Updating Closet Doors

I have always had a love/hate relationship with our sliding closet doors. Ok, let's say more of a hate relationship!  Our builder grade doors are cheap and flimsy. They always come off of the stupid track and just hang there broken until my husband can come put it back on track. We are trying to replace them as we go from room to room.  Of course, we don't have normal size closets so we have to special order doors. My daughter's room was the first room that we replaced the doors on. I must say she is has a pretty plush closet now. We decided we would do hollow doors for the closets and then add our own trim to make it look more decorative. It was also way cheaper to go with plain hollow doors than with solid wood doors or even hollow doors with detail. I don't really have a great tutorial to go with our project but I do have the before and after pictures and some explanation on what we did.

Let's start with the before pics:

Sliding doors...be gone!

Here are the new doors before we added the trim and drilled the holes for the door knobs.  The doors also came with a frame.

We had to cut some of the drywall to make the doors fit. No project is every easy. 

And here are the after pictures:

We added trim on the doors, trim on the wall and dummy door knobs. It looks much, much better!

We left the back of the door plain, no need to fancy it up since it is just the back. I have thought about making a growth chart ruler for my daughter to hang on the back of the door. 

We bought pieces of pine trim and cut it down to size for trim on the closet doors. We glued the trim on with Titebond and used clamps to hold the wood until it was dry. You could probably also use Liquid Nails to glue the trim onto the door.

My husband used a hole saw to drill the holes on the one side of the door. The door knobs come with a template/pattern to use for cutting out the holes so you don't have to guess.

Here are a few pics of the doors with trim.

I love the corners for the doors. 

I love how much easier these doors are to get into and I never have to worry about them coming off of the track. It's the little things!

I am linking to: 

House of Hepworths

Southern Savvy Style

DIY Show Off
Thrifty Decor Chick: Before and After

What I Wore Wednesday

Here is another edition of What I Wore Wednesday.  Nothing too exciting, but I am keeping myself accountable to wearing something other than yoga pants and a sweatshirt.  I have also realized that taking pictures of yourself is almost impossible. I had about 20 photos of this outfit and only two that turned out somewhat alright! I make some of the strangest faces when taking my own pictures.

Flannel Shirt: http: Target

Boyfriend Sweater: Old Navy

Hydraulic Jeans: Carson's

Ruff Hewn Brown Boots: Carson's

I am linking to:  The Pleated Poppy

Chalkboard for the Babe!

I can't believe I might actually have some weekly posts. Go me!!!  I have had this project done for over a year now but have not had a chance to post pics. My husband made this beautiful chalkboard for my daughter before she was born. We just used some plywood, some trim and chalkboard paint to put it together. You can really use anything to make a chalkboard. I wanted something custom fit because I was huge pregnant and I didn't have time nor the energy to go to garage sales to find a frame. I am pretty happy with how it all turned out!

I made the bunting to drape over the top. I will have to do a tutorial on that someday. It is easy squeezy to make! 

These chalk holders are made from cheap gold/brass cabinet door handles. I saw this idea on Pinterest forever ago. I am sorry I can't take the credit for this idea. You can find the handles at Lowes or any home improvement store. 

Photo courtesy of sears.com

I painted the handles using Krylons Ocean Breeze spray paint from Walmart and then used Gorilla Glue to attach them to the chalkboard.


I am linking to:

Coastal Charm's Nifty Thrifty Party
Today's Creative Blog: Get your Craft on Tuesday
DIY Show Off: That DIY Party
Homestories A to Z: Tutorials and Tips

What I Wore Wednesday

I have been debating about doing What I Wore Wednesday for months. I decided this week I am going to take the plunge. I feel like I owe it to myself. If you you have no idea what I am talking about go visit Lindsey @ The Pleated Poppy. She has an awesome blog and the cutest shop. I have been a blog stalker of hers for many years. Don't be scared...you know we all do it!

Ok, are we all ready for this? Here it goes!

Top Image

Cardigan - Old Navy

Checkered Shirt - Goodwill

Seven for All Mankind Jeans - Goodwill (Score!)

Brown Boots - Kohls (2 Years ago)

Coral Necklace - Groop Dealz

This is just a closer view of the checkered shirt.

I hope you enjoyed my first WIWW

Measuring Up: A Kids Table

I can't remember the last time I actually posted a project. Wow, it feels good to have something to write about. My writing skills are a little rusty so please be patient with me.  A few summers ago while shopping at an antique store we hit the jackpot and found a bucket of old yardsticks.  We had no idea what we were going to do with them, but I knew these babies (yardsticks) were coming home with us. I think we paid $50 for about 70 yardsticks, that is less than a $1.00 per stick (score)!  I love old yardsticks especially when you have a bucket of them and so many colors to choose from.

Anyway, back to my project! I really wanted to do something with the yardsticks for my daughter's room and I had been in the market for a small kids table. I loved the tables at Pottery Barn Kids but not real excited about the prices (I am cheap that way)! So, we got on Ana White's website which is one of the best places to go for DIY projects and found plans for a table and chairs. My sweet hubsy came up with the table top idea but used Ana's plans for the rest of the table and chairs. I love how it turned out and it is perfect for my almost two year old daughter.

(Sorry, this is a grainy pic from Instagram)

I am linking to the following parties:

DebbieDoos Newbie With a Twist Party (Go Check Debbie Out!)

House of Hepworths

A Glimpse Inside (Go visit Allison)

DebbieDoos Weekly Pinterest Party

Looking Forward to 2013!

Well, I think I might try to give this old blog thing another chance. I need an outlet for my creativity and something to hold me accountable for getting projects done.  This time of year always makes think about how I can improve myself for the next new year. I am ready to move on from 2012 and I am ready for some change. I am looking forward to seeing my little girl learn and grow this year. I hope this will be the beginning of more posts to come. I leave you with a totally random picture of my baby doll from this past Halloween.