Pacific Northwest Cottage

Children's and Pet Photography

2010-07-13T16:44:00.000-07:00

One thing seemed to lead to another in our lives, the kids' schedules got busier, my husband changed jobs (big improvement!), and I started a photography business here in the Seattle area. I will probably maintain this blog more frequently in the future, but for now, photography and running my business is taking up the bulk of my time and I haven't done any fun projects to share.

In the meantime, feel free to visit me at:
http://www.joleephoto.com

Studio Decorations

2010-04-06T05:10:00.000-07:00

After collecting a few things on my thrifting expeditions, and discovering things I had stored away and had long forgotten about, I had enough items to create a plate wall and a vignette in the studio. I didn't take before photos because the wall was blank, and the top of the red cabinet was empty.

To hang my plates, I bent a paperclip and glued it to the plate using Gorilla Glue. You can find a tutorial on how to hang plates at In My Own Style. I followed her technique, but used a different kind of glue.

I love this wooden cat I found at the thrift store for $2! He has some joints on his legs, so you can position him on a shelf and have his feet hang off. The antique Girl Scout books were something I bought for my daughters last Christmas. The books were sitting on a shelf, I moved them to the Studio since they fit in with the time period of the Singer items and made a cute spot to put the cat. The antique silver egg cup belonged to my husband's English grandparents and was something we had in a box in the garage.

The Singer oil, sewing machine attachments and wooden spools of thread came from a sewing machine that belonged to my Great Grandmother. The machine folds down into a table, and is used in our bedroom to hold decorations. I had also forgotten the Singer items were in there, and they're perfect for displaying in my sewing and craft studio and incredibly cute!

Office Makeover

2010-04-05T10:35:00.000-07:00

Our office is most often used by my husband. Since acquiring my own laptop a couple years ago, I rarely even go into the office. In the 10 or so years we've lived in our home, we've never decorated it. A true geek, my husband mostly cares about the computer equipment and that the things in the office function, he doesn't care what it looks like.

Until recently, I thought making over the office would cost a lot of money and require buying new furniture, since there isn't a lot of wood furniture in there that could be painted. Recently, a fellow blogger posted an office chair that she recovered. I hadn't thought about doing that before, what a fabulous idea! Realizing that recovering the office chair and making draperies, combined with spray painting the boring/not so pretty office supplies (pencil holder, in-baskets and mousepad), would give the room a new look without buying new furniture.

Just in the past couple of months have I started to use spray paint, and I love it! It hadn't occurred to me that I could spray paint the metal furniture in the office. Although, tt's hard to see in the pictures, but there is silver colored metal on the desk, and also a brownish colored metal that looks rather nice. Someday, I may spray paint the metal and glass desk and bookshelves to an antique white, or maybe even the seafoam green color you see below. Yet, I suspect that as laid back as my husband is, and although he said he didn't care what the office looked like, spray painting his desk and bookshelves right now may not be as easily accepted as the minor changes I did make.

Desk, chair and curtains (first two pictures are before):

In-baskets:

Mousepad:

Pencil cup:

Homemade Rug

2010-02-08T06:00:00.000-08:00

I made this cute rug for the 'tween's bathroom by sewing quilted fabric onto an old towel, and it doubles as a bath mat. I also made the matching toilet seat cover the same way: with an old towel sewn onto the quilted fabric.

Completely Coastal Giveaway

2010-02-02T11:31:00.000-08:00

Maya, over at Completely Coastal, has a knack for finding some of the cutest beachy decor. I love reading her blog with ideas for craft projects and ways to makeover parts of your home. My favorite recent post she had was about a ship painted on a Quahog clam shell!

Maya also has some of the best giveaways I've ever seen, and this weeks' is no disappointment. Hand painted metal signs, vintage lanterns or a sailboat pillow. Visit her site, you'll be inspired!

Paint that Basket!

2010-02-02T10:16:00.000-08:00

Last week my wonderful Mom came over. She brought me flowers, and this red and green basket:

I loved the flowers, I've been waiting for Spring to arrive and this gives me a great peak at things yet to come. The weather here has been overcast and dreary, the flowers really cheered things up in our family room and kitchen area. But, I am digressing from the purpose of this post!

The basket actually looks much better in the photo than it did in real life. I've seen the basket at my Mom's house, and let's just say it really isn't my style. The green was not as dark as it looks in this picture, it was brighter and more of a Christmas green. Although I have a lot of greens and reds downstairs in our home, the basket just didn't go with anything.

The basket is definitely something I would have typically donated to Goodwill or thrown out. Instead, I repurposed it with a little spray paint and it looks great!

Vintage Pillowcase Repurposed

2010-02-01T10:59:00.000-08:00

Take one plain desk calendar:

..and one sweet vintage pillowcase:

and what do you get? A shabby chic desk mat!

You also get a great example of why I sew and decoupage rather than draw!

Made it Monday at the Persimmon Perch

Removing Front Load Washing Machine Smells

2010-01-31T05:00:00.000-08:00

Even after using our "clean" cycle on our front loading washing machine regularly, and cleaning out the gaskets near the front door, after a few years, the washing machine had a nasty smell. Oh, how I loved the smell of mildew as I walked in the door (sense some sarcasm here?). Our laundry room is also the entrance from the garage into our home. Not to mention, if you didn't grab your laundry as soon as the cycle was done, the smell would start to creep onto your clothes and linens, yuck!

After some research, and finding many people that have unsuccessfully tried to resolve this problem, we found a reference online that suggested Whirlout. You can buy this at many local home improvement stores for between $5 and $10 for a 1.5 lb. bottle. Using this worked. Although, if you're going to try this, I should warn you, it took running it through the washing machine several times, maybe about a dozen, and consumed most of the bottle. But, it worked! No more smell! And, paying for the warm water usage was a lot less expensive than buying a new washing machine.

Whirlout is meant for cleaning out spa bathtubs, whirlpools and pipes, not washing machines. Although, I understand LG is now suggesting their consumers use it for this purpose too. So, there are no instructions on the bottle for use in washing machines. I used about 1 cup per run, made sure to use warm water, and, of course, didn't add any clothes, linens or other items.

Disinfecting Laundry (calling all fellow germaphobe thrifters!)

2010-01-30T05:00:00.000-08:00

Hello. My name is Kristin and I'm a germaphobe. But, I like to thrift, sew, and buy cute fabric as cheap as possible. I like vintage linens, which you can almost only buy used. And, of course, sometimes I buy thrifted clothes.

How do we kill the germs in colored fabrics from the thrift store? (Whites you can bleach, of course.)

Inexpensive white distilled vinegar has been used for years as a disinfectant, is non-toxic and shouldn't fade laundry. Although, to disinfect a load of laundry in the washing machine, you must need a huge amount of vinegar to work, since the water would dilute the vinegar. Instead, place your germ-filled dark laundry in a clean bucket or plastic tub, pour enough vinegar to cover the clothes, and let them soak for a couple of hours. Then, remove the laundry from the bucket and place it into your washing machine (I just pour my laundry and vinegar in the washing machine as mine is front-loading), launder in hot water if you're laundry will tolerate it, and dry it on as high of heat as the fabric will allow.

My washing machine happens to have a "Sanitary" cycle on it that takes a lllooooooong 2 hours using extra hot water. (My husband, as he was reading the owner's manual when the washer was new, commented that this cycle was created for the surgeons and the obsessive compulsive serial killers out there that get covered with blood. Perfect, that's the cycle for me!) A gallon of white vinegar costs about $3, but being able to disinfect your thrifted linens and clothes without ruining them is priceless.

Washing laundry in hot water helps kill some of the germs, warm and cold water don't kill any germs. Drying your clothes on a high heat kills germs too. I don't buy linens that can't be washed once in hot water or dried on high heat either. Although the instructions may say to wash warm or cool, the initial wash and dry is usually done on high heat.

I have to admit, in the past I've used chlorine bleach in my colored and dark wash when I washed it for the first time after bringing it home from the thrift store, about 3 oz. worth (half of what Clorox suggests for a load of laundry), and I haven't noticed any fading. That amount isn't enough to kill all of the germs, but it helps. I have abandoned this practice though, since it's too risky it may fade or spot the fabric.

Got the Coffee Mug Blues?

2010-01-29T05:00:00.000-08:00

What if I told you that you could remove those ugly, dirty-looking coffee and tea stains from your clean coffee or tea cup in about two minutes, with things you probably have in your home (not rock salt or denture tablets)? Would you believe me? If I'd known this trick when I worked full-time in the office, I would have probably cleaned all of my co-workers cups. I'm just anal helpful like that!

You'll need:
Stained coffee or tea cup
Baking Soda
Warm water
Sponge, dish cloth or paper towel

Take your clean but stained coffee or tea cup, add about 1 tablespoon of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate). Add a few drops of warm water, and maybe a few more drops of water until you make a paste (you can stir the baking soda/water mix with a spoon, stir stick, or I suppose your own finger). My paste was just a little runny. If your paste is too runny, just add a little more baking soda.
Take a sponge or paper towel, and rub the baking soda paste over the stain. You will see the brown come off onto the baking soda almost immediately.
Rub all stains off.
Rinse.
Repeat if necessary (although, the stain came off so easy, I can't imagine you'll need to).

Decorative Painting: Beyond the Home Improvement Store

2010-01-27T05:00:00.000-08:00

Since I'm working on revamping the house, the blog entries that are catching my eye the most lately are about decorating furniture. Something I haven't tried yet, but hope to soon, is decoratively painting furniture. Showing how decorative painting can be both traditional and contemporary, Miss Mustard shows drawing-challenged people (like me) some simple-looking techniques. I can't wait to try some of this on my next piece! If you want to try, but are a bit nervous, like me, you can practice on paper before you commit to painting on something more valuable.

Here are a couple beautiful examples of her work, please visit her website to see more photos and learn how to do this:

Sewing Desk Makeover

2010-01-26T09:20:00.000-08:00

Ta-da! Here is the 1940's desk that I've been working on that coordinates with the decoupaged table I completed recently. I'm so happy it's finally done, there were some challenges along the way. I'm also happy that my craft room is put back together and my supplies aren't packed away in boxes so I can get to things! It was hard not being able to really use our craft supplies or sewing machine.

Before:

After:

The drawers were decoupaged (with Mod Podge, of course!) with Moda Simple Abundance Paisley Cream fabric. For instructions how to decoupage furniture, follow this link to my tutorial.

This desk was my Grandmother's when she was in Junior High and High School. It's gone through different coats of paint and homes over the years. In fact, the painted stripey-supposed-to-be-antiqued finish that was on it when I got it was really glossy. Initially I was going to sand the finish off, but upon closer inspection inside the drawers, I noticed there were two to three other coats of paint that had been applied before the last glossy-antiqued finish. Knowing the age of the desk, I realized that the earlier paint probably had lead. So, I used Zinsser BIN to prime over the glossy surface, and it adhered great. No sanding!

I was also careful to prime and paint the inside of the drawers to cover all other paint coats and seal in the old paint. Painting underneath and inside of the desk, insides
and outsides of all of the drawers, plus the exterior of the desk with 3 coats of primer and 2 coats of paint took much longer than I thought. But, the results in the end were well worth it! And, with the exception of the Zinsser BIN, I already had all of the other supplies on hand. So, I spent only $24 on this project.

The desk originally had knobs on it, but the hole had been filled in and handles were attached. I drilled out the original knob holes, and attached reused knobs that were from an old dresser. The knobs were antique brass and I didn't like the way they looked, so I spray painted them black and they look terrific!

Here is the sewing desk next to the table, so you can see how they coordinate:

In Progress

2010-01-19T12:31:00.000-08:00

Currently, my studio is undergoing a makeover, and I've run into a few challenges that has made the project longer. One of the components that I'm making over is a 1940's desk that we use for our sewing machine. The priming and painting is finally done, and I'm thrilled that I have begun decoupaging the drawers today. If all goes well, I should have photos up by the end of the week.

Since I've been working on the studio, we've moved almost everything out of it temporarily. However, I am unable to do as many projects as before because my craft materials are boxed up and stacked in another room. The studio should be functional by early next week, but I have my fingers crossed for sooner!

I'm also starting to work on our master bedroom and giving it a beach house-type theme, trying for subtle hints of a beach cottage, not overly dramatic elements. So, that will be fun to blog about too.

Lunch Ideas: Make Your Morning Easier

2010-01-13T04:00:00.000-08:00

Whether you work full time, are a busy Mom, or are like me and just are not a morning person, these ideas will help you save time and make your mornings easier. It will also help prevent needing to buy lunches, and your co-workers or peers will be jealous that you have such great lunches!

Make a bunch of Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches at once, then freeze them in sealed plastic bags. You can take them out of the freezer in the morning, and they're defrosted by lunchtime.
Put together ham or turkey sandwiches with cheese and freeze those too. I've read that you shouldn't freeze mayonnaise on the sandwiches, but that freezing Miracle Whip works well.
Freeze leftovers in individual portions. Instead of eating the same leftovers every day for several days, freeze them. Then, take them out of the freezer either the night before, or even in the morning. The kids and husband will appreciate having something more than a sandwich to heat up at lunch.
Make a double batch of meatballs and sauce and freeze in individual serving sizes. It's easy to grab from the freezer in the morning, along with a bun or sandwich roll and your choice of cheese. At lunchtime, re-heat the meatball/sauce, put on the bread with the cheese and enjoy! You can buy a couple jars of spaghetti sauce and some frozen meatballs at the store. Simmer the already cooked meatballs in spaghetti sauce for about 20 minutes, let cool, then freeze. Or, here's a pretty easy and VERY good recipe you can use.
Make a double batch of Sloppy Joe mix, let it cool and freeze in individual containers. In the morning, remove from the freezer and grab a hamburger bun. At lunch, heat the meat then add to the bun. You can buy either the canned Sloppy Joe sauce from the store, or make this easy and delicious recipe. (I don't usually like ground beef, but this recipe was incredibly good!)
When making dinner, double what you're making, allow it to cool, and freeze it in individual portions. Not everything is freezable, but things like warm pastas, soups, and chili freeze well and make good lunches, or even as a warm side dish to go with a sandwich, and it will save you time later.

If you aren't able to heat up your lunch during the day, you can heat any of these items in the morning, put them in a Thermos, and still enjoy them at lunch.

Kids Cooking

2010-01-12T12:53:00.000-08:00

By the time the girls were 9 years old, they could cook meals by themselves. No, I don't abuse or neglect my kids. They love to cook! At 9, they could make basic things like baked chicken, salads, boxed side dishes (like Zattaran's or Rice-a-Roni).

People often ask me how our kids became so skilled at cooking at a young age. When they were little, about 5 years old, and at the age where they loved to help around the house, they started helping in the kitchen. Oh, how I miss them when they were little, so enthusiastic about everything. They even said, "Can we clean the bathroom? We LOVE to clean the bathroom!" when they were 6, although they'd never cleaned a bathroom yet by that time. If only I'd recorded that moment on video.

When they were 5 or 6, they would help do things in the kitchen that didn't include using a knife or heat. They would rinse and tear apart lettuce, help measure ingredients, mix things, rinse chicken and bread it in breadcrumbs, make different kinds of sandwiches, or roll cookie dough and put it on the pan. As they got older and more coordinated, they gradually could do more and more in the kitchen. They loved cooking and spending time together as a family.

Now, at 11 years old, the girls still need a little monitoring in the kitchen, but not much. They make much more complex things now, and can cook almost anything I can. The girls enjoy planning and cooking dinner once or twice a week, depending on their homework load. They even like to use the grill with their Dad and want to open their own bakery someday!

How do you get your kids to cook?

Giveaway at Craft Monkey

2010-01-12T10:07:00.000-08:00

Craft Monkey is giving away this beautiful nautical clock. If you have a beach themed room, this would be a terrific addition!

Plate Hangers

2010-01-11T09:28:00.000-08:00

Ever seen a great plate wall and wonder how they hung the plates without seeing wires wrapping around the side of the plate? They actually sell plate hanger hooks that you stick to the back of your plate. The ones I found would add up fast, I think it was $5 to hang a standard dinner sized plate. Or, you can visit In my own Style and learn how to make plate hangers yourself for only pennies!

Yesterday's Thrifting Expedition

2010-01-10T10:42:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I took one of my daughters to a couple local stores in search of some of those perfect vintage plates to start decorating a plate wall with. Unfortunately, we didn't really find what we were looking for, but we found a few other things I'll share. Nothing we bought was over $2.

Dog bowls to replace the pet store bought bowls made overseas (that may contain lead in the paint or glaze) that our Beagle had been using. (You can see my previous post about lead in pet products here.) Bowls in the pet store can run $7 to $20 or more. These were $0.99 each, and now she eats out of china made in Italy:

10 oz. souffle dishes. I've been looking for something to make individual berry (or apple) crisps in. Can't wait to use them:

A fine bone china saucer made by Duchess in Staffordshire England (where my family happens to be from). I've began using saucers as spoonrests in the kitchen. They seem to be much more durable than the $10+ official spoonrests that you can buy from the store. And, sometimes we cook more than once a day, so this way we always have a clean spoonrest when we need it without having to stop and wash one.

I was surprised to find this beautiful hand blown glass bowl. With the Museum of Glass nearby in Tacoma (started by Dale Chihuly), there are several glass shops that teach how to hand blow glass, and I suspect this was made by one of their students. While it isn't perfect, I love it! You can see where the metal rod they use to blow the glass was detached from the bottom of the bowl. Inside the glass on the bottom where it was being blown, there are some dark flecks that make it look like there's a tiny bit of dirt. It's actually from the hand blowing process.

A metal canister with dragonflies embossed on it. It's similar to something we have in our guest bathroom. I don't really like the paint that's currently on this, so it's a future spray paint craft project:

Brand new Grandmother picture frame. We'll put a picture of the kids in here and give it to Grandma for her birthday:

Small pink tote bag for my daughter:

Another metal basket to put in the kitchen cupboard. They're great ways to organize packets of things (like taco seasoning and salad dressing), tea bags, and candy the kids seem to get from people for every holiday:

And the last thing I found was this cute, summery, patchwork handbag:

Lead in Dog Toys, Bowls and Other Products

2010-01-09T22:56:00.000-08:00

The news media has been great about shedding light on the fact that lead is found in many children's toys made overseas over the years. Something we don't often think about, however, are all of the pet toys, dishes and other items we buy from the pet stores that are also made overseas. They too can contain lead, and if there is any regulation requirements for lead in pet products, it appears that it isn't being monitored.

Dogs are a lot like infants and toddlers, they put a lot of their toys in their mouths. Unlike toddlers, dogs do this for their entire lives, it isn't something they grow out of. Our Beagle has suffered from allergies and a weak immune system since she was a puppy, so we've had to be more careful with her than most.

We have gone through our dog toys, compared them with this list, and thrown many away. We even threw some away that weren't on the list because they were made overseas and clearly had paint on them, latex, vinyl, plastic, etc. You should have seen the unhappy puppy dog eyes Liberty gave us as we threw out her prized toys. Being a Beagle, she was moderately appeased when we praised her for being such a good girl and gave her some good girl carrots for treats. Then, we put her blanket in the dryer for a few minutes, took it out and let her snuggle into it. We were forgiven, and she was in puppy spa heaven. Even if that hadn't worked, I'd rather have Liberty mad at us for a few days and have her live a healthier and longer life than to let her have her way and have serious medical issues.

Lead can be in paints and glazes on pet dishes too. So, we're getting rid of her pet dishes. You know the ones, the ones we buy from the pet store at $7 - $20 or more for. It gave me a great excuse to go thrifting. Rather than purchase pet bowls, I went to the aisle of people dishes and found some cute bowls made in Italy for less than $1 each. I suppose those to may contain lead too, but it's a lot less likely than the ones she had before.

Story from Seattle TV station, KOMO: Pooch poison: Lead found in dog toys
List of some popular dog toys, along with their lead content
Blog story with links to more information: Is your dog at risk for lead poisoning?

Snow Paint

2010-01-08T10:02:00.000-08:00

It's snowing hard throughout the U.S. this week, and many of you are snowed in. Although it doesn't snow in Western Washington very often, when it does, our kids like to play with snow paint. They can use the flat snow as their canvas. Or, they also like to decorate snowmen and other snow sculptures, or even plants that are covered in snow.

To make snow paint, you need:

Squirt or spray bottles
Water
Food coloring

Fill the bottles with water, add drops of food coloring, and you have snow paint!

How to Avoid Sanding Furniture When Painting

2010-01-07T14:40:00.000-08:00

When you have a piece of furniture that you want to paint, but has a glossy finish, we often think we have to sand or degloss the finish before we can paint or even spray paint the item. Not true. There is a primer that will stick to glossy surfaces without having to sand: Zinsser BIN. I got a one gallon can at Home Depot for less than $25, and it comes in a spray can too.

Zinsser BIN is a shellac-based primer so it will stick to glass, Formica, wood, metal and other surfaces, and it's fast-drying. You can paint over it with either latex or oil based paint. It cleans up with ammonia (which is hard to find these days), or denatured alcohol (you can also find denatured alcohol at the home improvement store).

Since BIN dries fast, will stick to so many surfaces, and is thinner than KILLZ or paint (it drips easily), it is harder to use. You really need to cover your work area well because it is very hard to clean once it dries. I wore disposable latex gloves and used disposable brushes to make clean-up easier. Although more expensive than sanding, using BIN saved me a lot of time, energy, and clean-up work that is involved with sanding.

To minimize use of this product due to cleaning difficulty, you can use Zinsser BIN to primer glossy surfaces, allow the BIN to dry, then use your typical primer for the non-glossy parts of your furniture.

Goats Recycle Christmas Trees

2010-01-06T08:58:00.000-08:00

We've all heard about recycling your Christmas tree. Many cities offer recycling service, in our city they will take it for free. A local news station recently ran a story about a unique way to recycle Christmas trees for free, and help goats that have been rescued, surrendered or abandoned.

New Moon Farm Goat Rescue and Sanctuary in Arlington, Washington, accepts Christmas trees and feeds them to the goats! What a neat way to reuse and recycle.

Here is a link to the story on King5 News.

Here is a link to New Moon Farm Goat Rescue.

Bird Silhouette Wall Art

2010-01-02T18:45:00.000-08:00

In an earlier post, I mentioned a wall art idea that I found on BHG.com. There's a picture in our guest bathroom that's been there for years, and were getting a little tired of it. I took the opportunity to experiment with the bird silhouettes, but instead of a solid background, I thought I would try a sunset looking background to see how it looked (I ended up adding the Olympic Mountains too, you can read more about that in the tutorial).

This was a really fun activity. I cannot draw very well and haven't used watercolors since I was a child. Here's how it turned out:

If you would like to see the tutorial, please read on.

Supplies

Picture frame (you can reuse one that you have, find one at a yard sale or thrift store to upcycle)
Paper of your choice to fit your frame (you can use watercolor paper, canvas, scrapbook paper, etc. I actually used poster board since we had some in the house).
Watercolors (I used a white, blue, purple and red and mixed them with each other and added water to make different shades)
Artists or craft brushes (wide ones to do your wash)
Black paper
Clip art or other pictures of birds to use as your silhouettes
Glue

1. Measure the opening in the back of your picture frame.

2. Measure and cut your paper to fit your frame

3. Begin your watercolor wash. I used instructions found here for my wash, but experimented with different colors. After some colors were painted, I painted over them with other colors to give it a more realistic effect and less stripey. If you are painting a sunset, I recommend finding a photo that you can look at as a guide for your color placements.

The photo I used overlooks Hood Canal and the Olympic Mountains here in Washington State. I originally picked it for the color values of the sunset, I couldn't leave my picture without the Olympics in it too.

Here is the photo that I used as inspiration (thank you so much to Dr. Dale Ireland's webcam.):

4. If you are going to paint mountains, let the color wash dry first, then paint your mountains.
5. While your artwork is drying, find clipart or drawing that you want to use for your silhouette. You can use pictures that have details, such as eyes. Since you don't see eyes in silhouettes, you just need to find pictures that you like the shape or outline of.
6. Print or make copies of your clipart, you may want to adjust the size of the clipart to be bigger or smaller than the original size, depending on how big you would like your final product to be.
7. Cut out just the outlines of your clipart.

8. Tape the cut clipart to the back of your black paper and trace it. You may want to use double sticky or rolled up Scotch tape to fasten the clipart to your black paper so it doesn't move. A number 2 pencil will probably work great as long as you are going to cut in the daylight or a bright room.
9. Cut your silhouette out of your black paper. This is your silhouette.
10. After your background paper is dry, glue your silhouette to your background. If your background paper is a matte finish, make sure you use a matte glue. If you use glossy glue and you get a little on the front of your silhouette, it will be shiny in spots after it dries.
11. Add your artwork to your frame and you're done!

Upcycling Jars for Good Looking Storage

2010-01-02T11:03:00.000-08:00

Our focus in our cozy little cottage this week has been reorganizing, repurposing and donating. We tend to do this at least twice a year after Christmas and the girls' birthday due to the new gifts they receive.

Influenced by Design Sponge and Gingham Cherry's tutorials, my 11 year-old daughters and I decoupaged scrapbook paper onto jar lids today. These jars are going to be great for holding office and craft supplies!

The girls collected a lot of mini seashells, sand dollars and other treasures at the beach last summer. So, they picked out paper and made lids for small jars to hold their cute collections:

Inexpensive Artwork

2009-12-30T09:00:00.000-08:00

BHG.com had a short article about inexpensive art that I found. I love the bird silhouette pictures, and they look so easy! Definitely a project to add to my list.

From the BHG.com site:

"Silhouettes

Get this look by tracing shapes (like these birds) and cutting the designs out of black paper. Mounted on a colored background, or even on white: the shapes are a unique way to fill a wall with color and pattern. Try leaves, trees, or even your child's profile."

Decoupaging Furniture Tutorial

2009-12-30T07:14:00.000-08:00

Thank you to Mod Podge Rocks, Addicted to Decorating for your Patchwork Top Dining Table and Down and Out Chic for your Vintage Side Table tutorials and inspiration!

Supplies:

Primed and/or painted furniture piece
Fabric, wallpaper, scrapbooking paper, or other decoupage material of your choice
Mod Podge (for this table, I used one and a half 16 oz. bottles)
Foam brush, or other brush of your choice (if using foam brushes, you may need a few in case they fall apart)
400 grit sandpaper (if you are going to sand the Mod Podge between coats)
Acrylic sealer

If you are going to use fabric for your project, I suggest you use something that doesn't stretch. The fabric used in this project is Moda Simple Abundance Mums in Sunshine. Although it is a beautiful fabric, when I received it I noticed it was slightly stretchy. I didn't think this would be a problem if I laid the fabric down flat, but it was. Note: On 1/19/10 I began working on my second project with the same stretchy fabric. I made some changes and it worked perfectly, no more stretchy fabric! I updated these instructions and marked the new text in red so if you've read this before you can tell the difference, and also so you understand why it is important to follow the new ones. This update should make your project MUCH easier than my first one!

For this project, I primed the table and painted it in a color that coordinated with my fabric.

The first thing you should do is turn on your stereo, boom box or MP3 player to the music of your choice. Relax and have fun!

The next thing you need to do is cut out your fabric, wallpaper, or other item you are going to decoupage onto your furniture, to size.

If using fabric, once you've measured and cut it, take a little Mod Podge and brush it along all edges on the back side of your fabric. (My fabric was temporary laying on plastic during this step.) After the Mod Podge has dried, place fabric where you are going to glue it to the furniture to see what you think, cut to resize if necessary, and cut any strings or threads from your fabric. The Mod Podge you brushed on should stop the fabric from fraying any further, prevent the fabric from stretching, and make it much easier to glue down and remove any air bubbles. Once you begin gluing down your fabric or paper, it's almost impossible to cut straight. I did come across this issue in my first project, but decided that it just adds to the homemade look, I wasn't trying to make an Ethan Allen piece for this project. For my second project, after Mod Podging the back of the fabric, there was no stretch or frayed edges and the fabric went on perfectly!

Brush the Mod Podge onto your table in an area to glue down roughly 1/3 of your fabric. If using fabric, use a thick coat of Mod Podge here as the fabric soaks it up. If you Mod Podge the back of your fabric, it should help prevent the fabric from absorbing as much glue. (Gluing wallpaper or other material may not need to be done in thirds.) You should take an old credit card or other solid straight-edge item to smooth out any air bubbles before the Mod Podge dries. I wasn't able to do this well on my first project because it made the fabric stretch worse, I did my best to rub the fabric on with my hands and fingers until it was flat. When you work with the fabric, it could stretch and may not have straight edges any longer. Fabric that isn't usually stretchy may stretch a little when it gets "wet" from the glue. Just Mod Podge the back of the fabric before you start and you shouldn't have this problem. :)

Continue gluing your fabric down 1/3 of a section at a time until it's all glued to the furniture. If you used a thick amount, it may take longer to dry. I checked my fabric periodically to continue smoothing out any air bubbles while it dried. During my second project, after I glued the back side of the fabric, I didn't have air bubbles to smooth out.

Between coats, rinse your brush in warm water. If needed, you can use a little soap to clean your brush. I didn't need soap, the Mod Podge rinsed out well with just warm water.

After the Mod Podge has dried, add a coat on top of your fabric, wallpaper, or other material and let it dry.

If you are starting a new coat after letting the table sit for a few or more hours, take a damp cloth and wipe the decoupaged area and let it dry before you start the new coat. You don't want any dust or debris to be glued into your finish. Although the Mod Podge instructions tell you to wet sand the fabric between coats, if you're using fabric, I don't suggest doing this until you have 3 or 4 coats, and, even then, be very careful. (When I sanded after the first coat on top of the fabric, it sanded my fabric a little bit and lightened it. Even after 4 coats, the Mod Podge sanded off easily in places.)

After the first 3 coats, you may want to lightly wet sand the Mod Podge with 400 grit sandpaper for a smoother finish. Again, if using fabric, be careful you don't sand your fabric. I very lightly sanded a section after 2 coats I believe because the finish was so rough it was pulling small pieces out of my foam brush, which then set into the finish.

After applying 4 or 5 coats of Mod Podge, you spray the decoupaged areas with a few coats of acrylic sealer. You could skip the acrylic sealer, but the decoupaged areas may feel tacky.

Before (I didn't think about writing a tutorial until after I'd started priming and painting, so my "before" is a photo of the underside of my drop-leaf table so you can see the original color):

After:

Gingerbread Houses for Your Mug

2009-12-28T17:55:00.000-08:00

Too bad I didn't find this a couple weeks ago! I'll have to keep this in mind for next year, it would've been a hit for our tween Girl Scout Christmas party. What a terrific idea from not Martha!

Intro

2009-12-28T16:27:00.000-08:00

Christmas is over, the decorations are put away, the tree is waiting to be recycled and I am starting a new blog.

A couple of months ago, a friend was moving and gave me a table she was going to donate to the local thrift store. After working on upcycling the table, I ran into some challenges and began browsing the net for ideas, and came across some fabulous blogs. My addiction to blogs began.

Now, I am taking a closer look at our house and have found many things I would love to change to give it a more homey feel. Being decorator challenged, and inspired by other's blogs, I have decided to join the community and share my experiences. Hopefully the table that has taken me a couple of months to work on will be complete soon, so I can share photos!