Tutorial - DIY Aztec Print Tote Bag

It appears Aztec and Navajo prints are going to stick around for awhile - which is plenty fine by me, I love their sharp geometrical angles, especially when paired with bright punchy colours. 

As the trend continues to grow, moving from fashion to home goods, accessories, and even manicures, I decided it was time I had a little Aztec in my life. I decided to incorporate the print into a DIY project, preferring to stay away from the shops to save my pennies for travel, utilizing a stencil to keep the edges crisp and straight. 

To make one of your very own, here are the materials you'll need:

• Transparent paper (to make the stencil)
• Thin tip permanent marker
• Exacto knife
• Any pattern, print, or silhouette 
• Scotch tape
• Acrylic paint
• Sponge paint brushes
• Canvas tote bag
• Cardboard
• Plastic plate

To start, we need to make the stencil for our pattern. Although I chose to go with an Aztec print, the options really are endless and I've got a few more ideas in the works that I hope to try soon. I found a print I liked online and printed it out, scaled to fit on an 8x11 piece of paper. With some decent ruler skills you could also draw up your own pattern on some grid paper. 

Stencil materials - I used a pop flat to cut on but a cutting mat would be much better

The transparent folders I bought from Staples called Poly Project Pockets worked great

Taking the pattern, attach it to your transparent paper and trace over the pattern with your marker. I found transparent folders that had a good thickness - thin enough to cut through but thick enough to hold up - a five pack was on sale for $6, and I was able to cut them open, doubling what I have to work with (cutting my cost/stencil to 0.60 cents) . 

The transparent paper after tracing my pattern

Cutting open the folder

Once the pattern is transferred, remove the original paper copy and then, working on a piece of cardboard to protect your table, carefully cut out the pattern using your exacto knife. 

Cutting out the pattern is tedious but you want to do a good job to ensure you get a quality stencil

Now that the stencil is created, we can move onto painting - the fun part!

Slide a piece of cardboard into the tote bag to prevent any paint from bleeding through and place a small amount of paint onto the plastic plate. Layout your stencil and secure it to the canvas with the Scotch tape.

My canvas tote bag was a bit wrinkled so I ironed it first to ensure it would lay flat. 

Lay out the stencil and secure it with tape

Using one colour at a time, apply the paint with the sponge brush in a dabbing motion. To avoid bleeding, keep the brush vertical, dabbing up and down, and only apply a small amount of paint to the brush at one time.

I found it was also helpful to tape off the sections of the stencil I didn't want to paint - because my stencil was more on the intricate side with small gaps between the shapes, I didn't want to accidentally "spill" paint over the edges of the stencil.

You can see the tape covering sections of the stencil to avoid accidents

Apply the paint one colour at a time, letting it dry in between

Between colours it's a good idea to allow the paint to dry for 5-10 minutes - remove the stencil to avoid any smudging.   

Once the pattern is complete let the entire bag dry overnight before putting it to use. As far as cleanup is concerned, it was a breeze. I simply peeled the tape off the stencil and wiped it down with a damp paper towel so I can use it again and washed out my foam brushes.

Once the painting is done remove the stencil and let it dry

I tried to think ahead when applying the paint to avoid having too much of one colour in a single area

This craft smart paint is from Michaels - I used Dark Yellow, Spearmint, Turquoise, Grape Taffy, and Hot Pink

I'm extremely happy with how my tote bag turned out, the colours are perfect for summer and the lines are quite crisp with very little bleeding. The project took about 6 hours total, which depends significantly on the complexity of your stencil. Initially I thought this tote would be the perfect size to hold my knitting projects; however, now I think it's too cute to keep stored away at home. 

The finished product!

Psst! I'm sharing this project over at...
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Reveal - Thrifted Side Table

I'm really excited today to show off a little project I wrapped up a few weeks ago -With all the excitement of Halloween I hadn't had time to share until now!

I found a little side table at a thrift store back in March and it rode around in the back of my car for a month. After that it moved into my garage and then made it's way upstairs into my kitchen area. Finally, six months after I originally rescued it from a dismal life at the thrift store, my little side table has a fresh coat of shiny paint and a sunny spot to sit in my house.

I'm thinking that this side table came from a boys bedroom as it had some skateboarding stickers on it. After peeling them off (with lots of water and a knife) I gave the whole thing a light sanding starting with a rough grit and moving to a very fine grit. Then I wiped everything down, gave it a coat of primer, and chose my paint. 

I decided to go with bright turquoise (the same colour as my master bathroom) since I already had the paint on hand and love it on my walls. It's bright and cheerful and covered the bare wood in two coats - marvelous!

Because it was interior wall paint I had to brush it on, compared to spray paint which I would commonly use for this kind of job. Although I didn't have to worry about spray paint drips, I did have to keep an eye out for any brush strokes or streaks. 

I ended up painting the handles white but I've been eying some glass knobs and might need to upgrade in the future. Until then, this little beauty is sitting pretty in my kitchen and doing a good job holding my lave lamp*

*Yea you read that right - I own a lava lamp (or two)!

Enjoy!

Calli

Cane Chairs Completed!

I'm a bit ashamed that it took me so long, considering I purchased these beauts about 5+ months ago, before I started blogging, but I can now cross cane chairs off of my to DIY list!

They are finally done and I am really pleased with how they turned out. However, let me be candid for a second, this project (at least parts of it) was a real bitch.

I'll never try to discourage anyone from taking on a DIY project but I also don't think it's fair to misrepresent a project as something it isn't. It was fun but also quite involved - and upholstery never seems to be as easy as planned...

Before & After:

 

So as you can see I went with the turquoise damask print and the pink patterned print (the yellow was sold out but I think the pink is even better!) 

And as for the back... hexagons and butterflies!

Before I get into all the gory details here's a brief re-cap of how I got here - it's only fair since I've strung you along for months.

I bought two cane chairs last winter and even before I got them home there was the makings of a good story - you can get the dramatic details here.

Clearly my chairs did not come from a smoke free environment so I tore them apart and trashed everything that a) smelled of smoke b) had food residue on it and c) could not be identified. Check out some of the "treats" I discovered here. 

I looked for some fabric locally but nothing was good enough for my lovely chairs so I went online - where I was overwhelmed with choice. You can see all the options I contemplated here.

Once the frames were bare I gave them a quick sanding - there's a brief overview here. I used three different sandpapers to prep the chair starting with a coarse grit and moving towards medium and then fine. I had bought a combo pack so I used all three and it worked fine but if you don't want to take off too much wood material on your own project you can probably get by with just the medium or fine grit paper. 

After sanding, I wiped the chairs down to remove all the dust, put down my drop cloths, and started painting. And this is where I ran into my first trip up - besides the gross upholstery that made my skin crawl... 

I should have primed the wood first but skipped this step to save time, funny thing is that I just ended up using more paint to make up for the lack of primer. Next time I will definitely use primer first. As far as paint goes, I used Krylon glossy white spray paint and despite my lack of skill it worked great. I didn't research spray paint or anything, just chose the one that was easy to find and relatively inexpensive.

Clearly I don't have the right personality for spray painting - It took every ounce of patience that I have to apply multiple thin coats and not try to cover every inch of wood all at once. As a person who wants it done right but also right now I had to realize that I couldn't have both - luckily I chose doing it right(ish), which took forever!

It was a bit of a Jekyl and Hyde thing going on while I painted and at times the impatient part of me took over resulting in a few drips on the hard to reach parts of the legs. One thing I've had to accept is that I don't have all the skills and therefore my finished projects may never be perfect. But sometimes, like with these chairs, anything is an improvement. 

I ended up using 5 cans of spray paint for 2 chairs - how many coats this translates into I'm not sure. I sprayed the frames and then flipped them upside down as well to make it easier to reach every area - I also used some wood blocks to lift the chair a few inches off the ground. 

It's starting to feel like summer here so the painting process stretched out for a few weeks when I probably could have done it in just a few days. While I was painting my cushions sat in the middle of my living room - mocking me. 

The seat cushion was in decent shape but the back needed to be replaced. I used 1inch foam for this and also picked up some batting to give a little more life to the seat. 

When it came time for upholstery I started with what I know - the seat cushion. I placed the seat cushion side down on my batting and stapled it to the wood base. I then trimmed off any excess and did this process again with my fabric. This was pretty easy as I've upholstered chair seats before and the cushion shape wasn't too wild. 

After the seat I moved on to the back. I will admit that this part intimidated me - and rightfully so! I'd looked at tutorials online so I had a bit of an idea of what to do but there's only so much you can grasp from pictures and words online. The first chair took much longer because I had to figure out a process and this took a lot of trial and error. 

I ended up cutting a piece for the back of the back - the piece that shows from the rear side of the chair. I tacked it into place with my stapler, one staple on each side, to make sure it was straight before going staple crazy. The hardest part of this step was getting the staples to go into the meaty part of the small strip of wood that frames the back. There wasn't a lot of room to maneuver my stapler and as the fabric became taught all around the back it was even more difficult. 

After the back piece was in place (good side facing out so it can be seen!) I added the foam and then the front piece of back fabric (the one that shows from the front). The easiest way I can explain it is as a sandwich - back fabric facing out, foam, front fabric facing out the other way. Make sense?

If it was tight in there before the foam and second piece of fabric didn't make it easier. I ended up going through a lot of 'failed' staples that either went into the fabric or didn't dig into the wood frame enough. It was really trial and error. 

The hardest part of the upholstery is that you need to be part contortionist to reach some of the spots and put enough pressure on the staple gun. My back is so sore today, I can't really ignore that I'm getting older...

After the back was together I needed to cover the exposed staples so I simply glued on some trim that I found at my local fabric store. I also contemplated nail head trim but I could only find single nail heads and I didn't think I'd be able to line them up nicely to get the look I wanted. 

And that's it! There were some less than proud moments of frustration but in the end they are just what I wanted! I'm going to put the turquoise one in my living room and the pink one in my bedroom - I'll post some pictures once I've had a chance to clean up a bit. 

Enjoy!

Calli

From Beast to Beauty - Master Bath Part II

Bare, clean, walls? Check. Patched and sanded holes? Check. Paint cut in around ceiling, baseboards, fixtures, and corners? Check. I was ready to roll.

Overall I find the entire painting process therapeutic - I've got my music playing and I can let my mind wander... This is especially true if I've done a good job cutting in because I don't need to get too close to the ceiling, trim, or fixtures when rolling and can avoid any scary moments (usually when I end up swearing like a sailor).

I'm no expert (trial and error baby!) but my main tip for rolling on paint is to avoid getting too much paint on your roller - you want light coats, no drips, and if you overload the roller with paint it can splatter all over the place. Also, I like to go in a W pattern, rolling back over the area to eliminate any paint lines (like colouring a picture with concentric circles).

Painting my master bathroom posed a few challenges. Reaching over top of the shower was tough because my ladder wouldn't fit inside it - this was overcome with a lot of reaching and teetering. Toilets are also a pain in the butt to paint around in general. Being right handed I prefer a certain angle when cutting in, which the positioning of my toilet did not accommodate. However after some contortionist style maneuvering I was able to get paint everywhere (including where I originally wanted it).

A small mistake easily rectified with some white trim paint.

I used a large roller as well as a smaller one for some of the tighter areas and I think that this worked out really well. The smaller roller allowed me to avoid getting paint all over the toilet, base boards and myself while painting in the tight corners.

I stretched this project out over 3 days because a) It was Easter b) I had the time and c) I like to give as much drying time as possible. Any lovely lady out there (or guy - no judgment) who has applied a second coat of nail polish too soon knows the value in letting something dry.

Progress - paint coat numero uno

This paint went on nicely and the colour covered really well. I've found that darker colours often require multiple coats (aka my high maintenance 4 coat bedroom feature wall) but was pleasantly surprised this time and only ended up with 2 coats.

I mentioned my need for perfection so I cut in again on the second coat. However I didn't go as slow or try to get as close to the ceiling/baseboard/fixtures as the first time. I then rolled on my second coat and stood back to admire my handiwork. The second coat took a fraction of the time and that's why it is so important to take your time with that first coat. If I had rushed through cutting initially I would have had to spend a lot of time fixing mistakes.

The only thing left to do was the baseboards. I had freshened up the door and door frame with new white paint when I did my bedroom so this time I only needed to do the baseboard trim inside the bathroom. I also touched up a couple mistakes from the rolling process. 

I really have a thing for turquoise and red so that's the direction I'm heading. Clearly the room isn't done quite yet, but with some art, a towel bar, and a sprinkling of a little bit more red...

Enjoy!
Calli

Third Time's the Charm

I have been in my new place for almost 11 months ( read: anniversary party hopefully in the works!) and sill haven't painted my main bathroom or spare bedroom yet. However, I have painted my master bedroom feature wall three times so I'm calling it even.

When I first moved in I painted the entire place in a neutral gray (actually my Dad did most of the painting - thanks Dad!). The all over gray allowed me to move in some furniture and get a feel for the place. I quickly realized that the master bedroom needed some oomph so I decided to do a graphic painted feature wall.

Before: Neutral Gray.

 I really liked this Trellis Pattern tutorial from Centsational Girl and decided to give it a try. The pattern was relatively easy to use but very time consuming. After tracing it onto the wall with a pencil (for hours!) I outlined it with a very thin brush using a darker gray paint.

It took a long time to trace and paint. About half way through I realized that my hand wasn't steady enough and the pattern was getting a bit wonky. You can't really tell in the pictures but it was a bit uneven so I decided to abandon ship. Not my proudest moment (I hate being wrong) - At the time I was a bit upset that the pattern hadn't worked.

During: Dark Gray Pattern

So there I was, abandoned Trellis Pattern on the wall, headboard and furniture all over the place, in need of another brilliant idea. I decided to go with a solid colour - the pattern would be hard enough to cover with one solid colour and I was tired of painting!

But what colour? The furniture and headboard are all black and white and I have two killer (original) mushroom lamps that are pink. I didn't really want to commit to an entire pink wall and ended up turning to a great turquoise trench coat that I have (and often receive complements on) for inspiration. I actually took the coat into the paint store and had them do a colour match for me - which they nailed!

After: Deep Turquoise Blue

 Because this was a custom match the paint doesn't have a name - and I couldn't live with that. I introduce you to Nothing Under my Trench Turquoise! 

A bit cheeky eh? But then again I'm a bit cheeky too and it's in my bedroom so I think it's perfect! 

Enjoy!

Calli

Channeling my inner Bob Ross

I love me a brand new notebook - fresh pages, so much possibility... It's a bit of a love/hate relationship really... on the first day of class I would open my new notebook, swoon over its perfect, crisp, non-dented pages, and then have to pick up my pen and taint it with notes (normally about a topic that I really didn't care too much about...).

I feel the same way about those canvases that you can buy from Michaels Crafts. They come pre-stretched over a wooden frame in a bunch of different sizes and in my mind hold so much potential; but then I pick up the paint brush and with that first completely non-artistic stroke it's all over. I think I enjoy brainstorming what I want to do with the canvas more than actually painting on it...

However, I have seen some pretty awe-inspiring DIY tutorials out there lately that use a canvas and paint and, never being one to shy away from a challenge, I wanted to give the whole painting thing another go*. 

*Of course we aren't talking about any Bob Ross style waterfall/forest/stream art here (LOVE Bob FYI)  - just something simple and graphic...

Here's my inspiration...

Fantastic Lyics! - Apartment Therapy (I think)

Kate Spade Ampersand Art and DIY tutorial here

All you need is love - at Etsy

Apartment Therapy

As soon as I saw the first picture I knew I needed to try it - the Lyrics are perfect and remind me of my summers working at the local mill in town (nothing beats art that's also an inside joke!). I really want to give that last inspirational picture a try - I love the colourful punch it gives to the room!

So I got my DIY on for the first two pictured above... It was more an experiment than anything else, to see if I could make something cute with just a brush and some paint. I needed a project to get me through these long winter months and to be honest, at the time I was facing a creative dry spell.

Here's what I came up with...

 

 

 I used left over paint from my master bedroom's feature wall for the Ampersand and I think it might stay in my bedroom once everything is sorted out. (I'll keep you posted).

Enjoy!

Calli

Soul Mates

It seems that most of the time I get an idea for a DIY project and then it gets filed away in the back of my head until I find just the right tool, fabric, or in this case, piano bench to bring that idea front and centre again.

And this is exactly what happened with this little bench/jewelery storage (nee sad, plain-jane, piano bench). I had been thinking about jewelery storage after being inspired by this gorgeous shot from Martha Stewart. Yeah, yeah, joke away - but the lady doesn't do anything half-assed.

Also, my jewelery collection has at least tripled if not quadrupled since my friend Stacey started making absolutely gorgeous pieces (but that's another story).

I wanted somewhere to store my jewelery that was pretty but also functional and, as I don't have room in my bedroom for a full dresser let alone a dresser with one entire drawer dedicated solely to jewelery (in a perfect world maybe...), I needed something a little smaller and less conspicuous. Then I remembered my grandma's piano bench and how the seat lifts up for sheet music storage...

The idea went to the back of my head - forced there by newer ideas and inspiring pictures - until one sunny afternoon when I "happened" to stop into Value Village for a quick look around. As soon as I saw her I knew we were meant to be together - I mean what are the chances that I had a killer idea waiting for someone like her to fulfill it?

By the way, this is my definition of soul mates. I'm not big into the whole idea of people being destined to be together and all that - but furniture destiny - bring it on!

*As a side note - I can, will, and am soul mates with many different pieces of furniture, all at once, and no, they don't seem to mind.

Back to my gorgeous bench... I was even more convinced when I saw the price - $7.99!! So much potential... so cheap... I whisked her away (actually wedged her into my Honda hatchback) and we haven't looked back.

Check her out now - with a new coat of white paint, fantastic deep turquoise upholstery, and a little something fun, just for me, under the seat.

And because I love her jewelery - and I will not say I love something unless I really, absolutely, overwhelming love it - here is some eye candy courtesy of my friend Stacey.

Enjoy!

Calli