The Thrifty Decorator

We Moved!

2015-12-06T17:53:00.002-05:00

The Thrifty Decorator has moved and is now found at:

http://astoriavintagestudio.com/

Come and visit us there!

Take your dreams seriously - Sunday afternoon easy craft project

2015-11-22T23:15:00.002-05:00

Lazy Sundays are perfect for a little crafty afternoon project. I had this frame, I had found down on the street, that had been hanging empty on the wall for a while simply because I couldn't figure out what should go in in.

So a few weeks ago I attended a seminar and someone there had said we need to take our dreams - meaning our goals and passions - seriously. So I thought - hey - I'll print that since this frame also hangs in my bedroom so it'll get a cute double-meaning to it.

It took me all of ten minutes to cut a piece of freezer paper to the size of an 8" X11" paper and then do the same with a piece of linen fabric. With an iron - with the steam-button off - I then ironed the fabric onto the glossy side of the freezer paper, inserted into the printer and hit the"print" button. Done.

I peeled the freezer paper off and attached the fabric inside of the frame with upholstery nails, considered myself productive and then went back to my lazy Sunday afternoon. (the font is Bleeding Cowboys)

Jazzing Up A Basket With Tassels

2015-09-22T17:34:00.003-04:00

All jazzed up with tassels

I picked up this rather boring looking basket last year in Nicaragua. I liked the shape and size of it but I just wasn't totally sold on the side embellishments that someone had done with a color marker.

The "before" basket

For the longest time I couldn't figure out what to do with until the other day when I was reading a design blog and someone had done exactly this. So I thought to myself - let me just steal that idea.

Originally my thinking was that I would go to a sewing supply store and get myself some string or ribbon with tassels and just snip them off. Well, turns out that "strings of tassels" were not to be found anywhere. So in three hours of tassel-making got me about 30 or so tiny little, trendy looking tassels. (apparently tassels are really hot this fall so my basket should feel in style)

The idea was to spray-paint basket an aubergine color - like a blackish purple. No such spray-paint. So I got plum. And didn't like it. So I painted purple over it. And didn't like it. So I mixed dark blue and black. And didn't like it. So I sat down and cursed and then painted the whole thing black. And there. My new aubergine, tassel-embellished basket. YAY!

Adding An Indian Touch To A Kitchen Cabinet

2015-08-12T22:01:00.000-04:00

I'd be the first to admit - i am still stuck in the 90's rustic, worn-out Boho chic furniture trend. But I just really like it. Still. And this cabinet sitting in my kitchen became too much of temptation for me to keep my fingers away.

One coat of black paint - sponged on for a little bit of an uneven look. Let it dry over night and then two coats of Caribbean blue. And then one more coat of "dirty water" (two drops of black paint diluted in water) rubbed into corners and cracks.

Lastly, the most fun part - sand away in the places where the cabinet would get the most nicks, scrapes and dents. I added two different types of Indian porcelain knobs and considered myself done. What do you think? Too much 1998?

Designing Your Own Rugs

2015-07-27T15:31:00.000-04:00

Creating your own rugs is so easy and I just did it again. A few weeks back I posted on the rugs I made for my bedroom. But someone recently asked me to make rugs for them for their bedroom and living room so I had the great pleasure of doing this again :)

If you missed the instructions the last time you can find them right here. And for some more inspiration to get you started on your own rugs here are the last ones:

Updating A Mirror With Just Good Old Paint

2015-06-20T21:25:00.000-04:00

It seems mirrors are a dime a dozen in my my neighborhood. Wherever I go there appears to be a mirror someone just couldn't deal with anymore. This humongous thing was sitting outside my laundromat the other day and I just could not resist it.

At this point I am up to about 4 mirrors in each room but I promise it really does make the place look bigger. At least so I imagine. Since the mirror weighed a good 30 pounds I had to also sell the husband on the idea that we absolutely needed one more mirror and with some resistance he helped me lug it up 4 floors. Puh.

I have to admit I think it would have probably been nicer with gold leaf but I just cannot handle those little super-thin squared leafs anymore that pretty much disintegrate simply by me looking at them. Instead I went for a shortcut. Three coats of paint.

I first did a coat of the same blue I used for the rug in front of the bed but I thought it looked too matchy-matchy and also the blue looked too "cheerful". That's is probably not the word we are looking for here but I don't know how else to describe it.

So to tone it down a notch I added two coats of a midnight blue with a grey undertone. And to get a little bit of a contrast I painted with a sponge and avoided getting too much into all the crevices allowing the other blue to come through a little.

It needed a little bit more attention so I hung the scarf and tassel to mix up a little. And there it is.

Before

...and after

Boring School Stool Gets A Vintage Update

2015-02-20T11:29:00.001-05:00

I got my hands on these typical - and rather boring - school (bar?) stools. So how to make them a little more fun? With chalkboard paint and my slight obsession with bugs.

First I sanded the seat to get the old lacquer to come off.

I then stained them with a mixture of vinegar and steel wool to get a weatherized feel (2 cups of vinegar and a little piece of steel wool mixed for 2 hours should be enough - for deeper color just leave the steel wool in the vinegar longer - once the steel wool disintegrates you know it's been too long...). I just painted the mixture on and let it dry.

Because the legs essentially had metal paint that was "auto-painted" it was going to be too much work to remove it. Instead I mixed paint, plaster and water to make my own chalkboard paint. One or two coats of this covers most things nicely. It also leaves a non-shiny surface you can paint on top of. So after two coats of chalkboard paint the legs got one coat of regular paint.

Lastly I went to the graphicsfairy.com to look for some bugs and got myself a dragonfly and a bumblebee. I downloaded my bugs and then printed the images on wax-paper and rubbed them onto the seats using a credit-card.

I finished up with a quick spray of lacquer and had some slightly more exciting school stools.

Making Your Own Plaster Bowls Using Old Cotton Fabric

2015-02-19T00:00:00.000-05:00

So what can you make with some left over cotton fabric, newspaper, plaster, water and flour - and pinch of salt. I'll tell you. Bowls.

I covered a regular bowl in plastic foil. i then mixed about 1cup of flour with 1/2 cup of water and a pinch of salt (I think the salt is there so the glue won't mold if you end up keeping some of it for later). I tore up the paper into strips of about 3-4 inches and then dipped them one at a time in my glue mixture. I slowly worked my way around until the bowl was covered. I then placed it front of the radiator over night to dry.

The following day I had a very thin paper-bowl I popped out of the regular bowl. I then tore about some old cotton fabric - same thing here - 3-4 inches. I mixed the plaster with water and then set about dipping it into the plaster and slowly layering piece by piece around the bowl.

When done I sat new bowl in front of the radiator to dry. The next day I just painted it and then added one layer of spray-lacquer. And done!

Updating A Chinese Lantern

2015-02-18T10:50:00.002-05:00

I bought this Chinese lantern at a thrift shop in Sweden. I just really like its' lines but I wasn't too crazy about the fabric or colors. My fist idea was to simply update the whole thing in black and white and be done with it.

I took the panels out and then scanned them to my computer. In photoshop I was easily able to change them to black and white and clean them up a little. I then ironed cotton fabric onto freezer paper I had cut to 8 X 11 size. And in my regular printer I simply printed the image straight onto the fabric. This is a great way to print on fabric as you don't have the change anything to mirror-reflection. Though – be aware – it might likely take quite a few mess-ups before you get it the way you want it (in other words not stuck in the printer). I then glued all the panels onto a piece of fabric and inserted the entire strip into the lantern.

The only problem. It didn't look good. It looked too busy – especially given where this thing hangs.

So instead I decided to add more white and text. I downloaded a free font – yorsat – that made the letters look a little like Chinese characters. I then found this awesome Chinese proverb:

“To attract good fortune, spend a new coin on an old friend, share an old pleasure with a new friend, and lift up the heart of a true friend by writing his name on the wings of a dragon.”

This time I typed the proverb on the computer using the yorsat font. I then reversed the text so it would print its' mirrored reflection. Lastly I printed the text onto wax paper (the kind you use to wrap sandwiches) I had cut to the size of 8X11. This essentially creates a rub-on so then all I had to do was to lay out my new fabric and using a credit card I rubbed the text onto the fabric.

And now I actually like a lot better! A few words of warning if you attempt this – make sure you change you printer settings to photo paper or thick paper or there is an almost guarantee the fabric will get stuck using the freeze paper method – or the ink will smear using the wax paper method. Also, I wouldn't attempt this on a new printer as there is a potential it may not survive too many fabric printing related projects. I know may printer just about had it with me. But the lantern looks cute :)

Adding A Rustic Touch To A Chandelier a la 1945

2015-02-17T17:49:00.003-05:00

This project was pretty much too easy. I can sum it up in - white floor paint and...done! I found this little chandelier on top of some trash outside with quite a bit of tangled up wiring attached to it.

It also had fake paper candles wrapped in each candle holder where once upon a time an electrical light was attached. I cut off all the cables and wires, washed it off, applied two layers of white floor paint, krazy-glued the rickety metal plates around the holder and lastly put a ring on it. Or a few - to hang it from the ceiling. Sometime you almost feel bad it isn't harder :)

Making Your Own Rugs In Just A Few Hours

2015-01-26T21:58:00.001-05:00

I finally have figured out a way to make my own rugs. A few times when I have been picking something up at the Home Depot I have not be able to resist also picking up drop-cloth. It is fairly, thick, unbleached woven cotton and so inexpensive. I never really knew what to do with it - slipcovers? a floor-cushion? a huge bag? Well. Now I know. You use it to make rugs.

This is how I did it. I covered the floor with plastic drop cloth - taping down the plastic so it wouldn't slide around (I sometimes use old shower curtains as well to protect the floors as shower curtains are a lot thicker than this flimsy plastic). I then ironed my drop-cloth for a good 10 minutes (it is a good idea to open it up the day before and hang it somewhere so the worst folds and wrinkles get out). I would also suggest to wet it quite a bit as those creases are hard to get out with just heat.

I then painted the drop-cloth using regular paint and a roller. Because it is drop-cloth it really soaks up the paint so I diluted it with lots of water.

Depending on what effect you want you can either start painting on top of it right away as soon as you added one or two coats of your base color, which will give more of a watery affect as the paint will float out a bit.

You can also wait a few hours until the paint has dried and that will give you a harder effect as edges will be "cleaner".

Remember that paint stiffens up the fabric as well so make sure it dries flat as it is really hard to get the bubbles and wrinkles out once it is dry.

For the blue and gray rug I pretty much eye-balled everything. I started with a measuring tape but lost patience with it fairly soon and then just moved my way down, going slowly and systematically. To get the lines straight I used frog tape. All the small lines and patterns were done with sponges I just cut in different sizes.

Because my drop-cloth was huge I cut it in half and that was what I used for the big rug - 1/2 of a drop-cloth.

For the smaller rugs above I just cut the left over from the first in half again - using a 1/4. Again I painted it with white paint and then used stencils for the the symbols. Within a few hours I had a bunch of new rugs!

Butterfly Holiday Trinkets Or Gift Decorations

2015-01-01T00:00:00.000-05:00

Here is a fun way to make gift-decors or Christmas-tree decorations. These little butterfly trinkets are a little time-consuming to make but adorable once they are done. You'll need cornstarch, water, oil and wood glue - and a good pot.

I measured a few cups of corn starch into a pot (which I will clearly never use for cooking) and then added half of the amount I had used of the cornstarch in wood glue. I then put the stove on very low heat and stirred the entire time until it came out like a ball of dough. That took me a good ten minutes.

If the "dough" gets too dry and you can add a little water. I also added a little oil to make it smoother - about a spoon or so.

Once the dough is done take it off the stove and roll it out using a rolling pin. To make the butterflies I made little circles from a glass and then used a stamp with a butterfly on and simply stamped straight on the dough using black ink. I also made sure to create a hole before the dough begun to dry.

It will take a full 48-72 hours before the dough dries but then it is hard as rock. Seriously, at this point you can sand it to make it smoother, which I did to the edges. I finally covered all my little medallions in some mod-podge to add some extra shine. I have since then used them to decorate gifts and also have one hanging on a cabinet knob - just for cutes :)

P.S. I also sell these in my Etsy store right here: AstoriaVintage Studio

Fun Colorful Wreath Made Of Maracas

2014-12-31T00:00:00.000-05:00

On my last trip, which went to Nicaragua, I found these adorable maracas that are made out of grass. I could't resist buying way many more than I needed. Back home again I was trying to figure out what you actually make out of +50 maracas and this is what I came up with.

I got a basic ring made out of vines and laid out the maracas in a pattern I liked on top of it. I then slowly attached each maraca using wire until I had created a full ring of maracas. I repeated again with an inner circle of smaller sized maracas and eventually got my own Holiday wreath with a twist :)

Making Toasty Handwarmers

2014-12-30T00:00:00.000-05:00

My hands always get freezing cold in the winter time so I made little hand-warmers for myself in a simple felt bag filled with rice. But then thought I could actually make this a lot cuter. So back to the drafting table - sort of.

I downloaded a little elephant pattern and a heart. I stitched the two pieces together with blanket stitches and right before they were done I filled each one up with rice and then sewed them closed tightly.

Right before hitting the cold all you got to to is heat these two guys up in the micro-wave oven for 12-15 seconds and then pop in your glove - toasty!

P.S. I also sell these in my Etsy store right here: Astoria Vintage Studio

Creating A Map On Cork-Board For Pushpins

2014-12-29T00:00:00.000-05:00

I love maps and I love to travel and I actually used to have a huge map glued to a piece of packaging foam, which hung on my wall. I used to put little pins on the map and connected them with thread as I was plotting my next trips but eventually the whole thing came down so I decided I had to make something new.
First, I downloaded a basic map from the internet and then made it the size I wanted (fairly small as I am out of wall space). I ten printed the map on pretty thick paper-stock and lastly glued it to some flat cork-board. I trimmed the edges and nailed the thing to the inside of my closet door. I now have the option to either put pins on it to dream away or color in the areas that intrigue me (pretty much the whole place).

Add Some Fun With Indian Home-Made Tassels

2014-12-28T00:00:00.000-05:00

I have a chair sitting in my bedroom and I felt like it needed a little "umph". I wanted to add some black but did not want a pillow or a different upholstery.
So I decided I would simply make do with some tassels. Though given the size I wanted I would have to make them.

I got some very basic, black, cotton fabric that I tore up in strips of about 2 cm (or about a 3/4 inch) wide and 75 cm (or about 30 inches) long.
I then laid all of the strips - about 45-50 of them alongside each other. In the center I tied a strip tightly around all the strips and then created a loop of the same strip I used to tie around the strips to hang the tassel in.

I then folded all of the strips over and since I love anything Indian I attached a black and gold Indian-inspired ribbon a little below the top, which I stitched together in the back. You need "pouf it up" a little so it gets fluffy - and that's it. And better yet - now my chair got "umph"!

Making A Sweet Mini-Succulent Terrarium

2014-12-27T00:00:00.000-05:00

Here is a little sweet idea - buy a few mini-succulents, a tea-light glass globe (it has to be open at the top as succulents don't really appreciate being in an enclosed space as it gets to moist for them), add some pebbles to the bottom, some soil on top, put in the succulents and you are done! If you want to you can add a layer of active charcoal (buy it in the pet-store), which helps to keep the environment healthy. These make great gifts - or wedding favors!

P.S. I am selling a few of these items I am posting lately for those out there who don't feel like making them. These terrariums can also be found in my Etsy shop right here: Astoria Vintage Studio

Make Nerdy Robot Plaster Magnets

2014-12-26T12:16:00.001-05:00

These magnets make great little hostess or holiday gifts - and they are so easy to make.

All I did here was to pour plaster into cake-molds - just add a little olive-oil before so the plaster does not get stuck.

Once the plaster is dry you simply pop the robot out of the mold, paint and add a magnet to the back. I added some mod-podge for extra shine. And I love how it comes with the little key to wind him up :)

P.S. If you don't feel like putting out the work to make these little guys I am also selling them in my Etsy store right here: Astoria Vintage Studio

Using IKEA As-Is Fabric To Upholster A Sofa

2014-11-09T23:06:00.000-05:00

I have had this little vintage sofa for a while and though I knew it needed some upholstery I just wasn't sure I was ready to tackle 45 buttons to upholster as well (you can count yourself on the tufting below and tell me you don't see hours of tedious work there).

But a few weeks ago in the as-is department at IKEA I found a good chunk of fabric perfect for upholstery - well given that it pretty much came from a sofa and had been ripped - it already had experience and qualifications to be used as upholstery. And a price-tag that was a lot nicer on my wallet than if I had bought upholstery fabric new and in a store.

My original idea was to block-print it with dark blue Indian patterns. But I figured I just wanted to see what the sofa would look like with the fabric first.

I started out measuring the fabric directly on the sofa. My thinking was that I pin it to the sofa, cut off the extra leaving some, then wash it in case it shrinks and finally staple-gun it to the sofa. I thoughtI would deal with the buttons somewhere in the middle of all of this. But as I was draping it on the sofa I kind of begun to like how it looked and decide to just whip out the staple-gun, forget the wash, the potential shrinkage, the block-prints and the buttons.

Within an hour I had covered this puppy with new fabric nicely stapled to the edges. I had some trim I had gotten in India that I wasn't using for anything so that did a good job of covering up all of the staples along the edge and - voila! Here it is my updated, upholstered "new" sofa. All it needs now is a cheesy IKEA name.

Making A Lantern Using A Weather-Handler And Some Indian Souvernirs

2014-02-18T01:06:00.000-05:00

What fun you can have with some lanterns, a tire weather-handler, chains and some metal rods (this sounds like the beginning of a very different post...)! I picked up these lanterns on a trip to India and never knew how to make them work together. But this weather-handler for tires that I had laying around solved it all for me.

I drilled holes in the sides to insert a few metal rods that the lanterns could hang off - making sure I spaced them out evenly as I was NOT going to drill anymore than necessary into this puppy. I then added a few tiny chains that would allow the lanterns to hang from different heights. Finally I attached a decorators chain and hung it from the ceiling - tadam! The Indians would be impressed I bet :)

What fun you can have with some lanterns, a tire weather-handler, a chain and some metal rods (sounds like the beginning of a very different type post...)!

I picked up these lanterns on a trip to India and never knew how to make them work together. But this weather-handler for tires that I had laying around solved it all for me. I drilled holes in the sides to insert a few metal rods that the lanterns could hang off - taking great care to distribute the distance equally as I was not going to drill anymore than necessary to this metal thing! - I then added a few tiny chains that would allow the lanterns to hang on different heights. Finally, I attached a decorators chain and hung it from the ceiling.

Abandoned Vintage Table Gets Rescued From The Cold

2014-02-16T00:54:00.000-05:00

Before...

I found this little table under three feet of snow and just had to rescue it. It looked so cold and abandoned. So a hot shower, quite a bit of soap and water, a little love and some white paint - there it was. I still got to figure out where it actually belongs but for now it looks a little perkier then when I found it and I love how it gets to show off its leg with that new coat of paint!

...after

From India To Industrial Chic

2014-02-14T00:45:00.001-05:00

Here is a dresser that has been following me around. I just can't seem to figure out what to do with it. It has now gone from first some sort of Indian-inspired theme to more of Original Bohemia with that butterfly and now I seem to have landed in Industrial chic... I'd be curious to see what is up next. As long as I got paint I got possibilities, right?

DIY Wedding - Indian and American

2013-08-04T17:12:00.002-04:00

One of my dearest friends recently married her Indian and asked me to create all the decors for her fantastic wedding. I spent a few weeks coming up with ideas. We wanted to something that reflected both of them and the fact that he is Indian and that she is American - but obviously also reflecting them as people and not just by the country where they are from. Eventually we came up with an American-country/Indian theme and this was what we settled on:

A framed sign by the entrance announcing the wedding
A fun sign with arrows saying cute things
Table runners with sari trims or Indian inspired trims
A "metal tree" my friend already had where people could put little sayings or advice for the couple
A bowl of Bindis - these are the "charms" Indian women add to their foreheads
An escort table that was really a frame with people's name for table seating
Tables that had names of places where the couple had lived as opposed to numbers - each table explained the reason for the name of that table
Pinwheels to help fill out the flowers on the table-settings
Mason jars to hold the flowers on the tables
Paper-cones to hold flowers along the aisle

So how did I do it:

A framed sign by the entrance

I found an old frame from a broken mirror, picked out the shards and then painted the frame in two colors of white. I then traced - using tracing paper - what I wanted the sign to say and glued a few silk flowers on. This sign was what guests saw as they arrived (as you see on the finished sign above I also added some Tamil script saying "Husband and Wife").

A fun sign with arrows saying cute things

This was a play on those old signs you see out in the countryside and Mario did most of the work here. I got some rough wood we sawed into arrow shapes and then nailed onto a pole. The Indian letters are Tamil that I simply googled using google translator and then free-handed.

Table runners with sari trims

We got very inexpensive cotton fabric and then Indian trims were sewn on the edges (the fans in the pictures were very cute favors given out at the wedding)

A metal candle holder my friend already had where people could put little sayings or advice for the couple.

We cut card-stock into smaller cards with pattern-scissors. We then put them in a little heart shaped bowl I got in the 99-cents store and painted a periwinkle using acrylic paint, which was the color of the wedding. The tiny little clothes-pins are also from the 99 cents store and for people to clip their message onto the arms of the candle-holder.

A bowl of Bindis - these are the "charms" Indian women add to their foreheads.

The elephant - also from the 99 cents store - was brown and green originally so I painted him white and periwinkle and highlighted some of the patterns with a gold-pen. I then drilled a hole into the back and inserted a metal-wire with a bit of glue into the hole. I spun the metal-wire into two circles at the top so it could hold a card. In front of the elephant was a little bowl with bindis for guests to use one.

An escort table that was really a frame with people's name

Now, this was a pain but it came out so cute it was all worth it in the end. Here I printed each name of every table and then the guests' names on card-stock. I attached thin metal-wire with a staple gun to the back of the frame so I had about 12 "lines" of "clothes-lines" going across. I then attached the names of each table at the top line with a mini-clothes pin and all the guests at respective guests below each table name vertically.

Right before we put the "escort frame" out someone decided to put it on its short end - and in about two second all the cards slid to the bottom piled on top of each other!!!! I re-did it so many times I pretty much knew the entire table-seating by the time I was done:) But it was it was totally cute once it was ready.

Tables that had names of places where the couple had lived as opposed to numbers

So this is the "table-card" that corresponded with the escort-frame. The bride had given me the names beforehand and what she wanted them to say. I then printed two copies of each - again on card-stock - I cut the edges with pattern-scissors and glued them together with a painted chopstick in between. I drilled holes in little white painted wood-cubes and inserted the chopstick to create a stand. Lastly I tied little silk ribbons below the card.

Pinwheels to help fill out the flowers on the table-settings

These are great for fillers in bouquets - especially if you were to use wildflower, which usually have more subtle colors - as they add volume as well as a pop of color.

To make the pin-wheels:

Cut card-stock into square - I used an 8 by 11 piece of paper and just cut off 3 inches at the top.
Using the same acrylic paint as for the heart shaped glass bowl - just diluted a little in water - paint one side of each piece of paper
Make a hole in the center of the square using a pin
Cut from each corner diagonally towards the hole in the center and stop about an inch away
Make a little hole in every other corner of the paper
Use think wood sticks (you can get these at the Home Depot or in craft supply stores - or you can use chopsticks, though the pinwheels be on the shorter side with these) and make a tiny hole in one end of each stick. The easiest way to this is probably to first put tape around the top of the wood stick, then the finest nail you can find and hammer it through the pin ever so slightly.
Fold every other corner inwards, push the pin through each pre-holed corner and then through the wood stick and then with a plier bend the pin on the other side so it stays in place
We also added bindis and other decor to the pinwheels to make them even cuter.

Our other two projects were to fill mason jars with periwinkle flowers and create cones out of - you guessed it - card-stock. The cones, which I forgot to photograph - each had a plastic vile inside (you can usually get these at the florist's) so they could hold flowers. I then punched holes in the sides of each cones and added a silk ribbon I tied in a loop. The cones then hung on the sides of the chairs in the aisle were the couple walked down to their ceremony.

And that was it :)

Updating Old Mirrors With Paint

2013-06-28T00:07:00.000-04:00

Detail of the white mirror

Lately it seems like everyone and their grandmother has been getting rid of their old mirror in my neighborhood. But that's all good with me as it gives me the opportunity to see what I can do with some old mirrors. It is super easy to make something that is more like plain vanilla into a little bit more spunk. Here are a few mirrors that got some treatments.

The "before" mirror


And the "after"

All I did here was to cover the mirror in a few coats of white paint and then a thin layer of "dirty water" (a drop of black paint diluted in water). I sanded it lightly to further emphasize the vintage look and called it a day.

The "before" mirror

The "after"where I just added one coat of turquoise paint

For the turquoise mirror all it really was was a coat of turquoise paint - done.

The mirror below (as so many times beforeI get super excited over finding something and then forget to take a picture before I start working on it... This mirror was light brown wood and kind of dull looking).

The "after"

Again - all that was done here was a coat of white and then I added a light gray to make
some of the wood work pop out a little

This mirror was a very basic plain wood mirror. I added a coat of dark gray and then some brass ornaments to the corners.

Detail of corner

This mirror was huge

This mirror was the heaviest one and took the most work. So after painting a few of the other mirrors with gray I mixed all of my grays together and painted the inner line of this mirror in gray. I then added about a gazillion white dots all along the border. It does not really show on the picture but it does give it a little bit of a Indian feel.

Detail of inner border

Using Vinegar To Create An Aged Look On Wood - Or How To Transform A Table Three Times!

2013-06-25T21:55:00.001-04:00

French vintage label added to the top

This little table below went through a lot before it eventually came to look like what it looks like above.

Here is the original table.

Original table with Aycha checking out the stirdiness

I sanded it down to the wood and then decided to give it a weather-beaten look. Sort of like a table that has been sitting outside in the wind and rain for a few years. The easiest way to create that look is to soak brillo or steel-wool in vinegar for a few days and then "paint" the wood with the mixture. If you give any exposed wood a coat of it will transform it to an old kind of grayish toned color where the wood comes through.

Table sanded down to the wood

Two tips of precaution, though:

1. The longer you let the steel-wool sit in the vinegar the darker the coat will get and eventually the steel wool will disintegrate.

I would say 3-4 days is enough to get a nice color. Having said that ensure you have enough vinegar-mix before you set out to coat your piece of furniture as it will be pretty much impossible to recreate the exact same tone.

2. As you paint with the vinegar-mixture it will pretty much look like you are painting with water. The actually change of color won't happen right away so be aware of that so you don't end up painting the same area over and over wondering how come the color does not change. You will see a chance in about 30 minutes or so.

Table after one coat of vinegar-steelwool mixture

This is what the table looked like after it had dried from its' vinegar coat. But somehow I felt like something was missing so I painted it white instead (see below).

I then printed out an old French label from the Graphics Fairy and adjusted the print to the size I wanted using blockposters. The Graphics Fairy is awesome and has great illustrations to print and blockposter can turn any print into a large printable poster. To be able to create a rub-on stencil I printed the illustration on wax-paper. Just cut the wax-paper to the same size as a letter-size or A4 sheet, tape the wax-paper onto it and stick it in the printer. Just remember everything is printed as if reflected in a mirror so in your printer settings you sometimes need to change the settings to mirror reflected. However, typically the Graphic Fairy is very good about having her avilable downloads already reversed.

Once you have the print-out position it on the surface where you want it, nail it down with a few pieces of tape and use a credit-card to rub it on. I found that by slightly moistening the surface first the stencil gets darker. Just be careful as too much moist will turn your rub-on into a big messy blurr.

Last transformation - adding a coat of white, dirty water and a French stencil

I then fixed the picture with a light spray of lacquer and lastly covered the table in dirty-water. And finally what you see on top is what we got. What do you think?