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Pottery Barn Inspired GUN CASE !

January 7, 2015

UPDATE the plans are now available HERE. This was the year of homemade Christmas gifts. If you recall, my kids got their “fire station“, and Andrew (my husband) got a mirror. Yes, a mirror.

I love Pottery Barn, my husband loves guns. It is those two components that inspired my husband’s Christmas present, and it surpassed both of our expectations!

I love these mirrors that Pottery Barn makes! I have seen several other bloggers make these in the past (Jamie over at “That’s My Letter” has put together a great tutorial on on how to assemble one of these mirrors). I had never felt like there was a place I would put it… That was until I started this project.

DISCLAIMER: This is in NO way a complete tutorial. It’s a straight up brag post with a few process pictures. HOWEVER, that does not mean I do not have plans to make a tutorial someday . 😉

I had approximately 2 weeks to complete a Firestation, and this gun case, so I was in a little bit of a hurry and didn’t document the process very well. Here are a few of the photos I did manage to snap.

Started by building the frame. Installed hinges and doors. Added ammo tray!

Attached the edge trim and grid trim. (HOLY, that took SO long!) Time to add the mirrors. Shout out to AMAZING friends who scoured the Tampa Bay Area Dollar Trees trying to help me track down all these mirrors!

Preface: before I have everyone worrying. Yes, we DO have two young children, but I designed this with a locking system that does not require a key ( so it still allows for quick access). It has a “secret” way to open it, and unless I show you how, it WILL NOT open.

Haha, every time I make my husband a gun case ( yes, there are more), I challenge him to “open it” without any further instruction. He knows my building style and techniques and he still couldn’t figure out how it opened! ( I LOVE that on occasion I can stump him. He is kind of brilliant.)

So without further adieu. I give you Andrew’s Christmas Present. My husband loves gadgets, so on his case I installed hydraulic supports, so it has a controlled action open. It also features an ammo tray that is magnetically lined to prevent anything from shifting. It was designed to open at waist height so that that lower door opens and creates a loading/assembly area.

When the top lid is opened it activates a motion sensing light! I added slow close stops as well, so that when he shuts the doors, it will NOT slam or make a loud noise. He LOVES it, and best part ? It is pretty, and looks perfect above my Apothecary Cabinet. All in all I feel like my homemade Christmas was an absolute success!

Corey

Under the Stairs Playhouse/Firestation

December 29, 2014

You may recall a post I wrote a while back documenting the transformation of our under the stairs closet into a “Fort” . It has been a few years, and my kids have grown up a bit. The oldest is now five and the youngest is three, and both have a small obsession with all things fire fighters. So, for Christmas this year I decided to give their under the stairs fort a makeover. IT WAS A HIT! They love it, and you can read a little bit about the process below. Enjoy!

The Exterior

I ended up using a paneling that was made to look like brick. I purchased this 4×8′ sheet for roughly $25. It saved me a whole lot of work, and was fairly sturdy! I cut out a custom sign using a jigsaw, and painted the sign by hand. I think it turned out adorable. I ended up adding trim that I painted to look like concrete accents. I also figured it needed some windows, so I trimmed those out as well. Love it. I added two lanterns, that I purchased for $5,oo a piece and then spray painted gold. I decided to not make these fully functioning lights. (Live wires, and toddlers didn’t seem like the best combination.)

Top Floor

In order to access the top floor I thought a red ladder was more than appropriate, PLUS it was super easy and CHEAP option. All the materials only cost $7!?

I think my favorite part of the entire Fire Station is the upstairs “locker”. Truth be told, I didn’t really know what I was doing with this area until the day before Christmas. (Talk about a last minute gift.)

I had originally planned on just sticking to hooks on the wall for their costumes. But then I I got an idea… uh-oh. I decided they needed a place for their helmets, AND their firefighter accessories… (Basically it will never ever be good enough.)

So, I whipped up this shelving unit with scraps I had in the garage. I cut two long pieces of 3/4″ ply wood and then glued and tacked in place support brackets. After which I added the shelves. It was a fairly simple build. All that was left was to sand, prime, and paint! I used some left over paneling on the back wall, and then added the hooks, and mounted the shelf. ( To ensure it would be secure.) The last finishing touches were the baskets and the lights! I got the baskets from the Dollar Tree and spray painted them to match, and used battery operated push lights for the lighting. It turned out better than I had ever hoped!

My Husband ran to Home Depot to grab a few odds and ends, and came home with an awesome idea! He hooked up a water spicket, hose, and nozzle for the kids to play with! They love it, they pretend to put out fires for hours on end!

Last thing it needed was a phone! When my kids are playing ” Fire Fighters”, they inevitably receive a call about a “fire emergency!”. For $2.00 I picked up an old phone from the thrift store and spray painted it to match.

The Bottom Floor

The ladder was a great way to get up, but coming down ? You simply CANNOT have a fire station without a pole. For the pole I used a piece of 2″ conduit. It worked perfectly, and for only $8, you can’t beat that!

This is the view from looking from the exterior window down.

I took out some of the existing bins and added some playing space. The white table top you see below was actually a scratch and dent Ikea cupboard door for $5. Booyah. Now they have a cute play area, as well as a place to store their larger toys. Perfection.

The bottom floor previously had a tool bench built into the wall. The kids never really got into it. They played with it occasionally, but it was never a BIG hit. In all seriousness they have logged more play hours with the “fire truck” in the last 24 hours , than they ever did with the tool bench in the last 2 years.

In order to convert the “tool bench” into a fire truck dash board, I used a play ground steering wheel, (that I painted to look more realistic). Added some buttons and knob, and finished it off with an old CB radio and rear view mirror! All it needed was a quick mural painting and it was good to go.

The last area to undergo renovations was the “hidden room”, originally the room did not exist. When my husband and I were originally making “the fort” we discovered some unused space. So naturally we knocked down the wall, added some drywall and carpet, and increased the kids square footage. Naturally.

During the “fort” era, it had been a “ball pit” with a mini-basketball hoop, and various ball activities. They loved this room for a long time, but as they got older it did not get as much use.The room had a dramatic slope to the ceiling ( remember we are under the stairs), so it made it hard to use the space for play, and toy storage. BUT it made for a perfect TV room! I simply mounted the tv above the entry so that the kids could lay down and watch a movie, and I didn’t need to worry about the tv getting knocked over. Win.

All in all I can say the closet, turned fort, turned fire station was a complete success!

Thanks for reading and Happy Holidays!

Corey

Pottery Barn knock-off ornaments

December 13, 2014

I saw this globe at Pottery Barn, and kind of fell in love with it. So, when I was re-decorating my tree AGAIN, I knew I wanted to incorporate that style on my tree. Instead of having my globe on an axis, I decided to distinguish it by adding longitude and latitude lines. I absolutely LOVE the way they turned out, and for $1.00 a piece, you just can’t beat that!

Supplies Used:

Sand Paper
Black Flat Spray Paint
White “Prisma-color” or chalk pencil
Metallic Markers or/ paint and paint brush
Flat top coat or hairspray works too!
Large Bulb Ornaments

I purchased the larger bulbs at the Dollar Tree! The smaller ones, were I am guessing a Michaels purchase. I began by using a sponge sanding block, and scuffed up the bulbs surfaces just enough to create a dull surface. I then wiped off the dust, and used a “flat” black spray paint. (Use as directed. )

Once dried, I got to work on my longitude lines. I used a thin stick, and place it in hole of the ornament. I then used a small length of string and tied it to the dowel rod. I then tied a white colored pencil ( I have found that only Prisma Color work well.) to the string. Holding the string taught I traced around the outside of the globe using the sting as a guide. Repeat this process as many times as needed.

Once all the longitude lines were complete, I started work on the latitude lines. Honestly, I kind of eye balled the lines. The bulb should look like this now. At this point, I don’t want my lines to fade, so I would suggest spraying it with a Matte finishing spray, or even hairspray! It will act as a fixative , and prevent the pencil from smudging. Once the fixative dries, I started the lettering. I free-handed mine, but you can also use a silhouette/cricut/ or tracing paper, in order to transfer the design. After I had created a basic outline, I used metallic permanent Sharpie markers to darken the lettering! And that is all there is to it! Imagine all the possibilities!

Thanks for reading, and Happy Holidays!

Corey

Pottery Barn Inspired Tablescape from Dollar Tree!

December 8, 2014

Today you can find me over at Remodelaholic, where I will be showing how you can impress all your dining guests! I created a Pottery Barn inspired tablescape with purchases primarily from the Dollar Tree! You can get all the details here.

My Holiday Home Tour

December 5, 2014

Are you ready for the Holidays !? I am !… Well, that’s a lie. I still have the exterior to decorate, shopping to do, and presents to make. BUT, the interior of my house is ready! Come and take a tour of our Home all dressed up for Christmas!

Front Entry

If you want to see how you can make your own “Believe” Chalkboard sign, you can check out this tutorial here!

Sitting Room

I have an awesome video showing how I made this chalkboard, available here. Want to learn how to make your own “Who-Ville” tree? You should check out this tutorial here .