EDBE 8Y08 Post No. 5 // The Final Stage

Hello everyone!

Welcome to the last blog post regarding my Genius Hour Project!

As anticipated, this week's GH project is DIY-ing a piece of old/dated furniture in attempt to make it new/modern again.

So, let's get to it!

     After several different attempt searching the internet's best DIY resources (also known as Pinterest), I found myself struggling to find ideas, or even inspiration as to what piece of furniture I should try and tackle for this final GH project. After some thought, I realized that researching ideas has never really been a part of my DIY process. My DIY process usually began with finding a piece of furniture I didn't really need, buying it anyways, and then DIY-ing it to make it functional in a way that benefits my circumstances.

     Thinking a little more deeply about this concept, I have come to the conclusion that finding an idea online first and then going to search for things that might work in the thrift store, kind of, well completely, ruins the creative process involved in DIY projects. You see, the fun in DIY projects, for me at least, comes from the thrill of not knowing what I might find at the store, and then brainstorming ways to make something modern once I have found an item. I like to make up my own rules and come up with my own ideas when it comes to DIY projects, and I feel that copying someone else's DIY project kind of takes away the main point of DIY-ing... DOING IT YOURSELF! For example, going to Ikea and successfully building one of their pieces of furniture by using their given instructions is not considered a DIY project. In the same sense, I think following someone's Pinterest instructions falls under the same category. Sorry if I'm completely debunking your personal definition of DIY - but someone's gotta keep the creativity in DIY alive, and I guess that someone is me!

     Anyways, with all of that being said, I am brought to my next point. Instead of searching the internet for ideas, I simply decided to go to the thrift store, browse around, and see if I could find any furniture that sparked a DIY inspiration within me. The first store I visited didn't give me much to work with, so I tried going to a thrift store in a more 'ritzy' part of town, as people in these parts of town tend to give away really good stuff. However, to my dismay, I found myself empty-handed, although I was not surprised by this. In my past experiences, I have found that finding the perfect furniture thrift usually happens when you are least expecting it - you go in looking for a band tee, and walk out with vintage pants, a lamp, and two wicker chairs. But somehow, if you were to go in looking for wicker chairs, they would have been nowhere to be found. I don't claim to know how this happens, but I bet that many thrifters can attest to this weird philosophy.

     So, as you've probably guessed by the subtle passive-aggressiveness in my writing, I did not find a piece of furniture to DIY for the last week of my GH project. BUT! The story does not end here. Rather than completely giving up, I decided to revisit a previous DIY project that I already had in the works. This DIY project started with a cedar table my grandparents gave to me when they downsized.

     When I first began the DIY process on this table, I was very foolish. I thought I could simply sand off all the stain and varnish with ease. Boy was I ever WRONG! After three days of sanding, sweating, ruining my hands, and pure annoyance, I finally (with the help from others) was able to strip the table of its original stain/colour. But as previously mentioned, it was no easy task. Many sand belts, sand paper packages, and patients were lost in the stripping of this table. Reflecting on this experience, I now realize that there were definitely more 'friendly' ways to go about this. For example, after some quick research, I realized that there are products specifically made to ease the process of removing stain. Ha! Wouldn't that have been nice to know! Actually, now that I think back - I think my mom did mention this product to me, but I thought I knew what I was doing. So, in other words, just listen to your mom!

     The link below lists some potential options for wood stain removers. Additionally, it gives you a brief description of each products, their prices, and other helpful stats. This would have been very helpful had I considered researching!

Click me!     https://woodimprove.com/best-wood-stain-removers/

     After the table was successfully stripped, and my hands were doused in Aveeno, I was able to feel a brief sense of satisfaction. However, the table still didn't look quite right as the natural wood had a little too much yellow hue for my liking. So, I took some white wash stain that I already had from another DIY project, and decided to put a layer over the table to try and cancel out the yellow. Thankfully, after two coats, this method worked and the table was looking great! It had a nice beachy vibe, just like I was aiming for!

     When I thought I was done, I asked some of my family members for feedback, and came to the consensus that the table needed some form of topcoat to combat the rough edges left behind from sanding. So, I hopped on google and searched something along the lines of: 'is spray-on topcoat a thing?' And to my surprise, it was! Spray-on topcoat comes in a bottle just like spray paint, and in used in exactly the same way! So, if you have a project that doesn't require immense amounts of top coat, this product is a major time-saver! I was easily able to locate this product at Canadian Tire in the painting section.

The link below will take you to the product I used to finish up this table!

Click me!     https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/dupli-color-perfect-match-auto-paint-clear-top-coat-8-oz-0472523p.html

     When I re-visited this project, I decided to finish it off by decorating it with a cheese-cloth table runner from my wedding, some dollar store garland, and the DIY vases I completed in my last blog post!

     Although I was not able to find and thrift a piece of furniture for the final week of my GH project, I was able to reflect on, and spice up a previous DIY project that needed some love. Now, I am even more excited to find a place for this table in my home! When it comes to thrifting, making old things new again, and DIY projects, the possibilities are endless! It is crazy what a simple DIY transformation can do to an ordinary object, not to mention what can happen when two completed projects come together (as pictured)!

     Although this was not the big shabang ending I was hoping to go out on for my GH project, I'm still pretty proud of the progress I have made over the past five weeks. Not only do I have a bunch of new items to use in my home and wardrobe, but I was able to push myself creatively and expand the horizons when it comes to what I believe I am capable of. I have re-discovered my love for thrifting along this GH journey, and have hopefully inspired others to give this sustainable habit a try! I learned so much about DIY's over the past five weeks and hope that you have too!

     As much as I was to drag out this farewell, I'm kind of sick of writing right now... And nobody likes goodbyes anyways, so lets make this short and sweet!

Thank you for following me along on my journey, I hope you enjoyed reading my posts, and see ya later!

I'm done blogging for now, but who knows? I didn't hate this experience, so maybe I'll start up another blog someday. I guess just keep googling my name until then?

Okay, bye for real this time!

- JD