musingsofahappyhousewife: My first DIY project!

My life consists of many different obsessions: some last a long time and some are short lived. My "newest" obsession is DIY projects. I love reading blogs on it and looking at magazines and I finally attempted one myself!
I have wanted to get H a bookcase for her overflowing supply of books which were in 2 baskets- one in the family room and the other in the living room. I didn't have a lot of money to spend on one already done so when I found a "ugly" 70's laminate bookcase at a garage sale at the beginning of summer for $5 I snatched it up!!
I wanted to show you a picture of it before I started and I was sure I took one but for the life of me I can't find it. So now you get to imagine dark reddish brown laminate with lovely "brass" looking feet. It had sliding doors on it originally but they were gone when I bought it. When I brought it home Chad wasn't too impressed with it, even after I told him my plans for it. He said it was not going to turn out how I wanted it to. (For the record- after it was done he was pretty impressed!!)
So, it sat in my garage for a couple months. For some reason I was a little intimidated by it. I guess it was the thought that I didn't know what I was doing and that made it harder for me to start it! Finally, I got so sick of it being in the way in the garage that I decided to ignore my hesitations and dig in!
I looked on the internet for direction and found this blog about painting laminate: http://livingwithlindsay.com/2009/05/how-to-paint-laminate-furniture.html
That was my go to for the whole project. So, thank you Lindsay!
First thing I did was sand it with an electric sander. I started out (before I found dear Lindsay) hand sanding it and sanded it down waaay down too far. Thankfully, when it was done, you can't tell.

If you look at the left side- that's where I goofed and sanded it down too far.This is right before I primed it.

It took 2 coats of primer to cover it enough.

I learned I was a really messy painter and had to

do some serious scrubbing of my patio to get the

spilled primer off it! I can also thank my dog

for stepping in it on the sheet and tracking it all

over the patio. Sigh.

One reason I am so proud of this project is that

my whole family was involved in the finishing of it.

My precious V painted the pink shelves and what a

fine painter she is!!

Chad was our "coach" and helped us when we needed

it. (which was a lot!!) :)

He was especially helpful when I made yet another mess. I was moving the pink paint so she wouldn't bump it and spill it and instead of her doing it, I did it! I spilled about a 1/4 of it and instead of a white cement floor- we had a pink one! I yelled for him to come ASAP and V went into the house to get him. Panic ensued and everything was picked up frantically. Chad ran to get the hose and we had it scrubbed and cleaned no time. Phew!! Thanks to Chad's quick action our patio was once again white and the girls got to have fun splashing in all the water. Like I said, we all had a part in this! :)

When I painted the brown, I moved it into the garage and painted it on a piece of plastic (thanks mom for your great idea). My painting on a sheet did not work since spilled paint goes rather quickly right through! Here is a pic of it after only one coat of brown paint.

Here is a pic of it while painting the second coat (sorry about the flash). I like seeing the contrast- one coat on top and the second coat on the bottom. While I painted the second coat H was "riding" V's scooter around me in the garage. :) I just love the memories I have of doing this bookcase- Chad's help, me spilling the paint, V painting the shelves and H with me while I painted. When I was doing the second coat, I listened to her saying "hold you momma" over and over so I held her hand while I finshed it up. If I went to the store and picked one up already done- I wouldn't have any of those precious memories.