DIY Ottoman

Hey y'all!

(While in Texas, right?)

I wanted to share with you one of my favorite DIYs (so far) and offer some insight if you are looking to do a similar project yourself.

I made this little beauty from an old coffee table that I found at D.I. for $12.00. I'm pretty dang happy about it. I love that I got to choose the exact color and pattern and match it to the color scheme I want for my living room. Most of the supplies I used were things that I already had around the house, so this ended up being a very inexpensive project for me.

Here are the supplies you will need if you would like to make your own ottoman:

• Coffee Table
• Paint (I just used white wall paint that I already had in the garage)
• Sandpaper
• Paintbrush/paint roller
• Saw
• Fabric
• Upholstering staples and stapler
• Quilt batting

That's it! Pretty simple, actually.

I have a serious problem with taking "before" pictures. I usually start a project so suddenly that I get so wrapped up in it and don't even think about a "before" picture until the first coat of paint is on. (In this case I remembered after I had painted pretty much everything but the top.)

At least you get an idea of what it looked like beforehand.

Before you start, take off any hardware (mine had a handle for the drawer) You will need to sand down the surface a little. This will help your paint to stick to the surface. I ran over mine with my trusty little sander quickly, but it could easily be done by hand with something this size. Don't overdo it. We just need to rough it up a little to make sure that paint stays. Make sure that you dust your table off after sanding.

If you need to, now would be a good time to saw off the legs. Test it out in the space that you will be using it. I took about 4 inches off of mine. If you do this, you can purchase felt pads at Home Depot to stick on the bottom and protect your floor from scratches.

Apply your first coat of paint. I used both a brush and a roller. The drawer of my table was too detailed to use a roller and the brush left stroke marks on the smooth sides. The roller put the paint on nicely on those smoother surfaces. Depending on the original color of the table and the paint you've chosen, you may need to make multiple coats. Mine took about three, but I was also going for a weathered look, so I didn't need full coverage.

After your paint has dried, you can choose whether or not to weather the edges. I love that rustic aged look. I also decided to paint the interior of the drawer so that there is a little peek-a-boo yellow every time I open my drawer. ;)

Replace your hardware. You can even purchase new drawer pulls or knobs to give it a whole new look. I kept the original drawer pull on mine.

Now, measure out the surface of your table and cut your fabric and batting accordingly. Make sure to add about 3" on each side of the fabric to allow space for the batting to go underneath. I didn't actually measure mine, and it ended up being a little short. If you look closely at the bottom of my table, it's kind of a mess. If I had been a smart person and given myself more fabric, I could have folded it under the batting a little more as I stapled, leaving a more professional look. But again, I tend to get a little over-excited about my projects and charge in without making a real game plan.

Put your batting and fabric down on the table and get to town stapling! Again, it looks best if you are able to fold the fabric over before stapling it to the table.

Now all that you have to do is put your hardware on, and voila! A beautiful new ottoman, just the way you wanted it.

Thank you, teachers!

It has been quite some time, my friends! I really dropped the ball on this blog.
I doubt that anyone is terribly heartbroken about this, because let's be honest: I'm the only one reading my blog, but that's cool.

So since I've last posted, I have been really focusing on my little business Queen Bee Creations by Alanna. I was doing pretty well with the local community (and by that I mean mostly my sister Rhonda) and then my husband got his orders for our first PCS and here we are in Texas!

I have recently been re-inspired to get more serious about this blog, thanks to my big brother Wade.
He made my day by coming to visit me along with his beautiful wifey and one of my nieces. I've been so homesick for my family recently, and it was so nice to see a familiar face.

Anyway, he encouraged me to start a blog, not realizing that I already had. Writing has always been a passion of mine, and doing so on a regular basis will, I think, really help me.

A great topic that surfaced this week was teachers. My sister Rhonda (yep, still my best customer!) wanted to do something special for her son's teachers and ordered these Desk Blocks. "Live. Love. Teach." I think they turned out pretty cute, and I hope that it warms the hearts of those teachers.

I believe that teachers deserve every bit of appreciation we can give. They are, after all, the ones who will be shaping our children's lives. They are the ones who encourage them and direct them in a way that we as parents often can't. You know, they've seen mom and dad every day: they know they're pretty hot stuff in your eyes. Being told that they are special or smart or creative from any outside party is pretty great and an outstanding confidence boost to the kids. At least that's my opinion.

My second grade teacher Mrs. Heuseveldt was the sweetest woman ever. I remember sitting in a circle with the other kids for story time during which she would create fantasy adventures that starred us students. I remember how special I felt when she would mention me. She would often remark on my love of horses and I recall feeling tickled at the fact that she made it a point to get to know me and the types of things I liked.

In High School, I was going through a lot of changes. I had always played sports in school, (never very well) but I was constantly teased and excluded by the other girls. I had just made the decision to stop playing sports and things changed a lot. I lost my best friend because we didn't seem to have much in common anymore. I lost that excitement that comes from being a part of the team. Enter: drama club! Ms. Kim was my teacher and she was the most wonderfully sarcastic, feisty, colorful person I had met. She was kind to me and she encouraged me. She is the reason that I decided to pursue further education in acting, and that took me to Salt Lake City to the best school ever: East Hollywood High School.

There, I met a variety of intensely passionate, intelligent teachers who made learning so much more fun by involving something I was so passionate about: film-making. My most influential teacher there ended up being Lindsey. (We addressed most of our teachers by their first name at EHHS) She taught the Student Leadership class and took the time to get to know each of us personally. She genuinely cared about each of us. I remember more than one occasion that she spoke with me one-on-one, simply because she noticed that I was having a bad day. She taught us how to be influential, good people. She taught us that we each make a difference, no matter how small. And those are some of the most important lessons to be learned in my opinion.

Thank you, teachers. I don't imagine that being a teacher is a very glamorous job. The hours can be long, the children can be downright MEAN! My heart is so full of love for those teachers who go out of their way to teach kindness, to encourage, to push, and to show patience to their students. Even if you're not one of those teachers on the Ellen show being recognized for feeding the impoverished kids in her classroom, you are making an impact on a child's life just by being there and doing your job. I am so grateful to those that inspired my life. Even though the acts may have been small, in my child heart they were so big. By shaping the lives of our children, you are shaping our future.