DIY Pet Bed

Hey y'all! I have another project from a few years ago to share! Look at me, two posts in one month! 💁👏

Rewind a few years... I've talked about the passing of Heather's and my grandmother in 2014 and how hard it hit me. I had just moved in with a friend, was working full-time at a new job as an SLP-Assistant, and was in grad school. Life was hard and after she passed, I was depressed...so I self medicated. Not with medicine or alcohol or the typical things people turn to when they are depressed, but I got a puppy. In my mind, a puppy was a new start, but I had no idea just how therapeutic that dog would be (and is continuing to be!). I named her Ruby because my grandma loved the color red, but sadly, the name Ruby didn't quite fit my dog's face. So, I gave her the middle name Snuggles because she looked a lot like the mascot bear for "Snuggle" laundry products. Even though I call her Snuggles, her first name is really special to me since it's a small nod to one of the most incredible people I ever had the opportunity to know and love.

My Ruby Snuggles is still pretty cute, but when she was a puppy, oh my gosh...just look.

So, I had seen some really cute pet beds online that were made from repurposed furniture...Um...cute, functional, cheap...yes, please! I went to the same flea market that I got my kitchen pantries from and found an old drawer for $5. This actually seemed pretty expensive to me after buying those pantries for $10 a piece, lol, but it was the cheapest and best size I could find.

I sketched out the headboard and borrowed my dad's Jigsaw to cut it out of the back of the drawer. I smoothed everything out with an orbital sander.

ignore Snuggles' leash...it's a common thing now for toys, leashes, etc. to be scattered around!

Then, I removed the handle, used wood filler to fill all the holes/cracks/etc., painted everything white, then used sandpaper to rough it up (I love the rustic style, and it helps that you can make so many more mistakes and just say you were going for a "rustic" look😉).

Next, I printed up my doggy's name and traced it onto the headboard. I went over my pencil marks with a gold paint marker.

Unfortunately, I hated this, lol. So, I added some distressing with stain.

I liked it a little better, but still not quite what I was hoping for...so, I grabbed a stencil and added a little swirly flair... then a little more distressing with stain and sandpaper.

I also distressed the rest of the drawer with stain/sandpaper. My dad is amazing, and cut some little feet for the bed. I'm pretty sure these were actually baseboard corner blocks and were less than $2 a piece, but I'm not entirely sure...when I shop at a hardware store, I just buy stuff that looks right for my project, with no idea of what it actually is, lol... I attached the "feet" and headboard with liquid nails. Then, I put a little cover I got on sale at Petco (for around $5) over Snuggles' very first bed (which was technically an ugly cat bed for around $10). I learned to crochet that year as well, so I had made a practice square to learn the stitches. It was crooked and I had no purpose for it...So, it became Snuggles' throw blanket! Here was the final product. Pretty cute for a <$30 pet bed if I do say so myself!

TV Cabinets turned Kitchen Pantries

Well...I guess my procrastination is at an all time high, but I'm back! So much has changed since the last few things I said I'd post about that I'd never be able to catch back up if I start with any of that! One of the biggest changes is that Heather is a mom to the smartest and cutest (and energetic!) little 2 year old! So you can almost always assume that Sarah is writing these posts now! ;)

We both still do quite a bit of crafting, but most of what I work on these days is home improvement or home decor projects (spoiler alert: I bought my first house! Go me!) So the majority of my posts and pictures will probably be home projects!

So, this is a project from a couple of years ago, but it's one of those projects that I still get excited to tell people about, so here goes...

One thing I wasn't crazy about in my house was there was no built in pantry and extremely limited cabinet space...and I'm a gal who likes to eat! The people who lived here before used shelving in the laundry room for food storage, but I wanted to use that for cleaning supplies (plus, why travel back and forth between two rooms when you can keep your cookies and milk 10 ft from each other? Am I right?!) 

So, I price checked. Stand alone pantries that I liked were around $200-400+. Before buying one, Heather and I went to a big flea market to see if I could find one for a little less. I set a budget at $250. After being outside in July all day, finding several pantries that were just over budget or were in pretty rough condition, I was feeling defeated. Then we saw them...Two outdated TV cabinets, in pretty good condition but probably not anything someone would want to bring into their house in this decade. Naturally, I asked what the price was. The lady said, "I'll take 20 if you take both of them." I tried to act really nonchalant like that was a fair price and I wasn't planning on paying a penny more (as I stuffed $230 back into my pockets). Then she made a couple of her family members load them into the truck, which probably would have been equivalent to $20 in labor, so I practically got them for free. ;)

Here they were...don't judge me for what I was willing to pay...I saw potential, ok?!

I had just used the Rustoleum Cabinet Transformations kit in my kitchen and had some left over, so I decided to use it on my new pantries! (I adore this kit by the way! It is time consuming, but I liked the result and they still look great over 3 years later!)

I just used latex paint for the inside... it is actually paint left over from my living room walls (maybe too bright for a lot of people, but that's why they don't live in my house! Lol!). Then I spray painted the handles. 

I grabbed some organizational things from the Container Store to make them more pantry-like and made one pantry for baking and the other for cooking meals. Eventually, I'd like to get more storage and organize them better, but ain't nobody got time for that right now.

In the drawers of the cooking pantry, I put things like rice and pasta. In the baking pantry, I put my entertaining stuff and stuff that makes me say, "where'd that come from?" Please tell me other people have that problem...

Then, the open areas would be super cute to put some decor or pretty stuff in, but like I said, I have a major lack of space in my kitchen, so I tried to use every bit of space I had available! My appliances fought it out for the space...Toaster oven and Instant Pot were the victors (My little red Crock-Pot was a close 3rd).




I also threw a nail into a hole that was already in the side of one of the pantries (at $20 I can't complain!) so I could hang an apron up. Cute and functional!

Then, here's probably my favorite thing about my "pantries"...the bottom pieces were the main areas that were a little beat up (you can see in the "before" picture). I ripped them out and now, Roomba has a perfect home where he is completely hidden! (No offense, Roomba, I still love you!). 

Well, I'm dreaming of flea markets now and how I need to search for more treasures, so that's all for today!