Hi Fellow CraftOManiacs! I’m Jen and I blog over at Our DIY Diaries along with my best friends (and family) Courtney and Laryssa. Courtney is my sister in law but I would prefer to think of her as a best friend that comes to family functions. The same applies to Laryssa who is my cousin (as well as the only girl in her family also) and only 10 months younger which has led to us practically being sisters/best friends. I (Jen) am a wife, musician, and graphic designer who is obsessed with furniture refinishing and decorating my home. Courtney is a wife and mother to the most adorable little boy and loves to craft! Laryssa is a preschool teacher and awesome cake maker who is currently going through the most stressful time in any woman’s life…planning her wedding and trying to do so on a very strict budget!
                                                        

                                                        
We started Our DIY Diaries about 4 months ago when we decided we needed a place to share our adventures in the craft and DIY world. We have enjoyed every last minute our our new blogging experience and look forward to what the future brings for us and our blog.

Today I am going to share with you my latest furniture refinishing project. I found this hexagon shaped end table at a small yard sale just down the street from my house. When the kind woman told me the price of $5 it took only about 2.5 seconds before I had my wallet open and a $5 dollar bill whipped out. It didn’t have all the intricate carvings that I normally love but there was something about it that seemed “delicate?” to me. I decided I had to have it and the theme for refinishing would be “pretty and delicate.” Besides being the victim of an awful refinishing attempt, the table was in pretty good shape. Whoever had taken a go at it before had layered on paint, after paint, after paint. There was so much paint that once it was all stripped off, I swear the table got smaller! Okay that might be a bit of an exaggeration but you get the point, right? Seriously though guys, if you ever see someone putting 10 layers of paint on a piece of furniture, please take the time to report them to the refinishing police. WHAT?!? You mean to tell me that there is no refinishing police? Well there should be! Okay you talked me into it, I’ll volunteer to be sheriff! The punishment must fit the crime though don’t you think? I say we make em strip and sand the furniture that they victimized. That certainly is a grueling task!Shall we get started? The first order of business was to strip and sand it. It was far from smooth and had so many spots of pealing paint. Get your handy dandy stripper (not from Chip N’ Dales!) and make sure to put on your rubber gloves. This stuff is legit and will burn through thick jeans and burn your skin right off…no, of course I’m not talking from experience…ok yes I am!! I was so surprised and how fairly easy this table stripped. Not even 2 minutes after brushing the stripper on, it started to bubble. It normally takes about 15 minutes before it starts to bubble so don’t expect all projects to be like this. I let it sit a little longer just to be safe and then went to stripping. Once it was all stripped, I sanded, and sanded, and sanded some more until it was super smooth.I didn’t realize until a little too late that the doors were not wood but a plastic mold and therefore where the only part that did not strip very well but I sanded them as much as I could and they still took paint well. I primed it first using Glidden’s White Gripper that I had left over from some previous projects.Now it’s time for paint. I usually always use Floetrol. This stuff is seriously amazing and I knew the paint could use some conditioner since I was rolling and brushing it on.

My paint color was determined by the Home Depot Oops Paint section. I always, always, ALWAYS, check the oops section when I go to Home Depot. I saw this paint color, asked if they could tint it just a tad darker (not all Home Depots do this) and paid only $2 for a quart of paint. Incase you are not keeping track, the total for this project is $7. $5 for the table, I had the primer, stripper, and Floetrol on hand, and paid $2 for paint. I adore this color! So delicate and pretty to me which was exactly my theme.I used some left over RustOleum white spray paint for the handles and then reattached them. I think the delicate scrolly handles are my favorite part!I love how it turned out! The color is beautiful and while it doesn’t have any intricate details, I think the simplicity is beautiful. The plan was originally to sell it once it was done…silly me, what was I thinking?!? The color actually works really well in my turquoise dining room and now I really do have to decide if I want to part with it or make it a permanent member of our blue family.

Thanks for letting us come and share my project with you today! We hope you will stop by our blog and check out some of our other projects.

         The Branch Frame                                                 Free Craigslist Dresser Turned TV Stand                                              Goodwill Mirror Makeover

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Thanks again Jen!