projects

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Jumping the gun

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I was going to do a post on our coffee table but it’s in the process of drying in the garage so In anticipation of 100 followers on WordPress and in celebration of having hit 100+  likes on my Facebook this week, not to mention swiftly approaching 100 posts and two years with what started out as a little experiment, I thought I would round up some of my favorite posts. PS if you haven’t liked my Facebook page you totally should, I sneak in extra posts and updates there, so you should definitely click here. The hyperlinks are included in the text and pictures if you feel like checking out each post.

At the tippy top of the list will probably always be my series about my antique desk. I actually have another desk that will get a refinish this summer. I’m  beyond excited for that. 


If you want to see the whole series start here but here are the individual links 

Part 1… Part 2… Part 3 … Part 4
 

And bittersweetly to accompany my desk is the post about my mother in laws chair


Thanks to being in a new house I’ve had lots of great projects recently, my particular favorites being the hallway full of frames. 

And of course our new/old entertainment center soon to be joined by a mid century table which you may have seen a sneak peak of in one of my recent posts. 

Let’s not forget about remodeling that bathroom, that was pretty awesome. 


I’ve also got to give love to my Halloween makeup posts 

Of which this past fall’s look went a wee bit viral on Pinterest… Oh right did I mention I’m on Pinterest…. I’m on it a lot  my username is ItsybitsyBows… Cause TinyBows was taken 

And last but not least an early favorite is my clock turned lantern.

 

If you guys have any projects  you want to see drop me a line in the comments. 

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Caulk (hehehe)

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I’m finally, really, like for realzies finished with the bathroom. If you missed the first part be sure to click here. When last we left, it looked pretty good but lacked a backsplash and therefore lacked some functionality. I had to wait three weeks after painting the bathroom before I could do the tile work in order to let the surface fully cure. But yea! Hooray! The wait is over. So first I measured out and cut the tile. I took the easy/cheap way out of this by getting tiny little square tiles on a sheet. I say cheap but these were one of the most expensive things in the bathroom at $10 a sheet. Luckily it only took 3 of them and it means I didn’t have to buy or rent a tile saw.   Next we used tile adhesive to stick them to the wall and the tiny bit of counter. Unfortunately I’ve fallen flat at pictures for this step but it’s a pretty basic process that only requires one specialized tool called a notched trowel.   After a couple days drying time it was on to the grout. I’ve had the pleasure of laying tile before so the grout was the fun part. You just mix it per the instructions on the bag until you have kind of a peanut butter consistency (having an old hand mixer is really nice for this part) then just use a float to start mushing it into the spacing and scraping off the excess. You have to be careful not to work your grout too much or it will become stiff and crumble. After letting the grout sit for about 20 minutes (or however your mix directs you) you simply start wiping the grout down with a very slightly damp sponge to get off excess until your left with just a slight film. Let that film dry then just buff it off with a soft clean cloth. After a couple days of letting the grout dry it was on to the final finishing touch. All those raw edges of tile and grout needed to be polished up. Caulk will work just fine. Caulking is pretty easy if you know what you’re doing and a horrible mess if you don’t. Trust me, I speak from experience.  You simply run a small bead of caulk along the edge to be sealed then get your fingers wet and with very light pressure run it along the bead to smooth it out. After all that just let the caulk cure and use a grout sealer to protect the finish and prevent mold and mildew. Officially done! If you missed how i made my mason jar soap pump you can find it here  Don’t mind my half blue half beige outlets. But check out my new plate covers, beadboard to go with the ceiling. Woohoo fancy!

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Best $10

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This might just be the easiest project I’ve ever done. It’s also up there as one of the cheapest and most versatile. If you read my On The Horizon post you got to see a little sneak peak of these babies.

But I am beyond pleased with how they actually turned out. They are made out of very light weight (what I think is) balsa ply and ranged in price from $0.89 to $1.39 for the largest one. The paint was $2.89 for a sample pot of Valspar Dark Kettle Black. Of course this project didn’t make a dent in that sample pot and I will likely be using it for various other projects. It’s not really a true black but the most glorious charcoal color ever. Did I mention grey is my favorite color. You could just as easily use spray paint but its more expensive, its messy, its smelly, and it would use a whole darn can just to cover them because it goes everywhere except where you want it to… but I’m biased.

 

Because these frames are so light I just hung them with straight pins. Yes the kind you use to tack a hem. You could just as easily use 3M adhesive strips or blu-tack, but pins were handy and they leave nary a hole to be seen. So for about $10, we will say $13 with paint I turned my money wall into the wall of nothing. The wall of money was far too small for such a large expanse of blank wall so I was glad to find a cheap way to fill it.

These little balsa frames are possibly my new favorite thing and I’m sure I will be getting more for future projects. They would be marvelous with strip magnets on the back for a refridgerator frame, or if you have a massive steel front door and birds who love wreaths (the struggle is real). It would make a good alternative welcome sign to the ridiculous mesh monstrosities adorning houses around the country. You also don’t have to stick with boring black or brown. It would be an easy, as well as easily changed way to inject a pop of color into a space.

It also just makes a lovely thing to carry around in case of accidental photobombing or as a classy selfie prop. Seriously though these would be wonderful hanging from trees or the tent at a wedding for just that purpose as well as adding a bit of decoration to otherwise neglected areas.

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On the Horizon

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I MUTILATED A CLOCK

I know… it was a crime of passion and I feel no remorse. Mainly because I have diabolical plans for its remains. You are probably thinking “What steam-punk rococo funk monstrosity is this woman attempting?” But I can see it, and it’s going to be marvelous…. Or it’s going to be a disaster, either way the clock ran painfully slow so no harm, no foul. I’m actually going to use its hollow remains as a shadow box/display case. I can’t really take credit for the idea as it is something I saw in the Tim Holtz idea-ology section at Michael’s today. Michael’s actually sells brass alarm clock shells, but… screw that I have one at home that would be so much more fun to tear apart. With bonus steam punk gears inside! Side note: if anyone knows how to remove pins from sprockets that would be helpful information. This is just a “side” project with no deadline or motivation other than “oh my god I’m going to tear apart a clock older than I am”. Not that everything else I do is a primary imperative in any way. I’ll get there eventually or I’ll just have a torn apart clock laying in a box for a long time and I hate useless things laying around; I guess that’s the motivation.

So what else will be coming up in the next few weeks, possibly months, maybe by the end of the year? I’m not good at deadlines when it comes to personal projects.

As previously stated in Old Junk New Funk (one day it will have a better title) I do really have an overabundance of jewelry boxes so another makeover is coming along with one of them. This time it will be my first foray into Milk Paint. If you have any tips or tricks you would like to share with me regarding that please let me know. I figured I better start small when it comes to that because I have a couple of future projects that I know I want to use either Milk or Chalk paint on.

Speaking of those (far off) future projects one is a new (and by new I mean antique or thrift store) desk, seeing as though my marvelous computer that has allowed me to start this blog is currently sitting on a fold up table. That will have to wait until funds allow, which shouldn’t be too long off. Another major project to be tackled is liable to be my boyfriend’s new (and by new I mean thanks to our dear friend who moved to the sunshine state) table. We will be reupholstering the seats at the very least and likely painting the chairs and table base, though maybe not all of those things all at once. We have yet to decide if we will paint or just refinish the top. It’s something that I would like to do in chalk or milk paint so I’m doing this dry run on the jewelry box to see how things go. And once again any tips and tricks would be greatly appreciated. This is another something that is going to have to wait until funds allow (upholstery fabric is surprisingly expensive) but the greater obstacle is waiting until the weather cools down a good bit. 95 degrees plus 95% humidity is not ideal for painting.

It is never a good idea for me to go into a craft store or any HBA section as I spend too much money and time there. Clearance at Michael’s was amazing. I have a $10 gallery wall in the making. This is a project that will take longer to arrange than it will to actually make. Just slap some paint on it, find a good wall space, and figure out how to arrange them. And I have exactly the wall. Because they are so light weight I’m guessing if you placed strip magnets on the back of the smaller ones they would make wonderful refrigerator frames for kid’s artwork. Something I don’t have to deal with, but it’s a quickie tutorial I might do for those who do have little ones around. I can also probably attach them to the wall without putting holes in the wall thanks to their weight, so they would be great for apartment use as well. My mind is just going crazy with the possibilities of these cheap and wonderful little do-dads.

I don’t have any health and beauty blogs lined up. Mainly because I don’t feel confident in myself (despite it being my job?) but also I think beauty tutorials come across much better in video form and I don’t have the equipment for that. But I will continue doing write-ups on anything that I find particularly interesting. If I happen to try out any new products I’ll do reviews (Clinique smart serum review may be incoming). I have just started using prescription retinol (tretinoin) and will be chronicling my experiences with it but I would like to give it at least four weeks (more likely 6 or 8) to see how it does.

Anyway these are the things I have lined up. There are lots of little crafty things I have done over the years that (unfortunately?) haven’t been documented. I’ll put a couple pictures of finished projects below. I’m also working on a follow up blog post that is nothing but projects I’ve completed in the last year. Let me know if there is a project you would like to see me do a tutorial on, whether it’s a project I’ve finished once already or a new endeavor entirely.