How To: Origami Star Lantern

Oh man, oh man - I love Origami! I always have. I've always had a place in my heart for it, don't know why. It could be part of my fascination with all things Japan, or my love of all things paper.  I used to do a lot of Origami but set it aside for a while.  When Ralph & I decorated for the Sushi Party, we made a few little cranes & such to place around, and it reignited my interest in the paper folding arts. I'm especially impressed when Origami can be made into something not only decorative but useful, like bowls & boxes. And now, the Origami Star Lantern:

Photo Credits: How About Orange & Passengers on a little spaceship

Let's have some collective ooh's and aah's shalle we?! So cute.  One piece of paper, many folds, super adorable.  You will be seeing these around our house, especially when decorating for the Holidays comes up (suprisingly close!)  Don't worry, the candle is actually inside of a glass votive, not just sitting dangerously in the paper. They've really thought of everything...

These can be used for a lot of different things, bowls, potpourri, or put a frog in there and use it for ikebana.  Or upside down, poke a hole in the back or each and put the low wattage Christmas lights in them.  Just think how many you can make if you swindle your friends & children into helping, haha!  I love the colored ones but I think the white is my favorite.  Head over to the adorably named blog, Passengers on a Little Spaceship for the full tutorial.  Which, by the way, is amazingly detailed!

Enjoy!

Keep in touch: Facebook - Twitter - Pinterest.

Post a Comment

Speaking of Chevrons...

Yesterday I shared my latest tables with you, the Chevrons twins, and it jogged my memory that a reader recently sent in a table she did to share with the rest of us. After following the Striped Round Table tutorial and adding her own twists, Chantena came up with one amazing dining set:

What a fantastic job! I love the little bits of distress she did in the centers of the stripes.  Guess what? She did those chairs too! Reupholstered (in an adorable fabric!) and repainted.  She says she's going for teal & red in her dining area, and will soon be adding a red crystal chandelier. That will look great, especially with that red buffet back there peeking through! Great work Chantena, and thanks for sharing with the rest of us, your table is so inspiring! 

As for me, some rainy weather has kept me from doing too much outside, and I've been working on a few indoor projects. I'm almost ready to post up a short DIY project, until then, here's a sneak peak:

It involves a bird cage.  I've been meaning to use this thing for literally years (don't we all have those types of things lying around?) and finally I got to it.  I'm almost done, and will share soon, I'm loving that yellow with yesterday's tables!  Can you guess what it is?  Thanks for checking in & thanks for all the nice comments yesterday - it's so great to hear from you all!   

Make the most of today!

-Jesse

Post a Comment

Chevron Side Tables

Introudcing, my latest furniture project, the Twin Chevron Side Tables:

Wow, I'm finally done! This was my first time doing the chevron pattern, and it was definitely a new experience.  Lots of taping! I know I've been talking about them forever, but you know how time is, it just flies. Can you believe it's almost Halloween? Wow. So what do you think of these tables? Those handles pull out drawers that I lined with a great coral print fabric, leftover from this project. I of course forgot to take a picture!  Hmm, these pictures may not do the top justice, but it's actually cream stripes on a walnut surface:

There we go, that shows up a little more. I love that dark walnut stain! It's always been one of my favorites.  For the base I used Cozumel, another favorite of mine, and decided to try it with the DIY Chalk paint recipe, and in my gravity feed sprayer.  I had a little trouble though, I didn't dissolve the plaster of paris enough apparently and got a few chunks here and there.  They sanded off very easily, but then I had to recoat so I didn't have little white dots! If you try this, dissolve that plaster as best you can!  Before I rattle on, check out the before: shot

I used Citristrip on this one to remove as much of the finish as I could. Though I just found out about a Minwax Product called Furniture Refinisher, which apparently can remove a good amount of this junk. Next time! Have any of you used that before? Citristrip is great and all, but it was a little challenging this time, not sure why! That's the ins & outs of furniture refinishing, a product will work great on one piece, and not great another. Who knows!

I originally intended to try and go really clean with this piece, mainly to keep a little variety in my life, but as that one cricket in that one movie that shall remain  nameless (copyrights, hello!) always said, "Always let the furniture be your guide" - yes, that's what he said, I'm sure of it. I had to follow these tables lead, and distress them.  The paint was being finicky in certain areas, and the decision was made - they would look much nicer as a distressed piece.  I think it matches their age really well though! These are solid wood tables, and heavy duty! I think they'd look great framing a couch for a pop of color in a fun loving home. These will be for sale soon, e-mail me if you're interested & want me to hold them for you.  Have a fantastic day, keep in touch: Facebook - Twitter - Pinterest.

Post a Comment

Spotlight: Kaleido Trays

Oh my! Pin this to my must-have board, I love these!  These Kaleido Trays from A+R are incredible, and so versatile.  We love entertaining in our home, so having a wide selection of trays comes in extremely handy. All the time. Clean & ready trays take a load off as the host, because as people arrive with this or that, you can quickly and easily lay things out, spending less time preparing and more time enjoying.  Not only are these the cutest colors in the world (80's rainbow!), but the combinations of trays you can create using these geometric shapes are seemingly endless.  They all fit snugly together, so you can have large open trays, trays with sections, trays with dipper bowls, and they all stack nicely to be put away.  Though with these colors, I guarantee I'd have them on display!  They give me all kinds of ideas for geometric wall art too, seeing these interchange so easily into different patterns is really inspiring! I was always a sucker for those geometric wooden blocks we played with as kids (I still have some, and use them!) so it's no wonder I'm drawn to them. You can purchase these trays from the A+R Store.  What's your take, do geometric shapes have a place in your home?  Enjoy the day, it's raining here - fun!

Let's keep in touch: Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter & Email. 

Post a Comment

How To: Mason Jar Chandelier Tutorial

Today I have to go to IKEA, that's both good & bad. Good, because hello - it's IKEA! Bad, because it's an hour and a half away and I'm choosing to go through commute traffic.  It will be worth it, I'll just listen to a few episodes of This American Life and be surrounded in Swedish furniture before I know it.  I need to go figure out some lighting solutions, which is by far one of my favorite departments in IKEA.  So on that note, I thought I'd share this really inspiring tutorial I spied a few months back from Kara Paslay's Blog:

I love it! They did such a great job on this. I've seen quite a few mason jar lights, but mostly singles or in groups of 3-4. This chandelier takes it to a whole new level! Here's the link to her blog for the full tutorial, and be sure to read through it completely if you want to make one, she has some great tips for making sure your ceiling fixture can support all this weight.  Mason jars are heavy!

I think you could do a lot of different things with this too.  Remember the post a while back on making tinted mason jars? (Click here for DIY tinted mason jars tutorial)

That would be fun! Or how about taking some inspiration from this Edison Chandelier:

Photo Source

I love the way they spread them out.  You could easily do this with the mason jar chandelier, just be sure to make your cords longer while making it.  I do love the bare bulb look though, especially with a lot of the vintage style lights bulbs you can easily get now, like the ones I used in my Ghost Lamps.  Which, by the way, made excellent patio lighting last summer! 

One last thing before I make my trek to IKEA, check out that reclaimed wood art on the wall there! I love that.  What a great use for old wood and leftover paint, pulls all the colors of that room together really nicely.  So, what's in store for you this weekend?  Enjoy it!

Let's keep in touch: Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter & Email. 

Post a Comment