Saturday, January 28, 2012
Special Guest Saturday: Drab to Fab Dining!
So -here we go! :)
Budget: $20 if you need to buy EVERYTHING
Supplies:
8: Varying sizes of glass jars (I've used jars from baby food, small pasta sauce jars, pickle jars, etc) but
make sure they're not REALLY heavy!
1: spool of something fab (like jute, ribbon, or raffia) -I used Jute because it's what I had.
1: spool of 10 gauge wire for hanging (can be purchased at Michael's)
1: large package of faux candles (the ones with batteries in them...like from Target!). Mine came in a pack of 12. That's the one you want, especially if your space is larger than mine. :)
TIME: this took me about an hour (including trial and error), since it was my first time. However, since I'm here to tell you divas how to do it, it should only take about 30-45 minutes.
So -here's what you're going to do.
Prep your jars. Are they clean? They should be.
Cut your wire at about a yard (you can measure a yard by measuring the tip of your middle finger to your nose with your arm stretched out). Now, starting in the middle you're going to wrap and twist TWICE per side. So say to yourself while you're doing this, "wrap twist one, wrap twist two, wrap twist three, wrap twist four." This way, you have two "sides", beginning to look like a lantern. Now that you have your "sides," you're going to take the remaining wire and twist it (kind of like a twisty tie) around itself creating a handle. See the picture below:
Once you've done that, it's time to add a little flair to it! I used jute because I like this shabby-chic-ey look, but if you want something more refined or more to your style, that's AWESOME!
So leaving one end of your jute/yarn/raffia/ribbon attached to the spool, wrap twice ( to help cover some of your wire wrapping) around the mouth of the jar, tie in a bow, and cut! You can do nice ends, but with the jute, it is what it is! Part of it's charm.
Next, measure out about a yard of jute, cut, and wrap it around your hand. Slide this off and stick it into your jar. This will provide the cushion for your "candle."
Once you've done that, turn on and place one battery candle in your lantern. :)
REPEAT THESE STEPS FOR THE REST OF YOUR LANTERNS
Once all of your lanterns have: handles, flair, and a candle, start to measure out your hanging lengths. We have an umbrella, and wanted them to hang from the arms at different lengths but clustered together. If you have a trellice above your outdoor dining space, this would be perfect to hang in a more open pattern.
So drag your husband outside and make him hang these at different lengths for you until you have a variety that you're settled with. Once that's done, cut your wire and wrap around your umbrella arms or wherever you're hanging them!
The finished product is quite stunning if you're sitting out on your porch eating dinner at twilight! It adds a little ambiance and class to your deck and doesn't set anything on fire! That's the best solution to class and safety! ;)
I apologize if you don't have a deck or a trellice, but I'd love to see your variations. If you change up my idea, please upload a link in your comment so we can all learn from you! I was inspired by this photo, but I'm proud of my end result! It suits our needs and adds that extra touch to satisfy my inner hostess. To the Left: internet.
To the Right: Briana-tastic!!
So now you're wondering how much this is gonna cost you, right? Well, if your DIY closet is stocked, it'll cost you less. But if you're smart, this project will be expertly DIY'd. :) I'll lay it out for you.
Jars: hoarded and borrowed. $0
Jute: free, from my craft closet! $0
Hanging wire: $8 from Michaels
Flameless candles: $6.00 from Target
Time: NEVER enough
Effect: PRICELESS!!
So that wraps it up! I hope you've enjoyed my DIY drab to fab dining space! Feel free to borrow, change, and share my idea. And PLEASE -come back and share, here on DIY DAVIS STYLE.
Best wishes and happy DIY-ing!
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
{Craigslist Bookshelves: Part 1.5}
Okay so I have been super bad the past few days. I was off this weekend and did ZERO to the bookshelves. I had a somewhat uncooperative hubby who kept saying, "Just wait...I'll help on X day"{Insert Fri, Sat, Sun} and like I have mentioned a time or two I am a...WE'RE DOING IT NOW OR NOT AT ALL kind of girl....it really is genetic. So after the second "let's just do it tomorrow" I threw my now-married-no-longer-Reichgott-hands up {that long funny looking word is my maiden name}and said to myself...psh giirrrrrllll you don't need no man {in my Queen Latifa voice} And no lie...I lugged those shelves up two flights of stairs.
I almost died.
Seriously who knew "cheap" bookshelves would be so heavy. It all in all took me literally about an hour so that I wouldn't trip, fall, be crushed by the bookcases and most importantly mess up the amazing paint job I did on the stairwell.That took me an entire Sunday and Monday/Tuesday night to finish...
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| The stairwell and upstairs hallway are this color...Blue-Grey Slate and I am obsessed |
Remember that turtle refrence? Well imagine that again but lugging a 6 foot high by 3 foot wide book case up the stairwell. For the first one at least...the second one I tried the "Bear Hug Method"...very legitimate you see...the "BHM" {bear hug method} allowed me more control over that S.O.B :) {I'm pretty sure you know what that stands for!!!}
Needless to say that is ALL that I have done with thosestupid lovely bookcases. I leave on Sunday for one of my shows for work and J's family is coming...I know I should set a goal for when these will be done but life keeps getting in the way! {And by life I mean I spent all weekend in bed because I was prepping myself for next week's show} Don't judge kay?
KayThanksBye!
{DIY Davis Style}
HD
Needless to say that is ALL that I have done with those
KayThanksBye!
{DIY Davis Style}
HD
Friday, January 20, 2012
Mini Post {You know you write a DIY Home Improvement Blog IF....}
I just had to share a little mini post. I showered last night but didn't wash my hair {I have curly hair so if I wash it every day it gets super dried out...which is completely off topic}and here is the embarrassing part. You know you write a home improvement blog if:
You show up at work with paint in your hair AND in your eyelashes...how does that even happen??
Until next time...
{DIY Davis Style}
HD
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Shelf Assembly Pitfalls....{Craigslist Bookshelf Chronicles}
Okay...so remember at the beginning of my blog I told you I would give you then nice, the ugly and the HOLY CRAP WHAT WAS I THINKING? Well....I'm there. {completely}
I
am driving home from work completely pumped that I have decided on the
finish thinking about how much I am going to accomplish {at this point
it is 6:30 pm, and we all know my bed time is 10...so i'll make this
short hehe} So I feed the pups their dinner and let them get out a
little energy while I am prepping my supplies {paint, stir stick, big
girl drill etc} I decide that the first shelf that was already assembled
could use another coat of paint {next time I am getting the paint and
primer in one!!!}. I complete a second coat of paint...
This is where we start going downhill...disaster strikes. {I miiiight be over exaggerating but that's what this is all about right???!!!} Okay so not complete disaster just...."I really wish J was home to give me an extra hand" and here's why.
I
was riding in a car a lot today {work trip} so I had quite a bit of
time to think about my looming project. I have decided what type of
finish I want to put on the shelves. The good news is that by doing the
type of finish I have decided on, the white underlying paint doesn't
have to be perfect....thus saving me a TON of time.....IF I could ever
get these doggone shelves together. Which brings us to the reason for
this posting....my "Shelf Assembly Pitfalls". I must warn you....at
9:23pm, this story ends in failure. Boringly, catastrophic failure.
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| Second coat complete |
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| I decided that the regular paint brush was too streak-y so I went with a foam 1 1/2" bush. You can get these at any hardware store or even craft sections at your local walmart, target, or michaels. |
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| Note to self...put shelves in BEFORE you paint... |
You know how turtles have shells? And when pretending to be a turtle {if you have ever done this...or can imagine doing it} you must perform a balancing act of sorts. Well imagine this...but with wood shelves.....i'll explain:
There are 3 different bookcases to assemble. Two are the same and one is different. Since I purchased these off Craigslist they came with ZERO directions-a challenge-a puzzle. Well...I LOVE puzzles so I thought hm this ought to be fun! WRONG {I am not afraid to admit that this feeling happens a lot to me}
Imagine me {those of you who know me know I am a well built German woman...there's no denying it so why try}so imagine me balancing the LONG side piece on my back while straddling the other long side piece and trying to screw the base together....I think you can see where this is going...#Disaster.
After a small egg on my head, a slightly bloody toe and a few pinched fingers I had to reassess...SERIOUSLY. So I did what any other person would do while home alone and trying to put together an awful puzzle....I grabbed the nearest structure of sorts that I thought would be about the right height...see?
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| Chair at approximate correct height...sort of, Imagine me as the chair in this scenario... |
So did I mention that these shelves are not screwed together with normal screws? but the kinds you need one of those stupid funny little allen wrenches for? Did I also mention I didn't realize this until I was trying to balance the long side piece but BEFORE I dropped it? Oh...I didn't? hm well anyway... By this time, as you can imagine, I am slightly COMPLETELY frustrated. But the chair I found helped tremendously with the assembly. I finally got that set put together and I use the last bit of paint up. Meaning I will have to go BACK to the store to get more...but that is a completely different story.
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| Correctly sized Allen wrench |
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| Broken metal... |
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| The other half...stuck in the shelf |
{DIY Davis Style}
HD
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
In Between Post!
Okay, so....I REALLY am digging this whole blogging thing. I am working on having "Special Guest Saturday"! This means I'll have one of my fabulously creative friends come on here most likely once a month and do DIY session with one of their favorite easy/cheap projects! Stay tuned for more details but the first one is scheduled for Saturday January 28th!{Details to come} If you or someone you know would like to be featured on "Special Guest Saturday" shoot me an email to HDavis213@gmail.com and we'll get it all set up!
{DIY Davis Style}
HD
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Craigslist Bookshelves Part 1
The start of something good...I hope. [This post may be a little long so I am attempting to break it up into parts...plus it gives me time to let this stubborn paint dry] No receipts on this blog post because I used items I already had in our garage!
Okay so I FINALLY started on my $3 craigslist book cases! Here is the backstory: J and I try to shop at wal-mart as much as possible; for home cleaning supplies and even groceries because it is more cost effective. If I need specialty items I will go to the local Harris Teeter or Bi-Lo [with coupons]. So we were putzing around one evening while we were doing our shopping [we enjoy putzing together] and I was like "Let's pop on over to home stuff...just you know...to look" this idea was pretty out of the ordinary because I am usually such a brand snob about clothes, shoes and housewares (unless they are vintage). J gave me a strange look but like the amazing hubby he is..... agreed. Getting to the point...they had some book cases for $29! They came in wood{colored}, white or black and I have been dying to install wall to wall book shelves in our "office" so it feels more like an office to me instead of just a really small bedroom. Well I didn't really feel like packing them up into the car and driving them home, unloading them, assembling them THEN installing them so I said...I'll just come back later this week or next and get them if I still really like {slash} want them. Easy enough right? WRONG!!! Sososososooooo wrong. I go back to walmart one night when J was closing at work and they only have ONE left! In any of the colors! J and I had decided the wood color would be good since the desk we have is dark oak and really pretty. So back on topic...they have ONE...in wood and none of the other two colors so I ask the VERY helpful sales guy [they are always so helpful at Wal-Mart...why can't people at Target be that helpful??] and he OFFERS [I didn't even have to ask!] to call around to the other stores to see if any of them have any of the wood color left because honestly I only need 3 more! We call all 5 stores in the Charlotte area...no one has any in wood even though their computers say they do. #EpicFail #LeftWalMartSansBookCases. I know it was only a walmart bookcase but I was sad, I had such high hopes for these shelves...they were borderline life changing...promise.
So the search continued. If you readers are anything like me I can't just let an idea go once it's in my head....I HAVE to do it...right then...or I never will. So I got online and started searching. Wal-mart, Target, BB&B and everything in between. NOTHING around the price point I wanted to spend [$30 per case] I finally settled with perusing Craigslist and it was like the heavens opened up and sang [we giveth you bookcases within your budget]. A "garage sale" if you will of unrelated items that this family wanted out of their home! My good fortune!
After much back and forth bartering, he wanted $10, they were old I offered $2 [mostly as a joke] and he countered at $3...ding ding ding ladies and gents we have a winner! We arranged a pick up and now these lovely cases are sitting disassembled in my garage-well all but one are disassembled. [Insert lots of thanks to my friend S for the use of her family's durango]. I am breaking it up...hoping it may be a little easier and less reading [short term] for you! See how caring and considerate I am?? :) Okay so here goes!
Step One: The heavens opened and the angels sang....We giveth you bookcases
First you need to find bookcases, any will do. These are nothing special [I'm not even sure they are real wood] This is what mine look like....they all have 5 shelves, we just took the other 3 out for easier moving.
Step Two: Gather your supplies. I used Gidden 6000B Cotton White Interior Paint that I had from a few other furniture refinishing projects; fine grit sandpaper blocks {I like the blocks best because I find I rarely end up scraping all the skin off my fingers like I would with just the paper or something with...oh...say.....a plug with electricity running through it} Paint brushes...2 just in case one doesn't do it's job properly [it is genetic...I am an over-prepare-er], a paint can opener annnd my mixing stick {which I forgot to put in this picture} Also pictured are the shelves for the other book cases along with the screws needed to put them back together.
Step Three: Sand the you-know-what out of it!
You know all of that harbored aggression you have time to...uhm...harbor...during those long minutes/hours sitting in traffic, or customer who gives you a new you-know-what when they are upset with something? Well use that...and sand the heck out of the wood/non wood surface! A lot of people don't think you can, but you can indeed sand laminate. It scratches the surface and allows the paint to grab onto it. I tried to peel the sticker show below off and when that didn't work?.....
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| Evil sticker with alterior motives ....staying adhered to my bookshelf...grrrrr |
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| Caked on...something resembling paper.... |
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| {must invest in one of those Doctor's masks} yes that is sand paper dust flying around.... |
I brought out the big girl tools :) that's right...I used a BOX CUTTER muahahahahah {that's my evil laugh} and I SCRAPED the living heck out of it.
Step Four: Remove shelf hooks, screws...anything that will get in the way of painting. These particular little buggers were not willing to come out so they have been painted over.
Step Five: Wipe it down {Shoulders chest pants shoes; wipe meh down *ay girl*...wait...er....am I the only one singing? Good thing I am home alone? hehe}
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| Dirty book case exhibit A |
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| Wet paper towels to gather all the dirt, dust and sandpaper residue and dry ones to make sure the wood/non wood is completely dry before painting! |
Step Six: Make sure if you are using an older paint that didn't come directly from your big box home goods store {we will leave my preferences out of it} that you mix it up really well with a stirring stick. This keeps your paint from clumping up on your brush and surface and making an even bigger mess!
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| This is one of the cheap paintbrushes I got at one of the big box stores, 2" I believe |
When painting I ALWAYS start in the corners, that way I make sure that every little bit is painted, but you can start where ever you'd like!
The semi-finished project. I have to wait for it to dry to do another coat because as you can see it looks uneven and blotchy. It has cooled off some and is now raining so I will probably have to finish tomorrow [when it is cold and wet paint takes longer to dry..similar to when you blow dry your hair]. Stay tuned for the finished product and part 2 of the Craigslist Bookshelf Chronicles!
{DIY Davis Style}
HD
Monday, January 16, 2012
Unsuccessful Project #1
I am naming this unsuccessful project #1 because as we all know there are things that pop up...this failure is my own. I was thinking about how exciting my first post was going to be that I didn't even remember I hadn't finished painting the office LAST night! #EpicFail. So....as of....7:47pm the office is COMPLETELY painted an amazing color green called dark eukalyptus leaf that I am absolutely utterly in love with..shamelessly of course. (I have even posted a sneak peak picture of the swatch. I can't post the entire room because that would be cheating!)
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| Gidden: Dark Eukalyptus Leaf in Eggshell |
This is my current delhimma...start on the book shelves tonight so that tomorrow I have exciting and fun pictures to post because I hopefully will be finished by this time tomorrow (after Zumba of course) OR go sit on my bum and watch my tivo'd NCIS recordings...I am thinking that the latter of the two is winning....sorry guys :\ stay tuned I WILL have the shelves done by Wednesday when J gets home from his little boys trip!
{DIY Davis Style}
HD
And so it starts...
For those of you who DON'T know me, I am Haleigh...nice to meet you :)
Here's my story...I am not much of a blogger, (probably not the best way to start off a blog but) I promise...THIS TIME will be different! err....I pinky promise? I am recently married to an awesome man we'll call J (as of October 1, 2011 (insert YAY!!!). As if planning a wedding were not time consuming enough (while we both have full time jobs in the adult world) we decided we wanted to stop with the hassle of renting apartments and less than appetizing homes and buy a home of our own!
Now in theory this sounds AMAZING right? Well it sucked. We got preapproved from the bank and started the search. But all the homes in the locations we wanted were WAY over our budget. The homes that WERE in our budget were from the 1800s and need more work than we had time or even the knowledge to tackle so we set out in search of other options. To make a long story short...we built. I know what you're thinking (I'm good like that) how is it less expensive to build a BRAND NEW HOME than to purchase one that is already existing? Well I really dont get it either but here we are, in our brand new home with all the fixin's! The home we moved from was around 1,000 sq feet and we felt with 2 adults and 2 large dogs that we were...uh...how do I say...the cup runneth over?...no-the cup was about to crumble and be lost in the abyss under the weight. SO we found this house, in our budget with all the beautiful things we could have only wished for--but it's more than TWICE the size (bummer...I know). Which brings us here...
Because I purged like it was my job before we moved and the size of the home we were moving in to...as a result I am having to find inventive ways to decorate on a dime...because let's be honest...buying a house, planning a wedding and paying bills is expensive as it is and house stuff is expensive!!
So I am here to give you the pretty, the fun, and the Holy Crap what was I thinking?! And to give it to you straight because if we're being honest (again) it always costs more than those other blogs say!
After friends asking me "HOW??!" and "Was it expensive???" I have decided to put it ALL out there. I will give you pictures of my receipts *if I'm not too embarrassed that I splurged some* and pictures along the way! Feel free to ask whatever you want..I'm learning along the way too :) Stay tuned because tonight I am...bum bum buuuummmmm... refinishing some craigslist $3.00 bookcases and installing them...WITHOUT my husband :)
{DIY Davis Style}
HD
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