The Turquoise Piano

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Picture Board Tutorial

Quick news: I'VE BEEN FEATURED for my mom's basement makeover over at the Sizzle Into Summer Party at DIY by Desing (starting at 8pm EST this evening). Thanks Judy!

I really don't know what to call this but it's a board with pictures hanging in my bedroom. It's really a super simple way to make your 4 8x10's not look so wussy on your massive wall.

You will need 1 particle board, 4 8x10 picture frames, paint, 2 little metal things to hang art, hammer and nails.

What I did:
1. Ran on over to Lowe's and bought some particle board for $9.
2. Had the fabulous man in charge of the giant saw (still at Lowe's) cut the particle board 2 ft x 5 ft (I kept the extra pieces for a future project). They will cut it for free!
3. Painted the particle board white.
4. Marked where each picture would go. What I mean is, mark where you will hammer the nail in the board to hang the pictures. It's a little hard getting them even if you're eyeballing it, which I was. I suggest measuring once you know where the nail will need to go in the first one.
5. Flip the board over and hammer in the little metal things that allow pictures to hang. I did two -- one on each top corner.
6. Flip it back over and hammer in the 4 nails.
7. Hang the particle board.
8. Hang the pictures.

Linky partying at this list.

Monday, August 15, 2011

I Love Craigslist

I was so busy with the move and packing this weekend that I didn't have a chance to hit up any garage sales. Instead, I spent a few minutes on craigslist and found this amazing chair. I got it for $20! I know hubs is just so excited to move another chair. Haha! But I can't wait to make it mine (although I won't be able to work on it for a couple of weeks). Can you see the potential here?

Here is another craigslist find from June. It was $35. The lady wouldn't budge in price. I asked her if it was in a smoking home (not that that would prevent me from buying it but it tells me how much work I need to do) and she said, "oh heavens no," so quickly. What I learned... don't believe when someone jumps to the answer she knows you want to hear so fast. Maybe they didn't smoke in the home, but after 32 years of 2nd hand smoke, the poor chair has lung cancer. So I pulled off the groovy red and orange material and washed the cushions, which helped.

I painted the wood Heirloom White by Rustoleum (I think).

Then I decided to bring out the wood work by glazing it. See the difference above and below?

This is the end result. LOVE!

Here's the breakdown:
Chair - $35
Primer - $3
Paint - $3
Upholstery - $20 from JoAnn's (which was 1/2 price! Gulp. But I loved it so much.)
Total Cost for Chair - $61

I'll be Linky partying so see where on my Linky list! You can also find tons of other inspiring projects.

Friday, August 12, 2011

Anthropologie Inspired Lamp Tutorial

I found this lamp that I NEEDED to have over at Mama Says Sew so I bought 2 yards of burlap (on sale at Joann's for $2.99/yard) and a thrift store lamp ($8) and went to work!

Things you need: burlap, lamp shade, hot glue, scissors, and time (it took me 4 Medium episodes and a Curious George 2).

Here's the original shade. Very bla.

I started by wrapping the shade in the burlap. This was tricky because the shade I chose was smaller at the top. The first time I wrapped it I cut a rectangle so the top didn't fit. When I realized it wasn't going to work (after lots of glue, of course) I ripped it off and cut exactly how the shade was (if you do this and are confused by what I mean, email me and I'll explain more in depth). Then I hot glued about 1/2 inch edge onto the inside of the shade.

I cut a bunch of strips. Mine were about 4 inches wide and as long a the material was. You can do whatever width you want. Next I folded the strip in half and glued the center to the shade in squiggly lines. Note: You could iron the strips in half so it is easier, I just didn't want to take the time.

I didn't glue the strips in the exact squiggly pattern each time. I didn't want it to look too uniform.

Because my shade was not equal size on the top and bottom, I had to fill in some places on the lower half with strips of burlap.

Since I didn't do all squiggly lines the same pattern, there were some holes to fill so I glued some extra strips in the holes.

Here's the finished product!

And here it is with the light on (although the evening lighting is horrible). I am LOVING it.

But now I need some opinions. I am going to paint the lamp base. I was thinking of light blue (like the one from my inspiration) or a distressed/ antique white. What do you think? I'm open to other suggestions too.

UPDATE: I chose an indigo blue spray paint for the base to go with my craigslist chair.

Check out where I'm Linky partying at the bottom of the blog.

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Our House Thursday

Welcome to Morgan's room. I have decided to feature it on my blog because we are moving in two weeks and I need to document our house (read about our house sale here). I'll break it down for you so you know just how inexpensive it can be to decorate.

Bedding. I made the blanket and the pillows. I bought the material at Joann's with a 50% off coupon so it all cost roughly $20-$30 (it's been a while so I don't remember for sure). I got the little rocker for $1 at a garage sale, painted it white, and reupholstered it. The book holder we had, but you could find a basket at a thrift store for super cheap. I just painted it and voila...

The curtains were from Burlington Coat Factory and I think they were $6 each. The white thingy over her bed was $10 at Ikea. And I'm thinking the garbage was from Ross and I'm sure I didn't pay much for it.

I bought the shelves at the thrift store for $1.50 and painted them. I got the pink frame for free from my old job and painted it. The lamp was a Goodwill find for $5-ish. The nightstand was my grandma's and it has been painted a willion times. The big rocker was $15 at a garage sale. It used to be red with red pillows. I painted it white and made the black and white cushions to match the rest of the room.

Total cost: Approx $64.50 for accessories and maybe $15 for paint = $79.50. Sorry I can't be exact. I'm going to be doing her new room totally different and I will feature that with exact cost.

Pretty please follow me. I will be having a give-away soon!

I will be Linky partying on these blogs.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

My First Chairs

My apologies to those who read my family blog and have seen these before, but I just love them and wanted to feature them on this blog.

I found these dirty, smokey chairs at Deseret Industries (a local thrift store) and they were, as my 2 year old would say, GROST (gross + t). But, with a little love and the same amount of paint...

They transformed! I totally redid the cushions and reupholstered them in Hollywood Teal from Joann's, which is not an upholstery material. These were my very first chairs and I didn't know you needed to buy a different kind of fabric for them (duh!). So, I guess they will be reupholstered soon, but I'm still loving them.