Andi's Kitchen: At Long Last, Tile Renovation Diary Name:Andi ForkerType of Project: Kitchen Renovation — full gut remodelLocation: San Francisco, CaliforniaType of building: 1890's Victorian condo The Renovation Diaries are a new collaboration with our community in which we feature your step by step renovation progress and provide monetary support towards getting it done in style. See all of our Reno Diaries here. Our backsplash tile arrived this week. I used plastic spacers to keep the tiles evenly spaced, and applied adhesive to the wall with a notched trowel to increase the sticky surface area. I find that tiling is an easy DIY project, especially when it is for decorative purposes (unlike tiling a shower). Normally it is best to install the cut end pieces of tile simultaneously with the field, but Dean is our resident tile cutter and he was not feeling well last Saturday. It came as a surprise that each tile has a slightly different green shade and pattern. Ta-da! The tile backsplash behind the sink is done. More posts in this series
99 Life Hacks to make your life easier! - Imeimei Tiny Polaroid Magnets | { Ambrosia Creative } Hi there! It’s felt like forever since I’ve last blogged, and has felt like an eternity since I’ve done anything crafty and nifty. Since my morning sickness has gone into full speed (yes, we’re expecting our third this fall!) I came across these DIY Pantone chip magnets on How About Orange and wanted to do something similar. You will need: Cardboard (mine was the backing of a sketchbook — much thicker than the back of a regular spiral bound notebook) or 2-3 sheets of white cardstock or poster board spray-mounted together to use as a sturdy backing to the magnetsOpaque white marker (necessary only if your cardboard is not white) Craft knife Metal straight edge/ruler Clear packing tape or frisk film. Step 1: Download a Photoshop file of the Polaroid frames below. Step 2: Print out photos onto photo paper. Step 3: Spray the back of your sheet of photos and also the cardboard with spray mount. Step 4: Trim out photos with craft knife. 487 Comments
Five Favorite Re-Uses For Wooden Crates Previous image Next image Wine, re-purposing, and attractive storage solutions — these are a few of our favorite things. Perhaps that's why we've featured the wine crate on so many occasions. As a flea market staple and a liquor store freebie, they're easy to come by and even easier to put to good (re)use. • Anything on wheels has our vote. • Storing extra towels and toilet paper in plain sight for house guests is a must, especially if you don't relish the idea of having friends searching for them in your less organized, more personal storage spaces. • We like Rachel of the Heart of Light blog's simple planter and patio organization system. • We've seen several variations on the stylish wine crate-turned-pet-feeding station, but this DIY from Design*Sponge, is a favorite. But perhaps our favorite use is the simplest: wall-mounting or stacking the crates for extra storage rather than relying on the usual, ho-hum bookshelves:
home Ideas Mix things up! Yeehaaa… yum yum… it’s Cowboy Cookies. Or, in this case, Cowgirl Cookies. A friend introduced these to me and I love them. Especially the name. But why stop there. They’re smooth Ball jars made especially for crafts. But which one should I give her? Oh and note to self: Use a ruler when attaching labels next time. Luckily, the first test batch I made, worked. So, here’s the recipe: Cowgirl Cookies 1 1/3 cup all purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup & leveled1 teaspoon baking powder1 teaspoon baking soda1/4 teaspoon salt1 cup cooking oats3/4 cup m&ms3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips1/2 cup brown sugar, packed1/2 cup white sugar1/3 – 1/2 cup chopped pecans Stir all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Add 1 slightly beaten egg1/2 cup butter (melted slightly in the microwave)1 teaspoon vanilla Mix wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Here’s how they came out. Pretty and tasty. Want to make some cute cookie mix gifts, too? Start with a 1 quart smooth Ball jar. See. Enjoy!
Concrete Lightbulb Wall Hook This is how to make an excellent excuse for driving a lag bolt into your wall, the Concrete Lightbulb Wall Hook. Functional yet sylish, it gives a nice industrial design feel wherever you mount it. Last winter after breaking out the serious cold weather gear, I found myself fighting the coat rack next to the front door. Cut to the last few months. This is an entry in the Etsy/Instructables SewUseful Contest, so if you love this idea but don't want to make it yourself, not to worry! Check out my other entry into the SewUseful Contest (also without sewing!)
DIY renovations Washable Number Stenciled Mugs If you are new to my blog you should know that I love to stencil pretty much everything. Among many designs one of my favorite are numbers so of course I had to add some number love to our new mugs. To make this project all you need are four things. 1. Nº 1. Follow the directions on the back of your paint and CLEAN your mugs. After they are dry and ready apply the stencil that you previously made or purchased. { You’ll need some type of Vinyl Machine to make your own stencils } Because the mugs are not flat your stencil will wrinkle a bit. Make sure the shape of your lettering is flat. Nº 2. The second step is EASY. I love to use DecoArt products. { You can find DecoArt paint over your local Craft Stores } I noticed I have in the picture the Midnight Blue, but I actually ended up using their black one. I applied one coat of paint. I have never painted dishes before so I was surprised that the texture was different than regular acrylic paint. { Remeber DO NOT brush side to side or up and down. Nº 3.
Ignite! You're done! Due to the double-walled construction and the integral can bottoms, the stove is much stronger than an empty aluminum can and can be expected to last years if you want it to. The best fuel is methanol, which burns blue and ignites quickly. Absolute ethanol is expensive, but denatured alcohol isn't and works well. The stove is filled through the holes in the center, and primed by burning either a pool in the center or a little sloshed over the sides, which I find efficient. Special thanks are owed to Scott Henderson of PCTHiker and Zen Seeker of Zenstoves.net for the substantial technology behind this critter, as well as the anonymous distillers of cognac who developed it in the first place, or who are at least as far upstream as the story takes us. The main known disadvantages of the stove are difficulty lighting in cold and windy conditions, as it doesn't carry a lot of thermal mass.
Fairy Tales Art From Everyday Objects: Paperclips + String | So today I thought it would be a fun challenge to work with paperclips. You can’t get much more mundane than a paperclip! After much thought, I came up with paperclip earrings. If you have paperclips and some pretty cotton string, you can create these beauties. They’d probably look pretty cool as a necklace too. Here is a diagram to show you where to open the paperclip to create this triangular shape. You are basically unbending the clip at all three of the curves. Once you’ve got the triangular shape, you need to glue the ends together. Fig 1: Winding the string around // Fig 2: Starting to wrap the string around the earring, secured with Liquid Stitch Once you’ve wound all the way round and secured with glue, you can then take another length of string and wind around the width of the “earring” creating horizontal stripes or you can create a more messy look by creating a “net” design (see below). Then just clamp on a pair of earring hooks. Categories: Art, DIY, Fashion