My Finished DIY Pendant Light ..... (Via Made By Girl)

Hope everyone had a great long Holiday weekend. OMG. Doesn't it seem to pass by so quickly??!  So, last week I posted here about my DIY random pendant for my home. It took a few days, but we finally finished it this weekend. Overall, I'm pretty HAPPY with how it turned out! However, I have to admit, the only 2 things I DIDN'T ENJOY about this project were: 

1. It was time consuming.

2. Some of the wallpaper paste we used dried between the yarn, and we had to remove as much as we could little by little with a toothbrush.

I basically sat there with a TOOTHBRUSH (after we deflated & removed the exercise ball) & brushed some of the paste off! Most of it DID come off, but if you get real close you can STILL see some of the paste. Oh well.... it'll be hanging high enough that it shouldn't be a BIG deal + for only $50 total spent, I'm not going to complain. 

(click on pic for larger images)

We actually decided to bring an ELECTRICIAN (which I recommend you do) in to make the sockets for us (we got 2 made) and he only charged us $15 each! We'll also be calling on him when we decide to hang them up. (The pendant is currently hanging in my guest bedroom so the dogs won't touch it).

If you LOOK CLOSELY, you can also see that we used a 10" piece of curtain rod (painted it white), threaded the wire through the CURTAIN ROD (giving it a cleaner appearance). We placed one canopy inside & another on top and bolted them together, giving it a sleeker look while stabilizing the bulb. 

We'll definitely be making another one, smaller than this one...but next time we're going to try using fabric stiffener & see if it still shows up when dry. Oh & by the way, the YARN WE USED was white, but with the light switched on, it appears a tan color in the photos.

Let me know what you think so far. Will you be making one for your home?  

 

images by jen ramos

My DIY Dining Chair Project.....In Progress

The Louis chairs I bought are coming along nicely! We are done with the sanding & have chosen a white faux leather fabric along with white semi-gloss paint for the chairs. Thank you to all of you who gave me ideas via my Twitter & on this blog post last week! I'm NOW waiting for my upholsterer to come pick up the chairs so he can cover them in the white fabric & brass nail head accents! 

For the table, I'm SERIOUSLY considering buying the Flatiron Kitchen table from Restoration Hardware. Thanks to Naomi of Thirteenth & South blog for suggesting it! 

I'd love to hear what you all think so far.....

HOW we painted the chairs:

We used a power sprayer (I highly recommend) by Wagner as you can see below....it's the one on the floor behind the chairs. Power sprayers are very efficient at covering large objects quickly, but cleaning the sprayer is tedious!

If you're going to be spraying with this type of machine, make sure you keep your flow even & wipe up drips quickly. Always start from top and work your way toward the bottom. REMEMBER... for best results,  you SHOULD sand the wood prior to using the sprayer! 

Personally, I think we could have gotten a better sprayer for this DIY project, so maybe next time....More to come!

p.s. I finally SOLD my old dining table on Craigslist!!

images by jen ramos

Layers of Meaning... DIY Chevron Wall

I've seen quite a few people painting chevron patterns on their walls....& yes, I like it! Maria from Layers of Meaning & her husband have done just that by taking on this DIY project.  Personally, I think it creates an interesting impact to her living room...and perhaps in my next home, I will think of trying something similar. 


This is a great option for those of you who are SCARED to death of wallpaper!! I know this process of painting stripes, chevrons etc. may take a awhile, but from Maria's results I think it's well worth it! You can ALWAYS paint over it if you don't like it right??  And for all you MARRIED ladies....ask your husbands for a helping hand.  You can see all the pics & read more about it on her blog. 

images by layers of meaning

My DIY home office renovation begins.....

Below is the BEFORE pic of my home office...not so pretty huh? I also have a production studio as well, but you'll rarely see pictures of it....It's very plain & boring! For now, let's stick to my main home office (below) where I look forward to creating a PRETTIER & more presentable workspace! I truly believe it's important to have an office that INSPIRES you....& that it is why I chose to take on this project. Wish me luck!

images: Jen Ramos of Made By Girl


To be Continued...


  Are you currently renovating a space in your home? If so, which area?

Upcoming DIY project - My Home Office

I've always felt that re-designing a space in your home can bring about inspiration, especially work-related.  So, that is why I've decided to revamp my home office!  After noticing so many pretty Parsons Desks on other blogs,  I decided to go for it!  I took my butt straight to West Elm & went crazy shopping.....told the salesgirl, " 2 desks, 1 lamp, 3 storage bins..." and so on!

Here is my DIY list:

• Painting all the walls white (current color, 'Mercer' by Ralph Lauren Home)
• Adding this Graham & Brown wallpaper to one or two walls
• Removing the yellow and white Urban Outfitters sofa & placing it elsewhere
• De-cluttering the walls and adding less to each area
• Removing all shelves and keeping only a few
• Placing more items into bins and closed storage
• framing some of my press pages & hanging them (finally)!

I'm sure the list will be longer as I move along this DIY (home office) project.....but for now this is where I am at. For those of you who aren't familiar with my home office, you can find photos here.

images above: 

  La Dolce vita 

Decorpad

Rubie Green  

Flick'r

Unplggd

Enjoy the weekend! 

A Scream of a Party !!!!!

I love Halloween & Savers has several DIY decor ideas as well as how-to instructions. These project are so ideal for those of you who are throwing a Halloween party at your place this year! Here's the link to download any of the decor below!

Dolls of the Living Dead


Pumpkin Ornaments & Place Cards
Spooky Ceramics
Sinister Ceramics Door


Festive T-shirt Wreath & Peculiar Picture Frames


Batty Photo Backdrop



Forgotten Flowers centerpiece


Ghoulish Goblets

Lots of Love from Wife Style....

I love CREATIVE people.....Erin from The Wife Style Files really grabbed my attention with these DIY prints she put together for her sister. It was her own personal project to show her LOVE. Don't you just LOVE the word 'Love'? That is what made me stop, I've got a thing for that word as you all know from visiting my store. Enjoy & thanks Erin.

Oh, and check out her stylish little office, love that inspiration board & that desk!

Sunburst Yellow for Bathroom Re-do...

Isn't it amazing how a little bit of spray paint can make such a difference?? When Kirsten Grove of Simply Grove blog decided to spruce up her guest bathroom, she did just that. She purchased this brown chunky mirror at Target (2 years ago) and then bought a Rust-Oleum spray paint in 'Sunburst Yellow' for $4.00 at Home Depot. Also, take notice how she added a super cute wallpaper on the ceiling, now that is pretty cute! So, what do you think?

For the before pic, you can visit the Simply Grove blog!

My desk makeover....Chevron Pattern top!

After seeing this DIY on the Sunset Magazine website, I had to try it! My desktop was needing a face-lift so the minute I saw this Chevron pattern, I knew this was for me! It took a bit to get it all done, but well worth it! So, what do you think?? Would you like to try this on your desktop? If yes, go here for the instructions. For a 'before pic' of my desk, click here.

Images below from Sunset Magazine.

My DIY Frame & Fabric Inspiration Board

After being inspired by Kim's board over at Desire to Inspire this weekend, I decided to make one for myself! ! It was pretty EASY so I thought I'd share how it was done...First find a frame that you like, and embellish or paint. A good place for frames are antique stores or even Michael’s craft stores. I got this wooden one on Ebay for about $55. 

Use a good ENAMEL paint and if you can, cover it with a clear, semi-gloss coat to protect it.  FABRIC INFO:  (thanks to Nina, This fabric I used is by Alexander Henry, it's called 'Diamond Eye'. I got it at JoAnn's craft store)

Next, buy a 2’x4’ hardboard from a home improvement store (this one was $3.22 from Home Depot). Hardboard is a composite that has one very smooth side and one rough side & is what pegboard is made from. Cut the hardboard to about 1/2” from the edges of the frame. Use a good box cutter and a meta straight edge to do this. My guy helped with this part. 

You might have to first score it and then cut harder to get through the board. Lay the hardboard smooth side down & place the frame on it. Arrange the cork tiles on top of it & cut them to fit. Leave as few gaps as possible and offset the tiles so that you don’t get a long seam anywhere. Make sure that the cork slides under the rim of the frame.

Using a clear craft glue (this one I used Beacon’s 3-in-1 Advanced Craft Glue which works well on cork) affix the cork to the rough side of the hardboard. Use the glue liberally so the cork doesn’t slide later on. Let it dry for 10 minutes.


Iron the fabric you want (use finishing spray for a crisp iron) to use and then lay it out over the cork making sure it reaches at least 1” past the edge of the cork, even all the way to the edge of the hardboard.



Fold down half of the fabric. Run a heavy bead of glue along the edge of the corkboard then all over the interior. You should criss-cross the threads but don’t glob it too much – the fabric needs to adhere but not have solid spots. Unroll the fabric onto the glued section carefully, make sure any pattern is aligned properly, then smooth out the fabric over the glued cork. 

 Don’t stretch it too hard, just smooth it.

Repeat the step for the bottom half with a small amount of overlap. Do the last bit of smoothing and let dry for 10 minutes. Lay the frame front down on a hard surface covered with a towel or something that will not cause it damage. Place the hardboard piece on top of the back of the frame, fabric facing down, and align it (note in the photo that I wrote TOP so that I knew which side matched which).

Using 5/8” or 3/4” wire brads, nail the edges of the hardboard down to the frame, about once every 3-4”. Using the box cutter, trim off any excess fabric.

To mount it: you want it to be flush to the wall. Locate the studs nearest to where you want to mount it and mark 4 points on the frame where it can be nailed through, near the thinnest part of the frame. You’ll need at least 2 on top and 2 on the bottom for best results. Drill a tiny hole through the frame at all 4 points and using 2” finishing nails (or larger), mount it to the wall making sure you hit the stud. Use another nail to push the finishing nail into the frame slightly. Cover the top with wood putty and apply a small amount of paint to cover it (or in a pinch, use White Out like I did).

And there you go- an easy and pretty framed cork board that cost less than $40 for all the materials!

*By the way, this is what my workspace wall looked like before.