My Creative Blog [Search results for industrial] 

One of the most fun parts of the CWTS contest is getting to see the fun projects linked up in our weekly link party! The girls in this contest are seriously talented, but guess what?! So are YOU! If you want to get a burst of inspiration, check out the fab upcycle projects that were linked up right here.

We were immediately drawn to this end table when we saw it in the party since we're both HUGE fans of rustic industrial style furniture. Allison from The Golden Sycamore put some serious effort and time into this piece and it tells! It's absolutely gorgeous! Well done, girl.; )

As I mentioned a few weeks ago on my blog, I'm really into the industrial look right now. I seriously can't get enough of it! While I was playing around online one day, showing my husband all these cool industrial tables, he got an idea in his head: Why not build one ourselves? One thing led to another and now we have our own custom industrial end table for our living room! (You can see the reveal post {here}). This was our inspiration for the table …

My husband and I are really happy with how our table turned out and I'm excited to share this project with you, but I want to warn you, this particular DIY project is not for the faint of heart. This project is a bit of a process and can be dangerous if you don't know what you're doing and aren't careful. PLEASE do not attempt this unless you feel very confident in your abilities. Please be sure you take all safety precautions when using a power tool or dangerous chemicals or objects and read the instruction manuals before using them. I am not a trained professional. If you are uncertain, please consult an expert before attempting this or any projects on this blog. I will not be responsible for any injuries or damages caused by any attempts to recreate this or any projects posted on this blog.

Alright, now that that's out of the way, onto the tutorial. Aging Galvanized Metal

SUPPLIES: 8 — 3/4" x 10" galvanized pipe ($29.60) 16 — galvanized floor flanges ($116.16) 48 — 1/4" x 1" galvanized lag screws ($22.08) HCl / toilet bowl cleaner Plastic container Small map gas torch ($41.97) Heat safe gloves ($4.46) Vegetable oil Beeswax Metal pan Metal pliers PROCEDURE: Start by putting your galvanized metal plumbing supplies in a plastic container. Add enough HCl / toilet bowl cleaner to cover all the metal and let sit for 2-3 hours. This process will remove the zinc coating off the galvanized metal. **DO THIS PART OUTSIDE OR IN A VERY WELL VENTILATED AREA — YOU DON'T WANT TO BE BREATHING THESE CHEMICALS IN!! (This is a picture of the screws in toilet bowl cleaner. We did them separately, but you can just put everything together.)

After a few hours, rinse all your metal pieces off. Pour some vegetable oil in a metal container. Wearing heat safe gloves and holding your piece of metal with a pliers, heat metal with torch until it is hot enough that it turns orange. Once it is thoroughly heated, dip in vegetable oil. Then reheat the piece of metal to orange hot. Once it is hot enough, set in oil to cool for about 30 seconds. **AGAIN — USE CAUTION. DO THIS PART IN A SAFE AREA AND HAVE A FIRE EXTINGUISHER NEAR BY IN CASE OF FIRE!!

The metal will still be very hot, so take the piece of metal out of the oil with a pliers.

Cool the metal with water.

Once it's cool to the touch, scrub off burned oil residue with water and a wire brush.

Lightly heat metal again with torch (about 30 seconds) and coat with beeswax. Once coated, rub with cotton rag while still warm.

Let cool before handling. Metal will still be hot for a while.

And that's it! Haha! I know the process is intense, but if you really want the aged look, it's worth it! Here is what your finished product should look like. Repeat process for all your pieces of metal.

Now onto the wood shelves.

SUPPLIES: 1 — IKEA Numerar oak butcher block countertop ($129.00) — we used a little over half the length, so the cost of what was used was roughly $70 Tape measure and pencil Circular saw Straight edge clamp Router Orbital sander and sand paper Stain Silhouette Cameo and stencil Paint and paint brush Mineral oil PROCEDURE: Start by measuring your Numerar butcher block to the size you want your shelves and mark where to cut. Our shelves measure 19.5" wide x 24" deep.

Set up your straight edge clamp so that your saw will cut on your measured line. You'll probably have to set it to about a half inch over to allow for the width of the saw.

Cut butcher block with circular saw. Repeat this process for second shelf.

Run orbital sander along the edges to ensure a smooth finish. Then router the edges of each shelf — remember to do the top and bottom sides to keep the look cohesive.

With your orbital sander, sand the finish off the top and bottom of both shelves.

Using Minwax Dark Walnut stain, wipe on stain and immediately wipe off to get a slightly darker color, but not too much penetration. If you desire a darker stain color, either leave the stain on longer before wiping off or apply more layers of stain to darken it.

I don't have pictures of this part, but if you wish to add numbers to your top shelf, here's how to do it. Choose the style and size of numbers you want and cut them out using your Silhouette Cameo. If you don't have a Cameo, you can always print numbers out on your printer and then cut them out by hand. Once you have your numbers, arrange them on the shelf the way you want them and then trace around them using a white or black colored pencil. Once your numbers are traced, use craft paint and a small paint brush to paint inside the lines. Let paint dry and sand lightly with sand paper to desired distressed look.

Once you are done with your numbers (or if you skipped that step) wipe both shelves with mineral oil (or some other sealant like wax or polyurethane) to seal the shelves.

Now to put it all together. SUPPLIES: Drill Wrench or impact driver All your metal pieces Both shelves Level PROCEDURE: Drill pilot holes in each shelf. You'll drill four holes per flange. Drill holes in the bottom of the top shelf. The bottom shelf will get holes drilled in both sides — top and bottom. Make sure to stagger your holes on the bottom shelf so that they don't meet up with each other through the wood. Using your wrench or impact driver, on the bottom shelf, attach 4 flanges with your lag screws on the top side of the shelf. Screw pipe into the four flanges. Attach flanges to the bottom of the top shelf with lag screws. Screw those flanges to the pipe that is already attached to the bottom shelf. Attach flanges to the bottom side of the bottom shelf. Screw pipe into flanges and screw final flanges to the bottom of the pipe — these are the table's"feet". Check to make sure the table is level. If it isn't, screw or unscrew pipes until the table is level.

Alright, if you've made it to the end of this post, I applaud you! I told you it was intense! I definitely can see why our inspiration piece was almost $700! Not only are the materials relatively expensive, but it is also quite labor intensive! In the reveal post, I said that the table cost us about $300 to make. We had a lot of the tools on hand, but we had to purchase most of the supplies. In this post I've added up the supplies we bought and calculated our total cost (using about half the countertop cost since we can use the remainder of the countertop for another project). The total came to $284.27. If you add MI tax, it comes to $301 and some change. That's a pretty good estimate on our part, if you ask me!: ) If I didn't explain something well enough or you have any questions, PLEASE feel free to ask! I'll do my best to help you out! Thanks so much for reading my loooong tutorial!: ) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Isn't that incredible?! Seriously, so good. Thanks for linking up, Allison! Don't forget to check back at midnight tonight to see the Contestants Round 3 projects!

Man, it feels so great to be back writing a tutorial of my own this week! I've been on a mission to finish the living room/dining room on our first floor and this project got me one step closer. I'm absolutely in love with the way this came out, and I have to say, I'm pretty thrilled with the sentiment, too- I have been so blessed!

I'm a big fan of mixing in some industrial elements in my home. Since I just added these lights to my dining room that connects to the living room, I thought it would be fun to mimic the tone of the lights somewhere in the living room.

I had ordered this phrase from one of our favorite shops, 163 Design Company, and had originally painted them three different shades of yellow before finally decided that yellow was going to be the death of me. Thankfully, having a best friend with a good eye (*ahem, Monica) came in handy when she suggested trying a metallic look. Since I didn't want just a flat metal look, I decided to try my hand at faking that awesome, full-of-character industrial look. Here's what you need to do to bring some metal into your life: 1. Lay your letters on a drop cloth and spraypaint them in Krylon's Stainless Steel. It took about 3 light, even coats to cover all that hideous yellow. (Sidenote: I'm a huge fan of using spraypaint whenever possible, since it's fast and easy and I'm lazy. )

2. Using Valspar Brown Velvet Spraypaint, lightly spray the letters from a good distance. You don't want to be up real close to the letters when you do this. Splotchy and imperfect are the looks we're going for here! This step takes away a bit of the shine from the stainless steel.

3. Using a makeup sponge or paint applicator, dab black acrylic craft paint on the edges and corners of each letter. There is no exact science to this. I just dabbed it on, rubbed it in and on some occasions, used a damp cloth to wipe it down. If you'd like to add a rust effect, use Burnt Sienna craft paint on the corners and areas that would naturally rust. I didn't do this as it made it a bit too warm for me. That's it!

To hang my letters, I used picture hanging command strips. After measuring, leveling and measuring some more (that's a whole OTHER tutorial), I was finally happy with the arrangement!

I'm loving the look of my new"old" metal letters. Other surfaces in my house, better watch out! I'm on an industrial metal rampage!

Monica used 163 Design Company to create a unique statement in her entryway, too!

So now, what will YOU give this industrial metal look to? P.S, We're the ones in a contest now and if we win, we get to give $5000 to the charity of our choice! We need your help, though- you can learn more about our project and the charity we chose here, or go vote for us every day for the next two weeks right here. Thank you!

Last week I mentioned needing to overhaul the 1/2 bath in the hallway on our first floor. We haven't started that project yet (I'm dying to get started, but we're waiting for a little more moneycashflow first), but I know exactly what we're going to do. Like every other room in our house, I'm trying to move in the casual/coastal cottage feel. So you can expect to see lots of neutral colors, warm woods and rustic Pottery Barn-esque elements. The only thing I'm keeping in this room is the bathmat and the toilet. Everything else has seen it's last day. Here's our current"loo" situation:

On a side note: I didn't realize how badly this bathroom needed a makeover until after I took these pictures. Can we say boring with a capital"B"?

This builders-grade vanity has GOT TO GO!

Same with that terrible light fixture. How have I lived in this house for almost 4 years and not changed that thing out? Blech.

I'm thinking this mirror needs an upgrade (like a frame) or a replacement. I'm leaning towards replacing it with an unexpected mirror. Something different and unique.
Bathroom Makeover To-Do List:
1. Paint wide horizontal stripes on the walls.

Source: younghouselove.com via Jessica on Pinterest

Source: tatertotsandjello.blogspot.com via Jessica on Pinterest
Adore that mirror, by the way.
I love that both these bathrooms have very subtle stripes on the wall. I'm thinking a tone on tone color, or even one color, painted in stripes with different sheens (semi-gloss and flat). I love these two colors that fall next to each other in the Benjamin Moore Historical color wheel: Elmira White and Grant Beige. You almost can't see much of a difference which is exactly what I want. I'm not hoping to bowl anybody over with loud colors in this room.

Also, I'm thinking really thick stripes, maybe five total, ceiling to floor.

2. Build a vanity out of an old table or desk.

Source: desiretoinspire.net via Jessica on Pinterest

Source: decorology.blogspot.com via Jessica on Pinterest
Ok, this is my favorite feature for the bathroom and is non-negotiable. This means that the whole makeover has to wait until I find the right piece of furniture. I'm hoping my luck will kick in soon and my next trip to the ReStore or thrift store will be the winner. Anyway, this is obviously a job for my hubs, but I've researched it, and it really is a pretty simple project. (I can say this since I will not be the one doing it. Ha!) I also saw a few sink bowls for really cheap at the ReStore my last time in there.
3. Add decorative items that also work as storage. Since this is the hall bath, I don't need much in the way of storage, but I do want to be able to hang a few towels and keep extra soap and toilet paper handy, especially since there won't be any storage under the new vanity. I'm totally in love with these vintage ladders and would be thrilled to score one. If I can't find a real vintage ladder, I saw a great tutorial on how to make one here.

Source: ourvintagehomelove.blogspot.com via Jessica on Pinterest
Surprise! The ladder above is a fake vintage ladder. Pretty convincing, huh?

Source: alovelyescape.blogspot.com via Jessica on Pinterest

Source: ballarddesigns.com via Jessica on Pinterest
I'm also liking this basket from Ballard Designs. It would go great under the new table/desk/vanity.
4. Install new lighting. The look I'm going for with the lighting is industrial. Not so industrial that it's modern, but just industrial enough to look rustic. I'm not sure if that made any sense at all, but these pictures help explain it a little better:

Source: decor8blog.com via Abbie on Pinterest
The lights above are my absolute favorites ever. If anyone knows where I can find one, please, I beg you, share the love!

Source: shadesoflight.com via Sarah on Pinterest

Source: houzz.com via Casey on Pinterest
5. Add a few fun elements like artwork, possibly some decorative trim (crown moulding), and wouldn't it be cute to add a door like this one?

Source: theletteredcottage.net via Jessica on Pinterest
ReStore, here I come!
So, what are your thoughts about my Bathroom Game Plan? Am I missing anything? Is there anything you hate? Discuss!

Confession: We have crushes. Yup, goofy, girl crushes. Now, we're not crushing on boys like we may or may not have in high school and college, but we're totally crushing on a few things we think you might want to crush on too!

1- Bicycle decor. This crush started a few month ago by seeing a bicycle pillow. Then, Mandy put some crazy cool bicycle art in her foyer, and I knew it was love. How great is this fabric? It's going to be making an appearance in my family room very soon!

A friend's family owns Bicycle Gift Hub and it's an online store of all things bikes! Now, it's a bit more for the seriously-in-love-with-the-sport type, but I did find these adorable book ends!

Want to know the funniest thing about this crush? I stink at riding a bike! Like seriously am awful. The phrase,"It's like riding a bicycle" has a very different connotation to me. My husband played college baseball and one time, when we were dating, I rode my bike across campus to meet him at the gym. The whole team had just finished up BP and I came riding up, looking all cool, didn't stop soon enough, hit the curb and went flying. Seriously, I was wishing the little accident had taken my life so I didn't have to face all those guys! Oh well, they must have found it endearing because most of them still came to our wedding the next year! 2- Industrial Eclectic courtesy of The Vow. First things first, I'm pretty sure"industrial eclectic" isn't real, but I sure love it as a style. I might have been one of the only women in America more smitten by the apartment in The Vow, than the likes of Channing Tatum (although, don't get me wrong, their chemistry was really sweet.) If you haven't seen the movie, I actually liked it and the hubs said it was really good for a"chick flick"
Now, onto the apartment. It was a little too urban loft for me, but soooo much of it I loved. These island light fixtures are calling my name. One of my favorite things was the sliding metal doors on the bookshelves. I need that in my world somehow!

I love all the color in the kitchen. I love the mismatched light fixtures. I love the clock. I love the island. Sensing a trend here?

Now this picture is a wee bit cluttered for me, but look at those metal doors in the back!

So the point of this rant is that I'm determined to find a way to make my so-far-from-a-New-York-loft house have an"industrial eclectic" feel.
3- Ladies Home Journal I'm crushing on LHJ for two reasons… #1- they've completely launched a new and improved magazine that's awesome. It's totally focused on the reader and what stories they want to see in the mag. #2- We're going to be collaborating with LHJ for DIY and design stories! We were in NYC on Monday meeting with the editor in chief and her whole staff. It was pretty amazing.
Lots more to come about LHJ, but for now, how about you go get or renew a subscription so you're sure not to miss any of our contributions. Just for a short time it's only $5.99/year! That's insanely cheap, so there's no excuses for not joining in on the fun! Head here to subscribe.

I'm most definitely crushing on brownies right now, but that's besides the point. I know you'd rather hear about my design crushes than my brownie addiction, so here goes:

1. Coral & Blue. Goodness, I'm in love. When I first saw that Ikea-hack buffet on the right, I was immediately mesmerized. Until then, the color coral never entered my mind for my dining/living room (I was going for more of a rust color), but now it's there in full-force. After an impulsive coral search on Pinterest, I found that amazing room from Southern Living on the left, and the Waverly Sea Scallop Coral Reef fabric that just sealed the deal. Expect a coral invasion into my home and onto this blog in the very near future.

2. DIY Furniture. In case you haven't heard, Ana White is the source for free furniture plans and I get sucked in just thinking of all the possibilities. I might have said to my husband tonight after seeing the apothecary console table,"Why would we ever buy anything ever again when we can just build it?", to which he replied,"You are an absolute madwoman." Ok, he didn't say that exactly, but I know he was thinking it. Anyway, my hubs and I have been scheming for months to build this playhouse loft bed for my daughter's 4th birthday coming up in a few weeks. One time I showed her this picture:

…and she hasn't stopped talking about it since! I can't wait to surprise her with it, and I'm also strangely excited about painting and decorating the little house. I'm hoping she doesn't have any ideas of what she wants it to look like (wishful thinking, I'm sure, because there is very little that my girl doesn't have an opinion about), because I've got the whole thing planned out in my mind already!
What things are YOU crushing on?

Happy Friday to our favorite readers ever! I've been really excited to share this tutorial with you! I wanted to hang canvas prints of my kiddos in a unique way. Add some wire, screws, and clamps, and I think I came up with something pretty cool!

Industrial Faux Canvas Collage

Everyone loves gallery-wrapped canvases these days, and why wouldn't you? They're fabulous! Although, we don't know about you, but sometimes $60.00+ for one print is a wee bit hard for us to swallow. We were super excited to hear that WalMart came out with a faux canvas:

Now what, you ask, is a faux canvas? Well, we were wondering the same thing, so of course we tried it out. What they do is print your photo on heavy, dimpled paper (canvas look-alike) and then wrap it around a cardboard box. Sounds glamorous, huh? Let me tell you that for the price, we were thrilled!

And, of course, we didn't pay full price… and neither should you! We used a coupon that brought the total down to $9.96 each but… it's expired. BOO! Have no fear, we've got your back! Canvas People will give you a FREE 8x10 canvas and it's not even cardboard! lol. Just use this link to get the deal.

So, you should know by now that I have 4 kids, yup FOUR, and so we got prints of each of the kiddos. We thought it would be fun to add a little boys vs. girls flare, so, inspired by Mandi's Epic Room Makeover we made two graphic canvases as well. We just used some images we found online and Picnik to create them. Sadly, Picnik is actually closing (today in fact!) but PicMonkey is the perfect replacement!

The first step was to add the screw eyes to each canvas. Just measure to the center and screw them in. Since they're made of cardboard it was crazy simple to do. (Umm, please ignore my creepy monster looking hands)

Add screw eyes to the top and bottom of each canvas except for the one which will be at the bottom of your display. The bottom canvas will only get top screw eyes.

Next, add screw eyes to the ceiling. This will require a little measuring, but you'll want them to be even. My vaulted ceiling required some additional math, but we made it work.

Here's where it got a bit tricky. The nice man at Lowe's gave us these clamps to lock the wire in place. Have you ever felt like your hands were made of stone? It's very clear that we're not surgeons. It took about 30 minutes to clamp the first side. Ugh! The hubs finally got home and it took him 30 seconds. We were just happy to have it done!

Now for the fun part! Weave the wire through the screw eyes on the top, behind the back and out the bottom. Repeat for the remaining canvases. Ok, we're all about keeping it Real on our blog, so we'll be honest here too… This is a two person job and preferably with a person you really like, because it's a tad frustrating. The canvases tend to slip down a bit and did we mention our stone hands? We promise it's all worth it in the end.

Once your canvases are threaded through, you'll want to secure the bottom one first. We used a staple gun to hold the wire in place and then added some hot glue (because they were slipping and because Jess is slightly obsessed with the stuff!)

Determine how far apart you want your canvases and adjust them accordingly. The tension of the taut wire should keep the upper canvases in place, but if you want extra support you can add some glue to each one.

The end result is a unique, industrial-looking display that we love!

I couldn't be happier with this project and the unique way to share pictures of my kids! I have to give a shout out to our photographer and friend at Salvatori Photography. These pictures are SO my kids!
This was just the first project in my breakfast room makeover, we have lots more planned. I've switched out the light fixture (thankfully!) and this weekend I'm adding avocado chairs, stenciling my table top, and more! I hope to have more to reveal next week!

So, what do you think? Is the wire style workin' for you?

Voting is closed! To see the winners of Round 1, click here. Check back next Monday, March 18th for Round 2 projects and voting!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Welcome to Creating with the Stars 2013! Let the contest officially begin! This season of CWTS is going to be Epic and these Round 1 projects are a clear indication of the insane talent of these contestants! Just a few reminders before we get to the voting…
Round 1 Challenge:

Round 1 Prize Package: We have the Best Sponsors for CWTS2013 and here's a reminder of what our Contestants are playing for this week…
$50 worth of 31 Gifts products $60 worth of Twysted Yarn products $70 of Henle Headbands products $100 Blog Re-design from 733 Design (who designed all the CWTS logos!) Project featured by HomeTalk We also want to thank Homes.com for being the Official Grand Sponsor of Creating with the Stars!

Without Further Ado… In No Particular Order, Here are the Round 1 Projects… #1- Dresser Turned Modern Sandbox This dresser had no hope. It was in extremely poor shape. I mostly bought it for the legs, but after learning I was in CWTS, I thought I could do something with it. I decided to turn it into a sandbox filled with sand and dirt. What kid does not like sand or dirt?!
The issue I have with sand tables is how much of an eye sore they can be. After cutting off an entire level of drawers that brought it down to kid/side table height, I placed sand and dirt inside the top two drawers. When guests come over, I simply place the dresser's top back on covering up the dirt and sand. It is an easy solution that is modern and stylish. Using a friendly exterior paint protects the furniture from the elements. Placing the dresser top on when not in use protects the sand and dirt. The two bottom drawers are functional and can be used for outdoor storage like small plant pots, garden tools, and kid toys. I used a couple of rabbit knobs for fun and green paint for a punch of color.

#2- Little League Lounger I love taking old, crappy stuff and turning it into something that I will actually use! I found an ugly outdoor folding chair at my local thrift store, and knew it would be perfect for my upcycle project. Now, I have a completely re-done"little league lounger" to use at all my boys' baseball games this summer!

Here's what the chair looked like before I worked my magic:

I added all new cream-colored webbing {with a navy pin stripe}, updated the arm rests by re-purposing an old wooden baseball bat, and made a baseball stitch pillow from an old table runner. I love how it all came together!

I can't wait for baseball season to get started so I can use my new chair!

#3- Floor Board Kitchen Island

I love our kitchen, but I've always wanted a big kitchen island where we could hang out. I wanted to take this unused space in our family room and add a table or counter. I had no idea what to use, but all of a sudden, a light bulb went off in my head. I remembered some old floor boards hidden in the basement rafters. They were dusty and worn and perfect. BAM — perfect for an old rustic island! We washed and sanded the boards, and got to work building our new favorite spot.

Add in some painted stools and we now have a space just off the kitchen that is perfect for parties, eating, hanging out, or working on crafts.

#4- Man Chairs Often the"dreaming up" of a new project can be done in my sleep, literally. But execution can feel like a trip to the dentist, one in which I go in for a routine cleaning and find I need a double root canal. The trick to any DIY project is COMMITMENT. Commit to your goal and don't let up no matter how many coats of paint are applied in vain. These previously drab, brown, faux-leather club chairs were purchased on sale for $12 each at a local thrift shop.

A bit of auto upholstery paint, steal tacks, metal coating paint, a couple patinas for good measure and some tough new casters and this thrift store find is ready for"the man".

#5- Tin Tile Mirror So, I'm still totally in shock that I was chosen to be a part of Creating with the Stars. With the first theme being"Upcycle", I wanted to do something a little different. I hit up a local flea market, hoping to find something that screamed my name, and when I saw these vintage tin ceiling tiles, I knew these were it. The fun color that looks so much like patina, the rust, the texture, the scuffed parts revealing the silvery color underneath. LOVE! They were marked $6 a piece, but I offered her $5, and she accepted. So $40 for all 8. Score!

The next stop was Home Depot for wood, and I built a simple frame. Each tile was approx 12x12, so the finished size is 36x36. Not all of the tile sides matched up when I nailed them in, so I'm going to blame the tiles and say that they're wonky, rather than my measuring (which is probably more true). A little paint matching, painting in the gaps, building a frame for a mirror that I picked up at Michaels, attaching the mirror and frame with some glue, and we're almost done.

I had the perfect spot in my hallway that was just begging for some oomph. For under $60, it's a huge statement piece that fits perfectly. I'm thrilled with how it turned out.

#6- Television Stand Upcycled to a Bar When I saw this ugly, 80’s style television stand at our local Goodwill for a whopping $30, my mind immediately started churning with ideas. I’ve been wanting to set up a bar area in our house, and I knew this would be the perfect piece to turn into a bar. It just needed a little (or, um, a LOT) of love!

I added legs and a little stand at the bottom to make it a bit taller, and gave it a few coats of navy paint (and, of course, a stencil to add some fun). I turned the drawers on either side that used to be used for VHS storage into the perfect place to stash a few bottles. And, since most alcohol bottles are all different sizes and shapes, I poured our frequently used ones into uniform glass bottles that I etched with the name – that way I can be sure the bottles fit and they look pretty to boot!

Finally, for a last little touch, I dipped some of our glasses in gold paint to make things a little more sparkly and fun. I’m so happy with how it turned out and I’m loving the extra storage! I can’t wait to put this thing to good use!

#7- Trash Pile Tire Made Trendy Table Early Saturday morning, still bra-less and in my PJs, I drove to a neighbor's house and hurled an old tire from their curb-side trash pile into the back of my car. My plan for the filthy tire was still foggy… as was my pre-coffee brain, but I was determined to turn it into something cool. After a day of deliberation, trial, and error, I determined side table was to be its fate. Let's get upcycling.

I started by giving the tire a scrub with some dish soap. Next, I tried to figure out what to use for legs. Since this tire still has the (very!) heavy rim attached, I needed something sturdy. After contemplating many possibilities, I decided to cut them out of a piece of pine left in my garage from another project. The legs were stained and attached to a plywood circle I cut for the base. Then, I glued the tire on top of that with construction adhesive, and added a smaller circle to the top of the tire to act as the table top.

I covered the entire tire in rope using Liquid Nails and"dipped" the legs in a bright citrus-ey yellow paint. I'm pretty jazzed with how it came out and can't wait to tell people I have an old tire in my living room. Ha!

#8- Vertical Blinds Headboard Why is it that bedrooms are always the last rooms to get decorated? This room had no artwork, no matching furniture, and a mattress sadly sitting on a cheap bed frame. The only good thing about it was that it was prime for a makeover!

When my parents upgraded their patio doors from vertical blinds to curtains, my mom saved the blinds for me thinking I could “make something with them.” Does this happen to all creative types? But Mom was right, those old vertical blinds were the perfect material to make an over sized woven headboard for the bedroom.

A sleek wooden frame hangs so that the headboard almost reaches our 8 foot ceilings, and two spray painted clamp lights provide adjustable lighting for bedtime reading.

Similar, but smaller, woven headboards can cost over $700, but since I re-purposed my materials, this statement-making headboard cost less than 1/10th that much. No more sad, bland bedroom for us!
#9- Bicycle Wheel Clock

There are clocks. And then…there are clocks. There are clocks that tick and tock and ring and jingle and tell time underwater and sound an alarm. And then there are clocks made from a bicycle wheel with yardstick ruler hands perched on a chalkboard surrounded by roman numerals above a table strategically styled with a bicycle seat. That is one fine clock.

And the best part? I got the bicycle wheel for free. Can you even believe it? I walked into a bicycle shop and randomly explained to the resident bike expert that I wanted to make a clock and I needed a cute bike wheel that had preferably been around the block a time or two. Wordlessly he stared at me. I don't really know why. I'm sure they get that request all the time.

And then he went to the back where they keep all the spare wheels for people who come in with clock requests and he handed me this bicycle wheel. I totally wish he could see his wheel now. He'd probably charge me for it.: )

#10 Statement Piece Light Fixture

Walking through Habitat ReStore, I spotted a few egg crate diffusers — you know those grates that cover fluorescent lights in basements across the country. It's the last lighting fixture I would consider for a project but once I got around my thoughts of drop ceilings, I began thinking how neat it would be to use the grid to create any square cornered geometric shape that I wanted. At $2 each, what could I lose?

Browsing Pinterest I found this amazing light and fell in love with the arms. It's lines are simple, but make a big impact! Perfect for a statement piece!
The egg crate diffuser was cut into the shape of the arms, filled with plaster of paris, sanded and painted. So that the wiring and housing wouldn't compete with the outer arms, I made a simple fixture out of metal tubing, PVC plumbing parts, and a few parts from an existing chandelier. After wiring it (and being elated that it worked!) I installed trim on the ceiling to frame the chandelier, and added a little more interest by painting alternating stripes in ivory and a light gray. Finally, I installed a gallery wall with a few fun pieces!

From a designer's nightmare to an energetic statement piece, this diffuser has come a long way!
#11- Lab Station Turned Dining Room Buffet

servin' it up old school… The story of how a lonely old science lab station gained new life as an industrial-style dining room buffet.
Once upon a time…on an unusually warm and sunny spring day, I was leisurely browsing a flea market when I spotted this piece and was immediately drawn to it…the color, the rust & patina, it's industrial style, and the fact that it was old and had great visual evidence of it's previous life--lots of it. As I looked closely at the butcher-block top complete with bunsen burner stains, student-carvings (i.e."jennie-loves-alex") and distress-marks galore, I knew that I had to have it--for something, but what that something was, wasn't clear to me at the time. We just had"chemistry"--I could feel it.; ) Luckily, the kind gentleman who I was buying this (very heavy) treasure from was willing to help me get it into my truck…and let me tell you: it. weighs. a. ton. Chapter Two: Fast forward to Project One CWTS: Upcycle. I knew instantly that this sad science lab station was about to have a major career change. I tossed around a few ideas, but pretty quickly decided it would be a fabulous, industrial-style dining room buffet. The hardest part was this: while I love the"vintage-industrial-rusty-patina" look and eagerly welcome it into my house, this was looking a bit too"raw" for my dining room. Well, try googling"how to tone down rust on metal, yet keep just the right amount of color and patina". If there is a tutorial for this…I didn't find it!

Chapter Three: So, I did a little DIY-science-experimenting and discovered a technique to get just the look I was hoping for. After this process I added the casters, the door knobs, stenciled on the quote and stained the butcher-block top.
Add some wine, grapes, cheese…and this"new" buffet is all ready to help you eat, drink and be merry.; )

…and she lived happily ever after in my dining room.

#12-From Frumpy to On Fire, Fireplace! When I was told that the first week of Creating With the Stars theme was upcycle I was over the moon excited. Upcycling is my thing. It’s where I get my groove on. And so, it wasn’t a matter of finding something to upcycle; it was a matter of deciding which thing to upcycle. So, I took a tour of my house and gazed at all of the items that needed some good loving. And then, I sat and thought about what I wanted in my home. And, it came to me. Hmm… could I? Would it be possible? Yes… yes, it could!!

I’ve wanted a fireplace forever and ever. Okay, that’s an exaggeration. But, you get the gist. And, while this fireplace/bookcase might not be the real thing it fits the bill quite nicely. I was able to create my “fireplace” from an old bookcase that was sitting in my laundry room, a mirror frame that was on it’s way to the trash, and an antique footboard that had lost it’s headboard (poor thing). The bookcase is the most important element; the mirror and footboard helped create awesome and turn the bookcase/fireplace into something spectacular.

I cut the footboard down to size and used it as the “mantel” as well as give the fireplace/bookcase a skirt at the bottom. Scrapbooking chipboard embellishments gilded, painted, and antiqued look like beautiful wood cutouts on the mantel. The trim on the sides of the fireplace/bookcase are pieces of the mirror cut down to size. A chimney that runs the length of my 12 foot wall was created with a simple frame covered in tin. The back of the bookcase was covered in that same tin for added charm. I must say this project exceeded my expectations and far surpassed the image of awesome I had for this project when I started out. I love walking into my home and seeing this and am so pleased waiting forever and ever is over!

Can You Believe That Talent? It's Time to Vote! You can only vote one time, but you can vote for your favorite 3 projects. Before voting, please LIKE EC2 on Facebook. Thanks! If you're having trouble viewing the voting box, click HERE to vote.
Don't forget that tomorrow it's your turn to link up your own upcycle project! Thanks for playing along!!

This bedroom makeover was so fun to work on because we were challenged to combine both rustic and industrial styles together to make the space work! This room was huge, so we were able to do lots of fun DIY projects. Take a peek…

Now, to fully appreciate this room, you've got to see what it looked like before we started…

Talk about a transformation right?? You can watch the full episode online by clicking HERE.
We had a blast working with Tiffany and Jon and were so glad they BOTH liked the finished room!

Later this week we'll post all the juicy details about all the projects in the room, but for now, here's just a little room tour for ya…

This world map project wasn't featured in the show much (there's just never enough time), but we loved how it turned out and it might be one of my favorite projects of the makeover!

After a fun trip to one of the BEST salvage shops around, we built these reclaimed wood floating shelves using conduit pipe! The awesome shop we went to is Architectural Antiques in Bedminster, PA. Click here to visit their Facebook page for more info!

Using a mantle we found at the salvage shop, we used wood slices to create a faux fireplace look. It really helped define the sitting area we created!

One of our wildcard projects (AKA we'd never tried it before and just crossed our fingers it would be awesome) was our metal headboard. Toilet bowl cleaner and inexpensive metal sheets never looked so good!!

And stealing the show… herringbone barn doors with a custom made track for UNDER $200! I love how these doors are barn, but with such a modern twist. The yellow color and the arrow pattern made these doors super unique!
So, go check out the episode HERE, and then check back this week for all the complete tutorials!!

We've gotta know… What project is your fav? Any you'd like to try?

Thanks for all your great comments about my new front door color. Valspar's Spritz of Lime paint might be a new obsession for me! I gave you a little sneak peek of the door numbers yesterday, but today I'll give you the full low down. Adding numbers to a metal door can be tricky, but don't worry, I made all the mistakes for you and can save you some time!

My front door is heavy, and metal or something like it… bottom line, it's not wood. I didn't want to make any holes in it. I found these clean lined, modern house numbers at Lowes. I had big plans to DIY numbers out of MDF, but for $4.99 each, I decided these would work just fine. I'm all about the DIY, but not when it makes more sense to just buy em!

So… metal numbers on a metal door… hmm… I'm smart (or so I think…) so I decided heavy-duty, double sided magnet was a perfect non-permanent solution. This way, depending on what wreath (or not) I have on my door, I can move the numbers around! Pure Genius!

The magnet has adhesive on one side, so just cut little strips and stick it to the back.

Like this!

Umm… Guess what?? I guess my door isn't really metal and doesn't work with a magnet. DARN! Would have been nice to check that out first. Oops!

They work great on my fridge! So if you even need house numbers on a fridge, now you know how!

Okay, plan B… off I went to Lowe's with plans to get double sided adhesive. I asked the nice man where the industrial strength tape would be found. Of course he asked about my project and had a better idea. He suggested industrial velcro.

It's nice and heavy duty, so I was swayed from my plan and gave it a try.

Apply it the same as the magnet…

Because this stuff is sticky, I wanted to be sure I had it straight. Look how muddy my level is… not really sure why…

Peel the plastic off the adhesive and firmly press on…

Wait 30 seconds and…
watch them fall to the ground. ARRRGGG! This is the point where I started to get a wee bit annoyed. Then I started to laugh… why would I think velcro was a better idea than just double sided adhesive? I must have had temporary brain loss.

Here's the winner and what I should have used from the start. So, if you want to add house numbers, just begin here and skip the other methods I tried!

Finally! There they are. Nice and permanent (well sorta, if I want to remove them I can pull them off, and I'd just need to touch up paint)

I love the way they look against the green/yellow!

And just as a reminder, here's what else I have planned for my porch!

There ya have it… 2 ways NOT to add numbers, and 1 way that works like a charm! Aren't you glad you have me to do all the trial and error for you? Do you have numbers on your door? Do Tell!

My dining room. Well, like everything else around here, it seems like it's taking forever to pull together. I am oh-so-close to doing a full reveal for you (like next-week-close!), but I wanted to give you the juicy details about the fabulous lighting that we installed that totally completes the look I was going for. Love it when that happens! The last time you saw this space, it looked like this:

Awesome planked wall, beautiful white-washed table and the doesn't-quite-fit-in spray painted chandy. I'm happy to report that it has come a long way since then. When this picture was taken, I was feeling so stumped as to how I could make this room feel like I wanted it to, and I knew that what was holding me back was that coral chandelier. I mean, don't get me wrong- I love the color, but it was definitely limiting me. And limits I do not like. That's when Brad, from Lucent Lampworks, stepped in and said he might be able to help me.

His lighting. Oh, his lighting. It's gorgeous and simple and modern and vintage and industrial and cool all at once. Brad invited us over to his shop to take a look at his work and we were blown away. He's not a lighting guy by trade, but creates some beautiful fixtures in his spare time. Just recently one of his lights was featured on Extreme Home Makeover, so you know if Ty P. is sold, then this guy is the real deal. Anyway, I digress. I told him what I wanted, and you know what? He made it for me. Custom. And they're awesome. And his prices are ridiculously reasonable. See? I like Lucent Lampworks so much I can't even write in complete sentences. Let's just cut to the chase, shall we?

I really wanted two sconces to flank the piece of Marbled Paper Art that fit in with the whole coastal, cottage feel. Brad searched for these cages and found them on Ebay and turned them into fabulous sconces. I absolutely love them- all they need are some edison bulbs, but I keep forgetting to pick them up when I'm out!

I love the contrast between the industrial sconces and the marbled paper art.

I'm still messing around with the final touches for the dining room (for instance, those plant pots aren't staying that color, but it's been too darn cold to spraypaint!), so most likely this buffet will look different next time you see it.
As for the pendant light for above my dining room table, I decided to go with a white enamel shade (similar to this one in his shop) that Brad reclaimed from the Scranton Lace Factory. This light is probably from the early 1900's, which I love! It has loads of character and chippy goodness.

It's perfect, isn't it? And, I am thrilled with the view from the kitchen, now that it includes my fabulous lights!

The pendant has really soft uplighting from holes in the top of the shade that is just beautiful and helps illuminate the space better at night.

I seriously could not be happier with my new lights! If you guys are in need of any lighting, head over to Lucent Lampworks to see all that Brad has to offer! You will not find a nicer, more accomodating guy than Brad and he is super talented. Use the code EC2tenoff to receive 10% off your order and tell him we sent you!
Tell me, what does your dream light look like??

Today's a Seriously Important Day: Happy 30th Birthday Jess!

(Kev and Jess at the"decades" prom we went to last year- they looked awesome!) Let me just tell you that I officially have the best friend ever. Jess is hands down, my favorite person in the world. She's confident, strong, dedicated to her family, friends, and most importantly her faith and having her in my life for the last 13 years has made it all that much better. So here's to 30 Jess, I can't wait to see what this decade has in store for you. Love ya- have an awesome day! ***********************************************************************

So every once in a while I have a pretty cool, unique idea… trust me, it doesn’t happen all that often, but when it does I pretty much love it. The stenciled wall panels in our Nate Show room were one of those rare times. If you haven’t seen the room yet, here she is in all of her fuzzy, screen shot taken from a video glory.

We were walking through the thrift store and saw a roll of this black paper stuff. I didn’t know what it was at first, but then I thought way back when and remembered putting a new roof on my parents’ house with a high school boyfriend (ah, the crazy things teenage girls will do to impress boys. Eric couldn’t pay me enough to get on a roof now!)… Anyhow, I remembered it was like the paper that you put under shingles. Tar Paper it’s called.

This is where the random awesome idea part comes in… I immediately stopping seeing this as roofing material, and I saw it as a canvas-like material for some fabulous high-end-meets-industrial-art. Jess sort of wasn’t quite sure about my plan, but being the wonderful BFF that she is, she trusted me and encouraged me to go for it. Here’s how I turned this roll into art. We had just gotten the stencil in the mail from Royal Design Studio for Jess’ kitchen renovation. Remember, she used it here:

The first step was to simply figure out the size of my panels, I knew I wanted two stenciled images on each panel. Once I had them cut to size I rolled on two coats of semi-gloss navy paint. I was worried it wouldn’t take the paint well, but it worked like a charm. No primer needed- score one for the lazy DIYer! Once they were really dry, it was time to stencil. Stenciling 4 images was a cake-walk compared to Jess’ kitchen. It took me about 15 minutes to complete both panels. I used DecoArt metalic gold paint and it needed about two coats to really get the pop we wanted.

Did you notice all the gold on the stencil when Jess posted about her kitchen? It was a mini spoiler alert!

One additional thing I’m crushing on and could have added to my crush post are grommets. I have been using them as much as I can lately. I pretty much can make an argument that everything is better with grommets! We added them to this piece to give it a finished look and also play off of the industrial nature of the tar paper.

These are grommeting tools. The funny thing is that no matter how many times I use it, I have to think pretty hard to get it all lined up correctly. Once you do, it’s a piece of cake.

There she is… I’m pretty sure it’s the prettiest a piece of tar paper has ever looked. She’s like the Miss America of roofing materials. (It got a tad wrinkled when it was shipped back to us after the show, but it really does stay nice and flat on the wall)

I was really thrilled with how they looked in the room and wow, look what Nate was saying during this part of the show…

Oh, you didn’t hear him say that?… weird. Must have been a glitch with your TV. (hehe) The bottom line here is that ANYTHING, literally anything can be turned into art and it doesn’t need to cost a million bucks to be fabulous. This was $10 tar paper (for a whole roll, I could make about 50 more with what I have left) and it was beautiful enough for Nate Berkus.
So who’s going to their local roofing supply store today? Ha! Actually, next week I’ll share another awesome project I used tar paper for. It’s a pretty cool one and saved me a ton of moolah!

Here's another fantastic and unique home with industrial elements photographed by the talented Petra Bindel.

Images: Petra Bindel

Today we have a Jessica (not our Jess, a different one) from Arcadian Lighting guest posting about blending modern and country designs. We love this trend, so we were excited to see what she had to share. I (Monica) happen to love Arcadian Lighting. We made one big lighting purchase when we built our home. Our foyer needed a huge light and it needed some major wow factor. We must have looked at 192364 stores, and Arcadian was where we found a winner!

It's one of my favorite things ever (and they have great sales, so of course I didn't pay full price!) So, thanks for being here today Jessica!
**********************************************************************************

Hi there! I'm Jessica, a writer for Arcadian Lighting, which is a wonderful online resource for beautiful, affordable lighting fixtures. I'm delighted to be guest posting for Monica and Jess today because I'm going to be sharing a collection of inspiring modern country interiors. Rustic and casual with a sophisticated modern edge, these country interiors are just right for the fresh, airy days of Spring. I hope you enjoy!

A simple checked table cloth and set of traditional English china give this lovely dining table a classic farmhouse feel. The contrasting modern wine glasses and Donghia stacking chairs are cool accent pieces.

A chic neutral color palette and a checked upholstered arm chair in the corner bring together new and modern with old and classic beautifully. The branch candlesticks are fun and unexpected.

A gorgeous mix of crisp, modern furniture and rustic exposed wood beams creates a perfectly elegant, yet relaxing atmosphere in this living room. These types of ornate wooden mirror frames and chandeliers add a bit of drama.

The slate fireplace, twinkling candles and brilliant chandelier give this sophisticated dining room just enough simple country beauty. A lovely bouquet of fresh greenery makes the perfect accent, as well.

The vaulted ceiling and shelving gives this living room a distinctly farmhouse appeal. Weathered antiques and cushy modern furniture make the room cozy and inviting.

The handsome dark wooden floorboards and rustic, industrial stools add a rugged edge to this chic kitchen. The pendant lights overhead are simply beautiful, and the under cabinet lighting is a great touch.

A dusty blue wall color and sheer white curtains make this bedroom absolutely dreamy and romantic. The wood beam ceiling add so much natural texture and color that it makes a perfect accent against the very simple furnishings.

The paneled walls in this bedroom lend a cozy country atmosphere to the room, especially with a serene beige paint color. The rustic nightstand and modern headboard are particularly handsome together. Images 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 Which of these modern country rooms is your favorite? Let us know in the comments! And be sure to stop by Arcadian Lighting for a modern light fixture or two to brighten your home! -Jessica

We've been keeping a secret from you. And it's a good one. But don't worry! We're about to let you in on it…ready??…ok, here goes: Six weeks ago we asked several amazing bloggers to join with us in a collaboration group we called Blogging 2 Better. We're a bunch of like-minded home, DIYand crafting bloggers that want to learn as much as we can about blogging, while also sharing ideas, encouraging one another and sharing each other's awesome projects as much as we can. We're so fortunate to be part of a blogging community that encourages sharing! (If you write a blog, we strongly suggest getting a group of girls together to learn from. No one understands all that blogging entails except for other bloggers! You can find more about that in our Part-Time Blogger series here.)

Anyway, these girls are really, truly talented and it was a lot of fun getting to know them better. For our final week, we had Beckie from Infarrantly Creative give us a list of materials that we all needed to incorporate into an awesome project. It's like our version of a Nate's Crate Challenge! Woohoo! And today is the day we get to see what everyone's been up to!! Once you finish taking a look at what we created, make sure you hop over to the other gal's blogs to see what they made.

Here's the list of the supplies from Beckie:

And here's what we came up with:

We struggled to come up with a clever name for it, but basically it's a rustic/industrial storage bin. A very easy project that turned out adorable, if we do say so ourselves. You know we love a good pallet project (we've done several here and here), but we also keep loads of barnwood on hand, too. We picked one that was already the perfect length (yay! no extra cutting required!)

We also scored these three wire bins at HomeGoods for four bucks a pop! We didn't love the color, but knew immediately that this is where we could use coral! We spraypainted them with Valspar's Hacienda Tile- the perfect coral.

Next we found a font that we liked and printed number 1 through 3 large on regular, old paper. With a pen, we traced the number while pressing down to leave the outline on the barn wood.

Have you tried paint pens yet? They're so easy to use, but they still looks like paint. We carefully filled in the stencilled numbers with a black Sharpie paint pen.

Once the paint on the bins had dried, we brought them in and laid them down in front of the wood to determind the placement. We measured the board, divided it into thirds and then marked where the hooks would go.

Monica drilled pilot holes where we had previously marked and then we screwed in the eye hooks …Six hooks for three baskets.

Then I gently sanded down the numbers to distress them a bit.

Monica whitewashed the entire board with a mixture of paint and water to give the piece a little more depth. (Side note: working as a team makes the project go faster! We're so fortunate to have each other.: ) (I totally Agree! -Monica)

The last step for the wood piece is to add a coat of water-based polyurethane (water-based won't change the color of the wood!).

To hang it, we took chain, cut it to the length we wanted with wire cutters and screwed threw one of the links directly into the wood. Make sure your screw isn't so long that it goes right through to the other side!

Then we hit a creativity wall. Booo. We could not for the life of us figure out how to incorporate fabric into this project. We toyed with lots of different ideas, but finally decided on a cute hanging pendant banner for one of the baskets. Recently we came across a shop called The Finest Kind and we couldn't get over how cute their stuff is! We decided to purchase three of their typographical tags to use on our pendant. You'll probably catch the significance: EC2.: ) First, we spraypainted the little cuties blue.

Next, we took apart three 2x3 frames so that we could use the cardboard backing. Wierd, I know, but there's always an untraditional use for everything!

We wrapped the fabric around the cardboard and mod podged it right on.

Before the Mod Podge had dried, we stuck our tags on, and voila! An adorable pendant honoring our blog for the basket!

We were thrilled with the finished product, and it has now made it's home in my dining room. And just so you know, it totally inspired me to rearrange my living room and gave me the motivation I needed to start our dining room makeover!

To be completely honest, we liked this project better without the fabric banner, but do think it makes a super cute accessory!

And now for the REALLY fun part! We were so excited to see what our blogging buddies came up with using the same materials, and they did not disappoint!

Please stop over at these amazing ladies blogs to see what their projects. Share the EC2 love with them and tell them we sent you!
Clockwise from top right:
Kim from Sand & Sisal: Surfboard Pallet Art
Brook from Being Brook: Fabric Wall Map
Allison from House of Hepworths: Dangle Earring Frame
Jenna from SAS Interiors: Monogrammed Chevron Pallet Tray
We had SO much fun putting this project together and consider ourselves lucky to be in the company of these awesome bloggers. If you don't already follow them, shame on you! But it's not too late, go ahead and do it now.: )
We want to know: What would YOU do with those materials?

** And if you're loving up all the wood ideas, this one is one of our favorites! Check it out!

**If you're visiting from one of the other bloggers' projects, thanks for stopping by! If you like what you see use the links below to stay up to date with all of our projects and ideas!

Okay one last picture of the kitchen. This is the only picture I happened to take of the old kitchen showing the upper cabinets. They went all the way to the ceiling, so it wasn't easy to capture them standing in the kitchen itself.
This photo was probably taken within hours of owning the house because we started tearing things apart that same day. Notice the plaster falling off the ceiling from an old leak, the pea green industrial carpeting (which ended up preserving the old oak floors beautifully), the 60's style linoleum (which preserved the old fir floors beautifully), the plastic partition that was hung in the threshold (those were in every threshold)....wow, it takes me back. We had so much work ahead of us at this point and were pretty much naive on how hard that work was going to be!

Here's the after, taken a few days ago. What we did....replaced entire living room plaster ceiling with new drywall (this wasn't a choice), added new crown moulding to both kitchen and living room, exposed original oak floors in living room and fir floors in kitchen, decided to forgo the plastic partition, new kitchen cabinets, spackled lots and lots of cracks in the original plaster, used lots and lots of paint....and needed patience, patience and more patience.

Today is the last day of Round 1… That was an intense amount of DIY awesomeness for one week… One night this week, Jess and I had a text conversation that went something like this… Jess: Did you see all those awesome projects? Me: Yes! They're insane Jess: I think I'm mildly depressed from it all- these girls are amazing. Me: Yes, I believe I will quit blogging, go eat cookie dough, and mope around my house. Well, thankfully we didn't quit blogging, I didn't eat too much cookie dough, and we got over it, and are ready for Round 2 tomorrow! Before we say goodbye to Round 1, we are super excited to share our favorite Upcycle that was Linked Up this week!

Jessica blogs over at Dear Emmeline and we loved her Embroidery Hoop Pendant Light! We are definitely going to try this upcycle soon! Check out how she did it and don't forget to link up your favorite Knock off starting Tuesday! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ever get inspired by someone else's work to create something similar yet so completely different?
When I saw View Along the Way's Dodecahedron Pendant Light I fell in love but I also knew that not only did I not have the tools to recreate it but it would be a TON of work.

Then I had the thought,"Is there anything I could use to create a pendant with a similar feel with a lot less work?"
A thought sprang to mind, and here is the result!

It took us about 30 minutes of actual work time to make this fixture!
If you want to make your own here's what you'll need:

2, 14" quilt hoops (we bought ours at Jo-ann Fabrics, original price $4.99 each) stain or paint 3/4" square dowel pendant light kit 7, 8-32 x 3/4 flat head Hillman knurled screws 7, 8-32 hex nuts drill wood glue clamps spray paint

Before we began assembling the fixture we gave the hoops and 3/4 dowel a coat of vinegar and steel wool oxidation stain to give them a weathered finish and used oil rubbed bronze spray paint to paint the cement colored part of the pendant fixture.

Next, line up the 3/4 dowel with the hoop connectors (outer piece of hoop) and mark a cut line. Drill a hole down the middle of the dowel. This will be the place that you feed the pendant cord through.

Remove the hoop fasteners and center your 3/4 dowel between the hoop tops. Glue and clamp each hoop to the dowel.

Feed the inner piece of each quilt hoop into the ball overlapping them to make an X shape.

Starting with the bottom, drill through each hoop overlap (there should be 7). Feed the screw through each hoop and fasten with a hex nut.

You could cut down the screws if you want the to end up being flush with the nut but we chose to leave them as is since the piece has an industrial look to it already.

I recommend drilling and fastening in the following order.

Feed the pendant cord through the 3/4 dowel and you're ready to hang it up!

We purchased an antique look filament bulb from Lowes to complete the look.

Isn't that such a creative idea? Amazing work Jessica! We can't wait to see what you link up this week!
Don't forget that voting on the Round 2 Projects starts bright and early tomorrow!

As you all know, my hubs and I have been DIYing a 600 square foot patio. It's been a huge job, but it's 99% done and we're loving it! (We've even put on an addition, but our lights were back ordered so I can't give the full reveal yet-boo!)

600 square feet is a lot of space to fill and I wasn't about to go out and buy all new furniture for the space. I've had this old record player hutch (if that's even such a thing) in my basement for about 7 years now- It was just waiting to be upcycled.

This baby used to house my in-laws old record player and then eventually a boombox. It's crazy to think that now that all of my music is on a 4 inch iPhone. Anyhow, if you need any convincing that this piece needed some upcycling, I've provided you with some evidence…

One of my favorite things to do, is to look at a piece of furniture and see past the"yuck" and into the potential it has. Remember when we upcycled this dresser into an Anthro Knock off.

They key to a good furniture upcycle is to believe that anything can be changed and set some goals!

To Upcycle this piece, I had a few goals:
#1- Get rid of any and all scrolly things (I sorta loathe them)
#2- Remove the speaker fabric
#3- Paint it with outdoor paint
#4- Add some bold details
#5- Distress it (so I don't get mad when one of my 4 kids"distress" it for me)
#6- Add new hardware

Get Rid of Scrolly Things Sometimes it's easy to think there are things you can't change about a piece, but it's amazing what you can do with a jigsaw! I just taped off a straight line and cut those scrolly babies off!

Remove Speaker Fabric
I ripped off all of the lovely fabric and then had to take out the speakers. There was no magic to this step. I actually gave a hammer to my seven year old son and said,"bang away!"

I love when furniture has an industrial flair, so I cut plywood panels and covered them with chicken wire. It isn't the most fun to work with, but it's not impossible either.

Paint with Outdoor Paint
This piece was originally intended to be used indoors, so I wanted to be sure to paint it with good quality outdoor paint. I really don't love taking tons of time painting furniture, so I used Valspar's Exterior Spray Paint. It took about 3 cans to do two coats on the whole piece.

Add Bold Details
Since this piece was originally so traditional, I wanted to do something graphic and more modern as a detail. I thought a thin herringbone would do the trick.

Herringbone is super-simple!
#1- Mark out your center line. Then, measure the width you want the stripes (I used 1") and make tick marks down both sides of the column. #2- Tape off your lines. The top of the left side slants down to one tick mark below on the right. #3- Paint & Remove your tape. Let it dry and repeat on the opposite side, but shift your painted section down one, so you have the"every other" look.

Distress the Piece
You might notice that my lines weren't completely crisp in the herringbone. I was painting outside in 100 degree heat (blogger foul), but I also knew I was going to distress it anyhow. I'm not always into distressing, but I figured it was going to get banged up outside (and I have 4 kids that are pretty rough on furniture).
To distress, first I went at it with a sander with 220 grit paper.

Have you ever had this problem? I ran out of the right size sanding pads. Oops!
After sanding it down a bit, I gave the entire piece a good glazing. I actually began my glazing love affair by reading Living with Lindsay's blog (check her out it you haven't)!
My favorite glaze is Martha's Black Coffee. As you can see, I slopped it on, rubbed it around, and then wiped it off. I wanted pretty solid coverage, so I used a good bit of glaze.

After adding some hardware she was all finished and ready for the patio!

I think she's much more my style now!

All that's missing now is some cool, outdoor artwork. I'd love to hear any ideas you have in a comment. We have some insanely creative readers! P.S. I have to mention that I'm so glad to have my BFF home from vacation! A week apart feels like such a long time to us! Now that she's home, Jess is working like a mad-woman on some cool projects for her dining room!!

Ladies-and the approximately 1% of readers who are dudes-, we have awesome sponsors. They are the ones who make the rest of our posts and projects possible. Not only do they support us, but they have some pretty cool stuff in their stores. We've rounded up some of favorite items for a cozy Fall season. Make sure you don't miss the discount codes and special promotions!

1. We are digging on this Antique Thread Display Drawer from Nachokitty. It could serve so many different purposes: jewelry organizer, craft supply organizer, or pretty display for your tiny treasures. Don't stop there, though. You should definitely take a look at their Etsy shop- I could browse their finds for hours!

2. I love this Industrial Table Lamp from Lucent Lampworks! I can see it snuggled up to some pretty Fall decor on a mantel or side table. Love. it. To get 10% off your purchase use the code EC2TENOFF.

3. We're heading into the holiday season, and it's always good to have small gifts on hand for teachers, neighbors etc. Stock up on these Premium Soy Candles from CJS Eco Chic in the mini 4 oz. and you won't ever have to worry! And oh man, the holiday scents are to die for!

4. We love using non-traditional materials for headboards! How about this fireplace mantel headboard? Not bad, right? Architectural Antiques is hands-down our favorite place for incredible salvaged materials to repurpose.

5. Did you see Mandi's Epic Room Makeover. She used the Nova Trellis, from Royal Design Studio in the bathroom and well, it is fabulous. As a thank you to their 10,000 FB fans, RDS is offering 25% of all orders through Sunday with the code WELOVEU.

6. You've all been waiting for Monica's big patio reveal, and tomorrow, the wait is over! They couldn't have done it without Stone Depot, and their super helpful staff. Now's the time to build an outdoor fireplace or firepit, and they guys at Stone Depot have everything you need to make that happen!

7. We can't seem to control our love for photo canvases from Canvas People! Right now you can buy a 11 x 14 Canvas for only $15 from Canvas People and $1 of every order will be donated to help fight Breast Cancer! If you need some inspiration for what to put on a canvas, check out this post! 8. Not gonna lie, once the holiday season starts (right after Halloween, in my opinion), I often need a reminder to stop and be thankful for all that I have. This 1 Thessalonians 5:16 Print from Red Letter Words makes a perfect visual reminder of that very thing…and it looks cool, too. Check out the fun new turquoise color, too! They also have a really fun, very sweet Print of the Month focused on the value we women have, and you will receive 20% off this entire section through the end of this month. 9. We love Moo & Puppy digital paper so much, we even wrote a post about all of it's many uses! I'm really liking the fall-ish colors of the Retro Digital Scrapbook Paper. Use the discount code EC2blog20 for 20% off your order!

10. We all know that Thirty-One Gifts has cute and affordable bags, but the one item I've had my eye for over a year is this small Magazine Basket. I love it's shape and versatility! Plus, you can personalize all baskets for only a few dollars more. Right now, mention EC2Blog when you order any basket and get any second item in the catalog 31% off. To place your order, click here and shoot an email to Amanda with your order.

11.Liberty Thrift Store is hands-down our go-to thrift store. Did you know that we found the chair we reupholstered for the Nate Show there? You never know what you'll find thrifting, but it's always fun! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wait, one more thing! We're happy to announce that we're accepting new sponsors! We have a few openings that we would love to fill, so if you have a business that you think we'll love and can help you promote, send us an email at eastcoastcreativeblog@gmail.com! Seriously, what better way to sell your stuff than to have two loud, passionate, crazy women on your side?! For all the nitty-gritty info about our sponsorship opportunities, click here. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Have a great day, and be sure to stop over and say hi to our wonderful sponsors!

If we win, Homes.com will give Worthwhile Wear Five Thousand Buckaroos! For a new organization like theirs, that could be a major game changer and we really hope we can win it for them! (If you want to skip the project and just vote you can! lol Click HERE to Vote)
You can read all about our project first, but then you have to pinky promise to follow the voting directions at the bottom of the post okay? Ok! Thanks!
Wood Shim Wall Art I (Monica) have had this project in my mind for a few months now. It was inspired by a printed pattern I had seen in the window of a shop. I couldn't remember exactly where I saw it, but I was pretty sure it was a cool shop we had passed when we were in London in November. Great story right? Crafty DIY project inspired by a European city… Then, two weeks ago it hit me… It was JCrew at our local mall! I just about died laughing when I put it all together! Well, JCrew or London, I sure am glad it inspired me…
For under $20 we created the coolest DIY Wood Shim Wall Art

(You could go vote NOW since you've seen it! Click Here!)
I wanted something with BOLD color, and a modern feel, that married well with a bit of industrial flare!

How's that for a Before and After?
Who knew our dumpy oak piano could be such a show stopper?

Here's a peek at the details- the DIY light isn't my entry, but man I love how it works with the Wood Shim Art! (Light tutorial coming soon!)

(Or you could vote now?)

Want to know how we did it??
You've gotta head over to Homes.com for the full tutorial (but only after you've voted!)
Click HERE for the full tutorial

There were a lot of DIY elements around our Crafting for Charity project, and we'll post about all of them over the next week or so!

And now for the really important stuff! We're blogging for a charity that we love and are so proud to support. Worthwhile Wear was founded by our close friends Dan & Steph and they've committed their time and talents to make it their life's work.

Jess and I both have daughters and we couldn't imagine any of them having to endure human trafficking. We love Worthwhile Wear's mission…
Worthwhile Wear exists to rescue and restore girls from forced prostitution, and more importantly help prevent girls from ever entering it. We target highly trafficked areas both internationally and domestically, and offer women the opportunity to overcome two primary factors which are at the root of sex trafficking; poverty and lack of education. This solution is offered through vocational training centers which teach women how to make wears, such as jewelry, handbags, and clothing, which are sold to provide them employment. Additionally, the women are offered free education, a safe place to stay, and restorative programs geared toward encouraging personal growth and re-establishing self-worth.

We had the honor of working on the planning committee and doing all the decor and design for Worthwhile Wear's launch in 2012. The following images and statistics were used as artwork at the launch benefit-A Worthwhile Evening.

Those beautiful faces are not stock images. They're from Dan's last trip to India a few months back. The work Worthwhile wear is doing is critical and we hope you'll check out their site and follow along with them on Facebook.
Now it's Time to Vote!
There are 8 bloggers in this competition and some of them have a lot of followers, but none have the amazing fans we do! We know you guys have our back!
All voting will be done via Homes.com's Facebook Page
(On their Facebook Page, there's a little button that says Crafting for Charity. Click there)

Click HERE to Vote

A HUGE Thank You to Homes.com for sponsoring this awesome contest and for spreading the word about amazing charities like Worthwhile Wear. If you'd like more information about the organization and how you can help, click here.

Thanks so much!
Now, Go Get Your Vote On!

If you didn't hear our BIG announcement, stop reading right now and take a look here. We are excited beyond words and are so grateful for your support and encouragement! And to think…it all started right here!: ) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Remember that little contest we were a part of a couple weeks ago? It was a great contest run by Homes.com for an awesome cause- creating projects for a chance to win $5000 for your favorite charity. Well, sadly, we didn't win, but, we're pretty thrilled with our entry and wanted to share this super happy space with you guys.Let's get on with the project shall we?
I (Monica) have had this project in my mind for a few months now. It was inspired by a printed pattern I had seen in the window of a shop. I couldn't remember exactly where I saw it, but I was pretty sure it was a cool shop we had passed when we were in London in November. Great story right? Crafty DIY project inspired by a European city… Then, two weeks ago it hit me… It was JCrew at our local mall! I just about died laughing when I put it all together! Well, JCrew or London, I sure am glad it inspired me…
For under $20 we created DIY Wood Shim Wall Art

I wanted something with BOLD color, and a modern feel, that married well with a bit of industrial flare!

How's that for a Before and After?
Who knew our dumpy oak piano could be such a show stopper? (You can read all about that little makeover right here. )

Here's a peek at the details- the DIY light isn't my entry, but man I love how it works with the Wood Shim Art!

Even though it looks pretty complex, the process was super simple and the longest part of the process was waiting for the paint to dry. Here's how we did it: #1- Purchase Long Wood Shims

We bought 5 packs of these from Lowes for $3.84 each. They sell two sizes, so make sure you go with the longer of the two 11 7/8" (yellow package).
#2- Cut the ends at a 45 degree angle. I used my miter saw and cut each piece- I started with one at a time, then did a little math in my head, noticed it would take an eternity, and then started cutting five at a time. Worked like a charm!

#3- Paint Your Shims I created a little spray paint zone in my basement and used all my leftover spray paint colors. When you're painting, just make sure that you put half with the angle to the left and half with the angle to the right or you'll be stuck with one sided arrows!

After they had dried I was left with this awesome assortment of color!! I used about 13 different colors, but I also think doing the whole project in various shades of one color could look pretty epic too!

#4- Make (or use) a Plumb Line Once we decided where we wanted our center point, we needed to get a straight vertical line to follow.

We took a nail, some bakers twine, and a socket to DIY a little old plumbline. Nail it in and voila!

#5- String Line your Vertical I love my string line… seriously, I use it all the time! We put it at our top and bottom marks (created using our plumb line) and then snapped that baby to give us a guide line.

#6 Determine your Pattern This step saved us major time. Use the floor to get your layout right and then installing it on the wall is a breeze. We wanted our pattern random and we wanted varying lengths and heights.

#7- Glue it on the Wall Rather than using 300 tiny nails (that could very easily splinter the shims) we opted for Gorilla Wood Glue. It was simple to use, will hold securely, and won't damage my walls completely (the way liquid nails would).

Following our pattern, Jess glued and I placed the arrows. Shims are very imperfect, so I had to be okay with tiny gaps and just kept using the center line to keep things straight.

Even before it was finished, we knew we were obsessed with it!

We finished it off with some fun accessories and the coolest light fixture ever, and called it a day.

There were a lot of DIY elements around our Crafting for Charity project, so to find out details about other projects, you can check 'em out below., We'll be posting more about them in the next few weeks, so just hold tight.: )

Even though we didn't win, we hope you'll still check out Worthwhile Wear, which was founded by our close friends Dan & Steph. They've committed their time and talents to make it their life's work.

Jess and I both have daughters and we couldn't imagine any of them having to endure human trafficking. We love Worthwhile Wear's mission…
Worthwhile Wear exists to rescue and restore girls from forced prostitution, and more importantly help prevent girls from ever entering it. We target highly trafficked areas both internationally and domestically, and offer women the opportunity to overcome two primary factors which are at the root of sex trafficking; poverty and lack of education. This solution is offered through vocational training centers which teach women how to make wears, such as jewelry, handbags, and clothing, which are sold to provide them employment. Additionally, the women are offered free education, a safe place to stay, and restorative programs geared toward encouraging personal growth and re-establishing self-worth.

That beautiful face is not a stock image. They're from Dan's last trip to India a few months back. The work Worthwhile wear is doing is critical and we hope you'll check out their site and follow along with them on Facebook.
What do you thinkj? Could you paint a piano green? Or glue shims to your wall?

This room makeover all started with a pallet and became the coolest pallet wall ever. This free project made a huge impact with its wooden walls and white wash technique.
We're so excited to share it with you today! ******************************************************************
When the hubs and I moved into our house 12 months ago (holy moly it's been 1 year already!) we decorated 3 out of 4 kid's bedrooms. I wanted to wait until the little man was out of his crib and into a"big boy bed" before tacking the room.

Well, the crib is history and we were ready to make this tiny space small, but mighty!
Jess and I have a thing for pallets. We've written a Pallet Possibilities post and Jess shared a pallet shelves post. Well, this time we thought we'd take it to the next level and do an entire wall of pallet wood!

Here's how we did it: (Shhh… don't tell, but this was super easy and the wood was free!)
We called around and found places that were okay with us taking their pallets. The hard part is taking them apart and not cracking the boards. We started with a hammer or two or three… TIP: don't buy cheap hammers. Then, we moved to a sawsall. It worked okay, but not great. Finally, the hubs pulled out his circular saw and we were in business!

We separated out the keepers and made sure we had a good blend of various lengths and widths. We took out most of the nails for safety, but left a few for character (we put those pieces up high on the wall so the little man would be safe and sound)

Thankfully my hubs is pretty darn smart and helped me and Jess figure out the layout. We placed each piece on the wall temporarily (one nail in each board) just to see the layout and get all the cuts out of the way. We don't have any great tips on this step, just find someone that likes doing puzzles and invite them over to help! (You might notice that between breaking apart the pallets and doing the wall that I moved from a blonde to a reddish brunette. 2 hair colors in one post… is that a blogger foul?)

Once we had the layout, we took each piece down and labeled it so we'd know where to put it back. We gave each row a number and a letter going from left to right… 1A, 1B, 1C, 2A, 2B etc… Then we brought all the wood down to the garage to begin the fun part… sanding and whitewashing!

We sanded the wood lightly… we didn't want to lose cool character, but we didn't want splinters for the little man either. We arranged the wood as it would look on the wall, so that we could figure out how we wanted to whitewash the wood.

Some of the"blonde" pieces of wood needed some grey stain to make them look a bit more weathered, so we put in on randomly and rubbed it in a bit.
To make our whitewashing colors we just filled cups with water and added a few dabs of paint. It was trial and error. We used the grey-blue wall paint, white paint, and some navy (which we used full strength). We wanted cool tones, not the warm honey ones it originally had. (Will I ever remember NOT to wear sweatpants for all our projects?)

Once it was all dry, we were so thrilled with the colors and couldn't wait to put it back on the wall!

Before putting the pallet wood on the wall, we added some industrial looking lights. The hubby did this part of the job because these girls don't mess with electric- we have our limits!

To adhere the pallet wood to the wall we just used nails. You could use liquid nails, screws, etc. I thought nails would be the easiest just to spackle over when we we want to change the room (which I don't know if I'll ever will want to). Once we had the wall installed we got busy decorating and then pretty much fell in love with the finished product! How do you like it?

There are so many fun details in this room! You can read about the message board made from reclaimed barnwood here! (Yup, we're still lovin' the reclaimed barnwood!)

Not too shabby for a FREE statement wall eh? My son loves his new room and my only complaint is that we didn't try this fabulous project in one of our master bedrooms! We love it!

So there you have it! Free pallets transformed into a crazy, cool statement wall! It was free, simple, and we totally think you should try this at home! So, what pallet possibilities are you thinking of trying?

P.S. Did you see our second Nate episode? How'd we do? We're counting down the days to Cancun and of course will take you all with us through the blog!