diy

January 25, 2011

I’m Going to Make a Light Fixture. Yeah, That’s Right.

A few days ago, I came across an old post on Leah’s blog Moss Eclectic where she showed us a pendant light she made with just some twine and modpodge.

Unbelievable, right?!

Those of you who’ve been reading my blog for a while know I don’t like DIY and DIY definitely doesn’t like me. But this project has inspired me mainly because I still haven’t found a light for my dining room and something like this (in white) could be the ticket. The directions also seem really easy.

So today yesterday, I went out and got myself these:

I found some white twine at Home Depot so I’m hoping it works as well as the sisal.

Leah also used a toy ball but I want mine to be bigger so I dug my old exercise ball out of storage. (It might as well get used for something cause it sure ain’t seein’ no exercise!)

I hope to have something to show you by the end of the week. (It needs a couple of days to dry.) Let’s hope this doesn’t end up in the “DIY Project Fail” file.

(Photos: 1.Moss Eclectic 2&3.From the Right Bank)

January 7, 2011

Sew, A Needle Pulling Thread . . . . .

My mom is here visiting and one of her many, many skills is sewing. I’m talking on an haute couture level here. So I’ve enlisted her to make all kinds of things for the house while she’s here: drapes, slipcovers, pillows ….. because to say that I didn’t inherit that talent would be an understatement.

The worst grade I ever got in school was in Home Ec. (That’s how old I am – we actually had to take a class called Home Ec in like the 7th grade or something.) One of the things we had to do was to sew a stuffed animal. Mine was supposed to be a whale but it looked like a really toothy monster and everyone made fun of it for years. (No wonder I never learned how to sew. I was probably traumatized on some subconscious level.)

Anyway, I haven’t gone near a sewing machine since but I have been collecting fabric and textiles for years. So has my mom and together, we’re up to our eyeballs in fabric – it’s not at the point where “Hoarders” is going to call but we have a lot so we decided it was time to start making stuff. You know, because we don’t have enough to do(!) Who knows? Maybe I’ll finally get over my contempt for the sewing machine in the process.

Do you all know how to sew? Stay tuned for the progress and in the meantime, have a great weekend!

(Photos: 1.Curtain Up 2.Martha Stewart)

August 2, 2010

Inspiration Board Completed!

This weekend, I surprised myself and actually completed a DIY project. I finally made that bulletin board I have been wanting and the best part is it was so easy!

You’ll recall that I started out with a piece of homasote that I had cut to 5′ x 4′. After I got it home I sanded the edges with a sheet of sandpaper to make them as smooth as possible. (Please see my earlier post for details on materials and sources.)

First, I put the fabric down:

then I put the homasote over it and pulled it taut on all four sides:

Starting in the middle of one side, I stapled using a staple gun:

I spent a little extra time on the corners. I just folded it like you would wrapping a box:

This is how it looked finished:

We used a stud sensor and marked where the studs were, placed the board on a stack of books at the height we wanted to hang it then screwed the whole thing into the studs. (If you’re doing this, be sure to make a small hole with a nail through the fabric before drilling so as not to pull the fabric.)

And here it is almost filled already:

I changed my mind about where I wanted to hang it (I know, you’re shocked that I would change my mind about something.) I decided to put it over this cabinet across from my desk.

I’m really happy with it and like I said, it was so easy. If I can do it, anyone can! I still have the smaller piece of homasote left. I’ll show it to you once I decide where it’s finally going to end up.

(Photos: From the Right Bank)

July 28, 2010

Bulletin Board Project + Ramblings

It all started with a beautiful linen covered bulletin board that I saw at the Historic Concepts office when I went on my blogger outing last month. (Sorry I don’t have a photo of it but trust me, it was gorgeous.) I decided then and there that I had to have one for my inspiration board. I asked about it and was told that it was made out of homasote. I had no idea what that was so I did some research and learned that it’s an insulation/soundproofing material made from recycled paper. It seems Martha Stewart made a homasote bulletin board years ago (of course):

You can find her how-to here. I also found two blog posts about it here and here,

A couple of weeks later, I went to Home Depot and no one knew what the hell I was talking about. So I did some more research and found it locally at Capital Materials. They were so nice and helpful! Homasote comes in 8′x4′ sheets and I had it cut into two (5′x4′ and 3′x4′). The large piece will be for my inspiration board in my office and the smaller one will go in the office area of the kitchen. Here’s the large piece sitting in the garage:

It’s not much to look at now but it will be once it’s covered in some pretty fabric. This gave me a good excuse to go fabric shopping so off I went to Lewis and Sheron. I found this for the large piece:

For once I didn’t hesitate. I knew I wanted something blue since I’ve been working with a yellow and blue palette in the office. I’ve also been wanting to do something orange and blue and since it is going to hang by the big orange chair, I can get that out of my system too. (The blue is more navy in person.) I thought the pattern might be too busy at first but most of it is going to be covered in stuff so I think it will work out.

This is what I found for the smaller piece:

I’m crazy for burlap these days and I am dying over this blue-gray color.

I hope to have these done within the week and will take photos along the way. If anyone has done something similar and has tips, please share. Wish me luck!

kmcm-fab

Also, Kelley Moore is featuring me today in her Ramblings series. Please visit for some well . . . ramblings about me. Thanks, Kelley!

(Photos: 1.Martha Stewart. 2-4.From the Right Bank)

February 11, 2010

A Reupholstering How-To

As a follow-up to my post yesterday, Raina is kindly sharing her reupholstering tutorial with us today. So without further ado . . .

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Hello Delicious Dumplings! I’m Raina, the snark goddess from If the Lamp Shade Fits. A few months ago, Ally asked for my help with an upholstery project and I was happy to oblige with a short how-to. Two college summers spent working for an upholsterer not only gave me valuable DIY skills but also taught me scads about furniture construction.

As it turns out, a fauteuil (the type of chair Ally’s mother so generously gifted) is the easiest furniture piece to re-cover. It was the first chair I was allowed to do by myself at the shop. For those of you ready to flex your DIY muscles, I will walk you through re-upholstering a simple French chair in only eight steps.

This no-sew project should take an afternoon of your time, and we’re assuming the construction of your chair is sound.

Supplies and Tools

- fabric of your choice
- either gimp (trim) or nail head (upholstery) tacks
- a staple remover/tack lifter

- pliers
- iron
- extra batting (optional)
- staple gun
- scissors
- glue gun or tack hammer

1. To purchase the correct amount of new fabric, measure the existing fabric on the chair and add 10%. I wouldn’t advise a satin or anything too delicate for your first time out. Measure the length of existing gimp (or welt) and add 6 inches OR count the nailhead tacks and add a dozen extra (upholstery tacks can be found online if you don’t have a local resource).

Now you’re ready to begin!

2. Remove any gimp or welt (the trim that looks like a long fabric tube wrapping the edges). Find the start/stop point and gently peel the gimp off or pry up the welt with the staple remover. If you have nail head trim, use the staple remover to lift the tacks off.

3. You will see the old fabric is simply stapled onto the chair frame. Remove the staples with the staple remover and pliers. If a staple brakes, make sure to pry off the broken bit.

Remove-Tacks-Staples-Reupholstery-MKOVR0407-de

4. Take off the old fabric and iron it. Lay it on top of your new fabric, making sure it is centered on your new fabric’s pattern. Add an inch allowance all around and cut. Do this for each piece – armrest, etc.

5. Check to make sure your batting (stuffing) is in good shape. If it’s thin in places, layer on more batting. If you decide you want a much cushier ride, make sure to allow for the extra when cutting the new fabric.

6. Take your new piece of fabric and starting from the center back of the seat, throw a few staples into the narrow wood edge. Now go to the center front and pulling the fabric firmly (but not stretching it) and throw in a few more staples. Do the same for the sides. Keep moving around the piece a few staples at a time, pulling the fabric firmly as you go. Repeat the process for the chair back and armrests. If you have access to a pneumatic stapler (shown) - fantastic! – if not a regular ole staple gun will work.

Reupholstery-Attach-Fabric-MKOVR0407-de

You are almost finished!

7. With a pair of scissors, trim the excess fabric off the piece as close to the wood edge as possible.

8. Cover the staples by either hot-gluing the gimp or nailing the tacks (the first option is the easier of the two). I’m skipping the welt cord option because it is a little more advanced and requires some sewing.

TAH-DAH! You have mastered basic upholstery and are the proud owner of a fab new chair.

Feel free to leave any questions in the comments and I will do my best to answer them for you.

Good luck!

Photos courtesy of Country Living.

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Thanks a million Raina! See? I told you she knows how to do everything.

February 10, 2010

Future DIY Project

Remember I said I was getting a lot of furniture from my parents? Well, the lot included a couch and love seat that my mom really doesn’t want me to alter and I’ve been strongly discouraged from doing anything to the antique dining set but she’s okay with my painting and reupholstering these two chairs:

Aren’t they just ripe for a coat of paint and some fabulous fabric?

I posted some ideas for these before here and here are some more ideas along the same lines. I found these two on a blog called Let Your Creativity Flow:

lycf2

letyourcreativityflow

and this one from a company called the Divine Chair Company:

I’m hoping to do my own Before and After like this one from Apartment Therapy:

I already have a killer tutorial on reupholstering from Raina (AKA the woman who knows how to do everything), so this will be my first project just as soon as I finish unpacking. Since that’ll be in like 10 years, I’ll have plenty of time to decide on a color and pattern. I was leaning toward white or black for the wood but lately I’ve been drawn to kelly green and electric blue. What do you think?

February 17, 2009

Kitchen Window Project

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We have this window in the kitchen above the sink which is nice and all but the view is kind of hideous. So I usually just keep the blinds closed but that means the kitchen doesn’t get any natural light. I had been planning on having the glass replaced with frosted glass at some point but a couple of weekends ago, I was in one of those “I can’t stand this another minute and must do something about it right now” moods. I did some research on the internet and ultimately decided that contact paper would be the fastest and easiest solution, at least temporarily. So I went to the hardware store and of course they didn’t have anything but weird colors and patterns but next to it was this white laminate paper. I wasn’t sure if it would be opaque enough but decided to give it a go:

dscn00191 dscn0021

and here’s the final result:

The laminate paper turned out to be just opaque enough to hide the view and let light filter through at the same time. Not bad, eh? And it cost all of $10. As you can see I also got my hands on some Orla Kiely goodies from Target this weekend. I wasn’t planning on getting the canisters and pitcher but they’re pretty cute and I figured I’d regret it if I didn’t once they were gone for good. I managed to get a bunch of other little projects done this weekend too so I’ll be posting about those the rest of the week. Hope you had a good one.