Graffiti Art Dresser

Taliila (my 4 yr. old) and I painted this dresser back in the fall, and I'm just now getting to blog about it. Story of my life right now. This was a super-fun project to do and perfect for kids of any age.
First, we found a wooden dresser on Craigslist. Nothing special about it, and it was sort of beat up, which was perfect for redoing. I gave the fronts of the drawers a light sand just to get the grime off.

Next, I made my own chalk paint. This is super easy and costs much less than buying it at a specialty store. I let Taliila pick out a bunch of colors and had the paint guy at Lowes make me little samples of each of them. A little bit of chalk paint goes a long way, so you really only need those small sample sizes anyways. 

I had her paint the fronts any way she liked, but had to encourage her not to mix the colors too much. Her tendency was to keep mixing until the colors turned brown. 

I taught her how to splatter the paint across the drawers. Our driveway took quite the beating. 

I ended up doing the shell of the dresser, just keeping the design loose. 

 Voila. A simple weekend project and a colorful dresser for my daughter's room. 

Ikea. Like or Gripe?

T's first time in the front of the cart. She loved it! 

I went to Ikea yesterday. I know, gasp, Jordan went to Ikea, how could she? That's what you're thinking, right? 

Well, folks I have to admit I still like the place for what it is. El cheapo. My brother just moved out of our house and I have a whole new room to redecorate.  Ikea's the only place I can find curtains that are 96 inches long and not over $100. In fact, mine were under $15 for two panels. The only place cheaper than that is at my store. However, the only panels I have for sale are red and gold striped (just not in my gray and yellow color scheme, darn).  

On a different note, my husband did, in fact, save the day a few days ago. The poor shop was looking oh so bare and rather picked over. But now it's packed with lots of goodies. Here are a few pictures of what he got. I must say he's getting good at the shopping. 

Tree Top Table $140

Teak Lounge Chair $150

Buffet $210

Cedar Chest $110

Retro Wood End Table $50

Check out the inventory tab for more updates on furniture in the shop! 

T's new toy from Ikea wiped her out!