Guest Post: At Home With K

I am blog swapping today with Kindra from At Home With K.

This is my first blog swap and I know that you will love Kindra!

Hello Emerald Cove Readers, Followers and Friends! I'm Kindra from At Home With K and I'm taking over Michelle's blog for the day. :)

A little bit about myself...I'm a full time stay-at-home mom, part time night nurse. I have 3 Fabulous Men in my life-Hubby, Mr. K (7) and Mr. T(3). They are the light of my life! In my spare time, I love to Create and Decorate on a Budget...and blog about it!

Recently I did a project on an old door that I would love to share with you today.

I love old doors, don't you?! They just don't make them like they used to. I found this door below for $5.

It wasn't the best of shape.

Peeling paint, dirt, grime...

Complete with dog/cat scratches at the base of the door.

My hubby cut a small section off the bottom of the door where it was beat up.

I scraped off the loose paint. Then I cleaned up the surface with bleach and water.

After it was dry, I painted the best side of the door with some paint I already had.

Here's what I used.

After it was dry, I took my electric sander and sanded down the surface and edges to give it a more distressed look.

Then I stained the surface with MinWax Dark Walnut Stain.

All you do is wipe on the stain and then wipe off with a clean rag.

Here you can see the difference where I stained and didn't stain.

I thought the stain made the door a little too dark for the look that I was going for...so I dry brushed some of my white paint over the stain to lighten it up a little more. I probably would of used MinWax Early American instead but I was just using what I had at home and Dark walnut was all I had.

After it was dry, I could of stopped there. But I had more plans for this cute little door.

I saw this mirror post from Meridian Road and just knew I had to try it out someday.

So I went on a hunt for some mirror spray paint. This stuff is kind of hard to find. But on a Hobby Lobby trip one day, I found it! With a 40% off coupon, I got this can for around $5.

This spray paint is cool! You make your glass surface into a mirror. Now it's not the same as a real mirror but it does give a neat looking glass image.

According to the directions I sprayed the BACK side of the window with 5 light, even coats. It takes an hour to "cure". I did this while the door was propped up against my work bench.

The paint gave the glass a wonderful mirror look and I loved it! But I didn't stop there. I wanted to give the "mirror" a more aged look. So while the surface was still tacky, I placed my door on some saw horses so the door was laying down.

Not knowing if this was going to work or not...I took a spray bottle and (crossing my fingers) sprayed around the edges randomly. And as you can see some of the area where I sprayed began to bubble up! It's so nice when an idea actually works. :)

I waited for all the water to dry before moving the door upright because I wouldn't want water marks running down the mirror. It took about an hour in my semi-cold garage to dry.

And here is my mirror door today!

Here you can see where I sprayed the water to give it an aged look.

Hey, that's me! See how cool this paint is?!

We added the door to our (boring) bedroom. This room will get a makeover soon. Now this just inspires me to get going on this room project!

No door knob, but that's okay. I took the plate and I dry brushed some white paint on it. After it was dry I sanded it down and added some stain. I love the look it created!

Wouldn't this mirror spray paint be cool to use on the glass of some old picture frames?! You could make a collage of mirrors on your wall. Real mirrors can be pricey sometimes, so this would be a great alternative!

For other thrifty projects like this, come on by my blog-At Home With K and check out some of my past projects!

Thank you so much, Michelle, for letting me guest post today! You're the best!

Thank you Kindra!!

I just L.O.V.E. that door and mirror!! She gave me the idea for the little mirror in my room and I was so giddy when I saw hers (yes I think I even squealed a bit) that I HAD to do that too! I will be showing you that when I post on my bedroom!!

Thank you Kindra for coming over and sharing your amazing door and or always inspiring me with your creative talents!