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DIY Moss Letters–Bring a Burst of Spring to your Front Door!

Posted on February 15, 2013 by Christy

I don’t know about you, but I have an almost pathological obsession with taking down my holiday decor. Today is February 15th, and the few red and pink Valentine’s Day items in my house go away TODAY! Yes, I have a hard time leaving my Christmas decorations up until New Year’s, but I force myself.

Since I’m taking down my decoupaged hugs and kisses XO wreath today (read about that HERE for next year), I needed something to replace it on my front door. And since it’s mid-February, for those of us here in Tennessee, it’s almost Spring. So, what better color than green for the front door?

Pottery Barn sells their moss letters for $79 a pop. Of course, theirs are LIVE moss, but even so, that’s a little steep for me. I completed this project for about $17, and that’s including the cost of a glue gun and hot glue sticks, which I already had on hand.

Here’s what I bought at Hobby Lobby:

The big wood letters are $12.99 at Hobby Lobby; I bought mine on a 50% off week. It’s 18″ high. The sheets of moss are $7.99, and I used my 40% off coupon. I also bought a roll of burlap ribbon there for $2.50, since I had just cut up the last of my old grain sack from the flea market.

Amy talks about covering a sphere with moss HERE, and I just followed her directions, which are basically cut the moss to fit, glue it to the form, and cut slits to make it lay flat. I copy all of her ideas eventually, anyway. Did y’all know we were college roommates? Sometimes I think we’re twins separated at birth because our taste is pretty much identical, but I digress…back to the moss! I think the moss is very easy to work with–it’s so forgiving since it doesn’t show the seams when you glue in a small scrap to fill in a spot. However, mark my words, it makes an absolutely gigantic mess! Be prepared to vacuum your counter, your floor, and yourself when you’re done! I only had half a package of moss when I started this project, and I ran out part way through. I hate when that happens!

Um, yes, I covered a sphere with moss and stuck it in an urn. Amy told me to! And doesn’t it look great?!

After an emergency stop at Hobby Lobby, where the manager knows me by name (it’s like when Norm used to walk into Cheers, if you’re old enough to remember that), I plugged in the glue gun again and finished up the project. Here’s what I wound up with:

Here are a couple of tips:

Run the moss around the edges of the letter. Mine covered all the unfinished wood. I guess to save a little on moss/glue/work, you could also spray paint your edges dark green, but I think this looks better.
Save all the tiny pieces you have left over from trimming the moss; you can glue that on your letter in any gaps you see and no one will be able to tell. Or, use it on the next project.
I used the burlap ribbon to dress things up a bit; however, the letter is actually hanging on a metal wreath hanger. The burlap hides it, though. I formed a bow through trial and error (there is NO method to my madness when it comes to bow-making) and secured it with florist wire). As an aside, I really, really like the burlap ribbon I bought at HobLob!

That’s it–easy! I’m probably going to put this letter on the front door and take the moss sphere and the urn out there, too. I already have a big wooden “B” on the old window hanging on my porch, and that would be redundant, so that’s going to go on the screened porch for awhile, and I’m going to hang a grapevine wreath in its place. I’ll let you see a few pictures when I’m done, either in a post or on our Facebook page.

What do you guys have on your front porches these days?

Thanks for stopping by!

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Posted in Before and After, Crafts, DIY, Porches, Spring | Tagged diy, initial, letter, Monogram, moss, tutorial | 21 Comments

House Number Canvas Pillow Slipcover Tutorial Using the Citrasolv Fabric Transfer Technique

Posted on January 7, 2013 by Christy

I’ve been going a little crazy with canvas painter’s dropcloths lately, because they’re an inexpensive way to purchase a lot of yardage, and because they’re my favorite color–neutral!

I’ve used them for window treatments in my kitchen:

I’ve used them to recover some chairs that are currently in my office:

And I’ve used them to make LOTS of pillow slipcovers. One with a monogram:

One with our name and anniversary year on it:

And a super-cute 11 Magnolia Lane pillow for Amy and Terry’s Christmas presents:

Yes, I’ve been sewing up a storm! But my favorite ones to date are the ones I finished yesterday: slipcovers for my front porch pillows that sport our house number!

The UPS guy really has no excuse now, does he?

I’ve used several different techniques to transfer ink, or paint, onto the canvas, but for these I used the Citrasolv to transfer the ink. There are tons of tutorials out there on how to do this, but I thought I’d make it easy for some of you who have asked and just type it up for you here.

1. Wash and iron your fabric–if you’re using dropcloths, they do shrink so don’t skip this step! I have children and pets, so the whole point of slipcovers is that I can take them off and wash them.

2. Measure your pillow and cut the front of your slipcover an extra 1″ all the way around for the seam allowance. I usually sew slipcovers for pillows that I already have in my house, but of course you can buy pillow inserts very inexpensively if you’re making a gift.

3. Cut two flaps for an envelope-style back. I saved myself time by using the edges of the dropcloths for this–they are nicely hemmed. The two flaps should overlap by about 2-4″, depending on the size of the pillow. Be sure you cut them the extra 1″ on either side, too. Set the flaps aside for later.

4. Print your design as a mirror image. Depending on what kind of computer and printer you have and what program you use, this might involve commands like rotate, flip, mirror image, T-shirt image, etc. You’ll need to look that one up on your own. I actually had to print my numbers out normally, scan them, THEN flip them, then print them out again!

5. Find a copier that uses toner. Sorry, ink-jet and traditional laser printers don’t work with Citrasolv. This was the trickiest part of the project for me. I tried Staples, Office Max, and Office Depot, and none of their copiers worked. Older copiers are best, apparently. I tried the one at our public library and it works perfectly (you won’t know until you put the Citrasolv on it whether or not the ink will transfer).

6. Put a towel under your slipcover top, center the image, and tape it onto the top so it doesn’t wiggle around while you’re working on it.

7. Using a paintbrush, apply a generous amount of Citrasolv to the image. I used about a tablespoon for all four numbers. A note about Citrasolv: in my area, I bought my bottle at a local art supply store. I tried Wal-mart, Home Depot, Lowe’s, Hobby Lobby, Whole Foods, and Michael’s, all to no avail. If you don’t have an independent craft or art supply store, click HERE to order through our Amazon affiliate program.
You’ll probably only need the 8 oz. size (unless you fall in love with the smell, like I did, and start using it to clean your house!).

8. I gave the Citrasolv a few seconds to soak in, and then I took the bottom of a spoon and started rubbing the image (you’ll have to rub pretty hard; your goal is to transfer as much of the ink as possible so your image is clear and sharp). You’ll see the ink transfer to the fabric almost immediately if you peek, which of course I did after so many failed attempts with different copiers.

9. After a few careful peeks to make sure that you’ve rubbed enough to transfer all of the image, go ahead and remove the paper when you’re done. At this point, I allowed my pillow tops to dry. You could certainly launder and iron them again once they’ve dried–this technique is supposed to be colorfast.

10. Pin your pillow top with your two back envelope flaps that you cut earlier. You probably already know this, but pin the right sides together to make a fabric sandwich. On the bottom, put your pillow top (facing up), then your top envelope flap (right side DOWN), then your bottom envelope flap (also right side facing DOWN). Pin your edges together and it should look like this:

11. Sew all around the four sides, about 1/2″ in from the edge. This ensures that your slipcover will fit snugly, but not too snugly. Trim the corners so you’ll get a nice tip, and then press the seams open:

12. Turn the slipcover right-side-out, and press again. I usually use a pencil to push the corners into nice sharp tips. Slide (or force:) ) the pillow into the slipcover and adjust.

13. Stand back and admire your work!

Let me know if you have any questions, and please leave a comment if you have any creative pillow ideas.

**NOTE–be sure to read the first comment below from our reader, Jess, who has some great tips for setting the transfer and laundering your pillows. Thanks, Jess!**

Thanks for stopping by!

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Posted in Crafts, DIY, Porches | Tagged house number, pillows, slipcovers, tutorial | 4 Comments

DIY Ballet Barre for My Tiny Dancer–Tutorial

Posted on November 26, 2012 by Christy

**Our giveaway for a custom-made red and white damask steering wheel cover ends tomorrow. Click {here} to enter!**

My nine-year-old loves to dance, and she’s been asking for a ballet barre in her room ever since we visited her cousin in South Carolina. Katie has an entire wall of mirrors and a barre Of course, she is a serious dancer (8+ hours a day and a special high school for the performing arts!), but the idea is so fun.

We moved some furniture around in her room and wound up with just enough space to put in a barre. I was amazed at how easy it was, and inexpensive. Here’s what we wound up with:

We took a quick trip to Home Depot and bought a 2″ wood dowel. It was about $8, and was 48″ long. They can cut it to your specifications there if you want it shorter. I cut mine at home with my miter saw to 36″. The dowels come unstained/unpainted but are very smooth. I ran some sandpaper over it just in case (who wants splinters?) and spray painted it white.

I also bought hardware that is designed to attach a stair banister to the wall. It happened to be in the same aisle in our store. Each piece was about $4 and came with the screws to attach it to the wall. I bought the brushed nickel finish.

First, I screwed the hardware into each end of the dowel. I predrilled guide holes to make it easier.

When both brackets were in place, we centered the barre on the wall at a height that works for her. I used my stud finder to place the right bracket into a stud with the mounting screws, but on the left I needed to use drywall anchors to give the screws extra stability. Annabelle is old enough to know not to hang on her barre, but for a younger dancer I would try to mount both brackets in studs, just in case!

The laser level made it easy to keep the barre straight as I hung it. My helper lived up to her name, too!

There are only four screws keeping this on the wall, although they’re certainly holding it on there sturdily. But it will easy to remove, patch, and paint when we move in the summer.

I contemplated putting a big mirror on the wall behind it–I have one because we pulled down a huge plate glass mirror in a bathroom–but that is a bigger project and it just didn’t seem worth it for 8 months of use. Maybe in our next house! She can open her closet door and use the full-length mirror on the door to check her form, though.

Also, the hardware that I used only projects the barre from the wall a couple of inches. If you wanted yours to come out further (for a lot of leg work, for example), you might try closet hardware that’s used to mount hanging clothes rods.

I “decorated” the barre because I can’t help it, with some toe shoes autographed by the principal dancer at the Nashville Ballet. I’m also planning to hang this framed poster for the Nashville Nutcracker. My tiny dancer won the part of a frontier soldier (they fight the mice in Act I) and she will perform with the company in six performances this December. Phew–we are spending A LOT of time going to and from rehearsals these days–but what a great memory she is making for herself! I’ll stop bragging now–just having a “proud mommy” moment!

Here’s my four-year-old ballerina. Note the pink and blue socks on her feet. They had to wear those to tell their right from their left because they were such sweet little babies! {weeping!}

And here she is a few years ago. That was one of my favorite costumes ever–great colors!

If you have a tiny dancer who is obsessed with all things ballet, why not give one of these barres a try? For under $15 you can have it on your wall in just a few minutes.

Thanks for stopping by!

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Posted in Children's Activities, DIY, Kids Rooms | Tagged ballet, bar, barre, dance, diy, tutorial | 9 Comments

Numbered Seat Cushions for My Chairs

Posted on November 1, 2012 by Christy

Recently, I realized it was time to recover my great-grandmother’s set of four ladderback chairs. I inherited these girls from my parents in 2002, along with the Queen Anne-style square table that my mom and her “cronies” played bridge at. I think the set lasted about two years under my roof before I got out my paintbrush and painted them white (hide all your antiques–I will paint them!). The chairs have worn four different fabrics since they came to my house, and peeling back the layers is like a “history of interior design over the ages” class, but most recently they were sporting a butter yellow: Two of them live in my sitting room/office, and two are in my living room. Despite the fact that they’re geographically separated, I wanted to number them when I recovered them. I attempted to use the Citrasolv method, which is all over the blogsphere right now, but I couldn’t find a copier that actually worked with Citrasolv (note: I have found one, since that project, and it’s in my public library branch!). Instead, I started with canvas painter’s dropcloths from Home Depot. These are a really inexpensive way to buy neutral fabric yardage. Wash your dropcloth first, and bleach it until it’s as light as you want it (they’re not white, but kind of beige when you start out). Iron it so you have a smooth surface, and cut the dimensions of your seat, plus 3″ all around. Better to have to cut some off than to be left hanging! Or, just pop off your old fabric first and cut around that. I used Apple Myungio for my font, at 700 point, but I also like Century. I cut the numbers out on my Silhouette Cameo, using clear contact paper, because I had some left over, but keep reading if you don’t have a Silhouette and I’ll give you another option. Peel away the number itself and keep the negative, and stick it on the middle of your seat cushion. Squint hard and you can see what I mean! Oh, and press really hard to seal the edges. When I had all four fabric pieces done, I took them onto the screened porch and spray painted them. Yep. Just plain black spray paint. I used gloss black, because that’s what I had, but I don’t think it matters on fabric applications. Give them a few minutes to dry because if you peel the stencils away too early, you can smear your fabric. I let mine dry for an hour on the porch, peeled the stencils off, then let them dry overnight. Then, I threw them in the wash the next day and hung them to dry. You want to get all the excess paint off before you sit on them!

Iron the numbers on the reverse side, and use a pressing cloth underneath in case the paint transfers a bit when you iron. Then, simply use your staple gun to put the new covers on your seat cushions. Here’s how mine turned out:

Yes, you could easily make pillows out of these!

OK, if you don’t have a vinyl cutter, here are your options. The first method is to print your numbers out (actual size) on your printer. Using transfer paper, which you buy at the craft store, trace the numbers onto your fabric. Use a sharpie to color in the number–and be sure to check a corner first to be sure it doesn’t bleed too much on your fabric. Another option is to print your numbers out on thick cardstock and cut around them with a craft knife, making your own stencil. Tape it on your fabric and paint it!

Oh, and apparently they make fabric paint for these things–I just used what I had. Go figure!

Thanks for stopping by!

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Posted in Before and After, DIY, Home Inspiration | Tagged Burlap, Cameo, chairs, dropcloth, numbers, seats, Silhouette, tutorial | 1 Comment

Paint Technique Tutorial: How to Paint Harlequin Diamonds–Closet Redo Part 3

Posted on October 26, 2012 by Christy

I posted last month on my closet redo, and then followed up with a post on how I organized my shoe boxes with plastic bins and chalkboard labels {here}. I promised a tutorial about how I painted the harlequin diamonds on my wall, and this is it. Sorry for the slight delay–Fall and Halloween posts bumped it off the calendar for awhile!

Harlequin diamonds are simple to paint, but time-consuming. Having done a few paint techniques in the past, like the painted wallpaper I did in my laundry room, it’s easy in terms of difficulty, and moderate in terms of time. Are you with me? Good.

The first step is to gather your supplies. Are you painting first? I did–I used an interior flat latex from Lowe’s (the color is “Princess”). I gave the entire closet a coat of pink, including the ceiling (I often paint the ceiling in a small space). Decide what color you want your diamonds to be. Do you want a BIG contrast, like black and white? If so, then you’ll paint the lighter color on your walls first, and then use the darker color when you paint the diamonds, so you’ll need twice as much of the lighter color. In my case, I chose to use a glaze technique, because I wanted a very subtle, silvery sheen, and my 5′ x 8′ closet needed two jars of Martha Stewart’s glaze in Mercury (available at Home Depot).

Supplies:

Paint for walls (and ceiling if desired).
Paint or glaze for diamonds (about half as much as the base color). Don’t forget that if you’re using glaze, you’ll need to mix it with your base coat color of paint, so be sure you buy enough to do that.
Dropcloths, brushes, rollers, and all that jazz.
Painter’s tape, and LOTS of it. I needed 3-1/2 rolls for my closet. Better to buy more and return it than run out in mid-project! Also, I would buy the painter’s tape that works on newly painted walls. You’ll be taping over paint that has only had a few hours to dry, and you don’t want to peel any of it off.
Any embellishments you want to use to accent your diamonds. I used brushed silver/platinum upholstery tacks and just nailed them in when I was done. I’ve seen others use a gem or a pearl. Of course, you don’t need to use any of these.
Chalk
A level

OK, here are your steps:

1. First, prep and paint the room in your lighter color. Here’s my closet with its coat of pink:

2. Now, decide how big you want your diamonds to be. The rule of thumb is that they should be twice as tall as they are wide. I decided to make mine 20″ tall and 10″ wide. Obviously, the smaller they are, the more work they’ll be with all the taping you’ll be doing. I’ll be using 10″x 20″ for the purposes of this tutorial.

3. Using the level and a piece of chalk, draw rectangles on your wall that measure 10″ x 20″. The level will ensure that your lines remain straight. Start in the corner that’s opposite the door, or whichever corner will be most visible. In a closet, that’s none of them since they’re all full of clothes! Also, I started my first horizontal line 10″ from the ceiling, not 20″, because I wanted the top row of diamonds to be a full PINK diamond, not a full SILVER diamond. Translation: if you want your top row to be diamonds of the lighter/first color, do it my way. If you want your top row to be diamonds of the darker/second color, then start your top line 20″ from the ceiling. When you’re finished, your entire room will look like it’s made of rectangle bricks!

Use a level and chalk to draw rectangles on your wall.

I like using chalk because all these lines will need to be erased eventually, but if you have a hard time seeing them on your paint, go ahead and use a pencil. Just write lightly!

4. Now, mark the midpoint on all four sides of the rectangle. For my rectangles, this meant that I made a mark with the chalk at 5″ on the top and bottom, and at 10″ on the sides. Using your painter’s tape, you’re going to use those four midpoint marks as the “points” of your diamond. You’ll only be able to tape every other diamond, and it will look like this:

Tape every other rectangle to form a diamond.

5. Paint inside each diamond with your second or darker color. Since I used glaze, I mixed one part glaze with two parts paint. This made the diamonds a subtle silver color, which I loved.

NOTE: If you’re using dark paint for a high-contrast look, I would experiment with one diamond in a discreet area first to see how much of a problem you’re going to have with the paint bleeding under the painter’s tape. That will depend on the texture of your walls, the consistency of the paint or glaze you’re using, and even how well you applied the tape. If bleeding is a big problem, you can “seal” the tape line by painting on the line with your first/lighter color, waiting until that dries, and then painting over it with the darker color. Fortunately, I didn’t have to do that!

6. After your diamonds have dried, remove the tape, and do the same thing for the unpainted diamonds. Make sure you line up the tape with your already-painted diamonds so that their points all line up! When it comes to corners, you can always make a diamond a little wider or a little thinner without it being obvious, so some of my corner diamonds are 9″ or 11″ wide. Just don’t make the diamond taller or shorter!!

Remove the tape from the first set of diamonds. Every other diamond will be painted.

7. Paint your second set of diamonds and let them dry. Remove the tape. I used a damp washcloth to wipe away all the chalk lines.

8. Embellish your diamonds with upholstery tacks or gems, if desired.

9. Wipe your brow–phew! that was a lot of work–and enjoy the gorgeous diamonds you’ve painted on your wall!

Leave me a comment if you have any questions and I’ll be happy to answer them.

Thanks for stopping by!

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Posted in Before and After, Closets, DIY, Home Inspiration, Real Spaces | Tagged diamond, diy, how to, paint, technique. harlequin, tutorial, wall | 1 Comment

Halloween Must-Have: Out of Treats Door Sign

Posted on October 2, 2012 by Christy

Despite careful forethought and planning, I have run out of Halloween candy three out of the last four years. (NO, it was not because I bought the candy prior to October 30th and ate it all–I would never do that!) The good news is that I ran out closer to the end of trick-or-treating than the beginning, but I figured I’d better A) buy more candy this year and B) come up with a contingency plan just in case. I decided to make a sign to hang on the door when the candy’s all gone–that way I won’t have to look the sad munchkins in the eye and tell them I’m a loser.

I copied the idea from my “We Can/Can’t Play” sign that I made this summer. You can read about it {here}–if you’re a mom whose doorbell rings frequently, this will change your life! You can thank me later…

We Can/ Can’t Play Door Sign–A Summer Necessity!

This was a cheap project because I already had what I needed. I assembled my materials: a wooden plaque/sign from the craft store ($0.80 full price, but I used a coupon!), orange and black ribbon, eye hooks, black paint, and glitter (just in case–I wound up not using it). Also used, but not shown was black paint, glue (duh), white vinyl and my Silhouette Cameo.

I sanded the rough spots on the sign (sometimes I skip that part) and painted it black with acrylic craft paint. Once it dried, I screwed the eye hook into the top–no drill needed, just use your fingers to screw it in–and printed out the frame and the letters on my Silhouette. I used the free font Boyz R Gross. Wait? You don’t have a vinyl cutter? Don’t despair! Paint your wooden sign with black chalkboard paint, and then just use a white chalk pen for all of this–they sell them at craft stores.

Here’s the white frame:

And now here’s the sign with the words in place:

I debated a bit on which ribbon to use, and finally just used orange and white striped ribbon (I think it was 2″):

We’re not really into “scary” Halloween stuff here, so I debated on whether or not to glue a black plastic spider on the bow. Here it is without the spider:

And with the spider:

Do you have a preference? Let me know!

So this will go up when the candy’s gone at my house. Well, perhaps I will fib a bit and hang this up on my door around 8:30pm, when all the cute little Jedi knights and princesses go home to sort their candy and watch “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.” That’s when the teenagers come around to ring the bell, wearing a costume consisting of sagging blue jeans and a sweatshirt (how creative!), holding an empty pillowcase, and managing to NOT SAY A WORD TO ME as they hold their open pillowcases under my nose, expecting that I will just dump candy in there. Can you tell that I think there should be an age cut-off for trick or treating? I already warned my 11-year-old son that this is his last year! So the sign will either go up at 8:30, or I will hand out tofu and spinach to the surly teens!

Or if I get into the candy stash, the sign might have to go out much earlier!

Thanks for stopping by!

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Posted in Autumn and Fall, Crafts, Halloween, Holidays | Tagged candy, chalkboard, door, goodies, Halloween, hanger, sign, treats, trick or treat, tutorial | 26 Comments

Creating a Crafty DIY Silhouette–Easy Tutorial

Posted on September 21, 2012 by Terry

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I have wanted to get professional silhouettes done of both my boys for years, but I have simply not had the time or money. I know that they are not difficult to do, yet I wasn’t sure that I would do my sweet boys justice. I also wanted to have something that would last forever. Silhouettes capture such a sweet and innocent time that I personally don’t want to ever forget. My youngest son just turned 5, so I knew I was running out of time and needed to either make an appointment or do it myself.

When I was little, my school did silhouettes with a projector light, piece of black construction paper and chalk. I remember feeling very special when it was my turn to have my shadow traced. I loved the sweet details of my ponytail and eye lashes. It was a really simple project yet such a wonderful gift we later presented to our mothers as a school keep sake. They were simple, true to life, and my mother still has it to this day. As I have said, it is just something you hold onto.

Thinking back to that school experience made me realize that I didn’t need to pay for a silhouette, I could do this on my own. With the changes in technology from then to now, I knew I could simply take a photograph and cut it out. I also knew that Photoshop has the capabilities to do the same thing. I am no pro when it comes to Photoshop and I personally wanted to cut every strand of hair that stood up, their button noses and of course their eye lashes. I don’t know why that part gets me all choked up but it does.

DIY Silhouettes

Here is how I created my very own silhouettes:

Here’s what you need: Craft Paper, Profile printout of your child’s head, scissors, glue and a frame

Take a photo of your child’s profile with a light background. I sat both my kids on the same stool in front of our white shuttered windows. It was a light background but it also allowed sunlight to come it.
Side Profile of my oldest son

Side profile of my youngest son. NOTE: I turned him the opposite direction
Print out the photos on card stock and size down to fit the frame you selected to display them it. I did 5 X 7 frames for my first “crafty” silhouette. Next time I am doing a much larger round frame so I will need to print out a 7.5 X11.
Using an exacto knife/ small scissors, cut out your child’s profile. Get into the details of their hair and lashes. The personalized details really make each silhouette more realistic and special. This is a bit time consuming and ensure your knife is sharp and take a deep breath.

Cut out his/her profile with knife or scissors

I decided to go the “crafty” quick route with my fist silhouette, I simply turned over the paper (photo side down, white side up) and pasted it to a piece of craft paper. I still wanted the black and white theme but I didn’t want it to be traditional especially in my front foyer. I liked that it was a bit different and unexpected. The craft paper that I choose has a printed word pattern across it, which I love. It made it modern, fun and very different than your traditional silhouette. I also used a rectangular silver frame, again not the traditional round black frame you typically see. I personally think that it works well in my black and white casual foyer and home.
Choose whatever patterned paper you prefer for your child’s silhouette

I really enjoyed this project and I am already working on my next silhouette project. This time I am going the traditional route. That means I will either need to play around in Photoshop or cut out a template and then trace their silhouette onto black card stock. This means double cutting, but I actually enjoy that part, so I think I am going to take the hands on approach. I would also love to add their monogram below so I cannot wait to show you how those turn out.

This is where they sit in my home, my black and white foyer.

Happy Crafting!!

Posted in Children's Activities, DIY, Projects & Printables, Uncategorized | Tagged black and white, craft paper, Crafts, frames, Kids crafts, Silhouettes, tutorial | 2 Comments

Christy’s Powder Room Redo–Just Add Beadboard!

Posted on July 16, 2012 by Christy

Drumroll, please, because this is my first room redo in a long time (since the kitchen photoshoot, I think)! Let me first inform y’all that this is only Part 1 since the room isn’t quite done (are they ever?) but it’s good enough to show it off a little bit.

Our downstairs powder room was always too dark for me. While the previous owners had done a pretty faux finish on the walls (gold tones over chocolate brown), the dark paint color combined with the limited light sucked all the light out of the room. I like white, and light colors, so I knew the bathroom would need a redo at some point.

Here’s what the room originally looked like:

The gold leaf mirror was heavy and obviously very expensive, so I wanted to save that. It was also my intention to leave the faucet, sink, and toilet intact, and maybe just change out the light fixture.

I HAD to use my flash in here even though that doesn’t give us a very pretty result, but the room was too dark to shoot otherwise.

Hubby headed out of town for six weeks for work, and as usually happens when he goes away, I decided this was the perfect time to start the project. The kids could happily eat cereal and frozen pizza for dinner for a few days, right?

I started by giving the ceiling and the top half of the walls a coat of flat white paint (I just used the Ultra Pure White by Behr at Home Depot). I was pleasantly surprised that it only took two coats to cover that brown, and I didn’t have to sand the walls as the texture of the faux finish was smooth.

I will tell you that even with just the top half of the walls painted, the transformation was immediate. The light was fantastic, even though there’s only one vanity light over the sink and no overhead light). I knew I’d made the right decision!

Our last house, in North Carolina, had white beadboard in the bathroom, and I loved the cottage-y feel of it. I also like the fact that it was taller than the standard 32″ and 36″ installations. I decided to cut my bead board to 48″ high. I bought the long packages (they’re 96″ tall) and cut them in half on my miter saw. I still don’t have a table saw…soon!

Installing the beadboard was actually pretty easy. I did use construction adhesive on the back of the panels and my brad nailer to secure the panels in place once I’d positioned them on the wall. I’ve always been a little scared of my nail gun (correction: scared of my air compressor and the LOUD noises it makes!) and this project forced me to learn to use it by myself since Chris wasn’t around to help me. The brad nailer made the job about a million times easier.

Because my house is neither trim NOR square, as I discovered when building shelves in my pantry (read about that HERE), the panels were a little wonky at the corners. I did the best I could, and figured caulk and paint would help as I finished the project. I had some screen trim left from my pantry shelves and put a piece of that in two of the corners to cover up some small gaps. I was right, when I was done caulking and painting it was impossible to tell.

I wasn’t sure how I’d manage to install the beadboard around the toilet and the sink. I lucked out with the toilet as my water pipes come up from the floor (in some of our houses they come through the wall) so I didn’t have to remove the toilet or the tank; however, I did have to remove the pedestal sink to put the beadboard behind it. THAT was fun–not! Plumbing work always involves standing on your head while screwing or unscrewing connections with the perilous possibility of dropping porcelain and having to buy a new one. But, I persevered and got that sucker off the wall. I didn’t realize it at the time, but getting it back into place was going to be more work than removing it!

Here we are with no sink!

“Measure twice, cut once” takes on new meaning when you’re measuring for pipe openings. This was also a chance to use that hole-cutter-attachment thingy for my drill that I’d always wondered about. How nice and easy it made the job! Oh, and you can see the two holes in the wall where the toggle bolts for the sink attach…I had to buy new ones as the old ones fell into the wall when I removed the sink. I wouldn’t have thought of that ahead of time!

Since the bead board was 48″ high, I also had to cut openings for the light switch and outlet. I think a jig saw would have been the appropriate tool here, but I don’t have one, so I used a utility knife to saw away at the back of the beadboard and make the openings. Don’t forget to use outlet spacers whenever you’re adding something like bead board or board and batten to a wall; that way your switches and outlets won’t look sunken into the wall.

Finally, I had to trim the top of the beadboard. I used pine finger joint board and cove molding to create the top trim and glued and nailed them into place. The finger joint pieces are sold in 1″ x 2″ x 8′ sections and then I cut them with my miter saw. The cove molding went underneath to create a smooth transition between the finger joint board and the bead board. The cove molding was the only thing that wasn’t pre-primed, but two coats of paint still covered everything. Oh, and I did not remove my baseboards. The bottom of the bead board sat right on top of my baseboards and I just piped in a line of caulk for a smooth transition.

The last step in the process (before decorating–yeah!) was to give all the beadboard and trim two coats of Ultra Pure White in semi-gloss finish. Bead board is a little tricky to paint, but I found that a 3″ wide brush worked best with a 1-1/2″ angled brush for corners.

I spray painted the big heavy mirror black and then realized that hanging it would be tricky with the finger joint board projecting out from the wall. I solved that problem by using a couple of wood scraps and drywall anchors to allow me to hang the mirror away from the wall. Here’s the picture from the side of the mirror–maybe it will make more sense than my description.

And here’s the now-black mirror, from the front:

I did take down the old 3-bulb light fixture and replaced it with a chrome fixture to keep things consistent. Since I bought the new one off Craigslist and sold the old one on Craigslist (both for $30), I was pretty pleased with myself.

As is true with all of my DIY projects, it took longer than I thought it would, but I’m so glad I did it! The last step is going to be to do something on the top half of the wall, but I’m not sure yet if I want to wallpaper (black and white toile, anyone?) or maybe paint a black and white awning stripe or harlequin diamond pattern. Let me know if you have any input!

Here are a few “after” shots, always my favorite part!

I bought the step stool at a garage sale years ago for $1 and decoupaged toile paper onto the top and trimmed it with ribbon.

The brown telephone stand is also from a yard sale (recurring theme?) and holds my back issues of Romantic Homes magazine and a variety of powder room essentials.

Why not use a hotel ware ice bucket to store that extra roll of tp?!

I hope you like how it turned out. Now, stay tuned for Part 2!

Thanks for stopping by.

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Posted in Bathrooms, Before and After, DIY, Home Inspiration, Home Tours | Tagged Bathroom, bead board, beadboard, black, cottage, diy, installation, powder room, tutorial, white | 10 Comments

Easy {and Cheap!!} Kids’ Summer Craft: Bandana Flip Flops

Posted on June 4, 2012 by Christy

My favorite kind of tutorial is the kind that’s only one or two steps long…and this craft fits the bill. You can pretty much look at the picture and figure it out! And, best of all, this is a craft that middle to upper elementary school girls can do on their own with minimal assist from mom.

Thanks to my dear friend, Andrea, who introduced me to these cute flip flops years ago.

Gather your supplies:

1. A pair of rubber flip flops in the appropriate size (ours were $1.99 at Hobby Lobby, although they go on 50% off sale every few weeks if you want to buy them even cheaper).

2. A bandana (or two, or three) in your choice of colors (ours were $0.99 at Hobby Lobby and, again, they go on sale every few weeks). We chose red and blue to go with a swimsuit my daughter has…and of course, for the 4th of July.

3. Fabric scissors (or pinking shears if you want to jazz them up a little more).

Now, cut your bandana into strips that are about 6″ long. The width can be 1/2″ to about 3/4″, depending on your preference. Obviously, the thinner the strips, the more you’ll need. 6″ is the right length to be able to tie them in a double knot, which is essential, otherwise the bandana strips fall off with activity.

Knot the strips on the flip flop straps, double knotting and pulling them tight. Alternate colors according to your color scheme. I have also used thin ribbon to do this project, but if it’s too “slippery” then you can’t tie a tight knot. It does give you endless options for customizing your flip flops, though.

The last step is to wear and enjoy! Since a single bandana will make several pairs, this is a great project for a sleepover or birthday party, or even for a Daisy or Brownie troop. We’ve also given a pair as a sweet, and inexpensive, birthday present. Big girls wear them, too–one year I made a couple of dozen for some of the military ladies I volunteer with, as a thank you gift. Maybe a teacher would like them in a tote bag as an end-of-year gift? The possibilities are endless. Have fun!

Thanks for stopping by.

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Posted in Children's Activities, Crafts, Projects & Printables | Tagged bandana, Craft, embellished, flip flops, girls, Kids, ribbon, tutorial | 1 Comment

Easy, Sanity-Saving Craft Idea: We Can/Can’t Play Door Hanger

Posted on April 30, 2012 by Christy

{Enter our current giveaway for a printable party package HERE}

A few weeks ago, I went on a personal mission to find a cute door sign that would easily telegraph to the neighborhood kiddos whether my two were available (or not) to play. Some days it’s just easier to hang up the sign than to answer the door multiple times, right?

Remembering that I used to have a darling door sign when my kids were little that warned visitors away from ringing the doorbell while Baby was sleeping, I told Amy what I was looking for in regards to play time and asked her if we could put our heads together and create a cute sign. But, as sometimes happens, before we could get to work, I found the perfect sign at Positively Splendid and figured, why reinvent the wheel when I can just follow a tutorial? I loved what Amy (Positively Splendid’s Amy, not our Amy ) had done with the idea, as well as the colors she chose. Please head on over by clicking {here} and let her know that I sent you! Here’s what she came up with:

How cute is that? Don’t you just love the Tiffany blue paint combined with the black and white striped ribbon? Can you see why I chucked the idea of coming up with my own concept and just followed her easy tutorial? I got to work right away because I had everything I needed in the house already to make this project. Here’s what I did:

1. I painted wooden plaques I had from the craft store (they were 80 cents apiece). I used regular acrylic paint and did two in robin’s egg blue and one in light green. I’m going to do hot pink next time!

2. I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut out chalkboard contact paper for the sign. I used chalkboard contact paper because I had scraps of it left from my North Carolina pantry makeover. Silhouette makes chalkboard vinyl, which I’ll be buying and using from here on out, but the contact paper worked perfectly. I just used the cutting mat because I had only a few small scraps left. If you don’t have a Silhouette or other craft cutter, why not use chalkboard paint (spray or brush-on) to paint your sign? You can use tape to tape off the edges and do those in a bright color; or, chalkboard paint now comes in some gorgeous shades!

3. I screwed a small ring hanger on the back of each plaque (eye screws would work, too, but I just used what I had) to hold the ribbon.

4. Using the Silhouette again, I cut out the words “We” and “Play” from white vinyl. I used the free font “Boyz R Gross” and I love how playful it looks. I like Amy’s idea of using a white chalkboard marker (or chalk) to write “Can” or “Can’t” in the middle, but you could certainly write the entire message out with chalk, and that way you could use the sign for other things (like “We’re Around Back” or “Shh…Baby Sleeping!”).

5. I cut a length of 2″ ribbon and fashioned a loop and bow. I have a ribbon addiction so I had lots to choose from, but I just loved Amy’s black, white, and blue color combination so I made mine out of those shades. The green one I gave to a friend as a little birthday gift, and I gave another one to my neighbor (so my kids know when to stay away from her house, too!). So cute and easy–and inexpensive! Amy, thanks for the great idea–we all need one of these before summer!

Thanks for stopping by!