Posted: March 8th, 2010 | Filed under: Booth 50, DIY | Tags: Patio chairs before and after | 3 Comments »
Big weekend for ModFruGal. I attended the Nashville Lawn and Garden Show, scored at the first decent estate sale in months, AND had nice weather, so the outdoor furniture painting extravaganza has begun.
First up was this pair of chairs I picked up for the booth. They needed the lipstick.. some light peeling paint, but no rust and no sandblasting required…YAY. Recovered the seats with a staple gun and this project was done in a couple of hours.
I needed an injection of spring into the booth and I think these will do the trick.
Posted: February 24th, 2010 | Filed under: DIY, Just for fun | Tags: metallic bonsai | 2 Comments »
We had a freakish warm front come in over the weekend, so I spent every moment possible outdoors…mostly sandblasting. It became apparent that I would not be able to accomplish the painting of the newly blasted furniture before the weekend was up, and the cold was on its way back in.
I needed to paint something since I might not get another warm day like this until mid-March. I remembered a really OTT pic I’d seen in MSL, also found here …..
When I saw this, all I could think is how great it would have looked if they hadn’t put all that crap on there. As much as I love my birdies…this was fugly to me…yet I tore it out because I loved the idea of a metallic bonsai.
I didn’t have a faux bonsai, but sadly…I had a dead one. (BTW, This is why I need to stick to terrariums inside!) I looked at my recently deceased bonsai and thought, “…well…why not?” I hadn’t had the heart to throw it out yet.
I started to mask off the pot, but it looked weird, so I just went all the way and gave it the shiny, icy, frosty in a can treatment.
Since I’m far too deep into my spring fever, this can hang out for the week, then it goes to the attic with the other wintry decor. Maybe I’ll perch a single, tiny bird on it next Christmas.
Posted: February 16th, 2010 | Filed under: DIY, Our Projects, To Do List | Tags: refinishing outdoor furniture | 2 Comments »
Well, in addition to finishing the gravel patio and staining the new deck/stairs. All of which are STILL covered with ice/snow so I can’t make progress there until the temps are much warmer. I CAN, however, put on a coat and use the sandblasting attachment to clean up and prep my collection of aging vintage patio furniture. Once the weather cooperates, I’ll be ready to paint and can knock it out.
On a freakishly mild day before “snowmageddon”, I tested out a chair and was pleased with the results. Sometimes the paint isn’t paint, but old, flaking powder coating and that’s tougher to deal with. This just has lots of layers of paint. Easy peasy.
Just a few passes with the sandblaster took that paint right off. Now if it would just stop snowing, I can finish the set!!! (I never thought I’d say that living in Nashville.)
I’m also trying to find a deal on some swank outdoor fabric for these benches.
My HOPE was that when those fabulous Trina Turk fabrics came out last year, I could get them at a serious discount THIS year. I’ve been trolling E-bay and I’ve come up empty thus far. Has anyone used LA Design Concepts? 20% over wholesale sounds good….I’ve requested pricing, but I’m not holding my breath that it will still be affordable enough.
All 3 are Schumacher, bottom 2 are Trina Turk’s 2009 line. Don’t you think that crazy Peacock is just meant for the Regal Beagle? The CC also has that bit of welding he promised for our Woodard pieces….
Posted: February 16th, 2010 | Filed under: Copycat, DIY | Tags: diy paulistano chair | No Comments »
The DIY Paulistano post on Remodelista was a good copycat, but still out of reach for me. I too, have always LOVED the look of these chairs…but $700 for the frame alone isn’t going to cut it…even if I use a $23 dollar dropcloth to finish it.
One of the commenters had a GREAT idea to make it a complete DIY…..using rebar to make your own frame. Cool eh? The texture of the rebar could make it very interesting with an industrial vibe…I likey.
Canvas DIY version via Remodelista
Posted: January 23rd, 2010 | Filed under: DIY, Furniture, Our Projects | Tags: dissolving rust with cola, nashville flea market, removing rust on chrome | 4 Comments »
Well, after surfing and polling some wise peeps, I gained a renewed hope for ditching the remaining rust spots on the chrome of my flea market stools. Cola applied with wadded up aluminum foil is the choice of car enthusiasts on the net..so I figure, why not give it a whirl?
People, can I just TELL you how thrilling, yet horrifying this was? It works. I mean really works. I knew I should give up my once daily diet soda, but I don’t think that will be a problem now. I can’t believe I’ve been ingesting RUST DISSOLVER. Not cool. At all.
There were a couple of areas I knew were beyond saving since it had penetrated the chrome, but all the other spots I couldn’t get with the Noxon? WOW. Check it out.
before and after
and another before and after
You can see where the chrome is pitted here…but still WAY better than before.
Then, I went back and polished up all over with the Noxon again and…Tah Dah!!!!!
one of the good spots…
It took a lot longer than I expected, but it was well worth it. They aren’t perfect, but they are miles ahead of where they were, and I lurv them.
Posted: January 11th, 2010 | Filed under: DIY, Furniture, Our Projects | Tags: cane wrapped bookcase repair, rattan repair | 2 Comments »
No, not Singapore’s solution to misdemeanors..I’m talking basket weaving cane. Remember the new bookshelf? I managed to find the cane to re-wrap the damaged areas….a decent sized roll for $30…bringing my bookshelf total up to $130. I’m quite pleased since I couldn’t even get the CB2 Hancock bookcase I had considered for that much.
Not knowing jack about weaving or caning…a little research turns up a few tips and we’re on our way. The CC took the lead on this one…he thought it looked like a lot more fun than organizing the workshop in below freezing temps, so I stepped back to simply document the process.
First, we soak the cane for 4 hours in warm water…while it was soaking, he removed the old torn bits and scraped off the old glue. He saved the tacks so we could re-use them…and then it was wrapping time. We were out of Gorilla Glue, which we love, so he decided to use plain old white glue. Tack the end and start wrapping until you finish the strip, Tack and repeat. Linseed oil or tung oil should be rubbed on it to prevent cracking etc.. so if you have dry cane on anything..a little oiling can save it…so say the wise weavers of the net.
There is a color variation between the new and old cane, but not too bad. My hope is that with repeated applications of the linseed oil, the color will even out. All in all, I think it was a success, and I have enough cane leftover to do something else down the line.
Posted: December 14th, 2009 | Filed under: Copycat, DIY, Lighting | Tags: lindsey adelman DIY by Brick House | No Comments »
The Brick House seriously rocked it this weekend by completing the DIY of Lindsey Adelman, adored previously here.
I had no idea Adelman had posted DIY instructions on her website! Her work is so beautiful..it is really generous of her to take pity on those of us who can’t afford her!
I’m super impressed with the results. To see more photos of The Brick House’s DIY go here.
Photo by The Brick House
Posted: December 13th, 2009 | Filed under: DIY, Our Projects | Tags: DIY airplane ornament, DIY helicopter ornament | No Comments »
To give a little background….the Crafty Counterpart has been making an ornament for each of the Minors every Christmas since they each arrived. He has posted the 2 most popular on Instructables. They will be entered into the contest, but voting isn’t until January. I’ll hit you up for votes then! Go babe!
Airplane from cigar tube Instructable found here.
Helicopter Instructable found here.
Posted: December 10th, 2009 | Filed under: Building Materials, DIY, Shoppin' and Junkin' | Tags: modern interior firewood storage | 4 Comments »
It’s really cold today and I’m thinking fire. I’ve been looking for something attractive to keep the firewood contained indoors….
I LOVE THAT. Lurv it sumtin’ awful.
No idea who/where/how…I tore it out of a DWR catalog ages ago…probably a custom job. When the CC gets comfortable with his welding, maybe this can be the ultimate project? Although, that’s a lot of heavy metal…I don’t really think that’s DIYable for us. Paying a metalsmith to make it sounds great, but it will probably be $1000…so…dream on….
This is cool….but, since I’m too cheap to pay $475 for it on Remodelista, maybe we can mold some lucite in the same shape…we’ve had success with lucite molding in the past (with the heat gun-not the crafty one, the real one that peels paint). It would have to be thicker than anything we’ve done before though….hmmmm…
This doesn’t look like it holds enough wood to get through one night. I want something that can hold 2-3 evenings worth so when it’s raining, you don’t have to drag in wood from the wet. Blomus for a mere $355….ouch!
This is nice…and only $95, but again, impractical b/c logs drop stuff. Lots of little bits of dust and wood shreds. I’d have to vacuum under it daily. For outdoors…great, but I’ve got that covered.
I’m sorry, but I think this is just stupid….uncomfortable and stupid. You can’t keep the same wood in there because of bugs, you’d have to rebuild your chaise every time you had a fire. Really, AK47.
Fugly. But it’s all I got, so I guess I’ll just stick with this $15 bin from Lowes until we fire up the heat gun and see what happens in lucite land…..
Posted: December 8th, 2009 | Filed under: Avian Obsession, DIY, Fawn Love | Tags: embossing powders on gift wrap | No Comments »
…with a Martha Stewart Crafts heat gun.
I have started the wrap-a-thon, and this year I and am having a go at heat embossing with the powders. Never done it before, so the crafty set might sport a big yawn here.
Every year, I like to pick a look or aesthetic and wrap all my packages that way. One year, it was all faux bois papers, another it was plain white with pin-up girls that doubled as tags. Last year, I lamely phoned it in and got some patterned paper at Target…I’d only had a working kitchen for a few weeks, I was still unpacking boxes and I was grumpy and tired. That said, I hated my packages. They weren’t cute, clever or personal. They were ordinary.
On the whole, I don’t do bows, although I’m not against ribbon. Bows are fine for a single gift event. During the holidays, I need stackability and you can’t stack shit on top of a bow now, can you? This year, my preference is no ribbon, no bow, but an embossed graphic on solid paper. I picked up my supplies at Michael’s, plus a smattering of solid color papers, and even tried using some kraft shipping paper again this year. (It’s always a winner…thick enough to create nice edges, and plain enough for cool graphics to shine.)
The embossing WORKS best on the kraft paper, but LOOKS best on the glossy gift wrap. The problem I’m having is that the glossy papers create a static cling with the embossing powders making it harder to keep a clean image. I’m using a dry brush to try and clean it up around the edges. I’m also finding that Martha’s embossing powders work better than the other brands I’ve tried.
The key is making sure the stamp has enough ink and is perfectly flat. No ink…no emboss. It works best to stamp/emboss the paper BEFORE you wrap it unless your package is totally solid. Any give in the box will cause a missed spot on your stamp/ink. You see at the bottom how it looks when the image doesn’t quite make it due to stamper error…Oops.
I also bought a set of sans serif letters and numbers so I can personalize the packages without ribbon and tags, although I am making a bunch of tags to have throughout the year while I’ve got this mess going.
I imagine my last packages will be the best, but if anyone else wants to try it, I figured I’d better get it posted now. I’m getting the hang of it, and having fun picking which family member gets which image or scene. I know it’s a complete shock that I’m using birds and deer.
