Tuesday, September 21, 2010

PROJECT: Pink Nursery Gifts

This past weekend I attended my first ever baby shower. I wanted to bring a super gift and I am very excited about this sweet baby girl because the expectant mother is my boyfriend's sister. A few weeks ago she gave me a tour of the nursery. It is coming along great and is adorably decorated in pink and brown. I noticed that there was a TV table next to her glider so me being currently obsessed with refinishing furniture, I offered to make a cute table to go there. She was thrilled about the idea.

So last week I decided to redo a piece of furniture and a few other goodies to add to their nursery as presents for the upcoming baby shower. Below are the items I found to work on.


The main piece is a nightstand I found at Big Lots. Normally I buy used pieces I find at estate sales or on craigslist but I got this brand new piece at a great price because it was the last of its kind and a floor model so it was marked 50% off. I also got the manager to give me an additional 20% off because it was pretty scratched up (this did not bother me since I was going to refinish it). I liked the idea of getting a new piece so it was in great shape structurally and hopefully would last a long time. I thought it could be a table beside their glider now, and later, when the crib is replaced with a bed, it could be used as a night stand.

At Hobby Lobby I found a wooden "G" (first initial of the baby girl) and a pretty picture frame on sale for 50% off so each only cost a few dollars. To give them something special I primed and painted each with Krylon spray paint in Ballet Slipper Pink. The wooden "G" has these great ridges so I antiqued them a little with some sandpaper. For the picture frame I decided to use the antiquing medium mentioned in my last blog post to add definition. Both items were finished off with a few light coats of polyurethane. Here are some pics of the new pink nursery decorations.




Next came the big task -- the nightstand. I sanded it down, primed it and painted it with the same Ballet Slipper Pink spray paint. This was my first time using spray paint on furniture. I normally use brush on paint but I have heard so many great things about certain types of spray paint that I wanted to give it a try. I found it very handy to get inside the lower open cabinet, and the finished look was very smooth and even (no brush strokes). It took me two cans each of primer and paint to get the job done. I am going to have to try several more projects to decide whether I will settle on being a spray paint or brush on paint girl. Below is the night stand after all the paint.


I loved the cute little round feet but wanted to add some other touches to make the nightstand extra cutsie. I replaced the boring wooden knob with a faceted acrylic one (also purchased at Hobby Lobby where they have a great selection of fun knobs). I also stenciled a curly detail on the top corner in brown. This was my first stencil experince so I used stencil paint (I wasn't sure if brown acrylic paint I had laying around would do the job) and followed package instructions. Once everything was dry, I added a few coats of poly to protect the stencil design and table top from wear. I was pretty satisfied with the final product. Take a look and let me know what you think!




My boyfriend's sister really liked the gifts and I really enjoyed making them. I am so excited for their family and can not wait for little Baby G to arrive! I also look forward to future baby showers and nursery decoration endeavors if I have any friends that will let me stray from the registry and exercise my crafty side. Thanks for stopping by and I invite you to leave some comments below.

Make sure to check back very soon because next time Creations by Bonnybee will be hosting its first of many giveaways!

*Bonnybee

1 comment:

  1. giveaways?!? but anyways, the gifts look fantastic--I didn't know you were doing so much refurbishing! will I recognize 995?

    ReplyDelete