My First "Plarn" Experience

I've been anxiously waiting for some yarn that I ordered over eBay to come in so that I can start my next knitting project. In the meantime, I decided to try something a little different.

I stumbled across this knitting pattern (via Ravelry.com) for a shopping bag made entirely of used plastic supermarket bags. I started last night and this is my progress so far:

How fun! I used the "Loop Method" for creating "plarn" (yarn made of plastic bags). This method is recommended because the yarn is two-ply and thus sturdier than other one-ply plarn. It was my first time trying an "in the round" project so I've learned a lot (this tutorial was helpfull). I messed up a lot but fortunately this bag doesn't need to look pretty. If I were to ever do this again, I think I'd use smaller needles.

You can view my Ravelry profile here.

Our Budget-Friendly Beach-Themed Bedroom

Our new mattress just came in this morning (good-bye, couch and air mattress!) so our new bedroom is finally starting to come together.

The comforter set we got on store credit at Bed Bath and Beyond and the vanity came on sale and 25% off from World Market. We painted the chest and dresser ourselves which saved us a ton of cash!

 We're waiting on this Seagrass Headboard to come in from Pier One.

Hubby found and ordered this mirror and these side tables on Amazon for cheap. I think he did a good job! I can't wait until everything comes in!

My next project is to figure out a solution to store all this makeup in an organized fashion. Any suggestions? The drawers are only two inches tall and I have all my jewelry to think about as well.

Eventually, I'll want to get a nicer chair to go with the vanity; perhaps something made of seagrass to match the headboard? This Pennington Seagrass Side Chair by Howard Miller is cute but way too expensive for me!

Painting Wood Furniture

Hubby and I had a blast doing this weekend project! And it was simpler than we expected. The best part -- we saved a ton of money by not buying a new bedroom set.

We found this wood dresser in great shape from a inexpensive second-hand shop.
We also got a nice chest of drawers from an unpainted furniture store.

We Used:
Valspar Asthma & Allergy Friendly White Paint in Satin
Valspar Maximum Adhesion Bonding Primer
Denatured Alcohol
Rags (to use with alcohol)
Tarp to Protect Floors from Paint
Fine Sand Paper
2" and 3" Paint Brushes
Screw Driver (to remove hard-ware from furniture)

Step One: For stained furniture: Use a rag and some denature alcohol to clean the surface; lightly sand the wood surface with fine sandpaper.
(Some say you can use rubbing alcohol instead of denatured)
For unpainted furniture, you can skip straight to step two.

Step Two: Apply primer and let dry over night.
(Most primers only need a couple hours to dry; however, the longer you let it sit, the better it will bond with your paint.)

Step Three: Now the fun part! Apply your first & second coat of paint. (Check the can for drying time.)

After drying, reassemble. And that's it!