DIY Decor & Crafts

Bar-rowed Time

Published on February 7, 2013February 7, 2013 by Our Humble Abode13 Comments

Yes, that misspelled title is a hint. The nook in the family room has gotten a little attention. By attention I mean a tray, bottles, glasses, and paper straws. A bar tray.

After discussing shelf and TV options, I received a reader email suggesting setting up a small bar. I hadn’t thought of that. Maybe because I don’t drink and Ben usually sticks to red wine. But I like the function of it, at least until we decide the TV situation. Seeing as we’ve got no plans to upgrade our current set up, this bar is something useful.

And I already had all the supplies in the house. A tray from Pier 1 a few years ago, thrift store glasses, coasters, a squirrel nutcracker, and bottles of alcohol. I liked the different shapes and sizes of the bottles the alcohol came in, but didn’t like the labels. A hot bubble bath made peeling the labels off a breeze. For a little shine, I spray painted the bottoms of each bottle, letting the over spray create an imperfect ombre . A few spritzes more on the tops, too for a cohesive set.

One problem though, how to label these? Right now I’ve got pieces of tape on the bottoms, only until I decide on real labels. Any suggestions? Maybe chalkboard sticker labels? If we decide to make the bar a permanent fixture, I might get a few decanters or even bottles from Ikea.

And maybe a fun ice bucket, a container for limes and lemons, and bar themed art. Any other bar essentials I’m missing? Do you have a bar cart or tray in your house? For some reason, it feels like a fancy thing to have.

P.S. Thanks for your votes over at the Homies!

You A-Maze Me

Published on February 5, 2013February 5, 2013 by Our Humble Abode1 Comment

As usual, I like to make free printable designs for holidays. Valentine’s day is no different. Like last year’s sticker design, I wanted to come up with a candy free option. This printable is even easier. No folding or special packaging required. Just cut on the lines, fill out names, and the kiddos can complete the maze. For a little extra, you could even use washi tape to attach a colored pencil to the back.

Print sheets have 9 2.5 inch wide by 3.5 inch tall cards to hand out to classmates. A-Maze Me for boys:

And hearts for Girls:

Don’t forget about last year’s folding cards and free prints.

Are you making Valentine’s for your kids? Maybe you have already? Care to share your Valentine craft or project? Anything Valentine’s day related is fair game.

Jarring

Published on January 24, 2013January 24, 2013 by Our Humble Abode23 Comments

After yesterday’s lighting post, I looked at the sad, nearly empty nook shelf. See it in the background? Just a few lonely items stashed there.

I pulled some of my favorite items, jars filled with vacation artifacts, off the guest room bookshelf and set ’em up.

A step back and all I saw was clutter. Clutter on the shelf competing with the frames on the mantel. Sure the patched walls and unpainted walls don’t help. Oh, now that I’ve painted the two smaller frames, I’m loving the mixture of frames.

Perhaps pairing down the jars would help?

Yep, that helped, but I still wasn’t smitten with the lack of books on a book shelf.

Knowing I didn’t want to detract from the mantel art, I pulled out white books, my new horse head bookends, and a wood sculpture.

Now we’re cookin’. But the dark frame and sculpture attracted too much attention. For a little color and height, I added a tall apothecary jar of shells (picked up on beach vacations).

Spray paint can cure any ugly/bad/wrong color. Crisp flat white on the frame, (which makes the cream mat look dingy) blends in with the rest of the arrangement.

So far, this is the least cluttered looking group I’ve come up with. Not completely sure I love it.

What do you think? Any suggestions for the shelf? Do you prefer it with the jars or books?

Star Gazing

Published on January 15, 2013January 15, 2013 by Our Humble Abode2 Comments

I’m a big fan of personalized his and hers art above beds. At our last house, we hung home state watercolor paintings above the bed.

Unfortunately, they were a little too wide to hang above our current bed. Those pretty paintings now hang in our family room, so I made two constellations cut outs.

Ours are cut from black and mounted to metallic silver paper, then framed in an 11 by 14 inch frame with white mat.

Ben’s Scorpio is intricate, while my Aries is simple, consisting of only four stars.

But this (and another comment) got be thinking about his and hers art for beds. What do you have above your bed? One large item? Two or three smaller frames? Monograms?

Art With Heart

Published on January 11, 2013January 11, 2013 by Our Humble Abode12 Comments

Now that we’ve landed on a frame layout for the mantel, I took a few hours to fill the frames with art.

The two smaller frames are unchanged, but the rest is new.

In the center, I wanted something with some color, but still simple with meaning. Enter the Venn diagram.

Colored tissue paper left over from Christmas, a salad plate, a large sheet of white paper, and marker (all supplies I had on hand) made up this quick art.

With the plate on the tissue paper, I cut around it to make two circles. Pieces of double-sided tape hold it down. Using Photoshop, I made a B + A, flipped and printed on plain paper. Once cut out, I used small strips of double-sided tape to attach.

For a little more interest, I wrote Je t’aime across the bottom. Voila, geek chic art. Sure, it’s not perfect, but that’s okay.

On the easel, I printed this Lulie Wallace painting and taped it to a small canvas. Don’t worry, it’s only temporary. This afternoon I plan to make a small floral painting (inspired by these), but wanted to test it out. The small shadow box displays the boys’ hospital bracelets.

In the black frame, I cut a silhouette of a statue. She kind of looks like the Statue of Liberty, right? But she’s not. Actually, she is an angel statue I took a photo of on our honeymoon in Savannah.

Once printed out and cut from metallic silver paper, she shimmers just like Robert Pattinson in Twilight. For a rustic/glam balance, I taped her to a piece of wood veneer.

To the right I popped in this blue flower print from Ara133 Photography in the existing mat.

The photo is Ben and his brothers when they were kids. It’s highly adorable and cracks me up every time. All the dark and wood tones on the left were feeling a little heavy. Sure, painting the small square frame white and the small rectangle frame black will help balance (once our weather cooperates!). But a small dose of wood never hurt anyone. Wait, that sounded bad. Lotus pods and fuzzy faux greenery from the Dollar Store in a white Ikea vase fix that.

Just a little warmth and darkness. Seriously, how great are lotus pods? I think they should be the new billy button.

For a few hours of work, I’m thrilled with the result. Art with meaning, happy colors, and zero dollars spent. That’s right, I used frames and supplies we already had sitting around the house.

Much cheerier than the empty frames of yore.

And I can easily swap art out with changing seasons, holidays, or moods. I’m hoping to con, um, convince Ben to install the new door trim, baseboard, and crown in the family room so I can get some paint on the walls. I’m guessing I won’t succeed, but I can hope.

What do you think of the new art? What’s your favorite art you’ve made? Have any big plans for the weekend?