DIY Doily Lamp Shade

 

In our house, we don’t have over head lights in the bedrooms unless we’ve put them there. In the bedrooms, the light switches are connected to one of the outlets.  But with the baby’s room, I want a hanging light to save on space. Because frankly, her room is the smallest room in the house and it could use all the space saving it could get. My original idea was for a pretty little cream and crystal chandelier like the one below. But these days, I don’t have the money to spend on something like this. So the next option.. DIY!

Image from Luxoz.com

I’ve seen them all over Pinterest and Google. My original idea was to just to get a large paper lantern and glue some pretty paper flowers to it or to make a twine lampshade. But thanks to chatting with one of my friend’s at work, the idea to use doilies popped back into my head. And what do you know, we just happen to have some for $1.00. Lucky for me I found some white ones!

So armed with 10 doilies, Elmer’s all purpose glue, a paper bowl, some waxed paper, a punching balloon, and a roll of packing tape, a sponge brush, I went to town!

I loved using the punching balloon. I was able to get the size I wanted for the lampshade that would fit perfectly in the baby’s room without it loosing the round shape unlike normal balloons. And being that it’s made for punching, it was thicker than your normal balloon and wouldn’t pop. Lucky for me, it came as a twin pack, so if for whatever reason it did pop, I had a back up. And to make sure that it was completely round, I put a couple pieces of masking tape over the spout to keep it from popping out.

I used a watered down glue mixture because that’s what I had on hand and the idea for this whole thing was to keep it cheap without having to get expensive glues and such. I mixed the glue and water in batches, being that my doilies were on a thicker side, they soaked up quite a bit of glue. Dropped a doily in the bowl full of my glue mixture and worked it until it was covered in glue and placed it on the balloon, with each new doily added over lapping the last.

The roll of packing tape helped hold the balloon up until I added more doilies. Then the balloon would be heavy on one side and I’d have to constantly readjust it. So I’d layer more doilies on and readjust the balloon.

 

This is about the point I realized I had a slight problem. I didn’t have enough doilies (I originally picked up 8 thinking it was going to be enough) and I ran out of glue. Sigh.. don’t we all just love miscalculations? So what’s a girl to do when you can’t continue until you get more doilies? String it up so it keeps it’s form! I grabbed my curved sewing needle and some super strong thread and threaded the edges of the doilies to keep them close to the balloon until I got more doilies and glue.

 

Fast forward 24 hours (give or take a few), an additional 2 doilies and a huge bottle of glue later, the lampshade is now drying! I’m going to give the lampshade another good 24 hours of dry time before letting the air out of the balloon and attaching it to the cord kit.

So what did I learn from all this?

~ Thicker doilies require less water added to the glue. The first few doilies kept sliding off the balloon or the edges wouldn’t stay overlapped because there was too much water in the mix. Again with my curved sewing needle and thread, I’d carefully sew the edges that overlapped down with a knot.

~ A foam sponge brush makes applying the doilies a bit cleaner than using your hands. But I enjoyed getting messy anyway!

~ Patience, patience, patience is key!

Over all I’m thrilled with how it’s turned out so far. To make sure it’s doubly secure after it’s dried, I might take my needle and thread and just knot a few of the edges on the newer doilies to the original set so it’s all secure and won’t fall apart on me. I can’t wait until it’s completely dried and installed in the baby’s room.

All lit and ready to hang. I’ll post a picture once it’s hanging and hopefully with a finished bedroom!

 

 

 

 

 

Technorati Tags: DIY,Tutorial,Baby,Doily Lampshade

A creative spastic kind of day

You know the type of days where you just can't focus on one project, you need a bunch of different ones to work on at one time just to make yourself happy? I call those type of days my "creative spastic" days. Yeah..today was one of those days. I threw a load of laundry in the washer (yeah I've been doing that all day too), sat down to play with my new fantasy film to make some faery wings, and found myself needing to sew at the same time. Normally, these "creative spastic" days don't usually result in finished projects. They usually just add to my never shrinking projects in progress shelf in my cabinet.

I haven't finished my wings yet, but I did finish 2 sewing projects that I've had in my head to do (one of these days I really should write down all those projects that are floating about in there). 

We have 2 dogs. 2 very cute, but messy dogs. And they are far from dainty eaters, they are hounds. Boy do they like to make a mess when they eat. We are constantly mopping up water that they splash out of their water dish. And if the water doesn't get mopped up, it makes the floor under the dog dishes yuck! I've toyed with the idea of getting one of those mats you put under the dishes. Problem is, they can be expensive and trying to find one that matches the kitchen without sticking out like a sore thumb is next to impossible. 

So with a bit of fabric left over from the tote bag I whipped up the other day, a bit of sweatshirt material, and some non slip shelf liner from the dollar store, I whipped up a mat for under their dog dishes. And while I was at it, I sewed one for under the cat food bowl that sits on our dryer in the bathroom downstairs. 

Food bowl mats

The mat under the dog dishes in action

Orion trying out the new mat

So I'm feeling pretty accomplished for actually finishing something I started for around the house. I am hoping this evening I can work more on my wings for my little faery. I'm really excited to see how they turn out.

It's been a crazy month so far. If you saw my calender that's on my computer, you would understand why I haven't posted anything lately lol. It's just one thing after another and my month keeps filling up. But it makes the month fly by so that's a good thing right?

Well, what have I been up to? A little bit of everything really. I've been primarily working on swap items and putting the finishing touches on a tutorial that I'm working on. And of course there's the deck. Do you remember what it looked like before the railing and the ramp? (click here for a refresher) 

The really great news is that it's finished! 

Dad is loving the ramp! He can drive his scooter right on up to it and has enough space to turn around. We've sat out on it quite a few nights already since it's been finished. All that is left is the finishing touches, like plant hangers on the posts and maybe some solar lights at the end of the ramp. But those are things for the spring (along with my new fire pit)

I even had enough wood left over to build a table to use next to the grill. I love the table. It's built out of all the scraps that were left over. The only thing we purchased were wheels to make the table easier to move. And trust me, it needed wheels! That table is a very solid one.

Well, it's time to get back to crafting. I'll post what I've been up to in the next few days as soon as people start receiving their swap packages. 

Happy Crafting!

~K.Michele

What have I been up to?

Beware a Witch with power tools!

What have I been up to? Building a deck! We started it about 2 weeks ago and are just about finished with it.

The new addition measures 16 feet by 20 1/2 feet. It is a great addition to our current 10 feet by 10 feet upper deck. With 6 people and 2 dogs using the deck at one time, 10 by 10 just didn't seem large enough.

 

We tore out the old hot tub that no longer worked (hadn't for years) and the walls that surrounded it. We kept the roof which adds shade in the afternoon, and built the new deck around it. 

There's still a bit of work left to do before it can be all finished, but it's getting there. We still need to install the railing which will mirror the upper deck. A ramp needs to be added for my dad to make it easier for him to get up on the deck. The roof needs to be addressed as well before you can sit under it in a rain storm (you get a wee bit wet at the moment where the deck roof meets the garage). Being that the lumber is pressure treated, the task of staining both decks will be completed in the spring.

All in all I'm pretty proud of this thing. I've done most of the labor, my sister and hubby helping occasionally. I can't wait for it to be all finished and a patio set enough for all 6 of us (would be an upgrade from our current that seats 4).

I'm hoping to get it to the point that it just needs roof work and staining this weekend. I have tons of crafting that is calling my name :)

Happy Crafting!

~K.Michele

Craft: Jewelry Shelf

I have a small jewelry box that I have sadly outgrown. I've had it for years and it just didn't have the room I needed after all these years.

My dad had on his bar downstairs a shelf that was made for all his cassette tapes. Well since moving the bar around and packing up a lot of his music into storage boxes, I snagged the shelf for some storage on my craft table.


Unfortunately for my craft table, the shelves weren't wide enough for my little storage bins. So I got a new storage shelf that was on clearance for my craft table. And then the old shelf sat on the floor under my craft table for a few months only because I didn't have the heart to put it out in the garage. I knew if I put it out in the garage, it would have probably ended up in the fire pit out back, fueling one of hubby's many fires (he is such a pyromaniac sometimes).

The idea struck me last week to give the shelf a new purpose in life.

This is the shelf before: (I apologize for the blurry picture)

I grabbed my handy Dremel Multi-Tool (love that little tool) and proceeded to cut out one of the shelves.

A bit of supplies, that I already had on hand, the shelf was given a new look.

I painted the inside of the shelf 3 different shades of blue. I had a piece of acetate with a really pretty screen print on it that I cut and glued to the inside. I then took some ribbon and trimmed around the acetate for a finished look. There are 21 cup hooks in 2 rows inside the shelf. And I added 2 hooks on the side for the longer necklaces that I have. And of course, there is room for more hooks if needed down the road.

The other 2 shelves I decorated with glitter covered chipboard scrolls, some white painted dots and a felt flower that my friend Andréann had included in one of our swap packages to each other (she does amazing work with felt). I stapled a piece of wire across the inside of one shelf to hang my many pairs of earrings. I also made dishes for the second shelf, but they aren't finished yet. But as soon as they are, I'll add them in.

And here is my little jewelry shelf in action. It sits on my dresser. There is enough room for all my earrings, necklaces, bracelets and rings. I am very happy with how it turned out.

Happy Crafting!

~K.Michele

My linen shelves!

Well, it's not very crafty but I'm still proud of it! My linen area in the bathroom has finally been finished (well for the most part). There is some finishing touches to be made, like the curtain and some touch ups on the shelves, but I am tickled pink!

Tomorrow I get to put all the towels and sheets in their new homes. The best part, I did it all myself. Yup, that's right all by myself. I even used the table saw on my own too! Now I have all kinds of ideas for new projects. This spring I'll be breaking out my scroll saw and doing some more fun stuff I'm sure.

Until then, my linen shelves!

I never thought I'd be this excited over something so simple and that many take for granted. But I am buzzing with more ideas and excitement. I don't think I've ever been this excited to do laundry. I can't wait until this weekend when we head out and see if I can find some material I like for the curtain.

The most aggravation I had was trying to find the studs in the walls since they were already primed. And our stud finder had come up missing, so it was the tried and true method of knocking on the wall until you found it. Took a bit of time, but it worked.

Now if I can just get the flooring put in, I'd be all set.

Update : Bathroom remodel (Picture Heavy!)

I know it's been a while since I've updated. Heck, the last time I updated it hadn't been snowing lol (the snow right now has all been melted). But in my defense I've been a busy little crafty fae. The latest project, along with a few craft swaps mixed in, has been a labor of love as well as a complete pain. Have I mentioned how much I don't like drywall dust?

Anyway, the bathroom. The original dreaded place that just was not all that functional and was basically a catch all for the rest of the house. There used to be an extra piece of counter top from the old kitchen counter in there for crying out loud. The laundry area wasn't much better. It didn't function well at all. Hopefully now that both have been redone, it will function beautifully with 6 people using the space. It's not completely done yet, the flooring and baseboards need to be put in, but for the most part, it's the finishing touches that's left. And boy I can't wait to get cracking!!

On to the pictures!!

The dreaded before pictures: Because of the layout and where the bathroom was, I wasn't been able to get a decent shot of the whole thing all at once. So the before pictures will be a bit confusing, but I'll try and clear them up as best as I can. Our house is a raised ranch. When you walk into the front door you have stairs that lead to the upstairs living room, kitchen, bathroom and bedrooms. The stairs going down led to the basement, bathroom, bedrooms and living space.

When you came down the stairs, this is the wall that you saw before turning left to go into the living space (our bedroom is on the right).

This was the corner that formed part of the wall to the hot water tank (that was behind it) and part of the laundry area.

This gives you a better look at the corner. To the left of the tv was the doorway that led to the laundry area, bathroom and TJ's bedroom. On the right, behind the suit bag, was the doorway that led to the stairs and our bedroom. Behind that wall was the old hot water tank.


This is how the laundry area looked when you walked in the door. The washer and dryer were on your left, there was a wall on your right. You took a couple steps and the hot water tank was on your right. In order to continue down the hall, you had to turn yourself to navigate the narrow hall. The bathroom was on your left and then down the hall was TJ's bedroom. If it wasn't for the fact that our bedroom originally had a doorway that opened up to the bathroom, there would have been no way possible to fit any furniture into TJ's room.

To give you an idea of what the hallway looked like, this is a picture I took from TJ's bedroom. The door on your right was the bathroom. Behind the white bookshelf was the hot water tank and around the laundry area was on the other side of the bathroom.

My family moved into this house back in 1993. When we moved in, the toilet was on a set of stairs and the bathtub was elevated as well. A LOT! In fact, if you were going to get into the tub, you had to go to stand on the top step next to the toilet in order to get into the tub. It was not a safe thing at all. The bathtub was quickly removed. The following pictures were taken after we had pulled down the back wall to see if there was any insulation at all. Nope none!

This is a picture of the steps that the toilet sat on.

This is a picture of the corner where the tub used to be. If you look, the faucet for the tub is near the 7 in the timestamp on the photo. And just below, where the 2 is, was the drain for the tub.

This was the old, cracked, gross sink that had been there since we moved in.

So those are some of the pictures I had taken of how it all looked before we took walls down, moved walls, shifted things here and there and totally changed the layout. And it functions so much better now! We keep asking ourselves why we hadn't changed it before lol.

Mid Work Pictures:

This was quite the undertaking. We did a lot of the work ourselves, but when it came to the gas lines and plumbing, we got the help of some friends who knew what they were doing lol. We completely gutted the whole space, put up new insulation (like the rest of the downstairs, there was no sort of insulation), ran new pipes and water lines, a new gas line for the new gas dryer and water heater, and changed the layout of the space. The new laundry space was where the old bathroom was and the new bathroom was where the old laundry area was. But both shared the new space.

This is a picture of the area that is going to be the new bathroom. We tore down the wall that separated the laundry area and the bathroom.


This is the floor joists going in. We put the whole bathroom on a raised floor (about 8 inches) to allow for proper pipe drainage and to save money from having to cut into the concrete flooring.

There's the new sub flooring and part of the new wall.

The new hallway without the crazy walk way it used to have. This picture was taken after we took out the old hot water tank. You can see the new door we installed to TJ's bedroom. That's the first time that room has seen an actual door in a really long time.


This is a picture of how taking out the funny corner where the tv used to be and the hot water tank just opened up the stairs and space.

Here's another picture taken from the hallway.

The After Pictures!!

There is still some work to be done like installing the flooring and baseboards, as well as some of the final details like outlet covers and switch plates. But I'm happy that there is color on the walls!

First up, the color! The paint is a semi-gloss paint called Shortbread by Olympic. I love this paint because it doesn't have any odor at all and being a latex paint, it is very easy to clean up. Being that I was painting downstairs and would be doing most of it in the winter time, it was very important to not have an odor. I would recommend this paint brand to anyone! The color is so vibrant. The pictures do not do it any justice at all.

The new sink, mirror and vanity lights, new gas dryer, tankless hot water heater, and toilet. Everything is energy star rated.

The new washer and dryer. One thing I plan on doing with this space after everything is done, is making a cover for the dryer vent. At least try and make it blend in more instead of sticking out like a sore thumb lol.

The shower curtain that inspired! We picked up the shower curtain on clearance shortly after we were able to actually use the tub (before the bathroom was finished). The little yellow poppies are what inspired the wall color and the eventual theme of a wild meadow.

I love the new tub as well. It's an acrylic tub and cleans so easy, especially since we have a steam cleaner lol.

Kitchen Remodel: Before and After

I've been slacking quite a bit when it comes to posting pictures of the renovation. I swear it's every time I get 2 min to myself to do something, I have to run to the lumber yard or the hardware store for something. And quite a few times, it's multiple trips lol. To bad our hardware store doesn't have those frequent shopper cards, I'd be raking in the points like crazy lol. It's bad enough they are starting to recognize me there.

These are the before pictures of the kitchen. We took down the wall between the dining room and the kitchen to open it up a bit. We've added counter and cabinet space, as well as an island, which my dad absolutely loves. Oh and don't pay attention to the time stamp on the pictures. I had put new batteries in it and never set the date lol.

View into the kitchen from the dining room.

The corner in the kitchen that was removed.

The next few pictures are pictures of the old kitchen cabinets and counter top. You can also see part of the kitchen floor that we took out and replaced as well. Very dark cabinets made an already small kitchen that much smaller.

Someone my dad knows was also remodeling his kitchen. We bought his old kitchen cabinets for $500.00 which is a huge bargain compared to what it would have cost us to buy all new cabinets. The annoying part, the cabinets were all dark colored once again. So I've spent most of the spring and all summer stripping them down, sanding them, staining, painting and sealing them back up.

A picture taken from the dining room after the wall had been removed as well as the lower cabinets.

And this is a picture of the cabinets we had bought before they were all refinished. It was a lot of sanding. I've burned through 2 power sanders and dad had to break down and get me an industrial one that was going to last longer than 4 cabinets.



And this is the kitchen after everything was refinished, installed, and new appliances. This is a view of it from the dining room. There is still work to be done, like installing a few drawers, trim and shelving, but we're happy with how it's turning out. We even saved a bit of money by reusing the original hardware and pull knobs. The sanding and staining of the doors was my dad's idea. But I have to take credit for the recessed portion of the door being painted. It was going to be very frustrating for me to try and sand that portion of the door and be happy with it. The paint color was drawn out of the set of trivets my sister had bought my mom for xmas last year from Bed Bath & Beyond.

The island that replaced the wall that was torn out.

The additional cabinets and counter space in the dining room.

There are a few things left to do like the kick plates on the bottom of the cabinets. But for the most part, the kitchen is done.
I know for sure, I don't want to be an interior decorator after this project lol.

Happy Crafting!
~K. Michele