When I Get Bored...I Make Things

I was at dinner with a friend recently, and I was talking about my cute new box purse. My friend says "Oh, the one with the chain". I replied, "No, this is another one". My friend then asks, "I don't remember seeing that one, is it on your blog?" I realized at that moment people assume that I blog whatever I'm working on, and in most cases that is true. However, there are lots of projects I don't blog about. Sometimes they're small and insignificant, and sometimes there's not enough to be interesting or make a good blog. There are also lots of times that the project takes so long that by the time I finish, I'm just glad to be done and don't feel like blogging about it. I definitely have a folder of unposted projects. So, I figured it was time to talk about some of the things I've done, but haven't posted. 

First that box purse I was talking about. Usually I have tons of things going on. This particular Saturday...nothing. It was also cold outside, and leaving the house was not happening. So, in my sense of boredom I decided to make some stuff. I had bought this box awhile ago from Michaels with the thoughts of painting it.

I removed the hardware, primed, and painted the whole thing white. 

I pondered a few ideas about what I wanted to paint, but decided to just go with simple black and white stripes. I seem to be doing a lot of that lately. In the inside, I added black felt to create some padding.

I added the hardware back and gave it a layer of clear coat. 

I actually enjoyed painting this. I was going to add a big sparkly embellishment, but began to dig the sleekness and neutral feeling of it. I will probably paint another one at some time. That one will be a lot more interesting, I promise.  

On that same day I also made myself some earrings. In my perusing of the internet, I've seen wire bent into words and shapes. I decided to make some of my own. So, I got out some wire and started bending.

Now I've never done or even tried this before, so It was going to be trial and error. I used my jewelry pliers and worked each letter until I got what I wanted. In no time I ended up with my first word.

Then for the second one I went through the same process. This one was a little harder than the first because the letters did not combine so easily. I ended up having to start over from scratch, but it was a good learning lesson

Here is the finished product.

I turned these into a pair of stud earrings. I wish I would have thought of it before I started. I realized I didn't leave myself any leftover wire on the ends for the findings. So I had to add extra after the fact. Not the ideal solution, but it's good to know for next time. 

While we're on the topic of jewelry let's talk about my ear cuff. For New Years Eve I decided to not buy a new outfit this year, however I still needed some sort of flare. I've been seeing ear cuffs around, and decided I wanted to try my hand at making one. Well, for this project let's change make to embellish. I attempted one from scratch, but found the base to be the hardest part to make. I also considered just purchasing, but didn't find any that were as fantastic as I needed them to be. I ended up buying 2 separate pieces from Claires', and then embellishing them with additional beads, jewels, and chain. 

It turned out super cute, and was a total hit. I also like that I can wear the 2 pieces on their own for a different, more subdued look.  

The next few projects are kind of old. I updated my desk drawers and the dividers. Originally I was going to leave this red, but in my efforts to make the office amazing I painted it white and sprayed the handles gold.

I updated the inside linings with gray and white striped scrapbook paper. It gives a little visual interest, but not too busy. 

Now for my favorite part, the drawer dividers. In case you don't know I love to divide a drawer. The extra organizational push just gives me total euphoric feelings. The drawers already had dividers, but they were made of cardboard and wrapped in bright red adhesive vinyl. I decided it was time for an upgrade. I purchased 1x3" craft wood from Lowes, and used my Miter Saw to cut them to size. 

I added dividers to 4 of the 6 drawers. The other 2 have bigger items in them.

Can you say LOVE!!!!

Next up I made trays for my accessories island. I needed something to hold some of my smaller things. To make the trays I used 1/4" foam board and craft wood.

To cover the inside I added pieces of cardboard wrapped in fabric. I know the fabric doesn't go with the room at all. I just thought it was fun. 

For the knobs, I ended up making some. I really wanted to buy them but I realized a lot of the fancy knobs have really long posts, thus they would have protruded too far into the drawer itself. I ended up finding a decorative piece at Michaels, and painted it pink to match my fancy ottoman.

I made 2 trays. The one on the left is filled with my wallets and small purses. The one on the right is for my sunglasses.

. If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook then you've probably already seen my most recent project. A friend of mine had a daughter last year, and a couple of weeks ago was her 1st birthday. I promised I would come out of hiatus, and make a children's gifts. I bought a rocking chair from Michaels, and painted it. 

I have painted rocking chairs before, and a lot of them end up being pink or purple. I wanted to do something a little different for this one. I chose a pale yellow, and then personalized it. 

So that's it. There is always something going on around here. Some projects you see, and some you don't. There's probably more that I could show you, but we'll have to save that for another day, another post. Hope you enjoyed the round up. Until then...It's on to the next project. 

Which is currently covering my floor... 

I just cleaned too....

 Ah well...

This is my life, and I accept it!

This is what happens when I watch hours of HGTV.....

While I was home over the holidays I got bored and watched hours of HGTV. Which I will admit is never safe considering who I am. I was so mesmerized. I knew I should have turned it off, but I couldn't. Every time they took a sledge hammer to the wall, I became more and more excited by renovation. The whole day furthered my love for home design and decor, and specifically inspired me to finish my own house. So, here we go. First I revisited my bedroom. Below is what it looked like before.

I always keep a running list of projects I want to do in each room.  The bedroom consisted of:

1. Lamps
2. Redo Starburst
3. Table for Jewelry Armoire
4. Dresser upgrade with new knobs
5. Frame for mirror
6. Bracelet holders
7. Setup ironing board in closet
8. Knobs for nightstands
9. Fix back of Jewelry Armoire
10. Fix paint spill on baseboard
11. Add in some accessories

Funny thing is this list originally only had 5 things on it. After HGTV Palooza it seemed to more than double to 11. I did the small and cosmetic things first. I rearranged some of the furniture, fixed the paint spill on the baseboard, set up the ironing board in my closet, and fixed the back of my jewelry armoire. 4 things crossed off the list just like that. Once the cosmetics were taken care of, I got to the fun part....making things! I went on a bracelet binge a couple of months ago when Michaels had a sale on beads. However, now they were all over the place. I created a few holders a while back, but they were long and a giant pain when I wanted a bracelet in the middle of the tube. So, I decided to remake them smaller. I grabbed a bunch of empty toilet paper rolls from my bathroom. I stuffed them with plastic bags for support, and then wrapped them with felt. 

I made 6 holders and loaded them with bracelets.

Next up was the Starburst. Now I know originally I said I loved it. I also said I liked the sparseness of it. Well now I'm not feeling it so much. It's still nice, but I needed to fatten it up a bit. I wanted it to make more of a statement. I was going to just add more spokes to the current one, but then I took to Pinterest. I came across one with an interesting shape, and it inspired me to do something a little different. I sketched out my idea first, and then used mat board to cut it out. 

I painted it with a silver spray paint and added a mirror to the front. To hang it, I added a picture hook to the back.....and VOILA!

Next up the jewelry table. Since I moved in, my Jewelry Armoire has been on an IKEA Lack table by the side of my bed. 1 Lack table was too small, and 2 tables was a little bigger than I needed. So, I decided to go with my gut on this one, and made something the exact size I wanted. The Jewelry Armoire is 12"x 24", so I went with a table of 18"x 30". I made a trip to Home Depot and got a sheet of plywood and some 1x2s.

Using wood glue, I put all of the cut pieces together to create the table base. 

To create the edges I used 3" craft wood. Much to my delight when I found out that Home Depot now sells these pieces. I used to only be able to get this size wood at Lowes. I am so excited, one stop shopping. 

For legs I wanted something with a girly feel. I bought 14" decorative legs. They didn't have much of a selection so I was limited in my choices. I ended up with the same legs that are on my ottoman. However, to make them just a little bit different, I added decorative wood pieces I found at Hobby Lobby. That way they weren't the exact same, and it also gave it a little bit more height.

I glued a piece to the bottom of each leg and let it set. 

While I waited for the legs to dry, I added the leg plates to the bottom of the top. 

I put all of the pieces together, and painted my table black. 

Now for the pizazz (because you know it wasn't going to just stay black). For the top of the table I got the idea to use mirrors. I had a bunch of mirrors left over from another table I did and then changed my mind. So, I decided to repurpose them on this table. 

To push the flare further, I covered the mirrored top with decorative transfer paper. This was the same paper that was originally on my desk, and then the plan changed. I bought a ton it, so I feel like I need to use it now. 

I covered the entire table

Isn't it fancy! It so girly and decorative.

My Jewelry Armoire fits perfectly.

As you can see I moved the whole situation to the corner and away from the bed. I actually like it here a lot better. 

For the last project I made lamps. Well maybe not make lamps, but rather constructed shades. The area by my bed needed some color. I really really wanted to buy finished lamps. At the most I was expecting that I may have to recover the shades. However, I was unaware how expensive lamps were. I just could not find anything that I wanted. However in the midst of Home Depot research, I found decorative sheet metal and thought it would make perfect shades. So, all was not completely lost 

Only problem is that the diameter and height of the shade was now contingent upon the size of the sheet metal. Which in theory sounds a lot easier said than done. To make an actual frame requires heavy metal and specialty tools. I can't see this becoming a regular thing, so I didn't want to invest the money. I did however find wood embroidery rings in Michaels. They were not only the right size, but also durable enough to hold up to the process. 

I spray painted the sheet metal bright pink, and let it dry completely. Then I attempted to glue the sheet metal to the wood rings. I did some research and there was a suggestion to use liquid nails. I used binder clips (so nicely provided by my coworker) to clamp the pieces together while the glue dried. I let the whole thing set for 24 hours.

Unfortunately the liquid nails was a total joke. Might as well have used Elmer's School glue. I had to go back and do it again, this time I used Gorilla Glue. 

The Gorilla Glue worked perfectly. To finish off the shade, I used craft wire and wrapped it through the holes to create a closure.

Again I let the piece dry 24 hours before removing the binder clips. 

Now here is where it gets a little experimental. I had the shade, but how do I keep them attached to the actual lamp base. At this point I could not believe I just did all of this work. I should have tried harder to find a cool "already made" lamp shade. I'll admit this part is not organized, and very much so trial and error.  I walked around Home Depot and just looked for pieces I thought might work. 

I decided on galvanized wire (which is what lamp structures are actually made from) and random plumbing pieces. You'll be amazed at all of the useful things you can find in the plumbing and electrical section of Home Depot. Just a wealth of unconventional project pieces. I created a tripod situation using the thick wire and glue to hold everything in place. 

Then I set the piece inside and used Gorilla Glue and binder clips to affix the piece permanently in place.

I have shades, but what about the base? After all of that headache I found one I liked in Walmart of all places. 

I wanted to add a little bit of color so I spray painted them gold, and added the shades to the top. 

Now since I took this pic, I came to the realization that the shades weren't very secure. So, I went back to Home Depot and found additional pieces to attach to the bottom to create more of a tube shape. Also I didn't like the color. It was too bright, so I spray painted it again this time in a Mauve color.

So after all of that, this is the result.

I found this cool rose gold box at Homegoods.

As you can see the frame for the peanut mirror didn't really end up a frame at all. As I started putting the pieces together I didn't want anything too bold that competed with the rest of the room. So, I ended up using the same spray paint that is on the Starburst, and creating a few cutouts to create interest. 

After all is said and done, my list now looks like this

1. Lamps

2. Redo Starburst
3. Table for jewelry armoire
4. Dresser upgrade with new knobs
5. Frame for mirror
6. Bracelet holders
7. Setup ironing board in closet
8. Knobs for nightstands
9. Fix back of jewelry armoire
10. Fix paint spill on baseboard
11. Add in some accessories

As you can see a few things were not crossed off. The knobs on the nightstand, I can kind of do without. I did make some at some point, but felt it didn't really add anything. The dresser upgrade, I could not figure out what I wanted to do. I'm contemplating a lot ideas, and must have run at least 15 different designs in my head. So for now I'm going to just hold out, and do it when I'm completely sure. Don't worry, there will be a blog about it. 

So how was that for a month long project. Sorry for the overly long post. I just thought it made more sense to cover it all at one time. Hope your eyes aren't burning. Until then...it's on to the next project. 

Weekend Project: Closet Art

So I decided to start something new. I'm calling it Weekend Projects. Basically projects that I start and finish in a weekend. Honestly, the thought sounds really nice considering how long some of these take. Especially the ones that I anticipate taking me a couple of days, and a couple of weeks later I'm still working on them. There are times that a project drags on so long that by the time I'm finished, the only excitement I have is that it's done. Sounds bad, but true. My intention is to love everything I do, but some projects are just stubborn. Oh and let's not forget the fact that sometimes, I'm just doing too much. 

Now on to my newest creation. I created a piece of art for my closet room. I wanted a new piece for the back wall. I already had something there, but I wanted to change it out for something a little more girly. I contemplated a few ideas and I had settled on some sort of lips/kiss print, until I started looking for an image to reference and totally lost my excitement. Then somehow right before bed....it came to me. 

I started with a piece of 1/4" foam board. I had extra in the closet and cut it to 22" x 32".

I painted the foam board with a layer of white acrylic craft paint. While I waited for the paint to dry I started on my letters. I went to Hobby Lobby and got 4 big wood letters. Between you and me, all of the fun letters they have in craft stores excites me. I always want to buy them, but never have a reason.

I painted my letters gold. I had originally started spray painting them, however it was difficult to get an even coat around the edges. So, I switched to hand painting them instead. 

While the letters dried, I turned my attention back to the board. For design I went with stripes. I got out my blue Painter's Tape and taped off where my stripes would be.

Now comes the trick. People always ask how I get my stripes so precise. Well here it is. When I was painting the stripes for my office. I did a lot of research on what the best techniques were. I had done stripes in the past and even though I used tape, I would still get bleeding and thus not so crisp lines. I found out that bleeding is almost inevitable, so the key is before you paint the second color paint the first color at the tape's edge. 

By painting the edge with the first color, when the color bleeds under the tape, it is essentially bleeding onto itself. Ah haa. *Eureka Moment* Once it dried I went ahead and painted the black on top. 

Once the black dried I pulled up the tape, and I had nice crisp lines. (Of course I didn't photograph it. It was beautiful though...trust me) Then I put the whole thing together. I placed the letters down first to get the right placement, and used E6000 glue to secure them. 

Then I brought it up stairs and used nails to hang it on the wall.

I love it! Oddly it was nothing like what I had envisioned for the last month. Somehow though I've been having some of my best creative ideas at bedtime. Go figure. I might put a frame around it, but I'm not sure yet. We'll see what tickles my fancy. 

So, what do you think of the "Weekend Project"? I'm kind of feeling it. I always like smaller projects. I think about them, I get excited, I create them, I get super excited, and then it's on to the next one. Just like that. That means more blogs and more projects. YAY! *Snaps for that*. Oh and be prepared for a few back to back blogs. I seemed to have finished like 4 projects within the last week. So stay tuned...you never know what might happen over the weekend.