DIY, Home decor and sewing for the home.

April 21, 2015 / diy projects

flower arranging with floral oasis

Fresh flower arrangements are my favorite way to prepare for company at my house. Whether it’s overnight guests, a dinner party, or family gatherings I usually finish off my house cleaning and preparations by making a couple flower arrangements. However, since having company is the only time projects actually get completed around here, I usually don’t have any budget left for purchasing fresh flowers. Who does, right? But they are so luxurious!

Fortunately I live in sunny Florida and for most of the year something in my yard is in bloom. The trick to making a lovely flower arrangement out of any container is floral oasis. The wet kind.

It can be cut to fit any container simply with a bread knife, and can transform any item into a vessel for displaying your gardens treasures. You can use a tea cup, a salad plate, a hollowed out log, a basket, a box, a pumpkin. You get the idea, the possibilities are endless! And…it’s reusable until it looks like swiss cheese.

I like to make a good size arrangement for my dining room table and my foyer and then a couple small arrangements for my bathrooms. Sometimes I’ll just put a single bloom in the bathroom if I don’t have much time or blooms are sparse.

Fresh flowers can brighten and camouflage even the ugliest of bathrooms.

An absolute must in a guest bedroom.

Lovely on the back patio.

These philodendron are one of my favorite plants to use in my house. They’re always available.

Don’t forget fruit! We’re long loquat trees. They bear delicious fruit once a year and make a beautiful addition to any flower arrangement. They can stand on their own superbly also. In season I always like to have them in my house.

Oasis is super easy to use. Cut the brick to the size you need and submerse it in water for about 15 minutes so the water can get all the way to the center. Then start cutting flowers and poking them in. For a nose gay style arrangement the stems need to be cut surprisingly short. Longer stems require more flowers to fill the space, so start short. But again, the options for style are endless…

The beauty of oasis is that your flowers will stay hydrated and some can last for a week or more. When my flowers start to look spent I yank those out and replace them to prolong the life of the arrangement.

Fresh flowers seem to play an integral part in styling any area properly.

Screen Shot 2015-04-21 at 10.29.56 AM — via elements of style blog

So now that it’s spring go out and cut some flowers!

xoxo

mimzy

April 16, 2015 / diy projects, sewing projects

how to make welt for an upholstered headboard

Today I’m working on an upholstered headboard similar to the picture below. Essentially a box…welt in the front and welt in the back(barely visible but against the wall). My client provided a former cabinet door to use as a frame, since it’s the exact width of a king bed.

Screen Shot 2015-04-15 at 10.04.45 PM — via magnolialane.com

This striped headboard is the same box style.

Screen Shot 2015-04-15 at 10.03.59 PM — via hautelook.com

After measuring and cutting the fabric for the body(face) and the banding, I had about 1/2 yard left for the welt(piping). The welt should always be cut on the bias(diagonal grain of the fabric) if possible. This allows the fabricated welt to have the flexibility to go around curves and corners because the bias has stretch. The easiest way to cut fabric on the bias is to fold the cut edge to the selvage edge. The fold is the bias grain of the fabric…meaning 45 degree angle to the straight and cross grain.

I cut welt strips 2 inches, therefore the first cut, on the fold pictured above will only be 1 inch. Then cut every subsequent strip 2 inches.

I use a roller cutter, mat, and a metal ruler to cut my bias strips, but you can certainly use scissors and a fabric pen or chalk.

Notice the cut edge is a 45 degree angle to the selvage edge and the pattern of the fabric.

I need 214 inches to get around the headboard once, so I cut 11 strips because my fabric is about 20 inches wide. Then I proceeded to construct.

I lay the cut bias strips at a 45 degree angle to each other, right sides together as pictured above. Notice the outside corners are hanging over slightly. This will ensure the cut edges will line up after seaming the strips together.

When making welt with fabric like this it’s especially important to make sure the pattern is running in the same direction. Linen, canvas, solids, and such it doesn’t make much difference, but just a tidbit to keep in mind. I once used velvet and didn’t think to match the weft of the fabric on my welt and my upholstery teacher called me out. On welt! That’s a trained eye!

Stitch together the bias strips and then press open the seams.

Make sure to use a small stitch so it won’t gap open.

Then sew the cord into the long bias strip you’ve created. I use a zipper foot on my machine. I have and welt foot but prefer to use a zipper foot. Personal preference.

There you have it…enough welt to to make a king headboard.

The finished headboard is up next. Did that make sense? Comment if you need clarification. I’m planning to do some video tutorials in the near future also.

April 6, 2015 / diy projects, my house reno.

concrete counters sealed again

Time to seal the concrete…

Since this will be my third attempt at sealing my concrete countertop, I decided to go with the specific product intended to seal concrete.

Unfortunately, after applying it I realized it wouldn’t be durable enough for me. The surface still absorbed water even after three coats of sealer. When I wiped the counter with a wet washcloth it absorbed water and darkened. Which means oil will also absorb into the surface and leave permanent stains.

On to plan D. The wax was not good for heat and oil. The polyacrylic was good at repelling water and oil from the top, but the oil from the previous coat seeped up from underneath. Plus it seemed to sit on top of the concrete and not really soak in and penetrate it. Therefore it started to chip leaving raw concrete which then absorbed oils.

This leads me to oil based polyurethane. What do I have to lose? I figure if it’s oil based then it will penetrate the cement and it should resist water, right? Oil and water don’t mix.

So, that’s just what I did. I had a quart in the garage already so I went for it. The first coat soaked in so much that it appeared to leave raw spots. I sanded with 220 grit sandpaper between each coat. I’m down three coats so far and it’s looking really nice and water beads up nicely.It’s still wet in the photo above. I used a small all purpose roller because I didn’t want any pesty brush strokes. I applied extra layers on the inside edge next to the stove in hopes of keeping it from staining again.

I managed to get four coats down. It looks much better and it feels like butta.

I left a lot of the surface texture…

The cement has some variation in color that may change with time. We’ll see. All in all, I still really like the finished product, even if it has to be re-applied once a year. You just can’t beat the price point.

I’d love to hear what kind of results others are having with this feather finish technique after living with it for some time. I’m really curious about using it in a sink like this post. How does it get clean?

I think it’s a fabulous solution for a dry area like a laundry room or play room. However, I’ve really put it to hard use in my kitchen! I don’t think there’s another place in my house that gets more traffic than my kitchen island. Specially because my stove is smack dab in the center and I’m everything but careful about spills and drips. Nor am I quick to wipe up said spills and drips. So, if your thinking about this finish for your kitchen I highly recommend it. I don’t have it directly around my sink but I think as long as your sink is not integrated it would be great.

April 2, 2015 / diy projects, my house reno.

my feather-finish concrete countertops after one year.

Last year just before Easter I finished most of my kitchen remodel. So we’ve been living with the feather-finish concrete countertop island for almost a year. I still love it because it was sooooo inexpensive. I would prefer a faux carrera marble solid surface material…but that wasn’t in the budget and still isn’t.

I used the Ardex feather finish treatment that’s all over the web.

We’ve put this concrete to the test. I should say we put the sealer to the test. My first attempt to seal the concrete I tried wax. It had a matte, velvety sheen that made you want to put your cheek to it. It was perfect until the heat of the stove melted it and caused greasy looking spots next to the stove.

Not long after Easter I sanded the countertop, applied another coat of concrete, and re-sealed. This time with poly-acrylic(water based polyurethane). The finish on the concrete is less than desirable. The poly seamed to sit on top of the concrete like a film and made it too shiny(even in a satin finish, which I love on furniture). The concrete didn’t look like it’s natural rugged self.

Then, after the poly sealer, the oil spots started to seep up from the wood underneath and in around the edges of the stove. Plus, some the concrete started to chip away and stain the surrounding areas. A spotty, greasy mess.

So today I took the countertop outside and scraped, sanded, and primed the countertop to prep for a new layer of concrete and some real concrete sealer.I gave it two coats of tinted primer so none of the oil stains would come back up from the wood or the old concrete. The concrete I keep referring to is the feather finish sold at Home Depot. Most of the blogs out there talk about the Ardex brand feather finish, but I used the home depot brand. Same thing. It’s sold in a box in the flooring area.

Tomorrow I’ll seal it and install. Then see if the concrete sealer is all it’s cracked up to be.

March 31, 2015 / diy projects, my house reno.

bookshelves

I love books. As a kid I think I remember having bookshelves full of books in most of our houses because my mom was also a book lover.

This wall has been completely empty for quite some time as I’ve contemplated the style and the direction I want to take for my bookshelves.

I debated bookshelves or a gallery of collected art on this wall since we moved in. The bookshelves have taken the lead position. I think it’s the perfect spot. They’ll be tucked in and will insulate the wall creating a sound barrier for the guest room on the opposite side of this wall. Plus, with the addition of some lighting, it will create a nice glow at this end of the room.

Also, we have piano recitals here at least twice a year and I think a gallery of my crazy art may not be as pleasing as a background of bookshelves. Maybe it’s just me.

And …my collection of books is starting to get overwhelming. I have three full bookshelves and stacks are accumulating all over the house.

Not sure how all these colors will translate in the new location. I may be creating a styling nightmare for myself…but I’ll cross that bridge when the time comes.

home-office-library_thumb[12] — via emilyaclark.com

I love the dark background of these bookshelves. Although mine will be waaaay more full of books.

updatedworkroom — via lifeingraceblog.com

These have always been some of my favorite bookshelves. I love that the shelves are full of books and not just styled with tchotchkes. Not sure if it’s just the bookshelves or the whole darn room…it’s so good. I virtually visit Edie’s workroom once in a while.

Not sure if I’ll do the curve top. Mine will go all the way to the ceiling since my ceilings are so, so low.

sawdust girl bookshelves — via sawdustgirl.com

I do love these bright whites. I don’t get nearly as much natural light as this room so I’m leaning toward the dark background.

846f809b6a1190190a838078b09c01c2 — via thriftydecorchic.com

I considered doing a closed cabinet at the bottom of my shelves like these. Great for storing games and such. But I think it may accentuate the low ceilings by breaking up the floor to ceiling line. Like a chair rail tends to do. Right??

I like the idea of the lights over each section of shelves here.

That wall really needs something…pronto! What do you think? Bookshelves?

March 25, 2015 / diy projects, paint projects, sewing projects

gold leaf monogram pillow

I’m slightly obsessed with gold leaf. I’ve been using it on a variety of projects lately.

So, when my good friend asked me to make a pillow and have it monogramed for her to give as a gift, I agreed and started thinking about the simple project. I’d cut the pillow to the correct size and bring the pillow front to the embroidery shop and have the monogram embroidered on it in a nice gold metallic thread. Then I thought …why don’t I try gold leaf instead?! So that’s exactly what I did and I’m pretty happy with the result. Plus, this technique could be used on any pillow, homemade or store bought. You just need to be able to take out the filler and flatten the pillow

I started by printing the monogram in my desired font and size.

I traced the letter on transparent contact paper and cut it out. I had to do this part twice because the first time I traced it on the wrong side, when I stuck the contact paper to the pillow my “L” was backward.

I stuck the contact paper to the pillow and used the end of my ruler to make sure the edges where really sealed so the adhesive wouldn’t bleed under. We want crisp edges right?

I did have the foresight on my second cut to make the contact paper big enough to cover the whole pillow to avoid adhesive overspray on the pillow. Also, if the pillow has a zipper, be sure the zipper is located on the bottom of the monogram.

I used general purpose adhesive. Not the adhesive sold along with some gold leaf kits. I’m not sure what difference it makes, but on this project it doesn’t seem to make any. On a smooth surface like wood or glass it may. So if you don’t already have adhesive then certainly purchase the stuff made specifically for leafing.

I used Mona Lisa Brand Gold Leaf. The” press and peel” type. Which is very important because there’s also a “loose leaf” type and it’s much harder to work with because it’s not attached to a parchment paper backing and it just floats around in the slightest breeze and is very naughty. I stick with the press and peel.

I’m very happy with the result. I hope mi amiga is too.