Category Archives: DIY

when a fry basket becomes a cloche

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Don’t you love a quickie? Quickie project I mean!

I’ve had this base for quite a while. I originally made it for a birdwire cloche I’d made but ended up finding the perfect antique silver base for instead. So this wooden base just sat in my workshop, gathering dust.

As I prepare for the garage sale, going through everything I own and evaluating it, I found the base and thought, I wonder if the old sieve food cover I made would fit it? I know I have photos of that but I can’t find them right now so take my word for it… Anyway… Nope. It didn’t fit.

So I looked around and what did my eyes alight upon? A fry basket.

I tried and and it fit perfectly!

All I had to do was give it a wash, spray it antique white and find a knob that suits. I went with a tiny wooden knob which more or less matches.

And voila! A quick project finished.

Isn’t it nice when things just work?

And a quick project only takes 30 min and one year to complete.

z

indian sign

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Yippee!
A project I began and finished entirely since breaking my finger!

I had this large piece of plywood, with a thin metal border from when Wayne bought a wood splitter. It arrived in a lovely ply crate which was, unfortunately, destroyed during the unwrapping stage.

I went into the garage to see the unveiling and snuck off with the intact top. I put it in the silver shed where I store a lot of ‘future projects’ (ie junk I have plans for) and forgot about it. For at least a year, probably closer to 2 years… A few months ago I saw it while searching for something, thus it was near the front of my mind when I was wondering what kind of project I could do with one hand.

I had always planned to paint the Indian Motorcycle logo on it for Wayne’s garage. I mean, he’s a cowboy, he loves anything american indian, and its a great sign for a garage…

First I undercoated it with a 3 in 1 primer, sealer undercoat I had on hand. Then I projected the image I wanted onto it so I could trace it. I’m no sign writer, I needed the help!

I worked on it in the grooming room (since it wasn’t being used for grooming!) so I could keep it a surprise for Wayne. I only worked on it in spits and spurts as the inspiration and energy hit me so it took a full 3 weeks to complete.

I began painting it with artist acrylics but they didn’t give a nice finish. The face and head dress (which is a pale beige but looks white in the photos) are textured and not smooth. I had to buy some tiny (and expensive) pots of water based enamel paint. Its liquid and goes on smooth. However they have limited colours – I used those for the red, yellow and black.

The sign will hang in the garage, probably be put up next weekend if we’re lucky. Its something thats best admired from afar… the black outlines are a bit wobbly in places.

Wayne is pretty impressed with his gift. Its for putting up with me constantly complaining about my finger and for using it as a good great excuse for not cooking.

UPDATE

Wayne has hung the sign in the garage.

z

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DIY – is it worth the bother?

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Seriously, I’ve been thinking this for a while now… in fact its a thought I get every time I go shopping…

And let me say right now, this is in no way an advertisement for Kmart (though if they’d like to throw some money my way I’d be more than happy to take it!)

Why bother making our own stuff when Kmart, The Reject Shop, Big W, Target and just about every other big store sells the stuff we pin, make from scratch or make over from curbside finds.

And (usually) for less than we can make them for!

We spend hours and often $$ making these things when we could walk into Kmart and just buy. No muss, no fuss.

I mean, I’m a fan of old, rusty, crusty and broken, so I’m not a big fan of cheap new imitations… but if you make things to sell then this is what you have to compete with. And not everyone has the same passion for old dirt as I do.

How about some examples? All items on right are from the Kmart website.

Ladder shelves are a big thing, pretty and practical. Image on left from Pinterest.
Who doesn’t love cement lamp bases? Image on left from Pinterest.
Trendy pegboard shelves… Image on left from Pinterest.
 Cement planters. Image on left from Pinterest.
 Come on, haven’t you been tempted to make one of these? Image on left from Pinterest.

Test tube bud vases… Image on left from Pinterest.

If I didn’t love old things with authentic scratches from many years of use, rust from being treated with a healthy amount of disrespect, and antique grime, I would be decorating my house with this stuff.

So what if it breaks in a year or less? Just buy a new one. Or something else. Just means you can re-decorate again!

So where does this leave us DIYers?

I don’t know.

I will still make, remake and revamp old stuff. For my own home and enjoyment. And maybe there’ll be enough people out there who appreiciate the real thing with all its not quite perfection.

But sometimes I’m tempted…

Like this faux cowhide rug. I plan to buy this soon as I have some spare cash.

So its not real… it’ll look pretty cool on my couch.
z
PS. Notice the new banner? Like?

our new old kitchen trolley

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Today I thought I’d share the fun makeover of a sidewalk find.
Last year I picked up this pitiful serving trolley from the side of the road. The top was broken off, it had no lower shelf and it had at least 3 layers of bad painting… one of which was peach.

Well, that had to go!

I’d always planned to have a movable kitchen trolley in our kitchen but there’s really no room for it. Here you can see the original little side table I planned to make into a trolley for the kitchen.

I brought it in cause Wayne had bought a couple of appliances that were taking up space on our kitchen bench. I needed more space. But this little green side thingy wasn’t the right size… it was nice and narrow and had a drawer (missing in the photos for some odd reason) but it was too long, forcing the table over too far.

See that big blank wall? Watch this space…

Anyway, the little trolley is a bit better in proportions. Its not as long so the table doesn’t have to get shoved over too far, and its not too wide, allowing the dishwasher door to open when its in place! AND its taller and already has wheels!
It was meant to be! Thank you hard rubbish collection day!

This is a project I got the bug to do one afternoon and I almost finished it the same day. Basically it took me one afternoon and 4 weeks to finish.
Thanks to a broken finger.
I used the off cut of the pine slab I had left over from making the kitchen shelves. I cut it to fit on the top. Since it was a lot thicker than the previous top, it sits up above the trolley sides.

I cut the bottom shelf out of a piece of leftover plywood from the TV cabinet/room divider. (I’ll need to buy more plywood to finish that now as I keep using the bits I planned to use.)

The reason it took so long to finish was the whole circumcised finger thing. That put a damper on my creativity for a while. The main work was done though, all it needed to be finished was a couple more coats of polyurethane.

I could do those with one hand.

Once those were done I only had to lug it up to the house using one hand, one arm and one hip.
In pieces.
Then I put it in place and started using it.
Done.
Not bad for a piece of rubbish.
z

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recycled milk bottle armchair – alternative furniture

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You know how sometimes there’s an idea in your head you just can’t find the time to do, yet you just can’t let go of?
Well this armchair is one one those.
I’d wanted to make usable furniture out of cardboard, papier mache and other recycled materials for a long time. I had this vision in my head …and one day I decided it was time to make it reality by building it at work in one of my creative programs.
I work in day support for people with intellectual disabilities and am lucky enough to have some creative programs.

We began by using a pallet base for strength. We used milk bottles as the main building material, using tape and glue to create the shape we wanted.

Next we cut and folded thick cardboard around the bottles to give the chair smooth surfaces.

The chair is quite big and it took weeks and weeks to build. We did many, many layers of papier mache to hold it all together.

At one stage we even began to colour the glue so we could tell how many layers we’d done!

As the chair began to take shape we found we had to add more bottles in order to get the size we wanted. We used cardboard. milk bottles and shredded paper to create the curved arms.

Once the chair was ready for its final layer we swapped out newspaper for book pages. We added detail on the arms so it looked more like a ‘real’ armchair.

The pages were stained using a mix of coffee and tea.

After all the work to put the chair together, we ripped a hole into the back so you can see the milk bottle and shredded paper construction.

I mean, what’s the point of it if you can’t see what its made of?

A little surprise on the back with this cute mouse illustration.

There’s another ‘rip’ on the other side too, as if a cat’s had a go at the chair.

Or a mouse?

Lastly we coated it all with clear polyurethane for protection.
We made a seat cushion for it, recycling an old sofa cushion with a new, reversible cover. Castor wheels on the base make it easier to move around and finish it off.

We entered our armchair in Art From Trash, of course.

Its pretty comfy for a cardboard, milk bottle, papier mache chair!

z

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re-purposing used tea bags into a fish

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What do you do with your used tea bags? I dry mine out and collect them of course.

Doesn’t everyone?

Ok, I’m not normal.

I just love the tea coloured stains – I’ve used tea to dye things before, and used flattened tea bags on the dress I made recently.

Anyway, the tea bags and a trout seemed the perfect match for an art project. For Art From Trash of course. This is another of the projects I created at work with the help of one of the guys.

First I drew a trout on a large piece of paper (from a roll so it was long enough). Traced this onto some thin MDF and cut it using a jigsaw.

Since it was going to be a considerable size and moving it in a car would present a problem, I kept the trout in two parts. I glued strips of wood to the back of both pieces at either end. These served two purposes – the ensured the trout hung out from the wall a bit instead of sitting flat against it, adding dimension. It also gave me somewhere to attach hinges, making this a foldable piece of art!

Practical as well as pretty!

My assistant helped me paint on the face, tail and fins by adding all the spots. Then we began the long process of gluing on the tea bags together.

I left the strings on them on purpose – I think the movement of the strings in a breeze gives the illusion of movement.

In order to blend the 2D painted surface into the rich texture of the tea bags I used flattened bags which let the painted colours show through.

Add a hole for the ‘fishing hook’ and it was ready to hang.

Once we’d finished I sprayed it with clear varnish for protection. While that was still tacky I sprinkled it with some very fine aurora borealis glitter – cause, you know, trout shimmer!
This is the finished trout. 

 And here it is at Art From Trash.

Yep. That is a sold sticker! It sold pretty much straight away, and I’ve had enquiries as to whether it has any siblings.

It was a great success at the show.

z

an orange phone table

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Sharing another item I’m selling. This time a 60s phone table. Its in really good condition but I didn’t like the formica top – boring! Again, there are no ‘before’ pics cause when I decide to do something I often just start without grabbing the camera.

Montana gave me a hand with this job. She checked my work to make sure it was up to standard…

Basically what I did was use the offcuts of tassie oak planks I had, cut them to size, attached them to the formica top with glue, then sanded and planed them to create an even surface. Ok, not totally even. What’s the point of going old wood and making it perfect? You want some character!

Sanding and planing ended up taking off the weathered look so I had to bring it back. I didn’t want to stain the wood but wanted it to have some depth. I used another of my trusty artist acrylic paint washes. This time I used burnt sienna first to get the brown tones, then I used some black, especially in the joins.
The colours have brought out the beauty of the timber and its way prettier than the formica could ever be. The varnish on top just gives it a lovely finish which invites you to run your hand over the surface.

I have this for sale on gumtree and facebook for now, but I’d love to keep it if I had room for it.
z

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industrial rustic table

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Today I’m revisiting a project I did a couple of years ago. Not sure exactly when I made this table, but it was Wayne’s second desk for quite a while.
The base of the table is an old office desk from the tip shop. The top was ruined when I got it but that was ok, I got it with the plan of putting a salvaged timber top on it. That’s one plan I actually followed through on!

Up till now I’ve been quite lucky with salvaged timber – when we bought our farm there was tons of old wood just lying around the place, exposed to the weather and rotting away. We saved and reused, then stored what was left over. Wayne fixed and extended the stable using this wood. We revamped our woodshed using it. We’ve gone through a lot of it, but its not all gone yet.

I went through what’s left of the timber to find 4 pieces that matched. I didn’t. But I found some which were close enough. That’s the beauty of rustic… it doesn’t have to be perfect!

I had to brace the timber under the table to hold the slats together, and I used the holes in the metal frame to screw the top on. I then gave it a light sand to make sure there were no loose bits and to even out the worst of the wear.

Of course that ended up taking away the gorgeous grey weathered look I wanted.

Easy fixed. Using a mix of acrylic artist paints I gave the timber a wash, brushing on watery paint then rubbing it off, till I got the colour I wanted.

I used black wood putty in nail holes and filled the gaps between slats with gap filler. When that was dry I gave it a couple of coats of semi gloss polyurethane to make it easy to keep clean.

It was great as a desk. For a while. But it doesn’t have drawers. So I made Wayne a new desk (the less said about that one the better!), and this one is now for sale. If I had a large kitchen I’d keep it for an industrial rustic farmhouse look… but our kitchen is too small for such a long table. Its too cool to end up as a workbench, thus I’m trying to find it a new home.
Sometimes you just have to part with things in order to make room for new creations!
z

a fancy oval chalkboard

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This is the story of a makeover which didn’t quite work the way I planned.

I was given this oval frame in three pieces. Its some kind of resin, not timber, so I had no idea how I would fix it.

I let it sit around for a couple of years while I pondered.

In the end I decided that cutting some thin MDF to fit inside the frame and using trusty liquid nails might be the way to go.

Well, it wasn’t.

Not really.

Its holding together okay but I wasn’t able to clamp it properly, so the joins aren’t as good as I hoped.

They’re visible. Really visible.

Oh well. Not to worry.
I got out some silver paint (I thought I had gold but didn’t) and rubbed it on to try and disguise the cracks where the liquid nails was showing through. Silver looks better than liquid nails any day! I think I’ll get some gold and finish it in gold at some later date.
I hung it in our entry/pantry for our shopping lists. Its not perfect, but its different, and for me a change is as good as a holiday.
It replaces a plain long oblong chalkboard I’ve had for years. ‘Cause even a pantry deserves a bit of flashy!
z
PS Please forgive the awful photo of our yucky pantry/entry… Its taupe and dark and gloomy (as opposed to the bright fun kitchen) and I like covering our fridge in magnets!

an embarrassing desk makeover

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This is an embarrassing post… But in the interest of reality, here goes…
I’ll start at the beginning: 
Those of you who know me know that I like rearranging furniture. I also like re-assigning furniture and making it over. And over. Then moving it again.
It keeps me busy and Wayne confused.
When we first moved into our home I created an office for both myself and Wayne. He got an extra large desk and I got a cupboard door on filing cabinets. He never used his desk, preferring to work in the kitchen, so I created an office space in the living room for him using my original corner office desk. 
There was nothing wrong with that desk… It was large. It was practical.  But it didn’t have drawers and it was made of melamine.
I dislike melamine.
So, I replaced it with something more my style.* I had this old office desk with metal legs and a crappy top. I put weathered timber on top and all was well with my soul.
Wayne lost his corner desk and had to adjust to less desk acreage.
*Cause it might be his desk, but its my style!
This new improved desk had the same issue as the corner melamine desk. No drawers. Wayne ended up with about 54 odds and ends to hold all his stuff. When you don’t have drawers you have a small filing cabinet, an el cheapo metal and plastic drawer unit whose drawers fall out every time you pull them out, and a couple of bookcases… 
No so pretty. Not the style I was going for.
Just before Christmas I decided it was time to move Wayne’s office space. 
Again.
(No, he has no say in this.)
I put a divider in the middle of the living room for the TV and moved Wayne to the other side so the first thing you see when you walk into the living room isn’t his messy office desk.
Then, just to keep things interesting, I decided to change his desk. 
Again.
We had this old desk in the garage since we’d moved here. I got Wayne to remove the top cause it was beyond repair – he’d been sitting his chainsaws on it. As you do. It was covered in oil. 

The main issue with this desk was that the leg space was so narrow. Just imagine all the times you’d knock your knees on this!
I took the saw to it and cut it apart (in a really messy way), leaving me with two drawer units. The plan was to paint these units, put them on castors and plonk a large shed door on top.
It all started well enough. I gave them a light sand, then mixed up my own chalk paint – in white. Of course.

I added castors.

I painted some random numbers on it, cause I have stencils you know.

And yes, I know I put it on upside down.

This is the door I had earmarked for the top. Its half of a huge hinged garage door.

I love the chippy cream paint. 
I didn’t put a top on the units, just plonked this baby down on top of them. I mean, why bother, right? No one would see it.
I got all the pieces up to the living room (that is one heavy door!) and put it all together. Wayne began moving his stuff in…
I hated it. Not just cause of the upside down stencil either. It just didn’t look right.
Then, while I was wondering what I should do to fix it, Wayne broke it. One of the bottom drawers got stuck on a castor lock and he heaved and broke it.
I thought about repainting it. I mean, I had to fix it anyway… but what colour?
I thought about black, but I didn’t have any black. I did have dark grey… Same colour as our feature wall… I thought ok… how about I paint it dark grey? 
I painted the drawer fronts first. Not sure I liked that either so I didn’t paint the units.
I used offcuts of plywood, which I had planned to use to finish the TV unit, to put a top and bottom on the units. The plan this time was no castors, just a flat bottom. For the extra height needed, I put a little shelf on top. This provides a handy place for Wayne’s large sketchbooks.

Its still not right. Its messy looking, but given that its a door with Z braces on the back, not much I can do about that part.

The one thing I did do to the door is attach a small piece of pine along the back to stop things rolling off behind the desk. You can just see it below, behind the lamp base.

For now its more or less finished, and I can pull it apart easily any time.

The dressmakers model and the cream Ikea trolley are mine. In case you’re wondering. I’m working on a wearable art piece on the model and the trolley holds my pastels.

This is how the desk area looks now. Cosy.
But I’m still not happy with the desk. I’m thinking all black drawer units and natural timber on top would be the best way to go. I haven’t painting anything black since my student days…
I need to buy black paint.
Wayne won’t be happy if I pull his desk apart and start over…
z