Make the small things count

Make the small things count

Deciding to take a day away from all things job-hunting related I ventured out with a girlfriend, Catherine, to take in some country air and antique viewing.

Just like the fresh coat of paint, this was a welcomed release from job applications. The three hours spent browsing shops and catching up with a friend was wonderful. It helped take me out of my tiny little world of “jobs, jobs, jobs” to emerge in the larger, more important world of me; the world of my friends.

Since this was a first for us, “vintaging” together, I also learned some new things about an old friend. Not to sound creepy, but observing where she went first in the stores, reactions to my “ohhs and ahhs” and also what made her “ooh and ahh” was a mini friendship lesson. I learned she liked things I wouldn’t have assumed before (rusty metal and ants), and also made mental notes of places she may like in the future (Manassas antique shop with lots of jewelry!). These small observations may be teeny-tiny, but just like a flower unfolds its petals to full glory, friendships have petals to drop too. Being aware and listening with your ears and eyes is an important part in any friendship; trying new things together gives you both an opportunity to listen with new ears and eyes.

Speaking of flowers…another small thing that counted: Forget-me-knot china dish! 

Shown with peach for size comparison- it's small!

My mother who passed several years ago loved wild flowers. During the warm weather months our home was always brightened by untamed bouquets of whatever she could readily pick from the backyard. From a branch of the lilac tree outside her bedroom window to a bunch of tiger lilies from along the creek path; in old mason jars or a cherished teapot, flowers were abundant! Her favorites being black-eyed-Susan’s and forget-me-nots.

Since her passing I’ve always kept an eye out for reminders of her, including anything with these flowers. Yesterday for a mere $2.00 I acquired tiny little dish delicately painted with forget-me-nots. I’ve placed it on my dresser, to hold my engagement ring when not wearing. Fitting, since she did really cheer for Evan being the man I’d marry.


The little dish, with the tiny flowers was just another lift yesterday. A lift that would remind me the smallest of things can really make a girl happy. In life, it usually is the small things that count.

Sometimes you just need a fresh coat of paint

For my few loyal readers, you may have noticed that in the past week all vintage has been on hold.

In the description of my blog I promised to grow and become a better person while pursing my passion of all things vintage, re-purposing and other creative endeavors. Yesterday I put my money where my mouth is. Well, not my money, more like my paint brush....

It's no news that tough economic times are shared across the country. Both companies and families have had to tighten their purse strings and cut back. As families may be skipping a vacation or pulling from savings, companies too are faced with difficult decisions, including reducing their workforce. In this past week my organization had to make that difficult decision, and I was one of the impacted employees. And, well gee! Sometimes life can really take the wind out of your sails!

After a week spent focused solely on cover letters and applications I felt heavy. Heavy hearted, heavy eye-lidded and just plain heavy! All of that heaviness simply let me drown in the sorrow of losing a position I loved, anxiety over money and nerves for upcoming interviews. Yesterday I had to put myself in my place.

Having spent significant time in my "office", I knew what needed to be done. Putting on my best painting smock I turned on the radio and put my hair up. With a quick scan of my "workshop" I produced a nice warm beachy paint leftover from a past project and got to work. After an hour of rolling, some light scrubbing and re-organizing I felt lifted again. I not only had a clean desk but a little color to lighten the mood of my office nook.

It was only a fresh coat of paint but that reprieve from job hunting reminded me of why I started to this blog. To encourage myself to spend more time investing in things I love. Even when life gets tough, even when that wind is sucked from the sails- staying true to yourself can get you through it! Taking a break, taking time to do something you appreciate can re-energize you. That energy is what you need the most during difficult times.

So while I cannot neglect the important task of job hunting, I will remember that my virtue is in vintage. Holding true to my virtues will make this a much easier time period.




And to think, I got all of that from a just fresh coat of paint!

Use your own vintage

Breathing new life into past cherished items is one of the greatest joys in vintage. I wrote before that knowing the story is also part of the joy. So why not look within your own home, objects with your great story to create a new one? This idea dawned on me when packing for a weekend beach get a way.

Desiring a dress that was casual enough or a beach dinner but stunning enough to make an impression I thought to an old favorite- my white lace cutout dress. Bought almost 8 years ago I've worn the dress only twice. Despite loving it and how it makes me feel wearing it- the white sheer material was hardly ever appropriate. Since the white was the problem, I decided to take a chance and dye it- tie dye it.

 Materials:

1 package of fabric dye (I always use RIT brand)
Rubber bands
Large pot
Bleach
*rubber gloves

 Mix dye according to package instructions. Wear gloves, I did not and my hands were blue for two days! My item was small enough to follow instructions for stove top dye method. In my garmet I double-processed. Once to get overall color then "tie-bleached" to get a lighter version of the same color. I mixed bleach with water (probably 1 part bleach to 5 parts water)and then followed tie dying instructions. YouTube has tutorials for tie dying techniques which are helpful for first timers.




The dress was originally bought for a fancy 18 year old-me's date. Found at a boutique on Elmwood Avenue in Buffalo, NY it was magical. My mom helped me pick it out and said she pictured one day my wedding dress looking like this lacey number. The night I wore it I felt beautiful.

 Yesterday 27 year old me wore it for a beach weekend with my finance. In a new shade and with confidence that only age can build, I felt magical. We dined ocean front then took the dress right onto the shore creating one of our best memories yet.

 Man do I love this dress.

Day 3: Ta-da!

Day 3 Ta-Da! It's done!

Day 3 work was a repeat of 1 and 2.  We had to prep the new boards then glue and hammer onto the base.

Hanging It Up To Love

Our antique door-headboard

Last year we visited our local hardware store to inquire about hanging a 50 lb. stained glass door as a headboard. Since its 1) heavy glass and 2) above our heads when we sleep- dependability was a must! The hardware expert lead us to "Anchor Wire, Picture Hanging Systems". These systems are brackets that attach to the wall and the object to be hanged. So far, the piece has remained undisturbed!

You can find different sizes based on weight to hang. They usually run under $15 for brackets with all needed materials (screws, anchors).The best part- built in levels! The only downside is you do need to drill a bracket into your object which causes damage.  This is only a problem if you decide to reveal the wall side in the future.

Instructions for use: "Attached one bracket to wall using included mounting hardware. Ensure wall bracket is level with included level. Mount other bracketto back of object to be hung. Slide object bracket over installed wall bracket" 

Before and After Views- the, "Ta-Da"

                                   

Final thoughts: Anyone that says, "she should have made it bigger...". Yes, I agree. I got scared that it would be overwhelming and used the less-is-more approach when I should have gone H-U-G-E (had I listened to my project partner in the start it would be a foot taller and probably just right). Either way, we love it. The board colors are perfect for the industrial-farmhouse vibe we were looking for. It also warmed up the living room without needing to paint the apartment. All-in-all, I'll chalk it up as a success! Now on to the next story....

Quick Fixes for the Wood Wall Art Project

Before I reveal the last day and completed project here were some tips along the way.

Not all of the boards were perfect for the project. In pulling apart pallets some cracked while others looked too new. These were both easy fixes using the below tips.

Problem 1: Mismatched boards, faux-antiquing technique

There are a lot of different ways to "antique" materials. The method I used during this project was simple and available with materials already in our home.

Materials:

Shoe polish (black)
Old rag
Sand paper

Gently dab the rag in the polish and rub over material. Sand lightly to finish the look and prevent polish from rubbing off on other materials.

WARNING: Use the less-is-more approach with the shoe polish! You can always add more, but its difficult to take away the polish. You can also use sand paper to fade spots you over-indulged in polish.

Before: Top       After: Below

Problem 2: Cracked Boards

Materials:

Wood glue
Zip ties

We live in an apartment so our tools are limited. So while I'm certain clamps would usually be used I was able to correct cracks with a ribbon of wood glue and secure around the board with a zip tie. I left the zip ties on for 24 hours before snipping off.

WARNING: Wood glue is NOT Elmer's school glue and does not dry clear. Use a damp rag to immediately wipe up any glue that leaks onto the visual side of your project.

Don't be a ball hog

Lessons Learned from Day 2: Don't be a ball hog

Day two was rough for me.  Not that the project itself was difficult, but learning to share a project.

My lovely fiance, Evan, was interested in the wood wall art and wanted to help.  All week long he was making suggestions on measurements, materials, size, etc. He also ended each suggestion with, "...but this is your project so you call the shots".

Honestly, I needed the help but was afraid of losing the credit.  I like the feeling of looking onto a completed project and knowing that it was all my blood, my sweat, and my tears that got it done.  I don't just start these things because i love how my fingers bleed after a few good hours of hand sanding!

So even though there is a clear "I" in Vintage, there's also enough letters to spell Evan, so I graciously began to surrender this as our project. Somewhere in my heart (behind the center-of-attention-only-child part) I know it will be more satisfying in the end to share the project story together rather than alone.

Day 2: Project Wood Wall Art

Lessons learned from day 1:

When dealing with anything you found outside, in the elements with limited information on its past use: wear protective clothing! This is probably a good lesson taught in every middle school shop class for all craftsman projects, but one I learned the hard way. I had an allergic reaction to something on the wood panels which resulted in a burning sensation through the evening- "yay for old wood found salvaged from the outdoors!".  In the future I will, and I recommend, long sleeved shirts and pants.

Day 1 1/2 and 2:

I bumped the hardware store visit to Day 2...

Purchased materials:
*3/4" wood nails
*Wood Glue
*Hanging System (will explain when its time to hang)
*1/4" thick hardwood board to mount all panel boards onto
(Total Cost: $37.00)

Tools:
*Hammer
*Sandpaper block
*Metal snips

After clearing a work zone in the apartment we were set to begin! Laying the boards out first we started to see two issues:

1. Not all boards matched up nice and neat (warped woods, angled cuts, completely different colors....)

2. We are about a panel and a half of boards short of what we need (this was anticipated)

After playing around with different partners we opted to accept the imperfect look, after all that's why we choose to use old wood panels! We also decided to discard some that were too mismatched.  While we want it to look rugged, we don't want it to look messy. I'm going to try a finishing technique later on to even out the color of some partnered boards.

Some light sanding to each board, front and back, helped clean them up and freed loose pieces which could result in splinters when handling.  

Each piece received a ribbon of wood glue on the board side before nails.  We tried to stay within the same old nail holes to eliminate the need for additional holes or a poorly crafted appearance. Mistakes made during this part: Wrong size nails purchased (grrr!). Luckily we had some 1” nails at home that did the trick.

The nailing of boards took all of 30 minutes which made it that much more disheartening that we did not have enough to finish.

After nailing the next issue was trimming the excess from the back.  This took a pair of metal snips.  While safety goggles probably should be worn during all times this is a part where I cannot emphasize their importance enough.  The ends of the nails fly wildly when snipped.  The “ping-ping-ping” of them bouncing throughout our apartment resulted in an on-hands-and-knees search for metal tips during clean up! For the tips that were too difficult to snip we hammered sideways and will be covering with duct tape to prevent any scrapes to the wall when hung.

At the end of Day 2 we are half way complete.  I’m hoping to finish by the end of this weekend!

Day 2 Results

Project Wood Wall Art: Day 1, Prep work

When visiting friends in the Cleveland, OH area I was inspired by the ambiance at a local watering hole, The Bottlehouse.  The atmosphere was community-farm tables, B.Y.O.F (bring your own food), and quality libations.  With mild lighting and a modern take on rustic furnishing the place made you want to curl up with good friends and good stout.  This modern cottage vibe was completed with a "wooden wall". Serving as a backdrop to the band's stage was a reverse wood floor.  Essentially, wood panels on a wall.

The Inspiration

I love this idea and am attempting to recreate a similar piece in our home.  The challenge: making it removable and reusable. Being apartment dwellers we need to minimize damage but also create something we can save for future use.

The goal is to complete this within two weeks.  After some light planning (measuring and gathering pallets) I'm ready to get started. Day one...

Materials: 

• Old "freebie" pallets
• A hammer

Goal: Remove all old nails from pallets, trip to hardware store to purchase backdrop.