Side Table to Dog Bed {by Tammy @ Not Just Paper and Glue}

Hey guys – back with another guest post for you guys today and I think you are going to love it!  Today’s guest post is from Tammy @ Not Just Paper and Glue.  I love Tammy – she quickly became one of my favorite bloggy friends.

Tammy makes some of the most amazing scrapbook pages and cards, but like her blog says, she isn’t just about paper and glue.  She also does some fun DIY and thrifty projects like this galvanized trash can into dog food container!

Or this awesome lampshade to bucket tutorial!  I love this one!

And she also hosts a Pinterest Master List full of awesome people for you follow on Pinterest.  Make sure you go and add your profile and check out some other people to follow!

Now today – Tammy has another great tutorial to share with us!  I think all you animal lovers are going to love this one!  Enjoy!

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Hi everyone! Tammy here from Not Just Paper and Glue. I am very honored that Jess invited me to stop in today and share my latest project with all of you while she is on maternity leave.

I purchased an end table from the Salvation Army store for $10 for my little studio and I was going to refinish it. As it goes around here, I ended up not needing it and eventually my husband said he was going to throw it out but I had just found the most adorable idea!

courtesy LucyDesignsOnline.com

When I saw this cute dog bed from Lucy Designs, I knew this is what I wanted to make for my little dogs. My husband also agreed that it was a great idea so we took it into the living room; turned it upside down; and placed my little dogs favorite blanket in it to see if they would get into it.

As it turned out, they loved it and was frequently found napping in this upside down table. My husband cut the legs off for me and we used the ends of the legs for feet of the bed.

Now was the scary part. You see, this would be the very first time that I had ever refinished a piece of furniture. I kept telling myself that it was “only a dog bed”, but still…. I wanted it to turn out pretty.

One evening I got brave and broke out the sander and began trying to rough up the slick finish of the table. When I was finished I wiped it down really well to remove any dust particles.

 

I wanted the basic color to be an antique white but envisioned some distressing of the original brown color but also some pink. To achieve this look, I gave the entire piece a random coat of Sweet Pea spray paint and let it dry overnight.

The next morning I used my favorite spray paint color, Heirloom White. I wanted to make sure that I gave the entire piece a good smooth coverage of paint. When finished I realized that some of the pieces, especially on the posts, I noticed that it did not completely cover, but this was happy mishap. When the bed was dry I noticed that it gave a great worn and distressed look by allowing just some of the pink to show through – just the look I was trying to achieve!

 

It needed a bit more distressing so I used my sander to just “bump off” a few areas, and also along the edges of the bed.

It was now time for the fun part – decorating! I purchased some wood appliques from Hobby Lobby at 40% off ($2.40 total) along with a package of wooden balls ($1.79) and I spray painted them with the Heirloom White.

 

Once the wooden pieces were dry, I brushed Modge Podge over the top and lightly dusted some Light Pink Glitter Crystals over the top of each piece and set them aside to dry. You didn’t think I could do a project without adding a little “bling” now did ya? lol

You will notice I am using a make up sponge to apply the Modge Podge. I couldn’t find my sponge brushes and then I remembered… I donated them to our Children’s Church. In a pinch, a make up sponge will work – or at least it did in this case.

 

Once the pieces were dry, I used Wood Glue to attach all of the pieces to my dog bed.

 

I couldn’t believe the bed was finally complete and I was completely satisfied with the end result. I don’t know why I was so scared to start this project – it was easy!

 

And here is my “little princess” in her new bed. She knows that no one will say anything about her bad hair cut since she really is a “princess” and she is lounging in her adorable bed.

Midge is an overweight, elderly AKC Yorkie and this is not one her “better days”.

NOTE: We did not remove the screws that hold the table together which you may have noticed in earlier pictures. We put an oversized pillow in the bottom with a velour throw blanket over the top. Both dogs have been using this bed for some time now and it has not been an issue for us. If you decide to make one of these beds, you may want to use an alternative method to hold the table together.

Supplies: Table (Salvation Army) Sander Artistic Appliques: Floral Pair and Small Flower (Hobby Lobby) Spray Paint: Sweet Pea and Heirloom White (Rust-oleum) Glitter: Light Pink Crystals Glitter (P K Glitz)  Modge Podge (Satin) Wood Glue (Gorilla Glue) I want to thank Jess for allowing me to visit with all of you today. I hope you enjoyed my very first attempt at refinishing a piece of furniture. If you decide to attempt something like this, I would love take a peek!

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Tammy – I think this is just too cute and creative!  And I am with you!  I would love to take a peek at something like this if someone takes a crack at it!  What about you?  Does this give you some ideas??  I wanna know!