Summer Projects {The Start of a Linky Party}

It's summer y'all and you know what that means for this teacher:  sleeping in waking up with a sweet toddler, trips to the mall trips to the zoo, lounging on the couch with a good book crafting during naptime.

That's right; I'm going to be taking on a few projects this summer and I couldn't be more excited.  I feel as if I'm a little overzealous in my quest, but I'll just take it one project at a time.  Maybe I'll get them all done, maybe not.  Luckily, I'm not on anyone's time schedule (except Toph's naptime schedule).

First up:

The doorway that connects our living room and our office is a little drab. 

I found JessaJill's quatrefoil canvas tutorial and know exactly how I'll dress it up:

But with different colors and better editing.

Next up:
Remember the dresser we redid?  Well, its brother, the end table is in the garage, is languishing in the heat and being used as a tool table.  This summer, I'm going to put a new coat of paint on it, tile the top and call him a matching, custom made piece for our guest room.

After that:
We have a wonky candle holder that doesn't do much except collect dust and hold nasty flower petals.  I know it has amazing craft potential but I don't know what it is yet.  Do I turn it over and turn it into a light fixture?  Do I secretly spray paint it gold and admire it secretly in my closet?  What do you think?

Next on the to do list:
These frames were free from a garage sale.  I got them free because I stole them.  Just kidding; my neighbor took pity on me and gave them to me.  One will be spray painted white and used as a frame for a chalkboard I am painting for Toph on the wall under our bar.  The second one will be spray painted gold a color mutually agreed upon by my husband and me and will be used to frame a huge photo collage, which I'll Mod Podge to the wall.

Toph loves the frames so much he decided to take  a fake nap on them.

Then:

Ugh.  This nook in our dining room is the veritable bane of my existence.  It's become a dumping ground for things that we don't know where to hang up, china, a random chandelier, a scary looking Santa dressed in leopard print (it's not ours, I promise).  I want to organize it, decorate it and give it function.  In all honesty, this will probably be one of the last projects I tackle because I simply don't know what to do with it.

Next project:

Don't be talking mess about this ugly thing.  It has a ton of potential.  I'm planning on converting it into a china hutch.  I'm going to remove the hardware, sand the heck out of it and stain it a dark brown.  Then, I'm going to take out the top two drawers and create a little nook to display my china.  I'm going to cover the inside of the nook as well as the drawers with a coordinating fabric.  Then, I'll add new hardware and give it a big hug.

Look at the detail on this baby:

This was only $15 at a garage sale...score!

Are y'all excited about my summer plans?  Of course, I plan to include you every step of the way.  Every time I complete a project, I'm going to post it and host a linky party.  That way, you can play along too!

Maybe one of the projects I complete won't be on this list and that's okay!  I can't promise I will post a summer project every week; remember, I'm new at crafting and can take FOR-EV-ER! 

Who's with me?  My next craft post will be the first ever Summer Project Linky Party, but I'll have a button ready and a cool name for it. 

Get busy on those summer projects and have fun!