Showing posts with label DIY. Show all posts
Showing posts with label DIY. Show all posts

DIY kitchen pegboard

1.29.2014



SUPPLIES:
1 painted pegboard (2'x4')
1 assorted pack of pegboard hooks (including screws and plastic spacers) 

TOOLS:
drill & bits
stud finder
measuring tape

Side note: I'm taking this time to show off my finally completed table makeover. Chairs! A very exciting Christmas present from my in-laws.

I wanted to do mis-matched antique and vintage chairs but looked all last summer and had no luck. I'm really loving industrial lately, so I went for some metal bistro chairs. Delight!



Back to the pegboard.

First I found the middle of the wall, the middle of the pegboard and found the studs. In our house, this is easy ... you just look for the pattern of nail bulges up the wall (yuck). Otherwise, use a stud-finder.

The pegboard holes are exact inches apart, so make sure you are on a perfect inch when you drill into the studs and it should line up just right! (If you want to hang very heavy items - like cast iron skillets - you may need to build a frame and secure the pegboard better. For my little vintage items, this way is fine.)

Then, I slipped the spacer between the wall and the pegboard on the screw and drilled the screw in.

Side note: my studs didn't line up with the middle of the wall, so my pegboard is centered but one set of screws are 10 pegs in and the other is 7. No big deal. After everything is up, you don't really notice anyway.

Now it's time to hang 'til your heart's content! I LOVE vintage utensils and several were just hanging out in my cupboards waiting for a good idea and then BAM!

Pegboard.

And the "EAT" sign I grabbed from above my kitchen sink, hung it with a plastic anchor I shoved in one of the holes and I love it about 1000x more here. 





Cheers!

1970s Wool Maxi Skirt to Winter Plaid Pillows

1.22.2014

My grandma has been downsizing and cleaning out her closet ... from the 1950s-1980s! I haven't been able to wear or keep everything, but I have several gems that I'm so excited about (remind me to show you the black velvet 50s dress!).


This 1970s handmade maxi was one that I loved, but, alas, can't wear. It was slightly too tight around the waist and slightly too short. (We tall ladies often run into that problem!) You can hem a skirt, but it's hard to make it longer. Anyway, right away I loved the plaid and decided that it would make cozy fall/winter pillows. (I know, another pillow, excuse my sewing skills - or lack thereof...)


Pillow forms were on sale at the craft store, so I grabbed a 14x14 and a 16x16 form with a Christmas giftcard. I've found that the loose stuffing makes sorta lumpy pillows - does anyone have any pointers in using it? I have lots that I've thrifted but lumpy pillows aren't exactly pretty.

Anyway. Here they are!

I ended up cutting the fabric poorly (use your rotary cutter and mat!), so I cut the 14x14 twice and then didn't have enough for my full second pillow. So, I cut the pillow on a seam and actually really love it.

 And, the back of the larger pillow I matched with some upcycled (formerly the inside of another pillow) fabric. It works.


And, I think I'm going to recover our headboard with dropcloth for a more neutral backdrop to work with. What do you think?

a DIY montessori weather learning tool

1.17.2014

I wanted to make my 3-year old something fun and inexpensive but educational for Christmas. Inspired by this Etsy shop item I forged ahead with making my own felt weather tool for the side of the refrigerator. (Speaking of fridges, have you seen the SMEGs? My dream home is just begging for one...)

Back to the magnetic felt weather tool. I sewed a heavy duty magnet from the craft store into the backing piece before I sewed on the fronts and stuffed them. 

 My favorite piece was the snowflake.

After printing off a snowflake pattern, I placed the paper on the felt and sewed back and forth with a contrasting thread (as you can see, the lines aren't perfect) until all the lines were "drawn". Then, I carefully ripped the paper off - it is easy as the lines are all perforated and just peel off. Sweet!

"Raindrops keep fallin' on my head, they keep fallin'..."


 I ran out of magnets for the lightning, so instead of running out to buy another whole package, I just snipped a piece of velcro (the rough side) and sewed it to the top. It sticks to the back of a cloud or another piece to wait for the rare thunderstorm. (It does leave a bit of a mess pulling away from the felt, but since it's so infrequently used, I'm not too worried about it.)





There you have it! Teach your child about weather observation and have fun while you go!

Cost: approx. $4-5 including tax (or less if you use a coupon!)
felt sheets (7 @ $0.25)
stuffing (already had)
magnets ($2.49 - set of 8)

DIY Industrial Curtain Rod (under $30!)

1.15.2014

Next up, some "industrial" magic!

In November, we got new windows. (*ensue uproarious applause*) Many thanks to our complex and Windows World for their decision to replace the heavy, gunky, leaky (nasty) windows from 1988. 

However, one slight hiccup in the whole replacement process... We have gotten by with a tension rod hanging our bedroom curtains for 4 years. The trim they placed around the windows to seal them up stole that space and made the tension rod unusable. 

Well, darn, I guess I'll have to come up with a DIY solution ... insert DIY Industrial Curtain Rod!

This project definitely was not a lowest-cost-ever DIY. You can definitely find a curtain rod for less than $30. But, if you are going for a certain look (i.e. industrial), it's just gonna cost a little more.

I followed this tutorial but decided to do my own DIY to improve on some of the questions I had along the way.

SUPPLIES:
**from the plumbing section of the hardware store: 2 floor flanges, 2 (90 deg) elbows, 2 nipples (all the same size - I wanted to do 1/2" and it may've proved slightly cheaper, but I wanted it then, so I got what they had - 3/4")
**from the electrical section of the hardware store: one (1) 10 ft length of 3/4" electrical conduit pipe
**from IKEA (or other store with a curtain section): a set of clippy curtain rings

TOOLS:
Screw driver, drill & bits, hack saw (or pipe cutters), #10 phillips screws (mine were 1-1/2" long) and drywall anchors. 


First, I measured and marked where I wanted the flanges to go. (The galvanized metal made quite a mess of my wall where I scooted it around. Beware!) You'll notice that I didn't 1) put them all the way up to the ceiling (naughty) and 2) placed them just outside the perimeter of my window (also design naughty) so my curtains would close. Because seriously people, my curtains were $40 a panel (wedding gift) and I saw no need to replace them, so I'm working with what I have. Thus, my rod placement.

The huge benefit to this was that I didn't actually need the drywall anchors at all! Every time I pulled the drill away from the hole, I realized that I was pulling away bits of wood. The window frame must've been in just the right spot. Woo hoo!

I installed the first flange with 4 screws. Then, I screwed in nipple 1. I thought this might be difficult, but they have some kind of grease on them, so it was very easy to turn. I just turned until it caught - I didn't try to force it.

Then I washed my hands.

Don't forget to put your first curtain clippy loop on before your elbow! This pulls the curtain around to the side so you don't have that annoying light coming in the side of your window on Saturday morning.

Well, I have a 3-year old, the sun never wakes me up. What am I saying? 

Then, screw the elbow on just like you did the nipple, except you will have to work with the placement as it needs to be turned toward the opposite side to hold the actual rod.

Assemble other side like the first but do not attach it to the wall.


Then, measure the distance between the installed corner and where you want the other plus about 1/2" - for the rod to slide into the elbow.  Not gonna lie, this part was difficult to get just right (you'll find out why in a moment).

Mark the pipe and start sawing!

Take a break if you think your arm is going to fall off, and when you've finally cut through, congratulate yourself. (OR, if you have more patience, take the measurement to the hardware store and have them cut it with a pipe cutter in two seconds flat.)


Then, see how it fits. Unfortunately, my measurements were slightly off and ... I had to cut another inch off! Gag.

Lesson learned.

I'd suggest doing the next part with another person, because it was tricky to hold everything in place at once. (Plus, if you are just one person, you can't take pictures of the process!)

Grab a ladder or a chair and insert one side of the rod into the already installed elbow. Then don't forget to put the other curtain rings on (!) and slide the other fully assembled (but not installed) elbow on the other side.

While holding it all in place, screw the other floor flange into the wall. The placement of the drill was kind of awkward at this point, so some of the screws were less than straight, but it wasn't terrible and it is still exremely sturdy. Plus, it looks amazing.


There you have it! A DIY industrial curtain rod all your own for less than $30.

Let me know if I missed anything!

Cost breakdown:

10ft (3/4") metal conduit pipe - $3.12
2 (@$2.37) 90 degree galvanized elbows (3/4") - $4.74
2 (@$1.54) galvanized nipples (3/4" x 2") - $3.08
2 (@ $7.69) 3/4" galvanized floor flanges - $15.38
pack of 8 (10x1-1/2") sheet metal screws - $1.18

TOTAL (including tax) = $29.84

Empty ribbon rolls? Make pom poms!

12.26.2013

(Okay, so I lied about being off here until January. I just had a little project I needed to share!)

What happens when you use up all the ribbon from your rolls? You toss them right? (Into the recycling bin, I hope. But if it's the trash, I won't judge you too harshly.)

Instead, here's a super simple project that only takes a couple of things, and you can reuse these ribbon rolls! (Original tutorial came from here.) BAM!

You need: empty ribbon rolls, fluffy yarn, thin yarn (optional), scissors.



Instructions: Pull apart ribbon roll, use scissors to roughly widen the hole to 1". Pull about 7-10 arm lengths of yarn from ball, put both circles together and feed full length of yarn through hole. Continue wrapping yarn through hole and around outside - at least one time around or twice for a fuller pom. Cut ends of yarn, then slide scissors between ribbon roll circles and cut away yarn. Take a small piece of thinner yarn and slide between circles. Tie a knot. Then cut away or slide used ribbon roll circles off.



And your pom is made! This takes a little bit of time, but not too much thought or skill after you get the hang of it.

And how gorgeous is this little puff of wintry goodness?

I made mine into a garland (like the previous tutorial) using glittery gold snowflakes to hang in the space above our headboard. And I love it!


Happy re-using!

DIY etched glass Christmas ornaments

12.11.2013

I love personalizing gifts. Especially if it's something fun, pretty and still inexpensive! 

For all 6 of my piano girls, I wanted to try etching their names onto plain glass Christmas ornaments. My inspiration came HERE and the one and same vinyl dealer, the amazing Dana, hooked me up with the gorgeous stencils for the etching.

But, first, I found some ornaments at the hobby store. 50% off, thank you very much. Dana told me that the etching cream wouldn't work if they were covered in glass varnish, so I crossed my fingers and hoped they weren't.

Supplies needed: 
set of flat plain glass ornaments, unvarnished
vinyl stencils
etching cream
sacrificial paint brush
gloves


I didn't choose the glass orbs, but ones that were flatter, hoping that the stencils would stick better. All those curves aren't ideal for flat stencils! It was a good choice, although I still had to really smooth down the edges near the letters so the etching cream wouldn't leak through.



 I carefully peeled away the backing and smoothed down any edges that came up.


Then, using my throw-away paint brush and gloves, I brushed on a thick coating of etching cream. It had a tendency to pull away from some of the letters, so I had to keep a close eye on them and brushing it back so all of the letters would be etched.





Not all of the letters were perfectly etched, but they were more than good enough! Then, I filled them with old, shredded sheet music and looped some red and white baker's twine to hang them from. And I think they girls will be thrilled.

What I especially love about this project is that the possibilities are endless! You could fill them with fake snow, pearls, sand, confetti, etc. I think I'd love to do an ornament-a-year for Ladybug or for us (etch a different year on each) and then fill it with something that represents the year for us.


(Oh, and while I was at it, I etched "fleurs" (French for flowers) in an old vinegar bottle I'd saved for that purpose. Simple and sweet.

... And sort of addicting. "What should I etch next?!")



What would you etch??

DIY: Antique Barn Door Headboard

12.07.2013


Tools: Miter saw, saw horses, router, wood glue, finishing nails, a pneumatic staple gun, and your dad to do the trigonometric calculations.

Supplies: reclaimed wood, old barn door, 2x6 for French cleat, wood screws









Now someone just needs this beauty in their home!