The Dismal Before, Spectacular After Contest

Ok, I just had to share!  A few days before starting the Lost in Creative Space blog series, I took some more photos of my finished space.  As I looked through the pics, I remembered that I wanted to post my furniture pics to Rust-Oleum's Cabinet Transformations photo gallery.  Initially, the product hadn't really been used on furniture, so I wanted to share my results on a laminate wood office suite.  (Since then, they've come out with Furniture Transformations, but alas...)  When I landed at Rustoleum.com, the homepage was highlighting a contest -the "Dismal Before, Spectacular After Contest" sponsored by Rust-Oleum and HGTV for makeovers their products.  I clicked through a few of the entries and decided, "Hey, why not?  I've got the photos ready!"  So I submitted these:

One month passes...I had totally forgotten everything about it.  August 14th - during "Throne" week:  I see a missed call, a voicemail notice and this email on my phone:

Are you kidding me??!!  Is this for real??  I won??  I WON!!  This was such awesome news, I didn't know what to do with myself!! :)  I immediately responded via email with all the appropriate information.

Well, I guess it must be "for real" because look what the FedEx man just brought me!!

{SQUEAL!!!}

Well, I guess it's a good thing I decided to enter!  This pays back almost 90% of what I spent at Home Depot on the room!  Sweet!  On to my next project, right? :)

I just had to share that awesome news after finishing the series - coincidental?  Perhaps, but I think there might be more to it than that. :) 

If you have not seen the series, feel free to check out the following posts. 

Lost In Creative Space
Part I - Office Furniture Revamp 
(office furniture updated with Rust-Oleum's Cabinet Transformations!)
Part II - Green With Envy (wall color)
Part III - Order with Pop (organization of the space)
Part IV - "Throne" Away (trash to treasure office chair)
Part V - Finishing Touches (decor and accents)
Part VI - The Final Reveal (before and after shots)

As exciting as winning a prize is (and I never win prizes), there is an eternal prize that I must keep my eyes on...

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me Heavenward in Christ Jesus. 
- Philippians 3:12-14

And once again, thanks for visiting! 

Keeping Him in mind,

Lost in Creative Space: Part VI - The Final Reveal!

Remember this boring, executive office-y, blah room?  

Well, get ready to see a very different room as I share the full-room photos of my new and improved creative space!  Finally!  (I know, right?) ;)

But first...

I wanted to share a few of my favorite photos with you!

For all the details on these photos, please check out my series posts, which are linked below!

Lost in Creative Space

Part I - Office Furniture Revamp

Part II - Green With Envy
(Wall Color)

Part III - Order with Pop!

(Organization)

Part IV - "Throne Away"
("Trash to Treasure" Office Chair)

Part V - Finishing Touches

(Decor)

And the Finale...

Recent Pics of My Space:

Clearly Candace's Creative Space is Complete! 

 I am considering adding window treatments, but otherwise, it's done!  

It's a been a great place to escape and get my creative juices flowing.

I'd like to thank every single one of you from the bottom of my heart for visiting and taking time to support the blog.  It's been a lot of fun for me to share this first-ever makeover and blog series with you!  As always, I welcome you to share Clearly Candace with others.  

I've chosen to leave you with a verse that I have printed and displayed on my desk as a reminder to use my blessings from Him to reflect Him through my eyes, mind and voice. 

"Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God.  If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ.  To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever.  Amen." 

1 Peter 4:10-11

Keeping Him in mind,

Lost in Creative Space: Part III - Order with Pop!

Welcome back!  If this is your first time visiting or viewing my first blog post series, you can easily catch up on Part I (furniture) and Part II (paint) of the series in just a few minutes!  Now, on to organization... 

Today's post will show you how I created some much-required order to my new space.  In creating a creative space, knew I would need multiple bins, drawer organizers, file boxes, bins and buckets for all my craft/office supplies and tools, party decor and paper goods.  To date, I had mainly used the bookshelves, my upstairs guest room or coat closet to store things.  It was time to utilize my shelves and furniture the right way.  In addition to organization, I wanted to add a color to the room that popped with my new walls and furniture.  It's important to note:

Since hubby was moving his work-related books/needs to his new space, the shelving space doubled!   After moving my bulky photo albums to another room, I now had ample organization space.  My love for hot pink combined with the Target Dollar Spot was like a dream come true.  Multiple hot pink items similar to these at $1-$2.50 when on a budget made organization easy and stress-free!

I used the silverware trays for my desk drawers and the buckets and boxes for supplies.  Check out my now-organized shelves! 

Interested in a "before" shot of what these shelves were like?  Just click here.  In addition to the Target boxes & buckets, I got 6 of those great striped baskets for a steal at $3ea from our closing Toys R Us!  Note: I save jars for various purposes. :)

As for my furniture, I cleaned out and reorganized my drawers and inside cabinets.  I was able to move my printer from the bookcase to inside my hutch cabinet on a great pull-out shelf (not sure why I never noticed it).  I also moved my router to make a new found a home for my ugly sewing machine that is now no longer under my feet!  I found stackable organizers (in 3s) at Big Lots and hot pink baskets on clearance at Ross and Michael's.  TJ Maxx had cool spinning desktop organizers and I got square vases from Ikea.  (Made good use of some jars, too!)  These new items (below) ranged from $1-$6 each!



Lastly, I can't leave out my infamous first piece of organization - the Ribbon Rack!  This newly-painted, upcycled CD rack has saved major space by holding loads of ribbon for gifts and diaper cakes. I prefer this rack over ribbon rods because the rolls are handy to grab, use and toss. 

It feels so great to have everything in in its own place!  I no longer feel overwhelmed when doing work or projects.  Everything is easily accessible and not in another room upstairs or in an over-stuffed closet.  I also love that I was able to organize using a fun accent color to play off my green and black colors.  It was inexpensive, easy and exciting to add!

As we get closer to the end of my first blog series, I will be sharing a few finishing touches to the room and a finale of requisite room makeover "before and after" shots that we all love.  I can't wait to share my final additions to the space with you!  Thank you for your support and all the blog love shares, FB Likes, Pins of this series or Clearly Candace, in general! :)

With a little organization, a place was prepared for my many things.  With those italicized words being today's topic, I am reminded of a wonderful truth for all who believe in Jesus.  He comforts His disciples with these words:

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. ² My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. ³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. ⁴ You know the way to the place where I am going.” John 14 1:4

Thanks for visiting!

With Him in mind,

Lost In Creative Space: Part I - Office Furniture Revamp

Howdy and welcome to my first-ever blog series!  I'm very excited to share my creative space project with each of you.  It involved multiple phases, so I thought a series would be the best way to show you the process.  There's no way I could fit it all in one post and I'd also like to keep my readers awake, so here goes nothing!  :)  My first mission? Furniture!

When we moved into our new home, all we had for our new front-of-the-house study was my sad, particle board corner desk.  We knew we needed actual office furniture to facilitate me working from home, hubby's after-hours work, his engineering stuff and all our books.  Since the new office suites were too pricey, we turned to Craigslist.   I loved the idea of a black set.  Plus, it would go with my already-purchased black Ikea Vallvik shelves!  Sadly, there was nothing worthy out there in black. :(  In the end, we settled for a cherry wood-colored  Sauder Hill set from a nearby neighborhood.

Yes, it's engineered wood with a laminate finish, so not a great color or quality, but it was a step up for us and it did the job.

My biggest dislike?  The brass...the gold brass had to go!  It was nice to have "new" furniture, but it was overly traditional and executive office-y for me.  Below is the opposite wall of Ikea shelves. At least they coordinated with the black desktop? :-/

Fast forward one year...

Sharing the office wasn't working out too well and I had pretty much taken it over for work and most things Clearly Candace. ;)  Then my hubby came up with a brilliant idea!  He discovered that one of our attics was actually large enough for a  lab+workspace for him and all his engineering needs!  What?  An unseen, designated place for all those electronics books and beautiful engineering devices?  Um..yes, please!  What?  I can create my very own space in the study?!  Hubby, you rock my world! {squeal!}
On to the first project:  Furniture Revamp!

Around that time, a high school friend and blog inspiration of mine, Lindsay of Living with Lindsay, tested a new product called Rustoleum Cabinet Transformations at a convention. It claimed to be the new answer for outdated kitchen cabinets and Lindsay, who updates woods and furniture regularly, was very impressed.  I read up on it and found that it could be used on laminated finish - SOLD.  I had the answer to my furniture problems.  I would create the black office suite I'd always wanted by transforming my cherry laminate finish to a black wood grain finish!  $80 later, I had this:

The Rustoleum steps intrigued me.  It only required deglossing (vs. sanding), a base coat, a top coat and a glaze. I passed on glazing, so I only had 3 steps!  After removing the hardware, doors and drawer fronts, I deglossed the doors/drawers in my garage and the furniture pieces inside the room.  This step required rubber gloves, a scratchy sponge (included) and the deglosser liquid (included). It basically just removed the sheen from the finish.

Prep and Deglossing

The color coats (2) and clear coat were painted using a 2" brush to create a wood grain texture.  Thankfully, I was able to save paint by not painting door backs and inner closed cabinets.  In addition, Pinterest gave me the awesome idea of a fabric-backed bookcase which resulted in even less painting area!  I got fabric (Joann's) and Tacky Spray, removed the backboard, carefully spray-glued the fabric to it-smoothing it flat, trimmed the edges, and reattached the backboard.  Wa-la!  I also purchased a 10-pack of satin nickel finish pulls for the desk and 6 matching oval pulls for the doors (Home Depot). No. More. Brass.  Putting it all back together was my favorite part!

 

Painting and Fabric Backing

I recently took more shots of the finished pieces, but please accept my apologies for not including the upper shelving.  I wanted to share the color/finish transformation without giving away the rest of the room! :)  I promise to add some full furniture shots to this post after my series is complete. Needless to say, I am still in love with this set and very proud of my this affordable DIY update!

 

Rustoleum Cabinet Transformation Results

Another bonus about the color choice was that my handy black Ikea shelves now look perfect in the room. :) Oh, and I decided to add another little dandy to the room using the same paint.  A little hint: it's not used for CDs anymore...

I hope you like the outcome as much as I do!  I highly recommend trying Rustoleum Cabinet Transformations if you have similar furniture or cabinets in your home to update.  It's a great product and worth the price in comparison to new furniture or cabinet replacement. 

Stay tuned for Part II of Lost in Creative Space!  Can you say walls? :) Any guesses on color?

Since today was a "transformation" day, I chose to leave you with one of my favorite verses from Romans on life impacting transformation...

"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test what Gods will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will."  Romans 12:2

Keeping Him in mind,

Coming Soon: Lost in Creative Space

Cue Don LaFontaine's voice:

In a world of white walls, cherry veneered MDF, brass hardware and zero organization......one room was in desparate need of a makeover.

Introducing what was formerly known as...

The Baker Study.

(Lucy Says Howdy)

In the coming weeks, you will witness the transformation of one blah office into a space just for me! {squeal!}  I should thank the hubby for creating a man cave from our attic, which allowed me to call this one my own. :)

It was a longer process than I expected, being a busy SAHM with a part-time job, but I did it.  I'm no expert and I had plenty of distractions along the way, but I'm happy with the outcome.  I thought you might like a little sneak peak of glimpses of the fun. :)

Looking forward to sharing this DIY journey with you!  I've decided to call the series:

Lost in Creative Space

I did feel lost at times....mostly lost in the mess-HA! :)

Similar to the outcome of this project, I like this verse and wanted to share:

"The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride." Ecclesiastes 7:8

A good daily walk reminder.  With that, I hope you'll tune in.

Thanks for visiting!

Keeping Him in mind,