Another ABC frame

After making the first one, I had a request to make another for a friend. I love the way it turned out and after using Michael's coupons the total cost was $5.22 (minus the spray paint- I had it from a previous project) Not bad for a custom coordinating frame. I am super excited to give this to her.

And here is a close up.

What do you think?!

Hardwood floors under there!!!!

I am so thrilled to find emaculate hardwood floors under our carpet in our Living Room. After the tile in our kitchen we plan on ripping out the carpet and finishing the floors.

Take a look at what I found.

And this is what was underneath the carpet in the hallway. I am hoping that some way there is hardwood underneath that laminate. But probably not.

Once the work gets underway I will update with more pictures and progress.

ABC Nursery Decor

Thought this was the cutest idea for any nursery, just tweaking the colors for gender or nursery decor variance.

I started out with a blank frame from Michael's for $3.99 (I believe), some spray paint from a previous project and some Alphabet letters also from Michael's $2.99. Shown below

After a little textured ivory spray paint...

Then I just placed the Alphabet stickers on the painted frame as shown below...

I then thought it would be more fun the adjust the letters around as shown...

I plan on making different ones with different color schemes for some friends.

Decorative Hemp Balls

I love the look of the decorative balls in either a bowl or basket as a focal point, just not willing to pay $14.99 for 3 at Target or as high as $9.99 a piece at Pier One. So why not make my own!?

The look:

So I started with a roll of twine/hemp from the dollar store, and then bought some styrofoam balls at Michaels for $3.99 for 6 balls.

Then I just started wrapping the Twine around each styrofoam ball, Try to wrap randomly to avoid criss-cross patterns

And tied the ends together and I now have my own decorative hemp balls for a fraction of the price. I did buy 2 different colors for variation. Now I have to find a bowl or decorative piece to put them in.

Next up will be different types of decorative balls. We'll see what I come up with.

Candle Slipcovers

Turn glass candleholders into stylish accessories by dressing them in decorative fabric. Coat natural-fiber fabric scraps, such as cotton or linen, with spray starch, and iron them. Once the fabric is stiff, cut out a rectangle big enough to wrap around a candleholder, allowing a slight overlap where the ends meet. Wrap around the holder, and join fabric ends with a piece of double-sided tape.

Thanks Martha (Stewart) for the great idea, a nice and easy way to change with the seasons or everyday decor.

Bejewled Lamp

Bejewled lamp made from Christmas Ornaments

If your like me you change your Christmas decor often and don't know what to do with last year's ornaments, how about an Elegant Lamp.

A simple drum shade and round acrylic base, both available from a lamp shop, round out this beautiful stack of ornaments. Each ornament was lightly sanded, brushed with walnut stain, blotted while wet, and sealed with water-base polyurethane.

Two 4-1/2-inch silver-color plastic ornaments
Two 2-3/4-inch golden plastic ornaments
One 2-1/4-inch golden plastic ornament
19-inch-long 1/8-inch IPS threaded pipe
100-grit sandpaper
Water-base wood stain (we used Minwax in American Walnut)
Paintbrush
Water-base polyurethane
Purchased 6-inch-diameter clear acrylic lamp base
Three knurled nuts
Lock washer and nut
Bushing
1/2-inch-long coupling
8-inch harp and harp retainer
10-inch-tall barrel lampshade with a top diameter of 11 inches and a bottom diameter of 12 inches
Brushed metal finial

Instructions:Cut holes in ornaments to accommodate the pipe. Sand the ornaments in a circular motion. Brush stain onto the silver ornaments and blot off; let dry. Seal all ornaments with two coats of polyurethane, letting them dry after each coat.

Secure the lamp base to the bottom of the pipe with a knurled nut above it and a lock washer and nut below. Fit bushing onto bottom of the pipe to protect the cord from fraying. Thread ornaments onto pipe. At the top, add coupling, secure the harp retainer with a knurled nut on each side, and wire and attach the socket. Add the harp, bulb, shade, and finial. Our finished lamp measures 30 inches tall.

Hemp Pendant Lamps

The fabulous idea from Craftynest.com =my new obsession!

Uber-talent Heika DeHart strikes again. These lamps she made are genius. Plus, don’t you just love how they look with her wallpaper? She writes: “I fell in love with West Elm’s abaca pendent lamp a few years ago but, as usual, my taste was more expensive than my wallet could support. However, I was sure that I could copy them at a fraction of the cost.” I love the natural look of the hemp, but you could also use white or bright-colored string.

Hemp pendant lamps

Supplies and tools
*large bouncy balls of various sizes
*clear drying craft glue (such as Aleene’s Clear Gel Tacky Glue) 1 bottle per ball approx.
*hemp string 20lb. weightestimated amounts needed:16 inch diameter ball—400 yards14 inch *diameter ball—300 yards9 inch diameter ball—100 yards
*plastic gloves (optional)
*trash bag or small drop cloth
*permanent marker
*ball deflator or something sharp to pop the ball
*light fixture and hardware (such as this one at Lowe’s)

1. Draw a circle on the ball with a permanent marker. This circle will mark a space on the lamp that needs to remain clear of string. The empty circle will be used in assembling the light fixture and will allow you to have access for changing light bulbs. If the light fixture you are using has lamp shades, make sure that the circles are big enough for the shades to easily pass through.

2. Cover your work surface with trash bags or a drop cloth, and put on gloves (this gets messy).

3. The best way, I found, to apply the glue is to squeeze a quarter size amount onto your fingers and run the hemp string through the glue and then wrap it around the ball. The string should stick fairly easily to the ball. I tried two other methods that also worked reasonably well, but were much more time consuming and made a bigger mess. You can fill a shallow tub with the glue and run the hemp string through it, or you can apply the glue directly to the string from the bottle.

4. Glue and wrap, glue and wrap, glue and wrap. Just keep going. Try to wrap randomly to avoid criss-cross patterns. The more densely wrapped the lamp is the stronger it will be.

5. Make sure to avoid wrapping string over the circle area. If there are any areas that seem weak, you can apply a little extra glue to give it more strength.

6. Repeat the steps 1-5 to make multiple lamps. Let the glue dry completely. (The glue I recommended takes about 48 hours to cure completely.)

7. Deflate the ball, either by using a ball deflator or popping it with a knife or scissors.

8. Remove the deflated ball from the lamp.

9. This part takes some basic electrical skills. Follow the installation instructions that come with your light fixture. While installing the light string, feed the wires through the circle hole of the lamp and up through the top, so that the light bulb will hang down in the center of the sphere.

I plan on making some to spruce up our back patio for summer bbq's, and if all goes well possibly some for our family room.