Trash or Treasure

Sorry for the cliché  but one person's trash really is another person's treasure.  I really have a love for antique things but don't really lean towards art deco or retro furnishings like some of my friends.  That is why it was so much fun when my friend discovered this old chrome swivel chair in another friend's basement.  I wouldn't have looked twice at it and yet it turned out to be such a wonderful project recovering it for her.   Needless to say, she has a really good eye for well made furniture.

I just happened to have some art deco material that I had purchased a the Textile Museum's annual sale (you must go if you love fabric)!!  It reminded me of the plants in a Super Mario Brothers game and really seemed to suit this piece.  

Stealing from Sookie's Kitchen!

I remember one Christmas holiday re-watching Gilmore Girls on DVD.  If you know the series at all you will know Sookie St. James is the cook on the show.  Long before Sookie Stackhouse ran with vampires, Sookie St. James' character was a quirky fun loving clumsy cook with a kitchen to die for including an amazing bulletin board for notes, recipes and all sorts of fun memories. .  I love the organized chaos it portrayed and quickly searched my house for materials to make one for my own kitchen.

  

I came up with an old gold frame, faded floral materials and satin ribbon.  I was lucky to also have some foam core in my house for the backing and voila - a new winter project came to life!  With a few pins and hot glue to hold the ribbon and fabric in place around the boarder of the foam core - it was a simple matter of popping the project into the frame and adding bits and pieces of fun cards and memories.  I change it up often and love that I have an area to keep the sentiments my friends and family give to me rather than storing them in a drawer.  

This lead to me taking trips to the local Value Village for other frames to paint up and turn into boards for fundraising projects or mini boards for my friend's desks.  It was easy to turn any size frame into a board.  These are a really easy and inexpensive project that could be nicely added to a front hall, laundry room or home office as well!

It's all in the HOOK!

I swear that when I first tried this product, I wasn't expecting much but I am now a huge fan and have even dragged friends into stores to buy them.  What is this wonder product you ask?  3M Command Hooks.  I am in LOVE with these products.  As someone who likes to change up their decor regularly and has particularly nasty plaster walls - this is the solution.  It all started when I wanted to hang my Christmas wreath on my metal front door.  I took a chance and bought one of the standard plastic hooks - it not only held my very heavy wreath but completely came off after the holidays - no marks!

My friend has cement walls in her apartment - I mentioned the hooks and she found that they had actual Command products specifically for picture frames and heavy wall decor.  Happy clap!!!  To have an instant solution that requires no tools, allows you to change your mind as many times as you like and goes on any surface - mirror, tile, drywall, metal etc. - I can see why the 3M brand has such a loyal following.

I'm normally not someone who endorses products to this extent but if you haven't tried these products - you are missing out!  I considered wearing a t-shirt to share my adoration however I didn't want to give any pirates the wrong idea!

Gum Drop Pillows

A few years ago my sister and I stumbled upon this amazing material by Amy Butler.  It is really hard to find in Canada but is really unlike any other material we've ever come across.  My sister purchased a pattern by Amy Butler to make gum drops pillows as you see here.  I had NO part in making these incredible pillows.  The version she made me is ottoman size and required 10 bags of polyfilla to stuff it.  We quickly realized this would cost a fortune to stuff!  The solution - IKEA.  Ikea regular pillows with standard synthetic fill are as inexpensive as $1.99 a piece. The ottoman took 9 pillows to fill but cost a great deal less.   The weirdest thing is the idea came to me in a dream - I wish I could come up with a get rich quick scheme in my dreams next!

I'm still trying to convince my sister to sell her pillows on Etsy - they are so beautiful.

It's a Wrap!

Each year I choose specific colours when wrapping my gifts.  It makes a tedious job more fun as I, like many women, am attracted to a pretty package.  This year I opted for red, blues and whites and tried to stick with only one patterned wrapping paper paired with solid colours.  I also found these amazing poka-dot bells to thread on to the ribbon rather than using a traditional bow.

You don't need to spend a fortune on wrapping paper and materials - you just need to know where to shop.  The patterned paper is always the easiest to find while the plain paper can be more challenging.  I find Ikea and even some dollar stores are helpful with the plain wrap.  The ribbon is easiest to find in skeins at Fabricland or inexpensive spools at Zellers.  The tags are recycled holiday cards from last Christmas and the bells are from Fabricland as well.

So - am I a little weird for my colour themed wrapping?  Absolutely but I think it makes the recipient feel that much more special.  Maybe not my brother who prefers his gifts wrapped in the comic section of the newspaper but you can't make everyone happy.

Christmas BALLS!

Last year around this time, my friends and I opted to try making wreaths solely out of Christmas ornaments.  They turned out as you see however they took a crazy amount of ornaments in different sizes in order to properly cover the foam ring.  After many curses and glue gun burns, the final product is as you see.  Mine is the one in the middle - and as always, I prefer the wreaths my friends made. Love the thread of silver that runs through the one on the left and love my other friend's quirky colour choice of purple, red, silver and green - very Dr. Seuss!

What you will need:
Foam ring
At least 60 to 70 ornaments in different sizes
Floral wire or wire ribbon (for hanging the wreath)
Hot glue & glue gun
A great deal of patience

Chair Project & Fabric Shopping in Toronto

Okay - so having so much success with my kitchen island project I tried the same technique on an old chair I rescued from the garbage (seriously - the people on my street get rid of the nicest antique pieces)!

See the previous post for instructions on the finish.  I'm loving damask prints lately.  I have to say - even living in a large city like Toronto - it can still be difficult to find nice fabrics.  While the super snobby MacFab on Queen has some nice prints, they are way overpriced and not fun to deal with.  The cheap and cheerful Fabricland at Yonge and Bloor is hit and miss - this fabric actually came from there.  The Designer Fabric store at Queen and Dufferin has a nice selection but you need to have time to go through this store as all the swatches are hung on a hanger rather than displayed on the bolts.  They can be pretty pricey as well.  I can't believe I'm saying this but some of the funkiest fabric I've come across lately is at Ikea.  They have upholstery grade fabric in really fun prints for under $8 a metre.

Getting Started

Update - Third time is the charm - vintage green works the best.

Previous Look

Kitchen Island Project

At the suggestion of my friend Quincin, I decided to start a blog to share some of my projects and potentially get some new ideas from others.  I'm big on before and after pictures so bear with me.  I have to say that I've been fortunate to find some second hand furniture for really great prices or for free.  This piece was in really rough shape when I first found it at the second hand shop close to my house.  I left it as a natural wood piece for quite a while before deciding I had way too much wood in my kitchen.  I was shooting for a Parisian feel but it became more Mediterranean in style.  

How to achieve this look:

Give the piece a light sanding.  Use a standard egg shell finish paint in any colour of your choosing.  I'm a fan of CIL paint myself.  Paint at least two coats and allow to dry.  Rough up the edges and certain portions of the flat surfaces on your piece.  Finish up with a mahogany stain - oil base is fine but takes longer to dry.  Just wipe stain on with a rag and have a secondary rag to wipe the excess stain.