New year, new space.

Hello, hello! Yes, we are still alive! We spent Christmas and the week after back home on the East Coast and then this past week has been spent catching up on everything. The handmade gifts were a big hit! Especially the ornaments. 

When we got back to our little home in Colorado we decided to clean, organize and simplify to start of the new year. We also splurged on a TV! 

The black book/record shelf is from iKea and the coffee table (which we have big plans for) was thrifted.

We decorated the empty shelves with colored glass vases (also thrifted) and copper plated pieces. I am very into copper right now and would love to buy these but instead we found vintage goblet glasses like these at the thrift store for our future kitchen. 

We've converted our suitcase side table to a record player stand since we now have a coffee table and added a reading lamp from iKea. 

The other half of our living space is still a bit messy, but at least we have a nice sitting area now. 

How was your holiday? 

Guest post: Book wall art

Our dear friend Andrea made her own artwork inspired by a picture I found at a craft show. I love the idea of drawing or painting on a page from a book - it doesn't have to be an owl, you can try anything! Art definitely does not need to be expensive. Here is Andrea's project, I love how it turned out. 

Last weekend, I got a chance to visit Liz & Chris in Colorado.  Liz and I have always had similar décor tastes (my boyfriend would call our style “hipster-esque” – I blame owls & cats for being so cute!).  So while I was visiting, I got some inspiration from this cute little owl picture Liz has hanging in their bedroom.  I loved it – so I DIY’ed it!

I have had this frame that I got at a thrift store for $1.  Since it’s so unique, I’ve had trouble deciding what picture to put in it, until this project inspired me!

First, I scoured the internet for cute owl drawings.  I’m not a super great artist, so I needed a step-by-step guide which I found here. 

I practiced drawing it twice, in the 5’x7’ size I needed, putting a few different elements in each drawing.  Then, I colored both of them in differently, one with just colored pencils, and one with markers and colored pencils.

 

I liked the owl on the left better, but the markers and colored pencils in the picture on the right turned out way better. 

It was time to draw the owl for real.  I got a book at a thrift store a while ago – worst book ever.  Since I stopped reading it, I’ve been using it for DIY projects.  Using one of the pages as the paper for the owl, I drew the outline in pencil, then colored in the details with the markers and colored pencils.  Before I started, I was sure to outline the oval space I had to draw in, so that none of the owl was hidden by the frame!

After erasing the pencil marks, I put George in his frame and now he hangs on my wall!

All in all, I’m pretty happy with my little art project.  It only took about an hour, and I think anyone can create a unique picture for their wall like this!

Redecorating.

We'll have a project for you later this week, but for now, here is some small redecorating that we've done using vintage finds.

At an estate sale I bought a big box of fabric for a dollar. This crochet doily was in that box and fit perfectly on my dresser. I also found the glass floral decanter (on the left) and I plan to use it to store my bracelets - similar to using a wine bottle.

On our room divider/record holder from idea we have a lamp. To decorate the space we added a crochet doily and old coffee cans that we use to keep change.

Lastly, we moved the vintage slides lamp to the suitcase table and have been using one of the lace bowl for coasters. It would be cute for a remote control, but we have no TV.

Hope you enjoyed these bits of our home! I can't wait until we have more space to decorate. Someday....sigh. 

Vintage Slides Lampshade

This is a project that I was really excited about while Chris was skeptical. Although when I was making this he kept saying "I love lamp" which I guess is a quote from a movie. When I was finished I was thinking I love THIS lamp. It melds our vintage and industrial styles together, I think, and is so unique.

You need: A small desk lamp (I got this one at Walmart for $12), vintage slides (which I bought 50 of on Etsy for $5 plus shipping)

You don't have to use a store bought lamp like this. My first attempt included finding a cool lamp base and an old lamp shade, but buying a small lamp worked out much better. 

So, first, remove the lamp shade and cut of the fabric.  

All you need are the top and bottom metal rings. Don't throw out the fabric just yet though. 

Use it as a template to layout your slides. I used 12 columns of 4 slides, so 4 rows and 48 slides in total.

I attached the columns of four slides together using jump rings, pliers and a metal hole punch. You can use any sort of small hole punch for this.

Next I used larger jump rings to attach the columns to the top metal hoop. I did this with the top part of the lamp shade on the lamp which made it much easier.

Once they are all attached, use jump rings to also connect them to the bottom metal hoop. After that I want in and connect the rows.

I didn't measure where to punch the holes, but you could. I guessed on one side then used that hole to determine where to punch one on the slide next to it, you want them to be right next to each other so they hang evenly. 

Once all of the slides are attached on all four sides, you're done!

This lamp shade looks especially good lit up. I'm going to pretend all of the families in the slides are related to me.

Let me know if you have any questions or if you decide to try this out!

Lace Doily Bowls

Friends, we've been busy. That's no excuse for letting the bigger projects fall to the bottom of our list (ahem, reupholstering the chair), but it's true. Chris with his multiple jobs and an upcoming art show, me with my shop, but I've been able to find time for smaller projects while Chris is working evenings.

This one is quick and easy, I've been wanting to try it for a while.

You will need: A crochet doily, fabric stiffener (or equal parts glue and water) and plastic wrap

You can find doilies at most fabric stores, or you can stop by an antique store. I used to see them at thrift stores all of the time before I decided I wanted to do make these bowls, then of course I stopped seeing them Funny how that happens. You best bet is to search for vintage ones though, because they are less expensive.

First you will need to find the right size bowl to mold your doily around, then cover it in plastic wrap.

Next you'll want to put your doily in a plastic bag and pour fabric stiffener in - enough to soak the doily.

Once it's been soaked in the fabric stiffener, place it on top of the bowl. Smooth out any wrinkles and let it sit overnight.

See how easy that was?

These bowls are a bit more decorative than useful, but I'm excited to pretty up some of my craft supply storage. I think these would be perfect for a table display - fill them with seasonal items such as pine cones. They would also be great as a fruit bowl. 

 What would you use lace bowls like this for? Have you been working on any small projects? Do share!

Windowsill Display.

Most of this weekend was spent at Estate Sales...and just relaxing. Yeah, yeah, we'll get to finishing the chair eventually. 

But for now, little projects are more fun. 

So, there is a small antique store near us that is going out of business, so they are selling everything, for cheap! I came across these bottles for a quarter each and thought they would be the perfect way to decorate our windowsill. 

 All you need are glass bottles, fake flowers and scissors. You could use real flowers also, but we just don't have the time to maintain them right now and these faux flowers were on super sale at Jo-Ann Fabric Store.

Simply arrange the bottles as you please and cut single stems from the bouquet of faux flowers.

There you have a very pretty and very inexpensive way to decorate a window. It was hard to capture how pretty the light hitting the bottles is, but this was my best attempt.

We have another small project for you later this week. Stay tuned!

Industrial Clothing Rack

Or, a mobile closet.


I have been living for the past few months with no closet, so all of my dresses, skirts & jackets have been crammed into a drawer. Having to iron things before putting them on has not been pleasant, so I pushed for this project to jump ahead in our queue of projects, luckily Chris agreed. 

I was inspired by this closet solution, so today we worked on making a simpler version.

This project cost us about $100 and took an hour or so to make.

You need: a piece of wood, galvanized pipes (two longer 5' pieces for the side and one shorter 3' piece for the top), the connecting corners for the pipes and the bases - all of these things are from Lowes (or major hardware store. You will also need wheels or some sort of feet for the closet, bolted screws and a drill.

First, cut your piece of wood to size and sand the edges.

Then we chose to stain our piece of wood. It would be awesome to use an old piece of distressed wood though, which you wouldn't need to stain. 

To prepare the pipes, use steel wool to get off any marks and polish the metal.

Chris used his drill to attach a wheel to each corner of the piece of wood. 

 After that, he flipped it over and placed the bases for the pipe. He used the top bar as a guideline for how far apart each base should be.

Once they were in the right spots he marked them, then drilled a hole where each bolt would need to go.

Ok, we're getting closer to a closet and moved the parts inside.

Connect the top bar to the sides using the elbow connectors.

And attach the sides to the bases. You'll need to hold the bolt with pliers and use the drill to screw the bolt in.

Now you have yourself a mobile closet! I, of course, rushed to try it out.

The nice thing about this too, is you have a great place to store your shoes.

And you may remember, this matches our curtain rod, so it fits in with the room decor nicely.

I just love how this turned out and am so happy to finally have a closet! It's the little things, right? How was your weekend? Work on any projects?