My New Desk!

I finally found a fantastic vintage table at Cozy Cottage Interiors that will work perfectly as a desk (I'm writing this post from it).  It is a lovely drop-leaf table with that "perfectly worn in" look I was aiming for.  I decided to paint the legs and base of the table a deep black-blue - Old Navy and keep the top as-is.

Old Navy 2063-10 - Benjamin Moore

Trying to figure out the right 'blue'

No 'before' photo as we took apart the table to get it into my car 

Such a lovely deep blue and Regal provides great coverage

I primed the legs before painting them 

Shoppy admiring the first coat - three in total were needed

Project finished and I added a chair and lamp from Restoration Hardware 

A few more accessories in place and I can start working 

A small shelf to the left and some artwork will finish things up 

Detail photo of the worn-in table top

Only one more sleep...

It is a gorgeously white (and chilly) Christmas and I am so glad to be able to spend the holidays with my family.  My nephews are beyond excited for tomorrow and it is so fun seeing Christmas through their eyes.

Happy Holidays!

Books - A Second Life

After my uncle passed away this summer, my Mom found some books in his apartment that she thought I could use for various decor/craft projects.

The "I See All - The World's First Picture Encyclopedia" has five volumes and is exactly what it sounds like, an encyclopedia of pictures rather than text.  Each page is jammed with various snippets of black and white pictures of definitions, historical events, famous personalities, etc.

I looked the books up on-line and they aren't worth a lot and don't appear to be rare or overly unusual so I don't feel too bad cutting them up.

The biggest project I'm going to use them on is to wallpaper my upstairs office nook.  The inspiration is from one of my favourite stores in Toronto,  Love the Design.  The owner, Christine Flynn, wallpapered one of the walls in her store with pages from vintage books.  I love the look and think it'll be perfect for a small space.

I'm currently going through the books and pulling pages with topics related to design and other personal interests so the images I see each day are ones I really love.  With five volumes though, there are a lot of extra pages so I'm looking for a few other crafts to do.  Some ideas include:

Table runner

Wreath - tutorial at Katydid and Kid

Wrapping paper

Run the pages through a printer and add new images

And the list of potential craft projects goes on and on and on.

Mini-makeover - Chalkboard door

I had a chalkboard wall at my old place and loved it.  It was a great place to jot down ideas, grocery lists and even do some doodling.

T.O. kitchen and chalkboard wall

I wanted to recreate the look in my new kitchen but didn't have any walls that it would work as well on.  Instead, I decided to paint out the door leading down to my basement.

That all-white door is just asking for some lovin'

Martha Stewart chalkboard paint - I actually used a roller brush to reduce brush marks

Taped-out the trim so I would have nice clean lines 

First coat looks good - I patiently waited an hour between coats

Good coverage but definitely needs a second coat

Second coat had a few roller lines - probably could have waited longer between coats

Third coat resulted in perfect solid coverage

Great addition to the space

My nephew, Milo, trying it out

I'm really pleased with how this turned out.  All the design books remind you to have a touch of black in a room and I think this fits the bill perfectly.  I'm planning to use the top portion for my 'to-do' lists and the bottom is just the right height for my nephews to sit in front of and draw (as demonstrated above).

Glitter love - Halloween Pumpkins

I purchased a few mini-pumpkins for Thanksgiving and decided to give them a Halloween makeover.  I was working on another project at the time and already had my chalkboard paint out.  The next step was to get out some silver paint and my gigantic box of glitter.

Trying out Martha Stewart's chalkboard paint for the first time 

Big box of glitter - I do have a problem 

Time to try some silver metallic paint

Now add some pumpkin coloured glitter 

So pretty but so messy 

Two-tone effect 

Finished product - a little hairspray seals the glitter and adds some shine

Letterpress drawer - DIY

Before I left TO, I stopped by a local letterpress shop and picked up two vintage job aids for a fantastic price (one for me and one for my mom).  I planned on hanging mine on the wall and using it to display little trinkets, photos, bits of fabric, ephemera, etc.

Waiting to find a home 

Looking on a few sites though, there are a lot of other inspiring DIY projects and uses for these hardworking tools of organization and now I'm not sure what to do with my tray.

Store/display your jewelry with a pop of apple green -  via BlackForestCottage

Turn it into a coffee table - instructions via Martha Stewart

Add it to an existing piece of furniture - design via Schub Laden

Turn it into a collage of family photos and trinkets - instructions available at Offbeat Home

So many great options and now I'm really confused as to what I'll do with my tray.  I think I'll stick with my original idea though knowing that when I'm tired of the look I can change it out into one of these other DIY projects.

Pouf-tastic

As part of one of my projects for school, I needed to create a board with the design for a bedroom.  Our instructor has encouraged us to bring "props" - pillowcases, pieces of wood representing the stain of furniture, hardware, etc. as in her experience clients like to see and touch the products we recommend.  I've designed a kid's room and one of the items in my design are the oh-so-popular knit poufs.  I had previously found the pattern for the design at Green Eyed Monster and with the incentive of this class project decided to try making one myself.  I picked up wool from Romni Wools (658 Queen St West) and started to knit away.  It probably took me about five hours to knit and I made it a bit bigger by casting on 60 stitches.  Here's the finished product:

Nice size for a toddler

The colour is really vibrant and fun

Update:  I brought this pouf to Calgary for my nephews and they loved it!  They used it as a pillow and a chair - they also threw it at each other but since it's so soft, there were no injuries or tears.

Tea Trolley Conversion - Part 1

I stumbled upon an "old-fashioned garage sale" at Machine Age Modern early in July and found a fabulous $40 Hauser tea trolley from the '60's .  I think it's really a tea trolley/bar cart hybrid but it definitely has a feminine feel to it.  It is all original with the exception of a missing bottom glass shelf.  You can see that it incorporates a faux-bamboo design and has an ivy motif on the wheels.  I've been on the hunt for a bar cart and this fits the bill at a fantastic price.  All I need to do is paint it a fun colour and replace the glass.

My little find gets even better though. A week after picking this up, I was walking down Yonge St. and went into Decorum Decorative Finds (1210 Yonge St).  To my surprise, I saw the exact same bar cart except it had been re-painted white. There was no price tag, so I inquired at the front of the shop and discovered it was priced at $595.  I could not believe my luck. With the price of my cart plus re-finishing it, I'll still be under $100 total cost.  I'm not thinking about selling it but knowing how much other's have valued it actually does make me love it even more.

Here is the unfinished piece with photos of the glammed up version to come: