DIY Decor & Crafts

Going for the Gold

Published on August 16, 2013August 16, 2013 by Our Humble Abode7 Comments

Hey there, everyone and happy Friday! After a week of sick kids (and now I’m getting the same cold) I’m really ready for a weekend. While the boys have napped, I’ve worked several gold items into our house. Some serve a purpose and others are face lifted items we already had. Here’s one that is super useful to me:

A stump, slit cut in the side (using a hack saw), then gilded with Antique Gold Rub’n Buff.

Is now a handy recipe card holder in the kitchen. But it can also display a picture or store recent important receipts or coupons.

While I had the Rub’n Buff out, I used it on a plain white tray. Eyeballing it, I taped off a design and used a scrap of old t-shirt to buff gold over the rest.

Hello fun little tray!

I shall use you to control our remotes.

Because I couldn’t stop there, (addicting much?) I covered over the flourescent orange ends of this little timer. They boys got a few from the dentist, so one is living on the guest room bookshelves.

Odd, I’m developing an hour-glass collection. Perhaps to go along with my recently discovered owl turned doorstop group.

After my Rub’n Buff binge, I moved on to gold spray paint. Because why not? I used most of the can for another project. Rather than store the little left, I sprayed this little succulent planter:

And my perpetual calendar box.

Five rooms got a touch of gold in the past week. Midas touch, I’ve got it. Ha. What’s your latest addiction? Gilding everything in sight? Hour-glasses? Owls?

Cutting Corners

Published on August 14, 2013August 14, 2013 by Our Humble Abode7 Comments

How ’bout a round of applause for our new spider base coffee table top:

While marble or glass would be beautiful, I think marble is too heavy for the base. And I know glass would be completely covered in fingerprints, taunting me daily. So I had Ben help me (okay, he did all the cutting) make a paintable top. He cut a sheet of 1/2 inch MDF to 36 1/4 inches square, then made a pivot point to make a perfect circle. A scrap of MDF nailed to the center of the square, like this:

Which gives a rigid edge to spin, following with a pencil.

Using a jigsaw, Ben cut close, but just outside the line. With the corners cut, I got out the orbital sander with 80 grit paper and sanded until I met the pencil line. For a smoother edge, I followed up with 150 grit paper, primed, painted, and sealed both sides with Polycrylic. I set the top on and for the first time in my home ownership, I’ve got a coffee table.

I had a sample jar of Valspar’s Sweet Mint, which I think pairs nicely with the wood base. Fun and colorful, without being bright and crazy.

Sweet Mint is also a near perfect match for the sky in my MT Photo Journal Heavenly print and landscape painting on the mantel.

If I get sick of it, I can quickly sand it down to repaint with minimal money and effort.

We’ve got a few games on top including tic tac toe and the checker book. The terrarium, pulled from the boys’ room, adds greenery and a glass jar with our initials rounds out the set.

Which do you prefer, coffee tables or ottomans? It feels less like a dorm room, so adult, to have one. And really fun to accessorize. Now to convince Ben to replace the ottoman in the living room with a coffee table.

Check(er) Book

Published on August 9, 2013August 9, 2013 by Our Humble Abode12 Comments

After sharing the tic tac toe board I got a crazy idea to make a checkerboard. Out of a book. While out looking for more bathroom stuff (tile and lights) I picked up a large hardcover book for a buck fifty.

Checker boards are 8 squares wide and lucky for me, my book was just a little wider than 8 inches. So I taped off the edges and marked my grid, using a pencil to draw right on the book.

Then I used craft paint to fill in every other box until I had a checker board. Twelve white rocks and twelve gray rocks from our yard serve as mini game pieces. At least for now. Maybe I’ll get glass pebble vase filler. Beach glass or seashells could be neat, too.

V still doesn’t completely understand how to play, but we’re having fun.

And when we’re done playing, we can stash the pieces, er rocks, inside. That’s right, I made a game board book box following these same steps. Yes, I realize I’m completely crazy.

Now we have a discreet checker board that looks completely at home on a stack of books.

And we can easily flip it over to play a game.

Who’s up for a game of checkers? And what are your weekend plans?

Tic Tac Toe

Published on August 7, 2013August 7, 2013 by Our Humble Abode2 Comments

You know who uses my phone almost more than I do? My kids. To play games. V recently found Where’s My Water and has been obsessed with it. While I can’t buy or make a real version, I can make some of the other games they like. Tic tac toe being one of them. I actually got the idea when I walked through Michael’s wooden craft department and saw two for 99 cents letters.

A scrap of 1/8 inch craft plywood (excess from this silhouette art) to make the base and a piece of 3/8 inch square trim from Home Depot.

With the front already stained, I pre painted the square trim before using wood glue to attach it along the outer edges. Then I painted both sides of the letters and taped off the grid to paint.

I found a few wooden nickels in my craft stash so I glued those to the bottom to act as feet.

We’ve already had a few tic tac toe lessons and tournaments.

V is learning to play checkers so I want a cute checker board, too. I’m thinking the new table base would make a great game spot, so I filled a few bowls with game pieces and metal puzzles.

Now to get that top cut and ready. What are your family’s favorite games?

Green Eggs and Ham

Published on July 24, 2013July 21, 2013 by Our Humble Abode12 Comments

Filling a large wall can be tricky. In the boy’s room, there’s a big blank wall. Well, was. Before giving it a makeover, I had hung a gallery wall. Which was fun, but some of those pieces moved above the beds. That seemed like it would be too many small frames in one space. For this wall, I wanted something big and fun.

Maybe XXL Wall Letters? Cute. Traced shapes filled in? The boys would have fun doing that. Toy collection display? Nah, didn’t want Ev to play with the toys at night. Simple abstract painting, could be awesome. Then I stumbled on a Warhol Campbell’s Tomato Soup painting in a teen space and fell hard.

Ultimately, I was most inspired to make an over sized painting of an everyday object. Rather than a soup can, I asked the boys to choose their three favorite books. Both chose Green Eggs and Ham as a favorite, which seemed perfect for their room. A stop to Michael’s with 40% coupon in hand and I left with a 2 by 4 foot canvas. The proportions of the book and canvas aren’t the same and I wanted it horizontal, so I chose a section of the book cover to enlarge. Using the high school art trick, drawing a grid on the image and canvas for points of reference, I (roughly) recreated a few letters, plate, and guy. Tangent, why doesn’t this guy have a name?!

V helped with some of the painting, filling in large white and orange areas. Once it dried, we hung it on their wall. A little higher than I thought looked right, but we lean against this wall when we read books.

The bits of orange in the pillow and lighter orange in the thrift store print tie in nicely.

Again, I think framing out the canvas will finish off the painting. Even better, this art was affordable, light weight, and the boys chose the content. Triple threat. Ha.

What’s your favorite way to fill a large wall? Do you have a favorite large piece of art?