DIY > no sew tie blanket

It's only appropriate that I am writing this with Sunday Night Football in the background, with the Steelers  playing against  losing to the Bears at this very moment. I'll admit it - I'm not paying much attention to the game, or to the NFL season in general... but I pretend for the sake of a happy marriage. :)

That being said, I earned brownie points from the hubby (a Steelers fan, maybe you had guessed?) today by making him a no sew man blanket of his own.

The instructions for this no sew tie blanket are more or less the same as the no sew baby blanket that I made back in June. However, the measurements I made for the corners and the fabric strips are a bit bigger this time around as this blanket was for a dude (not a baby... therefore more material was used and the finished blanket is bigger).

Enjoy the simplified, visual how to!

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Total cost:

 

Cost of fabric =  $26.23 for 2.5 yards ($10.49 per yard at Hobby Lobby)

Total cost = $26.23  

(... and my husband's surprise = priceless)

in progress: volume 4

I'm still scraping away on that rocking chair. I've also been project-hopping: working on refinishing a side table, transforming a tree stump (seriously!) and have another Young House Love-inspired post in the works. Like I said earlier: I tend to do things in the wrong order!

Since I didn't think anyone would want to look at ten more pictures of a half-scraped rocking chair, I thought I'd share some recent DIY attempts that haven't been so successful (consider them DIY mis-adventures...). Hopefully I'm not the only one learning from my mistakes?

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Mis-Adventure #1: Slipcover vs. Bed Sheet

There's nothing wrong with the couch in our living room (other than the pillow zippers that Freddie chewed apart as a younger, less mature pup). While I'd love to update our furniture with a couch in a solid colour, it's not in the budget this point in time. I thought I'd make do in the meantime by buying a basic slipcover for the couch - my sister has slipcovers on her couches, and they look great. Seemed easy enough. I even remembered to measure the couch before setting out in search of the perfect slipcover... should be foolproof, right?
After spending an evening at home wrestling with the supposedly simple slipcover, I deemed it too messy looking. (Maybe our couch measurements are unusual and awkward?) Not what I expected. My husband suggested throwing a bed sheet over the couch instead and getting my money back (a wise and frugal Dutchman, he is). I ended up taking his advice and returned the slipcover for a refund (the money saved will go into the New Couch Fund)... but have yet to test out the bed sheet-as-slipcover suggestion.

Mis-Adventure #2: Spray Paint Problems

I found a patterned ampersand at Hobby Lobby for less than three bucks, and thought it would make a nice addition to a bookshelf after a spray paint mini-makeover. I've never used primer before spray painting anything, and haven't had any issues... Until now.
I guess the finish of the ampersand didn't agree with the spray paint I was using (Krylon Indoor/Outdoor Semi-Gloss in White). The result is a frustrating, ugly mess of bubbles. I'm determined to salvage this one somehow! I'm thinking I will have to use a combo of paint thinner/remover and sandpaper before starting fresh.

Mis-Adventure #3: Questionable Frame-Wreath Combo

Around the same time that I made the springy-wreath, I was also planning to transform this old frame into some sort of a square wreath. My intentions were good; I think I was planning to add tons of floral pieces so that you wouldn't be able to see the frame at all. At some point this project was forgotten and left as is... which is incomplete. Not quite a frame, not yet a wreath...
I'm not sure why I thought that wrapping an ivy garland would make a good starting point, and am 99% sure that the ivy will be removed before starting fresh on this project.

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Have you had any DIY mis-adventures?

How have you been able to rescue or salvage any not-so-successful projects?

rocking chair diaries: part 2

Before my palm sander could touch this rocking chair, an important and painful step had to be completed first: the initial stripping. Since this (as well as a certain side table - I'm big on multi-tasking) is my first adventure in refinishing any piece of furniture (beyond slapping on a coat of paint), I went over a few tutorials and how-to blog posts to get a basic grip on how to begin. [ This blog was by far the most helpful/detailed. Thanks Janine! ]

Stripping the current paint/varnish/seal is not for the weak. This step calls for a true DIY warrior, a gal who is willing to spend a few hours (honestly, hours) scraping away the past in hopes that the end result will be amazing. I  knew this step wouldn't be done in just one afternoon so I am taking this one baby step at a time. It is considerably time consuming but at the same time is a decent way to spend a sunny day: hang out on the deck, put some music on, scrape away to my heart's content.

The Essentials:

1) Gloves. I just used an old pair of gardening gloves (the remover can really burn - so protect your hands and arms). A long sleeve shirt is also recommended. Safety first, right?!

2) Paint & Varnish Remover. I used Circa 1850 Heavy Body Paint & Varnish Remover (can be found a t Home Hardware, Rona, etc.). I purchased it at the local Home Hardware for less than $12, and after using it to completely strip a side table plus start stripping this rocking chair, I still have about half the container left. It goes a surprisingly long way. Also - this version of the product is gel-like, and I found it helpful for stripping the vertical parts of the chair (i.e., the back and arm rests) as it didn't drip much.

3) Paint scraper. I know that there are fancier, better quality, heavy duty paint scrapers out there, but I bought this one from Dollarama and it is my new best friend. Maybe I don't know what I'm missing, because I haven't spent the money on a higher quality paint scraper - but this cheapo one has done a great job this far along.

4) An old bed sheet (not pictured). Because I don't have a garage or workshop to call my own, I use our deck/backyard as my work space. Before getting started on any project (spray painting, stripping furniture, sanding, etc.) I throw an old bed sheet on the deck as protection. This time around the bed sheet caught all the scraps of varnish and paint that I had scraped - this was a messy step so an old sheet (or garbage bags, newspaper, tarp, etc.) is highly recommended for easier clean up.

 

Strip Tips:

•  Pace yourself. Depending on the size of the project, it will take a few hours to completely strip the chair/table/etc. Do small chunks at a time (i.e. for this rocking chair, I did the headrest first, then the arms, then the seat... It also helps to get a larger section (i.e. seat) out of the way first to feel more accomplished. Don't try to rush through this part because it will show later on!

• Don't use foam brushes to apply the paint & varnish remover. Rookie mistake! The foam brush didn't spread the remover around very well, and just got chunky and messy really fast. I bought a few 2 inch paint brushes and things went on a lot smoother after that.

•  Be generous with the paint & varnish remover! The more you apply, the easier it is to scrape away. I used different amounts and when I skimped on applying the remover, it wasn't as easy.

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the Rocking Chair Diaries: Part 1

rocking chair diaries: part 1

Weird yet true confession: I love garbage day. Let me explain: I love the night before garbage day, when random treasures can occasionally be found alongside the recycling bins and garbage cans. Most of the time, the random treasures are not actually treasures, but true garbage - worn out, ripped couches, broken bookshelves, dressers that have seen better days - and are beyond salvaging.

But sometimes, people can't be bothered to put an unwanted item on Kijiji, Craigslist or even Freecycle and on Garbage Day's Eve, these items are fair game (and free!) to curbside scavengers like myself.

Exhibit A: this perfectly good, perfectly free (thank you, anonymous neighbour!), full-of-potential rocking chair.

I plan to go over it with my palm sander, but am unsure what to do after that - stain it darker or paint it a bright white? What about painting it bright yellow or red?

Thoughts? Ideas? Please send 'em my way!

mini makeover > itty bitty jewellery box

Confession alert: this itty bitty box has been in my possession for a few years. Many Christmases ago, I bought this plain wooden box intending it to be part of a gift I was going to make for my dear friend Linette... I was going to surprise her with a personalized travel version of our favourite game: Ten Pennies. Unfortunately, procrastination won out and I never did present Linette with her very own Ten Pennies Kit (I'm sorry, Linners). 

I started off by giving the box a healthy coat of spray paint. I had found some cute wrapping paper in Target's dollar spot recently, and cut out some of the flowers. Using ModPodge, I attached the flower cutouts. Even with the drying time, this itty bitty jewellery box didn't take long to complete!

Nowadays, this jazzy little box is used to house part of my jewellery collection... hopefully Linette will forgive and forget (and let me win a round or two of Ten Pennies).

Total cost:

Wooden box = $1.00 (Dollarama, at least 3 years ago)

Spray paint = leftover from other projects

Wrapping paper = $1.00 (Target) 

ModPodge = $7.99 for 16 oz (Hobby Lobby)  

Total = $9.99 

DIY > no sew baby blanket

When I left for my first year of university, one of my aunts gave me a blanket. This particular blanket is like the travelling pants of tie blankets: it has seen me (and some of my friends) through the many milestones of student life.  The good, the bad, and the ugliest of breakups...

I recently became a first-time auntie, and thought that it would be appropriate to give my nephew a tie blanket of his own. Who knows - maybe this tie blanket will see him through many milestones in his life as an infant and perhaps even as a toddler? (I'm assuming he is years and years away from his first terrible breakup.)

This ^ is the tie blanket that saw me through university and beyond. It's also the blanket that I used as a guide and a pattern for a baby tie blanket... no sewing allowed. As always, I did refer to Pinterest a few times to double check some measurements (this particular blog was helpful).

The fabric was purchased recently at Hobby Lobby. I ended up buying 2 yards of the softest fleece that I could find (1 yard of each colour), and cut each of the colours in half so that I was able to make 2 blankets.

Tip: Pick a fabric that has some stretch in it... it will really make a difference!

How to:

1) I untied a few of the knots in the original tie blanket to estimate how long/thick to cut the fabric strips. I found that cutting them long and thin was easiest to work with.

2) I measured the width of the fabric for the depth of the strips, which worked out to be just over 6 inches. I didn't measure each individual strip (it would have taken forever!), but did bust out the measuring tape a few times on each side to  make sure it wouldn't be totally lopsided. I wanted to avoid my typical klutzy-excited errors...

3) The corners were cut approximately 6.5 inches by 6.5 inches. I saved these corner squares of fabric for a future project - not sure what it will be, but figured they had potential for something down the road.

4) Cut strips along each side of the blanket, about 1 inch to 1.5 inches wide. Like I said earlier, I found that cutting the fabric into long and thin strips worked best. I flipped up every other strip so that they were easier to keep track of and kept the project somewhat organized.

5) Last but not least... start tying the strips together into knots! This part was the least time consuming. Don't pull the knots super tight at first, you can always go over them again later so that there are no awkward pulls in the fabric.

And that is it - voila. The final product will look something like this:

Total cost:

Fabric = $18.18 ($9.09 per yard at Hobby Lobby, x2)

Total =  $9.09 per blanket

( * two no sew baby blankets were made this time around!)