nightstand nightmares

We've never had a nightstand. When we were in a studio it was out of the question since our bed went wall to wall (yeah, the apartment was that tiny). Since we moved to our spacious two bedroom, it's really just been a project we've been putting off.

So when I saw this at a local thrift shop I thought it would be perfect.

We picked up some gray paint from Home Depot and new knobs. We sanded it down and were planning on two coats, but one coat looked fine so we left it at that. 

I'm really happy with how it turned out. I think the lamp might be too big. Is it just me or is it throwing off the proportions? The rest of the wall above the bed is still plain, so I'm looking for something to put there. Suggestions are welcome. 

paper flowers

I saw this tutorial linked on Delia Creates and decided to try it myself. At first glance the instructions looked a little confusing, but they're actually really easy. I didn't have any maps so I used newspaper instead. I think I might try some with magazine pages and see what they look like.

Because it was newspaper, the edges creased differently than in the tutorial and my flowers are not as sharp. I think the magazine paper might do better since it's a little heavier.