Do any of you have a space like this?

Probably not because I’m sure I am the most disgusting person on the planet, and I’ve totally outed myself. My husband calls this my “crap corner”, originally intended to be a working space for me and storage for all my supplies. But what it actually is, is a place for me to dump approximately 100 bags from A.C. Moore, Home Depot, Hancock Fabric, and Michael’s. It used to work for me, like “I know I bought some of that…it’s in the Michael’s bag”…but then there were 5+ Michael’s bags and the system stopped working. I can’t find anything, and it’s causing me to waste time, money, and stresses out my husband every time he walks down the stairs. Yes, this is the first thing you see when you walk into our basement.

So, I’m committing to doing something about this problem. I’ve already started. It will require me to spend some money on organizational things which I have discussed with I’m-on-the-edge husband. So in order to save some face here now with you readers, I’m asking you to publicly join me in my quest. If you have a space that really needs a makeover (even if it’s not as bad as mine…), it could be a room, a closet, a cabinet, etc. then LINK IT UP. Let’s take care of it by the end of January. Then I’ll have another linky party for the results. And, I’ll even throw in a prize. Anyone who posts here and on the results post will be entered to win a $15 Starbucks gift card. From me.

In fact, I’m so looking forward to LOTS of participation that I made a little button for you so you can share the party if you want. Come on, you know you have some friends with a…errrr….problem…

Check the sidebar for the code, for some reason it wouldn’t show up in the post.

Ok let’s see those messes (i.e. please make me feel better about myself)!

We’re still in PA until Tuesday night, so I’ll catch up with you all later in the week. Hope you had a great holiday weekend!

Crash.

Freak out.

Make panicked phone calls and send frantic emails.

Freak out some more.

This is why I self-host, people! (free wordpress and blogger users beware!)

Lovely Crafty Home had a major malfunction starting yesterday afternoon. Without getting into the details, it was completely out of the blue and took a bit of detective work to figure out what went wrong. But, I have migrated over to a new hosting service, and I am back! These things can take a little time to change throughout the whole interweb, but hopefully you’ll be seeing my site without any issues by the weekend at the latest.

I apologize for the inconvenience! I know there are a lot of “pinners” out there trying to track down the brown paper floor tutorial so please please please come back! It’s here, and here.

Pretty please?

And if you have subscribed to email updates or Google Friend Connect in the past, please check and make sure you are still signed up- we may have lost some of you in the shuffle.

Lovely Crafty Weekend will still be ON for tomorrow, so I hope you’ll stop by to (try) to link something up!

In our new cozy balcony corner. After repainting the Baker’s Rack yesterday, I decluttered the other half of the space and created a relaxing place to read or just sunbathe. I added a planter with some over the deck railings to enhance the corner, perhaps I’ll add more with herbs (since it’s right off the kitchen).

Mike actually built that Adirondack chair, he’s an excellent carpenter! We sanded and painted it a soft olive color, I think it looks great against the wood and gray vinyl siding.

Overall it’s a huge improvement to our “throw anything waterproof out there” approach. In fact, I love it so much that I’m currently blogging from that very chair. Ahhhh

Today we started work on our basement, it’s a nice large space with huge potential that has been used mostly as Mike’s workshop. Recently we decided we could make better use of the space, organize a little, and perhaps finish part of it. The first step was moving things around to get an idea of a good layout.

We made use of some Goodwill cabinets to create a laundry nook.

A new coat of paint freshened things up, along with a plywood counter top painted white to complete the look.

Here we are with the upper cabinet installed and new hardware. You’ll notice I’m missing a knob on one cabinet-that’s because I recycled these knobs from this desk into this dresser and now these cabinets. I’m hoping to find a match tomorrow.

I like the “built in” look, which will be complete when I fill the gap below the cabinet. Eventually we’ll also put drywall up on those studs, but for now it keeps all our laundry items hidden!

If you caught a glimpse of my Baker’s Rack on the back balcony, you’ll understand the need for this tutorial. Basically the whole area needed a makeover, but we’ll start with the repainting of the rack.

Let’s go ahead and show you the “before” shot.

The first rule of spray painting: you will always need more than you think, and likely more than you buy. So grab a few extra cans…you can always return them and you’ll be thanking yourself for not having to stop in the middle of a project to get more.

I wanted a soft ivory for my Baker’s Rack, so I chose Krylon’s White Primer and Ivory Satin paint.

First I cleaned the rack, then sanded down the spots that were rusty. Preparing the surface is a critical step-make sure you take time to sand and prime no matter what surface you are working with. After wiping down with a damp rag and allowing to dry, I began with the primer. You want to keep the can about 6 inches away from the surface and move in sweeping motions. Don’t try to get complete coverage in 1 or 2 coats, just keep applying paint in light sweeping coats, and it will eventually get a nice finish-trust me! After priming here is what the rack looked like.

Once the primer is dry (it didn’t take very long in the heat here!), you can begin with your main color. I used 3 cans of the ivory before I achieved the finish I wanted. Here it is all cleaned up in its home- I made sure to clean the vinyl siding and the floor before putting the rack back-no halfway jobs here!

And now, with some $0.99 plastic storage bins and a few relocated plants. Our chimney starter needs a new coat of paint as well-stay tuned for a tutorial on restoring rusted items!

Are you an Asheville local and have a piece of furniture you need refinished? I’ll refinish it for you for just the cost of materials…that’s right, I’m offering my services absolutely FREE! Why would I do this? Well for one thing, I enjoy doing it   I am also always looking for some great before and afters for the blog.

Or…maybe you’re still looking for that perfect piece to fit in that perfect spot. I’ll go thrifting with you, and we can decide together how to refinish that one of a kind find.

Disclaimer: I’m no professional, but my promise to you is that I will do my absolute best work (I am a bit of a perfectionist). I’ll give you an honest assessment when I see your piece about the best refinishing option, and if I can help.

I’m free, so can you really complain?!

Need I say more? Does anyone else have a Baker’s Rack that’s out of control? Looks like the balcony off our kitchen needs a serious makeover…stay tuned.

If you’re still paying full price at your local craft store, check out these links:

AC Moore

Michaels

Hobby Lobby

Now you can create your own sale anytime you want!