DIY Pottery Barn Floating Shelves, As Seen on Ana White

Holman Shelf from Pottery Barn

I like to think of myself as creative, artsy and have good design esthetic. I am not en engineer, though. So when I stumbled upon Ana White's website and blog, I was hooked. Ana is a momma from Alaska with a purpose in mind: to make great furniture like the items found in our favorite stores but for a small fraction of the price. I love making knock-offs from Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware items, so Ana and her design plans are heaven-sent. Who doesn't love a chick who knows her way around power tools? Seriously, when you have an hour or two available, go to her site and explore. And then come back and tell us what you made!

Although I totally made these shelves by myself, all the credit has to go to Ana for inspiring me in the first place. On her site she offers detailed plans (what to buy, how much to buy, and how to make it) for everyone so they too can make her Ten Dollar Ledges. Oh, did I mention her plans are FREE?

Now, this is why my small bit of expertise comes into play. I loved the 8' long floating shelves, but didn't need shelves for that large of a space. Also, since my husband works (a lot!), I knew he wouldn't be available to help hold the ledges while I attached them to the wall. In my pictures, shown are the two (2) 4' shelves instead of one 8' shelf, 2" wide shelves I made. So, I took one Ten Dollar Ledge and made two Five Dollar Ledges. Not bad, eh?

Great for Artwork and Trophies.

Shown with Ballet Photo, Play Bill and Special Knitted Doll.

Four Feet Long is the Perfect Length.

These space-saving wood shelves provide a handsome place for storage and display, and can be hung in any room of the house. Ana put her shelves in her dining room, I put mine in my children's room. What would have cost me $75/ each Floating Shelf at Pottery Barn ($150 total), I was able to make for $5 /each.

Another Knock-Off has been mastered! Thanks for looking, :) Kristen

Repurpose and Upcycle Things in Your Home

With the end of the winter season for those of us in the northern hemisphere in sight, our minds naturally turn to spring. As we open the blinds and pull back the draperies in our home, that's when we see it-- Dust! Clutter! Disorganization! Everything in our home now tells the story how we hunkered-down this past winter and were too cold to do anything.

Then we get a brilliant idea-- SPRING CLEANING. And that, my friends, is when we go crazy trying to make-up for lost time by cleaning and organizing every nook-and-cranny. We pull out the garbage bags or boxes for trips to the local thrift store, and we open up garbage and recycling cans for everything else. Although I can write an entire post about where our thrift store items actually go, instead I'll let you read this March 8th article found on GOOD, and write about repurposing and upcycling items already in your home: egg cartons, aluminum cans and glass jars.

The words REPURPOSE and UPCYCLE may not be found in the dictionary, but they are becoming commonly used in the English language. To repurpose or to upcycle something is to give an item new life other than its original intended purpose. To recycle is good, but most products in the marketplace that claim to be made of post-consumer waste are still made with 70% new materials. To repurpose an item reuses 50- 100% of the original item--much better than the average 30% used in recycled goods.

Let's Begin! 

Simple and yet oh-so-helpful!

Egg Carton.
Original Purpose: Place to safely hold eggs to prevent cracking.
Upcycled Purpose: Organizer.

We like to craft. We like to decorate. We like to build. Isn't it nice when our beads, needles, piping tools or screws aren't mixed up? Next time you begin working on a project, use an egg carton to keep you organized!

PS- Muffin tins are also great organizing tools too!

Step four: Can, towel, nail and hammer.

Aluminum Can.
Original Purpose: Preserve your vegetables and fruit for consumption.
Upcycled Purpose: Lantern.

Did I mention we like to craft? Here is a fun craft that only requires:
an aluminum can
water (ice, actually)
towel
hammer
one nail
tea light

1. Remove paper wrapper from can and thoroughly wash inside and out.

Step 6: finished product.

2. Fill can 3/4 full with water.
3. Freeze overnight.
4. Lay towel down on kitchen counter or table. Use nail and hammer to make holes in frozen can, starting from the bottom to the top.
5. If there is still ice in the can when all holes have been made, melt ice and dry.
6. Place tea light in bottom of can and enjoy!

Glass Jar.
Original Purpose: Preserving sauce or other condiment.
Upcycled Purpose: Fancy storage container for dried pasta, sugar, powder laundry detergent, etc.

Although not as messy as the activity above, this is still a fun crafty project that looks oh-so-pretty when complete. This upcycle requires:
one jar (I used a glass spaghetti sauce jar) with lid

Step six: finished product.

sand paper
drill
screw & cabinet know/ fixture
vinyl sticker labels (optional)

1. Remove paper wrapper from jar and thoroughly wash inside and out. Don't forget to wash the lid!
2. Remove the stamped label/ wording on the lid top with sandpaper. We want this to look pretty, right?
3. Using drill, make hole in center of the lid.
4. Attach decorative knob to top of lid using screw.
5. Apply vinyl sticker label to outside of jar.
6. Fill jar with desired dried item, attach lid and enjoy!

DIY Restoration Hardware Mercury Glass Short Table Lamp

19th C. Vintage Mercury Glass Lamp from Restoration Hardware

Mercury glass was first created during the mid- 19th century for those who could not afford Sterling Silver. Known as "poor man's silver" for its inexpensive artistic value, mercury glass was made more for display purposes and not for utilitarian uses, like tableware.

Mercury glass has reemerged as a popular home decor item over the last few years by companies like Pottery Barn, Williams-Sonoma and Restoration Hardware. My inspiration today comes from a Vintage Short Table Lamp sold at Restoration Hardware for $225 (not counting the $25- $100 lamp shade). Never being one willing to pay even 50% of retail pricing, I've done the research to learn how to make this at home for a very small fraction of the price. I suppose one can say my "poor man's silver" is really cheap!

Many DIY-ers out there (including Martha Stewart) will say that a DIY-er should 1.) spray water on the interior of a glass vase and then, before the water dries, 2.) spray Krylon Looking Glass Mirror Spray Paint (found at hardware store for $3.98) over the water droplets on the interior of the vase. Though this does mimic the look of mercury glass, I found the vase looks "new" and not "vintage". To recreate the Restoration Hardware inspiration lamp, I would need to spend time chipping/ flaking the paint off to give it the worn look I wanted.

After trial and error, here is what I found that worked, and you tell me if you think the look is similar:


Craft Ingredients:

Glass Vase/ Hurricane from Thrift Store (upcycle/ recycle if you can!!)
Silver Leaf Adhesive
Sand Paper (optional)
Spray-On Leaf Sealer
Krylon Looking Glass Mirror Spray Paint (was still useful!)
Lighting Kit (hardware store)
Drum Lamp Shade of your choice (any store)

Craft Instructions:


1.) Clean your hurricane or vase thoroughly with warm soapy water and allow plenty of time to air dry.

2.) Cover the inner surface of vase with Silver Leaf Adhesive. Let it sit for 10- 15 minutes.

3.) Apply rub-on silver leaf sheets in patches to the glass, making sure to leave plenty of uncovered areas for a vintage, flaky look.

4.) Optional Step: For a more "roughed up" look, use sand paper and strategically scratch off some of the silver leaf.

5.) When silver leaf looks they way you want it, then coat the inner surface with spray-on leaf sealer. Allow to dry for 30 minutes.
 

Step 6. Allow to Dry.

6.) Lastly, spray 2 or 3 light coats of Krylon Looking Glass Mirror Paint over the silver leafing to smooth out the mercury glass look. Allow to dry over night.

7.) Assemble lighting kit following manufacture's directions and insert into dry vase.

Step 8. Assemble Lamp.

8.) Apply shade and add light bulb to your inserted light kit/ vase and viola! You have a new custom made lamp!

When I added the receipt totals together for this project, I spent about $32 instead of the Restoration Hardware Mercury Lamp price of $225 + shade. Why pay $250- $325 for a chic lamp if it can be made for pennies of the actual price?

My Mercury Lamp: 1/10 the price of the inspirational lamp.

I LOVE the lamp but want to know what YOU think! Please comment on anything... mimic; technique; difficulty; other projects you suggest to create using mercury glass; etc.


Thanks for reading and happy DIYing! :) Kristen

The Perfect Swirl

Cupcake stores it seems are all the rage these days. They have wonderful interesting flavours and they look like perfection. The problem is that at at least $2.50 per cupcake it can get a little steep when you have a lot of people to feed. So today I thought I would answer another question I frequently get asked: How do you get that swirl on the top of the cupcake? I have to say.....it's far easier than you can imagine and the results are fantastic.

Supplies:
Cupcakes
Your favourite buttercream icing (make a nice big batch...it takes a lot of icing)
Piping Bag (the bigger the better)
a 1M Tip (this is whats gonna do the magic)

Now I highly suggest using buttercream for this vs other icings. Buttercream holds its shape better whereas a cream cheese icing (for example) is more likely to look like its melting on you.

You take you tip and drop it into your piping bag. It is a bigger tip than normal and no coupler and ring are required. Then you fill your icing bag.

Hold your piping bag at a 90 degree angle and about a 1/4" away from the cupcake. Start moving around the cupcake in a spiral motion starting from the outside and working your way to the center of the cupcake. Be careful to not leave gaps. Once you have reached the center stop pressure and pull the tip away. Feel free to top with any sort of small decoration if desired.







And there you have it. Easy peasy and you have professional looking cupcakes! Enjoy

my first cupcake...it really is that simple!

(technique photos courtesy of Wilton.com)