Long Post, update

Just a few updates:

Old microwave, circa 1987 (that still works BTW):



New to me microwave, circa 2005 courtesy of my parents who decided to never use a microwave again because they deplete the nutrients in food:



If you notice, there are new additions to my sink's backsplash. You may (or may not) recall my post about injecting some blue. I wanted to go the route of talavera tiles because I really like the hand-crafted look of them. Well, that wasn't happening any time soon.

I had an item to return to Ross stores and while cruising through the dishware I saw those and remembering that I wanted the blue and while they aren't talavera tiles, it was just what the budget ordered...I got three for 1¢ less than the return so it was a wash. Major bonus is the three cost about $1 more than one talavera tile!

I hung them using this tutorial. Seriously, the plate hangers I have do not work on square plates. I've tried it on other square plates and they don't work. They've stayed on the wall and no mysterious crashing sounds have happened in the middle of the night, so right on. To help them to stay straight, I used vinyl bumper tabs (from the mirror section at Home Depot) which also helps them hang more level to the wall.

Also, I finally painted the trivets I have hanging above them to black (not in that pic though). Much better.

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Long story short, my parents (my dad and step-mom) have put their house on the market. It has some of the family heirloom antiques from both my mom (she died when I was 15) and my dad...well, they are having us "kids" take the things that are ours so I have the last piece of the family treasures I inherited (I think), which is a little chest of drawers in my bedroom.

Before (little wicker drawers from Hobby Lobby, 1996):



After:



I think that actually goes with the large secretary my brother has though. The finish doesn't have as many red tones as the other heirloom furniture. Plus the hardware on it doesn't match. I must talk to my bro about that so the pieces stay together.

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Simple paint update. We finally got some warmer days with little wind (not like today though) where I could spray paint. I got seriously paint happy and not all things I painted are photographed...they went from whatever to black so not too exciting. Buuuut, here's a dopey update to my monitor stand.

Before:



After:



I have since attached black fabric (leftover from my pelmet box/valance/cornice in the kitchen) to hide cords dangling from the monitor and speakers. Wish I could paint the speakers but that's just not a job I wish to tackle.

Last but not least, a new tissue box cover for my bath:







I had replaced the shower curtain in my bath a while back. It's lighter so it opens up the bath a tiny bit more. I really hate tissue boxes as I demonstrated back in Oct and based on this one in my living room, made one for the bath.

Hobby Lobby had their unfinished wood on sale so yay. I am not completely sold on the medallions yet though I do like the placement of the two on the top because it covers up the box underneath even more. Kroger recently changed the boxes so the opening at the top is smaller showing the box...which defeats the purpose of a tissue box cover.

Anyhow, I have them on there with standard white glue in case I get to hating the medallions, I can take them off, sand and repaint.

So that's my long update on a few things.

Hope everyone is enjoying early springtime. Not so much here today. Cloudy, drizzle, fog and only 42°.

Oscar Night Dresses For Doors & Perfect Lighting

(No I didn't watch, I just looked up some galleries of what the women were wearing.)

I have an obsession with fabric. I become more obsessed when I see things like curtains so cheap and Tuesday Morning is my downfall:


An odd application to be sure and I am lucky that previous tenants here had painted all the doors and trim white because other apartments here (that I have seen) have the original stain (medium oak brown similar to the kitchen cabinets) but I am still hating the louvered door to the laundry room.

I shortened the valance that came with the 99¢ curtains by about 6 inches and I like it now. I don't see curtains used in this manner very often but it softens up the space tremendously.

Also, though I do have the overhead light on in the kitchen for this picture, I grabbed one of my canister uplights and placed it on the microwave temporarily so I can leave it on at night and reduce the need to turn the overhead light off and on.

I plan on getting the innerds for the other lamp I bought last August (the one on the left via the link) and putting that in there, painted black with either antique gold or bronze Rub N Buff. I already have a lamp shade I can use with it. I am totally loving the idea of putting a small lamp in a kitchen using only a 15 watt CFL bulb. Saves on energy and my eyes because that kitchen lighting is so institutional.

Anyhow, between projects that I show, I often go through a process before I decide what to do. The most recent project in the works is the awkward patio door in the living room:



Those are three curtain panels (identical fabric to the one in the kitchen), hung up on little rods that hang close to the wall because of that monster of a headrail for the vertical blinds.

Well, when the vanes (the vertical blind panels) are fully pulled back, you can see all kinds of nasty with the curtain tabs and the cheesy rods. So here I am in the process of deciding what type of valance to create. This is going to be a project that may not get done until next month but with the help of some fabric (black napkins from Target to cover pillows and the tan valances from Tues Morn I got several months back as a backdrop for the shelves to the right of my computer) I can start a process to see what my minds eye is thinking.

Thoughts:

Use the tan valances and put a black ribbon along the bottom. Tehe, I have electrical tape on it right now for the "feel".

Look for some basic black fabric.

Definately go from the 12" down to 9" in length. I can't raise anything because of the apartment's vertical blind hardware so doing much of anything else is out of the question. Move the blind rail back over to the left again so as to eliminate the overhang on the right side.

Note to anyone who decides to do something like take vertical blinds down from your rental, don't take the vanes out with the stem. You will find little plastic pieces called worm gears strewn about. Whoops.

Luckily I am very mechanically inclined but holy crap replacing each stem, vane along with the worm gears is going to be a tedious task. It's already an awkward project because the vertical blinds are meant for a 9' patio door and that door is 7' and some change. In all the years I sold windows and doors, being around the industry it's just a stupid, stupid door. They should have just put 6' doors in and called it a day. Anyhow, those vertical blinds are too wide for the stupid door making for a decor challenge.

The curtains truly soften the space and are much better than the 90s forest green panels I've been sporting. I've had them hung up for a while because I wasn't sure I was liking it because of the odd way it's set up to begin with. I had contemplated taking them back for a couple of reasons including financial but, I am going to attempt to stop smoking on the 15th or so. I don't have a choice unless I take those curtains back so...I am weighing my options here and I think having a cozy home is far better than (pardon me here) shitty lungs. I've done it before, let's hope I can do it again and I can look at my silly valance-in-progress to remind me why I am stopping.

I have other financial obligations I need to take care of too so the smoking's gotta go. I still need projects to do to keep me out of trouble but I do have friends that have helped me in the past that need to get repaid. The honeymoon is over with redecorating so the smoking needs to go and I can still repay debt yet keep myself from going insane. Besides, house stuff is much more fun than what I had been doing with my money in the past, drinking.

Okay then. Hope everyone has had a fine weekend.

Just swatch me!

I was just cruising through some fabric sites so I could get an idea of what is available and hopefully what I can find locally. Came up with some samples of fabric designs I like for the office/computer chair.



I am pretty sure I will end up with something completely different but at least I now have a thought process going even though I am unable to afford to recover my chair right now.

I do like solid colors with heavy texture, tone on tone, but also like some that have two colors. I am not as inclined to go with multi colors though multi colors can open up a lot of possibilities. However, multiple colors tend to run in a much more defining style like "modern" or "rustic" or "traditional". Also, since this chair is used a great deal, it has to be able to withstand a lot of wear. Most of the multiple color options seemed to be for light duty upholstery oh and way, way out of my price range too.

Inspiration is not a bad thing, even for impatient people like me.

What's on the 99¢ Menu?

Please see previous entry to learn more about this curtain set.

Before:



In progress:



Hand sewing (but you can't see the stitches unless you look hard):





Now to buy a real curtain rod (like the one in my bedroom - cheap double rod) and find something to make a valance to break up the pattern a bit and have it feel a bit more finished. Also, it needs to be trained (as I have seen in other blogs)and perhaps a couple of fishing weights to help them from getting a wild hair.

Not bad for 99¢ by golly!

EDITS:

PS The cobalt blue votive holder came from my hallway table.

It's Tuesday and that means it's DIY day at A Soft Place to Land! Check it out.

Thursday already?  Time for Transformation Thursday @ The Shabby Chic Cottage!

It's fffffinally Friday and time for Frugalicious Friday @ Finding Fabulous!

OTHER EDITS:

I ended up getting a gold cafe rod from Target because the other rod requires some height in order to put the rods on the brackets and it was the cheapest of the cafe rods. So, no valance unless I make a pelmet box with only one side and somehow attach it to the ceiling.

The window is in a tight position because the duct work runs over the kitchen ceiling making it only 7' high. There is only 2 1/2" to the ceiling from the window and 4" to the corner which is not much room to work with. Oh well. It's completed for the moment. I might get creative and hang a valance from the ceiling in such a way you don't know.

Pelmet Box/Valance DONE!

(Edit to add before links: July 6, 2009 & January 19, 2010)





2 - cloth napkins - $3
1 - pillow sham - FREE w/duvet cover
1 - 20" x 30" foam core board - $2
4 1/2 yards ribbon - $3.75
tons of duct tape - on hand
12 thumb tacks - on hand
4 or 6 push pins - on hand
wee bit of hot glue - on hand

(Note: $40 retail curtain panel found @ Tuesday Morning for $10 and $3 Target double curtain rod for a project total of $21.75 not including taxes. It still needs some tweaks but not bad at all.)

I did not use any quilt batting and the ribbon (horizontal ribbon) on the outside is only held on with thumb tacks. It was pretty easy but seeing as I am Anal Annie, it takes me a long time so as not to mess it up. I did kind of mess up on one of the vertical ribbons as that's where I used the hot glue. Unless you knew it was there and where it is, it's not all that noticable.

With the horizontal ribbons, I was hesitant to glue them on as I wasn't sure I was liking it when I placed them there so I tacked them on with flat thumb tacks that I colored black with a large Sharpie. There are four in the center where the ribbons intersect, four on the outside at the end of the return and four on the inside to secure them.

I used a ton of duct tape to tape and stretch the fabric around. Next time I do a three panel like that, I hope to have a sewing machine and I would like to have had a better way to attach the fabric than duct tape.

Used one of the leftovers from the board as a brace on the back to make it more sturdy. I don't know how large these were done here but mine is 42" wide x 9" high and making it like she did it was a bit flimsy for me.

Attached (until I find something else) several push pins on the back but they aren't pushed through because the pin part is longer than the thickness of the foam board (1/8') so I could rest it on the curtain rod. I had to use a couple of rubber bands on the rod to steady them on the returns so they would stay flush with the wall. If I had the ability, I would have just put a horizontal brace (another 42" wide and 4" deep strip of the board) along the top and down about 1/4" to set it more securely on the rod. But the way I have it for the moment it will work. I will go through my misc crap (that junk box and the junk cabinet) and see if anything looks like it will work better.

All told it took me about 3 1/2 hours from the time I started to take apart the pillow sham to when I finally finished taking pics of it. There was a lot of tweaking during various stages because I am just that way.

I would definitely do this project again. Now if only I had the materials and the know-how to make one long enough for the 7' patio door here in the living room. A nice long (darker tan though) canvas backed pelmet box with outlined panels of orange and green. ;-) That would be a fun but very difficult (given the length) project.

A nice accomplishment and boy it feels good! I may link up to a few blog link-o-ramas now that I am completely done but I may take some more pictures if we have some sun.

EDIT: Because I am one of those impatient people that can't wait till morning to take more pics. I brought in the arsenal that is lighting around here to attempt to get better indoor shots and it's doable enough so here are three pics up close:







If you notice, those cloth napkins are really not bedroom "print" but that's okay. You really don't notice unless you know and are up close. From most points around the room, it's not a big deal.

The colors are off just slightly in the gold tones. The lighting really makes a huge difference in how it shows up between the satin-like parts and the more metallic threads. It's slight enough that it really takes a minute to see the difference. But somehow it works for me.

Links:

Link-O-Rama #1 - Funky Junk Interiors presents her "Saturday Nite Special"
Link-O-Rama #2 - Between Naps on the Porch takes the mundane out of Mondays with "Metamorphosis Monday"
Link-O-Rama #3 - A Soft Place to Land features her weekly "Do It Yourself Day" every Tuesday.
Link-O-Rama #4 - Totally travel to Shabby Chic's terrific Transformation Thursday too!
Link-O-Rama #5 - Finally Friday for Frugalicious Friday at Finding Fabulous!

Valance/Pelmet Box Concept

Napkins that were going to be covering the pillows...that came with the duvet cover...that were going to be returned because I didn't like them on the bed...one of the pillow shams that has no place to be:





Right now I just put them up there to see if I still want to return the napkins (only $5) and actually use the material from the shams to tie it together. Hmmm.

The three don't go together per se but the gold/tan colors are similar, with some creativity Paint Shop Pro gave me this thought (because it's simply easier than drawing in Photoshop):



Wish I could get another curtain panel (they don't have one) or the valance they had (not going to spend the money anyway) so it is more coordinated instead of the napkins but I think I am on to something here. It doesn't have to be perfect, just better and best of all, inexpensive. Right there we are talking $15.50 which includes the cheap curtain rod...not bad.

EDIT:

Perhaps outline the top as well:



Hmmm.

EDIT x2: Check out A Soft Place to Land for DIY Day!. (One of many link-o-ramas that I come across. So much to see. So little time!)

Big Girls Don't Cry

But this big girl has year-round allergies. Doesn't help that I have been battling a persistant sinus infection for 11 months now so I buy a lot of tissues and I leave a box in my living room for quick access.

I get the larger boxes of tissues because you get more tissues for your money. Also, for even better savings I get the Kroger brand tissues or I find them at Dollar Tree. The thing is, I am not a fan of the designs on tissue boxes at all. Some people think I am a bit overly anal because of this but when I display them in my living room I prefer to have tissue boxes covered. I've been painting the boxes with black acrylic craft paint but that gets old. I had gotten a cover from Hobby Lobby for $4 so at least it was covered but plain balsa wood doesn't do it for me either.

The other day I picked up wood pieces from HL and later realized I didn't have decent glue so I picked up some Elmer's wood glue at Target since I had to make a trip there anyway.

Several months back I ran across this Mod Tissue Box Cover project on Crafty Nest. While my home is not "mod" I do like simple lines and understated pieces. I present you with my interpretation of her project:





I like it despite its flaws and I am always proud of my small accomplishments now because so much of my life had centered around alcohol. I always had intentions of doing things like this but rarely did. In addition, I had a lot of unfinished projects and while my ADD is mostly to blame, the alcohol made it much more difficult to just get things done.

Anyhow, a few pointers on this project:

* Sand your project even if it "feels" okay. Basic acrylic craft paint will highlight the grain if not very well sanded. I didn't do it and in hindsight I wish I had.

* In this project, choose your balsa wood cut-outs carefully. Paint will show flaws and the glue did warp the wood a bit.

* Carefully measure if you are particular about this kind of thing, I am. I know the flaws and it bugs me.

* After gluing the parts together (I applied the wood glue with a paintbrush on both surfaces), let it set up a bit before you weight it down. I didn't on the end side and the last two pieces shifted so they are off from their original marks.

Over all, I rate this super simple and a pretty cheap project. Had I already had the glue, the total cost with the box and the packet of wood pieces (paint was 99¢ but already had some, used about half a 2 oz bottle) was $6.33 before taxes. I'd say for a custom piece, that's a bargain...

I can see this done in many different ways for baby's rooms, kid's rooms, offices, etc. Heck, this would be a good house warming gift if you know your friend's or relative's decor.

When I went to Hobby Lobby to pick up the wood cutouts, they had 50% off all their candles and candle holders (that was this week so go get em while they're cheap). I picked up a simple votive holder from the candle making isle for $1.34! Sometimes you just need to slowly browse HL to see things that are a bit hidden. I mean, I had no intention of making any candles yet I saw it and saw in my mind a different application:



I already had the votives and the sand. I think it was actually meant to pour your own candle wax and put several wicks in it:


(not the best pics, they really do look better in person)

I love to have nice smelling candles lit so having an inexpensive (frugal/cheap) way to display them is a great thing.

Wow, Wednesday already? Hope everyone is having a fine week!

EDIT Wed. 8:32 pm: Though it's not Thursday yet, hop on over to The Shabby Chic Cottage for Gina's Transformation Thursday. Keep checking back through tomorrow as there are usually a ton of fun projects to see.

I hope my tissue box cover follows in the guidelines of a transformation. I didn't take any before pics but I could take a pic of the box of tissues with black craft paint on it. ;-) I don't think that's needed.

Also, while you are there, please lend her some support as her mother-in-law is in ICU.

EDIT Sat. 10-17 12:50 pm: I love her blog, she has so much my style so check it out: Funky Junk Interiors - "Saturday Nite Special" Lots of new and old DIY projects. Fun stuff!

This picture electrifies me

This has always been one of my favorite pictures. I got it at Pier 1 back in the mid 90s for about $20 and silly me spent $100 to have it framed. It had that typical "poster" white border around it which I didn't like. Took it to the local frame store* where I had it nicely framed and I have loved it since.

The problem is that since I moved, it's just sort of faded into wall with the frame, though it never bothered me before:







So I made a change (wish I could get a better pic of it though):





As always, a photo taken with a p&s is pretty difficult but I think it pops out a lot more.

The funny thing is, I used electrical tape to cover the existing frame. I did that for a few reasons:

1. Spray painting is not much of an option this time of year between the colder weather and the wind we tend to get right now. I would need to haul it to my bro's house but I have something else I want to do with my black paint.
2. Spray painting should be done with the contents taken out of the frame so as not to destroy the matting and the print (it can be done but I don't want to chance it).
3. I really want to frame it like the two wolf pictures with the barn wood.
4. I'd rather wait until I move to see if reframing it see if that kind of frame is what I want when a house is finally found.
4a. I need money to reframe it.

Tehe, I had been thinking about it for a while and while I was taking stuff down to dust I decided to go ahead and just do it. It's kind of lame but as outlined above, it's just not going to happen.

Also, it's a totally non-committal way to see if something is going to work and basically free since I already had the tape. It works for the time being and while I like the original color, I needed it to pop more for the 2000s. :-)

A couple of notes:

The orange box next to my monitor stand is actually a Kroger granola box I painted to contain my papers and pens. Things I use a lot and also holds mail that needs attention.

Speaking of the monitor stand. My younger bro has some primer spray so I am going to take the stand over to his house, prime it and spray paint it black.

My computer "desk" is actually a dinette table I bought back in 1997 for its current use. I have decided that I am going to strip the polyurethane finish off and stain it to this color (may vary on your monitor - mine is calibrated):



And not put any poly back on. I want this table to age (look more rustic)...more on that later. My computer desk looks darker in the photos than it really is but it's your basic pine with no stain but a protective polyurethane finish. I may have the stain be a bit more grey than that though...


* The frame shop I went into happened to employ a woman I knew in high school.  She was friends with my brother (a year younger than me) and she was totally shocked when I addressed her by her maiden name. This happened when I lived in Grand Junction so when you move 300 miles from your home town, got married and is asked if your name is based on your last name,
it's mighty shocking.  It was really cool to see her and she did a great job with helping me choose the matting and frame for a $20 print. 

Insomnia, yer killin' me

I have issues with insomnia here and there and when it hits, it really messes up my schedule. Granted I don't have a schedule but I do try to live like most other humans and be awake during the day.

This was not a problem for me when I was younger...pulling an all-nighter but these days my brain just doesn't work that way.

Well, I had mentioned here that the other vase needs a makeover too. I still haven't come up with an idea on the final design for the yellow vase but I am not in a hurry to get that one done until I see it really click in my head.

Here are the close up pictures of the other vase and a better picture of it with its shelf mates:







I kind of like it as it is and it certainly has a nice texture to it but it just seems to not have as much oomph as it once did. The other issue is I would have to use what I have on hand with regards to paints. I have a flat black and a satin "espresso" so those would be easy to use and probably only two coats needed without a primer. I also have two metallic acrylic paints, bronze and antique gold (1 - 2 oz bottle each).

Perhaps this is one of those I wait until I have a solid idea because the texture on it makes it a bit funky to visualize what it would look like if I did a dark background with dry brushing a metallic on it. If I were to do it, I would use the bronze because it's more coppery than what I think of when I think of bronze.

Someone mentioned spray painting as a commitment and that is a difficult thing. I tend to agree when it comes to this specific piece as it isn't as outdated as my "Jaws" vase.

Okay. Because it's now 2:50 am I should shelve this idea for now...haha, pun was not intended but makes me giggle it even came to mind.

Worthwhile Weekend Project

I grew up around the manufacturing of and eventually sold windows and doors and an often neglected or item that people put off is cleaning their windows and doors.


Picture from stock.xchng user = Henriette downloaded 10/25/05

Last night I ran to Target to get the cheap window cleaner they sell ("Compare to Windex®" - $1.12). I prefer to use a professional grade for obvious reasons but these windows and the patio doors have been long neglected and I was not in the mood to use my expensive window and glass cleaner on their (apartment complex's) property. I don't mind using it for the mirror in the bath because I have to use it to see all my imperfections. Well, okay, my perfections as God had in mind. (grin)

Anyhow, I used up about 1/3 of the 32 oz bottle to get the what seems like years of ick off them. I have two 3'0" x 5'9" windows, a 5'0" patio door, a 7'0" patio door and the tiny kitchen window is 2'0" x 3'0". All of which were nasty as can be. I don't desire to attempt the outside of the one in my bedroom room as there is a spiky juniper tree right in front of it but I did get the inside. That's a lot of window cleaner, not to mention I attacked paint and stain drippings and other odd grossness that needed a razor blade to clean them off. For the five windows and doors minus the exterior of the one, it took me about 2 hours to get them decent. There are years of water stains, scratches from people using the wrong tools to clean and such I can't get off but they are so much better now.

While cleaning windows, patio/garden/french doors and lites in your other doors is kind of a pain in the butt, I recommend using this long weekend (for those in the US) to tackle them. It makes a huge difference in how clean your home feels. I'm glad the apt I am renting is on a bottom floor, sure makes it easier for a lot of reasons but also for me to tackle cleaning the windows.

Besides, Jake likes to leave all kinds of nose prints on the glass around here and that drives me batty. Now if only I would get to cleaning my car with the same enthusiasm.

Here's a pic of Jake from last night:
- a dog's life sure is rough, aint it?


EDIT: Oh and while I am at it:

I think this post sort of fits in with these two:




Go to their sites and check out what other people are up to. Much more imaginative than my post but some good stuff to peruse.

If this particular post isn't what you expected, these two might fit better: this post and this post may tickle your fancy.