Wooden Boxes
I love decorative boxes because they’re pretty and they allow you to hide everyday clutter. Here are three that I have collected over time.
After gluing together the little file box and sanding it and the Lane cedar box, I liked the natural woods and decided not to take it any further with paint or stain. I like how they contrast with the darker ornate box.
I purchased it when I was a teenager from Azuma, an import store that existed way before it’s time. Despite my sentimental attachment to it, I am contempating changing the color to a dark turquoise.
As for the insides, again not sure. Leave well enough alone or what?
Ahhhhh, what to do, what to do? I will decide after I finish partying at:
Between Naps on the Porch: Metamorphosis Monday
Domestically Speaking: Power of Paint Wednesday
The Shabby Chic Cottage: Transformation Thursday
The Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn 2010
The Renegade Craft Fair, held at McCarren Park in Brooklyn last Saturday, was busy busy busy. There was so much creativity in the air and I was so happy to be able to experience it all. Here are a few of the vendors that caught my eye.
These colorful folk art designs made me think about the simple life of yesteryear.
Don’t you just love the vintage fabrics?
Something tells me the designer, Natalie, is passionate about the color orange!
As usual, I always stop to admire pillows.
And these graphic dish towels are so pretty, I’m not too sure I would actually use them for their intended purpose.
I was drawn to Denise DeLong’s New York scenes like this one depicting subway life.
And her tile and cleat colors are absolutely amazing and the cleats can be used for hooks, door or drawer handles.
Number 2 son immediately gravitated to the robot and UFO T-shirt designs of Intl. Robot
I had him pick one out for himself. He thanked me with a big smile.
And there he is sewing away at the Burda booth. They offered free “make it take it” projects. He made a drawstring bag. The vendors were impressed with his skills. This is not his first time using the sewing machine. I bought him an inexpensive one because he expressed an interest in learning to sew; I have to say he is a natural. Yes, boys can learn to sew too. Do I detect a smirk on your face? Just think, Pierre Cardin and Calvin Klein. Yes both of them learned how to sew.
While Number 2 son was sewing, I spoke briefly with Glenn of BagsforThePeople.org. This non profit combines sewing and environmental conciousness by inspiring people to make and use reusable bags. I had stumbled upon the website, a couple of weeks prior, through one of the many blogs I read. It was nice to meet the person behind this environmetally friendly business venture.
Overall, it was a fun day! The weather held up and parking was effortless. For those of you not familiar with New York, that is a rare occurrence.
A Bedroom Wall Unit
I have to say this bedroom unit has come a long way. I purchased the center section of this wall unit from The Salvation Army thrift store for sixty dollars. The side sections, I found on Craigs List for twenty five dollars, if I remember correctly. It’s a discontinued Ikea design that had a blonde almond finish. All are laminate pieces.
This was a relatively easy makeover. I sanded each piece to give it some tooth before priming them with Zinsser primer. I painted them with the same color, Behr Cinnamon Cake which I have used for all the other white pieces in my home. I do that because it allows me the flexibility to switch pieces around from room to room. I replaced the hardware with glass knobs as well as the panels in the lower doors and added swivel castors to the bottom for easy portability.
Here are some closeups.
And opened up:
I want to embelish the panels in the lower doors and add some color to the back of the unit but I am not sure just what to do. It’s the fine details that always seem to get me.
Regardless of the details, this multi-functional piece, key to small space living, replaced two dressers, I was happy to relocate elsewhere. It houses our clothing, small television, books and binders, among other things and is the perfect solution for keeping everything orderly and neat. Well, almost anyway. In the interest of keeping it real, this is what it usually looks like behind the closed doors.
Isn’t that the purpose of doors anyway? To hide all the untidy places lurking within our homes. How about you? Do you have a multifunctional piece that hides your little messy secrets?
I am in the mood for a great party, so I am linking this post to:
Between Naps on he Porch: Metamorphosis Monday
Tools Are for Women Too:Modern Craftswoman
Reinvented: Trash to Treasure Tuesday
Domestically Speaking: Power of Paint Wednesday
The Shabby Chic Cottage: Transformation Thursday
Mustard Seed Creations: Furniture Feature Friday
Funky Junk Interiors: Saturday Nite Special
Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn
The Renegade Craft Fair is this weekend at McClarren Park in Brooklyn. . I went last year and enjoy all the handmade eye candy. I can’t wait to go and hope the weather cooperates. There is rain in the forecast. If you live in the area, it’s worth a visit.
Got Ants?
I hope you had a nice Memorial Day weekend. As promised, on Saturday, I announced The DIY Spot’s first giveaway winner. A special thank you to everyone who participated.
Although nothing to do with DIY or anything creative, I thought today’s post might come in handy at some point in your everyday lives.
You see, for the last two months I have been fighting the war on ants. It has been a tough fight. I knew they were coming in somewhere around my kitchen window; however, I could not find the actual entry point. No matter what I used, they kept invading our home. I actually found two places where they were breeding outside my home; one was between the layers of a flat of flowers waiting to be planted and rhe other place was underneath the mat at my front door. I hosed the two areas but I was still left with a problem inside. I wanted to avoid using toxic substances and tried some earth friendly ideas I found online. One suggestion was to use cinnamon sticks. I did. The ants simply walked around them. Smart ants, I guess.
I decided I had to step up my game. After all, this was a war. Here are a few of the products I tried:
Ortho B Gon Bait
Grant’s Kill Ants Stakes
Grant’s Kill Ants Syringe (looks like peanut butter)
Orange Guard (made from orange peel extract)
EcoSmart Organic Home Pest Control (clove oil, rosemary oil, peppermint oil and thyme oil)
The first two did not work at all. Happily, the two that were most effective were the green products, Orange Guard and EcoSmart. Yeah!! I try to go green whenever I can. It is available Home Depot.
Got ants? What did you do?
And the Winner Is……………….
The winner chosen by Random.org of the The DIY Spot’s 1st Anniversary Giveaway is Cindi. Congratulations Cindi! I will be in touch shortly.
I apologize for this not so great screen shot. This is my first time using this site and I am sure there is a better way to display the results. Next giveaway, yes I plan to have more, I will do my best not to stress your eyes. Live and learn, right?
Thank you to everyone who entered my first giveaway. For those of you who have been with me since the beginning and to all my new fans and followers, thanks so much for joining The DIY Spot. I am so thrilled to see all your tiny faces each and every time I log on. I hope all of you will continue to visit and share in the posts ahead.
Enjoy the rest of this beautiful Memorial Day weekend!
Happy Friday and Last Chance!
Happy Friday!
Just a reminder, tomorrow, 12 PM my 1st Anniversary Giveaway ends.
I will post the winner by tomorrow evening. Good luck to each of you.
Until then, let’s get this weekend started!
A Dining Room Table Tale – Take Two
Since I didn’t have a before picture when I originally posted this makeover story, I thought it was worth retelling, now that I found one. If, however, you missed the first post or want more details you can find it here.
Once upon a time, about three years ago
A dining room table was thrown away with no legs to go
A DIY princess spotted it from the corner of her eye
Immediately, she thought of the landfill and said “ My; oh my”
Hauling it home, admiring its potential beauty
She knew with her magic she could make it a cutey.
Stripped, sanded and stained returning it to it’s former glory
A beautiful table top I now have, for the rest of this story.
What will I do for the legs?
Perhaps Ebay or Craig’s?
So she searched and she searched with all her might
Until she found some that she thought would be just right
When they arrived, so excited was she
She finished them right away, happy with glee
Ready to assemble, the fairytale turned nightmare
She thought to herself, this is quite rare
After many attempts, the legs just wouldn’t work
She had to contain herself so she wouldn’t go berserk
Sad, disappointed and not ready to give up, it was time to let it be known
By soliciting the help of her woodworker prince to make a design of her own
When these newly designed legs presented more attachment issues
She couldn’t believe it and reached for a tissue.
Saddened with grief and wallowing in desperation
She knew a thrift store would be her only salvation.
Off she went, quickly spotting a battered table
With a base that she hoped would be able.
$24.99, oh what a deal!
Her disappointment turned to excitement, she just wanted to squeal.
She carted it home, adjusted and refinished the base
Hoping all along that this will be her ace
The table is now finished, sitting in her dining room a tad too big
But she was glad it was over and did a jig
Sitting pretty, spared from the landfill, she has learned a lot.
When she finds a more suitable one, she will donate it on the spot.
Plan A: Ebay purchased stained a dark walnut shade.
One of many attempts to attach the legs. Okay, time for Plan B:
The legs I designed and my prince made from plywood.
I painted them chocolate brown.
Attachment and leg clearance issues followed. On to Plan C:
Found this table base at a thrift store.
Removed chipped laminate with a heating gun.
I gave it a good sanding.
After I stained it, this is what it looked like. Having worked with Poplar, I should have known better; this type of wood is meant to be painted, not stained.
So I worked some magic with brown paint and glaze to unify the color and then applied walnut stain on top of the paint/glaze layers to achieve the look you see in the photo of the finished table.
Side detail of the table. I like the carved design.
Close-ups of the finish. I used various shades of stain to create a subtle striped design.
And finally, the finished table.
The End
I am linking this post to :
Between Naps on he Porch: Metamorphosis Monday
Reinvented: Trash to Treasure
Domestically Speaking: Power of Paint Wednesday
The Shabby Chic Cottage: Transformation Thursday
Mustard Seed Creations: Furniture Feature Friday
Funky Junk Interiors: Saturday Nite Special
First Anniversary Giveaway ends March 29!
Weekend Wishes
Wishing you good fun
and a whole lot of sun
Time to play
during the next 2 days
How about some R&R,
if you don’t go too far
But if you do venture out
And roam about
Don’t forget to look around,
and take in all the sounds
So that when Sunday eve comes
You will be happy to hum
Your favorite tune
As Monday approaches, much too soon!
Have a wonderful weekend!
And please forgive me. Every so often, I can’t stop the wannabe poet in me. Remember this?
Drawer Dilemma – Part 2
Okay, so I put it out there that I needed creative input on how to finish my drawer chest. You can read about that here. Some of you asked about it’s size; it measures 26″ wide by 9″ high. I got some great suggestions so I decided to use Photoshop to test out some of your ideas. Here they are, minus the knobs of course.
My design inspiration came from a beautiful record cabinet by Miss Mustard Seeds. It will be a charging station that will rest on my sideboard which you can see here, there are white and dark furniture pieces in the room, and, as many of you may know, I love the color blue.
So please chime in and let me know what you think? I can’t wait to hear what you have to say!
In the meantime, I heading over to:
Between naps on he Porch: Metamorphosis Monday
Reinvented: Trash to Treasure
A Soft Place to Land: DIY Day
Domestically Speaking: Power of Paint Wednesday
The Shabby Chic Cottage: Transformation Thursday
Funky Junk Interiors: Saturday Nite Special and
Serenity Now: Decorating Dilemmas
