February Recap

Where did February go?  And will it ever stop snowing in Iowa?  These are questions I do not have answers to.  All I know is that I think the groundhog is full of it.  And March is definitely coming in like a lion here in the Midwest.

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My birthday is on Monday. My incessant complaining about the weather leads me to believe that I will be turning 81.  Which isn’t too far from the actual 31 I will be turning.  Where is my AARP card?

I am, however, able to answer what happened on the blog in February.  This. 

If you are new around here, welcome!  You can catch up on what happened in January right here.  Be sure to visit our home projects page for even more DIY fun!

See you back next week.  I have a new living room rug, a black wall, and some crafts to talk about.  Whoa.

What was your favorite project on Decor and the Dog in February?  Big week-end plans?  Is March coming in like a lion or lamb where you live?

Pinterest Challege: Button Wall Art + Link Party

Who’s pumped for the Pinterest Challenge reveal today?  This girl.  I can’t wait to see what you all tackled.
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As a refresher, the Pinterest Challenge is a fun blogland motivator to get us to step away from pinning and get to doing.  I stepped away (for a very short period of time) and I did.
I have been working on my craft room and I figured the challenge would be a good excuse to knock out another project.  I have a completed sewing table and a painted buffet.  I needed something for the walls.  And then it came to me during a Pinterest scrolling session.  Buttons!
Button Wall Art Decor and the Dog
These buttons make me happy.  They add a touch of whimsy to the room with only a small dose of cheese.  I mean, they are buttons on the wall which makes them slightly cheesy.  But I think they work perfectly in my craft room.
Button Wall Art for Craft Room
I was originally inspired by this pin. 


My inspiration buttons had some nice edges and a great variety of sizes.  It’s tax season so I knew fancied router edges were out.  I had seen some round pieces of wood at Lowe’s while I waited patiently for Nate to pick out lumber for various past projects (like our farmhouse table or console table). I knew that I would need them for something some day.  I just didn’t know exactly what for. 
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The answer was buttons.
Craft Room Button Wall Art
The buttons were super simple to make.  I was going to complete them all by my little lonesome.  Nate, however, decided that assisting me with the buttons would take less time than taking me to the ER.  I still believe I could have completed them on my own.  With all 10 fingers intact.  Probably.  Maybe.
If you’re interested in making buttons of your own, you will need:
  • Round Wood
    • We cheated and used the Ponderosa Panels that we found in the lumber section of Lowe’s.  Any round wood would do.
  • A drill
  • Various sizes of drill bits
  • A screw to hang the button on the wall
  • Primer and paint
I was just going to guestimate where to drill holes.  Nate reminded me that I was a co-host for the Pinterest Challenge and this project should be done right.  He took this whole co-host thing way more serious than I did.  Probably a good thing. He got out his ruler and right angle. *cough, nerd, cough*
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He marked the center of the circle.  He then measure out equal distance from the center to ensure even spacing of the button holes.
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He clamped the wood to the work table and drilled away.
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We eye balled the drill bits for size and guessed what would look decent.
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I was in charge of the primer and paint.  The holes were hard to paint so I resorted to painting them with my finger.  I’m sure a small brush would have work too but then I’d have to wash another brush.  I told Nate that I was giving the button a rectal exam.  He told me that I shouldn’t write that in a blog post.  He’s probably right.
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I used a base white from Sherwin Williams for the white button. The green button is the same green as the buffet, Sherwin Williams Agate Green. The coral button is Sherwin Williams Dishy Coral. I used spray paint on the gray button (Rust-Oleum Painter’s Touch dark gray).  I found it easier to paint the buttons with a brush than to use spray paint.  Lesson learned.
craft room buttons
To hang the buttons, Nate drilled a small hole in the back of the button.  We put a screw in the wall (using a wall anchor) and hung the button from the screw.  We didn’t use a fancy system to decide how to place the buttons on the wall.  We’re all about crossing our fingers and hoping for the best.  And we had an extremely helpful supervisor so we weren’t too concerned.
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He’s a fantastic supervisor.  If we can keep him focused.
Ike and the Wall Buttons
There you have it.  Pinterest Challenge complete!  Happy, whimsical button art. 
Button Wall Art
Be sure to check out the projects completed by my lovely co-hosts:
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Now it’s your turn!  It’s time to share your project!
  1. Click on the blue “Add Your Link” button (you might have to do some scrolling, depending how many projects are added).
  2. Add a link to your specific blog post about your project in the url field (not your home page).
  3. Where it says “name” write a descriptive name for your project (ex: “Button Art”) as opposed to your actual name .
  4. We’d also love if you could quickly link back over to our project posts within your own.  I’ll make it easy, just copy this:  Linking up to the Pinterest Challenge with Megan (The Remodeled Life), Katie (Bower Power), Sherry (Young House Love) and Michelle (Decor and the Dog).
  5. Please also link to your inspiration project on Pinterest as well as to directly link to the original project/site.  Share the Pinterest love.
Did you take the Pinterest challenge?
I’ll be pinning my favorites to the Pinterest Challenge Awesomeness board! I’ll probably share some on facebook as well!
Linking up to: House of Hepworths

Painted Buffet

My craft room is coming along swimmingly!

This green beauty recently joined my new table.

Painted Green Buffet

It almost didn’t make it into my craft room.  I asked Nate if he thought the two of us could carry it upstairs.  He told me he didn’t think so.  It’s pretty heavy.  (Keep in mind that I am scrawny.)  I really wanted to photograph it in the room.  I asked him again.  He told me that we should wait for my brother who is coming this week-end.  I decided that I couldn’t wait and the two of us could totally do it.  Things went great until we got to the top of the stairs.  The buffet needed to be turned vertically, on the stairs, to make it around the corner.  I am a weanie.  Nate was frustrated.  I was pretty sure the buffet was going to fall on top of me and we’d both topple down the stairs. The headline would read “Death by Buffet”.  (Which would be an awesome way to go if it was one of those all you can eat buffets.) Long story long.  We made it.  Where Michelle has a will, there is a way.

You may remember that the buffet originally looked like this.

Antique Buffet Before

We could go around and around about how horrible it is or isn’t to paint antique furniture.  My dad is probably cringing as he reads this.  But this piece had  peeling veneer on the sides and it was very scratched up.  And I wanted a green buffet.  So I made it green.  No piece of wood is safe from my messy paint brush.

To achieve this transformation, I sanded this lovely down.  Filled in some of the deeper holes with wood filler.  I then used one coat of a Sherwin Williams primer.  I used two coats of Sherwin Williams Agate Green.  I finished with a layer of Minwax Paste Finishing Wax.

I hadn’t painted furniture in awhile and it felt good.

I kept the original hardware.  One handle was missing so I purchased two knobs to use on the doors.  I’m not completely sold on the oil rubbed bronze.  I’m living with it for a bit before I make a final decision.  Or until it’s warm enough to use spray paint.

Painted antique buffet

This buffet will hold my fabric stash.  The doors open up to a giant storage area.  One of top drawers has dividers and will be great for storing scissors, pins, etc.

It makes me happier than Dikembe Mutombo blocking a shot.

Painted Green Buffet

My Pinterest Challenge project is also for the craft room.  I can’t wait to share it with you all on Wednesday.  Do you have your project done?  If not, there is still time!  (Check it out here!)

What do you think?  Is your dad cringing along with mine?  Thoughts on the hardware? Carried heavy furniture lately? Who’s pumped for Wednesday?

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