Patriotic mason jar dessert

Happy 4th of July!

*Made some of these for dessert tonight!*

Ingredients:

Bisquick, (and whatever the box recipe for shortcakes calls for)

Pint of strawberries

Pint of blueberries

Coolwhip, (or vanilla yogurt)

Directions:

Make your shortcakes following the recipe on the Bisquick box. 

Mash your strawberries in a bowl or large cup, leaving a few chunky ones. 

Pour a portion of strawberries into your Mason jar. Add a shortcake. Top with a handful of blueberries, (I left mine whole). Finish with a dallop of Coolwhip or vanilla yogurt. EASY!

Any clear glass or cup would do. I just happen to have a box of Mason jars leftover from a friend's wedding and am enjoying finding ways to use them!

Hope you enjoy and have a wonderful 4th of July!

~Chelsea

This post was originally featured under Chelsea's Garage, now affectionately known as StyleMutt.

Unfinished refinished dresser

Hi there! Is anyone else in the Northern Virginia area wondering how 4th of July festivities will pan out with all this rain we've had? I can't remember the last time we had a blue sky from dawn to dusk...or maybe it just feels that way since I've been trying to occupy 3 toddlers inside for what feels like an eternity. Yesterday we moved our play to the garage to wait out yet another afternoon storm.

Thank you for the adorable little Adirondack chairs, Mom!

Despite the cloudy and rainy skies there have been a few fun silver linings this week, including finishing an awesome statement piece for our living room! When we decided to move my Mom's old tiger oak dresser up to Shire's room, we needed a replacement on that ~70" slice of wall. When I jumped on Craigslist and found this, I was sold!

Before

Taking a cue from my favorite home decor store, Restoration Hardware, who has caught my eye with their raw, unfinished looks, I removed the shiny finish and stain along the top edge of this piece as well as the drawers, using 60grit sandpaper in my electric vibrating sander. The end result was this splendid, rustic wood grain that makes those metal drawer pulls really jump out!

This was one of those pieces that made my heart beat a little faster as I neared the end of the process and saw my style coming to life in what was once an ordinary 6-drawer dresser. It's such a pleasure to bring inspiration to a tangible reality.

Low down:

-removed all drawers

-sanded the top edge with 60grit sandpaper then blue taped

-painted the body of the piece in Old White by ASCP - 2 coats

-removed the hardware from the drawers and sanded those with 60grit sandpaper

-Lightly distressed the body of the piece using a medium grit sanding sponge

-Re-attached the hardware and replaced the drawers

To answer a couple styling questions I've received:

-All the slip covered seating in our living room is from IKEA's Ektorp collection, (two chairs are Ektorp - Jennylund)

-Geometric metallic mirror from HomeGoods - love the contrast with this dresser!

Thank you for reading and have a fun and safe 4th of July, America!

~Chelsea

This post was originally featured under Chelsea's Garage, now affectionately known as StyleMutt.

Wooden pallet bed

Hi there! I'm pretty excited to show you this goody today:

Shire's new wooden pallet bed! 

I saw a picture of a wooden pallet bed in a Spring issue of Flea Market Style magazine back in April; I tagged it as one of those things that I thought looked amazing and super fun, but not sure if 1) my husband and handyman, Matt, would be as enthusiastic, and 2) how difficult it would be.

Silly me for doubting on both accounts! Matt loved the picture I showed him and, though there is a serious lack of pallet bed tutorials online, we both thought it couldn't be too hard to figure out. And I'm happy to report, it's not! I thought I would discuss the details of putting this bed together for anyone else out there who is interested in trying, but not sure where to start.

Here's what we started with: A scrap pallet from Home Depot that they gave us for free, (find a kind looking person with the good ol' orange apron and ask), 2 2x4s, 2 1x3s, and 4 medium sized caster wheels with locks, (not pictured).

Then we built this:

The 'X' frame with the 1x3s was first. Matt used the shaved off ends of the 1x3s as needed as support 'blocks' so the pieces would all lay flush. See here:

Top view:

Then it was my turn to sand and stain. I used 120grit sandpaper in my electric vibrator sander and went to town on the ends and edges, rounding them out so there would be no scratched ankles or splinters. Then I stained using Sherwin-Williams Golden Oak:

Love the difference the stain makes!

Then Matt added the casters to the outer corners of the 2 x 4s

And our little girl's bed was done!

*These pictures were taken before I added the bed skirt you see in the first picture.* I am all about this bed. It was a work of love from beginning to end for our little Shire. It's so sweet to see how special it's made her feel.

Please see our 'Spaces' page for updated pics of Shire's room!

Thank you for stopping by!

Chelsea

This post was originally featured under Chelsea's Garage, now affectionately known as StyleMutt.