Category Archives: Projects

Apr2

A Desk Molded into Shape – Part 2

Posted on 2 April, 2013 by The DIY Spot

Here’s where I left off with this desk a few weeks back.

Anytime I’m unsure of how to proceed or I second guess myself, procrastination sets in, and there you have it, an unfinished piece waiting for closure far too long. Taking note of it’s unfinished state when passing by, I get so annoyed with my indecisiveness. Can you relate to this experience?

But the other day, I decided to embrace the uncertainty of it all and take a creative stand once again. I stained the molding I added to drawers. At first, I stained everything in varying shades of brown as you see in the second drawer. However, I liked the mix of the natural and stained wood tones and went with that.

Mistakenly, second guessing my original creative decision, I sanded off the previously painted top and tried a dark painted/stain finish instead. It looked hideous! I didn’t take any pictures, but trust me, it wasn’t pretty. I repainted the top white again, afterward, uttering a huge sigh of relief.

And after all that procrastination and second guessing, here it is:

I used the original hardware.

However, the finish was really bad, so I decided to spray paint them white.

As for the legs, I sanded off the original finish and couldn’t decide, dark or light.

So I left them natural.

All it needs is a couple coats of wax and it will be ready to begin it’s second life.

Not sure of it’s final destination, but it has lots of storage, two drawers on one side and a cubby on the other.

So here’s the before, tired and leaning to one side.

and here’s the after, strong and confident.

All in all, I’m pleased. Mid Century Modern Desk completed. Check. So many more pieces waiting in the wings but I’m making progress and have kicked procrastination to the curb once again. Hands on hips, I almost feel like a creative super hero. Yeah!!!

Sharing this post with:

Between Naps on the Porch: Metamorphosis Monday
The Shabby Creek Cottage:Transformation Thursday
Miss Mustard Seed:Furniture Feature Friday
Funky Junk Interiors: Saturday Night Special

Mar6

A Box and a Dream

Posted on 6 March, 2013 by The DIY Spot

A Box and a Dream

So the box arrived. Not just any box, THE BOX!

I could hardly contain myself. Inside contains a dream, a vision and a creative journey that I started over 5 years ago. It’s contents are a symbol of the hard work and constant thought that I had put my on the back burner far too long. After second guessing and doubting myself all along the way, I decided to kick fear to the curb and go for it!

So let’s see what’s inside. Here’s your first clue. Hmmmh, what could this be?

How about now? Can you guess?

Okay, I know the suspense is just too much as it has been for me since I began my journey. Here it is!

These beautiful red rubber sheets are my first set of art stamps that I designed from a DIY point of view. Art stamps are a wonderful creative tool that can be used on a variety of surfaces to give any creative project that personal touch of embellishment. And the great thing is, they are quick, easy and fun to use!

More to come. I’m heading over to Etsy to set up shop. Yeah!

Jan25

Candle Remnants

Posted on 25 January, 2013 by The DIY Spot

Candle Remnants

I love candles. They make me relax and elevate my mood especially when the days are short and the weather is cold and dreary. You can read about the beginning of my love affair with candles here. However, what I dislike about candles are the ~~remnants~~ significant unused portion that gets discarded.

However, desperation inspired me to find a way to use the meaningful remnants that remain. You see, I had purchased a Citrus Vanilla candle by Essential Elements. When the candle could no longer burn, I was disappointed that this scent had been discontinued from their line:(

I decided to use the candle wax remnants to make a new candle, a little version of it’s former self.

It’s so easy to do. Here’s what you need for this project.

Small jar
Purchased wicks (available in different lengths)
Cheese cloth or guaze

1. Decide what jar you are going to use for your new mini candle. I re-purposed a small food jar for the one above and used a small mason jar for this tutorial. Adhere the wick to the bottom of the jar using a dab of hot glue.

2. Scoop out the remnants from the jar. Using a dinner knife, cut it into sections, then run it around the perimeter. Most of the time, it will pop out very easily.

3. Separate the wick base from the wax using the knife. Don’t worry if your wax is charred or contains soot. It will be filtered out in step 5.

4. Place the chunks into a jar and place in a pot of water. Bring water to a slow simmer and wait for wax to melt.

5. Place the cheesecloth or guaze over the jar

and pour wax into the jar.

This will filter out all the soot residue.

It will set up in minutes.

I had enough to make a second one using one of the original jars.

That’s it! Wasn’t that easy? A brand new candle made from candle remnants that would, otherwise, have been thrown away. I like that!

What do you think? Doable project? Do you have a favorite candle scent?

Final Notes: I would stay away from mixing scents or at least be careful when doing so. You don’t want to end up with a “not so great” smelling candle. I am a vanilla person so I was able to combine all my vanilla candle remnants together.

And I dislike having to end on a frightening note but I have to include candle safety suggestions taken from the UL’s website because I care about your safety.

“Keep an eye on burning candles.
Place candles out of the reach of children and pets.
Extinguish candles when leaving the room or going to sleep.
Don’t place candles near curtains, bedding, paper, walls or any combustible materials.
Use a sturdy, non-combustible candleholder that can collect drippings and won’t tip over.
Extinguish a candle when 2 inches of wax remains or a half-inch if the candle is in a container. This prevents heat damage to the surface and stops glass containers from breaking.
Always keep candles – as well as matches and lighters – out of the reach of children.”

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Funky Junk Interiors: Saturday Night Special

Between Naps on the Porch: Metamorphosis Monday

Dec28

Home by Christmas – Part 2

Posted on 28 December, 2012 by The DIY Spot

Home by Christmas – Part 2

I was all psyched to do my remake of Home by Christmas. By the way, I figured out why I am so drawn to this movie. It’s because of Linda Hamilton’s character’s “pick yourself up by your bootstrap” tenacity, her creative approach to life’s dilemmas and, of course her passion for home decor.

I had big plans to have a beautiful styled room for No. 1 Son coming home from college for the holidays. Let’s just say that the final result didn’t quite match my good intentions My room makeover resulted in a calamity of events, back aches and shear exhaustion. The sore back came from going up and down 2 flights of stairs all day long and hauling furniture, retrieving supplies, tools, etc. between the basement and 2nd floor. At first, I was wondering why I was so exhausted and then by day 3 I decided to put on a pedometer. Turns out I was averaging 10,000 steps, mostly stairs each day. I think that would exhaust just about anyone, don’t you think? If this is sounding like a pit party, I assure you it’s not. Well maybe a little:)

What exactly did I accomplish?

I removed the decoupaged sheet music from the nightstands I had refinished a few months back.

The veneer was in such bad condition and I was looking for a quick fix.

It just didn’t work and they sat it my garage ever since. So I removed the decoupaged paper and started over.

Boy was that a challenge! After much scraping and sanding, I patched the veneer, worked out the blisters and repainted.

I refinished his dresser

and stained his desk.

Installed cellular shades.

No success finding any curtains as of yet. I might resort to making some if I continue to have no luck.

After that, it was mostly cleaning and tidying up. I discovered No. 1 Son, like Mr. DIY, has paper issues. He still had high school papers nestled in this book case. It was a mess but it’s organized now. I wanted to paint it but I ran out of time.

This photo album was buried in all the rubble. His grandmother arranged a montage of his life. I stopped to reminisce for a while. Time flies much too fast.

Hard to believe my now 6’2″ son was ever that small.

I stuck a lame bow on the door. When No. 1 Son arrived home, I accompanied him up to his room. A young man of very few words, his response went something like this:

No. 2 son: New furniture?
Me: No
No. 2 Son: This is my desk?
Me: Yes
Taking a closer look, then quickly diverting his attention to the dresser
No. 2 Son: (Wide tooth grin and shaking his head) That is NOT my dresser!
Me: Yes, it is.
No. 2 Son: Wasn’t my dresser wider?
Me: No. that’s the same dresser.

He took a couple of turns around and smiled.

That’s all I remember. It was extremely late and I was exhausted having worked right up to the last minute. Although it was a great learning experience (I will save that for another post), I was glad to be done for now. The end result was a spanking clean room, three furniture redo’s – a blank canvas, ready to be accessorized.

Can you relate? What do you do when your vision and execution are out of sync and frustration sets in?

I’m sharing this post with:

Miss Mustard Seed: Furniture Feature Friday

Funky Junk Interiors: Saturday Night Special

Dec21

Dresser Recovery

Posted on 21 December, 2012 by The DIY Spot

Dresser Recovery

What a difference a day makes! No more blue madness! After soliciting suggestions, I considered painting the room a more neutral color but then I caught myself. I rather redo a piece of furniture then paint walls. I painted the dresser black and it looks so much better with the blue walls.

One day my dresser was suffering the blues

And the next day it looked like this

I used black milk paint, stenciled the numbers using Paris Gray chalk paint and added new hardware.

I still have to drill new holes on drawer no. 1 for knobs. I haven’t reattached the lower trim piece. I might alter it some more or use a straight piece of trim instead. Not sure just yet.

But it has come a long way

I’m so glad it’s no longer blue:)

And I am no longer in over my head:)

Sharing this post with:
Miss Mustard Seed: Furniture Feature Friday

Funky Junk Interiors: Saturday Night Special

Jul17

Simple Living

Posted on 17 July, 2012 by The DIY Spot

Simple Living

I love simple green solutions, so when I stumble upon them in blog land, I’m elated. You see, I love baking soda and vinegar. Okay I’m weird. I admit it. I use both for the bulk of my household cleaning and laundry. I love the clean fresh non chemical scent they give to freshly laundered clothes when I use baking soda and scent free laundry detergent in the wash cycle and vinegar in the rinse cycle.

Recently, I discovered this baking soda based air freshener by Smashed Peas and Carrots:

Neat idea! I’m definitely going to give this a try.

And then I discovered a baby oil remedy for removing labels over at Krafty Kat.

I reuse plastic containers and glass jars to store and organize my craft supplies and I have such a hard time removing the labels.

I have Goo Be Gone but dislike the strong chemical formula so this green alternative is definitely for me.

I challenge myself to go green whenever I can using the products pictured below:

source

Discovering a new green application or tip is a return to basics and simple living; I like that:)

Do you have simple green ideas you like to use?

Jul12

Terrariums, of Course!

Posted on 12 July, 2012 by The DIY Spot

Terrariums, of Course!

No. 2 son graduated from fifth grade and will be off to middle school in the fall. I thought it would be nice to give parting gifts to each of the teachers he had from kindergarten through 5th grade. After weeks of brainstorming and second guessing all my ideas, one day I was in Barnes and Nobles browsing through magazines and came across a beautiful terrarium. Immediately, I thought, that’s it!

I used different containers so that each would have it’s own unique personality. I found most of these glass containers at one of my favorite thrift stores.

I read up on the right plants to use and how to plant them.

The basic ingredients are charcoal (available at pet stores), pebbles, potting soil and moss; however, there was a lot of variation in the order of layers and the use of charcoal.

Closed terrariums definitely need the charcoal due to the humidity levels.

This, by far, is my favorite one. I love it’s crock pot like shape. Actually, I kept it for myself and I made another one in it’s place.

I separated two plants to make all seven. We gave one to the principal too. We received a thank you card in the mail and she says it’s thriving.

I didn’t have the same luck with the one I kept, but that’s another story. My vegetable garden isn’t doing too well either. I wonder if it’s some sort of sign? Or, can I blame it on the intensely hot summer we’re having? I digressed, I know.

Seriously, I do love how these mini terrariums turned out and I thought they made nice end-of-year gifts for his former teachers and principal.

And an excerpt from their card, “…May this plant be a symbol of the growing knowledge, inspiration and wisdom you strive to impart on all your students, past and present… ”

And even if they don’t thrive, I wanted them to know that our family valued their work and they made a significant mark in No. 2 son’s life.

“What a teacher writes on the blackboard of life can never be erased.” (Author Unknown)

What do you think? Do you have a favorite gift idea? A favorite teacher who you adored or made a real difference in your life?

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Saturday:

Funky Junk Interiors: Saturday Night Special

Sunday:
The DIY Showoff:The DIY Project Parade

Monday:
Metamorphosis Monday:Between Naps On The Porch

Wednesday:
Beyond The Picket Fence:Under $100 Linky Party

Thursday:

My Repurposed Life: Catch as Catch Can Party

May11

Time for a Paint Intervention

Posted on 11 May, 2012 by The DIY Spot

Time for a Paint Intervention

Paint, paint, paint, leftover, unusable paint that is. Packed in the back of my van ready to be dropped off at a local collection site.

Thankfully, New York City sponsors a local drop off for paint, computers and household items for proper disposal. Although it will be disposed of properly, the fact that I am contributing to the landfill in this way disturbs me. I want to do better.

So here’s my question. What can one do to avoid this problem? Is it possible to purchase one gallon of white paint at a time and use tint to achieve my desired colors? Despite my efforts of transferring to smaller containers, sometimes I just can’t avoid the crusty paint lids or semi-dried up paint. Do you have a system for avoiding paint leftovers? If so, please share. Like I said, I want to do better:)

Linking to:
Domestically Speaking: Power of Paint Party

Apr24

China Cabinet turned Bookcase- Part 1

Posted on 24 April, 2012 by The DIY Spot

China Cabinet turned Bookcase- Part 1

A few years ago I discovered this china buffet in one of my favorite thrift stores.

The only reason I bought it was because I had plans to repurpose the china section. Immediately, I sold the bottom portion at a consignment store.

I’ve been using it for our family library. We have lots of books and the glass doors are great for keeping them dust free. It was on my “to do” painting list but that never happened. Although it was displaced to No. 2 Son’s room during a renovation that has yet to be completed, it’s original home was on the second floor landing. But now that I wanted to incorporate our books into the main family areas, the size of this piece didn’t leave me too many placement options. I thought. why not cut it into two sections so that I can place it on either side of the media console in our basement family room.

Step 1- Remove molding.

Step 2 – Make the cuts. Mr. DIY taped and cut off the side edges from the center section.

First the top,

and then the bottom

And now we have three, but not for long.

I decided to cut off the side sections rather than splitting it down the middle because I wanted the doors of each cabinet to open from the center. If I had cut it down the center, both doors of each finished cabinet would open from to the left or right and it would have required the addition of side panels as well.

As for that curved cut out, originally to make room for the flourescent light fixture, I am not sure if I will fill it in or leave it as is. Sometimes I like the quirkiness of things like that. You know, a conversation starter so to speak. Maybe, maybe not. I will decide that later.

Step 3 – Adhere the two side sections together to match it’s twin, the original center section.

To do that, I had Mr. DIY add a thin piece of wood between the two sections to compensate for the wood loss during the cutting process.

Step 4 – Use a heat gun to remove the trim residuals left behind.

And there you have it, all glued up, sanded and waiting to be primed. It’s twin is ready as well.

Wow! that was a lot of work but there is so much more to go. Not entirely sure what color to paint them. Same color as the media console or another color? Not a fan of matchy, matchy, but I think that might be the way to go. What do you think?

I sure hope you will come back to see the rest of this transformation. To be continued…….

Linking to:
Beyond the Picket Fence:Under $100 Linky Party

DIY by Design: Swing into Spring

Domestically Speaking:Power of Paint Party

Faded Charm:White Wednesday

Handy Man Crafty Woman:Wicked Awesome Wednesday

Primitive and Proper:Piece of Work Wednesday

Primp:Primp Your Stuff Wednesday Link Party

Restore Interiors: Restored It Wednesday

Savvy Southern Style:Wow Us Wednesday

House of Hepworths: Hookin Up with HOH

No Minimalist Here:Open House Party

The Shabby Creek Cottage: Transformation Thursday

Addicted to Decorating: Addicts (not so) Anonymous Party

At the Picket Fence: Inspiration Friday

Chic On A Shoestring: Flaunt It Friday

Common Ground: Vintage Inspiration Friday

Finding Fabulous: Frugalicious Friday

French Country Cottage: Feathered Nest Friday

Miss Mustard Seed:Furniture Feature Friday

My Repurposed Life: Catch as Catch Can Party

My Romantic Home:Show And Tell Friday

Redoux:Friday Feature Party

Simple Home Life:Simply Creations

Tatertots & Jello:Weekend Wrap Up Party

The Charm of Home:Home Sweet Home

The Shabby Nest: Frugal Friday

Funky Junk Interiors: Saturday Night Special

Beneath My Heart: Best DIY Project of the Month

Feb6

In Time for Valentine’s Day

Posted on 6 February, 2012 by The DIY Spot

In Time for Valentine’s Day

The last few weeks I have been brainstorming a ways to create a Valentine’s Day display that would incorporate my lamp holiday tree that I refuse to put away. I got as far as constructing some burlap hearts.

I couldn’t find a way to display them that pleased me. I tried using lace and twine and concluded that I need a lot more of them in different sizes to perhaps cascade them from the tiers. Since time is at a premium these days, I nixed the tree and switched gears to a wall display instead.

I added burlap backs to the empty frames on the striped wall in my dining room and used double stick tape to temporarily adhere the hearts.

Initially I sewed the layers together, but a sharpie pen can be used to create faux stitching just as well.

I use strips of red burlap and slid it on a metal heart frame I had sitting around to create this luscious one.

I love the unraveling burlap texture.

Added a couple of embellishments pulled from a holiday wreath to some.

Shaped a vine into a Valentine wreath and placed it front and center along with some Love on the side.

And there you have it, an embellished wall that let’s you know Valentines Day is here!

Happy Valentines Day!

Sharing this post on:

Monday:

Between Naps on the Porch:Metamorphosis Monday

Mod Vintage Life:Mod Mix Monday

You are Talking Too Much:Monday Link Party

Apron Thrift Girl:Craft Catwalk

Crafts Keep Me Sane:Motivate Me Monday

Tuesday:

A Bowl Full of Lemons:One Project at a Time

Coastal Charm:Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

Wednesday:

DIY by Design: Fall into Fall

Domestically Speaking:Power of Paint Party

Faded Charm:White Wednesday

Handy Man Crafty Woman:Wicked Awesome Wednesday

Primp:Primp Your Stuff Wednesday Link Party

Restore Interiors: Restored It Wednesday

Savvy Southern Style:Wow Us Wednesday

Thursday:

House of Hepworths: Hookin Up with HOH

No Minimalist Here:Open House Party

Saved by Suzy:House Party

The Shabby Creek Cottage: Transformation Thursday

Friday:

Finding Fabulous: Frugalicious Friday

French Country Cottage: Feathered Nest Friday

Miss Mustard Seed:Furniture Feature Friday

My Repurposed Life: Catch as Catch Can Party

My Romantic Home:Show And Tell Friday

Remodelaholic: Anonymous

Simple Home Life:Simply Creations

Tatertots & Jello:Weekend Wrap Up Party

The Charm of Home:Home Sweet Home

The Shabby Nest: Frugal Friday

Meaningful Remnants

The blog formerly known as The DIY Spot

Category Archives: Projects

A Desk Molded into Shape – Part 2

A Box and a Dream

Candle Remnants

Home by Christmas – Part 2

Dresser Recovery

Simple Living

Terrariums, of Course!

Time for a Paint Intervention

China Cabinet turned Bookcase- Part 1

In Time for Valentine’s Day