Yarn Art

Last, but not the least tweak in the living room, and over in that back door corner is a little yarn art.  I’ve seen these made on Pinterest a hundred times but took a notes from Andrea at Harlow & Thistle to make my very own. 

For a little bit, I struggled with what to hang on that door.  Since it got painted white and kind of blends in with the wall, which is great, I still liked the idea of adding some sort of wreath or hanging decor.  It had to be fairly simple and I didn’t want anything floral.  I didn’t want to add any holes to the door so it also had to be something light enough to hang from one of these magnetic hooks*.

I know you can find this tutorial a thousand times over elsewhere, but hey, “Here I go again on my own...” 

Marble Tray ~ DIY

It’s going to get real original over here today yo.  I’m not the first and I definitely won’t be the last to type about marble contact paper.  There are a myriad of pinned projects using just the stuff and mine will be just another to add to the collection.  There are a huge basketful of bloggers and DIYers who have written/talked about using the stuff and so I’ll just add my voice to the queue.  BUT, I betcha that of all the marbled contact paper projects you find out there, mine will roll in as the cheapest.  Not bragging…that’s just the fact.  You know how I do.  ;)

Internet, meet marble contact paper project…again.

That’s a Wrap

Today I just want you to tap into your memory store and think back to the year 2016…back to the post in which I introduced this new and improved dresser:

You can get all the details on its new paint job if you click here but if you want to go inside, keep reading.  I decided that adding some glam in the form of a gold dip wasn’t enough so I took it one step further and lined all of the drawers with some gold dotted wrapping paper by Sugar Paper that I found at Target for $6.  (PS, I found it in the Christmas section but I’m hoping it wasn’t just part of a Christmas collection so that anyone who wants to follow suit can go grab some!)


I’ll tell you all about it, the good and the bad, but first, let me tell you how hard Sugar Paper made this decision for me.  Their papers are gorgeous!   
 
I choose a gold dot because I thought it would appeal to more buyers since I was going to sell the dresser but, if it were my own dresser, I probably would’ve went with the black and gold feathers on the gray backgroud (which, btw, would look amazing in Grace’s dresser) and if I we were keeping the dresser for the girls, I would’ve went with the colorful striped paper on the right.  So fun you guys!  <3

But there will always be more dresser drawers to line I’m sure, so let’s move on to the how on the current ones.

Measuring

Before you line your drawers with whatever paper you’ve got, you’ll have to measure each drawer to figure out how much paper you’ll need.  Stating the obvious, I know.  You can grab the old ruler or tape measure and write down measurements or you can do it the easy way.  :)

The easy way consists of grabbing a few sheets of computer paper, scrap paper, and/or used coloring book paper and laying it all out inside the drawer so that it overlaps, thereby making a template.

Making sure the paper is covering every square inch of the bottom of the drawer, tape it all together along the seams.
If you have any drawers that are the same size, just make sure the template you just made fits inside all of them.  (I made this template inside the top drawer and hooray, it fit inside the next two drawers down too!) Chances are, it will fit just fine.  On the rare occasion that the drawers are a smidge different, just make another template.

So easy, right?

Next, place your template on the wrapping paper, trace, and cut it out.  (Note:  Turn your template upside down and trace it on the underside of the paper so that there are no pencil/marker marks on the top of the paper that might be seen.)
(It helps to place something semi-heavy on top of your template as you trace to keep it from shifting, hence the ink cartridge package.)

Template (if necessary for different-sized drawers), trace, cut and repeat until you have all of the pieces of paper needed.

Papering

As far as adhering the paper to your drawer, there are a few ways to do it.  For a more temporary lining, you can just use double-sided tape at six-or-so inch intervals around the perimeter of the drawer to stick it down.  Then simply pull it up when you want a change.  For a more durable lining, I used some satin modge podge I nabbed on clearance.  Nevermind the sponge brush though.  I took this picture before I started which was also before I realized how much I hate sponge brushes.  Just grab a small paintbrush instead.

Ok, here’s where things got a little dicey for me.  I’m just telling you so you know what NOT to do. 

DON’T brush the modge podge onto the entire bottom of the drawer and then proceed to lay down your template. 

It doesn’t matter how much painstaking effort you exert to lay out the paper so that there are no air bubbles and wrinkles, they will probably come.  Think they’ll disappear once everything dries?  Nope, think again.  And then hold back tears as you rip out and waste a beautiful piece of fairly expensive wrapping paper.

So maybe that’s a little dramatic but I can assure you, the frustration was real.

Now, let’s skip over to the greener grass.  Here’s what you SHOULD DO.

Before you even think about laying the paper into the drawer, grab some clear acrylic or laquer spray and spray the back of each piece of paper.  This will form a nice barrier between the modge podge and paper; the modge podge won’t saturate the paper causing it to get all soggy and wrinkly.
(Random note:  I used this Krylon clear acrylic I had on hand and look how *not*clear it sprayed!  It’s a couple of years old so maybe it yellows over time when kept in the can but I guess I was just glad I wasn’t using it to spray something I wanted a clear coat on!  I didn’t have much left in this can so I also used some clear spray laquer and that was still clear despite being a couple of years old too.  Moral of the story, buy the laquer instead of the acrylic.)

I sprayed all of my pieces of paper one-by-one and then set them out flat to dry.  Once they were all dry, I went back to lining the drawers.

First, I laid the piece of paper in the bottom of the drawer so that it was exactly where it needed it to be.  Then, to hold it in place, I grabbed the kids’ pencil box (because it was the closest thing) and set it on one half of the paper to hold the whole piece in place. 
Next, I folded one half of the paper over so that I could brush modge podge onto one half of the drawer bottom.
And then I slowly folded/rolled the paper back down over the modge podge from the middle to the far edge.  It helped to grab a washcloth and rub it as I went.

See?  No wrinkles!

Once that side was done, I moved the pencil box to the other side and repeated.

I wish I hand one more hand to catch a video of how I did this but with the washcloth, I just rubbed up and down across the paper as I was laying it down.


I let all of the papered drawers dry overnight and the next day, I went in and brushed a thin layer of modge podge over the top of each piece.  I was a little nervous that this would take away the shine of the gold so I held my breath but phew!…once the modge podge dried, the paper looked just like it did pre-modge podge.

I LOVE the added beauty the lined drawers bring to the dresser!
It was definitely worth the extra steps to use this paper.  It’s the perfect compliment to the dresser’s paint job!  If you’re not in the mood to deal with paper to line drawers, check out this post on how to line drawers with fabric!

Also, you might remember that behind the doors on each side of the dresser, there are a couple of shelves that I set storage baskets on.

I made paper templates and cut out wrapping paper to line the shelves with but then I decided against papering them.  I was too afraid that, when sliding in the baskets, the paper at the front edge of the shelf might catch on the basket being slid and rip. 

But then I had those rectangles of paper laying around.  I could’ve saved them to wrap small presents but instead I stuck one inside our to-do list frame…

…and the three others went into the three frames hanging in the living room, specifically because I thought they’d be pretty behind the wreaths I hung on each for Christmas.

Which brings me to a tangent…Christmas decor.  The weeks leading up to Christmas were super busy here so not much seasonal decorating happened here.  :(

The plans I had to make Gianna a stocking never happened.
And thankfully she’s too young to care this year anyway. 

The rest of the decor was quick and simple.

I had a hankering to hang wreaths on the picture frames mentioned above so I grabbed some faux garland from the dollar store, unwrapped it to ruffle it up a little, and then wrapped it back up into a wreath shape.

Then I grabbed some red glittery ribbon I also got at the dollar store and hung those wreaths.
I also used some of the leftover strips of paper to disguise this almost-empty candle as a vase:

I’ve still got a small piece left and I’m thinking I might wrap a book with it.  It’s really hard to toss pretty pieces of leftover paper, ya know?  Haha! 

Anyway, that’s my drawer plus wrapping paper experience.  Have you ever lined anything with wrapping paper or any other paper?  If so, how’d you come out in the wrinkle department?  Maybe it was just me or maybe you had the same problem.  And maybe you’ve never lined any drawers but are now eyeing all the dresser in the house.  I know I am.  ;) 

Happy New Year folks!  I hope it’s been a good one so far!

*post includes affiliate links

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Trophy (Painting) Wife

Last week, I finally got around to throwing up a collage wall and making a lamp out of string lights in Sebastian’s room.  If you missed that post, go check it out.

A few of the things up on that wall are some trophies from Anthony’s years past – Little League baseball years past.  I asked him a few years ago if he’d allow me to spray paint them and I got a shocked face and a stern, are-you-crazy, “no”.  Then I tried again last week and, maybe since all these guys have been doing is chilling in Sebastian’s closet, I got a “sure”.  So, I took that affirmative and ran with it…straight outside…with a few cans of spray paint.

Have you a few old trophies laying around?  Maybe you’ve passed some by at your local thrift store?  Well, if so, here’s how to make them as exciting today as they once were.

Trophies are put together really simply.

Basically, they’re a bunch of pieces and parts stacked on top of eachother with a long, threaded rod down the middle and that rod is secured at the bottom with a nut.

Unscrew that nut and everything will just slide right off.

The super cool thing about Anthony’s trophies is that each base is marble, carrerra marble to be exact.  I know so because a tiny sticker on the back of each told me so.  So fancy, right?  Well, there’s no way I’m going to paint something that isn’t ugly in the first place.  So, I grabbed all the plastic to be painted and left the marble as-is.

I gave all of the pieces a good washing with some dish soap and a toothbrush before I painted them.  They were a tad dusty from being stored so long.  After they were dry, I took them outside and laid them all out on a big piece of posterboard that was headed for the trash.


Then I gave each piece a coat of spray primer.  Plastic tends to be pretty finicky when it comes to holding paint (ahem), so priming it first ups the chances of it really sticking.

I painted one side of each piece, let that side dry, and then turned everything over to paint the other side.

Two of the trophies I left just primed – the gray and white.  I wasn’t sure what color I wanted to go and the only actual color I have in my spray paint stash right now is yellow.

Once everything was nice and dry, I put the trophies back together the same way I took them apart – by stacking them in order over the rod and securing it all by putting that nut back on at the base.  Except, in putting them back together, I turned the marble bases around backwards so that the metal plate parts with all of the writing were facing the back and the fronts were just plain marble.  See?

(So I was thinking while I was putting these things back together, about how awesome it would be to grab a few marble-laden trophies from a thrift store, take them apart to remove the marble, and stack the marble pieces all together to make a lamp base.  You could put all the big pieces at the bottom and small at the top or you could stagger them so they’re all different.  Either way, it be a really cool and cheap way to get a marble lamp!  :D  )

Had I a longer shelf, I probably would’ve painted more trophies and maybe that’ll eventually happen anyway.  Until then though, I really love how these turned out.  It’s fun when you can redo and repurpose something but even more fun and special when it’s something of sentimental value that probably wouldn’t have been used much less displayed anyway.  :)


All thanks and gratitude to my trophy husband for being so good at baseball as a wee lad, for without his mad skills (and eventual reluctance to my painting idea), this post would probably never have been written.  :)

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Our Paint Chip Family

Ooh, DIY art.  It's my favorite.  And since I'm really, really, really bad/slow at getting real pictures put into real frames, it's really easy too.

So, when I saw the above gallery wall done by Jessica at Pretty Providence, specifically that framed triangle artwork in the upper left, I was inspired.  I got to work one nap time and created my own version of it in the form of a little abstract family portrait, a very abstract family portrait.See?

It's Anthony and I on the left (he's Neutral Gray even though he's anything but neutral and I'm red/orange or "Red Hot" as Behr calls it...ha!), and the kids are two blues and a golden yellow (or boring "Sunwashed Blue", "Honey Beige", and "Harbor").  It's going to have to get tweaked a little bit here in the next few months but since I did this project months ago and am just now getting around to sharing it, we'll stick with five triangles instead of the six we really need now.  The question that now remains is, what color should the new little lady be?  I'm accepting ideas...

The five of us are hanging in the toy corner in the living room; a little area we moved all the toys to last year when we rearranged this room for better functionality.

Want a little triangular fam of your very own?

You know you do!!  Here's how you can birth one...

Grab some paint chips.  I used chips I had on hand from prior projects.  

(Soapbox note:  I don't condone just going into a home improvement store and grabbing paint chips for free for projecting.  I feel like, and maybe this is a little dramatic, but that's almost stealing.  Somebody pays for those and even though they're up for grabs and free for us consumers, I don't think that means going and grabbing a bunch for non-paint related purposes is cool.  However, I do think that going into a home improvement store to buy something and supporting them financially in another way gives you a little more justification to maybe grab a few for a project.  Just my two cents.)

A few of them were squares so I just penciled a line halfway down the middle on the back to create two little triangles.  Then, I used one of those triangles as a template to cut triangles out of the chips that weren't squares.

Then I just cut out the triangles...with my food scissors, yes.  Sometimes they're just the closest and sometimes I'm just lazy.

 

And then I apparently didn't take or lost any and all pictures of how I got them in a frame but luckily, that's Kindergarten-level stuff.  I just grabbed an old frame I had laying around that I had broken the glass to years ago, stuck a piece of white, matte photo paper inside, and glued my triangles in the order I wanted them to the photo paper.  I used photo paper because it's a little thicker than regular computer paper but really, you can use any kind or color of paper you want.  It's your family.  Make it how you want it.  :) 

Along with our family triangle portrait, I hung this print from Hatch Prints (also used in our recent pregnancy announcement) in a thrifted oval frame that I spray painted white and the mat black (they were a nice shade of gaudy pink), and framed picture of the kids I rehabbed from this thrifted frame:

I bought it for the color of the frame but painted the mat white and then went back in and painted in the gray border for flavor.

This little corner of the living room is set now but we've made some major progress in other corners that I can't wait to share with you.  Stay tuned for one rather large update next week!  I'll give you a hint, it rhymes with boo fantel...

Easiest {Any}Holiday Bunting Ever

I’ve always loved the idea of hanging bunting.  With that said though, I’ve never made or hung any because making and hanging bunting just doesn’t climb as far up the to-do list ladder as some of the other projects we want done ‘round here.  It’s life is lived on the back burner…

until now…

Yay!  Can you see it, can you see it?  (As I typed that, I heard Olaf’s voice in my mind…weird.)

I had this bright idea one afternoon and, literally, five minutes later, we had bunting hanging from the tippity-top of our tree.  It’s so easy!  No sewing, gluing, measuring, or fuss of any sort.  The Grinch would hate it!

Wanna know how to make some of your very own?  Well, if you don’t, click out because if you know me, you know what’s next.

All you’ll need are a pair of scissors, some sort of string (I used twine I had laying around but fishing string or a strong thread would work too), and some wire edge ribbon.  I grabbed this wire edge ribbon after Christmas last year on clearance at Michael’s but, even without the clearance price, it’s pretty cheap.  If you’re only using it for this project, even the Dollar Store will satisfy the need.

First, cut several pieces of ribbon.  The number you’ll cut depends on how many far apart you want each piece to sit once it’s on the string.  For an eight foot long strand like mine, I cut 13 pieces, each about six inches long (I didn’t measure but just cut the first one and cut the others based on that one).  I spaced them about six or so inches apart on my twine.  You can space them closer or farther; have more or less.  Imperfection is the name of the game and, in this case, anything will look cute!

Then, fold each piece in half.  

 Next, cut a shallow triangle out of the bottom of each folded piece of ribbon.

  And last, slip each piece right over your hanging string.  (It’s easier to add the ribbon after you figure out where you want the bunting hung).  Giving the wire edges a little pinch along the top of the string will ensure they don’t slide around.

      
So easy, right?!  Think of all the holidays and notholidays you can whip up a five-minute strand of bunting!  Pastel ribbon for easter, pink and red for Valentine’s Day, patriotic colors for the Fourth, blue and green to match the theme of your kid’s birthday…the options are really endless.

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We moved some small pieces of furniture around this year so that we could put our tree in the back corner of our living room and we’re really loving the placement.  It’s out of the way but it makes this corner really special (except for the red/cranberry club chairs…I can’t wait to get my hands on reupholstering or doing something with those).  As far as decorating goes, we’re done.  I didn’t add more lights to the tree or put on all the ornaments like I usually do because we’ll be traveling to see family for Christmas and so simple did the trick. 

But, I did go a little crazy, adding a little bit of festive to our thrifted glass lamps:

One has been finicky about turning on recently so I had to take it apart anyway to see what the deal was so I thought, “why not paint them?”  That’s a normal thought process, right?  ;)

Of course, we also set the sensory mood by plugging in our Wallflower; laden with the scent of Fresh Balsam.  I’ve had my wallflower forever but I bought this particular scent five Christmas’ ago and it’s still going strong.  We don’t keep it plugged in all the time, maybe a few hours a day, so that helps slow the depletion.

The hutch is decked with a thrifted wreath that I got last year and we recently acquired the brass elephant atop it.  You might remember the diy mercury glass vase that once was there…well, somebody (coughAnthonycough) caused it to come tumbling and crashing when he was sliding the hutch around one day so we could clean underneath.  It’s really my fault for not having it as secure as I should’ve up there but thankfully, no one or nothing was hurt except the vase and my feelings.

Anyway, I’ll be back with the other side of the room before Christmas.  Really it’s just the stockings and mantel over thataway but those are a whole tutorial post in themselves. 

I guess you’ll just have to HO, HO, HO…ld on.  ;)

  

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Because you know you want to pin it…