Friday, September 30, 2011

A Paper "Starburst" Pendant Light

This idea is simply amazing.  Originally found here on Design*Sponge for the tutorial but as I was roaming through Pinterest I found the paper light above from The 3r's Blog and it just captured my interest.

You start with a paper lantern you can buy at World Market Costplus for 5 bucks, cut paper into long triangles and glue them onto the shade:


Doesn't that look amazing?  I think I'm going to try it.


Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Our First Giveaway ~ Yava Glass Upcycled Glasses

I'm real excited about this giveaway...


YAVA GLASS - UPCYCLED DRY SODA BOTTLE GLASSES (VARIETY SET OF 4)


Info from the YAVA GLASS Etsy Store:
These colorful glasses are made from upcycled Dry Soda bottles. Each bottle is individually flame cut and polished to give you a smooth finished rim.

Set includes:
Lavender (1)
Cucumber (1)
Kumquat (1)
Juniper Berry (1)

Specifications:
4.25 inches tall, hold 8 fluid ounces, clear glass with screen printing

or you could choose this set
YAVA GLASS BOYLANS Upcycled Drinking Glasses

This set includes:

Creme (1)
Cane Cola (1)
Grape (1)
Ginger Ale (1)

Specifications
4.25 inches tall, hold 8 fluid ounces, clear glass with screen printing


I loved these glasses so much I purchased a few of them.  Boylan, Pepsi, Leninade, Dad's Rootbeer and more.  You can find Yava Glass here!

Entries are easy:
1.  Follow this blog Penny For Penny or

2.  Leave a comment on this post on which set you would love or
3.  Follow me on twitter!

Or do all three and you have three chances of winning.
Winner will be notified by email and here on this blog Wednesday October 5th ~ Good luck!

Update - October 5th, 2011
We have a winner! Congratulations to Sam Buck of Pymouth, ME.  You have won the set of 4 upcycled drinking glasses by YAVA Glass.

Thank you everyone for participating and keep an eye out for more fun, up-cycled, re-purposed give aways.
Connie








Saturday, September 17, 2011

Halloween Decorating and Pumpkin Ideas

I'm trying to figure out how I want to paint or decorate my pumpkins this season and found some great ideas from a few of my favorite magazines such as Country Living, Better Homes and Gardens and Southern Living.

 Country Living
eHow

Better Homes & Gardens

We live in sunny Arizona where pumpkins are sometimes better painted rather than carved because a day in the hot sun can turn what was once a scary Jack-O-Lantern into a toothless old "gummer" within hours. 

Growing up in New Zealand we NEVER went out "trick or treating" or even celebrated Halloween.  Today it has become one of my favorite times of the year.  Candy, chocolates, scary costumes, corn mazes and haunted houses, witches parties... no, not what your thinking but a fun party where girl friends of all ages dress up as as Elphaba or Galinda,  Molly Weasley or Professor McGonagall and we eat crumpets, spongecake and sip on tea. 

I usually decorate my front entrance with Victorian dressed mannequins and old antique books, candelabra's, gigantic spiders and apothecary jars filled with eyeballs... the gummy ones!  This year I think I want to try something like this.
Spooky Spiders - Curious Sofa



Wouldn't it be fun to have oodles of candy in black and white like this picture from Pottery Barn


What ever is decided I will make sure to post it when I find the time.... but first things first, a HUGE Estate Sale next Friday and Saturday, then after that maybe decorating for Halloween?

Monday, September 12, 2011

My "Painting Over Upholstery" Chair

I found this chair at an estate sale for $20 and new I could do something amazing with it but "channel" chairs are hard to upholster.  Then one day I came across this amazing blog www.hypheninteriors.com which shows that you can paint over upholstery with regular latex paint and a textile medium.  Yeehaw! 


Materials needed:
1 Quart of latex satin paint in the color of your choice
1 Spray bottle full of water
1 2 inch or smaller paint brush
Fabric medium (equal to the amount of paint that you use)
Acrylic craft paint in the color of your choice (should match the color of the Latex paint)
Sand paper in around a 180 grit



By following Kristy's directions I managed to make this dated chair into one of my favorite re-done chairs in my home.  Go here for her tutorial:
http://www.hypheninteriors.com/2011/03/painted-upholstery-process-revealed.html


 I used a deep charcoal satin paint from my local hardware store

 The old paint brush helped distribute the paint more evenly over the fabric and remember to paint the fabric with thin layers, don't glob it on.

This is how it looked after two coats and sanding the harder areas.
I painted the woodwork white, let it sit for a day then sanded the wood to give it that "chippy" finish.

This is the finished product and the little pillow I found at TJMaxx fit it perfectly! 

I'm also having my first giveaway... Look!
Go here for your chance to get a Set of 4 YAVA GLASS Upcycled Drinking Glasses!

Mid Century Treasures and a Simpler Time

When I think of an era I love, I think of the 1940s through to the 1960s.  From the clothing to the decor and how things seemed more simpler and less fussy but.... I do love the convenience of our newer kitchen and laundry appliances.  Can you imagine how long it took to cook, sew, wash laundry back then and mundane things such as curling your hair.

I love vintage clothing!  Have I mentioned that before? The structure and design was superior to what we have today just look at these two dresses below for example.  The first was made for curves.  Its shirred and tucked in all the right places and the second was designed to flatter your bust but notice how the neckline isn't low cut?

1940s Ceil Chapman I found at a local antique store.
1950s Kamehameha Dress I found on eBay for a steal... the gal had the dress displayed on a hanger and it looked drab.  A good mannequin gave it the right pizzazz it needed.

Furniture from this era was superb with its simple lines as with this Herman Miller chair with "Eiffel Tower" legs.  We found a pair of these in the dumpster at our storage facility!  I thought these would go perfectly around my outdoor fire pit until I did some research and found out they were collectors items.  So... yup, we cleaned them up and one went to Germany and the other went to Japan. 


A few days ago we (twin and I) came across these absolutely fabulous Lucite containers at an estate sale which threw us back to our Mokau Beach days (my home in New Zealand) where mum had her big old plastic containers full of flour and sugar, Milo which is a malted hot chocolate and salt.... yep, they salt everything down there and way way way too much.

This Lucite magazine rack was right next to the canister set and for memories sake I purchased them all for whopping $10 total.  They showed a bit of wear but I knew they would clean up nicely and I'll figure out what I want to do with them later but for now "here's to the memories!"
Woven paper and Lucite Magazine Rack and below the beautiful Lucite container set.

Tip:  Estate Sales are better the second day.... most items are 50% off!

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

No... I Definitely Don't Know How to Reupholster But I Will Try!

There is so much potential in an old, scruffy chair!

I found a couple chairs for under $20 each and changed them from what I considered was "scruffy" to something "new-er."   I purchased this old red chair from the Paw Prints Thrift Store, which is the only thrift store in this part of town but its a great place to find old inexpensive pieces and by the way all the proceeds benefit the local animal shelter which is dear to my families heart.

I'm new to blogging so I keep forgetting to take "before" photo's and I do apologize.  This is the only "before" photo I have of this chair. 
Its a photo of one corner in our office where we (my twin and I) list and sell all our wonderful vintage finds online.... so this faded red is what it looked like last week and here's how it looks today.

Reupholstered for under $18.
  • the nail head trim was $9.95 for 10 yards on eBay with free shipping.
  • the fabric was a large drape/curtain panel I found at a garage sale for $5.
  • all the little bits (staples, felt etc) FREE from my shelves in the garage.
I covered the cushions

added the sides and front
Tip:  I don't have all the right upholstery tools but I figured a self sticking felt piece on the end of my hammer would work and amazingly it did!
nail head trim
Tip:  Definitely use a leather work glove to handle the sharp edging with this trim.  It's very pliable and worked great around corners.  You tack one nail head per three spaces.

The elephants, monkeys, tigers and toucans make this chair a great subject piece.
I love the safari/jungle book motif and neutral colors of the fabric.  Its a keeper!