Baby Making (the October DIY thread)

hannahbananas11

This is the place to share anything DIY related! Pictures of completed projects, pictures of disasters (my personal favorite), ideas or questions for new projects, etc!

AshleySparkle720

I have SUPER slowly started on our nursery. I ordered a rug and picked a paint color. I need to clear out the room because it was our catch-all guest room currently. It's a huge project. I did finish dd2's big girl room so that felt like a major accomplishment!

becks_726

I've finally found a potential dresser, I just need to figure out how to actually get it! Anyone have any good instructions or tutorials for refinishing furniture?

bellebaby221

My mom made this for baby girl to come home in (outfit underneath will be picked out later!).

hannahbananas11

@becks_726 I bought a small dresser with the plan of stripping the paint (or sanding it all off) and repainting. I got the following advice on refinishing furniture: don't. Unless you've done it before, starting with something the size of a dresser is going to be a pain in the ass. Plus, newer furniture is really hard to refinish. If it's antique it's much easier to strip the paint.
That said, if you'd still like to give it a go, here a good article to start with, and this site also has good guides for the entire process: https://www.diynetwork.com/how-to/make-and-decorate/decorating/how-to-tell-if-wood-furniture-is-worth-refinishing

becks_726

@hannahbananas11 love the advice! Lol! I should probably listen but I'm going to give it a try. I figure I have time to try, fail and buy new.  my one requirement for a dresser is that it's solid wood so I think that'll help a little. Thanks for the link! 

hannahbananas11

@becks_726 Good luck, and let me know how it goes! I went so far as to borrow a rotary sander from a colleague with the plans of totally sanding off the bright red paint from a Pottery Barn Kids dresser, then finally decided that red is just fine for the nursery. So I cracked up when I saw your post, because I posted something almost identical to FB a while back.

megpants209

You can also try chalk paint. I’ve only done it the old fashioned way but I’ve seen pics of furniture done with chalk paint and it looks good. No idea on durability though. 

hannahbananas11

megpants209 said:

You can also try chalk paint. I’ve only done it the old fashioned way but I’ve seen pics of furniture done with chalk paint and it looks good. No idea on durability though.

Sorry, stuck in the box: One of the people who commented on my FB post said that they've had a lot of luck with chalkboard paint. Just be sure to lightly sand the dresser first, so that the chalkboard paint doesn't feel or bubble.

Sornusa

Oh hai! I am actually reasonably decent at refinishing furniture. Or used to be before I started adulting and working and whatnot. Anyway. You have a few choices. If you don't feel like doing a proper sanding to remove varnish/topcoat, I 100% recommend starting with Bin Zissner primer. I've used it to successfully recover cheap IKEA laminate and it totally prevents your colour coat from chipping. I'd use it anyway if you're trying to cover a dark colour like red. Chalk paint is lovely but is also designed for you to be able to distress it so I would always finish up with a clear topcoat for durability. I would also use a really low-pile roller instead of a brush if you want a smooth finish. There is also a newish product a friend of mine uses (she does furniture refinishing full time), it's PPG Timeless which is a one-coat cover-all and apparently it says quite good, though I've never tried it. Happy painting!! I also have a dresser I need to refinish for the nursery but am totally stumped on colour. Decisions, decisions 🤷🏻‍♀️

becks_726

Thanks for the advice @Sornusa! Is PPG a brand? 

cas060

I made a toy for my lovebird on the weekend, thats all i got... 

hannahbananas11

@Sornusa Your helpful advice has got me reconsidering my decision to just leave the red dresser as-is... 

Sornusa

@becks_726 yes it is! www.ppgpaints.com

Sornusa

@hannahbananas11haha sorry 😬 I'm sure either way it will be perfect!!

megpants209

This isn't a DIY but can I still go here? I just scheduled the nursery closet build out and I can't waitttt to get it done and see those tiny clothes in there.

hannahbananas11

megpants209 said:

This isn't a DIY but can I still go here? We just scheduled the nursery closet build out and I can't waitttt to get it done and see those tiny clothes in there.

Definitely can be posted here! This thread is for DIY and decorating, and really any other type of "handywork/craft/home improvement" type thing!

kayjay44

Honestly, don't refinish it. I've done a lot of refinishing, and refinishing anything, let alone a dresser, while super pregnant is basically the worst idea ever. I did it while pregnant with DS.

We really need to come up with a plan for what we're doing for the older kids (moving them into the same room), but I'm being super lazy.

BourbonBiscuits

We refinished almost all the nursery furniture (crib, daybed and tall dresser) over the summer and it fucking sucked. But now it’s so cute so I’m happy we did. 

hannahbananas11

Just finished basting a double gauze quilt that I'm making for the baby (aka safety pinning all of the layers together). It's not much fun to safety pin fabric together while sitting on the floor. Especially when you're 21 weeks pregnant.
But now the fun part: quilting! I'm quilting this one by hand, using perle cotton thread. I'll do the binding with my sewing machine.
It's a single cut of double gauze cotton on the top and bottom (bottom is light grey), and the batting is 100% wool. I'm looking forward to it getting crinkly after washing!
Here it is, all pinned together:

danixbanani24

you guys are seriously talented!  

mommin135

@hannahbananas11 omg that is amazing!!! Excited to see the finished project. 

Im crocheting a blanket for the babe. I’ve never crocheted before, so it’s rough and I’m learning as I go. 

We did IUI, and during the planning/build up/TWW, I sewed tons of stuff... blankets, bibs, and burb cloths mostly. I need to make a few more things since I have so much fabric still. 

thechickendance

Non baby related, but I finished these last night, I was took a metal jewelry class the last several weeks (brass cuff and copper pendants)

ksdelong20

So haven't started the dresser refinishing from last month but here's my next project. We got some wooden arrows from Michael's today, now just to figure out whether we want to try to do specific fonts for each place or just make them all the same. Neither hubby or I are very artistic (we bought a stencil top use) 

becks_726

Those are beautiful @thechickendance! The cuff would pair so nicely with a LBD. 
 
@hannahbananas11 I chuckle everytime I see the title of this thread. Well done! 

disneybaby84

I braved the boxes  and got this far. The pile on the chair is to be put on walls/installed. 

kayjay44

Another Sunday, another baby hat. 

kayjay44

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conchispita

Made the mistake of signing up for this chair artwork thing with a local Herman Miller dealer. This has been sucking up all my free time for the past few weeks, not really done but I’m out of time. can’t wait to start fall crafting!

sjnsjnsjn

@conchispita- I love that. Very stylish.

bhou

My hubby and I are going apeshit! lol. I am DIY'ing a change table from an antique dresser, while he is completely renovating our kitchen(we live in a groovy 70's house that is in dire need of updating), replacing all our windows and turning our sunroom in a 4 season room so we have extra space in the house. #needmoretime #needmoreenergy

Too much? Is it really true I need to stay away from paint fumes?? 

okayestmom12

I didn’t make it but thanks to the wonder of Etsy, this beauty showed up today, handmade by someone super talented in Thailand. 

wrensnest

I finished some stuff! Here’s a mobile I just finished. They’re tulle pom poms, though I’ve taken to calling it the loofah mobile, lol. Whatever, it’ll be fun to look at.

wrensnest

And this is the fabric garland I’ve been working on. Now that I see it hung up, I need to switch a few colors around and steam it or something, as it’s gotten wrinkly, but it’s mostly done! Yay!

hannahbananas11

@wrensnest I LOVE those! So colorful and fun! The garland turned out really well, too!

wrensnest

Thanks @hannahbananas11!