Dremel Design

Power tools….. bloggers usually love some power tools and most people think of power tools as largish, as in circular saws, drills, etc.  Today I am talking about a power tool that should be in your arsenal…..for design and  for fun! The Dremel multitasking tool.

I found a wood changing table at the thrift store and then was able to score two very old bar stools from a house around the corner from my shop. 

This how I found them…..

And this is how they came together to form a fun partnership!

I removed all of the seat padding and then glued and screwed the changing table to the stools after I  sanded and spray painted the stools so they looked fresh. And although I liked the overall look, it needed something. So I made a triangle template, outlined them and then used my Dremel tool to score the top of the wood. I used the smallest burr that comes with the set and it was easy. I just took my time and made sure that I was going the same depth and keeping my lines straight. 

Here she is all shaped up. This only took me about 30 minutes to complete but it added a unique and modern touch to this industrial marriage of found objects.  The girl who purchased it saw it at a night market I did in Downtown Pittsburgh. She didn't purchase it that night but called me 2 days later and said she couldn't stop thinking about it and could she come to the shop to buy it? Of course! 

I love it when people fall in love with something that I have created. I know I preach think of ways to use something in a different way. Well now you can think of the Dremel in a new way…..I think I'll be seeing triangles on more things!!

Always being renewed,

Red Storage Chest for Kelbi

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 No Spam, just repurposed goodness!

I love doing custom work for people and especially for friends and family. I get a kick out of the surprise!

So about a months and a half ago, a colleague friend of mine asked me to find/make something for her husband to use to corral the doggie stuff that is on their front porch. I was more that happy to start the hunt!

As it turns out two weeks prior to the call, I had found a metal chest at a local thrift store that I wanted to get for an end table/storage and talked myself out of it that day!!!!  Gah, when she called that was the first thing I thought of to use and about punched myself for not picking it up.  I immediately went there to see if by chance it had been looked over and guess what?????

Those things are never there when you go back……except this ONE time!

It was still there and had stuff piled on top of it, so it was meant to be. It was in rough shape but as you know, paint can work wonders.

Here she is in her pre-restored state:

We had some dents to bang out but a rubber mallet works well with this along with a piece of wood covered in some cloth held on the other side. That way you aren't making dents come out on the other side!

After I gave the chest a good washing and sanding, I gave it two coats of red oil-based paint since it was going to be residing outside. Since their dog Kelbi is a lab I decided to do a retro look with a lab silhouette. I used an overhead projector to do this and then hand-painted the rest. 

It is very important when you are doing a stencil or hand-painting over two surfaces (lid plus base as is pictured here above or two drawers, etc.) that you finish the inside/top edges. It makes it look more finished in my opinion. 

So here is Kelbi's chest all finished!

I added some handles out of an old black belt and used my rivet gun to attach. I love how the white rivets play off the black belt and tie into the whole retro feel.

All of the graphic was painted in oil-based paint as well and I added a top coat of oil-based poly on the graphic just to add a layer of durability. I don't want Kelbi to wear off! Now Kelbi is a yellow lab so after I painted the whole thing, I thought, "CRUDE! I should have done the lab image in a yellow!" But then I thought it would lose it's vintage/retro feel so I kept it all black, red, and white.

Here's a nice view from the side that shows the handle detail a bit better. Some of the dents would not come out so so easily so instead of beating the chest to death I got the major dents out and the rest "add character" as we like to say.

I hope Kelbi likes his new storage chest, I know I love it!

Always being renewed,

Please see the link party page to see where I link arms with those blissfully beautiful bloggers that host every week. So gracious they are along with these other sweet ladies!
       

 

     

Bunny Pillows and How to use iron-on transfer paper

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I thought I'd make some bunny pillows for Easter and some St. Patrick day door hangers for the sale this weekend. But how to do it? I don't have a fancy printer and I don't know how to print on fabric nor am I a silk screen printer, although I think I would like to learn how. So as I was in Joann fabrics looking for some nice linen fabric to use for the pillows, I remembered I had made a photo quilt for my parents 40 wedding anniversary using iron-on transfer paper.

It is a bit expensive but if you use your 40% off coupon, not so bad!

So how do you use it?     Very easy really!

Here's the skinny:

1. Find a picture you want to use or a photo (make sure it is not copyrighted!)

2.  Crop the photo if you like using whatever software you have. 

3.Place the paper in your printer with the stripe facing up

4. Print out your photo/picture. You can print more than one image on each sheet depending on how big you want your image to be. 

***If you have words that you want printed, you HAVE to choose mirror image print or the words will be backwards!

5. Let dry 30 minutes before ironing

6. Pre-heat the iron for 5 minutes, no water in the iron and set to cotton and no steam.

7. Cut out only what you want from the image to transfer onto your fabric.

8. Place the image face down on your fabric and iron on something hard like a wooden cutting board with a pillow case layed over top of it. Press hard and leave in place for 15-20 seconds in each section. Make sure you pay special attention to the edges. 

9. Let the paper cool until still warm to the touch. Gently lift an edge and start peeling the paper up. If you see a bit of the transfer not transferring, put the iron on that spot for a second or two then try again.

10. If you want a gloss finish on the transfer, leave the paper on until it is completely cooled.

Voila!

Here they are individually so you can see a bit more detail I hope…

This graphic was from The Graphics Fairy. If you need anything vintage and graphic go see her website. Fantastic selection. 

This one is also from The Graphics Fairy but I cropped it down so it would be bigger and just have the bunny. Here is the actual image:

I cropped it down and then adjusted it to fit on an 8x10 sheet. 

 Here are the door hangers:

And I tried one on burlap. A little sketchy for this one. It was the first one I transferred so I did not leave the iron on this long enough. But it looks like a little rustic, or maybe I am rationalizing too much =-)

What do you think of iron-on transfers?

Ever tried them?

Always being renewed,

Please see the link party page to see where I link arms with those blissfully beautiful bloggers that host every week. So gracious they are along with these other sweet ladies!