Lady in Red

Haha, the below post was supposed to have been posted March 22nd. It is now April 26th....

Woah, I am so bad. It has been a month, almost to the day since my last post! But I have been crafting. So not to worry. I should have back to back posts since I now have an arsenal of projects to talk about. Today however we are discussing the continuation of decorating outlet/light switch plates.

I decided my kitchen would have a red theme, more specifically I will feature red tulips. There is something so cute and clean about tulips. Since I bought a thousand and one of these over-sized, white, cover plates its time to put them to good use.

I used a red and green paint pen (insert brand name). The surface of these cover plates, made by GE is very smooth and slick, which is good for the over all look but can be a problem. It takes a lot of control to not let the tip of the pen slip all over the place. And we all know what a pain it is to clean up paint pen ink.

Walmart ran out of the bright white cover plates so I was forced (not really I could have waited but I don't like waiting) to buy beige cover plates. They are cheaper and don't require a lot of work to get a nice white coat. Using the same Crayola brand poster/craft paint I painted the beige plate white. The rough surface of the paint makes a great base for the paint pens but it will not be shiny like the others. *note* Now that two months have gone by, much has happened in the crafting world. I have discovered brayering. So, the need for a paint brush has been eliminated. At some point I will do a red tulip on a white inked cover plate. But for now here is the finished product on the regular shiny surface.

Eventually I'll get the red tulip decals I saw on allposters.com. I like the idea of having them on the cabinets, which are all white, to give just a little pop of color and fun.

Stay crafty my friends!

Reduce Reuse Recycle!

Its a term we learned in elementary school. Reduce Reuse Recycle. Well, over ten years later I'm putting those words to good use. It's finally time to save the planet AND paint some picture frames!

I've had this 8x10 frame for YEARS, like probably since high school, never put it up because I don't like plain wood frames. I've kept it, knowing one day I'd paint it black or white, or maybe even try my hand at gold foil. Well today is the day. Boring old wooden frame is getting a fancy makeover!

yawn yawn!

This very large gold metal frame was obtained from work (The Village at Mayfield) during clubhouse remodeling. I knew immediately that the frame would have to be changed, but it did take me about 8 months to get around to it.

oh no they didn't!

I'm using my trusty paint brush that I often use for scrapbooking. My last painting project resulted in a ruined paint brush so I promise to wash this one immediately after I'm done.

Instead of getting paint stirring sticks I just use my 'utility dishes' as I call them because I have no more use for them in the kitchen but I can't bear to throw them away. In a way I am saving the environment. Those wooden sticks get tossed in the trash, while I can use this plastic knife again and again :) Hoarding has finally come to good use.

this knife has been around since 2004!

I purchased this Krylon brand black paint from Walmart the other day. I prefer the Rustoleum brand paint I bought for the bar. Something about this paint I don't like, or perhaps my subjects pose a different challenge. It claims to work on all surfaces, so I probably could have sanded each piece down a bit, but who are we kidding?

After wiping down, taking out the glass, print and backing, it's time to apply the first coat! The frame has a very smooth surface. It's difficult for this acrylic latex paint to grab onto the wood. The first coat is very splotchy.

I prepped the metal frame by taping old (circa 2008) newspaper to the glass. The back of the frame is completely covered in brown paper and the wire is screwed into the frame, making it difficult to remove the glass and print. Even though I know I can take a razor to the glass to remove paint later, I don't want to make an unnecessary mess. Again, a super smooth surface is not fun painting.

newspaper is actually parts of Red Eye issues and Jewel-Osco circulars!

Woah! Probably should have read this before opening it and doing one entire coat on both pieces. It's time to open a window!

I think I just had my first huffing experience...oops!

Two to three more coats on each piece are required. The color is good. Both pieces are very shiny, which is what I was going for. Now that I'm thinking about it, the metal frame probably would have looked better in white. Oh well!

The final products are awesome. I'm leaving them over night to make sure everything is completely dry. So, not only did I end up with two new frames without buying anything other than a can of paint, I helped out the planet! Using old newspaper to protect my floors, discontinued plastic flatware instead of disposable wooden sticks, and ultimately saving two not so cute frames from ending up in a landfill.

Stay crafty and environmentally conscious my friends!

The Puzzle

I spoke too soon! In my last post I said I had not rearranged my furniture as I tend to do. Well, the minute I posted that I got the itch to move things around. I guess it's a good thing since I needed a subject for this week's blog post.

Since moving in I felt there was something wrong with my living room set up. I have a long rectangular shaped living room with a very large window occupying one of the four walls. This didn't really present a challenge until I actually got the furniture in here (go figure). I had the couch directly across from the tv but my chair and half was off by itself next to the very tall bookcase. In short, it was disconnected. It didn't feel like a congruous seating area. I mulled it over for weeks. It bothered me every time I walked in here.

I didn't want to create a layout that required me to buy anything new. In the end I was successful in creating a new living room free of charge! Eventually I will purchase a few things to compliment this new design but for now I shall put away the Visa and stick with what I have.

Height! The tall bookcase, which I purchased from Target during a good sale, was bugging me. I originally wanted a tall, but skinny bookcase for all my books and movies. The one I ended up buying was quite wide and only looked good in a corner.

The solution: break bookcase in half to create two shorter units, which I placed on either side of my tv stand.

The effect: It creates the illusion of one complete unit for all my entertainment needs.

The process: CAUTION I do not recommend doing heavy lifting or shifting on one's own. It is potentially dangerous, but I don't follow those rules :) After removing everything from the bookcase including the shelves I loosened the bolts that kept the two parts of the bookcase together. A flathead screwdriver is required for this. This is theoretically a quick process BUT, a few of the shelves had to be unscrewed and flipped so that the finished side of the shelf would face up. After adjusting the shelf height to accommodate my books and movies I placed them on either side of the tv stand.

*note* This was a great opportunity to organize cords from various electronic devices. I plugged everything into my surge protector and secured all the cords with ties before plugging them into their various components. Now everything is neat and orderly!

Stay crafty my friends! Check out the before and after pictures below.

Decal Gal

I spent so much of my pre-move time obsessing about decals. Now that I have them I've completely forgotten about them. Shame on me. It's time to talk about life after decals!

After all the research I did it came down to convenience. I got a World Market gift certificate for Christmas so they were the first stop for decals. Lucky for me they had tons! As seen on allposters.com World Market had both the shaped decals and the poster decals.

The poster decals are very easy to apply, however the larger the decal the more difficult it is to handle. Because I am the type of person to change my mind about something a thousand times, having a poster that can be removed and easily reapplied without damaging the walls is ideal. I've been in this apartment for a month now and I haven't rearranged any furniture but its inevitable.

I purchased two poster decals. I haven't abandoned my Parisian theme just yet, so in my living room is a black and white view of the Eiffel Tower. (please excuse the glare. the sun is reflecting off the giant icicles outside my window.)

I wanted a kitchen with red accents and found this adorable poster that adds just the right amount of color to the wall. It ties in well with my bistro theme.

Last but not least. The shaped decal I chose for the bedroom is as close to damask as I could find at World Market. The decal pack consisted of 12 pieces. You are able to arrange them anyway you like. Decals with intricate designs are much more difficult to handle. The material is quite thin and tears easily. It took a few tries to get everything lined up but eventually it all came together nicely.

Eventually I want to get the original decals I saw online for the bathroom. Look out for that post in the near future. Until then. Stay crafty my friends!

I've been framed!

Literally. I've been scouring the earth and more specifically the east suburbs of Cleveland for some cheap yet nice looking frames. In 2003 I took a trip with the Cleveland Youth Wind Symphony to Ireland and France. I came back not with trinkets and t-shirts but with PRINTS. and lots of them.

Since I was not a classy lady in college most of these prints did not see the light of day and I waited for a time when all of these lovely images could be proudly displayed on the walls of my very own home. Well, I should have been buying frames since 2003 because a good frame is not hard to find, they're just too damned expensive!

Some of my prints are matted to 11x14 which is pretty large and the larger the frame the higher the price goes. How do we cope? Hold out for the sales! I can't tell you how many times I went to WalMart and Target looking for deals on frames. Luckily, WalMart has a section of 'gallery style' frames that are relatively inexpensive.

Michael's recently had a sale on all frames, some buy one get one half off, some with just reduced pricing. I purchased a pack of 5 frames all 4x6 in black for $20. Instead of buying a collage frame for $30 I was able to create my own unique collage using pictures I'd taken myself from the symphony tour.

I also had an idea to buy plain wood frames (I've noticed they are cheaper) and paint the frames black or white (that's my theme going on right now). I figure this will be nice for housing the pictures I took, since they aren't bigger than 4x6.

I would eventually like to delve into the world of gilding some frames with gold foil. So until then. Stay crafty my friends!

The Power of Paint

Here's a short and sweet post for this snowy Thursday

Craft Project No.2 is complete! The green shelved cabinet from The Gathering Place has been painted an almond/pistachio color. I used Rustoleum high gloss furniture paint from Home Depot, a synthetic angled brush and lots of patience. I was too lazy to prime it (I will be doing that next time because grass green does not like to be painted over) so it took about 2.75 coats of paint. The result is fabulous. I have before and after pictures below.

This piece of furniture is my new bar. It has good shelf space for my large wine goblets and is tall enough to house bottles of alcohol.

Until next time!

Craftacular

I've moved in! Everything is in its place, sort of, and I'm exhausted. I promised to make this post about crafting, so here we go!

One of my many projects for the new place was decorative outlet covers. I bought supersized light switch plates and outlet covers at Walmart for very cheap ($.35 - $.55). I used my trusty paint pens (from JoAnn Fabrics) to create some pretty neat designs. I actually painted every cover plate for the entire apartment (I needed a procrastination tool for packing). The ones I'll feature on this post are in the living room.

Some tidbits I found out along the way:

1. when decorating a cover plate choose white as your base. i was forced to get beige for some of them and unless you're doing a very dark color on top it doesn't work so well. white on beige is difficult to get full coverage.

2. if you have paint penned the entire surface, Sharpie or Bic permanent markers work very well over the paint pen ink, they also do okay on the naked surface of the cover plate

3. even though paint pens claim not to bleed or leak, sometimes they do. keep a wet paper towel on hand to correct any mistakes due to leaking.

Overall I am very pleased with my project. They turned out really nice and add a fun touch of drama to what would otherwise be some very boring light switches and outlet covers.

Below are the living room creations :)

Stay crafty my friends!