About zefiart

Blogger, DIY-er, poodle lover, graphic designer, dog groomer, recycler, artist, wonder woman in my spare time.

fun chalkboard doll display

Posted on June 15, 2017 by zefiart

While doing things yesterday, I found a box I’d painted with chalkboard paint for a project sometime last year or so and decided it was time to get it off the floor of the office.

Its actually too shallow to be a doll display shelf but I thought it might be fun to display my most recently finished Game of Thrones Bratz doll repaints in it for a while. They got tired of standing on my desk, the printer, the stack of papers to be filed and the ironing table.

So, what do you think?

I’m not sure whether I should call them makeovers or makeunders. I mean, they’re not madeUNDER are they? More like madeoverthetops… They sure aren’t Tree Change Dolls!!!

Anyway. I’ll share my Game of Thrones dolls soon. I’m really enjoying playing with dolls. Second childhood? Still on my first? I don’t know, I know I like remaking stuff. I can’t help myself. There’s just about nothing I will walk past without thinking “I can do something with that”.

It kinda explains the mess in the casita. And the white shed. And the silver shed. And the office.

Ok. I’ve been working on it. I’ve been getting rid of things. Either selling, giving away or throwing away things that I will never, ever get around to “doing something with”. Or by actually finishing them and selling them. Which is good as the money is always welcome.

I can use that to buy more stuff.

Its not my fault. I have a condition.

I have ‘I Can Do That’ syndrome. That’s where you look at something and think “I can do that” and proceed to start “doing that” with all that “that” involves – buying tools and materials to do “that”, spending hours working on “that”, filling your space with the results (and remnants) of “that”…

Its a thing! I read about it on a blog!

white horse makeover

Posted on June 14, 2017 by zefiart

Do you ever spend a whole day working hard, so in the zone that you don’t have breakfast till 11ish, forget lunch and then look around and think “what on earth did I do all day”?

I’ve had one of those days.

Sure, I did do a few things, but not really enough considering the hours I put in. I washed some dog blankets. I worked on 2 dolls I’m repainting. I worked on my horse makeover. I finished (mostly) my Barbie display box (will share later)… but somehow I don’t feel like I really got much done.

Anyway, here is my horse makeover. Sorry, I don’t have any before pics cause it was so truly hideous I couldn’t bring myself to take photos. Trust me. You’re better off not having seen the extreme hideousness of it. I found this little ~~horror~~ beauty at the tip shop, no mane, no tail, the worst smiley lips and blue eyes with painted on eyelashes. Eek.

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First thing I did was remove the paint. Phew. I could look at it without gagging. Then I attacked with the Dremel.

Yep. You heard me right.

I have a brave friend who sometimes uses sandpaper to alter dolls. I’ve never had the guts to try anything like that, but this horse was so ugly I had to give it a go. Nothing to lose, you know. Using the sandpaper attachment (which I use to grind dog nails) I got rid of the lascivious smirk. Then I sanded down some of the features to soften her look (cause I’d decided it was a girl by then) and even had a go at ‘dishing’ the face a bit to give her an arab look.

Cause I’d already decided she’s going to be Daenary’s horse. For my Bratz doll makeover. Another thing I’ll share soon.

Note the bald doll head on a stick in the background. I’ve spared you the headless bodies on the other side. My office sometimes looks like Dr Frankenstein’s lab.

After all that I gave it a sand with 200 or 5000 grit sandpaper to smooth it all down. And I painted a more realistic face on her. I’m missing a photo right about here, after the hooves were painted, but you get the idea.

Then I moved on to the mane and tail. I used hair I bought on ebay, which came on stitching. I had no idea what I’d use it for when I bought it but I knew it’d come in handy one day. And so it did!

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I used glue to attach the mane and tail and then used glad wrap to keep it all in place while the glue dried.

Once it was dry I poured boiling water over the hair to make it lay the way I wanted to. And over my fingers cause you have to suffer for your art.

Here is the finished product. So different to the horse I found at the tip shop. Again, trust me on that. It gave hideous new meaning.

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All in all, despite not feeling like I got enough done, at least I got one thing finished.

Pat myself on the back.

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oval chalkboard – again

Posted on June 10, 2017 by zefiart

This poor chalkboard has been through a lot.

I was given a broken oval frame by a friend a few years ago. It was in three pieces when I got it. I finally got around to doing something with it about a year ago. I glued it together, used a mix of gold and silver paint to disguise the joins, put in some MDF with chalkboard paint and called it good.

I used it as our shopping list chalkboard in our pantry for a while. Then I replaced it with something smaller and planned to sell it.

Then it fell down and broke again. Oops.

This time I got serious about fixing it. Not only did I re-glue the joins, I cut an oval board and liquid nails-ed the entire thing to it, making it so much stronger.

Do you think I have enough clamps? I think I might have a few more here somewhere…

Once it was dry and as sturdy as I could make it, I decided I wanted to change the colour. I picked a greyish white. I’m not really a gold kinda gal.

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Much better, I think. Though it doesn’t look its best against the pale grey-ish outer wall of our house.

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If you look closely you can still see the joins, but what do you expect when it was in three pieces to start with? It’s a rescued frame, you can’t expect perfection!

I don’t expect perfection.

In fact, I like imperfection.

…I’m not entirely sure if I like imperfection and am therefore happy with it, or if my skills can’t quite reach perfection so I embrace imperfection.

Potato, potato. Who cares?

barnwood rustic tray

Posted on June 6, 2017 by zefiart

About time I shared something I’ve actually made with my own little hands, right?

Here is a tray I made using offcuts of recycled timber, left over from one of our outdoor projects – most likely the stable makeover.

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I began this project when I found this old bit of wood which had some paint and lots of machining marks on it. I sanded it back but loved the look of the paint so left plenty on it. It gives it character.

First thing I did was cut the piece of wood and join it together to make a tray. I used glue in between the pieces but since I don’t have a biscuit joiner to do the join properly I had to find another way. I wasn’t going to rely on just glue to hold it together.

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I used one of these little galvanised metal thingies to hold it together underneath. I don’t know what these are actually for, but I’ve found them very handy for holding wood projects together… Cause I’m not exactly an expert woodworker…

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Once it was dry and the metal joiner thingy was in place, I put rubber stoppers on it to give it a nice stable base.

Did I fail to mention the timber has a slight curve to it? I think it adds character. Then again, imperfection gives everything character!

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I added a couple of my favourite handles. I got these at a sale in a cabinet hardware store and I will, to my dying day, regret not buying all their stock. I haven’t been able to find any like these since.

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I finished it off with a coat of wax. A coat of 2 different waxes mixed together in fact – a nice beeswax and an antique black wax.

I love the way it turned out.

Now to get onto some more DIY projects!!!

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photo display and more pet sagas

Posted on June 5, 2017 by zefiart

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Wayne likes to get me little presents now and then. Usually rusty old things. Like a couple of rusty old chests he brought home a few weeks ago. And then this toast rack, hand held steak grill thingy he found somewhere.

I love rusty things (in case you hadn’t realised), and old things, and things which just look interesting. This covered all bases.

So, what did I do with it? Well, first I drilled a hole in the handle so I could hang it in the kitchen to go with my ever so slowly growing and encroaching collection of old and rusty stuff…

Then I put one of my favourite photos of mom and her brother on it to display. I really love this photo. Aren’t they both so gorgeous?

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I added a few bits and pieces to it to add interest…

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Take a step back and have a look at the things around it. The beautiful black and white plate is something I bought at an auction. I think I paid $20 for a box of junk just for the plate. The sieve on the right is something I brought back from Greece. The Mickey and Mini I bought years ago when I lived in Melbourne. The Flintstone characters I’ve had since I was a kid. The black mammy notebook is so politically incorrect but so gorgeous. She was a gift. And the charging station is something I upcycled from an old drawer.

You can read about that adventure here and here.

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Take another step back and you can see what I mean about encroaching stuff taking over the kitchen.

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I started with the two vintage food covers. Then I found some vintage strainers… then I needed another wall…

I’m loving it.

So, where are we with the animal situation? Well, Montana seems fine. She ate another nappy last night (ok, don’t get your knickers in a knot, she didn’t eat it, she chewed a hole big enough to counter any pee soaking effect it might have had). I washed and dried her bedding so its ready for tonight.

This morning I fashioned a funnel out of aluminium foil and chased her when she went out to pee and collected a small plastic container full of pee which I took to the vet. I’m now waiting to hear from them and take her in when they ask me to.

But the adventures don’t end there.

Yesterday morning when feeding the poultry (we have a few chickens, a lot of geese and we feed a fluctuating flock of ducks which aren’t really ours but they live around or visit our dam) I noticed one of the hens was wobbly on her feet. She seemed to cross her feet over as she walked and she’d overbalance like she was drunk.

This morning she was falling all over the place and I know she hadn’t been drinking.

I picked her up and checked her over. I think her feet are a bit swollen, but I’m not really sure. I asked on a FB poultry group (as you do) and got suggestions, advice, sympathy and well wishes. I also asked Dr Google. I still have no idea what’s wrong with her but now I have a whole lot of things I can worry about.

I’ve got her in a dog crate for the night, in the shed where she’ll be warm. I’ll have another look at her tomorrow.

Ah the joys of owning animals. I swear, if this is a fatal infectious disease that kills our chickens I am NOT getting any more.

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its been four days!

Posted on June 3, 2017 by zefiart

I just realised its been four days since my last post. I had planned to post three days ago. Then two days ago. Then yesterday. You get the picture.

It totally illustrates my point about planning.

Anyway, I may not have posted, but I’ve been busy.

I’ve finished a few small projects which had been mouldering in the casita (aka my shed), cleaned the house (mainly cause we had visitors), taken part in a scheme to take over the world (or just created a Women’s Shed in the Derwent Valley), and discovered that one of our dogs is having continence issues.

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While cleaning the house today I did the usual changing of dog bedding, something that I do on a regular basis. This time I found some wet spots, which I sniffed (as you do) cause, you know, one of the dogs could have spilled his/her tea in bed… It was pee.

Not good.

I’m thinking Montana. She’d been unwell about 3 weeks ago, waking me up multiple times through the night to let her out. Not only did the poor girlie have diarrhea, she had a urinary tract infection too. Perhaps she needs another course of antibiotics… But she normally wakes me up to go out – so maybe its not her…

That’s not a welcome thought. I mean, I brought a huge crate up to the house and set it up in the living room (as you do) for Montana to sleep in tonight. Then I thought ‘but what if its not her? I get up and find a dry crate but a wet couch!’

So I did what any sensible person would do: I went to the supermarket in search of nappies (diapers to Americans) or pull up pants.

I stood in the aisle staring at all the baby, toddler and small (and not so small) child continence products and went ‘Whoah!’. There’s so many of them! And naturally they come in boxes of 5000.

What size diaper would a standard poodle wear? When I bred poodles I used to put undies on my girls to stop them staining everywhere when they were in season, but that was a while ago and I can’t remember what size I bought.

This is not Montana, but its a good illustration of the look I was going for.

The supermarket didn’t have undies, but they have lots of choice in the nappy department.

After standing there looking stupid for a while I asked a nice young lady who was buying little people juice what size she thought a poodle would wear.

She was very helpful, once she figured out I wasn’t a nut. She had no idea what size I would need but she was buying a box for her son so she gave me one to try. As it happened I had a poodle in the car so I went out and tried it on. That was fun. Luckily I hadn’t parked too close to the store so no one saw me wrestling in the back seat with Romeo who thought his mom had developed some really kinky interests.

It was way too small.

I ended up buying 14-25kg nappies in a box of 30. The good news is that if one (or more) of the dogs have bed wetting issues I have plenty of nappies.

What fun I’m having!

not enough time to do it all?

Posted on May 30, 2017 by zefiart

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I think I’ve always known that I might have too many interests, but it hit home last night when I watched a show on TV a friend told me I needed to see. It was about a woman who’s entertainment area was so full of ‘stuff’ no one could use it. Her ‘stuff’ had encroached in other areas of the house and was affecting her family.

The problem was that she was a crafter. She liked to do all kinds of crafts. She painted, beaded, sewed, knitted. Among other things. Everything she’d collected was stuff she thought she could use, remake, recycle, DO one day.

Now, I think I’m insulted that my friend thought I was that bad.

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I have outbuildings full of stuff. My house is livable. Ok, leave my office out of it! That’s my space and I’m the only one who has to squeeze in there…

But I do see her point. Grudgingly. I think the issue is with wanting to do too much.

On the show the ‘expert’ forced the lady to pick three hobbies and get rid of everything else in order to organise (and limit) her space.

I think he missed the point. Its not about having too much stuff, its about not having enough time to do all the stuff!

I know there isn’t enough time in a lifetime to do all the things I want to do. That’s the real problem. I don’t want to give anything up, but perhaps the old saying ‘jack of all trades, master of none’ is true…

I think I found the answer:

Take it in turns!

Concentrate on maybe 2 things at a time then move on to something else. Maybe a week at a time, or a month. That way you give yourself a chance to do a bit of everything and finish a few things along the way.

Problem solved. Maybe. Sort of.

Anyway…

Enjoy the funny craft related pics I found on Pinterest.

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pretty washing powder containers (and printables)

Posted on May 29, 2017 by zefiart

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I don’t actually have a laundry. I have a washing machine in the shed, next to the hydrobath.

One day I’ll have a laundry… a pretty laundry. An actual clean room where I’ll be able to fold clothes and not worry about them getting dirtier in the laundry than when I wore them to groom dogs, paint walls or pull weeds on my knees.

Till then I try to make things prettier in little ways… like by putting labels on the jars I store my washing detergent in.

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I don’t know about you, but I’ve never liked keeping my washing detergent in the box it comes in. I use old coffee jars cause they’re nice and big and seal well to keep the detergent from clumping.

Problem is, they look boring as plain glass jars.

So I look for vintage ads or packaging I can print out to glue onto my jars. These are the newest jars.

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I’d much rather look at these little babies than a box of detergent any day. It makes me smile when I put on a load to wash – and lets be frank: anything that makes you smile while doing the washing is a good thing.

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So, if you want to make your own pretty washing powder jars and want to use the images I found you can right click on the pics below to save them to your computer. You’ll have to resize them to fit the jars you’re using.

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Here’s a bonus image. I love it but it was the wrong shape for the jars I used, too tall and thin by the time I’d shrunk it. Great image though.

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Have fun!

display box for barbie

Posted on May 28, 2017 by zefiart

I’m still finding my way on WordPress… Its seems that the spaces between paragraphs I see when I write a post disappear when its published. Given I like my white space I have to find a way to keep it!

Meanwhile, I thought I’d share an idea I have to display my barbies (since I bought a few). A small collection – remember, over 2 of anything is a collection, though a collection of 3 items is a pretty pitiful collection… Whatever. I have 3 vintage barbies in great condition and one green faced one I’m restoring. More about her in the future.

For now, I’ve finally started on the first display box for one of my barbies. The idea is to fix up and ‘furnish’ each box as a room, put in the barbie and accessories, then put on a perspex front to keep her safe.

Naturally, since I’m going to mount these boxes on the wall, I can’t go deep, so real furniture and real rooms are out of the question. I mean, I’d have loved to make them into a kind of dollhouse – using larger drawers for each room then mounting them on the wall in a stack, but I just don’t have that much room. For now I’m just using smaller, shallower boxes.

All I’ve done on the first box so far is put in the background. I used scrapbooking paper for this cause I wanted it to look like wallpaper. So here is Barbie with her poodle… (forgive the photo – bad lighting in the office, good pics when the project is finished).

Now I have to decide what I’m going to ‘furnish’ the room with. My idea is to use images I find and print out, then decoupage them into the background.

First idea – a dresser and a painting for a bedroom look:

Next idea, a couch for a living room look:

Only that looks a bit bare. I need a large picture on the wall, or a few small ones… its not quite right.

Lastly, a TV, which I kinda like, though I dread cutting out that antenna!

This is the smallest box of the three I’m planning and as such doesn’t have room for any real accessories. I’ll add a floor but not sure if I want to add sides.

So which one do you like best?

old window window chalkboard #2

Posted on May 28, 2017 by zefiart

(This was originally published on my Blogger blog, but for some reason when I moved to WP it came across as a draft only. I’m republishing it now as it was featured on Your Funky Junk!)

Time just flies when you’re having fun busy. Don’t know how it is with everyone else, but working from home sure doesn’t mean I have more free time. If anything, it means I have more to do than ever.

I mean, there’s the grooming, which is work and must come first. Then there’s caring for the house jobs, garden and animals. Often the house and garden don’t get their share of care. And then there’s crafting and DIY-ing and just plain making stuff. Sometimes that gets pushed aside as well in favour of work or rest.

Still, I’m managing to do a bit here and there between the bigger jobs like renovating the chook shed and making the new roosting box for Stalag 13. Here is one such small project… the second of the old king billy pine window frames made into chalkboards.

This gorgeous window frame was given a shelf at the bottom – new pine aged with steel wool and vinegar.

Its got a chalk holder as well, this time a sliding door pull I found at a tip shop, sitting down into the shelf.

This frame had much less paint on it so I left it more natural, giving it a couple of coats of polyurethane to seal and protect it and to bring out the grain of the wood.

I really am seriously considering keeping all my chalkboards and covering a wall with them. I think it’d be fantastic. If I had a big wall in the living room or kitchen… which I don’t. Too many doors and windows… the price you pay when your house isn’t big enough for the stuff you make.

… Maybe I can remove a door or two… we don’t need all our doors, surely…

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junk4joy

painting, recycling, creating and living on a greek island

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