Friday, February 12, 2010

Dave's birthday!

Dave's birthday was last saturday but he got sick. We couldn't go out to eat, he barely walked through the chocolate festival (not eating ANY samples) and the fancy cake I got him he only ate two bites....poor guy. So it's been kind of a birthday week, I wish I could've made it more exciting for him! 29 never looked so good :)
For Dad's birthday the kids got presents from grandparents :) Lydia ballerina has now learned important words like tutu and leotard.
Alex has always wanted to be a scientist, and his safety glasses made it real. He's currently a paleontologist digging out a triceratops. Sidenote: this is the coolest present, but it's messy. I highly recommend it :)
And last, I need your help! This was Dave's desk when he was little, it's in good shape, but Al already has a desk. I was thinking of how I could make this for Lydia...it's not girl style yet. I don't need big frills, but I want it a little...prettier. The base is wood and the top is like a laminate. If you have any idea at all...please comment!!

5 comments:

katina said...

Happy Birthday Dave! I think you should Mod Podge the top. I just saw a really cool table that had old rulers Mod Podged to the top...it looked so cool. Not girly, but you could pick something girly (like a girly fabric...or whatever) and make it work and then paint the wood to match. Or, just paint it all. A little paint goes a long way.

Peay Family said...

Happy Birthday Dave. The desk project looks like fun, I love stuff like that. You can get tons of fun ideas from this website - it is one of my favs!

http://www.allthingsthrifty.com/

Jenn said...

Well you know that I have lots of ideas! :) I think it depends on the color of Lydia's room (was it purple? I can't remember!) If it was me I would probably paint it either white, or some really fun color like turquoise or something (depending if you want something sweet and classic, or something fun and cute) and then where those empty drawers are I would find some really cute baskets with liners to go in. That way there is storage and if the baskets have a girly liner that can add to the feminine factor. As for the laminate top, well you can either leave as it is and go with white (it looks white to me in the pic, is it?), you could take the top off and buy a piece of thick wood to put on top and paint, or you can try roughing it up a bit with sandpaper and then priming and painting. If it were me I would try the sandpaper and then roughing it up (just because I am cheap, and if it doesn't work, you can always go the other route). Just be sure to give it several coats of paint with lots of time to dry in between, and then consider a clear poly coat on top. That's my LONG advice, but since you asked for it, I don't feel bad. :)

Meedy said...

I think this is so fun! That is a cute piece to refinish. I especially like the open shelves on the side. If it were me, I would be scared to paint the laminate because I would be afraid that it would chip off easily. I would probably try to pry the slats off and then sand and paint whatever is underneath or get a new piece for the top like J suggested. Or leave it the same. As for the wood part, sand it down and then, I would either paint it white or a fun color like red. I also like the idea of maybe staining it a very dark stain color. that would look nice too. Then get some baskets for shelves. The fabric on those would make or break the color combos so pick carefully. It would also be cute if you went to a thrift store and got a chair to match it. --like this http://betterafter.blogspot.com/2010/01/happy-seat.html You wouldn't have to sew...just staple. Look through that site...it has lots of cute ideas too. I am excited to see the finished product! You are an expert at finishing furniture so I am not worried! Good Luck!

Melissa Rozeski said...

So fun!!! Don't tell me kids about the kids' present thing. Hey, I think I will get Dave a new shirt for his birthday. If you look at the last few posts, he's always wearing the same one. It just made me laugh, cause Jason's the same way.