{Painting Pottery}

I usually buy cheap pottery.  I might see a piece at the Goodwill, my favorite antique mall, or a yard sale, and I'll buy it.  I don't have any idea what I'm buying, I just pick up something if I like it.  I think the most I've ever spent on a piece is about $4.  Recently, I splurged and placed an order for Pottery Barn's Marissa pots for my new mantel.  They were on sale, so I didn't feel so bad, but  even on sale it was a splurge for me...

Unfortunately, I got an apologetic letter from PB explaining that they had "sold out" of the pots that I had ordered and they did not think they would get them in the future. I was bummed...

So, I decided to paint what I had. Here is what I did...

First, I primed all of the pottery I wanted to paint with a spray, white primer.

Then, with a sponge brush, I started brushing paint on the pottery.  I tried to mix a few colors together to get a "marbled" glaze look.  I used the Martha Stewart color samples from Home Depot.  They were about $2.50, and I have a ton of paint left over. 

Once, I got the look I was after.  I waited for the paint dry.  Then, I sprayed with Minwax's Fast-Drying Poly.  I used clear gloss to get a shiny, glazed pottery look.

I was pretty happy with how they turned out.  I thought they were a pretty good knock off, but definitely not perfect.  That's the great thing about it though...it's always perfectly imperfect.

Erin

{Sunburst Mirror}

Censational Girl did a fabulous sunburst mirror out of free paint stir sticks.  Her project turned out great, not to mention it was pretty much FREE!  Free, because she just collected a handful of paint sticks whenever she went to the paint store.  Genius!  And free is for me! 

So, I got to thinking...uh, oh...here I go again with that "thinking" stuff I told you about before... 

We had a lot of extra wood from the fireplace redo.  A few pieces of lattice, and some thinner cuts from when Justin had a couple of 1x4's ripped at the Home Depot.   Maybe, I could use some of that extra wood and make my own version of a sunburst mirror?

They are popping up everywhere in the blogosphere and absolutely I love them!  They feel so happy to me! 

Left to Right: Danielle Oakey, Censational Girl, Isabella and Max Rooms

And, not to mention, they can get little pricey.  This one from Ballard Designs runs for $349.  Now, even with a coupon, that's a little out of my price range.  But I love it...

So, here is how I made mine...

First, I cut all the extra lattice wood and the extra trim pieces into different lengths.  I used our miter saw, but you could use a miter box if you aren't down with power tools.  The back layer are alternating 16 and 14 inch pieces.  The thinner pieces for the top layer are alternating 10 and 8 inch pieces.  I laid them out on cardboard to stain.

While I waited for the stain to dry, I screwed a picture hanger on a 7x7 inch square of wood.



Then, I glued the mirror on the other side of the square with Mirror Liquid Nails.  With a hot glue gun, I glued the embroidery hoop that I had already painted with Folkart Metallic Taupe.

Then, I just laid out my wood to make sure everything fit.

Once I got the position of the wood where I wanted it, I glued them down.  I used Liquid Nails for the lower layer, and Gorilla Glue for the upper layer.

As you can see, I cleaned out my pantry to weigh them down so the glue could adhere!

The results?  I thought it turned out pretty fantastic!  What a wonderful thing to look at when you wake up in the morning...a happy, cheerful addition to our bedroom.  I think it looks like a smile on the wall...and smiles are for me!

Cost for stuff I didn't already have: Embroidery Hoop $3, Stain $4; Mirror $2; Wood Base and Lattice: FREE!   Total cost = $9

Erin

{I've Been Dreaming of Mudrooms}

I've been dreaming of mudrooms. The kind that aren't afraid to get dirty.  The kind that can handle a surge of kids coming in out of the rain or snow.  I've been dreaming of drawers, baskets and hooks...all painted white...topped off with some aged, rustic, lovely reclaimed wood as a bench, so you can sit and take your boots off. 

I just may need to buy myself a new pair of boots.  I've been eyeing a pair at the local Feed and Tackle Store.

Anyway, enough of about boots, and back to mudrooms.  We have a mudroom in our new house.  Well, it's really a hallway, that connects to our garage, and has a closet and bathroom.  When we built our house, they called it a mudroom, and we could have bought (upgraded) storage lockers.  Great idea.  I LOVED them too...but Justin insisted he could do it himself, and I believed him.  I know he can, too, and they will be fabulous!

So, we are thinking about a little of this...

Source: google.com via acharmingnest.com on Pinterest

And a little of this...

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Don't you just love that door?

Source: houzz.com via acharmingnest.com on Pinterest

Love the white and the wood bench...just what I was dreaming about.

Source: bhg.com via acharmingnest.com on Pinterest

Holy moly...now this is gorg.  Maybe just a little too fabulous?  I think I would be afraid to get her dirty.  Remember, I need something that's not afraid to get a little dirty.

Source: houzz.com via acharmingnesthref='http://pinterest.com' target='_blank'>Pinterest

Corbel love...

Source: beneathmyheart.net via acharmingnest.com on Pinterest

Source: beneathmyheart.net via acharmingnest.com on Pinterest

Lovely, aren't they?  I mean, their mudrooms...the word "mud" is in their room name, but they are beautiful just the same. 

Things we know we definitely want:
wood
white paint
hooks
beadboard, or board and batton
drawers
baskets

We're planning, drawing, and figuring...

Erin

{Fireplace Reveal}

When we built our house, we had about five mantels to choose from (that's the problem when you don't build custom, but custom comes with a price).  Unfortunately, I didn't "love" any of the options, so we just picked the one we thought we could live with.  We had an option of building a stone hearth and mantel as well, but I was afraid I wouldn't "love" it forever and it would be too hard to change down the road.  I knew I had always loved older homes and wood mantels and had always admired the chunkier look of wood on a fireplace mantel; I think it has a more charming look.

Our inspiration...

Source: google.com via acharmingnest.com on Pinterest

Source: caitlinwilsondesign.blogspot.com via acharmingnest.com on Pinterest

And of course The Lettered Cottage beauty...

(theletteredcottage.net)

So, the challenge was to recreate the look on our builder basic mantel, without RIPPING or DEMOing the existing. 

Mantel before we started...

We thought it was good, but we knew it could be so much better! 

We just wanted to slip the new mantel on top of the old, nail it in place, paint and prime, and be done!  And that's exactly what we did...

First, was the wood.  A combination of 1X8's for the front two columns (legs), and 1X4's for the sides.  A 1X12 on the top front, then 1X2's to trim out on the top section (framing top and bottom).  Then we added 1/2X2 boards to trim out the top and the columns, along with lattice board.  We just nailed as we went, adding layer and layer of wood, until we achieved the look we were going for...

 

Prep the holes with Elmer's Wood Filler.  It's the best and super easy to work with.

Caulk the gaps with paintable caulk and let dry (cure).
Prime with a primer. We used Sherwin William's Adhesion primer.

We painted two coats of Sherwin Williams Extra White in semigloss with added FLOETROL (to match all of the trim in our house).  A tip for all you DIYers out there...you need to get with Floetrol when painting cabinets, woodwork, and furniture of any kind.  You can find it at any paint speciality store or big box home improvement store.  It extends the drying time of your paint, allows all the brush marks to fade away, and gives you a factory smooth finish.  Follow the directions on the back of the container, and you will be so pleased!

Isn't she purty? 

What do you think?

Materials Needed:

Wood (various sizes to fit your existing mantle: 1x8, 1x4, 1x3, 1x2, 1/2x2, lattice board)

Nail gun

Compound miter saw

Wood filler

Caulk

Primer

Paint of your choice

Frog Tape

Floetrol

She's looking a little plain.  Next project?

Erin

{Grain Sack Beauty - A How To}

I'm in love... 

Atlanta designer Jane Coslick said, "Surround yourself with stuff you LOVE, if you would marry it, buy it and bring it home."

I'm in love with grain sack fabrics...

Source: google.com via acharmingnest.com on Pinterest

Source: potterybarn.com via acharmingnest.com on Pinterest

...but the truth is, I can't afford everything that I love.  I love grain sack fabrics and if I could marry them, I would.  If I could buy them, vintage of course, I would, but honestly, I can't afford prices of $75/yard to make my own little "something" or $125 for an already made grain sack pillow.  Sorry, Jane...If I want it, I must make my own!

So, I did just that.  The secret? Painters drop cloths from the hardware store and green Frog Tape.

With a little fabric medium added to any craft paint color (to make it permanent and washable), a foam brush, and Frog Tape for crisp lines, I painted on my "grain sack lines" on squares of regular painters drop cloth canvas that I bought from Lowe's.  (Wash, dry, and iron before you use.)  Cut into squares for your pillow (or whatever shape you need).

Tape your design with Frog Tape.

Use a dry brush (dab off most of the paint on your paper plate). You don't want to use too much paint on your brush, because then it won't look like authentic grain sack...it will just look like a painted stripe.

Once the lines are dry, lift off the Frog Tape...to find beautiful crisp lines...

Place the "right" sides of your fabric together, and sew to make a pillow. If you don't know how to sew, use hem tape with a hot iron.

So, what do you think?  I had so much fun making these!  Check them out!

I'm no expert, but I thought they turned out pretty good.

Total cost...about $7.  I already had some drop cloth pieces to use (but they are about $10 at the hardware store), paint was about $1.25, fabric medium was about $1.50, and the tape was about $4.00.

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