Category: Projects

Have a Seat (or Two, or Three)

Brandon gave me a new Eames chair for my birthday! And a Panton. And a few more by Arne Jacobsen, Eero Saarinen, and Mies van der Rohe. And then some additional Eames chairs for good measure. They’re miniature sized (but they’re big on cute).

I picked up a miniature zen garden that came with a cute little chair about a month ago, and I thought it was pretty adorable. I had no idea at the time that Brandon had seen a whole slew of mini designer chairs and that he was already planning to give them to me for my birthday. Eleanor is going to have a really awesome dollhouse someday.

September 24, 2009
Working With Digital Paint Swatches

Here’s a question from my recent FAQ post. Nicole wrote:

Maybe this is a silly question, but how did you get the paint colors off the brand’s websites? […] I wanted to email a “true” swatch [to my family] with my photos but couldn’t save a swatch from the Valspar website. Did you get permission from the companies or am I missing something??

Thanks for asking (and nice name, by the way). All of the big paint companies use flash for their websites, which means you can’t right click to save swatches. You can get around that though by taking a screenshot and grabbing your color from the image created.

So how do I make the brush strokes and paint blobs for my mood boards? I made my own custom set of Photoshop brushes, but you can use a font like Blobs, Brushstrokes & Balloons or this free ink splat font instead. Just pick your color and then use the brushstroke or blob of your choice. If you’re feeling fancy, you can play around with the layer effects in Photoshop.

July 23, 2009
Picking Perfect Pink Paint
It’s no secret that pink is my favorite color, and I believe that pink can be a beautiful wall color when chosen well. Unfortunately, it’s a difficult color to get right and the results are often more Pepto than pretty. Here are several of my favorite pink shades along with the reasons I love them and a few suggested uses. I’ve also included several examples of the colors in actual rooms.

All paint colors are from their respective brands’ websites, but my descriptions are based on the actual paint chips.
- Wild Aster, Benjamin Moore
  This is my favorite pink, hands down. It’s very subtle with a lot of taupe and lilac, but it still reads as pink. It’s the most sophisticated and adult of all the pinks here, perfect for a living room or master bedroom.
- Reverie Pink, Behr
  Similar in tone to Wild Aster, but less muted.
- Powder Blush, Benjamin Moore
  A nice happy pink, this would be nice in a kid’s room.
- Pink Innocence, Benjamin Moore
  Lovely pink with just a touch of muted lilac.
- Peony, Benjamin Moore
  This deep pink would be gorgeous in an entryway, powder room, or dining room.
- Milk Glass Pink, Martha Stewart (Valspar)
  A delicate light pink. I’d love to see this in a feminine kitchen.
- Bare Pink, Pittsburgh Paints
  Another delicate light pink, but a little bit peachy.
- Old Fashioned Pink, Behr
  A very pure pink with a little coral in it. It may be a bit bright for an entire room, but it would be perfect on furniture.
- Ballerina Pink, Benjamin Moore
  This pale pink is one shade lighter than Pink Innocence.
- Tutu, Martha Stewart (Valspar)
  Glamorous and a bit old-Hollywood, this would be perfect in a dressing room.
- Blushing Bride, Benjamin Moore
  Some bold pinks can be too magenta, too fuschia, too neon, or too dark. This pink is none of the above. I’d love to see this color in a creative space, like a studio or home office.
- Sugar Egg Pink, Martha Stewart (Valspar)
  There is a nice lilac tone to this pink. I think it would be gorgeous in a powder room with a vintage tub, nickel fixtures, and a little crystal chandelier.
And as promised, here are a few of these colors (as seen in my home and my old apartment)…

Wild Aster, in my living room

Wild Aster, in my studio

Ballerina Pink, in my old entryway; Pink Innocence, in my old office

Powder Blush, on the dresser in Eleanor’s nursery
July 20, 2009
Felt Pin with Interchangeable Center

I’ve been planning to take a photo of Eleanor each month, and I wanted a way to mark each one for easy identification. I ran across a prize-ribbon tutorial recently, and I was going to make one but I didn’t have the right kind of ribbon. Sure, I could have gone out and bought some, but I had a sleeping baby in the house and a desire to make something now. I ended up rummaging through my craft closet for supplies that I had on hand and I came up with a felt version instead.

First I cut two matching circles out of pink and white felt.

Then I cut a slightly larger circle out of brown felt with pinking shears (using one of my pocket mirrors as a template).

Next I marked an asterisk pattern on the pink felt circle, stacked it on top of the white circle, and then cut out eight triangular points.

I chose a few cute ribbons to form the tails…

Then I hand stitched all of my parts together and formed the body of the pin.

I could have stopped there or sewn a button in the center if I just wanted to make a cute pin, but I wanted to be able to change the center each month for Eleanor’s age (in months). Since I have ready access to a button machine (I make pins and magnets with it for my shop), I decided to make 24 numbered buttons. May as well make this a two year photo project, eh?

Now I can just swap out the center each month and Eleanor can wear the correct number on the pin each month for her photo!

May 26, 2009
The Porch Rug (Revisited)

I thought I’d talk about painting the porch rug in a bit more detail today. So many of you loved the project (thanks!), and it really is something that can be easily done in your own home if you’re so inclined.

I started by sketching the pattern on paper first. As I had mentioned before, I was inspired by a rug from Urban Outfitters (no longer available) and the flower petal patterns my Grandma Rose used to draw with me.

Once we were ready to begin, Brandon and I cleaned the porch and marked off the area for the rug with painter’s tape. We didn’t sand the floor first, though I’d recommend it if you have the time. Two coats of the base color (green) came next, and then it was time to figure out how to get the pattern drawn out on a large scale.

I ended up putting in some rough guidelines with white chalk. I focused on placing the flower centers where I wanted them and then sketching out the general movement of the petals from there. I then painted everything freehand, stepping back every so often to make sure that the petal shapes and sizes were remaining consistent.

If you’re considering a similar project, I’d say just go for it! It’s just paint — you’ll get a huge impact for very little money. And painting the rug while nine months pregnant was difficult (to say the least), but if I was able to handle it then the more able-bodied among you should have no problem!

If you liked my porch redo (all done in 48 hours with just $500), please take a moment to vote for it. There are two and a half weeks left, and I’d really appreciate your support during this time. And remember, you can vote once each day!

May 25, 2009
How To Make a Hanging Divider
First, I want to thank you all for your support in the 48-Hour Challenge! Our porch is back in the lead again, but it’s close and every vote definitely counts. Thank you all, especially those of you that are voting every day from now until June 12! I really appreciate it.

Today, I thought I’d explain how to make the hanging divider that we created for our front porch.

Materials
- 2’x4′ piece of hardboard
- two wooden dowel rods
- s-hooks
- chain
- paint
Tools
- table saw (or circular saw, or jig saw)
- drill
- cabinet knob template
- pencil
- paint brush
How To…

You can do something symmetrical or random, so it’s helpful to plan out a pattern (you can use graph paper) before beginning. We started by cutting our hardboard into long strips (3″ wide), and then cutting the strips into shorter pieces (ours were 6″ and 10″ long).

Once we had our pieces cut, we made marks for our hooks using a cabinet knob template. After drilling for the holes, we painted the front and back of each piece.

We assembled the strips with s-hooks and hung the whole thing from a dowel rod and some chain. We also added another dowel rod along the bottom for more stability. We’re actually planning to reinforce the connections with wire to help the divider weather strong winds. If the hooks were easier to bend, we would have bent the ends to hold it all together a bit better. If you’re using the divider indoors though, the extra step wouldn’t be necessary.

There you have it! And you can easily customize the project by making it more random, switching up the colors, using different shapes, and so on. You can even add in other materials — there are great metal parts in the plumbing section of any home improvement store. I hope that inspires some of you to try your hand at your own hanging divider!
May 18, 2009