Category: DIY Decor & Crafts

Painting on Jersey Shore

Published on by Our Humble Abode7 Comments

Um, not the show Jersey Shore that I refuse to watch for fear I’d have three brain cells left.  Or even the geographic location of the Jersey shore.  I’m talking about a little painting project the boys and I did yesterday that vaguely resembles modern sports jerseys.  Back when we still lived at our first house, I made magazine ad artwork for the boys’ bedroom.

Great colors, fun animals, and free, in a word, love.  But neither of my boys are babies anymore.  Vincent is Rubik’s cube loving, movie quoting, bike riding five-year old.  And Everett’s a jump on/off/to everything, dirt digging, Matchbox car racing two and a half-year old.  The baby-ish artwork didn’t match their personalities anymore.  Five cluttered looking frames weren’t working for me either, so I set out to make free, personalized art involving the kids.

I found two still in the package 16 by 20 inch canvases in the basement, begging to be used.  Then I opened Photoshop and typed 21 and 25, Vincent and Everett’s birth dates and changed the fonts until I found one I liked best.  Museo Slab, if you’re wondering.  To make the art look less like a jersey, I decided to overlap the number slightly for a more artistic look.

I considered tracing the numbers, taping off everything and letting the boys paint, but that seemed like too much work.  Instead, I flipped the numbers to make a mirror image, printed on card stock, and cut them out.

The boys each painted their number using acrylic paints.

Once the paint dried, I flipped the numbers over and stuck plenty of rolled tape on.  In another attempt to make these look less like sports attire, I placed the numbers in the bottom left corner, rather than the center.

V stuck with greens and yellow for his.

Then went color crazy by adding various blues to the mix on E’s number.

I like that these are personal and were as easy as printing, cutting, and painting numbers.  And we can just as easily pull the numbers off and paint something on the canvases if we get bored.

I might use stronger tape though because the thick card stock is kind of warped from the paint.

If not for my free goal, I would have preferred square canvases, perhaps 24 by 24 inches.

Like I said, we can easily change this down the line.  For now, I’m really happy with the white space versus painted design.  And fonts/numbers are always good in my book.

Now I’m curious, what do you have as art over beds?  Whether kids, yours, or a guest bed.  Do you prefer single larger pieces?  Or a grouping of smaller ones?  Perhaps, you’re a font/number geek?  Let’s unite!

P.S.  In response to our recent survey (which you can still fill out here), several commenters suggested bigger, brighter pictures.  For larger pictures, click on the photo.  Are these brighter/bright enough/too bright?

Brass Be Gone

Published on by Our Humble Abode16 Comments

Let me preface this by saying I don’t hate brass.  At least not aged brass.  I can’t stand the bright/shiny/fake/80’s brass.  Don’t hate me for doing what I’m about to show you.  Last week I had to run to UPS to send my felt leaf bowls to Germany for a photo shoot.  While waiting for the main UPS to open at noon, the boys and I stopped at a park to play, bought groceries, and popped in a Goodwill.  Not needing anything in particular, I puttered around the store and saw a brass bar cart.

I shoved a little lady to get to it…in my head.  In real life I patiently waited for her to pass and then snatched it for, wait for it… 13 bucks.

Because it was a decent size, I rationalized we could use it just about anywhere, and not only as a bar cart.  Yeah, Ben’s jug-o-wine wouldn’t look too fancy on this bad boy.  The details were so nice.  Double tiered, wooden legs, and on castors.

I’m guessing there was another glass shelf at the bottom, but we can replace that.  Either with another piece of glass or painted MDF.

Everything was great, except the finish.  While I liked the brass color, it was certainly worn, and not in a good way.

Hoping to keep the brass, I tried using Rub N Buff on it.  No such luck, it just wiped right off the slick surface.  Well, it was worth a shot.  Sure, I could have used spray paint, but I’m not sure how it would hold up over time.  When in doubt, I turn to my trusty friend Blue Magic.

Pair Blue Magic and fine steel wool and you’ll get a shiny, chrome finish on brass plated items.  Because this stuff is stinky, I rolled my cart outside.  I strongly recommend wearing rubber gloves, too.  The thicker, the better.  Then, dip the steel wool in the cream, and polish away.  Ten or twenty seconds later, depending on the thickness of the brass and how hard you’re scrubbing, you’ll see chrome.

Keep on going.  Now, I’m not sure exactly how/why this works, but here’s my best guess.  The steel wool acts as a fine sandpaper, removing the brass plate.  If used alone, it would scratch the metal, so the Blue Magic polishes it.  Thanks to all the crazy joints and details, it took me about five hours to get this done.

I decided to keep the brass on the wheels, both because I like the look and I didn’t know if the metals were the same.  I quickly sanded down the legs to re-stain them a rich walnut color.  Boy was that quicker!  A coat of silver spray paint on the black rubber pieces and here she is.

Obviously I’m using it as a side table in our living room.  The size is great, but I’ve got some styling I want to do.  Oh, and the bottom shelf.

I’m loving the shiny finish.

Those dark wooden legs, me-ow.

I’m excited for the bottom shelf and pretty details.

Castors are awesome, too.  If we don’t need it as a side table down the line, we can always roll this to another room, inside or out.

Basically, it’s exactly what I didn’t know I wanted.

How about a budget breakdown?

Cart:  $12.99 at Goodwill

Blue Magic and steel wool:  Already had on hand (costs about 12 bucks at car stores)

Sand paper and stain:  Left over from the bookshelf and bench

Silver spray paint:  From my stash

Time: roughly 6 1/2 hours

Total: $12.99 plus 6 1/2 hours of my time.  Not bad at all.

Do you like the changes?  Or did you prefer the brassy finish?  What’s your favorite recent thrifty find?  Ever tried Blue Magic on brass?  I’m contemplating using it on another project, but I’ve got some testing (and probably convincing of Ben) to do first.

It’s, It’s a Birthday Blitz

Published on by Our Humble Abode2 Comments

We celebrated V’s birthday with a bash on Friday.

He asked for a dog party, I wanted to make something he’s love, but I limited myself to not spend a dime on decorations.  It’s nothing crazy, but here’s what we had.  Scalloped paper banner I made for his 3rd birthday party, a flat twin bed sheet turned table-cloth, and a few special dog creations.

A paper banner and framed husky silhouette decorate the boring (hole filled) wall.

To make the banner, I simply typed out Happy Birthday Vincent in Photoshop.  I’m obsessed with the Arvil font lately, which I also used on his invitation.  And the condensed style fit three letters per sheet at 815 point font.  After arranging three letters per page, I merged the visible layers, then flipped horizontally.  Using scissors, I cut out each letter, then poked holes at the tops to string embroidery floss through.

Stars separate the words and dog silhouettes at the ends match the party theme.  But next year I can pull the dogs off (I didn’t knot the ends) and swap ’em for something matching next year’s theme.  For another decorative element (to take attention off the holes), I traced a husky silhouette on a large piece of white roll paper I have in the basement.  Popped into a large frame I had hiding under the guest bed, it’s a fun, simple decoration.

After taking down party decorations, I took down a map poster and hung this big dog above the boys’ kitchen.

For food, I planned to have hot dogs (to tie in with the dog theme), chips, grapes, sweet potato fries, bread, and V’s favorite cheese.  Well, Ben saw pork ribs were cheaper than hot dogs (go figure!) and bought that instead.  Oh well, our guests liked it.

So our desserts consisted of puppy chow and dog cupcakes.

I saw these cute and easy cupcakes and knew it would work for us.  No special tools or tricks, just cookies and candy.

Because I was in a hurry buying ingredients, I forgot to buy black icing.  So I improvised and used a dot of frosting with black sprinkles for the pupils.

A little something I learned: don’t put the cookies on the day before the party and cover your dish with foil.  Trapped moisture will weaken your cookies, breaking in half.  Super simple party and we all had fun.  Check out last year’s rainbow themed party, too.

What do you think of the party decorations?  What type of parties have your kiddos requested?  Do you limit your budget?  Or go all out for parties?  How was your weekend?

Art with Heart

Published on by Our Humble Abode18 Comments

For too long, er, the past five months, our bedroom has looked like this:

Ugly paint, minimal furniture, and no art on the walls.  Come to think of it, the whole house looks like that.  Well, I decided I had enough.  Time to take matters into my own hands.  When Jenny mounted a cheapo Kinko’s print to foam core, I thought it looked cool.  Then Katie did it, too.  And then a light bulb went off above my head.  Hellooooo, we pulled foam insulation out of the wet bar in the pool house.

So I measured, hoping the foam was at least two feet wide.  Hooty hoo!  The foam was exactly 24 inches wide by about 4 feet.  I had already gone through our wedding photos and chose two of my favorite ‘we’re not posed smiling at the camera’ shots.  Sure the first one is blurry, but I like it that way.  A little more artistic and unexpected.  I love that it’s sort of a ‘moment in time’ capturing the emotions we felt that June day.

After sizing and editing the photos in Photoshop, I saved the files, headed to FedEx Office (I still call it Kinko’s) and had ’em printed.  For $4.50 each, I got two 24 by 36 inch prints.  I headed home and started cutting the foam.  Well, tried to cut it.  The utility knife didn’t work on my 2 inch thick foam.

If something doesn’t work, I call Ben to ask for his ideas.  He suggested using the table saw.  After a little begging, he agreed to cut the pieces for me when he got home.  He did and it worked like a charm.  Just to be safe, I had Ben cut the pieces at 23 1/2 by 35 1/2 inches.  With the sides straight, I mixed up a little, okay a lot, of kelly green paint.  Because I hate being careful when I don’t have to, I painted the sides first, then mounted my photos.

Speaking of mounting photos, I started by using ModPodge, which was a mistake.  It bubbled up and I had to work with it a lot.  After one short edge, I searched the house, knowing I had spray adhesive somewhere.  Ah ha!  Found it.  Outside, I lined my print up, peeled back a small bit, sprayed, then pressed it into place.  With that first edge stuck down, I sprayed the rest, working in smallish lines, pressing the paper down, and smoothing it from the center out.  Because I did this along (and thought getting it to lay straight would be more difficult) I didn’t trim my paper before mounting.  I had a little paper overhanging the edges, so I flipped the pieces over and carefully cut along the edge using a utility knife.

To hang these big guys, I decided to just poke a hole in the back for a nail.  First, I measured a few inches down, then centered.

Ben suggested adding small pieces of pipe, just to prevent the nail tearing the foam.  What a thinker.  He cut two small pieces of copper pipe (which we were about to take to the recycling center).

With the copper tube centered in my cross-hairs, I pushed down.  I couldn’t get the pipe flush unless I pulled out some of the foam.  A needle nose pliers pulled it out and the pipe stayed wedged in the foam.

I hung the pictures on either side of the big window.

Finally, something on the walls!  Two big somethings.

Better yet, these prints have meaning to us.

Walking into our room doesn’t make me cringe anymore.  Rather than focus on the terrible wall color, I see pretty prints that remind me what a wonderful man I have.

And it only cost nine bucks because I had the rest of the materials.

A pop of green is another fun touch.

Only three more walls to get something on, including this giant one.  Oy, that blue.  Hopefully we can scrape the popcorn ceilings and repaint this fall/winter.

I don’t know which is worse, the awful blue or the burnt red in the bathroom.  No wait, the red is much worse.  At least there’s something pretty in the room now.

What do you think of the most recent additions?  What art have you added to your home?  Oversized prints?  A custom painting?  Blurry photos that you love?

X Marks the Spot

Published on by Our Humble Abode8 Comments

For a while, I’ve really wanted to make something interesting using striped fabric.  Specifically, using stripe fabric cut at an angle.  While I can’t make my vision come to life right now (hint: it involves a bedroom; don’t be dirty), I can make a version.  Actually, I got my butt in gear after seeing this pillow, shared in our latest Etsy fav round-up.

I started with a green and white fabric I bought at Ikea and a piece of plain card stock from my stash.  To minimize damage if I screwed up, I decided to make a 14 inch square pillow cover.  Then I cut my card stock into an 8 inch square, which gives me a 1/2 inch seam allowance.

To make the cool x design, I measured a green stripe and marked the center with a little tick mark at the top and bottom.

Then I placed my square template on the fabric, lining the corners up with the tick marks and traced the edges.

Repeat, repeat, repeat.  Maximize your fabric by placing the squares right next to the other, slightly staggered in height.

Cut out the squares and place together to form an x.

Now pin the top two together, and the bottom two together like this, right sides together, keeping the stripes lined up.

Sew along the edges, then pin those pieces together, keeping the stripes together.  I decided to use a gray faux silk backing with an exposed zipper bottom, but you can choose your backing and closure type.  Envelope closures are super easy.

Originally, I planned to sew a second for the slipper chairs in the family room, but the green didn’t mesh well with the chair color.  Now it lives on our bed.

The splash of color in our otherwise unchanged and boring room makes me smile.

And I like the faux silk shiny backing.  You know I can’t resist shiny anything.  I did mess up though.  For some unknown reason I put the zipper along the whole bottom.  I should have cut it down and centered it, leaving fabric in the corners for crisp edges.

Oh well, I guess that’s bound to happen when I’m sewing while watching White Collar.  Can’t. take. eyes. off. Matt. Bomer.  Seriously, he’s not even hot, he’s gorgeous. So I guess because I made this pillow while watching him, I’ve got a little piece of him in bed.  Bahahaha.

What do you think of this design?  It would work with any stripe size or color, too.  Do zippers trip you up, too?  Maybe you’re just a fan of White Collar?  Or Matt Bomer?  I am!  I am!  Haven’t seen Magic Mike, but anything with Matt is a sure hit with me.