Category Archives: DIY and Upcycling

Upcycled Book Display Rack

Custom Kitchen Storage

I am beyond excited about this project! I have had this project on my “Someday List” for years.  I originally saw this idea on a handyman website. It was basically a custom-built shelving unit for kitchen storage. I am not sure if is the same site where I first found the idea, but this the same concept.  I loved the idea, but my building skills are still quite limited and my husband is not fond of the “make work” projects that I suggest for him. So, I “shelved” the project hoping that someday I would develop the skills to build one for my kitchen.  As soon as I got this free book rack loaded in my car, I got that twinkle in my eye and knew exactly what this would become. I remember driving home with only one thing on my mind….will it fit??

Upcycled Book Display Rack:

Original Book RackHere’s a picture of the original book rack. Each panel is about 4″ deep and 2 feet wide, but I only have two of the original four panels. Lucky for me, one panel fits almost perfectly in the space between my fridge and the wall.  I say almost because the bank of cupboards that sit over the fridge have pieces of wood that extend down to the floor on either side of the fridge (they look like supports, but are perhaps there to give it more of a finished look than actually serve a purpose). The result is that the 2 foot width will not fit. In order to use the rack, I had to cut it down to 16″. At first, I was really ticked about this and although I am still not happy about the extra work and lost storage space, I did manage to figure out a little something that made it a little less disappointing.  I will share this in the final reveal as well, as I haven’t got it all figured out yet.

Steps to Transformation:

  1. First, I had to take the whole thing apart. It was primarily held together with screws and a few nails, so I didn’t have to fuss with glue and that made the dismantling that much easier.
  2. I was able to keep both sides in tact, but I had to cut all of the horizontal pieces and the peg board back down to 16″.  I was able to do this easily on the mitre saw, with the exception of the peg board back. My husband kindly helped me out by cutting it on the table saw.
  3. The plastic covered wire cords extending across the books were just attached with hook screws and were easily removed as well.
  4. The ends of the horizontal shelves actually fit into grooves in the sides. The problem was that the shelves did not have a straight cut end. The front couple of inches were straight, but the back part was curved. This meant I had to trace the curve and cut it with the skill saw. I did fine with this, but the curves did not match the original cuts perfectly.  For the most part it’s not noticeable, as the end of the board and my cut is hidden in the groove of the side board. There is a slight gap if you look closely, but it will never really be seen once it’s in use.
  5. The other tricky part was positioning the wheels so that the shelf would slide in and out easily while providing the stability needed for it to stand freely when not between the fridge and the wall. I am actually still playing with this and may end up buying 1.5″ flat ball casters as suggested by the poster of the above cabinet.
  6. Everything is put back together, holes filled and ready for paint.
Here is the narrow space between the wall and my fridge.
The original two panels I got for free.
Here is a “before” shot of the book display rack.
Wire cord that used to hold the books in.
Curved ends that had to be cut to match. This nice cut is the original not mine.
Cut down panel.
Panel is patched and ready for paint.

I can’t wait to get back to it and finish this project off, but the weekend is over and I have a super busy week ahead with Parent Teacher Conferences. Hopefully I won’t be too bagged after a heavy week and can finish it up next weekend. Stay tuned….

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A Look Back: Before and After Slideshow

This is my 248th post. At the end of June/beginning of July, I played around a bit a managed to get a couple of posts up on my blog, but after July long weekend I buckled down and was committed to blogging daily. Since then, I have only missed one day and that was because I was brutally sick with Strep Throat. I must admit that some days are easier than others, but I am hoping that the sunshine, warmer weather (by that I mean less cold) and longer days will get me motivated and back into DIY project mode. The winter has been very long and my motivation level for doing projects has failed in comparison to my desire to curl up on the couch with a warm blanket. Anyways, I thought I would help to get myself motivated by taking a look back at some of my favourite transformation projects and share the before and after shots.  I have done entire posts on most of these projects, so you can check the archives if you want more information on what I did. Enjoy the show and hopefully this will motivate you to get out some paint and give something a new look!

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Funky Scarf Jewellery

Thrift Shoppin'

Thrift Shop Scarves

You may remember that I picked-up several beautiful scarves while out “thrifting” one day. I got them for a buck-fifty each and felt like I scored big. I washed them and began to play with them, experimenting with different knots and styles. (If you are interested in creative ways to wear a scarf, check-out my previous post that featured a video demonstrating 25 ways to tie a scarf.) It didn’t take me long to realize that all of the scarves were similar in length and seemed to be quite a bit shorter than others I owned. I found them a bit difficult to work with because of their odd length. I decided that a clip or pin of some kind might help to make them “work” for me. Last week, I shared the t-shirt flower tie that works like a charm! You basically tie the flower around the scarf and then play with it until you achieve a style you like. Still, I couldn’t help but think that I would love to have a piece of jewellery that would serve the same purpose. I really wasn’t sure where you would purchase “scarf jewellery”, so I  did what all DIYers do…searched the web. I can’t say I really found what I was looking for, but Pinterest is packed with all kinds of ideas for re-purposing old cutlery. I figured I could modify some of the ideas that others shared and make it work for a scarf…why not? On the weekend, I went to a local antique store and purchased a handful of old silverware for $5.

Silverware Scarf Jewellery:

Although I really didn’t know what I was doing, I proceeded to bend and twist one of the old forks until I came up with what I deemed to be a funky little piece. Some of the on-line tutorials talk about heating up the silver with a torch, but others just used basic tools to get the look they wanted. I didn’t really want to” play with fire”, so thought that I would stick to elbow grease, pliers and a hammer for my first project. I think it probably helps if you know what kind of material the utensils are made of, as some work better with a heat source while others don’t require it. I don’t know what these forks and spoons are made of and really wasn’t interested in investing the time to figure it out. I saw some cool pieces on-line and just wanted to see what I could come up with. If I end up creating more pieces, I will make sure I am using the appropriate techniques to create a more “polished” finished product, but for my first attempt trial and error seemed like the best course of action.

I think it works best if you flatten the piece out with a hammer first.  I didn’t do this as I read this after fumbling through my first project. I had to work quite hard to get the prongs of the fork bent how I wanted them and even then ended up settling because I couldn’t get them into the exact position I wanted. I am guessing that the fork I started with probably would have worked much better with a heat source, as I found it quite difficult to manipulate.   I had to apply a lot of pressure and the tools ended up leaving little nicks in the surface of the silver. I did try to sand/buff them out, but they are still visible. I decided not to worry about it and just call the flaws “character”. LOL

Overall, I am pleased with what I came up with and will wear it. It is a simple loop, so you need to actually knot the scarf into it. I will definitely try more pieces like this. I love the idea of “scarf” jewellery! Next time, I will probably try to “test” my piece to determine what it is made of and then use a heat source, if necessary. I am a little nervous about that and will probably work on my basement floor, so I don’t burn the house down. Anyways, I will keep you posted and let you know if I come up with any cool designs to share. For this one, I added in one of the baked marbles I made earlier this week. I basically glued the base of it to the fork and then wrapped the bent prongs around it. Hopefully it will hold.

BEFORE: Antique Cutlery
Bent fork
Bent fork with baked marble
AFTER: Funky Scarf Jewellery

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That’s “Marbleous”!

baked marbles

The original poster added starter rings and created these really pretty pendants.

I saw this cool idea on Pinterest for baking marbles to make very cool looking jewellery. I loved the cracked look and thought that these marbles would be a cool addition to the “silverware” pieces that I have been messing around with. I picked-up a few marbles for 10 cents a piece at a local antique store, but they were the type with the little splash of colour in the center. I also had a few that were opaque. I followed the instructions from the above post, but found that I needed to bake them a bit longer to get the cracked  effect. In the end I wasn’t pleased with the result. The cracks weren’t even visible in the opaque marbles and the clear marbles with the fleck inside, didn’t look great either. (The original post did warn against this, but for 10 cents, I thought I would judge for myself.) I was determined to make this work, so I went to Michael’s and bought a bag of glass beads on sale for under $2.

“Marbleous” Marbles:

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Place TRANSLUCENT (clear or tinted) marbles on a foil lined pan. You can either use traditional sphere shaped marbles or the flat-bottomed glass beads/marbles, both work.
  3. Bake the marbles for about 20 to 30 minutes.
  4. Using a metal bowl, prepare an ice bath (ice cubes with enough water to cover the marbles).  Remove the marbles from the oven and immediately place them in the ice bath. The glass beads/marbles will immediately crack when they contact the ice water.
  5. Let cool and use in a project of your choice.
    Bag of glass beads for under $2.
    Place on foil lined tray and bake.
    Place in ice bath.

By following the simple instructions above, I ended up with these beautiful little gems! These could be incorporated into all kinds of projects:  wrapped in wire and used in a plant pot, for jewellery or glued on a project to add some interest. I absolutely love this look and you can’t beat the price at just pennies a stone.

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Upcycled Piano Update

My husband finished dismantling most of the piano a few weeks ago and it was at this point that we decided to move it to our kitchen. Initially I had no idea what I was going to do with our old piano, but eventually I formulated what seemed like a grand plan. I thought it would be very cool to replace the table in our kitchen with the piano and use it like a “bar” type table. I had ideas for how I might incorporate some built-in cubbies and was deciding on a colour scheme. My only concern was the actual size of our kitchen and how this piece might impact the general flow of the kitchen. Although we already had a table there, it was considerably smaller and I didn’t want to go to a bunch of work and then hate it. When we initially moved it in, I was immediately disappointed as it seemed to over power our long narrow space. We decided to leave it be and live with it for a while before making any final decisions. After about a week or so, I was getting used to it and I felt myself once again getting excited about the idea of finishing this unique piece for our kitchen. I am still in a mid winter “February Funk” and hardly have enough energy to do the menial tasks like cleaning my house, let alone refinishing a piano. So, fortunately I haven’t done a thing with it yet….why is this fortunate you might ask?  Well, evidently it takes more than a week to really get a feel for something. Lately, I find myself walking through my kitchen and feeling an almost uncontrollable urge to kick the stool that seems to constantly be jutting out into the “path” because someone hasn’t pushed it under the piano properly. It seems as though someone or something is always in the way. Yikes! This piano is absolutely not staying in my kitchen, but now I need to get back to the drawing  board to figure out what I am going to do with it and where it is going to go. You can see that the iron harp is still inside the piano. It is what makes the piano so crazy heavy. I still want to remove the harp, but we haven’t had a chance and thought we would leave it until we made a final decision on what to do with it. I actually love the iron and hope to somehow use it as well.

I must say, having the piano “under foot” everyday has been good for something.  First and foremost, my mind is constantly thinking of how I could use it and where I might put it. I don’t have all of the answers yet, but my creative juices are definitely flowing and that’s a start. I really do love the structure and it will be a fabulous addition to our home, I’m just not sure how yet. Secondly, the piano helped me to realize how much I didn’t like the table that sat in the kitchen prior to the piano. It was actually too small. I now know what I want. We need a table that is longer than the old table and perhaps even slightly longer than the piano, but the depth needs to be more consistent to that of the old table for functionality.  I am already busy thinking about how I might build a custom table and/or counter to fit in the space. Here we go again….it seems like there is always a new idea and therefore a new project!

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T-shirt Flower Embellishment

 

Do you have one of those scarves that is either too short and too long for it to hang properly around your neck? Or maybe, the length isn’t the problem, you just can’t get your scarf to sit nicely. This is a simple solution and so cute!  When I found this great tutorial on “A Bit of Sunshine” demonstrating how to make a simple fabric flower to dress-up a scarf, I just had to make one. I wanted mine to be very versatile, so I made the flower white and the button in the middle is white as well. I have worn mine lots and love this shabby chic wardrobe upcycle!!

T-shirt Flower Tutorial:

  • Draw and cut-out a 6 petal flower from card stock (about 4″ in diameter). This will become your tracer/template for the other flowers.
  • Using your template, trace and cut-out 8 flowers on an old t-shirt.
  • Fold each flower in half and then quarters and secure the corner with glue (or a stitch) so it maintains the fold.
  • Cut-out a 1″ circle from felt and lay down four of the folded flowers on the base, so that they meet in the middle of the felt and extend over the edges. This bottom layer will essentially form a “circle” and cover the surface of the felt. You will need to secure each of the folded flowers in place with glue or by stitching each one. I sewed mine in place.
  • Take three of the remaining four flowers and create a second layer that is staggered across the joins of the bottom layer. Secure them in place.
  • The last flower/petal will need to be pinched a bit more than the others and glued or stitched right in the center of the flower.
  • Finally, attach a button to the center of your flower using either glue or needle and thread.
  • Cut a long strip of fabric and secure it to the felt backing on the flower. This will be your tie to attach it to a scarf.

*I did not use glue. I sewed everything together, but the original tutorial does suggest glue, so either should be fine. The original tutorial is complete with photos. I did not take pictures of the steps when I made mine because at that time, I wasn’t blogging.

*You could easily attach a hair clip to this instead of the fabric strip and it could become a really cute flower for your hair.

You can see my messy stitching here. I really wasn’t trying very hard, as I knew this would never been seen when you’re wearing it.
T-shirt Upcycled to Flower

 

Upcycled Cereal Box

I was putting together a little something for the kids’ teacher for Valentine’s Day and really wanted to put it in some kind of an open box. The problem was that I couldn’t find anything that was the perfect size, colour and shape. I didn’t want to use a gift bag, because it was really important the gift didn’t tip over or the contents would spill, and thus a box was a must. I finally decided to make one. I did a quick search and came up with this awesome website full of cardboard projects. Being that my kids are a bit older, I can’t say that many of the projects appealed to me, but some awesome ideas if your kids are a bit younger. What I found to be the most helpful for me on iKatbag was Lorraine’s post on the different types of cardboard and what purposes they best serve. Her tutorial is very thorough and complete with pictures and a great explanation.

Working With Cardboard:

First and foremost, if you plan on making any cardboard projects I would check-out Lorraine’s post. Why re-invent the wheel? Clearly she knows what she is talking about. Here are a few tips from her post:

  • avoid pre-existing creases unless you plan to incorporate them into your project
  • always make your folds, bends and roll lines parallel to the corrugated flutes between the liners
  • make tabs that will overlap the other piece or cardboard when joining two pieces together
  • Turn the cardboard inside out, so that the print ends up on the inside
  • score before making new folds (run the back of a knife blade along the cardboard to weaken the surface, but don’t cut through it)

I followed Lorraine’s suggestions for how to re-use a cereal box and all of her suggestions were great. In making mine, I used the existing bottom of the box, but cut down the height and length of the box following her directions.  I then covered the exterior with brown butcher paper in much the same way as you would wrap a gift. Finally, I punched holes for handles and ran a string through. This gave me the versatility to make the box the size and shape I wanted and I was also able to finish it off in the colour that best suited my needs.

At the end of her post, Lorraine has a picture library consisting of all of her fabulous projects (over 50) with links to her full tutorials. Thanks for sharing all of your cardboard wisdom, Lorraine!

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Winter/Snowflake Birthday

Happy 12th Birthday!

Well, my little girl is now 12 and has officially reached babysitting age….I can hardly believe it! The birthday celebrations are behind us, but I thought I would share some photos to show you how the theme all came together for the party. Click on the links below to visit the original post for each of the theme elements:

Here is the finished invitation.
and pulling until all the layers are pulled apart and you have a nice full pom pom.
These oversized paper flowers were made out of white tissue to create a snowflake…ish look.
We added a few white balloons to our fig tree to look like snowballs.
Completed 3D snowflake.
3D snowflakes
I picked up this twig snowflake garland in the after Christmas clearance. I got it for $6 regular $60 and it became the inspiration for the whole theme.
The snowflakes on the banner were printed with old paper towel tubes.
Finished snowflakes with a few clear sugar sprinkles and a silver candy ball in the center of each.
Snowflake Cupcakes
Finished cake pops. I used white chocolate and white sprinkles.
I tried to wrap her gifts in paper that tied into our colour theme.
Decide on your focal point. In this case, I wanted the message to be the highlight of the card.
Homemade loot bags.
Hot chocolate, mini marshmallows, Lindor chocolates and little cellophane bags. These were included in the loot bags.

I did end up making cake pops and I have to say I was quite surprised how easy they were to make. I have heard lots of people say how much work they are. To be honest, I found them much easier than many of the cakes, cupcakes and cookies I have decorated. Watch for the upcoming post on how to make Cake Pops.

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Winter Party Decorations: 3D Snowflakes

As I try to find a few minutes here and there in the midst of a very busy weekend, I recruited the birthday girl to make some 3 dimensional snowflakes. They are quite stunning and will really help to create the wintry look I am going for.  Eden’s birthday is now just a few days away and as the weekend draws to an end, I know I will be busy baking cakes and pulling together the final plans for her “Snowflake” theme every evening this week. I decided to go with the “winter” theme not so much because it is a “theme” party, but more so because we were taking the girls “snow tubing” at a local park. As it turns out, I am not sure if we will be able to spend the evening outdoors or not, as the forecast does not look great for the coming weekend. If not, I know the girls will be fine hanging-out at home. Regardless, we will continue to decorate around a winter theme.

Eden did an awesome job of making this 3D snowflake for the party. Although these snowflakes take more time than a typical one, they are not difficult to make and it is fun to include the birthday girl in the party preparations. Here is a complete step by step picture tutorial, but for a complete video tutorial check-out this link.

Take 6 sheets of regular 8 1/2″ X 11″ paper.
Fold over one corner to create a triangle.
Cut off the extra paper at the end.
Fold the triangle in half.
Make slits across the triangle.
Open up the triangle.
Open up to reveal the cut square.
Roll the centre by taking the edges and overlapping them. Tape in place.
Flip the square over and pull the corners of the next biggest square towards the centre, roll them and tape them.
Flip the square over. Pick-up the corners of the next square, roll towards the centre and secure.
Continue to flip, roll and secure until the entire section is complete.
Completed section.
Repeat the process with all six sheets of paper and then join all six sections together.
Completed 3D snowflake.

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Pom-Pom Snowflakes

Well, the Winter Birthday Party plans continue. I got the invitations out and finished her snowflake birthday banner and it turned out great.  Eden is going to be 12 and is pretty much over having birthday parties with activities and games. I still have to make a few decorations, as well as the cake and cupcakes for both her family party and her girlfriend party.

I have wanted to make these oversized pom-poms/paper flowers for like….forever, but have never had a reason to do so. It might be a bit of a stretch, but I thought why not go for it using white tissue and call them snowflakes instead of flowers. I followed Martha Stewart’s tutorial and this is what I came up with. I have only made one so far, but will probably make a few to hang from our chandelier over the table in the dining room. It was super easy to make, but takes a bit of patience and a soft touch to carefully pull the layers of tissue apart.

Use 8 full sheets of tissue paper.
Fold the sheets accordion style. My folds are about 11/2″ wide.
Continue to fold until you reach the end.
I tied the centre with fishing line, leaving enough length to hang it when I am done.
Carefully begin to pull the layers of tissue apart. The first layer or two is the most difficult.
Keep pulling…
and pulling…
and pulling until all the layers are pulled apart and you have a nice full pom pom.

I think it will look fine when I have everything put up. Sometimes you just have to wait until all of the decorations are set-up for a theme to really come together.

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