Faux Folksy Chair Project

Image: The Inadvertent Farmer

There is a old wooden chair, comfortable tucked between two wardrobes, in a spare bedroom in my home.  I love that chair very much but - if one out of a hundred people, who enter my home, ever lay their eyes on it, they will be amongst a pocket sized group of very close friends and immediate family.

As sturdy and solid as it is, it will never be a part of our day to day lives but it has attended and participated in significant moments throughout my life.

Lamp Shade Project #1

Image: Lowe's Creative Ideas

They say the key to good design is the marriage of the old with the new, and so in my search for a funky lamp shade for a great but old fashioned floor lamp in the corner of our room, I have stumbled upon some weird and wonderful ideas, amongst the nooks and crannies of the Internet - some of which I will share on these pages over the next few weeks, hence the #1 in the title of this post.

And so on with the first.

Textured Planter Project

If you are into your gardening and are tired of all the same old boring planters that are available commercially then this is a really simple way to transform the ones you have with a few bits and pieces of recycled materials.

Image: Design*Sponge

Weathered Wood Project

My obsession with making things from pallets continued this week when I made these vintage style crates and display trays for the Honest2Goodness market, which takes place every Saturday and Wednesday in Glasnevin.

Vintage Crates

Image: Patent Pending Projects

 Display Trays

Image: Patent Pending Projects

The 'vintage style' element of the crates was pretty easy to achieve as the the wood used was fairly weathered already. However, what if you are using relatively new wood and need to create that old worn look?

Raised Garden Project

This is a perfect project for those of you who want to grow some vegetables and so far, the only thing stopping you was lack of space.

The best part of this project is, about half of the material you need, could probably be found  just by walking to the end of your road.

Image: Poppytalk

Here are the materials you will need:

Garden Table Project

I'm having a small love affair.

Last week in London I was out and about with my wife and son, on my way to The Old Cinema to check out some upcycled furniture, when I found my eye wandering slightly.

It's happened before and I've become very adept at hiding these sly glances while in my wifes company but one of these days she's going to catch me out. In a way, I've already tried to prepare her for what comes next. Some days, while she is out, I'll  take my car and drive the back streets in the vain hope of fulfilling my growing obsession and I know one of these days, in her company, I'm just going to walk straight up to one and bring them home.

I am, of course, talking about pallets and this is the latest project I've found for turning these sturdy, discarded items into a unique piece of garden furniture.

Image: joy ever after

This particular table was made using 2 – 4′ x 4′ wood pallets, 1 – 4″x4″, 4 caster wheels, some L-brackets and screws and gray stain. The result is a very practical outdoor rolling table that can act as a coffee table when you’re sitting outside, interacting with your friends or family, or as a mini dining table when having a snack and you want to enjoy it outside.

Jump over to joy ever after for the 'how to'.

Subway Art Family Rules - Shop

Rules every family should live by.

A fun way to remind the family of important house rules.

Be Honest.
Laugh, Giggle, Be Silly.
Listen.
Say I Love You.
Speak Kindly of Others.
Dream Big.
Work Hard.
Hug.

and all to be done as often as possible.

Hand painted on pine board, sanded to create a vintage feel, each piece is coated in a satin varnish and then a final coat of wax is applied to protect the wood.

Recommended for indoor use.

Available in 4 different colours.


1. Dark Green
2. Light Green
3. Tangerine Orange
4. White Linen (with Dark green text.)

 



There are sawtooth hooks attached for easy hanging but would also look great propped up on a shelf or mantle piece.

Size : 58 cm x 48 cm







The cost of each sign is 45 euro

Details on how to purchase over at my shop.

Transforming a Dresser Project

About 4 years ago we moved house.

We moved from a nice, homely, small apartment to a nice, homely, small house. The only major difference was now the stairs, at least, were inside the home.

We didn't have much stuff and everything went in one van. With a couple of friends helping out we were all done and dusted in an hour or two.

Except for one thing. The dresser. Which would not fit up the stairs.

A few years earlier we had bought this huge dresser. 5 big drawers for her, 5 big drawers for me. And now it stood slap bang in the centre of our 'parlour sized' living room like a big sore thumb. That's if your idea of a big sore thumb was 5ft x 4ft x 2ft and made of solid wood.

There were late night discussions. "Do we take a window out?" "Should we remove the banister rail?" and of course the dreaded, "I could cut a bit off and try and put it back together?"

Eventually, a friend commented, removing one or two of the threads in our staircase might give the extra half a foot needed to maneuver it up. Luckily, when removing the carpet and underlay we found we had just enough room to force it up with minimal damage to wall and dresser. I would be painting the wall in time anyway but I would have to repair any damage to the dresser.

That was 4 years ago. I still haven't fixed it.
But now, I think it's time.

I've found 6 great ideas to transform different types of dresser.

Below are the Before & After photos followed by a link to the website on how to achieve the look.

1. Distressed Dresser

                        Before                                                                                               After

Image: Miss Mustard Seed

Image: Miss Mustard Seed

Jump over to Miss Mustard Seed for the details.


2. Ikea-hack Dresser.

Image: Gravy Train

Image: Gravy Train

 Jump over to Gravy Train for the details.


3. Adding Fabric to a Dresser.
                                                                             Before

Image: 508 Restoration & Design

                                                                            
                                                                              After

Image: 508 Restoration & Design

Jump over to 508 Restoration & Design for the details.


4. Stencilled Dresser

                            Before                                                                                        After

Image: 508 Restoration & Design

Image: 508 Restoration & Design

This is also from 508 Restoration & Design


5. Chalkboard Dresser

Image: homelife

Jump over to Home Life for this and lots of other ideas using chalkboard paint.


6. Nursery Dresser
                                                                           Before

Image: Domestic Adventure

                                                                          
                                                                            After

Image: Domestic Adventure

Head over to Domestic Adventure for the details.

There are plenty of ideas to choose from but if none of them suit you can always try the traditional route and tackle a full on restoration. There's some great tips on TLC home about how to restore wood furniture.

Nursery Wall Art - Shop

I've added a few new items to my online shop. Click here to find more details.


NURSERY WALL ART

 





Nursery wall art as an eye catching accessory to any children's bedroom or playroom.

Each piece measures 45 cm x 38 cm

 





Each piece is hand painted. Sign can be custom made to include your own sayings or quotes.

Each canvas and frame is created from reclaimed wood and receives a light sanding to acheive a truely unique vintage look.

 





3 different pieces to choose from

1. You Are Feeling Sleepy
2. Twinkle Twinkle
3. You Are My Sunshine


Click here  to jump over to the shop for more details about prices.

Shop Now Open

Jump on over to my shop to check out hand carved pieces by me.

Carbon Paw Print Project

Image: Chemistry World Blog

There are 2 types of people in the World.
Those that use the expression "there are 2 types of people in the World" and those who do not.

Of course there's never just 2 types of people.

Some examples:
1. People with a good sense of direction vs people who get lost walking out their front door.
2. People with completely absurd ring tones vs people who were not dropped on their head as a baby.
3. People who like Pizza vs people who like Pizza with BBQ chicken and/or pineapple.
4. People who drive into parking spaces vs people who reverse into parking spaces.
...or simply, people who do random unexplainable nonsense vs the rest of us.

The list goes on and on and on, so for the purpose of this post, lets imagine that there are just 2 types of people in the World.

Those who like cats vs those who............I'll come back to you on that.

According to environmentalist Holly Tse, "a 2007 survey by the American Veterinary Association states that there are over 80 million cats in American households." Tse, who blogs about green living ideas for felines at GreenLittleCat.com, adds, "Reducing one cat's carbon footprint is helpful, but 80 million cats collectively could make an enormous difference!"

Since plenty of Eco-friendly cat products are now on the market, it's clear that many pet owners want to include their cats in their green lifestyle. Here's how you can "green" every area of your cat's life:

CAT LITTER
"Clay going to a landfill is terribly detrimental for the environment," says Dr. Nicholas Dodman, a veterinarian, director of the Tufts Animal Behavior Clinic and author of The Cat Who Cried for Help. The next time you go to the supermarket, consider buying a litter that's made from natural or recycled materials.

                                                                  Tesco wood cat litter

Image: Tesco

CAT BEDDING
Check the tags to make sure your cat's bedding consists of natural, organic cotton or hemp. "Hemp is durable and natural -- it basically lasts forever," says Dodman.

                                                            Striped Round Hemp Beds

Image: Green Little Cat Store

 Holly Tse also suggests cat bedding made from recycled plastic bottles.
                                                                   
                                                                     Bumper Pet Bed

Image: Green Little Cat Store

CAT TOYS

Image: Holly Tse

 


Check out Holly Tse's book Make Your Own Cat Toys: Saving the Planet one cat toy at a time.





If you have ever purchased a fancy cat toy only to find Kitty preferred the bag it came in, this book is for you.

 

"'Make Your Own Cat Toys' shows you how to create new toys from old stuff in minutes. These Eco-friendly toys are fast, fun and easy to make so that you spend less time crafting and more time playing."



"Over 50 toy ideas to suit the different ways that cats love to play, a new toy for each week of the year."










"25 toys that can be made in 60 seconds or less with no special skills required. Ideal for new kittens with boundless energy."



 "Plus, plenty of green tips and Eco-friendly ideas for you and your pet. Have a blast and save the planet at the same time."









If you're not the book buying type - check out the free series of videos on YouTube from Grace Fitzpatrick showing you how to make simple homemade toys for your cat.
Catnip sock toy
Cylinder toy
Paper ball toy
Tin foil rod toy

You'll find all these videos and more over on the expertvillage page as well.


So, I hope all the cat lovers out there will be able to find something here to help reduce their kitty's carbon paw print.

As for me?

I'm more of a dog person.

Breakfast Tray Project

When life gives you lemons - you make lemonade. Right?

Image: Family Chic

This thought has been rattling around in my head every since my last post about re-purposed wood crates.

The issue I raised at the time in that post was the quality of the wood crates here in Ireland.
It's not really a case of easily picking up 'rustic wood crates salvaged from apple orchards in France' but a bit more of a 'scavenging in the bins behind Tesco' sort of deal.

Shabby Chic indeed!

But as the saying goes, when life gives you lemons - you make lemonade.
So, get yourself down to the famous Moore Street Dublin's oldest open air fruit and vegetable market.

Image: Marek Ślusarczyk

Where I'm sure you'll be able to pick up some better class of fruit crates and try out this project for a breakfast tray that I found over on Family Chic

Image: Family Chic

On the site Camilla Fabbri has come up with the best way to reuse these type of wood crates. All you need is some blackboard paint, some sanding paper and chalk and a few hours of paint drying.

Image: Family Chic

Lightly sand the crate and then paint the outside with blackboard paint. You can add a little message to the side of the tray with a little chalk.



Camilla has also come up with no less than 5 different ideas to reuse these crates.

1. The breakfast tray (above)
2. A garden planter

Image: Family Chic

3. Place names for the dinner table

Image: Family Chic

Camilla goes on to show a 'how-to' with a series of photos and instructions.

Image: Family Chic

Use a set of pliers to remove any staples from the box.

Image: Family Chic

Sand down the edges and paint the largest edge of the triangular post with blackboard paint.
Let it dry and write the name with chalk.

Image: Family Chic

4. Gift tag

Image: Family Chic

Image: Family Chic

Cut an end panel in half, sand the edges and paint a few coats of blackboard paint.




Next, Drill 2 small holes in the top corners and thread some twine or string through it.J





And finally,
5. A fun puzzle for the kids

Image: Family Chic

Cut up the left over panels, cover with a few coats of blackboard paint and scribble a sentence over different pieces and get the kids to arrange them in order.

I love the fact that nothing has been wasted in the recycling of this crate.

If you do find yourself scourging the stalls of Moore Street asking for discarded crates - keep your eye open for The Paris Bakery the 1st French Bakery in Dublin.

Image: Paris Baker and Pastry Ltd

Image: Paris Baker and Pastry Ltd

Pop in - get some croissants or some Italian sourdough and think about giving that special someone a surprise breakfast in bed.

You see, even at the weekend, in our house, it's not very often that you get to hit the snooze button a couple of times before gradually getting up and leisurely making breakfast as you gently ease into the day.

No, that's not our house.

Unfortunately there is no snooze button on a child who wants breakfast.