Jun 25, 2012

Monday: DIY Canvas Art work

Monday's are my favorite day of the week, yes you read that right! Monday's are the day when I get to proudly show off my latest DIY project to you and (hopefully) inspire you to begin or complete that DIY project that has been rolling around in your head or home for months.

As you know I've taken on the challenge of completely designing and revamping my bedroom with rehabbed or re-purposed items I've picked up or found around the house. This week I decided to work on adding some unique art work to my walls.

I had 2 old canvas art hangings that I just didn't have the heart to throw away, but I had no idea what to do with them....so they went into the dark hole of my walk in closet for about 2 years...waiting to become beautiful again. This weekend I had a "light bulb" moment, why not paint them and make them EXACTLY what I wanted!

The total cost of this project was: $0
Supplies:
White paint and roller
Painters tape
Gold Spray paint
Patience.....lots and lots of Patience!

Here's the step by step...enjoy!

#1 Identify 2 large pieces you'd like to rehab...below are mine





#2 Paint IT and let it dry! I chose white because I had an idea in my head of the look I was going for. Don't forget to paint the sides.





#3 Get creative, I decided to go with a chevron style strip because I love that pattern and new it would work well in my space.




#4 Spray paint it (OUTSIDE) and let it dry. It's extremely important that you (a.) do this outside and (b.) that you let it dry completely before handling it.

#5 Tear off the tape...



#6 Hang and Enjoy! Overall I'm extremely happy with the way this project came out, I found a way to reuse and enjoy something that otherwise would have been thrown away. I hope you're enjoying all of these fun projects, next week a DIY Tufted Headboard....yup we said it!



Jun 18, 2012

Monday: DIY chair rehab

We've been diy'ing like crazy the past two weeks and if you haven't noticed we've been working on a new room! My boyfriend and I have been slumming it design wise in decorating our bedroom, it will be almost 3 years this summer and we've FINALLY decided to make our home cozy in each and every room. I should first tell you that we live in a historic home so it's charm and character are already inviting, but charm + character + historic can also sound like old. We moved  in with a yellow bedroom and while it was a fine color it certainly wasn't the color for us....we now have a beautiful pottery barn davenport tan on the walls and it's to-die-for. Our goal is to redesign our room on-a-dime,  in my eyes design shouldn't be expensive it should be practical and with a lot of elbow grease affordable. We're starting with a bed and a mirror (I told you we were slumming it!) and everything else that you see we're buying,rehabbing, and making it fabulous as we go along. Last week we previewed our first amazing find for the room , and did a beautiful rehab (if we say say ourselves). Moving forward each week we will be bringing you something new that we've added, rehabbed, and diy'ed our hearts out.

Today his and her's chairs an upholstering journey......

We found these amazing chairs on Saturday and couldn't believe our eyes, 2 chairs for $14! I know what you're thinking are you crazy? These amazing, I think not! But look a little closer, the shape of the chair, arms, and design in the back is practically begging to be returned to something beautiful. I was at first a little disappointed that both chairs weren't identical, but that was until my boyfriend said that they could be his and her chairs for our bedroom, I WAS SOLD!





The first thing I did when I got home was to bring them outside to start looking at them closer and taking them apart so that the rehab journey could begin.  Yup I still loved them, at this point probably even more, next Mike decided that we'd paint them antique white (really like I'd oppose lol).

If you are new to painting furniture please remember to follow these steps:
Sand, Wipe off excess dirt, Prime, Paint, Second Coat.  Trust me if you skip a step you won't love the finished product as much.  

For the upholstering make sure you have the following tools:
Staple Gun
Sharp Scissors
Batting (purchased at Joann)
Foam (1 1/2 or 2 inches should be fine, also purchased at Joann)
Fabric (I purchased 3 yards, but I will use it around the room for other things!)
Spray Adhesive
Patience!


To begin upholstering you want to remove all of the old fabric, I was so excited to rip off this ugly pattern that I could barely contain my excitement, that was until I found another layer of ugly fabric!! Anyways after you have just the wood then you want to start using your own padding that will make for new seating.  With your spray adhesive add your foam to the board, then you'll want to wrap your batting around the seat and staple in the back.  now you're ready for your fabric!! I started with stapling the middle of every side first because you'll want to make sure your edges are perfect.





Now you're ready for your fabric!! I started with stapling the middle of every side first because you'll want to make sure your edges are perfect. The entire process shouldn't take you longer than 30 minutes and it's worth it, the finished product is just stunning!






Tips:

We found beautiful chenille fabric for $4 a yard at Joann fabric in the red tag section...seriously chenille! Don't skimp on fabric!! I was determined to have an expensive look for a fraction of the price and it worked! P.s. If you have a smart phone make sure you get Joann's free app I saved 50% off my full priced item and 10% off my entire purchase..



Jun 15, 2012

HELLO PRETTY


Oh hello Friday, it's nice to see you again! If you're joining us  today you're in for a dose of HELLO PRETTY. A few months ago we were excited to partner with Shawnea of  Don't FRETT Photography to do a fun photoshoot in our studio, and wow did she deliver. We found the sweetest flowers and had lots of yummy treats laying around the house eager to be placed in front of a camera. If you adore the vintage dresser as much as I do you can read all about the DIY tutorial here.

I started out with the prettiest ribbon in my stash (yes I have a ribbon stash...don't judge) and decided to give   the dresser a lattice look. Seriously how much do you love it? From there I added a few of my favs; depression glass, vintage cake holders, vintage glasses, peonies, ranunculus, and a container that said sweets. All of this was a recipe for  HELLO PRETTY.



How sweet is this cake? It was absolutely delicious!



Our studio smelled like lime cookies for days.......






And last but not least when a photoshoot works out juuuuuust as I've planned, I look like THIS! Huge thanks and big hugs to Shawnea at Don't FRETT Photography who supplied all of the beautiful images and great conversation afterward. Here's to the weekend, we'll see you back here on Monday for another fabulous DIY project that we can't wait to show you.



Jun 13, 2012

Wolf pack?

Last week I posted this picture on facebook and I couldn't help but wonder.... am I building a business or a bigger wolf pack (network of close friends...term from The Hangover)?

Photography: Don't FRETT Photography


I work with clients for as little as a few weeks to 15+ months, and during that time we're building a bond, celebrating the success of small and large decisions, laughing, crying, eating, and at the end celebrating their wedding. After their wedding we're still celebrating, laughing, crying, shopping, eating, and talking on the phone while I make my way in to Boston each morning. Ladies and gentlemen it looks like I'm building a bigger wolf pack and having a lot of fun doing it!

Love my clients!


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Jun 11, 2012

Monday: DIY Dresser #2

Hi Lovelies! Boy do I have a treat for you today...and it's just the perfect thing to get you over the afternoon hump on a Monday. Last week I went hunting for the next addition to my home and found myself in DIY heaven when I spotted this FREE dresser....


Ok, so not exactly the beauty you were expecting, but I saw the beauty in bones of this piece and just knew with a little love it would look fabulous!  So I began sanding, priming, and 3 coats of paint later, I had THIS!  I saved the hardware buy spray painting it gold and then sealing it....and BOY what a difference.

Total cost of this project: $16


 
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