That darn tray...

I worked on my stenciling this weekend. I'm driving myself insane. I've painted then painted over the white tray probably 2 times at this point. I'm not happy with the implementation of my design so I think I'll repaint them AGAIN. I might add the polyurethane and put the tray aside for a bit.

I think when I'm ready to conquer the trays, I need to be less complicated with my design. Paul gave me some advice on the white tray and I didn't listen. And, he'll like this, I should have listened to him! Next time...

IN PROGRESS

Project Update

I also started decoupaging the lampshades from my vintage lamp. Paul dismantled the lamp - he's going to help me rewire it since the wiring looked a little scary! I've added a couple of layers of rice paper. This week I'll add the rest of the rice paper then add a layer of tracing paper. After the tracing paper, I'll do a bit of sanding then seal them up. The tracing paper will add a smooth surface and will have a nice glimmer to it.

Miscellaneous Detours

Since we're going to rewire the vintage lamp, I think I'll be able to talk Paul into helping me (more likely he'll do it) wire this floor lamp we bought at a garage sale for $2. It's a gorgeous stand - it just needs to be polished since there's some rust. Then we wire it up and then I'll need to track down a lampshade frame. I can do all of my lampshades at once. I'll definitely pick up some Amy Butler fabric for this shade as well.

I'm still happy crafting - I've just hit some bumps in the road! :-)

A craft confession...

My confession is I'm cheap... Well 'thrifty'. I went to Michaels last night to get supplies for the weekend. I need some stenciling supplies. I was shocked at how much the supplies were going to cost - $10 for the adhesive spray, $10 for a couple of small pieces of Mylar and then the stenciling brushes were $8-15. Yikes! So $30 to stencil a $5 tray. A little extreme!

I ended up asking one of the people working there for help and thank god I did. She gave me some great advice. I ended up just getting paint and some cheap sponges at Michaels - the total was $12. Then she suggested I get clear drawer liners from the loonie store. I picked up 2 rolls (the rolls are 40" x 18") for $3.

I've designed my stencil using the dingbat Typo Backgrounds. It will require a lot of cutting but I think it will be worth it. I'll work on one tray this weekend and see how it goes then come up with a different design for the other tray. And even look at other options for funkify-ing the tray like making a potato stamp or something! That will be next weekend's craft adventure.

Hopefully I break the curse with these trays and avoid a craft disaster this weekend! ;-)

PS I checked out this book at Michaels, Lotta Prints, which definitely was inspiring. She had some very kewl stuff in there!

Plan A, plan B or just wait for the right plan

I have 2 wood trays I'm refinishing. One is a tray I paid $2 for and attempted to paint then add wallpaper to... That was my very first craft disaster. Wallpapering is something I'll need to try again. The other tray I paid $5 for - this was my second craft disaster. I tried adding fabric to it. Uh yikes... I have new respect for people, like mintagehome, who make it look easy.

I've re-prepped both trays - sanded, primed, painted and distressed. They are ready for when I have a craft epiphany then I'll finish them off. I may stencil the trays. I've scoped out some dingbats for ideas on Dafont.com. But for now I'll hold off since plan A then plan B didn't work out so well.

BEFORE

IN PROGRESS

BEFORE

IN PROGRESS

The Start on Modernizing my Teak Lamps

This weekend was perfect for hanging out on the deck. I started working on the teak lamps. I primed the ceramic then painted them an off-white. I want to soften the look since I'll be using a pretty funky fabric for the new lampshades. I haven't sealed the paint since I want to hold off until I know for sure if I want a solid colour or not. I thought I could paint the leaf band with a different colour but that may be overkill. We'll see...

BEFORE // IN PROGRESS

IN PROGRESS

Recent Thrift Store Finds...

I picked up a bracelet made of wood with pearl on it. There are 9 pieces. I got it for $0.50 and I think I'll use them as buttons. I have some gorgeous brown linen that I got for free. I'll make two 14" x 14" pillow covers then one accent pillow - each using 3 buttons per cover.

I also grabbed these 'items' at the Salvation Army for $1.50/each. I'm not entirely sure what they were for initially but I picked up a couple of shot glasses for $0.25/each. I can easily transform these 'items' into candle holders with the shot glasses inset.

Hunting and scavenging oh my...

Yesterday I picked up the teak lamps I scoped out at the Lions Gate Thrift Shop last week. I paid $10 for both. I decided to donate the lampshades since they didn't really work too well with the lamps plus they were different shapes. I want a drum shape - a diameter slightly wider than the lamp and quite long in length. My plan is to paint the ceramic part then use Amy Butler fabric for a modern lampshade.

I've been checking online for tutorials for recovering lampshades:

• Apartment Therapy: How To Recover a Lampshade
• gina m studio: How I Make Lampshades

I also bought some off-white rice paper from Opus Art Supplies last night. It was $7 and should be enough for both lampshades. I think I'll add a bit of colour to the glue when I decoupage the cover this weekend. Something earthy and subtle. I'm looking forward to finishing up the lamp. Tonight I'll be grabbing more supplies since I want this weekend to be uber productive...

Kewl Article

I came across this article on the weekend in the New York Times - it was a great read!
A Second Home, a Starter Budget

Finishing projects so you can start more!

I have a fire in my belly so to speak. I want to get a few projects done, without getting distracted of course, so I can move on to more projects. Right now I'm focusing on furniture since I can work on those pieces outside while the warm, dry weather is with us!

Projects On The Go

I picked up this vintage lamp at the Salvation Army for $3 yesterday. It's in great condition except for the horrible painting job someone did on the lampshades. I was able to remove most of the paint using rubbing alcohol oddly enough. Once I was able to remove most of the paint, I noticed one of the shades is a bit burnt. I've decided this week I'll pick up some rice paper and decoupage the shades. I think this should work well and will be in keeping with the funky vintage vibe.

Two things that blow my mind these days: people who destroy kewl vintage items and the use of shellac. Shellac is not my thing when you're refinishing a piece. Usually I buy shellac-ridden pieces then curse them as I try to remove the finish.

While I wait on the rice paper, I moved onto one of the two trays I'm refinishing (the other tray is the notorious craft disaster piece - I'm not sure I'm ready to go back to it yet). I sanded this tray today. I picked this tray up at the Salvation Army as well for $5. The wood is super nice so I contemplated staining it but the style shouts out for paint and definitely either a paper or fabric lining on the inside. Today I'll prime it then it'll be ready for later in the week when I have time to finish it off.

Another piece I bought at the Salvation Army is this stand. It was $2.50. This week I'll measure the top and search out an option for the top shelve - either a tray or glass piece to sit on top. I won't have to do much to make it more functional.

Next weekend I'll be sanding like crazy! I have a few things to finish off then I can be ready to work on the teak chairs we want to refinish and reupholster. We have 6 chairs that we bought for $50. I have free fabric for them. I'm a bit scared by the task of taking them apart then putting them back together again. I'll get a few more successes under my belt then work on the chairs.

Another refinishing project to add to the LONG list!

So what do you do when you have a few pieces of furniture in various stages of refinishing lying around... Well you buy MORE of course. I know it's ridiculous but I bought another piece of furniture needing TLC. Soon I'll be the crazy lady on the street with so much 'junk'. Actually I'm not too bad - our neighbour has possibly 25 bikes in his yard among other things. He makes me look extremely minimal to say the least!

I grabbed this vintage magazine rack at the Salvation Army this week. It was a deal for $15 but it actually ended up being 50% off. My find was $7.50 and it's real wood not veneer, which is a definite bonus.

Project Update

Good news - I finished my denim placemats. I only had enough denim for 3 placemats. I'll get some more denim this weekend then I'll have a set of 4 ready to go. I used the Danica placemat with fish on it. I think it looks cute. I may make another set of 4 using some fabric that has spaceships on it. My friend Bronwen donated the fabric not too long ago. I think they'll look super cute as well.

I'm counting down until the weekend! I'll get to hang out with Paul, do some crafting and work on some of the furniture pieces. I have 2 wooden trays, the silver cutlery box, the shelves, the desk and now the magazine rack to work on. There's definitely lots to do!