Seashell Mirror: Part 1

I really like the look of seashell mirrors. I like that no matter what, no two can ever be the same because no two seashell are the same. One day I found at the thrift store one of those old seashell wind chimes they had back in the 70's. 

I loved that it had a ton of shells and thought it would be a great start to make a seashell mirror. It was only $1.95 so I bought it. As for the mirror, I could buy a new one but since I believe in reusing what I already own I decided to use one I purchased at the thrift store several years ago for about $12. 

Before I began I painted the frame white. I didn't want the wood showing through if I missed a spot and the white paint would help disguise it. I also separated the shells in different sizes to see how much of each size I actually had to work with. I started laying out the pieces on the mirror to see what kind of pattern I wanted. I felt it should look random but needed to be organized. 

I could see I did not have enough so I bought a few more bags from the dollar store.

Before gluing any pieces down I determined how and where I wanted to hang the mirror. I won't be able to add the wall hook after I attach the shells so it's best to decide now where to attach the hooks. I want this to hang over a cabinet outside the bathroom so it would have to be horizontal. I moved the existing hooks to the short ends of the mirror and positioned them so that the hook would not show when I hung it. 

The first step was to glue the smallest shells along the inside rim with my hot glue gun. I then followed with another row of slightly larger shells. So far so good.

I then glued the larger shells all around the front part of the frame. Before I glued any of the shells down I laid them out to make sure I had enough and made any necessary adjustments. I'm about halfway finished and here is how it looks now. 

I had to stop here because...well...I ran out of glue sticks. Anyway, my next step is to buy more glue and fill in all the gaps with more shells. Stay tuned for part 2.

B.

Laundry Room Curtains: Fail

This weekend I finally got around to making new curtains for my laundry room. I bought this fabric from Joann's Fabrics at least a year ago and it inspired me to paint my the walls yellow. 

Yellow is a hard color to choose because it sometimes looks too peachy, or too lemony or too tan. 

There are two different shades of yellow in the fabric which made it easier to choose the right paint color. The only problem is that I didn't buy enough. I have been trying to find it again ever since but have been unsuccessful. 

Making curtains requires a lot of hemming so since I was short on fabric I decided to make a 1/2" double fold hem on all sides. Also, instead of stitching down the folds I used fusible web which just makes it go a little faster. To hang them I  used these curtain clips I bought on clearance a couple of years ago. I've never used them but knew eventually an application would present itself. By using the clips instead of making a rod pocket I use less fabric. 

Before I started I washed and ironed the fabric. Washing takes out all the starchy stiffness from the fabric and gives it a much better hand or feel. I cut the fabric in half for each panel. Next I ironed a 1/2" double fold hem on the two long sides and then along the two short sides. 

You will have a lot of extra fabric in the corners that might overlap on the edge so it's a good idea to cut it on an angle to minimize the bulk. 

I then added the fusible web tape inside the hem, removed the protective tape and ironed it again. I always use a scrap piece of fabric to iron though when I am using fusible web in case some of the adhesive is sticking out. It's no fun cleaning glue off an iron. Next I attached the hanging clips to the curtains. Each package had seven hooks. I folded the fabric so that I would have five folds plus one clip for each end. Here are the final curtains. 

Why do I say fail? Let's see. Where do I start. First, I am no longer happy with the fabric. I don't think it's the fabric as much as it is the fabric with the yellow walls. It's too retro and the contrast bothers me. Second, there is a heating vent that I can't get around to hang the rod brackets. 

                                        

When I finally got the brackets installed, I had to hang them too low so now you can see the top of the blinds. 

Not cool. Lastly, at the end of the day I just did not have enough fabric. Since I can't get this pattern anymore I will have to try something else. I'm not giving up on this fabric. I'll find another use for it. So it's curtains for the curtains and back to the drawing board. I think I know what I want to do, but I've never tried it before and am feeling a little unsure. Nothing beats a failure but a try so I will give something new a shot. 

B.

Living Room Update 2

My glorious son started painting the living room for me. Ain't he sweet. Now, I am not a painting aficionado, I just kind of get the paint up on the wall with as few splatters as possible. The one thing I should have done, but didn't, was paint the ceiling first. I was too anxious to get the color up to see if I liked it because it takes me a long time to adjust to a new paint color. 

Walls first was probably not the best decision, but it will work out in the end. Now that it's up I am very happy with it much to my sons delight. It's a light soft gray and it's on the warm side. It instantly made the room feel open and airy which is important because my rooms are small. 

When I get around to installing the wood floor, hang new curtains and add the accessories, this room will really start to come together. Time to shop for the flooring. This may take a while because I want hardwood but I have to keep in mind the cost and durability. I've got one shot at this so it has to be right. All I know for now is that I can't wait to take up that carpet.

B.

Office Idea: Yellow

I have narrowed down the colors I am considering for my office to four: Camel, light aqua, gray-green, and gray-lavender. First up is camel. Camel is a darker less intense shade of yellow. Yellow is an energizing color but I don't want it to feel like it 7am when it's really 10pm. I think camel will give me the same energy without being too bright. 

Below is the scheme I am looking at. Very pretty and fresh.

1. Camel Paint color

2. Lampsplus crystal lamp

3. Fabric.com fabric

4. Target Mirror

5. Fabric.com fabric

6. Fabric.com fabric

7. Amazon.com desk

8. Overstock.com desk chair

9. Ikea bookcase

No matter what color I choose I don't have funds to add all new furniture and will reuse as many pieces as possible that I already own. For the window treatments I will either install a roman blind or a simple valance instead of curtains. My desk sits right underneath a window and I have found that curtains just get in the way. I have a blue Steelcase desk chair that I got for a steal years ago. It's well made, very comfortable and I want to change the fabric and reuse it. Then again I might opt to splurge on a new chair because I am really digging this white leather chair from Overstock.com. 

Wonder what the aqua would look like. Stay tuned.

B.

Thriftstore Finds: Door Pulls

The fastest way to update a piece of furniture or cabinets is by adding new hardware. I enjoy shopping for cabinet hardware but the cool ones don't come cheap and if I can't get a deal I don't want to buy it. For instance, my desk has seven drawers with two knobs each. If I left the holes as they are I've have to buy fourteen new knobs. If they cost a minimum $3 each, that's $42. That's more than I paid for this solid wood desk. So whenever I find a deal on hardware I take it. The trick is finding enough pieces so that you don't end up with a bunch of pieces you can't use. 

All of my pulls were $1.50 or less. The latest group I found are these. They are very heavy and solid and probably would have cost $6 to $8 a piece.

My thought was to use them on laundry room cabinets and combine them with a similar door knob. Since I could only find four I will likely use them on the drawer fronts. 

I also love these red pulls. I don't know where I will use them yet, but it will reveal it's self eventually. 

I wanted to use these silver knobs on another set of cabinets I have but I only found nine and I need ten. I may have to combine them with another pull type unless I find one more at the Habitat store. 

Also, I only  bought 1 of this gold pull because they had a ton of them and I don't know if I would use gold pulls for anything. I have to mull it through, but for $0.75 each, I may just grab a few and hold on to them. 

B.