DIY Air Plant Sphere

I'm so excited to share this project! I had this idea a few weeks ago, and since it was finally raining in California recently, this made the perfect Rainy Day Project.

While finishing up the details of the great Bathroom Project, I had originally planned to make this pot hanger, but overflowing in ferns. Well the ferns mentioned they wanted to live on the mantle, and then I thought a pot might be too big hanging in the corner anyway. I needed something  lighter... literally and figuratively.....air plants! So Pinterest & I brainstormed (see this post) and the embroidery hoops really spoke to my heart.  I tried my idea out, and it worked - so here it is for you.  It's nothing crazy, but it felt good.  This is a very easy & satisfying project, perfect to get your crafty feet wet.  Gather this crap:

 You'll need:

• 3 wood embroidery hoops - very cheap, I used 10" hoops.
• Paint & Paint brush (while you're buying paint, grab a few extra colors. They're cheap & really handy)
• Hot Glue & Glue Gun
• Reindeer Moss - I got mine at the store, but later found a better deal here on Amazon.
• Air Plants! I got mine from this Etsy Seller. They came fast!

First up, start painting. Pretty simple. I did mine all white, but I think I might make another one where each hoop is a different color.

Let 'em dry, you don't want your paint wiping off.

Then the fun begins! I started with the solid hoops, which is the inner portion of the embroidery hoop set.  Gently squeeze one inside the other, to make an X:

Yep. It'll be snug, but don't fret - grab the third solid hoop, and either send it inside, or wrap it on the outside of the other two. Don't worry if they move around on ya, there is going to be a lot of that during this project. Just roll with it, you can move them around as you please.

Now take the outer hoops, and loosen them up enough to add each hoop on the outside of your sphere. When you are choosing where to add them, look at the sphere and see where it's too open, and disect that area with a hoop.

Play with your sphere, and gently push around the rings until it's as you like.  You can start to tighten the 3 outer hoops hardware when you are happy with how it looks. Don't over-tighten, just do it enough to keep things from slipping.  Now, it should be pretty snug, and it'll hold itself together. If you feel yours has some loose spots, just use a lil hot glue, and watch your worries melt away....

Let's add moss already!

Sometimes your sphere may look.. lumpy? You can play with it to fix it, or just go with it. I went with it. I think it adds to the organic look of the sphere, handmade & all that, and besides - it'll be gently spinning and know will notice/care.

Back to the moss! Choose which area of your sphere will be the bottom, and start laying the moss in. A dab of hot glue, and a gentle puff of moss, voila. You're so good at this.

Keep layering until you make a nice bed for your air plants. Remember, everything you're working with weighs almost nothing, so the moss bed doesn't have to be the sturdiest thing in the world. Just overlap a few cute pieces until it looks right.

I stopped there. It was hard to stop, the moss is so pretty...  I just wanna put a lil bird in there.

Now add your air plants! Wait-wait, did you soak them? I know - they are unfortunately named air plants, but they DO need water still.  The care card says you can mist them now and then, or you can soak them for an hour a week. I prefer the soak method.

DON'T glue the air plants in. I mean, I guess you could, but why? Just let them rest on the moss, and intertwine with your new sphere/orb/cage thingy.   Also, if they are loose, it will make soaking them a million times easier.

The angle of the photo above makes either the sphere look tiny, or my hand look enormous. I assure you neither are true, the sphere is a pretty good size, and my hands are sort of normal.  I used baker's twine (new favorite stuff! Amazon linky here) to hang the little baby:

What do you think? The hardest part of this project was waiting for them to dry! I was excited to get my craft on.. haha.  I really like how it came out, and I'm so happy there were no major hurtles along the way. I would love to do a grouping of these in many sizes.  Air plants everywhere!!

Ok for your pinning pleasure, the cover shot:

Thanks for reading! If you make some, let me know! Send pictures or post them to my facebook page.

Have fun!

-Jesse

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Bringing in the Barn Quilt

You may have noticed that I have a serious love of triangles, OK in reality.. I love all things geometric (Like our old coffee table, which is up for grabs btw).  Luckily Ralph does too, or at least seems to tolerate my little obsession. So when I saw these barn quilts I got all kinds of ideas. First of all, have you ever heard of a barn quilt? Well, I hadn't - but apparently people with barns (lucky!) sometimes like to paint a nice, huge quilt square on the side.  Look at this beauty:

Source: 2Modern

Source: 2Modern

I, not having a barn & not living near any (that I know of) have NEVER seen this, but I think it's amazing. What a fun idea! I love that pattern, but I need a little help here. Does anyone know the specific name for that pattern? I know it's used in quilts all the time.  I love how it's triangular, but the triangles together resemble what I can only describe as a sort of moravian star, which I pulled from the only other non-quilt related time I've seen this pattern. In origami, we have these moravian stars:

**Update! Special thanks to Paul who informed me that this is Aunt Eliza's Star, now we know!**

Source: Origami Resource Center

Which are pretty darn close to their non 3-D buddy on the barn there.  So anyway, I immediately thought, I've GOT to do a giant wall installation of this pattern, how cool would that be?! I've been mega in love with triangle pattern walls like this one:

Source: Sketch42

Which is actually a wall paper.  In fact, I've  been wondering for years now how to easily pull off painting a triangle pattern like this without tape.  Tape leaves gaps, which I think also looks wonderful, but if you're trying to pull off the close triangle pattern? Yikes... I can only guess that something like stencils would come in handy.

After googling an assortment of words to see if anyone has done similar with quilt patterns on their walls, the closest I came to was this next one:

Source: Design Milk

Gorgeous, right? And guess what, they are wall decals! Well that solves the taping issue...I've seen many fabric inspired wall patterns, such as these beautiful hounds-tooth patterned walls, which are totally stencils:

Source: Etsy

That stencil makes a bit more sense as a stencil, because there is plenty of room for "bridges" in the stencil, which are the parts that hold the design together.  Here's another really pretty hounds-tooth wall:

Source: East Coast Creative

I like the idea of looking to classic fabric patterns for inspiration on wall treatments.  Still, can't find my star pattern (Aunt Eliza's Star, so happy to know now!) replicated inside a house (yet!) so I may have to pioneer this one on my own. Here's the closest I could find:

Source: Centennial Farmhouse

Those are pretty neat too, but I'm craving large scale.  So I really want to figure this out! What do you guys think? I'd love to paint a triangle pattern on the walls without tape gaps, here are my ideas for trying to tackle this design dilemma:

• Draw the triangle pattern & freehand the paint. Problem? Wiggly freehand lines...may be a neat effect though.
• Draw the pattern and tape each triangle one by one. Could take forever? Definitely will get the clean lines.
• Find a triangle stencil, though I imagine it would have gaps... could be ok?
• Wall Decals, would have to buy lots!
• Giant Triangle Stamp?  I don't even know where to start there.. foam?

Anyway, I'm clearly obsessed with getting this thing done someday. I'm diggin' the Aunt Eliza's Star pattern and think it's high time her star joined the ranks of fabric inspired wall treatments.  I can see it now, giant barn quilts as headboards...How about you, can you see this in your house? Even a subtle design of two similar colors would add some fun detail to a wall.  Like grey & white.  Or, is the look ridiculous & I should drink less coffee & just move on......?  My caffeinated heart says go for it...

Hey tomorrow is Friday, finally! I like that.

-Jesse

Is the way people spell "grey" (or "gray") a preference like the tomato/tomato debate?

Related Posts:

• DIY Triangle Pattern Table Top
• French Provincial Hexagon Top Coffee Table
• Hexagon Top Dresser

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Painting the Kitchen Cabinets: Part 2

Do you ever have those weeks, where your day job says to you "Yea, this is all you'll be doing this entire week, including evenings"? That's me this week, it's my turn.  I haven't had a spare moment aside from working, eating & sleeping - crazy! But I found time to sneak in a post, since I felt so guilty being postless all week.... Last week I posted Part 1 of Painting the kitchen cabinets, and this week I'm so excited to show the rest:

Aaaaah! Fresh & Clean.... this time we used the sprayer, which is pretty self explanatory, maybe I'll do a post on it someday though.  But as you know, we DID do the white ones by hand, or roller... (full directions in Part 1).  Also - we decided to add a few coats of minwax polycrylic on this set, in semi gloss.  Being the bottom half, they'll be more likely to get beat up so.. better safe than chipped, right?

Before I show the close-ups, the color is Glidden's Blue-Grey Slate.  Paint & Primer in one (a must!), in Interior Semi-Gloss. Here is a link to the color.  Always tell your paint person what you need the paint for, as they will have the best advice for your finish.

Like I said, I'm sneaking in this post before work, so let's get to the good stuff:

It's an interesting color! I love it - sometimes it has a blue tint, other times  a dark grey... and at sunset it gives off a blue purple.  Hooray... color changing cabinets!

Things are starting to come together. Yes, those are rainbow knives! Ha I know.. typical of me, right?  Many of you asked about them - they are called Pure Komachi, and they're the best knives I've ever used, so sharp.... (find them here on amazon - they have tons more too).  Rather than use a knife block, we used IKEA magnetic knife strips to keep the counterspace pretty free.

This area is to the right of that stove, across an entryway.  I love that blue-grey slate!

Hello new rug! (Ikea.... lovely!)

Oops! Bad photographer moment... Surprise appearance by Sir Brown Paper Bag, who in our part of the country, is becoming a rarity...

Oh, I grouted that round marble lamp in the top corner there, I'll be sharing that soon - came out great.

There we go! I love this angle.. really shows off that stove.  What do you think of our newish cabinets? Eventually the counter-tops will be hopefully butcher block, but cement would be amazing too.  We'll see how the wallet feels when the time comes.  All in all, painting the cabinets was the affordable upgrade we needed, to hold us over until we redesign the kitchen all together.  But honestly? They came out so good I wouldn't mind them sticking around...

What about you, any cabinet transformations in your future?

Back to work... wish me luck...   ;)

Have a fantastic weekend!
     -Jesse

Related Posts in-case you missed it:

• Painting the Cabinets: Part 1 + A tutorial
• 7 Kitchen Buffet Ideas
• The Great (soon to be late) Kitchen Hutch Makeover

And one last time, here's the paint color link, Glidden's Blue Grey Slate:

• Paint color link @ Home Depot

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How To: Hang Perfect Pictures

Earlier in the month I showed you my gigantic Marilyn Monroe string art piece that sits above my desk. Some of you wrote me and asked how I was able to hang each piece without nailing 65 different holes in the walls to get it right, and I'm here to share it! It was the first time I tried this technique, and it was definitely the easiest picture hanging experience I've ever had.    Ever.

I originally came across this awesome tutorial on Celebrate Everyday, who saw it on Pinterest - I'm sure you all have too. So it's been circulating for a while, I shared it with you all (because it's genius!) a while back, and finally got to put it to the test.  I needed to hang the 12 tablets that make up Marilyn, which was really intimidating as they needed to line up.  Here's a lovely photo run through:

1. Hammer a small nail halfway through the end of a ruler (anywhere near the end).
2. Make sure it sits half in, half out.
3. Use the nail to hold your picture, and float it to the wall.
4. Line the picture exactly where you want it, and use your free hand to hold the ruler against the wall.
5. Remove the photo (while keeping the ruler in place) and push the nail into the wall with your thumb, to make a mark.
6. Remove the ruler & don't lose that mark. Circle it in pencil if you need to.
7. Hammer a new nail into the mark you made, and put the photo back up. It should hang exactly where you had it before. 
8. Repeat!

That's it! It really was easy! What I thought would take me hours to do, took about 45 minutes. for 12 tablets. I felt so proud that I didn't have to repeat any, why haven't I tried this before? I rewarded my productivity by not doing anything for the rest of the day. I mean it looked like I did a lot, right? Heh... right.  This would be perfect for arranging a gallery wall, especially if you don't have all the pieces collected for your gallery yet.  Easy to add onto.

So that's that. We're done.  For this post I tried to go more, condensed, Pinterest friendly tutorial style - but if you're the type that likes more details, they are all included - photo by photo - after the break. 

Have a wonderful Labor Day weekend everyone!

-Jesse

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How-To: Black and White Brushstroke Art

After we had whitewashed the fireplace, and painted the living room, it was time to add some visual interest to the fireplace wall.  I thought about doing fabric wall scrolls with a nice modern print, but worried it might be too busy. Perfect timing: I had seen this awesome black & white brushstroke art over at the Hunted Interior, and knew this was the project I was searching for:

Source

Aren't those lovely.. I'm a mega fan of abstract, and the black & white contrast is really clean & modern.  

Since we wanted to incorporate more modern elements into the house, I showed these to Ralph & he was totally on board.  Luckily, we had everything on hand (I always keep canvas around!) & were able to start. This project is so easy, and so fun!

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DIY Modern Bookshelf

Happy August! Happy Friday! Happy Birthday to my brother! It's all kinds of stuff today. Woot! OK I'm not exactly thrilled about it being August already, but I feel like I make that complaint every month.  You'd think after 30 years I'd get used to how time flies, but nope.

Which brings me to today's project, time flew by since we built this & I didn't get to write up a proper tutorial. Until now! We've been working on the living room and needed a bookshelf to fit perfectly. So you know we had to build it:

Yep, that's a bookshelf. We wanted something with clean lines, something simple - the plan to go with simple was heavily influenced by the fact that simple = something we can actually build.  I'd never built a bookshelf from scratch, and after looking at 3 million ideas I decided the best plan was to just jump in and see what happens. Don't you love when you've had just enough coffee to make really big, daring decisions like that?  Luckily it worked out in our favor. Here was our  before situation, our horrible horrible before :

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DIY July 4th Ideas for the Host

SURPRISE! It's July.. didn't see that coming, huh? Me neith.  Snuck right up.  Time to get ready for the Independence day activities! Will you be hosting the celebration this year? We aren't hosting, but it did get me thinking how I would decorate if we WERE to host.. I love a good brainstorm!

I was browsing Pinterest this morning looking for ideas that fit this bill:  fun, unique, but most important: Easy DIY.  I love being able to take a few supplies that I always have on hand, and whip up some snazzy party decorations that didn't cost an arm & a leg. I picked a few favorites to share with you today, I really like them for their simplicity. To each their own of course, I really lean towards decorations that go along with a theme but aren't screaming it at the top of their lungs. For example, a collection of blue bottles with some red or white flowers:

Source

That's like a ten second centerpiece.  Cobalt blue bottles are pretty easy to find nowadays, but in-case your town has run completely out of cobalt, just take any bottles and spray paint them:

Source

I've shared a similar project like that before.  Bottles are such an abundant resource around most any home, and paired with some simple flowers from the yard... easy.  On the topic of tables, a quick way to jazz up a simple white tablecloth to match is to use plain old solid colored crepe paper.

Source

I love that! Simple, woven crepe paper is such a different use than the classic swirly streamer, right? Cute & Easy.

This next centerpiece is a great way to use the shell of a watermelon.  I'm hoping they used the watermelon insides for eating (I'd melon ball the whole thing & put that in drinks... mm...)

Source

They're like flowering Cactus! That's so cute.. and paired with a simple star pattern fabric you buy by the yard... delightful.  the simple addition of solid colored paper lanterns... a flag or two, that table came together quick & easy. I could see this with the baby watermelons, lined down the center of the table....

Not into fruit rinds all over your beautiful table? OK - how about we take one of the more affordable flowers and give it an expensive look? Hello Carnation Ball......

Source

That, as you may have guessed, is a ball of floral foam covered in short cut carnations. Looks amazing! And with all the different shaped floral foam available... I spy a trend that's about to spiral out in all sorts of crazy directions.  Possibly literally, we'll see...

You may have noticed.. I'm a big time fan of bunting, but don't always have the time to sit down and MAKE the bunting.. (Remember this tutorial?) this is a very cute, Americana style bunting solution that you can keep for years to come.

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Oh, and it's washable.  These Handkerchiefs are pretty cheap too: Here's some from Amazon, and here are some bulk ones from Oriental Trading Co.  Solid colors would look nice too.

And just for fun, here's an idea board that totally sets the mood for what I was searching for! Simple, cute, modern....

Source

YUM.  Those colors are all so nice together...  and notice it's following the theme but  not so specifically, meaning - you could easily have a patio theme like this year round versus packing it all up in August.  And who wouldn't want that?

To see more of the ideas I found, check out my board on Pinterest, or follow all my boards to see what else I'm oogling on Pinterest.  It's just so easy to get caught up on there, am I right?

What will you all be doing for the fourth of July? Are you hosting or will you be hosted?  Hope the weather is great in your 'hood! Have a great day...

Oh, pop back over to this post to see the decorations I posted a while back for that crazy Tamale Party we had.  I swear I am still cleaning the Masa out of my mixer...

-Jesse

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Paper Crane Obsession

I love paper cranes! Always have.  For as long as I can remember I've incorporated these into my home (or childhood bedroom) decor.  Not only do I love the look of these, but you can make them yourself, they are impressive, oh so angular, and hey - you can literally do any color or pattern.  Did I mention inexpensive? Perfect. Room need a little something here or there? Whip up a team of cranes and throw 'em in a mobile.  Or whip up a garland and string it across a mantle. It's a great way to add fun & color.

I am currently working on a crane project for our living room (update, here it is! Paper Crane Chandelier), but I have a confession. I'm not folding them this time around. As much as I love folding paper cranes, I need about 200-300 for this project and I'm running short on time (isn't that always the case?).  This is where our good friend Etsy comes in.  Look what I found:

OrigamiYYC

OrigamiYYC

OrigamiYYC

Cranes! In BULK. I'm in HEAVEN.  This shop sells folded cranes, straight from Japan, for a fantastic price.  OrigamiYYC has so many beautiful color options.  I ordered 200, and they arrived surprisingly fast for coming all the way from Japan.  I got the dark grey, light grey and white combo shown above.  They are adorable and really well done! I had to share this shop, I'm just so pleased.  Do you realize the mega shortcut this is?!

So on that note, I rusted up some pins that would demonstrate some of the many ideas for uses with cranes. I did a tutorial a while back using cranes to make a Bird Cage Chandelier, which was fun - but now I'm planning a mega chandelier. 200-300 crane mega.... more on that soon.

Here's a few simple garlands, hanging straight down, that add a modern pop of white to this rustic room. So cute:

Source

It's as simple as using a needle and thread.  To get the cranes to stay in place you can tie a few knots in the thread before stringing on the next crane. If you're concerned with it eventually falling through, tie the knot, then string a small bead on.  The bead will sit between the knot and the crane holding it in place. This pin shows the spacing a little better:

Source

How about a backdrop for a party, photo-booth or any accent wall really - incorporate the colors you love:

Source

Cute paper fan-bursts there (is that what they're called?) by the way.  For me, it's all about the lighting. I love lighting. I have to hold myself back from putting a light in every spot in this house, but I mean, look at this thing:

Source

So interesting! I bet at night it casts interesting shadows and shapes all around the room. Perfect mood lighting, right?

Well stay tuned, I've got a clever little diddy in the works using these bad boys, and a HUGE thank you to OrigamiYYC for saving me so much time, I'm beyond happy and impressed. (How do they fold so many!?) ***pssst... I finished! Here is the Paper Crane Chandelier.

Have a great weekend everyone, Happy Father's Day to all the Dads out there!

-Jesse

This post was not sponsored by OrigamiYYC, I'm just really really excited about finding their shop!

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