wine & redesign -

Updating A Chandelier

I’ve been browsing for a chandelier for my kitchen for some time now and was looking at the inspirational chandeliers at Arteriors Home. They are GORGEOUS! Here are just a couple to feast your eyes on:

Truth be told - I have NO IDEA how much these beautiful works of art cost and the fact that they don’t include prices on their website leads me to believe they could break the bank. HOWEVER, upon studying these further, I think there could be some tricks one could do to get the same look for about five bucks. Yep, you read it correctly. Notice all the chandeliers have GLOBE-shaped light bulbs. You probably have light bulbs that look like this:

Think about changing them to something like this:

You can find bulbs like this at your local hardware store, (just make sure it’s the correct wattage & size that you need). I think I might try to update one of my chandeliers with these to give it more of a modern edge.

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Note: I haven’t tried this, but I thought this was an interesting blog post to give it a whirl sometime:

thecreativeshoe:

How to cut a wine bottle with household items:

What you need:
- pot of ice cold water
- Cotton String or yarn
- Acetone Nail Polish Remover
- a match

What to do:
1. Fill a pot with ice cold water and set to the side.
2. Wrap the piece of cotton string or yarn around the wine bottle three times (wrap it around up to 6 times for a thicker bottle), tie it, and slide it off the wine bottle.
3. Soak the string in acetone based nail polish remover for 10 seconds
4. Put the nail polish remover soaked string back around the bottle on the spot where you would like it to cut
5. Using a match light just the string on fire, continually rotate the bottle in circles so that the fire spins around the bottle. Keep rotating the bottle until the flames goes out.
6. Quickly submerge the bottle in a pot of ice cold water and watch it break!

(Project and pictures via Picklee.com)

Reblogged from thecreativeshoe

Great idea from Jennifer Van Dahm on her When Pigs Fly Blog.

Source: jennifervandahm.com

QUICK TIP: Immortal Plant

The verdict is still out as to whether or not I have a green thumb, but according to my Zanzibar Plant, I can do no wrong. About 6 months ago, I cut two stems from my Zanzibar Plant, (because they looked sad and lopsided), and placed them in an olive oil jar I filled with water. These two CUT stems, are still going strong! Can you believe it?

So, I have decided to dedicate this quick tip to the wonderful Zanzibar, AKA the immortal plant. Here’s a pic of mine in my house:

You can buy this type of plant at Home Depot for fairly cheap. I apologize - I can’t remember the price because it’s been so long … and Zanzibar is still alive! She’s so good to me.

A cool trait about this plant is that sometimes it develops leopard-like spots on the stem.

Here’s a better picture of my minimal arrangement. It’s perfect for a guest bathroom or small table. I put this in the master bath and it feels very spa-like. It’s quite perfect for anyone who may be green-thumb-challenged. Just remember - this plant likes shade. I’ve never put it in full sunlight. Cheers!

PROJECT: Breakfast Nook Table

I finally did it - I FINALLY refinished this old, oak table. As you can see, it had a ton of water stains that needed to go away. It’s also an easy project if you have a power sander. Just buff the table surface down to the raw wood and polyurethane it. Speaking of power sanders … I think this could be one of the most brilliant inventions ever. They’re fairly cheap and you can even get a decent used one at a local garage sale. I actually inherited mine, (SCORE), because every daughter should inherit their family’s power sander. Anyhoo, time for the pics …

Do you see the lovely water stains?

TA DAAA! My breakfast nook has a very narrow space, so I eliminated the side leaves on the table. My mom lectured me about this, (“You’ll need that extra space someday when you have kids!”), but what’s done is done. I like the table without the leaves because then I can put seating on either side including this bench I refinished. Same method - buff away at it for a few minutes with a power sander and then polyurethane it. I skipped staining both pieces because I liked the color of the natural wood. Also, by painting the legs of the table, I saved a bunch of time as opposed to having it all the same wood color. I think painting the legs adds interest as well.

Here’s a close-up so you can see the wood grain.

Above shows without the bench and the polyurethane.

And of course my cat Atom does not appreciate it when I’m not focusing all my attention on him, so he had to get in on a shot.

CELEBRATORY WINE: Ardeche Chardonnay, $12. This is a French chardonnay, so it packs a different taste than the oak-buttery flavor most people are familiar with from California chards. It’s very dry with a full body and a hint of vanilla. This is a great wine to give to someone who prefers chardonnay - it opens up the possibilities of what a chardonnay can taste like. Just like the table - refinishing it made it into something completely unexpected … no leaves and all.

PROJECT: Silverware Pillows

A while ago I stumbled upon these really cute pillows by Beth Cummings at her Etsy Shop FourEyesHandmade.

I decided I would need something like this for my breakfast nook. Although these pillows are adorable, I needed a different size and color. I also wanted to try my hand at screen printing with an at-home solution. So, here’s my first try:

Here’s how I did it:

1) First, measure your pillow and add an inch on either side.

2) Cut out the pattern pieces based on the pillow’s measurements. I created an envelope-style pattern. You can see how I make the pattern on another post of mine, Slipcovers for Your Pillows.

3) Create stencils for your artwork. Once complete, I print them out and trace them with a permanent marker on a plastic sheet, ( for the plastic sheet I destroyed a couple old folders I wasn’t using anymore).

4) After cutting out your shape, center it on your front pillow pattern piece. Tape it down on the sides, so it doesn’t slip away, and then blot the empty shape with your paint using a sponge. The sponge texture actually gives the artwork a worn look. Make sure to dab on top of the stencil and don’t rub. This helps keep the shape of your stencil.

5) Remove the plastic sheet and let the pattern pieces dry.

6) After the fronts of the pillows are dry, sew your pillows together.

My breakfast nook is still a work in progress, but these three pillows add a touch of cute to the space.

Here’s the BEFORE (with seller’s furniture):

My next project will be to re-finish the table.

Now it’s time to celebrate!

CELEBRATORY WINE: Penfolds Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet, $10. This is a great wine for the price! It had just enough berry along with the rich, deep taste that comes with a cab. I selected this to go with today’s project because combining two things, (ie. screen printing DIY and sewing DIY) can be a good thing. CHEERS!

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Another One Kings Lane Product I beat to the punch! This clock was listed at $299 and is now sold out. The clock I created on my post Project: Custom Clock was $60 + paint. Not bad, eh? Just motivation to keep up the cheap and chic work….

PROJECT: Custom Clock

After remodeling our kitchen, I had a big empty space above my cooktop. See below:

Since the majority of my kitchen is earth tones, I really wanted to jazz it up with a bright cobalt blue. I had my heart set on a big blue clock. The down side was that all the clocks I found were either too small, too expensive, or too much of a blast from the past, (ie. eighties - and not in a good way). While at Hobby Lobby, I stumbled upon a clock that was half off, ($60 total). I’m mad at myself because I was a bad blogger and I didn’t take a before picture, (ARGH)! I was so excited I just started painting….

The area I’m painting over had some text written on it. Something like, “Old Clock Co. est. 1842.”

I carefully painted within the clock lines.

Here it is on the wall drying. Then I noticed…the hands disappear!!! So, I colored the clock hands with oil-based silver marker.

The blue looks slightly darker in these pictures than in person. Here’s what it looks like in the kitchen:

Now I need to put out various blue plates to tie it all in. I’m also working on my breakfast nook which carries this blue. See pillow pics here.

WINE RECOMMENDATION: Duck Pond Cabernet Sauvignon, about $14.50 per bottle. This is a friendly cab at a great price. My husband and I really liked the 2009, but the 2010 doesn’t disappoint. CHEERS!

QUICK TIP: Extended Curtains

One issue I have found with moving is that you always need different lengths of curtains for each new place. The first home my husband and I lived in, the standard 84” length was perfect, so most of my curtains are 84” long. Then I moved to San Antonio. I needed about 100” curtains. Now we are in another home in Colorado and I need anywhere from 100-140”. Crazy! I can’t keep up with it! Then I had an idea …

I pinned two of my 84” curtains together and concealed where I pinned them with a matching tie-back cord. I love how the fabric billows on the floor - very elegant!

Make sure to align the pattern of each panel together when you’re pinning. This plaid was easy to match up. My finger is peeling back the end of one panel in the below picture so you can get a better look:

Safety pinning the curtains together is faster than sewing and you can always take out the pins if you move again and need 84”. Also, stores don’t really sell lengths longer than 120”, (if you’re even lucky enough to find that length in the pattern you want). Furthermore, paying a seamstress to make extended curtains like this would get VERY pricey…let alone the price of the fabric. I purchased the tie-back cords for $3 each at Hobby Lobby and I already had the curtains. Hope this inspires you to take out those “too short” curtains and make them work.

CHEERS!

PROJECT: Deer Art

I’ve mentioned this before, but I’ll mention it again … I’m obsessed with deer! I have to really edit myself from decorating EVERYTHING in deer decor. “Simmer, Anne, you don’t want your house to look like Rudolph’s family reunion!”

Anyhoo, I had this great idea for an art piece in my music room. It’s super easy and I did it in about 1-1.5 hours, (while waiting for the moving truck to arrive).

First, you start with two vertical canvases that will fit your space side by side. I purchased my canvases at Michael’s because they were having a half-off sale.

Materials:

2 vertical canvases

Paint for Antlers

Paint for Background

2 pieces of Frisket about the same size as your canvas, (frisket is basically painter’s tape and stencils in one)

Pen

Scissors

Paint Roller

1. Place one piece of frisket on top of your canvas. Trace one of the antlers. I had a faux antler I used as reference. Once you are happy with your traced shape, cut it out and set it aside for later.

2. Paint the entire top of the canvases the color you want your antlers. I wanted mine a very light “griege,” (grey/beige). Set your canvases in a place to dry.

3. Once the canvases are dry, peel of the backing from the antler-stenciled frisket and place it on one of the canvases. I started from the bottom of the canvas and slowly stuck/peeled my way up. Think, “cell phone screen protector.” You don’t want any bubbles - especially on the edges.

4. Now that the design is stuck to one of the canvases, use the leftover antler-stenciled frisket backing paper to trace the same antler reversed. I added a couple more branches to differentiate it from the other one. Here’s an image of the antler-stenciled frisket backings once I cut and peeled each sticky piece to the canvas. I will most likely save these non-sticky backing pieces for reference for future projects.

5. With both antlers stuck to the canvas, you can now paint the entire canvas, including the sides, with your background paint. I chose a brownish gunmetal metallic paint. I used a roller with a lot of nap on it to create texture.

6. Once the paint is dry to semi-dry, you can peel off the antler stencil. My edges were a little hairy, so I touched them up a bit.

Here’s the finished product in my music room:

This project is fast, easy, and, of course, cheap!

CELEBRATORY WINE: La Crema Chardonnay, $10-15. This is your typical California chardonnay with its popular oak/butter taste. Chardonnay and deer may be in abundance, but I’m not complaining. CHEERS!