Laundry matters

I'm in the process of trying to civilize my laundry area.  It's an awful place to do laundry.  Honestly, I have decided that laundry is dreary enough without having to face clutter and dirt.  The irony of doing laundry in the dirtiest corner of the garage is also not lost on me, but I don't appreciate it.  I've got some reorganization ideas that are in the works (to be continued), but I have a crafty thing to share.  I was inspired by these kitchen container labels...

via Pinterest

I wanted something pretty to put laundry detergent in, and I found this container at Target.

I used my Silhouette cutter to create a label out of vinyl.  I had to use tweezers to get all the insides out of the a's and e's and such.

For ease, I used vinyl transfer paper to ensure that my words were all aligned and so I didn't have to try to place them one by one. This step alleviates the tedium of vinyl transfer.

Got everything applied and here is the final product!  I picked my favorite two definitions from the dictionary, or rather the literal, technical one and another that was more... philosophical.  The two things you really want from doing laundry, right? 

I found a set of cheap scoops on Amazon to keep in the detergent.  I used DejaVu Serif Condensed for the word "clean", Deja Vu Sans Condensed for "[kleen]", Cordia New for "adj", and Courier New for the definitions.  

Hope you like it, and I am excited to put it in a new and improved laundry area soon!  

Music to my eyes! No, I don't have synesthesia.

So I was watching good ole' HGTV and this show called "Junk Gypsies" and got inspired.  They had found an old broken french horn, drilled a hole and made it into a pendant light!  I thought something straight would make a great lamp and began the process of searching for broken clarinets and flutes on Ebay.  I explained my plan to my musician husband, and he said one of the most shocking things in our marriage to date, that I could use one of his old clarinets and turn it into a lamp.  Doesn't seem shocking? We have a regular cornucopia of instruments in our house, several of which do not work, but he has an attachment to every single one, so when he said I could have one, I considered it quite a coup.  My feminine DIY charms must finally be working.

First thing I needed was a lamp base since the clarinet would just topple over without one.  I considered making one which would involve lots of drilling and sawing and circles (shiver), but quickly vetoed that idea and decided to find a lamp I could cannibalize instead.  Lampibalize?  Anyway, I found a lamp similar to this one at Target that was about the right height for the clarinet.

From Target.com

I disassembled it, basically unscrewing every piece until I had this.

I glued the clarinet pieces together using E-6000 glue and waiting patiently for it to dry.  Or didn't and had to reglue it when it came apart.  Oops.  Be patient with your glue, kids.  Moving on...When it actually was dry, I threaded the cord up through the bottom of the clarinet and through the threaded rod.  Realizing the rod would show through the clarinet holes, I spray painted it a flat black.  

Here is the clarinet with the rod and cord threaded through still waiting to be sprayed.

I glued the clarinet to the lamp base to ensure it wouldn't be wobbly.  The curve of the base actually perfectly fit the curve of the clarinet bell; kismet, I tell ya. 

 I pulled the excess cord through the bottom after reattaching the white and black wires per the label on the lamp.  The wires weren't actually different colors, but there should always be a ribbed one and a smooth one.  Every time I rewire a lamp, I have to look up which cord is neutral (white, ribbed in my experience thus far) and live (black, smooth).  Before you start fiddling with electricity, I highly recommend doing your own research relevant to your fixture.    

Replace the shade, give it a bulb, and voila!

It's a pretty tall lamp, but the whimsy of it is perfect for my musician's home.  And it's extra fun because I made it myself!  

I think my husband better start hiding his instruments before I get any more ideas.  

My door now spells "Welcome!"

 I've been thinking about how my house feels lately, and I've started taking the dark, unpleasant parts of it and trying to figure out how to make them more welcoming.  I decided to start at the most logical place: the front door.  This is what greeted me every day after work...

It's pretty uninspiring and not particularly welcoming.  It also didn't coordinate with any of the paint on our house anymore since we painted it white with Michigan State green trim (Go MSU!).  I don't know why it took me so long to tackle it after we painted the house (um...two years? totally embarassing), but I was having the first party ever at my house and wanted to put my happiest foot forward.  Earlier I had sprayed the antique brass (only "antiqued" cause it was so old and beat up) hardware with oil-rubbed bronze spray paint, and it has held up pretty well so far.  A few nicks and scrapes, but we will probably replace it all soon anyway.  

First step was to prime the door, and I used Zinnser Cover Stain oil-based primer (my favorite) since it doesn't really necessitate too much prep work.  You can even use the stuff straight on laminate without a bubble.  Amazing.  The blue was pretty high gloss, so I wanted to make sure the new stuff would stick.

Not the prettiest sight, but I knew it would give way to greatness.  Or at least something I could get excited about.  Now for the color...I wanted something cheery that said, "Welcome Home!" and wore pig-tails and had an endearing chip in its tooth and smelled like freshly mowed grass or something like that, and this is what I came up with.

I used Behr semi-gloss and custom color matched some other sample I had found.  I love it!  I feel like it is a breath of fresh air, and it actually has a positive side effect of brightening the whole entry to the house.  Even at night, we can actually see the keyhole because we have more light bouncing around.  Yes, it's bold.  Yes, it's a little crazy.  Yes, we have a door that doesn't match the color of the rest of the trim.  And I am enamored.  

It even has presence behind a pretty banged up glass door.  I feel like my door almost needs a name now.  Daisy Mae? I've got mad plans to update the rest of this little part of the house including that ugly lightbox thing, replacing the broken doorbell, and some container plant action.  We'll see how it progresses!

Mirror, mirror on the $10 dresser

I was thrift store shopping in St. Augustine with my mother and mother-in-law a while ago and found this picture frame for fifty cents.  I've been in a tray phase and someone pointed this out to me as having an interesting filigree-like edge. I thought I could easily make this a tray!  

First I applied thin, even coats of mirror spray paint on the opposite side of the glass.  Read the directions on the can for more tips on good coverage. I found a spray paint color in my collection that tied into the material I'm using for the curtains in my craft room (pics will come later, promise), and a couple of even, thin coats later, I had this...

Add a couple happy birds ( a couple of which seem to be intrigued by their reflection in the now-mirror) and you have a fun little dresser-top tray!  This is currently residing on a $10 yard sale dresser that I have yet to complete refinishing.  More to come later!

Total cost: 50 cents for tray

mirror and spray paint (already owned)

fun birds (birthday present)

=$0.50!

If you had to buy the paint, it would probably go up to $10 or so, but then you would have materials for a bunch of other things!  Any fun picture frame/tray transformations?