Bedroom Makeover: Short Bookcase

Finally some results! Yay! Remember my empty room? Yeah, well things are moved in and camp is set up! Yay!

I was debating if I wanted to start showing stuff off in over the period of this next week (there's lots!) or if I should spread it out over time. I've decided to show what I have done and then post what gets done later...later.

So here's one of the first things I did.

Next to my dresser, I had space for a small book case that has been sitting unused in my garage for the past two years. So glad that I finally have room for it. Somehow one of the shelves disappeared and so I got one cut at Home Depot from MDF. Of course, now that it's all painted and done, I found the shelf hiding in a random closet. Weird. Anyway....

The bookcase was a boring brown fake wood look that desperately needed a makeover. Yay for spray paint!! This also would cover up the fact that one of the shelves didn't match. 

I painted it with my favorite cream, Heirloom White. I did learn a lesson. Spray paint, while easier, definitely was not the right medium for this project. If I'm not careful, it scrapes off easy and didn't lay color down evenly--and it took 3 cans. I should have just painted it with regular wall paint or chalk paint. Oh well. It still works if I'm gentle.

It needed something fun on top to go with my new decor.

As part of me learning to sew, I made a burlap table runner (complete with tassels!) to go on top. I got real fancy with the machine and did a pretty scallop stitching on top to add a little sumthin' to it. Just don't look too close... :) And ignore that it slightly too wide and not long enough. Have I ever mentioned that math is not my friend? I really don't know how I mis-measured or whatever I did to mess it up. Oh well. It's not perfect, but considering that it was my first real sewing project by myself (as in I didn't call anyone in a panic because I don't know what I'm doing) and it has tassels...I'll let it go. I'm really proud of myself that I figured out how to put tassels in it. :)

The bookcase and runner needed something pretty and preferably green to go on it.
Thus the succulent terrarium was born. I've seen lots of them, including at Home Goods where I got the glass jar. The night I picked up the glass, I found one on clearance for $49 (normally  $79) and it was smaller. Mine was $32 total and bigger. Yay!

Supplies:

- 22" Glass Jar: $16 (Home Goods)
- Lots of fake succulents: $9 on clearance (Michaels)
- Foam block: $2.50 (Michaels)
- 2 bags of River Rocks: $2 each
- sand (on hand)
- Hot glue (on hand)--I didn't really use it much though

So I put it together just evenly layering the succulents. I mixed in a few that I had leftover from a different project. Worked pretty well. 

I wanted it a little taller than it was so I grabbed some books that I was going to donate and wrapped them in kraft paper and then because there needed to be more blue, wrapped some teal baker's twine around them. I love baker's twine.

Now I still need to decide about the black dresser. I don't like the color anymore, but I'm not ready to dismantle it and paint it yet. Hmmm...

Coming soon...nightstands, trunks, and lamps, oh my! And more sewing... :D