Hello, I really really enjoy DIY projects and have undertaken several on more than one occasion. It truly brings me peace and excitement to sit around breaking things and putting them back together, or building something from scratch, or making something out of random items I have laying around or in my recyclables. I figure I will start a thread for the DIY'er out there. I hope there isn't another thread just like this one....I would thoroughly appreciate any new ideas, crafts, projects, works of art, or just random posts of things you have made or refurbished. I like to learn from others and I hope to gain inspiration from your posts! To begin: Here is a project that I worked on about a month ago. I bought this coffee table at thrift store for 70 bucks. It is super heavy, solid wood, and from the 70's vintage, ya! It had a wicked 70's brown stain going on. The same color that you would see on those station wagons; not attractive. I really wish I would have taken a "before" picture of it!! The Process: View attachment 1468619 I immediately took it in the garage and removed all the hardware for the door. I sanded the whole thing down (pain in my butt) and painted this bad boy in Valspar "Fired Earth" paint; 6011-1 is the number on their website. I didn't use a primer; I did 4 coats of paint and sanded in between coats. I sealed it with Minwax Polyurethane in satin; it is water based so it will not yellow with time. I did three coats and sanded in between coats as well; I use sand paper that is specifically for between coats. View attachment 1468620 For the hardware I used a silver spray paint that I got from Wal-Mart. I don't have the brand or exact color on hand. it is in the garage and I don't feel like getting up. Here is the final product View attachment 1468621 View attachment 1468622 Final Note: A recipe for you-- Non-Toxic All Purpose Cleaner In a plastic spray bottle (Target) mix: 1 cup water 1 cup white vinegar 12 drops of tea tree essential oil 6-8 drops of Lemon essential oil
nice!! I was actually thinking about buying a magic flight launch box and doing something similar but with home made watercolor wood stain.
I have never even heard of watercolor wood stain..... searching Google! The possibilities are endless. I hope you DO get one and make it "you". I'd like to see pics of your project when ever you get around to it
Alright, so here is a simple hack for all of those empty wine bottles (or any glass bottle in general). If you're looking for something decorative or a space filler then try this: What you'll need- 1. Empty wine bottles 2. Any color yarn (pick your fav colors) you can pick these up at Michael's or Jo-Ann's 3. Elmer's glue 4. OPTIONAL- accessories, ribbon, flowers, buttons, etc., to add to finished product Get any empty wine bottles and throw them in the sink, fill with hot water and soap so it covers the whole bottle View attachment 1470982 The point here is to remove the stickers and glue to get it looking like this: View attachment 1470983 Next step is tedious! Grab your bottle of Elmer's glue and put it on the first 1/4 of the bottle starting from the bottom an working your way up View attachment 1470985 It takes a while to wrap the yarn, so work in 1/4 increments so as to not let the glue dry. You want to get enough on there so that the yarn sticks. I had it to the point where the yarn felt like glue because I used so much! View attachment 1471001 Anyway, keep yarn as close together as possible. After each 1/4, I went back and smushed it together so I would not see any glass showing through. To make it easier I snipped the yarn and started the next 1/4 where I left off. Tip: don't pull yarn too tight; if you let it lightly sit on glue then it will be easier to smush together. When you get to the neck it gets tricky. I had two different shaped bottles so the one with the neck that went from wide to really skinny was difficult, I had to leave the yarn extra loose in order to push it down in the glue with my finger. Your final product should look like this View attachment 1470994 View attachment 1470996 View attachment 1470997 View attachment 1470998 You can put real or fake flowers on top to make it look even better! View attachment 1471004
Okay, here is another fairly simple and quick project for your house/apartment/cardboard box/loft/flat/studio/dorm/car. You probably already have everything you need at home. View attachment 1477318 I will be showing you a quick and cheap way to help absorb bad odors from your humble abode as well as providing a fresh and clean scent with the power of essential oils. You will need: Baking soda Small mason jar (4 pack <$5 @ Target) Essential oils (I used lavender and lemon) Small square of breathable fabric (I cut old curtains into small squares) **note: you can use any combination of essential oils to suit your favorite scent; there are many brands out there, but I use NOW brand since they're at my local health store and those other expensive brands are out of my price range for the basic ways in which I use them. View attachment 1477330 First, remove the top off your mason jar and discard, or store, the lid part for later use. Fill the mason jar about half way up with baking soda. View attachment 1477332 Next, add 10 drops of Lemon and 12 drops of Lavender (you can use a variation of oils to create a unique scent; play around with it!) View attachment 1477336 View attachment 1477337 Next, use a small spoon and mix the oils into the baking soda. View attachment 1477339 Put the fabric on the mason jar and screw on the outer ring of the lid. View attachment 1477340 View attachment 1477342 Voila! Make sure you shake every three days to get the oils scent out. You can change out the powder every 30 days. View attachment 1477344
Next project (which I actually finished months ago, but I want to post anyway) is a cut canvas project. If you have a pencil or sharpie, an exacto knife, and any size canvas, then you can do this easy DIY wall art I am a true believer tht anyone can be an artist. You are all unique and you have your own perspective which makes life so beautiful! I see a flower, you see a penguin drinking a mixed drink with a tiny umbrella in it. Anyway, what you need: 1. Exacto knife (Michael's or any craft store) 2. Pencil or sharpie 3. Any size canvas View attachment 1484801 View attachment 1484802 View attachment 1484803 Okay, the first thing to do is turn the canvas over and draw or stencil anything you'd like. You can get creative or just print out some cool stencils and repeat the design all the way across and work your way down. View attachment 1484804 Circles can look really cool, but here are pictures tht I found online which you can also do! View attachment 1484805 View attachment 1484807 This is what I did: View attachment 1484808 View attachment 1484809 I'm from California and love the beach so I did a surfer dude and a modern sun. Next thing is either leave as is, or spray paint! That's it! I only had a silver/gray on hand so it's not that cool, but I will go to work on new paint once I get around to it View attachment 1484811 View attachment 1484812 View attachment 1484815
I haven't posted in a while! Here is a recipe for some tasty Enchiladas: Ingredients-- 1. 1.5lbs of chicken 2. 1 lb Monterey Jack cheese (preferred!!!) 3. 2 limes 4. 1 Tbsp Chili Powder 5. 6 Tbsp Honey 6. 1/2 Tbsp Garlic Powder 7. Corn tortillas 8. 1 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream 9. 1 14 oz can of green enchilada sauce OR 1 8oz El Pato sauce (green can). I prefer El Pato Steps--- 1. Cook chicken until 165 F; shred it in a bowl. 2. Add chili powder, garlic powder, honey, juice of 2 limes and half of the cheese and mix by hand. 3. In a glass 9x13 dish, pour 1/2 can of enchilada sauce and spread. 4. Measure out 1 cup heavy whipping cream and pour the other half of enchilada sauce and stir. 5. Heat about 6 tortillas in the microwave at a time for 40 seconds (so they don't break when rolling) and then start filling them with chicken mix and place them in dish on top of the sauce. I normally fit about 14. 6. Pour the cream and sauce mix over your enchiladas; make sure all tortillas are wet. 7. Sprinkle the other half of your cheese on top and create a layer. 8. Put in the oven at 375F for a good 20 minutes to allow the cheese to melt. 9. ENJOY!!!! ***you can add things like black beans, bell peppers, or rice to your chicken mix. I like to tweak the recipe when I'm feeling it.