Catching up.

Ah yes, the Holiday Season has begun! Hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving! I flew to the East Coast to spend time with family while Chris stayed in Colorado for his vegan "friendsgiving." While back East I went to my favorite antique stores and flea markets, but didn't really find anything that would fit in my carry on suitcase.

We do have this old headboard that we have no idea what to do with, so we're looking for your advice! My first throught was a bench, but we don't really need anymore seating.

What do you think?

The next project during this crazy time of year will be handmaking gifts. We're tight on funds and we'll have to travel with everything when we head home for the holidays, so it will definitely be a challenge to make gifts for everyone on our list. But, we do love a good challenge.

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!

Laundry detergent.

Hello! Happy Monday! We took a bit of a break from reality this weekend because our good friend from Philadelphia was visiting. The weekend including long brunches, site seeing and of course, thrift shopping. 

The problem with fun weekends is that Monday is a much harsher reality than usual. Especially when you have 2 weeks worth of laundry to do and are out of detergent. 

I had been wanting to try making my own for a while for a few reasons - it's cheaper, there aren't any chemicals (so it's easier on your clothes and washing machine) and it's so much better for the environment. My friend Rebecca recommended this recipe. 

You will need:

1 cup of Baking Soda 

1 cup of Super Washing Soda

1 cup of Borax 

1.5 bars of Dr. Bronners pure-castile soap (found at Whole Foods or Trader Joes)

A cheese grater

First you will need to use your cheese grater to grate the soap bar. The soap comes in several different flavors - I chose eucalyptus because it was fresh but not too fragrant. This is definitely the most time consuming step, and it's dangerous. I ended up cutting up my thumb because I was grating too hard and not paying attention. I almost re-named this blog 'DIY or Die Tryin,' but don't worry I made it out alive. But be careful during this step!

Once the soap is grated, add in the rest of the ingredients and mix it up!

Use 2 tablespoons for heavy loads and 1 for light loads, this recipe makes enough for 32-40 loads. I tested it out tonight on several loads of laundry and so far I'm very pleased. 

The upfront costs are a bit pricier than buying detergent, but it ends up being much cheaper in the end, about 20 cents per load. For people on a budget like us, this is very exciting. Which is odd, because who knew we'd ever be excited about laundry detergent, but we are (by we I mean me, although Chris was happy with is freshly washed pile of clothes)!  I guess this is growing up.

Have you ever tried making your own cleaning supplies?

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!

Mason Jar Organizer

As I think you can tell from past projects, I love distressed wood. We were also recently given six jars of apricot jam in mason jars. Thanks to some hungry roommates, three of them were emptied pretty quickly. I of course was holding onto the jars waiting for the right project. Then I saw this on Pinterest, the perfect project. 

So, ideally, I will eventually turn this into an herb garden. Easily accessible fresh basil is a dream of mine. But I'm waiting on the other three jars and some tips on growing herbs from my mom. So for now, it will be a craft supply organizer, because you can never have enough places to store buttons if you're a crafter. 

Supplies: A piece of wood, mason jars, metal pipe clamps (found at any hardware store), a drill and three screws.

You'll first want to cut the piece of wood to size if it's not already. Ours is 19 inches long.

To be honest, I have no idea what Chris is doing in this picture, but the sparks looked awesome, so I kept it in the post.

When you have your piece of wood cut to size, lay out where you want your jars. Ours are about 2 or so inches apart.

Then you'll want to adjust the clamp so it fits tightly around the lip of the jar. We kept the metal rim part of the lid on the mason jars so they'll be able to screw off easily. You'll see what that looks like later. 

Before attaching the clamps, loosen them a bit so you'll be able to put the jar back in. Position the clamp so that the screw can go threw one of the cutouts rather than the solid metal, like in the picture above. 

When all of the clamps are attached, add the jars and tighten the clamps.

There you have it - a mason jar organizer. It's stylish and useful, which I love.

See how keeping the metal rim from the mason jar lid makes the jars easy to remove? This is great for quickly emptying and refilling the jars. 

How do you stay organized? Also, if you have any indoor gardening tips, please let me know and help me make my dream of fresh basil a reality!