Well DUH!

I decided to use some lettering to up-cycle (my new fave word for turning old junk into super cool crap) some vintage school chairs and make them one of a kind.  I stenciled the word "sit" on them.  My husband's synopsis of this idea was "duh, what else are you supposed to do in them?"  As usual he thinks 95% of my ideas are stupid, but typically his disdain means I have a great idea on my hands.

I bought these chairs months ago (6 months, 3 weeks, and 2 days says the hubby).  I loved the vintage feeling, and the practicality of stacking chairs.  I found them on Craigslist and bought 11 chairs for about $20.  The seller tells me they were used in a classroom in Fort Knox, KY at the army base there.  I set up the deal about 10 miles north of Fort Knox at a gas station parking lot.  I don't make this crap up.

Based on the wear, I think they are from the 60's-70's.  Been pondering what to do with these gems.  Several have found a home in my daughter's craft area, but they could easily be used as dining chairs or a chair for a desk.  I'm excited about about all the possibilities - lots of fun paint treatments planned!  So, here is my first go.  I'm a big fan of using words on furniture or on walls.  So here's what I came up with:

BEFORE

   

AFTER

   

I used a stencil made from letters from a stencil letter pack I bought at Home Depot. I just taped the letters together to keep them straight:
   

   

Then I sprayed a very light coat on one of them which turned out like this:

   

I sprayed the other one more heavily and then sanded it out when still a smidge wet:

  

I can't decide which one I like better, but if I had to pick, I like the roughed up one, just because I can imagine it being worn down over time (from all the booty action) and getting naturally worn like that.
What do you think? 

If you just fell in love you can buy these at the Flea Off Market in NuLu (Louisville) in September!  Or make me an offer I can't refuse now!  I can't wait to unveil the rest of my chairs.  The possibilities are endless!

TAGS: vintage school chair, SIT, repurpose

Way to go E-V-O-O!

Pets are great - they add to your family, they don't judge you, they provide unconditional love, they scratch up your leather sofas  . . . . .   So, my cat Buddy, and another Cat George before him, decided that when they were young kittens, jumping on and off my leather sofa was a big time.  Unfortunately they left their mark behind.  Evidence below:

Hideous, right?  After a while I started not to notice, but one day I realized how awful it looked and went online and typed in "cover up cat scratches on leather furniture."  Well, there was a world of options out there, but one that I had in my good old pantry was Olive Oil.  Found several sites that indicated rubbing olive oil on the surface of minor scratches would do the trick.  So I decided, what the heck, it's worth a try, and if it doesn't work I can wipe it off with some baguette slices and have a nice snack with my wine.

Results = FABULOUS!

BEFORE    

AFTER                                          


BEFORE

                                             












AFTER

I am THRILLED with the outcome.  I used a soft cloth to rub the olive oil into the leather in circles.  I think the key is really rubbing it in.  I followed up with a paper towel and buffed it off a bit.  I was a bit worried about oil residue on the leather, but the paper towel buffing revealed there was no oil left on surface of leather.  A few weeks later it still looks awesome.  There are a few deeper marks that are still somewhat visible, but it looks tons better than it did.  The oil also brought back the rich tone of the leather a bit.

TAGS: scratch repair, leather furniture, cat scratch, leather sofa, leather chair, repair

Slacker Alert

Sorry I've been so incognito lately - I.E. slammed crazy busy!  Lots going on with work and family in this bustling spring season.  But, thought you deserved a sneak peek at the boys bedroom which is coming along.

Dying for Diagonal

Stripes.  I love them.  They add visiual punch to just about anything.  Usually it's super cheap to add them to a piece of furniture, accent wall, whatever.  But, did you know the type of stripe you pick says something about you?  More on that later.  Here are some pix of a dresser I redid in DIAGONAL stripes.

I love how the uber-traditional lines and detail on this cabinet compliment the graphic and modern stripes.  Here was the chest before:

It was "cute" but certainly not a WOW of a piece.  LOVE THIS ONE!  Super easy - just taped off the stripes, painted and voila.  And my project was featured HERE a while back on one of my very favorite "Before & After" design blogs, Better After.  This is my MUST CHECK blog each day!

Now, back to my stripe personality test:

* Vertical Stripes (that's up and down to you and me) - traditional, orderly, neat.

traditional hall design by san francisco architect Barbara Chambers

* Horizontal Stripe (across) - modern, punchy, unexpected.  Horizontal striping, especially in paint teqniques have become super chic these days.

contemporary bedroom design by hawaii interior designer Julie Sumile Interior Design

And finally, the super cool and unexpected cousin of the horizontal and vertial stripes, the DIAGONAL stripe.

CLICK HERE FOR SOURCE

So, I decided to go a bit unexpected with the stripes on this dresser, and I LOVE IT.  You can see this dresser from my front window - it's a bit cooky but a bit of an art piece all it's own.

So what do you do on your lunch hour?

Most people, oh, I don't know, eat lunch or maybe run errands, some exercise.  Well not me, because I'm either kind of crazy or super diligent.  Yeah, we'll go with diligent.  So here are some pictures of what I did at lunch yesterday:

First I spray painted some letters that will go above the boys' beds.  I had
already applied 2 coats the night before, but wanted to get another coat.
But, I'm concerned the color is a smidge too orange-ey red, not apple red.

The shelves going on the opposite wall are to the right of this letter.
They look pretty close in color here, but in person they contrast a bit.
May be off to Hobby Lobby to buy a more apple red can of spray paint.
They have more selection than Home Depot or Lowes on color.

While my spray paint was drying, I decided to lay out the
cube shelves that will be going on one of the striped walls.
I did this in the store before buying, but now can't seem
to get the right arrangement.  The blue tape is to mark my
hanging area - it's the same size as the hanging space on
the wall.  

Here's another way I may arrange them.

I couldn't wait any longer and finally hung one
of the shelves on the wall.  I'm not sold on my
arrangement, but I may buy one more shelf to
pull it together. 

So there you go, some progress on the boys' room that I'm feeling like will never be complete.  I'm also struggling on the blinds for the room - one of the windows is 76" long which is longer than the big box home stores carry.  So, I'm having to order something custom which makes me ill - remember, I'm cheap as hell.  Another primary reason for wanting to get things complete is that this is what my living room and dining room currently looks like:

Now if any of you who know me are saying to yourself, "how does this look different than normal", we're not friends anymore.

And finally, I think I'm obsessed with these cube shelves.  They add color, storage and are like art - I found these at Hobby Lobby this week.  Thinking we'll work them into my daughter's room when we overhaul it soon - and since her brothers are getting a new room, all of a sudden she hates hers.   Typical.  But, these shelves make me want to jump in - super cute, no?

TTYL

Anything that ends in 'Z' sounds cooler

Like, instead of being like "Hey boys, what's up?" you could say, "hey boyZ wazzzuup" - see how much cooler that is?  Much like my new fave home design and decor blog, Houzz.  They have bazillions of room pix, and you can slice and sort them based on your style or by room type.  Well I like LOTS of styles, kind of all MASHED-UP, so that would be eclectic.  So, clicked the "eclectic" box and it came back with 32,000 pix - decided to whittle it down a bit and chose 'living room' in addition.  Here are some FAB pix it came back with - super inspired!

Love the white and simplicity of this room, especially the large black and white photos:

eclectic living room design by other metros media and blogs Michelle Hinckley

Pop of color with the turquoise island is just enough and a bit unexpected:

eclectic living room design by austin photographer Robert K. Chambers

Strong lines of the black and white striped curtains tie nicely with the softness of the pale pink sofa and feminine furniture: 

eclectic living room design by kansas city interior designer Nichole Loiacono-Young

I'm ga-ga for the chevron zig zag rug, want it so badly . . . notice how the big pattern of the rug compliments the small pattern in the curtains: 

eclectic living room design by other metros interior designer Debbie Basnett

Love the pop of yellow against the fairly traditional grey walls and cream curtains: 

eclectic living room design by richmond tile stone and countertop Charles Luck Stone Center

This room just makes me happy.  Great mix of modern lines on the sofa with the rustic beams on the ceiling. White walls (my fave) are a great backdrop for the bright mix of art and furniture:

eclectic living room design by other metros media and blogs Jan Skacelik

Bright turquoise toned down with glossy black and a tiny pop of pink just works:

eclectic living room design by boise interior designer Judith Balis

YUUUP, this is my favorite, and look - the F is my last name initial too!  Love the industrial look of the brick walls, the huge black and white photo and the unexpected color of the chandelier.  Did you notice the chandelier has round bulbs instead of traditional tapered ones - brings a modern touch: 

eclectic living room design by atlanta interior designer decordemon

So, go look around on Houzz and see if you find anything that strikes your fancy! 

It's hard being brilliant

Well, no it's not really, it's pretty awesome.  Sharing a crafty project with you today. It's kind of nerdy - practical, but has solved some major problems.  Sooooooo, at my daughter's latest school conference, I heard several of her teachers indicate that her main source of problems and roadblack to big success is  . . . .  having a pencil.  Really.  She evidently never has a pencil.  Yes, I rolled my eyes too. I mean, how hard is that?  I've sent in like a go-jillian this year and every year.  Yes, she loses all of her other supplies too, but they literally all said she'd be better if she just had a pencil.  One suggested, could you get her a necklace to hold it.  Well, at our uber-conservative school where even colored hair accessories are prohibited, I was surprised but jumped on the opportunity to come up with something.  I googled for hours online for things like neck pencil holder, pencil necklaces, etc - no go.  So, decided to get my DIY on.  And here you go:

Yes, that is like a nerdy pocket protector but for your neck.  Here's how I made it:

This is an ID holder for your neck I found
at Office Depot

So that the pencils wouldn't fall out, I put a small piece of velcro on the INSIDE of the pouch:

And voila, the coolest nerdy pencil holder of all time.  I half expected my daughter to tell me she wouldn't use it, but to my surprise she was excited and tells me she uses it every day.   I've not had reports of missing pencils from teachers, so heck, maybe it will work.  What has NOT happened is rush orders from her friends who want one too.  Hmmm, still researching the mass market appeal for this product!  One more pic of the after.