Imagine my thrill when I was gifted with this fancy-schmancy sandblasted Fiestaware plate from a Homer Laughlin Fiesta Collector's Association!
It's perfect!
Is this not the cutest thing ever?
I had already been making my jewelry from broken plates and pottery for quite a few years when one day I was approached by a Fiesta collector to enter a contest in which artists create something from broken or damaged Fiesta. Of course, now I cannot find a photo of my winning piece, but it was a piece of jewelry, a heart pin brooch with fancy edges and so pretty! Here are a few photos of some other things I have created with broken Fiesta over the years.
Pin brooch (sold '02)
Mosaic teacup plaque. Doubles as the most awesome bird feeder ever. (sold '03)
Backstamp pendant (sold '04) (approx 1.25")
Bracelet
Love these earrings!
Another necklace pendant (approx 1.5")
Mosaic heart — perfect for the Fiesta kitchen! (approx 6")
Earrings with Swarovski crystals and Czech glass pearls (1/2" by 1 & 1/4")
Read on for some interesting history about Fiesta ware colors:
'At its introduction in 1936, Fiesta was produced in five colors: Red (orange red), Blue (cobalt), Green (light green), Yellow (deep golden), and Old Ivory (yellowish cream). By 1938, two years into production, a sixth color was added: Turquoise ( robin 's egg blue). With the exception of the Red, this color assortment remained in production until approximately 1950. The original Red had been discontinued before 1944 (see below).
The lack of this vibrant color, plus the general changes in society due to the United States' participation in World War II, had caused a slump in sales of the larger serving pieces from the early 1940s. Prior to this reduction in the number of shapes offered, only one or two very specialized shapes had been discontinued and those by 1938. Later items which were discontinued, such as covered onion soup bowls in turquoise glaze and mixing bowl covers in any color, are scarce and highly prized by collectors.
By 1950, home decorating styles and colors had changed. The Homer Laughlin Company discontinued some original glaze colors and replaced them with four new colors. The original Blue (cobalt), the original Green (light green), and the original Old Ivory (yellowish cream) were discontinued, replaced by Rose (pinkish-brown), Gray (medium), Forest (dark green), and Chartreuse (bright yellowish green). Two existing glaze colors, Yellow and Turquoise, continued in production, so the company continued to offer six colors through the 1950s.' Excerpt from the article 'Fiesta (dinnerware)', which can be found HERE in its entirity
One of my later designs, about 2006 (1/2" by 1")
I will have some new jewelry in these and similar designs up for the holidays so be sure to check back!
I'm serious when I say that I think one of the best things about blogging and the internet is free printables! They add so much character to your home without having to spend lots of money. Thank you to all you who provide little ol' me with free stuff for my home! I've talked about a few different places you can find free printables here, but I decided that for my open shelves in the kitchen I wanted something specific and custom-matched to my color scheme. What's a DIYer to do? Why, make one herself!
I wanted to create something that was meaningful to me, but that also had some connection to eating and the kitchen. While searching around, I came across 1 Corinthians 10:31 and knew that it was perfect for this!
I found a pattern that I loved by Moo & Puppy (it's the morrocan trellis pattern that comes in a bajillion colors), uploaded it to Picnik and went to town. Why doesn't everyone buy digital paper? Seriously, there are SO many uses for it and it's so darn cheap! Plus, you can get 15% off if you use the code RHBC15. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Anyway, back to the printables. I have three identical frames in the kitchen that I spray-painted turquoise, and needed to fill them with something. I made this one using a great Julia Child saying…
…and printed this beautiful peacock from The Graphics Fairy!
Three cheap thrift store frames + free printables = one happy girl! And since I'm so happy, I decided to share the love. Free Eat, Drink, Glory of God Printable
It's a 5 x 7 print and you can choose from three different colors: mustard yellow, turquoise and lime green.
Click here to Download Printables I'm excited to finish accessorizing my open shelves, but you got a little glimpse today of how they're shaping up. What do you think? Have you ever made your own printable? Do share!
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!
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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 offering25% 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!
Guess what??? I'm hosting Thanksgiving this year… for the 1st time ever! If you follow us on Pinterest, you might have noticed I went a little nutso on the Tgiving pins! This weekend life finally settled down a bit and we didn't have a ton going on (I even got to go on a double date Friday night! Sweet!). Saturday morning I was walking through my dining room, thinking about Thanksgiving and realized that I wanted to completely finish it BEFORE thanksgiving! (For those of you not quick with math, that was only 12 days away) You might be thinking, Umm didn't you re-do your dining room on your first episode of The Nate Show? and you would be right! Jess did an awesome job on my room and it looked fabulous for the show! Remember this is what it looked like…
Well, here's the inside scoop… We still have builder-grade white paint on the walls (that alone makes me break out in hives! lol). When"shopping the house" some of the fabulous accessories Jess used weren't mine! Ha! I had borrowed some things from a friend, so they had to go back.
And brace yourself for this… we sold the Barnwood Artwork! GASP!! I know right? Well, you know how we have an etsy shop? One person contacted us and really didn't want us to make a custom piece, she wanted the one from the show. After some thinking and discussing, Jess and I decided to sell it, but I made her promise we'd make another one soon!
So now I was left with a once fabulous room, that now looks semi-empty and in need of some TLC. Now you have the back story, let's get onto my plans… I was struggling to decide what to do in the room and called my hubs in to look at some paint chips. He could tell I wasn't"feelin' it" and recommended that I take everything out of the room except for the table, buffet, and chairs. Once I had a"blank slate" the creative juices started flowing. Thanks hun! Here's a little peek into my plans. Don't worry I'll post step by step (and it'll be fast. I only have 9 days before my family arrives!)…
1- I've wanted to use this wallpaper for over a year now. I'm finally taking the plunge. 2- This will be the primary wall color and it coordinates so well with the table stain 3- I love how Mandi created this look and I'll be doing something similar with open frames, but in a different color. (Really jazzed up about this idea!) 4- Yes, that's PVC pipe, and yes, I have a crazy idea to use it as a chair rail separating the paint and wallpaper. It could be an epic fail, or could work out just as I'm seeing it in my head. Can't wait! 5- I want to add little accents of turquoise throughout. I have buyers' regret about the chair fabric, but I'm determined to make it work!
Ok, that's all the peeking you get! I need to get to work painting my dining room! What do you think of my plans and are any of you tackling a big project before Thanksgiving? Do tell!
PS- Sorry to all the haters, but we're T-minus 4 days until Breaking Dawn!! I can't tell you how excited we are and yes, we'll be at the 12:01 showing on Thursday night with all our Gal Pals!
Anthro Ordinal Dresser Knock Off So, I have to be honest… When Jess and I told my hubs that we were taking his"Toolbox Dresser" he wasn't thrilled (it's been holding his tools in our garage for 5 yrs) and he might have been a tad skeptical that we could turn it into Anthro's Dresser. We're a wee bit competitive, so he gave us just the challenge we needed.
Step 1: Sanding There were many layers of paint to remove. Don't be intimidated. We got through white paint and the original glossy finish. We did use some 60 grit sandpaper because the higher numbers were just taking too long. Yes, it was 11 pm and yes, it was dark, but a girl's gotta protect her eyes!
Each drawer needed to be sanded and then all of the framework for the dresser. Every trace of creamy white paint needed to go! (And No, we didn't plan to wear matching, frumpy outfits…)
We used an orbital sander and a little mouse sander as well. The mouse is great for getting into the nooks and crannies! We did have one minor injury, but that's kind of expected when crafting at 11pm.
Step 2: Template & Cut We just free-handed a template of the little shape that we needed to cut on each drawer. It was a bit annoying and took us a few tries to get it centered and even, but once we did, we just traced around it and were ready to cut. For the bottom of the dresser, we needed to get rid of any scrolly-ness, so we drew on some straight lines and said,"bye bye old school scrolls!" as we cut.
Sometimes we're a little intimidated by power tools, but the more we use them, the easier it gets. We did all the cutting with a jigsaw. It's as simple as tracing a line (well…with a quickly moving blade!)
Step 3: Create a Faux Metal Finish While I was busy doing a jig (AKA jigsawing), Jess used a few spray paints to get the faux metal finish we were going for. We used Rustolium's Hammered Metal and Valspar's Metallic Finish.
At first, it looked like graffiti gone wrong… So we added more of the metallic spray and then we used Martha Stewart acrylic paints in copper and metallic turquoise.
And we liked the results much better.
This is where we called it a night for work night number one. It was about 1am… bedtime!
Step 4: Fill the Holes The Anthro dresser didn't have any holes, but unfortunately ours had 6 holes per large drawer. Have no fear… mod podge is here! Using a little woodworkers trick, we took sawdust from the sander and added modpodge (glue was recommended, but I only had glue sticks). Just mix it up until it's nice and thick and can be molded with your hands. The ratio was about 3:1 dust to modpodge.
We used the end of a kids paintbrush to neatly push it into each hole. Two reasons this method rocks: #1- it's FREE and # 2- it almost perfectly matched the wood because we were using sawdust from the same piece of wood. Step # 5: Stain the Wood Stain always scares me! It can ruin all your hard work. BUT… at least we knew we could just sand it down again if we made a mistake (which we did). The Anthro dresser had amazing wood tones and we needed to replicate that, so we used a grey stain that we had left over from the Farmhouse Table Remix.
And now for the mistake we made… See the big, globby brush mark of stain on the left? FAIL! We quickly learned that if we held the brush completely parallel to the wood and just barely touched it, we'd avoid ugly blobs. When the staining was done, we did a quick sanding with some 120 and 220 grit, just to make it seem more natural.
Step 6: Poly Time This is such a fun step because it gives instant gratification. The second you brush it on it reveals all the rich, woody, goodness!
Step 7: Add Numbers We had purchased a stencil, but the font wasn't a perfect match, so instead we printed letters using our printer and then traced them firmly with a pen to leave a tracing indent. Oh, you think it's hard to see? We did too! I think I went a little blind trying to paint inside the lines. We know there are other methods to do this, but once again it was past midnight and we were in"Get-er-done" mode.
The numbers looked a little bold at first, but the next morning we gave it a final sanding and made them look more weathered. We also did a final coat of Poly once the numbers were finished.
Step # 7- Hardware We had two extra drawers, so we decided to grab some cool hardware at Lowes. We love how it fit with the style, but still made our piece a little unique.
Phew! That was a lot of work! Two very tired bloggers! (Yes, we make our husbands take cheesy pics of us at midnight… poor guys!)
So there you have it… Ugly Dresser turned Anthro Ordinal! We hope this has inspired you to look past what you see at first and unlock the potential in something you might already own! My hubs openly admits he was wrong and he was pretty impressed with what we did to his"Toolbox Dresser" (and don't worry, we'll buy him a new toolbox!)
Linking up to: Tutorials & Tips, Tip Me Tuesday TT & J, Show & Tell Saturday, Sundae Scoop, Sunday Showcase
I made these pysanky last year HOW TO MAKE PYSANKY (Ukrainian Easter Eggs) (pysanka — singular, pysanky — plural) PART ONE: HOW THEY ARE MADE I was taught how to make pysanky by my father John, who was a first generation Ukrainian-American. My grandparents were from the Carpathian Mountain region of Lviv, Ukraine. Designs on the eggs are fundamentally traditional, passed down generation to generation, and differences in styles are mainly regional.
What are pysanky? Pysanki (pronounced: puh-sahn-key) are Ukrainian Easter eggs. They are made from real chicken eggs. The most interesting thing about them, aside from their intricate, beautiful designs, is the way they are made: The designs are not painted on, but are done in a wax-resist technique using hot bees wax. The process is similar to batik. How do you make pysanky? Basically, you start with a plain white egg. You begin by drawing designs on the egg in hot bees wax with a pen-like tool called a kistka (stylus) and whatever areas you cover with wax will remain white. When you are finished covering the areas that you want to keep white, the egg is then dipped into a dye bath of the lightest color, such as yellow. The white areas that you have covered in wax will not absorb the yellow dye and will remain white because they are beneath the wax. Once the egg is the desired shade of yellow, you remove it from the dye, dry it off completely, and then, again using the kistka and hot wax, you cover the areas of the egg that you want to keep yellow. Then the egg goes into the next, darker dye, such as orange, and the process is repeated until you reach your final, darkest dye bath'and so on and so on until you have finished your design in wax. In the end you will have an egg that has a lot of wax on it! The last step is the most fun: you carefully melt away all the wax and the colorful design is revealed! You do not need to use many colors, but traditionally the main colors used are: yellow, orange, red, brick, brown, and black. Nowadays you can buy the egg dyes in many shades such as green, purple, blue (light, dark, royal), turquoise, pink, fuchsia, scarlet, etc. One important note: you MUST use dyes made especially for pysanki. These dyes are poisonous and should not be used around or by children. Also, the egg should never be eaten. Sometimes I will use only one dye bath, such as purple. First I will wax the areas that I want to keep white, then dip the egg in purple, then the result will be a purple and white egg. Two-tone eggs are beautiful! PART TWO: TOOLS AND PREPERATION Supplies Needed: Many paper towels Mason jars or large peanut butter jars with lids boiling water regular white vinegar large spoons for mixing dyes and dipping eggs pysanki dyes a candle for heating kistka and also for removing wax from egg when finished matches or lighter Block of beeswax made specifically for pysanky kistka (stylus) pencil with eraser for sketching designs on eggs chicken eggs optional: pysanky how-to book with designs and instructions straight pin and tool for blowing out inside of egg Gathering supplies: I have found that my local AC Moore carries pysanki supplies, but only seasonally, and the dyes tend to sell out fast, so when I see them I stock up! To do the day before: Make your dyes Mix dyes according to package directions. It is best to prepare the dyes the day before you are going to use them, because most directions instruct you to use boiling hot water, and it takes the dyes while to cool down. Be sure to follow the mixing directions exactly, especially when making the orange dye, in which vinegar is NOT added. Vinegar IS needed for most of the dye colors. Pysanky dyes are PERMANENT and if you spill them they will stain just about any surface including clothes and tabletops'use with caution! Prepare your eggs: I use large or extra large chicken eggs. You can use whatever size you like. Try to purchase ones that do not have dates stamped on each shell, as that stamp will usually show through your finished design. Use only raw eggs, and be sure to remove them from the refrigerator for a few hours before you begin working with them so that they are room temperature. Cold eggs will sweat and be impossible to work with! Do not attempt to warm them by putting them in warm water or by any other method. Just remove them from the fridge the night before and let them naturally become room temperature. Do not keep them in Styrofoam egg cartons, as these will retain moisture. Use only cardboard egg cartons to hold and store your eggs. The Kistka (stylus) Kistkas come in three basic sizes, fine, medium and heavy.
Traditional kistkas The size of the kistka refers to the thickness of the line that it draws. Traditional kistkas are like pencils with wood handles and a copper end that is held over the candle flame and heated, then held gently against the beeswax. The beeswax will melt and fill the kistka and then the wax flows through the opening and can be applied to the egg. Nowadays many professionals use electric kistkas, which are great because they maintain temperature and are a lot faster to use than the traditional kistkas, but they also take a lot of practice to get used to. I use both types but always find myself going back to the traditional type of kistka. I highly recommend learning to make pysanki with traditional kistkas.
Beeswax block A natural colored beeswax block is used with the traditional kistka, and black colored beeswax is used for the electric kistka. This is because the electric kistka will not blacken the wax when heating it, and the candle flame will.
Traditional kistkas Here are a few supplies and kits to get you started!
Egg blower for emptying out eggs easily
Egg lathe for holding the egg while drawing on those first lines. I love this tool!
A kistka — I recommend three sizes, heavy, medium, and fine Pysanky dyes are available online
Three different types of Ukrainian egg decorating kits — great for beginners!
Here are two kits that come with electric kistkas — no candle flame needed! What do you think? Have you ever made Pysanky? If you enjoyed this post, you might also like my post on Batik: Beautiful Batik: What it is & How it's made
And now for the long awaited kitchen update…sort of. We're planning on finishing painting our cabinets sometime thisdecade becausethey need four coats each and are taking forever! this week in time for our daughter's 4th birthday party, but in the meantime, I made some progress on the lighting situation in our breakfast area. You may recall that this is what the light looked like before we made the big change.:
And now, for only $40, we have a gorgeous, huge, custom pendant light:
Pin It Adorable, isn't it? Our kitchen was in dire need of some color, and this baby does the trick! After looking around for affordable light fixtures, I wasn't thrilled with the selection and decided to come up with something on my own. I'm totally loving what we made and can't wait to bring in some of those fun, vibrant colors into the rest of the room. Here's how we did it:
I purchased this Ikea Jara Shade for $20, and Januari light kit to go with it.
Unfortunately, this light kit is intended to be plugged into the wall, but we knew that for only $10 we could make it work.
We consulted with my father-in-law who is an electrician and he told us that as long as the light kit was the same voltage as the existing wiring, we should be fine. The typical voltage of an outlet is 120W, and so was the light kit, so we were good to go. We measured the length of the wire that we needed and then my hubs snipped the wire. (If you want to be extra sure, check with an electrician before attempting this!)
Then, my husband used the nut/screw/thingy (?) from the old light fixture and threaded the wire through, separated the individual wires by color, and attached them to the existing wiring (white wire to white wire, black wire to black wire) with a wire nut.
We hung it just to be sure it worked:
Yay! I lived with it a few days just to see how I liked it, and decided that even though it made our space look soooo much better and a little more modern, it needed something. My plan is to thrift a round pedestal table and paint it, as well as, add a rug underneath it. I wasn't sure if I would paint the table a fun color, or add color and pattern on the shade and the rug and leave the table white. I decided on covering the shade with fabric, because it's an easier change than repainting a table several times. I knew I wanted to incorporate aqua or turquoise into the kitchen so Monica and I took a trip to JoAnn's, and found this super cool fabric that works perfectly!
Waverly Modern Essentials-Solar Flair in Lime & Indigo
I know, I know, it's bold, but I'm telling you the kitchen was feeling boring and beige without it. I bought 1 1/2 yards just to be sure I had enough and I did. I took my supplies to my mom's house because I had a feeling it would be a two-person job because of the size of the shade. I'm glad I did! I couldn't have done it without her.: ) I wanted the medallion to be centered on the front of the shade, so we measured the width of one,
and then measured the height of the shade to figure out the placement. In this case both were about 12 inches.
Janell at Isabella & Max Rooms has a great, in-depth tutorial on how to cover a tapered shade, and I pretty much followed that which made this easier. Basically, you want to place your shade on the center of your fabric (I placed mine on the medallion on the front of the shade across from the seam) and roll it out to the sides of the fabric.
Cut along the edge as you're rolling it, leaving about 2 inches of extra fabric.
You'll end up with a rounded edge that goes up on the ends. This will allow the fabric to lay flat, and the medallion to rest squarely on the front of the shade.
(Please ignore my abnormally skinny legs. Can you say no muscle tone? It's a genetic thing.) You'll want to iron the fabric at this point to be sure that it will lay completely flat.(Thanks for doing the dirty work, Mom!)
Place the fabric on the shade exactly as you want it (for me, the medallion on the front) and pull both sides around to the seam. Cut one side about 1/2 inch past the seam and tape in place. Then pull the other side snug so there are no gaps or bubbles and tape in place. (I marked my line with a pencil first.)
Because I didn't want to add any trim (ie:ribbon) along the top and bottom, I needed to make an exact cut along the top and bottom of the shade. So, I fold the extra fabric over the top of the shade, pull tight, and make small marks with a pencil along the edge of the shade. This will be the line you will cut to get an even edge.
Once you've made your cut, fold down about a 1/4 to a 1/2 inch all the way around the top of the shade. Tuck it under and make sure it lines up evenly with the edge of the shade. Hot glue a thin line along the edge (Janell uses fabric glue, in case you were wondering!) and press the folded fabric down to create a finished edge. I suggest doing this in small sections at a time. I didn't want to see any hot glue, so I followed each section with a damp paper towel to get any hot glue that escaped the fold.
Create the seam on the back by cutting the fabric on the non-taped side about 2 inches longer than the seam, fold the fabric over and run a line of glue down the seam. Press to seal. (Sorry no pics of this step!) Finish the bottom edge in the same way as the top of the shade and you're done!
What?! You wouldn't celebrate by wearing the shade on your head? Shame on you! Covering the lamp shade took about 2 hours to do, so it was a bit time-consuming and a little tricky. Having four hands was definitely a huge help! Admittedly, there are some very minor imperfections in my shade, but I figure that it's pretty darn good for our first try!: ) And now for some more swoon-worthy shots:
Pin ItLove the way it looks lit up at night!
I love it, and my kids do too!: ) Now the question is, should I keep the brown curtain panels, or go with a different color, maybe navy blue? Thoughts, please!
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; Linking up to: TT&J, Sundae Scoop, Sunday Showcase, Saturday Night Special, Show & Tell Saturday,
It's been a while since we've talked about my dining room… that could be because I've been scouring the earth to find ornate frames. I like to call them Granny Frames (Ha! I almost typed Granny Panties!) I'm obsessed with funky, ornate frames and guess what?? They're impossible to find lately. Who's buying up all my granny frames?
Here's the plain wall, just waiting for something fab-u-lous! I just know I'm going to adore the stark contrast between the simple frame outlines on the wallpaper and the fancy-schmancy frames I'm hanging.
First things first, I needed an arrangement. I used my dining room table to try out some layouts… Option 1 (sorta looks like I just tossed them there)
Option 2
Option 3- My Fav!
Before I commit to a layout, I'm going to use kraft paper to make templates and tape them on the wall. I can't risk putting tons of holes in my precious wallpaper!
The final decision I still need to make is what color to paint the frames… I was leaning towards turquoise, but I'm totally open to suggestions. Remember, the room is yellow, grey, white, and some black. Help a girl out with some advice!
P.S. Thanks sooo much for all of the wall stencil input! I've made my decision, but you're going to have to wait and see! Actually the reason for the delay is that I'm just swamped with Nate Show projects, and won't have time to finish it for a few weeks. The half finished wall is seriously staring me down on a daily basis!
Ok, guys, we are in the last two weeks of competition with Creating with the Stars and to say that the contestants exceeded our expectations would be the understatement of the century. We have six competitors still fighting for a spot in the final 3 and no one is going down without a major fight. If you missed the first two weeks of projects, check them out below: Round 1 Projects & Winners Round 2 Projects & Winners
This week some amazing prizes are at stake. The semi-finals winner will take home… $500 Gift Card to Home Depot (Contestant & Blog Star!!) $100 worth of Martha Stewart supplies from Plaid Crafts $125 Gift Card to Lucent Lampworks Project featured by HomeTalk
Now, we know you're all dying to see what amazing projects our contestants have come up with this week with paint! Let's go! 1. Painted Couch Featuring a Handmade Horse Stamp
We have all seen these couches before in someone's grandma's house. This vintage couch is not the good kind of vintage, but I may have some of you convinced that this traditional style can be made more modern. I painted the couch white, carved out a horse, and stamped the living daylights out of it with black paint from Home Depot. Enjoy!
2. Painted Map Coffee Table Painting! I'm not going to lie, I was pretty stoked about this week… and amazed I made it here. Painting is one of the easiest and cheapest ways to transform almost anything. And my table was in need of some transforming- big time. I picked it up at a flea market type place for $40… peeling, chipping, splinters, dirt and all.
I sanded and scraped (forever) until no more paint chips fell off when you walked by. Then I gave the entire table a coat of latex paint from Home Depot (mixed with a little plaster to make chalk paint), leaving some of the peeling paint texture on the legs. After that was dry, I taped off a large"X" pattern on the smaller shelf and added a painted stripe detail to IKEA storage boxes for the bottom.
On the top, I made my own basic map stencil by cutting away the continents on a large world map I printed out. I stuck the map to the table with painter's tape, then painted over top with blues and greens. Once that was"roughed in", I removed the paper map and spattered the rest of the painted detail free hand using mostly a plastic spoon and really watered down paint. The last step was to give the entire table a coat of protective finishing wax.
I kind of think the end result is out of this world… hehe, get it?
3. Painted Desk and Accent Wall Using Custom Stencils
I love paint! It sets the mood of a space and has the power to completely transform a piece. I found this large bookcase at Goodwill and loved the detail on the doors, arch at the top, and the drop panel but didn't like choppy layout, worn finish, and heavy bottom. Luckily, all of my dislikes were easy to fix with a little paint and reconfiguration of the layout.
With a little help from the Home Depot, I was well on my way to getting started. Thanks Chris!
Fix #1 — I moved the drop panel down to 30" so that it can now be used as a secretary desk. Goodbye choppy bookcase, hello new desk! Fix #2- Paint! The finish was worn and it had a few areas that needed to be filled with wood filler so painting was the perfect solution! I chose a classic ivory and paired it with a deep turquoise stenciled background. I created the stencil based on one of my favorite Farrow and Ball wallpapers. Fix #3-the thick base and doors made this piece look bottom heavy. To fix this, I added small feet to lift it off the ground and create a little visual space at the base. I also created a large stencil based on one of my favorite rugs. The large scale and contrast provides a lot of visual impact and adds variety from the small scale stencil used on the back.
With the help of paint and a few power tools, this bookcase has been given a new life and I love the way it looks in my new space! 4. Painted Chalkboard with Map and Games This week's theme was my favorite so far…I love the many many ways that paint can be used to make an instant change and impact on a space or an object. I also love chalkboard paint. This week's project is dedicated to my kiddos who surprise, surprise…love to get that their craft on too!; )
In designing the chalkboard wall, we decided to have a map of the U.S.A…I love the way it looks and it will be fun to track the different states we go to as a family. After coloring in the states my kids have been to, they commented"well that's not very many", so I let them each choose a state they would like to go to someday…which explains why Hawaii and Alaska are colored.: ) Lately my oldest child has loved playing tic-tac-toe, so I thought a large, interactive wall version would be super-fun! I also included many"frames" for the kiddos to draw their masterpieces in. I picked the step-stools up at IKEA and painted them in fun colors, and the animal hooks holding our chalk and erasers came from Anthropologie. It was a blast picking out all the fun paint colors at Home Depot! Because I was using so many colors and didn't need a gallon of each color…Home Depot made my day when they told me that they can mix any color in a small, 7.5 oz jar…perfect!!!
And after a super-busy week painting…I'll go to bed tonight and dream about being on a beach in…
;)
5. Aztec Wonder Painted Rug I have been in love with the Aztec inspired rugs that I have been seeing in catalogs and online lately. The drool kind of love. But alas, rugs can be expensive. They are not something I can change an a whim. So, when the paint round came about I decided that it was time for me to get my hands on my latest crush and do it in a budget-friendly way. In DIY style, of course.
Isn’t she beautiful?! This rug was a labor of love. And a lot and lot of sponges cut into stamps…applied one by one. Fabulous colors, a gentle application of paint from Home Depot, and lots of patience made this rug come together into something lovely.
My rug is more then happy living with me. And, I am so pleased to have my own version of this latest craze. And… you know what? I’m glad we’ve moved on from Chevron to Aztec. I’ve got my Aztec rug and I’m ready to go!
6. Painted Wall Mural and Dresser I have a thing for maps right now — doesn't everyone? So, when it came time for the"paint" challenge, I was pretty excited to hop right in and paint a giant world map on my wall. Because who doesn't need one of those?!
I used a projector to hand-paint the whole thing, and then for a bit of contrast (and fun!) I added an old Ikea sideboard we had laying around that I painted Sunny Side Up by Behr from Home Depot. For a couple more little touches, I added bicycle drawer pulls (because, why not?) and numbers to the door fronts — you can barely see them from straight on, but if you look at it from a different angle, they suddenly show up. It's a subtle touch, but I didn't want anything to compete with the map above it!
I love how the black and yellow work together, and I'm pretty excited to finally achieve my dream of covering a wall with the entire world. And, really, I find it hard to believe that this bright and sunny sideboard was once a plain, boring black Ikea piece — don't you love how big of a transformation paint can make?!
It's time to vote! You guys have a ridiculously hard job- we don't envy you a bit! You can only vote one time, but you can vote for your favorite 3 projects. **The voting glitch for Round 3 has been corrected and voting will be adjusted accordingly. Thanks! In order to vote, please LIKE EC2 on Facebook.
You know how sometimes the littlest things make you the most excited? Well, that's exactly the situation here. I made a teeny-tiny change in our first floor hallway that has me doing a jig (go ahead, picture that for a minute). A while ago, I ordered some vinyl from House of Smiths Designs, and I just got around to using it. I originally saw it used in Shelley's amazing gallery wall and absolutely fell in love. Can you guess which one?
Yup, the"Party of 5" frames. And no, this is not a baby announcement (but wouldn't that be a great idea??!! Christmas card, anyone?) I, of course, ordered it as"a Party of 4" and found the perfect frame for the job hanging in the hallway. Let's face it, this is a nice picture, but it's nothing special. Plus, I really wasn't digging the black frame mixed in with my clean, white gallery wall.
I laid down the vinyl on top of the glass just to be sure it fit before I went all spray-painting crazy on it. The frame got several coats of glossy white, and after I turned the photo + mat over, I spray painted the back turquoise blue to match the other pops of blue in the entry.
Adhering the vinyl is super easy (just follow the directions that come with it), and I was left with this:
Adorable! I love it and it ties in so much better with the rest of the entry space. (Please excuse the nasty glare- I couldn't get away from it!)
It really connects my huge family picture in with the gallery wall and adds a bit of fun as you walk out of the kitchen
Yay for small (but happy!) changes. If you're looking for something to personalize your home, you should definitely look into House of Smiths Designs. Super cute and affordable.
Are you a tweaker like me? Do small changes make you do a jig too?
PS. Don't forget to enter our giveaway for a $50 Gift Card to Shabby Apple! The giveaway is live until Sunday, June 3rd!
