Screws, bolts, and nuts...Oh my!

I'm super excited to share this one, because it's as if a weight has been lifted from my chest. I’ve had this dresser that I obtained at a garage sale about four years ago.  It was only twenty dollars and although it isn’t the highest quality of wood, I still love it. But about two years ago, I decided to paint it.  I have been extremely influenced by my mother’s love of all things shabby chic and the absolutely inspiring Miss Mustard Seed (check out her blog, NOW).  So with both of these role models helping me along the way, I took the dresser outside and painted it.  It only took a couple of hours and has sat painted without knobs in all the places we have moved in the past couple of years (okay, now that I think about it, it has only been two places).

Here is the partially finished piece (note that I am not a photographer, although that should be next on my to do list, because it's shameful to share these pictures).

                Now the original dresser had some round wooden knobs on it that could have easily been painted as well.  I decided against that when I was on a visit to the Home Resources store in Missoula.  It’s where all odds and ends and extra materials from construction projects and more end up.  I found (in their “knobs drawer”) some metal pulls of varying styles and decided I would love to mismatch them and use them on the dresser.  Okay, great! Except the wood was too thin and the bolts were either too long or too short.  And then I put the pulls in a container and stuck them where I couldn't see them for the past two years (you know you've done it too!).

There's the original wooden knob.

And here's one of the recycled metal knobs (LOVE THEM)!

                That all changed when I decided to get things done.  I got out the knobs and had a wonderful epiphany to get washers/nuts to fill the extra space at the head of the bolt.  Brilliant! If only I had the correct terminology…  I went to the local Ace Hardware excited to get a few nuts to finish my project.  The only problem was that I was very confused! I was calling nuts “bolts” and bolts “screws.” And when I tried to explain to the very helpful elderly Ace Hardware employee what I needed, he pointed at the bolts (aka screws in my head) and said there’s the size you need.  But I need “bolts”... And so ensued a back and forth conversation that eventually ended in the elderly gentleman saying “oh, you mean nuts.” Dang it, I thought I was so tool savvy just to be proven completely wrong.  Oh, well!

                So I picked out my four nuts (not bolts) and headed to the check-out line where my husband proceeded to ask me if I had gotten as many as I needed.  Well, I obviously know how to count! And I think you know how this ends… We get home only to have me gasp in horror as I forgot I had put two knobs on to measure how much extra room there was and how big the nuts had to be. AHHHHH!!!!! Well, just another thing to learn.  Always double check the supplies you will need and the quantity.  Oh, and I should always listen to my husband, because he’s usually right (hopefully he won’t see this post though, because then there’s no fun to be had)!

                And here is the big reveal…

See my shadow? Eeek!

So there you have it. I finally finished the chest of drawers and it only took two whole years!  And I not only tried, but succeeded! Okay I have definitely exhausted my use of exclamation points for this post. Until the next big adventure...