Something Christmas-y

Hello there!  I finally went to see Breaking Dawn today with a sweet friend.  That little break was SO needed.  Before I left though, I did my first Christmas-y, wintry thing for the house.  I think if you have seen my house at Christmas, you know I have a thing for snowflakes... I have it bad, folks.  And, I am sort of obsessed this year with kraft and white.  So, after I finished doing a doormat for the shoppe, I decided to use the other (which I bought for the back door... or in case I messed the 1st one up!) for our house.  I am one of those people who really likes a new doormat... it is almost as good as a new toothbrush or a haircut.  Anyhow, I figured let's combine a long time love affair with snowflakes and a new lusting for kraft on white.  Oh, and this is an official Vintage Junky DIY... ha!  I am so bad at tutorials!

Okay, so I started with a very plain doormat.  

Then, I cut a bunch of snowflakes out of printer paper.  I even noticed that on the front of this printer paper that it now has a paper snowflake.  See... they are on to us... they know we don't use a ream of paper for printing anymore.  And, if you don't cut snowflakes as often as I do and you forgot how to fold them, here is a little tutorial with some fun cuts that I asked the Mr. to put together a few years ago.  He is much better with that sort of thing than I am *wink*

So, I then pinned them all in place.

Then I asked myself... Michelle, could you have picked a worse day to spray paint... and I answered.. yes, I could have.  Yesterday it was raining/ snowing. Today is is a warm 30. 

Besides, I think those directions on the back of the can are for best results.  And I just wanted results.

So I sprayed.  And sprayed. And warmed up and sprayed again.

Now, if you are wanting a really BOLD design with loads of contrast, then you would want to pounce and stencil... and it would  be mighty frustrating to stencil paper over coir.  So, this is the method I chose.  If you had a metal or plastic stencil, it would be much easier, and BOLDER.  I knew there would be some overspray and it would be a bit softer.  I wanted snowflakes.  I had paper.  This is what I got:

The overspray wasn't too bad... it didn't leak under the paper too much... I used quite a few pins.  If you do this, don't spray at an angle, it will muddy your snowflake shapes.

And here it is all happy in front of my door.  Sort of a faded Fairisle Sweater/ Nordic look.   Now, I need to get to decorating the rest of this house (still not clean!)  Okay, I am off to work on our Advent calender... something I have been planning since this summer, yet did not really start it until tonight!  I have some ideas though *wink*

bye for now!

How To: Silver leaf the Non-Exact Way

hello there!  Hope you a simply wonderful long weekend!  Our Fourth was spent outside, with friends, enjoying all the money that others spent on fireworks!  We are talking major show watched from our deck.

A few weeks ago, Mr. Hughes brought home a little table with great curves and quatrefoil top.  Immediately I thought, well, I will dress her up with a go- to grey and that will be that.  But, while driving around with the hyena, I had an epiphany (all my deep thinking happens when I drive, by the way) and I called the Mr. and I said, " how about silver leafing the top?"  He proclaimed me a genius (not really) and I swung by and picked up some more sizing since I knew I was running low.  So here, my friends,  is how to silver leaf a table in the Vintage Junky fashion:

Here is the table swathed in her new grey paint

You will need silver leaf sizing (you could probably also use spray adhesive, but I have a feeling the over spray would be a nightmare if you didn't prep, and I don't like to prep!)

Put on a thin, even coat awkwardly with your left hand so that you can take a photo with your right...

While you let it dry completely, run in the house, grab a can of yellow and spray paint a chandelier yellow for your vintage camper... no?  Just me?  Remember what your husband said about not getting any spray paint on the contacts and run back inside to get something to cover them.

Okay, should be dry.

Get out your silver leaf and a brush.

Try, as always when you silver leaf, to get the brush to pick up the leaf by static reaction.  When this doesn't occur, very, very, very carefully pick it up with your fingers (make sure they aren't sticky from sizing or spray paint... )

Place the leaf on the table and smooth it down with your brush.  Just smooth along that piece... don't start dusting along the edges just yet.

Place another piece directly underneath and follow this process until...

You decide to move out of order since it was looking too orderly.  At that point, put the leaf wherever you want.  

You can gently, gently, gently tear the pieces that over hang and use that to fill in spots that you perfectly line up to the edge.

Cover the whole table, or most of it.

Now, this is where the magic happens, start to dust the excess silver leaf off with your paint brush.  Do it in a "I am excavating for fossils" sort of way.  This is fun.

Watch how the excess lazily floats to the ground.  Say a little prayer that the wind doesn't blow the flakes over to your chandelier.  Say "You're Welcome" under your breath to the neighbors who will most likely find the little bits on happiness dancing in the breeze.

There, all leafed.  Now, sometimes you will find spots that for some reason (even though you put on a perfectly even coat of clear sizing) that the leaf didn't stick.  You can resize those areas and releaf.  I am assuming though, that if you made it this far in this tutorial, that you don't care about perfection and that you would rather it look a little worn and vintage.

So this next step is for you guys: lightly (and I mean lightly) sand the surface... use a 320 grit.  It will sort of antique it and tarnish it a little.  Some people (the ones who follow the directions on the bottle) will seal the top.  I prefer to leave it unsealed so that it will get a patina over time.

And there you have it.  A silver leafed top.

Stand back and admire all your hard work.  

Much to your surprise, this isn't my first time silver leafing.  I have done several mirrors, knobs, pumpkins... I think I like it since it has that mercury glass look.  It is pretty simple... if you do it my way. 

Okay, go silver leaf something!

bye for now!

Moss Terrariums: A How To + a giveaway

First of all, thanks to all the advice and encouraging comments on my last post.  I am getting really excited and want to be ready ASAP!  We are going out of town this weekend and we have guests the next, so you better believe that every spare moment I am going to be working on getting stuff ready for the booth.  I want to be in by the beginning of June.  I got a larger piece last night that is waiting for paint.

Well, back to the matter at hand... terrariums.  I bought these really cool vintage canning jars at the Bloomin Garden Show and I was inspired to change things up in the living room... I was thinking a little beachy, a little green... so I decided to get some moss and try some moss terrariums. I have made a terrarium before with plants and it was a success.  So much of a success that I was afraid the plant was going to lift the lid and strangle me in my sleep... it was that big!  With that in mind, I decided to do these... they are pretty simple.

First, you will need a clean container with a lid... I like glass, but you can use plastic.

Then you will need (right to left) potting soil, activated charcoal (keeps your terrarium fresh) and small pebbles... if you use small pebbles you will not need cover moss (the cover moss keeps the soil from washing into the stones.)  I used pea gravel which is small, so I didn't use a cover moss.

Of course you will need moss... I bought mine here and she sent me some assorted varieties.

And, the important stuff... fun little decorations!

First, add a layer of pebbles

Then, a layer of activated charcoal

Then, your potting soil.  Arrange your moss on top of the potting soil.  Moss doesn't have roots so you don't have to dig it down... just press it gently on the soil.

Then, arrange your terrarium with your little shells, figures, what ever you like....

I have a thing for vintage clock faces and baby hughes has a *small* obsession with owls.  We found a tiny one in Bell Buckle, so I had to add him.

Then, mist  (don't water or soak) your terrarium and put the lid on the container.  You will need to mist it every 4 weeks.  The condensation that accumulates will "rain" back down on the moss to keep it moist. Place your terrarium in an area that gets plenty of indirect sunlight, artificial light is okay too.

So , after I made my terrariums, I went to work collecting stuff from around the house that went with the beachy terrarium vibe I was looking for.  And, here is what I came up with...

I added my giant crown crock with a fern on the hearth.

I left my mirror up and added some starfish and some coral and seashells

I won Faded Plains giveaway and I got a couple of these numbers.  I tied them around a jar full of sand from St. Martin where we went on our honeymoon.  I bought the coral from a shop on Tybee Island.  

I used some "faux" terrariums that I made last year... they have dried branches and dried moss in some little vintage baby bottles.

You can see the condensation forming and my clock faces.

I had so much fun making them... I am thinking about making some for my booth and maybe for my etsy shop too.

And, I decided to make one for one of you!  

This small vintage jar has all the essentials and I added some clock faces and a piece of coral.  Then, I tied it all up with some vintage ribbon and an enamel broach.

So, here is what you have to do to win... just leave me a comment.  That's all... you don't have to be a blogger, just be sure to leave your email if you aren't.  If you want extra credit points, tweet it or post about it and let me know and I will give you an extra entry.

 I will draw the winner next Tuesday evening.  

Good luck! 

Wish ME luck keeping little fingers away!

oh, and speaking of giveaways...scoot on over to see Anne at Fiona and Twig!

How To: Turn a Coffee Table into an Upholstered Bench

Okay, here it is... a finished project!  And, I thought I would give you a how- to in case you have a coffee table that needs a transformation. A warning: some of the photos are not the best since I only had an assistant part of the time and part of the project was completed in the evening (dark photos taken with one hand = ugly)  but, you will get the idea. 

 Here is a little background on the project:  

Baby Hughes was clearing tables to play cars on... basically throwing photo frames on the floor.  We needed a coffee table since we were using baskets in the place of a table... wicker baskets = not a good "road" surface.  Plus, Mr. Hughes likes to put up his feet when he's watching the TV (but not Cable!)  So, we relocated a table that was in the library to downstairs.  Only problem is, sharp corners.  And, I didn't want to use corner guards.  So, I decided to cover the coffee table.  It is very sturdy and can actually be used as a bench.

Here is where we started.  This table had already been stripped and refinished once.  We seriously got it for $15 at Goodwill... sometimes I have the tendency to exaggerate the deals I get, but not this time.  I painted the legs and apron of the table with 2 coats of black paint.

Here is what you will need:

Spray Adhesive

Utility knife (or a serrated knife)

Staple gun

Batting ( I used a twin size quilt roll)

Foam (get the store to cut it to size, I used 2" thick)

Fabric

Scissors (ones that are sharp that you only use for fabric)

A rotary cutter

Glue gun

Trim

and an assistant will make it go faster (the handsomer the better *wink*)

Start by laying the foam on the floor and turning the table upside down on top the foam.  Then cut your foam to size with your knife... be careful not to cut through to your floor!  (If you get a little jagged edge, don't worry, the batting will help cover it.)

Next, take your foam outside and spray one side of it with spray adhesive.  Let it dry for a minute, then place the sticky side down on the table top.  

Next, lay out your batting.  Place the foam covered table upside down and make sure the batting is very flat with no wrinkles.  Trim your batting so that it will cover the foam edge and fold over so that you can attach it to the under side edge of the table.  (Someone needs a manicure!!)

So, here is the table laid out on top of the trimmed batting.  Notice the detail in the table's edge... that wouldn't look great if I simply stapled my batting and fabric over it.  So here is how I solved that problem:

I used the extra batting to fill in the detail of the table.  It was a narrow piece folded in half.

Then I just stapled it on the edge of table.

This is how the detail looks covered.

Then I took the batting that I trimmed and covered the foam and the extra batting I added.  I just wrapped it like a present and stapled it.  Be careful around the corners and trim the extra batting, otherwise your finished bench will have lumpy corners.

I flipped it over to give you an idea of what it looks like at this stage.  Now you are ready for the fabric.

Roll your fabric out face down (make sure you iron it if it has been folded.)  This fabric was easy to measure and cut because it was geometric, but it was harder to get straight and even because it was geometric.  If you are using a geometric pattern or a stripe, be sure that you have it even or the lines will be all wonky.  Florals and solids are easier to work with.

Now flip your table over on top of it and make sure your fabric is straight and taut.  Trim the fabric, but leave enough that you don't end up short.

Pull your fabric taut and staple once in the middle of one side.  Now, go to the opposite side and staple once in the middle.  Repeat on the other 2 sides.  I flipped it over at this point to make sure the pattern was straight.  Then, flip it back over and staple one side, stopping a few inches from the corner.  Go to the opposite side and repeat.  Then staple the 3rd side, again stopping a few inches from the corner. And repeat on the 4th side.

Now for the corners:  I had Mr. Hughes do this so I could attempt to photo the play by play.  You may have to add a staple so there isn't as much fabric to get in the way like he did here.  Regardless of which way you fold, just make sure they are all identical.  And, it may take you a few tries to get it just how you want it.

You are going to fold down one side and staple it to the opposite side of the corner to secure.

Make your fold and try to stay along the corner.

Tuck the extra fabric from the opposite side into the pocket that is created by the fold

Pull the fabric taut and keep your fold in place.

Staple to the underside of the table.  Make sure you like the way it turned out before doing the other corners or trimming.  Repeat on all 4 corners.

This is what it looks like trimmed... I didn't get a photo of us trimming it with the rotary cutter.  It definitely needed some trim.

I wanted something a little more fun than this trim, but I couldn't find anything that I liked in Jo Ann's and I wanted the project finished, so I went with a basic black braided flat trim.

I just added the trim with a hot glue gun (and took off some paint in the process!)  Keep your trim level, taut and flat while you are gluing.

Then, you are finished!

Here is a shot of the corner once it is all complete.

And, here is the finished project. I would have liked to do tufting, but as Mr. Hughes wisely pointed out, cars don't roll on tufting.  Plus, this pattern might not look great with it.  I also thought about piping, but that is a crumb catcher and my little boy loves to eat Goldfish crackers.

Now,  I really want a white lacquer tray for Baby Hughes to throw on the floor, I mean, to put lovely things on.  And, I know I saw one at Target, but now I can't find it.  So, the books will do for now... they will be gone by tomorrow I am sure and replaced with cars and other books!

I hope to finish Baby Hughes' bathroom this weekend... actually got the towels from Pottery Barn Kids yesterday, instead of March 6th!  Love it when that happens!  So, maybe I will get one more project marked off my list.

I am joining Miss Mustard Seed's Furniture Feature Friday!

and Maryann at Domestically Speaking!