DIY Before and After: vintage metal lamp

We spotted this little lamp at the Room Service block party (along with the metal flower wall hanging I posted about earlier in the week) and decided to bring it home and give it a little love, aka spray paint.  A sunny yellow glossy spray paint was chosen and it took quite a few coats and all afternoon to finally cover the surface adequately. 

Before

After

In its new home in the bedroom, perfect as a reading light!

DIY Before and After: metal flower wall hanging

Another post on our adventures with spray painting!  We went to a fun block party a few weeks back at North Loop and scored some amazing items at Room Service.  Almost everything I picked up, I'd say to B "...and we can spray paint this!"  Incredibly he agreed and we took home this little metal flower wall hanging--I have a soft spot for cherry blossoms.

A before picture: we placed it on some cardboard in the middle of the yard (last time I spray painted, there was a curious outline of cardboard on the patio--whoops!)

After quite a few coats of paint, the completed work:

A closeup:

We found a home for the hanging in the hallway between the bedrooms upstairs

There are more spray painting adventures and sore index fingers to share so stay tuned!

DIY: Hearts picture frame art and bedroom nook

Inspired by this etsy seller, we made a little picture art frame filled with fluttering hearts for our bedroom.  It was simple enough to get the frame (from Ikea), choose the colors and paper, and cut out the hearts using a handy punch tool from Michaels. The difficulty with this project lay in actually arranging the hearts in even lines and gluing them in.  So, as we've come to find out, I am the visionary when it comes to these projects, and B is actually the person that does the work and gets it done.  What can I say, he just has more follow through than I do! (or is just tired of my half forgotten craft projects lying around the house)

Here is the completed work of art (I did krylon the frame with a nice glossy gray paint)

And up on our bedroom wall with one of my favorite prints from EnormousChampion (one of my favorite Sinatra songs!), a picture of us at a wedding last year, and this great decal from Shana Murray purchased through Enid at the Dallas Flea.  It's super simple to put on (uh thanks to B again) and I love how it looks--I can't wait to get more!

DIY: Kitchen nook

A while back I posted about this DIY key holder that B and I made one weekend. Well we've finally finished our kitchen nook, complete with the key holder to house our keys as well as a little shelf to hold our iphones, chapstick, wallets and other miscellaneous items. One of my favorite prints from etsy rounds out the little cubby and oh I krylon-ed the frame! (here I thought I would be able to go a post without mentioning my beloved krylon spray paint)

Vintage Monday: marquee letter and table (Before and After)

Today's Vintage Monday items are also part of my Before and After series on the wonders of Krylon spray paint.

First up we have a marquee letter from the 1940s scavenged from an old theater in Neillsville, WI. I got this great letter from etsy.

Before:

I first tried to sand down the letter as much as I could before applying the spray paint but then realized that since the letter was metal and the paint red, coupled with the fact that the letter is from the 1940s, I figured I had inhaled enough lead for the day and decided to seal it all in with many coats of spray paint instead. (note to self: do not sniff letter too closely)

After:



The next item was salvaged from Goodwill. We had been searching for a little table to put in the entry way and while I keep dreaming of a marble top Saarinen, this one will stand in nicely for now.

Before:


I'm not sure what first attracted me to this table--the fact that it was $3.99 or that it had a sticker on the side that said "Property of Austin State Hospital". It was in pretty bad shape with the metal legs rusting and the top of the particle board that looked like it had been gnawed on. However, I felt like this table was worthy of a Krylon intervention and here are the results!

After:

Not too shabby huh? I chose a pearl grey for the legs and a bright tangerine for the tabletop (same as the marquee letter above). I think the colors really help give this table a new life and it now has a new home in our entryway.

I'm still trying to rework this little entry way nook. There are too many edges to keep straight--and I feel like we need something long on the bottom wall to balance everything out--maybe a little shelf?

In this picture: Our home sweet home letterpress print, a little painting by B's mom, and our newly Krylon-ed marquee letter. My new Liberty of London for Target tray sits on the new to us side table. And lovely pink tulips from Jill as March's flower of the month! (bigger pictures to follow)

Vintage Monday: magazine rack (Before and After)

The other day I spent more than half an hour in wondrous rapture at the Krylon spray paint section at Home Depot. There are so many colors and finishes available and all for just $2.99 a bottle! I tried out the spray paint on a couple of items salvaged from Goodwill and wow I'm hooked! The paint really transformed the pieces and I'm glad to be able to give them a second life in our home.

Magazine rack before:

Magazine rack after:

On display in the living room:

ps: yes I know that there is a great debate about whether it is a magazine rack or a fireplace log holder but for all intents and purposes, it is a magazine rack in my house.