Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Announcements and teasers...

We have some exciting news from the DIY Club inc.!
I know you recognize both of these companies and we are so excited to be connected with both!

A couple of months ago Gorilla Glue showed an interest in featuring the DIY Club inc in their booth at the Country Living Magazine FAIR. We couldn't say "YES!" fast enough!  What an honor!  If you have received your Country Living Magazine this month, you may have noticed the articles (check out page 27)! 

The events are September 24, 25, 26 in Columbus, Ohio (Ohio Village) and October 22, 23, 24 in Atlanta, Georgia (Stone Mountain Park).  I plan to attend the Country Living Fair in Ohio - if you're thinking of attending, let me know!  Sue Whitney of Junk Market Style will be in the booth at the Ohio location. Wouldn't it be cool for us to meet her together?  Fun time - let's go!

We are also excited to be working on the Gorilla Glue party event in September, in addition to the regular monthly DIY party event that starts this Thursday night.  If you're not familiar with the monthly  DIY Club party, you'll want to check it out.  You could already have a DIY project that qualifies for the contest and enter to win the huge monthly prize!   We will also be unveiling a big secret over at the DIY Club this week...so stay tuned!


And if that isn't enough excitement for you...be sure to stop back here Thursday when I have another announcement you won't want to miss!

Toddler to Big Boy Room full of DIY details!


I've been blessed with girls so when it comes to decorating or anything related to boys, I'm clueless but that doesn't stop me from loving a great boy's room before and after makeover. I love this one from Hi SugarplumEspecially when it involves creative ideas, repurposing and DIY.  Here are some of her photos but be sure to head over to check out the full reveal and all of the details here

 

It seems like only yesterday I was decorating my son's nursery, but now he's 9 and it was time to kiss the 'sweetness' good-bye. So while he was visiting his grandparents for two weeks, we surprised him with a room makeover suitable for a big guy. And the best part is, by using items from our house, updating his existing stuff, and shopping smart....the total bill for the room came to under $300!


Before:


before


Pale lime walls, puppy dog patchwork bedding, pictures he made as a toddler, Crystal Light carpet stains


jack bed before




before 2


And the awesome afters:


1
The bed was spray painted high-gloss white. The small Ikea sisal rug was borrowed from the laundry room and adds some warmer tones as well as texture. The over sized wall clock is from Marshalls.


2


Love the stripes!
3


DIY - cover a corkboard with burlap to add texture.


4




5




DIY - soup can pencils holders


6a


Organized study area...


7


Gallery wall with room to grow and DIY prints from the zoo.


9


DIY cork map (A project on my list too - just waiting for the map to arrive.  Great minds DIY alike!)A


11

Awesome job, Cassie (proven by his happy reaction at the reveal)!  Loved that!  Thanks so much for sharing your hard work.  You created a fun big boy room - so creative with your budget.  Great job!

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Decorative Spheres

One of my favorite inspiration sources has zinc orbs and spheres. My version isn't an exact replica but for a few dollars, they're the same idea and I love how they look on our coffee table...
Here is the real version...

Sale price $135-175
and these:
Sale price ranges $71 - 119

The prices are a little steep for me.  I'd love to see the day where that is do-able on my budget but we're not there yet.  So, what's a DIY-thinkin' girl to do?  Yep.  Get creative and DIY!

I used a different technique to construct each.  One orb is made with drywall mud and the other with decoupage and newspaper. Below are the instructions for making each. (The drywall mud technique was easier.)


Materials for drywall compound orb:
Gorilla Glue
Spray primer (leftover from another project) in "Rust"
Candlestick (thrift shop)
Styrofoam ball (craft store)
Finial (Rockler)
Sanding Bug (Rockler)
Assorted acrylic/metallic paints (Deco Art) I used Slate Gray,
Drywall compound (basement)


Materials for paper mache type orb:
Same as above but I used a larger Styrofoam ball (craft store), decoupage medium, newspaper and a wooden wheel and different finial (both found at Rockler).  I also used pins as mentioned below to help with construction.

Tutorial for drywall compound orb:

1. Using my Norton Sanding Bug, I sanded a candlestick to scuff up the smooth surface. Clean.

2. Using the candlestick as a pedestal, I applied drywall mud  by "frosting" it with a butter knife. Smooth as much as possible, which is nearly impossible!  Let dry (but see step 3 first). 

3. Before the plaster dries, poke the finial through the wet drywall mud into the Styrofoam on the top to poke a hole. Remove and clean the finial. I used the Birch Turned Finial on the left.  (Rockler).  You can also attempt to lightly sand the drywall - just be careful, it might crack!


4. Apply Gorilla Glue to the candlestick and stick on the Styrofoam ball.  Let dry.  My glue expanded a little but I just cut off the extra with an xacto knife.

5. Squeeze a small amount of Gorilla Glue into the hole in the top and insert the finial and allow to dry.
6. Outside, I sprayed the entire thing with the rust colored primer.
7. Next, I used a mixture of Deco Art Americana acrylic paints and antiquing medium to come up with a few gray shades and Dazzling Metallics for silver shades.  I applied the darkest paint first, allowing some of the rust to show through.

8. Then I took turns applying the lighter shades (and darker if needed) with a brush.  I applied the last coats which had more white and silver paints last using a rag to apply and wipe off and let it dry.
It's finished!  (I do plan to apply a matte clear coat though.)


Tutorial for paper-mache type orb:

Using my Norton Sanding Bug, I sanded a candlestick to scuff up the smooth surface. Clean. (Same as step 1 shown above).

I cut out newspaper leaf shapes (a lot of them, more than needed but better to have too many than not enough when fingers are covered in decoupage medium). 

Pour the decoupage medium onto a piece of cardboard.  Now it gets messy.  Using my fingers, I applied the decoupage glue to both side of the newspaper, making a crease in the middle.  I don't have pictures of this step however...both hands were sticky!  I applied the sticky newspaper to the Styrofoam ball and kept repeating this until I had the entire ball covered.  I used pins along the way to help keep the newspaper in place.  When the entire ball was covered in newspaper leaves, I smoothed on more of the decoupage medium.  Let dry. (Move pins around as it dries, as needed.)

With regular Gorilla Glue, glue the newspaper covered orb to the candlestick and let dry.
Using Gorilla Glue Wood Glue, stick the wooden finial to a the wooden wheel (Rockler toy wood wheel).  Let dry. (Shown on right.)




Using regular Gorilla Glue on the bottom of the wooden wheel, stick to the top of the newspaper-covered Styrofoam ball.  Let dry. 

Spray the entire orb, pedestal and finial with rust colored primer.



Follow the steps 7 and 8 as listed above.

 All done!

So, what do you think?  Not a perfect copy obviously but it gives a similar unique look for much less!

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The DIY Show Off

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 http://diyclubinc.com/
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So...care to share your DIY project?  I'd love to see it! 
SHOW IT OFF!  What did you DIY lately?


The DIY Show Off

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  1. You must use the button above and link to this post to share the linky love.
  2. Include your name or blog name and project title. Add your permalink (not your blog url, but your DIY project post url). Feel free to link a Past Post, just invite your readers in a current post with a quick note.
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DISCLOSURE: As a member of the DIY Club team, some of my materials used for DIY, design, repurposing, creating and completing my projects are provided by sponsors.  The ideas, tutorials and opinions are my very own.

Don't forget - DIY Show Off Fall Festival on Fridays!
Get autumn inspiration or link up your fall related project! AND if you're entering a project using Gorilla Glue, you'll want to check this out: