7/31/2014

Easy DIY: Potato Stamp Pillow

To be honest, I feel a teeny bit guilty about knocking off a pattern from Ferm Living. I absolutely adore their beautiful, crisp, geometric patterns and modern products. But, the bottom line is...the bottom line. Eighty dollar toss pillows simply aren't in our budget right now. If you have the means, please do give Ferm Living your business, their products are so pretty and unique and (appear to be) first rate quality as well. If you are like me and want to "get the look" on the cheap, then read on!


For this project, I made my own toss pillow with a half moon design by using using an old curtain panel and a potato stamp. Ha! That sounds so, MacGyver-ish, doesn't it?! Anyway, if you need instructions on how to make an envelope style pillow cover, this old post I did should help. If you aren't up to sewing, I think you could also use a basic white pillow protector, like this.

Start by using a pencil and straight edge to lightly mark evenly spaced lines on one side of your pillow cover. The pillow I made is 14 inches tall with lines two inches apart. Next, make your half moon stamps by cutting two small potatoes in half lengthwise and then down the middle.

Make your fabric paint by using a small brush to mix black acrylic paint and textile medium together using the ratio on the label. This project didn't require much fabric paint, maybe an eightth of a cup total. Once your paint is thoroughly mixed up, brush it onto the cut side of the potato and then carefully stamp it onto the fabric, pressing down evenly before lifting up the potato stamp. If you are using a pre-made pillow case, sandwich a piece of paper between the front and back sides to keep the paint from bleeding though. 
How to Make a Ferm Living Inspired Potato Stamp Pillow
Be extra careful when handling the potato stamps. I dropped one half way through and put a big blob of paint in the middle of my pillow cover, which meant it was done for. Sad face. The finished result is actually my second attempt!
How to Make a Ferm Living Inspired Potato Stamp Pillow
Continue stamping and swapping out potatoes to give the pattern a random look. When the pillow cover is finished, let it air dry for twenty four hours and then heat set the paint according the instructions on your textile medium.
How to Make a Ferm Living Inspired Potato Stamp PillowAt this point, you could wash the pillow cover inside out on delicate cycle to remove the pencil lines. I figured with two dogs and a kiddo my cover will get washed often enough, so I just removed the pencil marks using a washcloth and soft brush.



Aside from grade school art, this was my first attempt at potato stamping; overall it's pretty darn easy and very inexpensive! I'm wondering what else I can apply this technique to? Curtains perhaps? Have you used the potato stamp technique before?
How to Make a Ferm Living Inspired Potato Stamp Pillow



How to Make a Ferm Living Inspired Potato Stamp Pillow

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7/27/2014

Easy DIY: White and Gold Striped Planter


I snagged this faux brass bucket thing at a thrift store and thought it might look good with white stripes and a tall-ish house plant. Spoiler alert: It does!
add white stripes to thrift store planter for some instant swank!First, I added two bands of wide Frog Tape to the bucket, rubbing it as I went to make a good seal. I'm a lazy crafter so I just eyeballed it for straightness, but it would be smart to measure and mark your widths.add white stripes to thrift store planter for some instant swank!
After the tape was down, I hung the bucket up outside by putting the hook part of a wire hanger through one of the little holes and looping the body of the hanger over our laundry line pole. I use that trick a lot, I should snag a picture of it sometime. Then I sprayed the bucket with white primer followed by a thick coat of white spray lacquer.
add white stripes to thrift store planter for some instant swank!
 It was so humid outside yesterday that I had to move the bucket to the basement or it never would have dried. I was so excited, I could hardly wait to peel back the frog tape and when I finally did (a whole thirty minutes later), I was thrilled! I tell ya what, Frog Tape is legit! I can't believe how crisp and clean the lines on this project turned out. This isn't a sponsored post, I just REALLY love Frog Tape.

I'm so pleased with how this turned out! I was originally envisioning a snake plant for the bucket, but the hardware store didn't have any that were large enough, so I settled for a dieffenbachia, which we named "Linda Two" after the first dieffenbachia I slowly killed last year, which was a gift from Jesse's Aunt Linda. Are we strange, or does anyone else name their plants?
add white stripes to thrift store planter for some instant swank!



7/24/2014

Keep Calm and Don't Cry at Work

If you've been reading this blog, you might know that I have a full time career in addition to being a mom, wife, DIYer, etc. I absolutely love my job and the people I work with. Like. Seriously. They are amazing. But today was a bit of a roller coaster. It started out fabulously; we celebrated a successful first half of the year with a BBQ lunch followed by a round of kubb in the green space outside our office. It was SO great. I'm even a little sun-burned! But, the afternoon was a little rough. Nothing I won't get over with a bit of venting and a couple glasses of sauvignon blanc.  This is a little something I made to help me keep my "game face" on.  You can download the printable here for free.
Keep Calm and Don't Cry at Work  Free Printable
Cheers to a happy Friday and a wonderful weekend! :)

7/22/2014

Only Boring People Are Bored - Free Printable

When I was little, my mom used to say, "Only Boring People are Bored." That must be an old phrase, because I nearly fell out of my chair when Betty Draper said it on Mad Men! Recently, our three year old has started to use the words "bored" and "boring." I have no idea where he learned them, but it wasn't from us. At the risk of sounding pretentious, we don't believe in being bored. We believe in making the most of life; exploring, traveling, learning, creating and doing.
Only Boring People are Bored Free PrintableWe aren't stoic, fun-hating worker bees; we like to relax and watch a movie or sit by the pool as much as anyone else, but we believe in making the most of our precious time together. We don't have "do nothing days" or "pajama days." If that's your thing, that's cool. I'm not judging, everyone is free to do what makes them happy (for the most part). But while you are doing what makes you happy, we'll be doing what makes us happy; planting a garden, visiting the zoo or pretending we are knights and dragons in the backyard. OK, just a sec while I climb down off my soap box!

So, I made this little print to hang on the wall in our home office as sort of a family motto. If you'd like a copy, you can download it here for free.  I'm curious, do your kiddos every say they are "bored?" What do you tell them?
Only Boring People are Bored Free Printable





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7/11/2014

How to Make Simple Modern String Art

BTW - I don't think I like the word "slaw." That was the last email I sent from work today. Um, yeah, I was definitely feeling squirrel-y and ready for the weekend to start! So, it's Friday evening (yay!) and I'm excited to be sharing the details of this string art project I've been working on. It was super easy, but it took me all week to complete because of a sweet little boy I want to snuggle, a career I love, sleep I need and all that stuff that gets in the way of crafting. Can I get a virtual high five for finishing this project and taking a somewhat decent photo of the end result?! Thanks. I needed that.

To make this modern-ish string art, I started with an old wall decor piece that I bought years ago. I had it stashed in our basement and came this close to tossing it several times but I'm so glad I didn't! With a few coats of leftover white paint, it became the perfect canvas for this project.
Modern String Art Tutorial

Supplies:
Square piece of wood - I used an old wall decor piece made of wood
White paint - I used an off the shelf bright white gloss leftover from another project
Poster board
Chalk
Straight edge
Utility knife
Scissors
Measuring tape
Tape - I used painter's tape
Small finishing nails - I purchased a $1 size box and had lots leftover
String - Found in the same section as the yarn - I barely made a dent in a $4 roll

After I painted the panel white, I made a template for the string art house and heart using black poster board and chalk. Then I used a utility knife pressed against a straight edge to cut out the house and plain 'ole scissors to cut out the heart.
Modern String Art Tutorial
Modern String Art Tutorial

Modern String Art Tutorial

Modern String Art Tutorial
Once it was cut out, I used a measuring tape to find the center of the panel and then secured the template place using doubled over painter's tape. This kept the template from wiggling around when I hammered in the nails.
Modern String Art Tutorial

Modern String Art Tutorial

Modern String Art Tutorial
After the house and heart were outlined with nails I removed the poster board and went to town with some black string. These pictures are awful, but it was ten o'clock at night in our kitchen and whaddya do? I wanted to include these photos to show how you have to make a loop around each nail.
Modern String Art TutorialModern String Art TutorialThe string part is simple; tie a knot around one nail and then go back and forth from the house to the heart creating different angles and looping the string around the nails until you've gone around the entire thing. Easy peasy.
Modern String Art Tutorial

Modern String Art Tutorial



There you have it! A fun little art piece that cost less than five bucks! It was so simple to make, I wish I'd tried it sooner. I think I could have done this start to finish during a Saturday nap time. I also think it would be fun to make these as gifts because you could make so many different shapes, words, colors, etc. Have you tried making string art? I'd love to hear about it in the comments!

7/09/2014

A Year of Blogging Part One - House Progress

Do you remember those episodes of Saved by the Bell where Zach and the gang would sit in a circle and reminisce about the past school year? I hated those episodes, as a kid I felt so cheated, like someone was taking the lazy route! As an adult, I suspect the writers were on vacation in Hawaii or something. Anyways, since this week marks the one year anniversary of my blog, I thought it would be fun to take a look at some progress photos of our home renovation. Hopefully you won't feel disappointed like I did with those Saved By the Bell episodes! Most of the areas aren't quite finished, but it's so satisfying to look back on these photos and appreciate the work we've done and how far our little house has come!

Let's start with the exterior of the house.

Backyard Deck Area - Summer 2013


Backyard Deck Area - Summer 2014

Ahhh. So much better! The house painting is this close to being finished and I can't wait to share the transformation, this is a 'lil sneak peek. 

Here's another before and after of the deck.








Jesse also removed a falling-down-rusty-tetanus-hazard of an old shed and built a new shed in the back corner of the yard.




I'm not thrilled about the red stain, but the shed has nice lines and keeps our lawn equipment safe and dry. I'd like to paint it gray with white trim to match the house. Maybe this fall.

We also did a LOT of work on the inside of our house.

Living Room - Summer 2013
Living Room - Summer 2014
I'm not sure what to do about the coffee table situation, so if you have any ideas I'd really appreciate hearing them! I've been daydreaming about a brightly colored (teal velvet?) chesterfield sofa, but that would be a big splurge since the existing sofa really is okay. Maybe if I can sell it for a decent price on Craig's List Jesse will give in to the idea!

Dining Room Space - Summer 2013

Dining Room Space - Summer 2014
We wrapped up the dining space last month and I LOVE it! Part of revamp included moving the light fixture so it was centered over the table, and I'm amazed by how a correctly positioned light makes the corner so inviting and finished looking. You can read more about the update in my reveal post.

Kitchen - Summer 2013

Kitchen - Summer 2014

The kitchen update was fairly simple but tedious. Jesse removed the dated scalloping and I painted the cupboards and back splash and replaced some hardware.

B's Room - Summer 2013

B's Room - Summer 2014
B's room was one of the first rooms I revamped and it was...trying too hard. I've been working on a make-under for for his room and the last element will be some wall decor and a big boy bed that Jesse is building.

Home office - Summer 2013

Home Office - Summer 2014
The office isn't quite finished, I have a few more things I want to do to this wall (I'm not sure if the lamp color is amazing or awful) and I'm cooking up a few DIY projects for the corner that isn't pictured.

Well, that's the bulk of what we've been been up to for the past twelve months. We've made a lot of progress- no? I've also learned so, SO much from blogging during the last year, that I plan to follow up with a second post that covers what I've learned as well as what my goals are for the next twelve months. Stay tuned! ;-)



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Remodelaholics Anonymous 7.11.13