Guest Blogger Friday- Come on in - The door is open!

Please help me welcome Rachel - 

I luckily stumbled across her adorable blog and she had me at hooked- 

The Olde Farmhouse on Windmill Farm  

When Valarie contacted me to do a guest post for her, I eagerly accepted. It's my first ever guest post and I'm so honored to be posting on Valarie's great blog! Thanks for having me, Valarie.

Before

Since she let it up to me, I decided to share my most recent project. A shelf makeover for the master bedroom. This shelf is a gift from my school students the year I quit teaching. It has served it's purpose well, but it's time for a new look. I wanted to keep it in the master bedroom because we use the hooks quite a bit. 

Here it is after the makeover:

 I was never in love with the carved design at the top so I filled it in with spackling (hey, it's what I had on hand). I should have used primer over it once I sanded it smooth but I didn't. I painted the shelf with 2 coats of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Old White. Then I noticed the edges of the filled areas were cracking. Uh oh! A quick sanding smoothed it over but I knew it would just keep doing it. It was then that I added 2 light coats of Kilz primer. Then I painted it another coat of Old White and it went away. I added the wooden embellishments that I had previously and gave them a coat of Old White. Then I lightly distressed it, sanded it smooth and gave it a coat of wax.

Meanwhile, my original intention to disguise the mirror failed. I've seen the Mod Podge transfers in blogland and decided to try it on the mirror. I couldn't find anyone that had tried it on a mirror so I didn't know if it would work or not. Now I know - it's 'or not'. I quickly went to plan B. Using a scrap of drop cloth, a T-shirt transfer, and a free graphic from the Graphics Fairy, I created what you see. I Mod Podged it to the mirror and re-inserted it. The hooks received several light coats of oil rubbed bronze paint.

I'm loving the new look! And the best part is, I had most of what I used on hand. The only things I bought were the transfers and the center part of the embellishment. So, for about $3.35, I have project #1 completed for the master makeover.

Come over and visit me at Windmill Hill!!