DIY: Gold Leafing

To say that this DIY gave me a bit of a hard time would be the understatement of the month. It all began with this big white shade.

I got it from the Pottery Barn/West Elm Outlet for $22 several months ago and have always felt like it needed a little makeover. Well, thanks to my #smallThanksgivings initiative and newly painted drapes, it was high time to give this thing a face lift.

I just used the same paint and textile medium mixture that I used on the drapes and gave the shade two coats. Once it was dry, I knew I had to tackle the shade's interior.

I purchased two packages of gold leafing from Hobby Lobby, but didn't bother with the special adhesive. Maybe that was my first mistake. Maybe not. You're supposed to spread the adhesive over a large area so that you can lay several sheets in one pass. I'll admit that I probably didn't lay them properly (I think they're supposed to overlap), but I believe that the Mod Podge that I used dried a little faster than I could move with the gold sheets. This created lots and lots of holes and gaps. Not to mention that gold leaf melts when you touch it with bare hands, disintegrates when disturbed with a brush and has a tendency to stick to itself.

I started the gold leafing Wednesday night and went at it for about 4 hours. What you see above is what I had done in that time. I went to bed with the worst back ache ever.

The next morning, I started filling in all of the gaps. I did it for as long as I could stand (literally), and once I used the last gold leafing sheet, I called it quits. There are a few minor holes and gaps left, but they don't really bother me at all. So, in spite of the pain in the @$$ that this project was, I'm  pretty happy with the results.

My back still hurts but the gold glowiness of my new shade kinda helps with the pain.

DIY: Painted Black Trimmed Drapes

This photo created quite the buzz on Instagram last night, so I thought I'd make it my duty to get this post up today.

Let's start with a little before pic, shall we?

This pic is a way-before before picture, but you get the picture. Plane old canvas drapes...pretty boring. I finally hemmed them to their proper length and then got to work on adding the black stripped detail.

Here's what you'll need to trim out your drapes:

*DRAPES*

Mine are just canvas drop cloths from Home Depot.

1. Paint in your choice of color. I chose a black acrylic paint that I got from Michael's for a couple bucks with their 40% off coupon.

2. Textile medium to keep things from being too crunchy. Just mix it with your paint; I did a 1:1 ratio. This is available at any craft store.

3. A container to mix and hold your paint and something to stir with. I just used a plastic tupperware bowl and a bamboo skewer.

3. Painters tape. Frog Tape is perfect for a project like this. The tape is special made to stop bleed-through, which is very important for this project.

4. Your painting tool of choice. I liked using my 2" synthetic hair paint brush; lots of control. You can try a foam roller, but from my experience, you use way more paint with the roller.

5. A ruler or some other measuring device.

6. Something to protect the surface that you're working on. There will be a little seepage to the back of the drapes so keep that in mind.

First, tape off your stripe. Mine is 3" wide. I placed the tape closest to the edge first. I just used the seam of the manufacture's hem as a guide. Then, I measured 3" towards the center of the drape and placed my second piece of tape. Keep your ruler handy to be sure that your measurement is consistent all the way down. Also, be sure that your tape is completely secured in the areas that your going to paint. The no-bleeding technology won't work if the tape isn't properly secured to the drape.

Mix your paint and textile medium in a bowl in a 1:1 ratio. That just means for as much paint you put into your container, put that much textile medium in the bowl as well.

Next, get to painting! Just stay inside the lines.

Also, try not to load up your brush with too much paint, and work in small 4-6 inch sections at a time.

See how I stayed inside the lines?

Once you're done painting, remove all of the tape BEFORE the paint dries. This will help insure super crisp lines.

Leave your drapes flat to dry. Thanks to the acrylic paint, mine were dry in about an hour.

Now, you're ready to hang. Here's a detail shot of how I hang all of the drapes in my house.

Each end gets it's own clip.

I, then, pinch the center of the drape and then clip it. After that, pinch equal spaces and clip each pinch so that the roll of the drape is in the front.

This is the look of the finished product. Its not really for operable drapes (drapes that you open and close often), its just for aesthetics.

This little project was super simple. The hardest part was the taping and even that part is a no brainer (as long as you have a ruler). Total time for this project was about 3 hours. I'm completely in love with mine, so I'm hoping some of you guys decide to tackle painting your own drapes. I'd love to hear all about it!

Get this Room: #smallThanksgivings Inspired

Hello loves! As you know, I'm working away to prepare for my small Thanksgiving, but I'm on today to share a dining room inspired by the black and white theme that's inspiring my table setting. If I had the space (and the funds), this look (with seating for 6) would definitely be the perfect base for my quaint Thanksgiving dinner for three.

Hektar Pendant: IKEA
 I would paint the inside of the fixture gold with a little spray paint!

Black Wood Dining Table: Overstock
This table is the perfect size for comfortably seating six people.

Baxton Studio Eiffel Armchair: Amazon
These would go on each end of the table.

Baxton Studio Eiffel Side chair (2 sets): Amazon
Two on each side would do the trick.

8 x 10 Diamond Rug: Urban Outfitters
The flat weave is great for dining areas.

Besta Sideboard: IKEA
This piece is great for storing china, but the top is calling for all your bar accessories!

11 X 14 Path to Gold Print: Etsy (LFAStudios)
Golden Love Printable: Etsy (JMPrintShop)
6 x 6 Coral & Gold Print: Etsy (ParimaCreativeStudio)
Hang all of these prints in a group above your bar to finish off your vignette.

Total cost for this room: is only $1,018!

The black trimmed drapery can be a simple DIY project. For the cost of simple drapery and black ribbon (or black paint), you can have a super chic look for framing your windows. As a matter of fact, I'll be back this week with a little "how-to" for the look!

My Weekend of (Almost) No Photos

Happy Monday, you guys! How was your weekend? I have to say, mine was so great, that I have almost no photos of all the action. I was too busy living and loving that picking up my phone to snap photos was a rare occurrence. I did, however, manage to snap a few so I'm going to share the blurry goodness with you today!

 

Well, all the fun began on Friday, when my very BEST friend drove in from Chattanooga with her two boys. That night was pretty chill, although, it's always a party when she comes to visit. Saturday morning, after everyone devoured their breakfast, the bestie and I headed out to my favorite thrift store.

 

 

She didn't have any luck scoring anything, but I stumbled across some really cool original pieces of art. Can't wait to show those to you later this week.

 

After an unsuccessful thrifting trip, the entire group (me, hubs, Davin, Bestie, Bestie's boyfriend and Besties two boys) headed to the movies to catch a couple matinées. The kids headed off to see the animated movie, Free Birds. Not sure of how good it was, my kiddo decided that it was his nap time. Yup, slept through the whole thing. The adults got to see the long awaited (14 years!!!) Best Man sequel, Best Man Holiday.

 

 

I had high hopes going in, but I'm one that is always skeptical of sequels and remakes. Gladly, this movie did not disappoint! Can I say, BEST movie I've seen all year!?! As expected, we all laughed hysterically, but what we didn't expect was all of tears!!! Even the hubs had to swallow to keep down the lumps in his throat. OMG, our emotions were all over the place, but I can't express enough how good this movie was. As soon as it ended, we all wanted to see it again and even promised to by the DVD/Blu-ray disc set as soon at it's available. Just like the original, Best Man Holiday is a must for the home movie collection.

 

Right after the movies, hubs and I had to rush home to get ready for the Memphis Urban League RED Fundraising Gala.

 

 

It was a great opportunity for mixing and mingling, but all we wanted to do was get back to our house guests. (Doesn't his look say it all?)

 

 

We snuck out of the gala and headed straight for Dbo's (our favorite wing spot) for a late night meal!

 

 

On Sunday, the boys got to take advantage of the 70 degree weather and headed outdoors to get dirty for a couple hours. Bestie and I made our way back to Dbo's for more wings (told you it was our favorite wing spot) and spent most of the day in front of the TV with our football loving guys.

 

 

 

 

Gotta love her!

 

So, sorry for blur-tastic photos, but there's nothing like spending time with the people that make you put aside your usual neurotic photographic tendencies.