A Blue Shelf

I have ambitions of being a Pinterest-worthy DIYer... however, I was not blessed with the crafty gene. I love reading other people's DIY blogs and getting ideas that maybe, one day, I'll be brave enough to try :) for now, it's small projects for me!

I cleaned out some of my old clothes that I haven't worn in a while and took them to Goodwill, and decided to browse around while I was there. I much prefer antique stores and flea markets, but sometimes you can find some treasures at Goodwill, too! On this day, I found two treasures and I immediately had big plans for them. Here is treasure #1:

A basic wooden shelf. Maybe not exactly the most wonderful find in the world, but it's exactly what I need to hold my Disney figurines and some knick-knacks! Most of my stuff is still in my room at my parents' house since our apartment is too small for me to move in all of my things. It's all in boxes or just sitting on top of my old dresser (which will not be coming to live with us) so I need somewhere to store my tchotchkes.

I nabbed this shelf for $4 - definitely cheaper than buying a set of shelves from Target (which is probably where most of our house decor will come from as I am completely addicted to Target). I took it home and husband and I made a stop at Walmart the next day to get some sandpaper and paint for it.

It was a bit challenging to sand in some areas so I had to have some muscle ;)

I didn't notice this when I was in the store, but it looks like it was handmade in 1974! I'm glad I can give this piece a new life and a new home :) I insisted to husband that we not paint over the back of this shelf to preserve the writing.

I opted for a bright, cheery blue - something to give a pop of color in the room! This is after one coat.

We let it dry overnight and husband put on the second coat while I was at work the next day - love that man! This is the finished product. 

I love that it's a happy color without being too bright. I think it turned out just fabulously and I can't wait to incorporate it into our home.... wherever that will be! The whole project cost around $7 - and I still have some paint left over for my Goodwill treasure #2, which will be the subject of a future post!