. And if Mom had given me this bed herself, and I told her that I was wanting to paint it black, she would say without hesitation, “Honey, you go ahead and paint it black. I don’t care. It’s just a bed and if you think it would be prettier painted black, then do it.”

Those would be her exact words. Why? Because my mom was a lover of painted furniture. Where do you think I got it? If Mom didn’t like the color of something, she just painted it. It was what I grew up seeing week after week. She LOVED to paint things.

So I know that Mom would give me a big “thumbs up” for painting this bed.

Here are the products I used:

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1) First, I used a Liquid Sander Deglosser over the whole bed.

2) Then I painted the bed with Kilz primer using a paint brush and a roll brush.

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I let my husband help too! :)

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Then I painted the bed black using my favorite Valspar paint from Lowe’s.

It comes in a quart size and is found over by the spray paint. It is very durable!

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Doesn’t it look beautiful. I think I am really going to like it with tan and white bedding, don’t you?

So since our room is a mess, here is our temporary master bedroom….in the den…

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Let’s just say the boys love it!!!!

We will be tearing up the carpet this weekend and starting on the new flooring.

More details to come…

Have a great weekend!

I am linking this post to some of my favorite blog parties,

Mustard Seed Creations’ Furniture Feature Friday,

Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch,

Make it for Monday at Cottage Instincts,

Make Your Monday at Twice Remebered.




This might be my favorite project ever!

January 7, 2010 AT 12:24 pm 101 Comments

Hey, ya’ll! This might be my favorite project ever because it is like nothing I have made before!

 

I showed you this picture on Tuesday as a little “tease”.

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I found these at Goodwill. Aren’t they gorgeous? I feel in love with them and had to get them. It is a headboard/footboard set for a twin bed. There were no rails to go with it, but that was okay because I didn’t need them….I had other plans.

I happily paid $25.00 for the set and went home.

I have been trying to come up with a creative towel rack for my guest house bathroom. My guest house is a little more cottage-y, so I like to decorate with more of a vintage feel.

I was blog-surfing the night before I found these beauties, and I saw a post that got my wheels a turnin’.

Jenn, at Livin’ the Simple Life made a coat rack out of a headboard. She also made the bench below it. The girl is crazy crafty and you must visit her blog!

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I just loved her coat rack and thought it was super creative.

When I saw the headboard and footboard at Goodwill the next day, I knew it must be fate!

One of those babies were destined to become my towel rack for my bathroom.

So here’s what I did…

After holding both the headboard and footboard up against my bathroom wall to see which one “fit” best, I decided to go with the headboard.

My bathroom in the guest house is not very big, but this headboard was going to make a big statement!

First I had to cut the legs off the headboard, so I used my hubby’s Skil Saw.

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She’s lookin’ good already!

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Now some of you may think I am crazy for painting this beauty. I know some of you would have left her alone. But I’m not sentimental like that. I needed her to be white, so white she would be!

Now I needed to prepare the surface to paint. Instead of sanding it with sandpaper, I used a liquid deglosser to do the trick. It is soooo easy. Just pour it on a cloth and wipe it all over the wood surface!

IMG_5000I let that dry, and then I began painting. My paint of choice is this little quart of Valspar paint. It can be found over by the spray paint cans at Lowes. There is a sign above it that says something like “high performance” or “extremely durable” paint. The workers at Lowes suggested we use this on our kitchen cabinets and we did. We love it!

So I used a brush to paint in any of the grooves.

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Then I used my roll brush to paint the smooth surfaces. (No I am not left-handed, I just needed my right hand to take the picture!)

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Here she is after 3 or 4 coats…ahhhhh….

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Here’s the hardest part of the process…

let it dry.

It’s very important to let it dry REAL good before sanding.

Luckily, I got something in the mail to distract me.

I have a special bloggy friend, Kim at My Domestic Bliss, who sent me this HUGE block of Hershey’s chocolate. She’s precious!

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It was sooooo good!

(I know I’m looking a little rough in this picture, but give me a break girls, I’m in the middle of a project!)

That thing was bigger than my head!

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The boys got into the action as well. Oh yeah, baby!

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Let’s re-focus, shall we? After the paint was good and dry, I used my sanding sponge to sand the edges of the headboard.

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There’s no rhyme or reason to this step. Just sand as little or as much as you’d like to get the look you are after.

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When I cut the bottom of the headboard off with my Skil Saw, it left a raw edge that needed a little work. I needed to fill an obvious groove in with some wood filler.

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I just pushed the wood filler into the groove with my finger and the let it dry.

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Then I used my sanding sponge to sand it to a smooth finish, and it was ready to paint.

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To get a more “aged” look, I like to cover my white paint with my favorite glaze, Valspar “Mocha”.

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I used a paper towel to cover the headboard with the glaze.

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Then I used a damp paper towel to wipe it right back off. (See left side of headboard.) I love the way the glaze got in the “groves” on the headboard and brought out so many of the details.

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Now I needed to attach my hooks. I found these cute little hooks at Hobby Lobby for half off. I bought 3 hooks for $1.50 a piece. Total=$4.50! I also got these wood screws at Lowe’s for a buck or two.

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I attached the hooks with the wood screws.

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It’s getting pretty late in the evening at this point and well….

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Yep! I did it. There goes my New Year’s resolutions to eat healthier! Thanks, Kim! ;)

Oh well. It was worth it.

As you can see, the silver screw does not look very good with my black hook, so I got a little black paint and dabbed it on the screw.

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Perfect!

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I bought some heavy duty mirror hangers at Lowes to mount the headboard on the wall. They were a dollar a piece.

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Now I did make the headboard by myself, but my hubby helped me hang it on the wall. It was very heavy (like a large mirror).

When you are hanging something this heavy, you need to make sure that you hammer the nails into the studs in the wall.

My husband insisted he help me with this part, which was fine by me.

We found the
studs in the wall and measured the distance between them. Then we attached the hangers on the back of the headboard the same distance apart.

IMG_5095 We hung it on the wall and I feel in love.

It’s exactly what I wanted.

But I am bummed at how my pictures turned out. There is no window in the bathroom, so I had no natural sunlight in which to take the pictures.

Notice the beautiful natural light right outside the bathroom.

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This is a piece of the bedroom furniture that I painted this summer. I’m storing the towels and blankets in there. I found the adorable locker room basket at a yard sale for $5.00. It’s perfect for storing the little wash cloths. My sweet mother-in-law bought me these new white towels for our guest house.

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Now into bathroom…

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I love the way it turned out. (Though I don’t think these pictures show it’s true beauty. My walls are a pretty tan, not mustard yellow!))

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And now for a parade of pictures…

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I loved this project because it was a little “out of the box” for me, which made it tons of fun. And it brings the uniqueness I was looking for in a towel rack.

Now I still have the footboard…hmmm….

I will also be linking this post to

Transformation Thursday at Shabby Chic Cottage,

Furniture Feature Friday at Miss Mustard Seed’s Creative Blog,

Saturday Nite Special at Funky Junk Interiors, and

A Home Accents Party at The DIY Showoff,

Blessings!




Easy Coffee Table Re-do

January 5, 2010 AT 4:13 pm 56 Comments

I got this little coffee table this summer at my favorite shopping place (Goodwill) for only $6.50.

I liked it because it was simple, low, and had a shelf underneath that I could place books or magazines. And hey, for $6.50, what do you expect?

It’s for my guest house and will go in front of my couch that I still need to make a slipcover for…let’s not go there.

Here’s the before…

(I thought I had a better shot of it from this summer, but I couldn’t find it in my files. The black paint on the top of the table is from another project I did this summer. If something sits too long in my garage, it becomes a “work table”.)

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If you are painting something, you need to sand it lightly with a sanding sponge, or use a “liquid sandpaper”. I use Klean-Strip Easy Liquid Sander Deglosser. It prepares the surface of the wood to be painted. You pretty much just pour it on a clean cloth and wipe it all over the table. The instructions are on the back of the bottle. Let the deglosser dry before painting.

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Many of you have asked me what paint I use on my projects. My favorite is this Valspar paint that I get from Lowe’s. It comes in a quart size and is extremely durable. We used it on our kitchen cabinets and love it.

First, you want to get a brush and paint all of the corners, trim pieces, or any part of the table that has grooves in it.

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Here’s what it looks like after I painted the edges.

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Then I used a roll brush for the smooth areas. I forgot to take a picture of that brush…sorry.

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I had to do three coats of paint on the smooth parts. Here is what it looked like when I was done.

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I used a sanding sponge to sand the edges. Make sure your paint is completely dry before sanding or it will take off big chunks of your paint. (Yes, I have experience in that area!)

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I love distressing the edges!

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Now for the magic….a little Valspar Mocha Glaze.

Now I know that each of us bloggers have our favorite glazes. The Shanty 2 Chic sisters love ‘em some Ralph Lauren. I haven’t tried that product, but I am sure I would love it. I have had this container of glaze all summer and it’s still half full. I have used it on many other projects as well.

I LOVE IT!

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Okay, you can tell I am the mother of four boys because this next picture makes me laugh. If my boys saw this picture they would think it looks like poo_…okay, I’m digressing.

Back to the project!

I have NO IDEA if this is the correct way to glaze, but it works for me!

First, put a little glaze on a paper towel.

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Spread a layer of the glaze all over table. I work in sections. I did the top of the table first.

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I let it dry for a few minutes and then get a damp paper towel and wipe it back off. You can wipe it as much or as little as you want to get the “look” your after.

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I like mine to look like a “dirty” white. Is that a color?

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I am sorry about the poor quality of these photos. I have to work indoors because it is sooooo cold out in the garage. Plus, I have to wait for the boys to go to bed to work on this, so these pictures were taken at nighttime. I don’t like to use a flash, so this is as good as quality as I could get.

I have to confess that I skipped a step to post this today. I didn’t put polyurethane on it, but I plan to. I don’t use it on all my projects, but since a coffee table will see a little more “wear and tear” than other pieces of furniture, I will be adding some poly to it in the future.

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The reason I am posting this kind of late is that I wanted to get a good shot of the table in the guest house in the daylight. I teach music at a Mom’s Day Out program on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so I had to take pictures when I got home this afternoon.

I thought the table looked a little bland when I saw it in the kitchen this morning. But when I put it in the guest house with a few accessories…it’s perfect! (See how much better pictures turn out in the daylight?)

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The couch in the background is the one I am hoping to slipcover in a couple of weeks. Emphasis on “hoping”. Right now I have it covered with a matelesse.

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Didn’t she turn out cute? She’s the perfect size! I love the wicker tray on the bottom. I got that at Goodwill for $4.50! It’s extremely durable and I love the black iron accents.

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Here is a wider shot of the guest house. Remember…it’s a work in progress. (I need to make a shade for my floor lamp, slipcover the couch, and make some window treatments….) I will share it all with you as I go along!

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Even though I am posting late, I am still linking up to all of these parties this week…

Met Monday at Between Naps on the Porch,

Before and After Party at Thrifty Decor Chick,

Get Your Craft On at Today’s Creative Blog,

DIY Day at A Soft Place to Land,

Show and Tell at Blue Cricket Designs (Wednesday),

and Transformation Thursday at The Shabby Chic Cottage,

Furniture Feature Friday at Miss Mustard Seed’s Creative Blog,

and Saturday Nite Special at Funky Junk Interiors,

And look at my next project…

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I have an idea that I am so excited about. I just hope it turns out like I want it to. I will share it on Thursday!

See you tomorrow for Wednesdays with Wanda!




My Burlap Beauty

November 30, 2009 AT 12:13 am 51 Comments

(I posted this as a guest blogger over at Shanty 2 Chic a couple of weeks ago, but I wanted to share it with you again in case you missed it!)

Check this out!

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I got this chair at Goodwill for $6.50. I know “she” looks a little rough, but all she needed was a second chance.

So here’s what I did:
First of all, I decided to paint the chair black. I used Valspar spray paint in satin from Lowe’s.
Then I used a fine grit sandpaper to sand down the edges a bit.
As you can tell by the picture below, I left the chair in my garage too long without supervision.
One of my boys thought it would be fun to tear the material off the chair, thus the result…

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Oh my, she’s looking really bad now!
But I didn’t let that stop me. I still had my vision…
She just needed a little more cushion, so I used my staple gun to apply some extra batting to the seat and back of the chair.

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Now she was ready to cover with my material.
Of course, I chose burlap. My current obsession!
I started with the seat, using my staple gun to secure the burlap.

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I cut the fabric around the arms of the chair, folded it under, and then stapled it down. (This part was not easy, and it did not turn out perfectly, but it still looks good to me!)

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When I saw the extra burlap hanging below the staples, it looked like a cute little ruffled skirt. That’s when I decided that I wanted to add a skirt to the chair. (The above pictures were taken at night in my garage, so the burlap looks darker.)
Next, I covered the back of the chair using the same process as I did on the seat.

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Then I stapled and trimmed the burlap on the back of the chair.

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Next, I stapled on a piece of burlap to cover the back of the chair.

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Now for the skirt…
I placed the cording in the middle of the burlap, folded the material over, and sewed it up using my zipper foot. Then I trimmed the excess material.

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Notice I didn’t even use pins when I sewed. I’m dangerous like that!

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I made a long piece of burlap that measured 5 inches wide and sewed a small hem. Then I pinned some ruffles in the material. I didn’t even measure them the same length apart. I just eyeballed it. That’s how I roll.

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I attached the cording to the skirt, and sewed them together.

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I made some double cording and hot glued it over the staples on the back. I got that idea from an upholstery book. (I will be explaining how to make the double cording in a future post on my blog.)
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Then I attached the skirt with my staple gun.

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I bought this chair for $6.50.
I bought about 4 yards of burlap from Hobby Lobby when it was on sale for $1.99 a yard. That’s $8.00, and I have some left over.
I already had the black spray paint, cording, and staples. So this whole transformation cost me about $15.00!
I’m lovi
ng that!
Every lady needs some cute accessories, so I made her a little pillow.
This picture was taken in our master bedroom, but I made the chair to go in our guest house.

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Here it is in our guest house…

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Well, there you have it!

My sad-looking seat is now a Burlap Beauty!
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I am linking this post to…
Visit thecsiproject.com

Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch,

Make it for Monday at Cottage Instincts, and

DIY day at A Soft Place to Land.

Have a blessed day!




A Drop Cloth Slipcover

October 19, 2009 AT 10:53 am 61 Comments

If you have followed my blog any this summer, you know that I have become a drop cloth connoisseur and have found many uses for this splendid and inexpensive material.

I showed you the drop cloth curtains I made for my kitchen.

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You can read more about them here.

And then I promised you I would show you how I made my drop cloth slipcover for my wingback chair.

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I finished it the first week of August, but that is the same week that we found out Mom had cancer, and life was put on hold. And though life changed drastically for my family in the weeks to come, those weeks quickly became the most treasured moments of my life.

Mom is the one who taught me how to sew, though I will never be the seamstress she was. She could sew anything…she could sew professionally.

I am not a professional.

WARNING:

If you are a professional seamstress, I would like to suggest that you stop reading this post immediately.

If you chose to ignore my warning, the following may occur:

Headaches, nausea, loss of breath, light-headedness, weakness in the knees, swelling of the ankles, dry mouth, watery eyes, vomiting and diarrhea.

If any of the above symptoms last for more than an hour, please consult your physician.
*******************************

Now for the rest of us….

This was the wing back chair that my mom gave me to slip cover. She had been storing it in her basement, but since she wasn’t using it, she wanted to give it to me.

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Since drop cloths are so inexpensive, and I like their texture, I decided to use them to slipcover the chair.

I will try to explain how I slipcovered the chair, but please keep your expectations low…

First of all, I look at the chair like a puzzle. The seams on the chair outline each piece of the puzzle.

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So I take my material and lay it over the piece of the chair I want to make a pattern of, and I use a pencil to draw a line where the seam is.

IMG_3799 This is how I did it on the front of the arm.

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Then I cut about 1/2 inch around the pencil mark for the seam allowance. It doesn’t have to be perfect because slipcovers aren’t perfect. They are supposed to look a little messy!

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Then I repeated the same process on the wings of the chair, the front, the back, and so on….

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Then I sewed the pieces together to create the slipcover.

I took the slipcover off and on a hundred times checking to see if it “fit” each time I sewed on another piece.

I did use cording on some parts of the chair, but you wouldn’t even have to do that.

(And I forgot to take pictures of how to make the cording. Sorry.)

For the skirt, I just measured across the bottom of the chair to see how wide the skirt needed to be, and I measured down to see how long I wanted it to be.

Then I just cut a rectangular shape using those measurements, cutting about 1/2 inch more around each side for the hems.

le=”IMG_3771″ style=”BORDER-TOP-WIDTH: 0px; DISPLAY: inline; BORDER-LEFT-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM-WIDTH: 0px; BORDER-RIGHT-WIDTH: 0px” height=”513″ alt=”IMG_3771″ src=”http://lh6.ggpht.com/_2biIHt1YrHA/Stx9Nq2zIOI/AAAAAAAABNw/kf5ZhIdmBD8/IMG_3771_thumb2.jpg?imgmax=800″ width=”390″ border=”0″ />

I cut a little flap to go on the corners under the front skirt pieces.

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Yes, I haven’t trimmed the thread yet…

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This is what the inside of the chair looked like when I was finished. I just used some leftover white canvas material that I already had for the seat.

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I got real fancy-smancy on the back…with velcro!

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I put velcro on the back to make it slip on and off easier. (Pay no attention to the mess in the corner or the exposed insulation in our kitchen. Did you hear about my unexpected kitchen renovation? If not, click here.)

I secured the material even better with an hook and eye.

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Sorry for the blurred picture.

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I didn’t worry about how it looked because this side of the chair is up against the wall!

I also used velcro for the back of the seat cushion, instead of a zipper. It’s sooooo much easier. I’m not a zipper-gal.

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So, there you have it! Clear as mud????

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I think it turned out great!

I washed it for the first time today, and it didn’t fall apart! Yeah!

It has actually stayed pretty clean considering the fact that four little dirty boys have been sitting in it for a couple of months.

And if the material gets ruined by one of my boys (which is pretty much a guarantee), I won’t be too upset because it cost me less than $20.00 to create. Minus the HOURS of sweet precious time it took me to make it.

Okay. I would be upset!

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I am linking this post to some great blogs, so go check them out!

Visit thecsiproject.com
Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch

DIY day at A Soft Place to Land (Tuesday)

Transformation Thursday at The Shabby Chic Cottage

Blessings,




Not-A-Corner Hutch Anymore

July 26, 2009 AT 9:24 pm 64 Comments

 

Well, I got it finished girls!

pottery barn style hutch

I announced on my blog last Monday that I would be re-doing my hutch and posting it this week. So I knew I had 7 days to get it finished. It wasn’t easy, but I did it!

Now one of the projects that I had on my “to do” list can be checked off!

I’ve turned my corner hutch into not-a-corner hutch.

Here’s what it looked like before…

pottery barn style hutch

It had to be put in the corner because of the large back. I left the doors open because the “genius” that designed it didn’t take into account that the doors hit the wall every time you opened and closed them. So I just left them open all the time!

Here it is pulled out from the wall for me to paint the first of two colors that I applied to our den walls. (That’s another story!)

pottery barn style hutch

This is the large back that protruded from the hutch making it impossible to sit flat against the wall.

pottery barn style hutch

So my very handy husband took his SKIL saw and cut the back off.

pottery barn style hutch

pottery barn style hutch

 

Then Mr. Handyman added bead board to the back of ours.

pottery barn style hutch

Oops! I have to back up and share how we added some detail to the sides.

Notice how the sides of the doors have a 3-grooved trim piece. (I just totally made up that name!)

pottery barn style hutch

I wanted that trim piece to continue on the sides of the top part of the hutch.

We tried to find a trim to match at Lowe’s, but it had 4 grooves in it. Then  Cy got the bright idea to just cut the 3-grooved piece of the upper doors off to use as the trim piece.

pottery barn style hutch

Am I making any sense? He cut off the part we needed, sanded the rough edges, took the hinges off, and nailed it back on.

Then it looked like this…

pottery barn style hutch

There was a small gap that he filled with caulk so it wouldn’t be noticeable once we painted it.

Next, I put two good coats of white paint on the entire hutch. Trying my best to wait until it dried real good before I started sanding.

pottery barn style hutch

Next, I used a fine grit sanding sponge to sand all the edges. This took a little while and my arms were sore the next day from this
step!

pottery barn style hutch

pottery barn style hutch

Then it was time to glaze.

I have had many people ask me what glaze I use. It is Valspar Mocha Glaze (and this is the Valspar white paint I have used on all my furniture makeovers). I love both of these products.

pottery barn style hutch

Glazing is a very scary step for me. I am so nervous that I will mess up all the hard work I have done so far.

But it never has. This is my third project using this glaze, and they have all turned out wonderful. (You can see my other projects if you click on “furniture makeovers” in my sidebar.)

I have applied the glaze with an old cloth, with paper towels, and with a sponge brush, but this time I used a sock!

The sock worked good because it was like I was applying the glaze with a cloth glove.

I just put a big glob of glaze on the sock and start spreading it over the piece. I worked in sections. First, I did the middle section of the hutch. When it was covered in glaze, I got a damp paper towel and used it to wipe the glaze off. I know it sounds crazy, but it works for me. I continued these steps in sections all over the entire piece of furniture.

If I want to leave more glaze on, I just rub lightly with the paper towel. If I want more of the glaze off, I press harder when I am wiping it off and usually get a second wet paper towel and wipe off even more.

The glaze is very forgiving. I add and take off glaze as I desire to get the look I am after.

I put the original hardware back on for now, and here is what it looks like..

pottery barn style hutch

What do ya think?

I love it! It’s exactly what I wanted.

Please forgive the accessories. I will definitely be changing those! I just wanted to get some stuff up there so I could post this on Met. Monday like I promised my followers.

This is the flat screen from our bedroom. We will be getting a larger flat screen someday…

I sat the TV on a white shelf just to give it more height.

pottery barn style hutch

pottery barn style hutch

 

pottery barn style hutch

I am so glad this is finished.

 




Buffet Table Re-do

July 12, 2009 AT 7:28 pm 66 Comments

goodwill furniture

 

I found a piece of furniture that I loved at, of course, Goodwill. I had actually been “eye-ing” it for a couple of weeks. But it was marked $125.00, which was nowhere near what I would pay for it. But it was so darn cute, and it kept calling my name every time I went to visit it.

It eventually began to get “trapped” behind new incoming furniture pieces. This week I went by to say “hi” to my beloved piece of furniture, and I noticed it had been marked down to $55.00. Now, that’s more like it!

Of course, I had to ask the manager if she would mark it down even further, and she politely said, “No.”

Can’t blame a lady for trying, right?

Anyway, I could see her beautiful potential (the buffet, not the manager!) , so I told her to pack her bags, we were going home! (Yes, my buffet is a girl!)

Here she is:

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Isn’t she a beaut, Clark?

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I love the detail on the front drawer. It’s missing some knobs, but I will take care of that!

At first, I thought it might be a large desk, but I noticed some old writing on the back that said it was a buffet. It also had this neat metal tag inside the front drawer.

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It had some charming details…

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And lots of little nicks and scratches that added even more character…

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I think older pieces of furniture are so interesting, because you know they would all have a “story” to share if they could talk!

Now, I know it looks good as it is, but I had other plans for it. I was tempted to leave it alone, but I kept picturing it a little more “shabby.”

Since I had so much fun re-doing my guest house bedroom furniture, I thought I would try the same treatment on this piece.

So my first step was to give it a good sanding.

And BOY, did I have some good help!

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The child labor laws in Kentucky are very vague…

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This little face makes even the most boring of tasks so enjoyable!

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(I usually use liquid sand paper, but today I felt like going with the good old sanding sponge!)

Then I got my supplies ready to paint: Valspar white paint, a brush, a small roller, and a paint tray.

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Yes, that IS duct tape on the paint tray. It was cracked, and my ingenious husband fixed it for me. We do things professionally around here, ladies!

I gave my new BFF (buffet friends forever) and new coat of paint.

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Then sanded her down real good…

goodwill furniture makeover

goodwill furniture

Then I prettied her up with some makeup. Well actually, it was Valspar Mocha glaze.

I have no idea what the correct way to apply glaze is. On my guest house furniture, I used a sponge brush and paper towels.

This time I mostly used an old washcloth. I put it on thicker this time because I wanted it to look a little more brown. I put a thin layer on smoothly, then let it dry for a bit. Then I used a slightly damp paper towel to go back over and take a little of the glaze off until I got the look I was after.

The glaze is pretty forgiving. If I messed up, I would wipe it off with a wet paper towel and start over. Thank goodness!

Here is the front with the glaze on it…

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I was able to keep the original hinges on the piece. They are old and worn out, and I LOVE them. It adds to the piece.

goodwill furniture

goodwill furniture

I do not have the knobs that I want to put on the doors, but I added some knobs I got at Home Depot to the drawer to give you an idea of what it will look like.

I am so pleased with the results!

goodwill furniture

goodwill furniture

goodwill furniture

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I paid $55.00 for the buffet, $9.00 for the paint, and $6.00 for the two knobs, (and I still have to purchase two more for the doors).

Not bad for $70.00!

 

Blessings to you all,

Traci






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