For today’s Blogger, May I? the ladies want me to Show Off Something [I’ve] Created… and, well, I got nothing. To be honest, I just finished a late-night class session. I have three assignments already due tomorrow (ack!), and I’m feeling like that week completely got away from me. But, I’ll get this post done today, dammit.
I envy other’s DIY projects and artistic abilities. I tried to paint a bathroom once — only one wall — and ended up with paint on the ceiling, the tile floor, my slippers (and subsequently everything else I walked through afterward). I can’t cook creatively (or even from a recipe, for that matter). The closest I got to actually DIY’ing something is making a Pinterest board. If you want to call it creation: I can write a 12-page paper in just a few hours, with several citations and a 100% grade. That’s my true talent.
And I created this space here — that’s something, right?
At the end of last year, I took part in The Happiness Conspiracy, and it was an opportunity to do something creative while meeting wonderful women and plotting our revenge on unhappiness. I loved those sessions because it forced me to do things that I wasn’t very good at. We painted, we colored, we did decoupage collages (is that the right word?), and even some black-out poetry. I miss the opportunity to be creative-provoked.
the week:
For real, the most exciting thing to happen this week was this enchilada casserole for dinner that we ate THREE DAYS IN A ROW. Pathetic, but my days are so much more relaxed when I work out in the mornings. I can almost say that waking up at 5am for 7 weeks of CrossFit has made me a morning person. Almost.
weekend:
Oh em gee, I have a weekend off work (and then an extra two days). The boyfriend and I get to do fun things, like, discuss our 2014 home renovation projects, budget and furniture wants. And then I’m drinking rum-and-cider for the rest of my free minutes because we will probably definitely be arguing by the end of that.
Kidding. Mostly.
But on Monday, I get to take boyfriend for his pre-birthday surprise.
seven things, seven days:
1. Did I really just buy threeseparateitems for holiday decorating? I did.
2. Oh, and then my boyfriend told me that he special ordered the live Christmas tree, so I guess we’re both feeling the spirit? We also figured out where we’re putting the tree this year. Note: not in the dining room.
3. My boyfriend commented that the new dining room layout looked “like a grownups dining room.” *swoon*
4. WHAT IS HAPPENING? I HATE CHRISTMAS!
5. I used my chalk paint AGAIN — HATE the blue tape for edging. Each project the tape peels up big chunks of paint from the surface, resulting in multiple touch ups. So #dumb.
6. I unpacked boxes from our move two years ago… We have so much freaking glassware in storage, but I think I have a new idea for our collection.
7. And I must be in some kind of nesting phase because I just reorganized all the stuff in my kitchen cupboards (BUT IT’S SO MUCH BETTER!)
I was looking for something tall to “anchor” my fireplace mantel.
So for my most recent (which seems already like so long ago) weekend DIY project, I spray painted a few branches. First, I let them dry out in the basement for a few days. Considering I saw these black branches at West Elm for $30/piece, this is one easy — and cheap! — decorating project for Fall. In this case, the branches fell onto my property AND I already had shiny black spray paint AND needed to fill this red vase.
Cost: FREE!
This DIY took me all of 20 minutes of my 30-something schedule. In all honesty, it took me longer to “style” the mantel.
Note: I had pictures of this project mid-spray paint, but apparently deleted them in my iPhone update purge (which I STILL haven’t been able to do). *groan* You get the idea. Now, to decorate my mantel FOR REAL for Fall. Need some Pinspiration…
Picture found (lame haha):
Update! Here’s my first step in updating my mantel for Fall (I was feeling motivated last night):
I grabbed my raven bookends, some books with scary themes or covers, and a few Halloween-themed accessories. I also changed around the pictures displayed up there — took down the large black-and-white artwork that my boyfriend and I BOTH hate. Using a few framed and unframed pieces of art that have been left unhung since we painted the interior of the house (another to-do for another day), I added some height and different textures. I still think I need something round up there — maybe a bowl or something?
Did you work on any of your own Weekend DIY projects this past weekend?
When we started talking about vacation to Costa Rica this year, we knew that a contracted project needed to be culled from our 2013 list. There was not a chance that either of us wanted the task of removing all that dirt and damaged wood from the deck project. Painting a three-story hallway was out of the question (especially for this particular blogger who is terrified of ladders). The fireplace was the next “big” project on the list — which included demolition (fun!), drywall and sanding (fuck that dust), tiling and trim… more painting, sealing off the chinney, and the biggie: finding an old mantel and installing to the wall and our uneven floor.
This is what the fireplace area looked like when we were house hunting:
Yes. ORANGE.
After a fresh coat (or two) of paint: The color is Mink from Sherwin Williams
Unfortunately, I was out of town for the demolition. The boyfriend claimed that there were pieces of the old mantel behind the wall, but didn’t want to take the whole thing down just to see it (it wasn’t in any condition to recover anyway).
This is the picture he sent me:
So. much. work. You can kind of see here what we were dealing with: an original firebox that is NOT centered in the wall. And yes, we decided early on to have the fireplace be decorative, not functioning (not in the budget. maybe some day).
Trim taken down and new drywall (oh, so much dust… so. much. dust):
Craigslist find — only $250: Parts!
New tiled hearth (marble tile from The Tile Shop) and more paint!
When all said-and-done, we DID hire a contractor for sealing off the chimney and removing the pipe from the oven. This would also be the first hire that DIDN’T COST A PENNY. In fact, we made money, which happens… never (the contractor bought the old cast iron stove from us). Bizarro world, this project.
Now you see the pipe:
Now you don’t!
AND THERE’S STILL MORE: the inside brick needs to be painted (we’re going with black), and there’s some baseboard that I want removed to “balance” out the wall better. Also, the boyfriend forgot wood caulk to finish up the trim. We can’t do much about our old house being mostly non-square and uneven (basically everywhere), so there are some parts of the mantel that are not perfect. But we are both just SO PLEASED with how it turned out. Not only that, but the addition of a mantel added character back INTO the house — and that’s what renovating an old house is all about.
Kind of a finished living room angle (before the trim was placed. and before the piano messed up my decorating):
Overall, the project cost us around $800 (mantel, tile, materials; we already had the paint. borrowing of neighbor help and supplies, not included). If we had hired a contractor for the entire project, we were estimated around $3,500 (not including the price of the mantel). Who knows what that really would have included at the end of the day; but we also had two different contractors come for estimates and NEVER RETURN OUR CALLS. One of the guys even broke a hole in the wall to give us an estimate and basically dropped off the face of the earth.
Whew. What a project to complete. But… DONE. Also, yes, I’ve totally rearranged the mantel decorations like 832 times!
Since I’ve been attempting to control the clutter in my basement — and catch up on unpacking a few boxes stored down there from TWO YEARS AGO — I came across a pair of these breakfast trays that we’ve used, probably, never. BUT they’re in never-used condition, and I needed something to fill That Annoying Space above the cabinets in my kitchen (which is its own ongoing decorating project).
Chalkboard paint is SUPER easy to accomplish in an afternoon (so long as you can keep the cats away from the kitchen table long enough). I like to paint with sponge brushes for these types of small projects.
I didn’t bother priming because a) it’s chalkboard paint and b) it’s a small surface and c) AIN’T NOBODY GOT TIME FOR THAT. See: it was only going to be for decoration and no functional use. Also see: dramatic foreshadowing.
The surface of the trays is similar to some kind of whiteboard material — super shiny — and no, I did not want to use as whiteboards. The corners were a pain in my ass, so after wiping excess paint off the wood 18 million times, I went back and taped the edges.
Said tape pulled up the paint when I removed it, which means I left it to dry too long.
These babies only needed two coats, and the chalkboard paint is REALLY forgiving, so you don’t need to worry about any streaking. Until the edge tape pulls the paint off the edges, and you have to go back and fix with a tiny brush. But what would a quickie-DIY project be without unexpected annoyances!
We were hosting a neighborhood “stoop” party, so I replicated a fun illustration from a set of greeting cards welcoming our guests.
And there you have it: one simple weekend DIY project!
We’ve used chalkboard paint in two different kitchen projects (the first was a cabinet door above the keg fridge), and it’s so easy to use and to create something unique. Plus, the ongoing art therapy of drawing with chalk gives this 30-something warm memories of sidewalk chalk masterpieces.
Have any fun weekend DIY projects? Leave them in the comments!
A few weeks ago, I had to paint numbers on a scrimmage shirt. (I was out of iron-ons and stencils, and using a black Sharpie is for amateurs!) What I discovered, was that surrounding all the stress and hectic schedule leading up to that scrimmage (yes, I waited until the night before to do it! Always the procrastinator!), I was relaxing in that moment.
No screens. No noise. Me and paint brushes.
It’s also a feat to complete not one, but TWO craft projects in one day, but I painted a birdhouse and made bows for our Christmas tree. Before, during and afterward, there was SANTA’S CINNAMON (my favorite hard cider of the year).
Sure, the former is a kids project (30-something kids-at-heart too!), but I get to look at something fun and creative that I planned, executed — and it has a purpose. We have a wonderful bird community in our new neighborhood; something I missed while living in the heart of downtown.
I’m no artist, that’s for sure, but I like a good DIY project. For years, I made cards (and still have a small nagging in my heart for doing something paper based professionally or etsy-based at some point in my life), and nearly forgot how crafting or painting or gluing makes me so relaxed. It’s a Project Finished, to which I feel sort of accomplished.
The bows needed to be done, considering we’re still adding to our holiday ornaments collection (the tree is quite bare without). The plaid ribbon was too cute, but ultimately didn’t work for the tree decorations… but I’ll be planning something soon for those extra spools.
Both projects back-to-back made me realize that I should be making more time to be crafty. Tell me about what DIY projects you’re working on in the comments!
The boyfriend and I love to try new restaurants. So when we have date night — or in last night’s case, a double date night — we try to cross off a place to which we’ve never been. Our stomachs took us to Cioppino, a quaint Strip District eatery, hidden over in a small plaza by the Cork Factory apartments (on the back side of the now-closed Right by Nature grocery). If you love shellfish and pastas, it’s a must go. Not my favorite Pittsburgh restaurant by any means, but you will definitely leave full and happy.
I don’t get dressed up too often, but once I decided that this teal number would be the main piece for the evening, matching up accessories was a breeze. I love the fit and the studded-and-wrapped details at the waist — gives me a lot more “shape” in my upper torso area. The hemline is short, but so am I — and I love my legs, so I’m totally comfortable in it (even if I had to do a quick dry shave before leaving the apartment).
Also, I always get cold at restaurants (is that an “old” thing because it’s totally the opposite of my night sweats when I’m sleeping), so I decided to pair this fun, boxy jacket with my outfit. You probably can’t see it in these photos, but I added a small accent braid in my hair to keep it off my face.
Dress: Dillard’s brand (I swear, I thought this was always an XOXO dress for some reason) Jacket: Miss Me (awesome hand-me-down from my cousin) Wedges: Colin Stuart for Victoria’s Secret Necklace: DIY! (more on that in a future post) Earrings: Zara Terez “Rockefeller” collection, gift from Spoil Me Fashion
