mifl | diy

you're very, um... terrarium

2010-07-07T00:41:00.004-06:00

TERRARIUMS!! I LOVE THEM.

I don't know what my deal is lately, but I'm bonkers for terrariums all of a sudden, so I'm going with it.

Here's my first.. A desert terrarium that I'm taking to work. That pot it's in was one of my favorite vases that cracked while hula hooping inside a couple years ago (dumbass), so I busted it some more and it made the perfect pot!

I bought a bunch of supplies for more, so stay tuned!!

couch update

2010-07-07T00:11:00.009-06:00

So I've been working on my couch for over a year now.. the frame has long since been fnished, but I've been paralyzed by indecision about the cushioning. Such is my life. Fear of commitment. I have trouble with fabric.. imagine what a picnic bigger life decisions are. Uhhh, but I digress (thank god). I FINALLY found some fabric and pillows that I LOVE and will complete the couch before this decade ends.. fingers crossed! Good things come to those who wait, yes? Now to get the thing put together. Some images of the frame, fabric and pillows. More to come when it's complete:

PS: Per the earlier post about this being a mighty mend it project.. PSHHHH! (joke) This couch is held together with blood sweat and tears, baby. I the seams on the four corners of the front of the arm rests are hand-sewn.. needle and thread by yours truly.

PPS: Factoid for local twerps, I bought this couch from @DrasticJo over 2 years ago! Wow.

reunion chair

2010-07-06T23:46:00.004-06:00

Reconnected with an old classmate on Twitter and through this blog, he found out I did reupholstery. He asked if I'd be interested in working on a chair, so I reupholstered a really neat boudoir chair for his family.

this chair was a steal-case!

2009-06-30T02:56:00.015-06:00

my lovely couch recover job has been postponed while i recovered another seating apparatus i found last weekend at a yard sale. i paid $5 for this lovely brady bunch steelcase chair, $4 for buttons, $20 for new padding. Used left over batting and white vinyl for the rest. $30 for a new-to-me chair ain't bad, eh? i have been searching for the perfect desk chair.. something retro, but classic. some new upholstery, and this one would be perfect. turned out to be a major pain in the ass, but got it done in two days.. not too shabby!

voila!

ps. i might need an intervention what with my white vinyl obsession.

couch reupholstery or the mighty mend it project

2009-06-21T15:52:00.003-06:00

vinyl: check. mighty mend it: check. couch upholstery begins today!

you heard that right. i'm upholstering this couch with vinyl and mighty mend it. if it's strong enough to repair a parachute and withstand storm force winds, it's strong enough for my fat ass. stay tuned to follow its progress!!

WORD!

2009-05-22T13:26:00.003-06:00

i want this shirt fo shizzle. except you know i'll make my own. IRON ON POWER!

shirt via skreened

mui so pretty

2009-05-06T18:36:00.003-06:00

every since mui mui came out with these sunglasses, i have adored them.. but my bank account told me i could stick them where the sun don't shine.. tres ironic!

so imagine my utter glee when i walked into baker's the other day and found these sexy knockoffs for a mere $17! no, i didn't make them, but fabulous things come to those who wait, yes?!

Silver Twig Necklace

2009-01-04T01:01:00.007-07:00

Here it is.. my FREE silver twig necklace. Made of chains from other necklaces that I don't wear anymore spliced together asymmetrically (a far cooler effect than the original). Then I found a small twig from that big free resource called outside. I originally painted it with silver acrylic, but it turned out far too matte, so I found a super thin sheet of silver foil that had once covered some chocolate (ha! not so crazy for saving that, now was I?!) and covered the twig with varnish and wrapped the foil around and pressed it against the twig until the shape was impressed. Finally, I attached it to the chain with super thin silver wire. VOILA! I love it. I made a gold one, too, but had the same problem with matte paint and unfortunately used the gold foil I had saved on another project, so I'll have to eat more chocolate so I can finish it ;)

What I ripped off:

Put that in your pipe and smoke it!

2008-12-29T01:20:00.004-07:00

Pipe candle holders. A project from several years ago. Got the idea from Readymade magazine, I believe. Amazing what you can do with plumbing!

Multi-chain necklace

2008-12-29T01:06:00.003-07:00

My Urban Outfitters knock-off (see previous post). Various chains from a thrift store, JoAnn Fabric (clearance), and a chain I already had. Plus chain to spare for additional projects. Less than $15. Might still add an element or two, but I'm pleased with the outcome :)

Preview

2008-12-22T19:58:00.000-07:00

Here are some upcoming projects. Stay tuned for results!

Twig necklace:

Can you believe that price?!!?! To be fair, it's molded sterling silver.. and mine will be a silver painted twig on a chain. BUT mine will biodegrade faster and be a lot lighter. Take that, high-falootin' metal twig. HA!

Ginkgo leaf necklace:

This sucker is $690!!!! Hello! I love the idea of this necklace and I plan on getting similar results without having to sell a kidney.

Various chain necklaces from Urban Outfitters:

Love 'em, but I am NOT paying $38 a piece!! A variety of necklace chains from JoAnn Fabric or even a thrift store and, TA DA! Same diff!

Pintuck Duvet cover:

I have been looking FOREVER for the perfect duvet cover and I finally found it at West Elm.. However, those kooky folks at West Elm seem to have forgotten we're in a RECESSION. Granted, $99 isn't bad for a duvet cover, but they don't have white. And I'm hopelessly cheap. Sigh. So I pick up an inexpensive plain white duvet cover and pin tuck it myself. Sounds like fun, yes?!

So I should be pretty busy through, oh, 2011ish.

one man's trash...

2008-12-22T01:26:00.000-07:00

...is another's christmas decoration.

made from christmas cookie tin trash and post-it origami.

happy holidays!

Hot Seat

2008-12-22T00:18:00.000-07:00

One of my fabulous thrift store finds was a sweet chair that I got for a steal. I loved the style, but wasn't crazy about the fabric. So I planned to reupholster it. I was going to use a metallic fabric (see "before" photo), but I didn't have enough and couldn't find anymore. I did find some equally fun fabric that got my imagination going, so I bought it. And after all that, the chair sat in the same place untouched for two months! Haha. I kept going back and forth between getting it done professionally and doing it myself. Finally, I figured I better just get it taken care of. I called a local upholstery place and asked for an estimate. I won't repeat some of the choice words that came to mind when I heard something in the ballpark of $500! For a few bucks worth of fabric on a $35 chair?! PSHH! I would, indeed, do it myself. Problem: I've never reuphholstered anything in my life! Well, not true. I did do something once that was straight and square and took all of a half hour. This current project, however, involved a very curvy chair with several nooks and crannies. I was totally stressing, but it had to be done, so during my holiday break, I got to work. That sucker took a month to finish!! I must say that even though I whined the whole way through, I had a blast! Talk about one of the best problem solving projects I've ever tackled. Every time I thought something would be easy, it would punch me in the gut and laugh at me while I lay crying. See that seat cushion there? All sewn by hand (thimble, needle, thread). I thought I had permanently damaged my hands when I was done! YOUCH! Would I ever do it again? Hmmm.. I'm seriously considering just buying new furniture from now on. I jest, of course. I loved this project and I'd do it again.. but not for a looooong time!

So behold, my adventure in reupholstery. I am so stinkin' proud of myself, y'all don't even know. It might sound like I'm bragging... and that's because I am. I am tootin' my own horn up one side of the street and down the other, yo ;D

Before:

After:

ooooh.. ahhhhhhh!

Check out my photo diary of its progress.

ps. if anyone ever needs a DNA sample from me, there's plenty of my blood, sweat, and tears all over the chair ;)

UPDATE: i had the privilege to have my chair featured on design*sponge's before and after: chair love. a true honor!!

Tattoo Onsies

2008-12-22T00:11:00.000-07:00

i was looking for a baby gift for a friend and i saw the cutest onsie at a record store with a tattoo graphic on it, but it was like $30!! "screw that", said i. so i bought a pack of onsies on the cheap, borrowed some tattoo graphics from the interwebnetz, customized them, printed them on transfer paper, ironed on, and....

VOILA! they were a hit :)

USB duck

2008-12-21T23:35:00.000-07:00

Some of you might recall these fun iduck thumb drives that came out a few years ago:

I so wanted one, but they were ridiculously priced and I just wasn't having it.

Fortuitously, around the time they came on the scene, I was strolling through Cost Plus one day and saw these little rubber duckies (two for cheap) that also glow in the dark. BING! The light came on.

Booyah! I made my own dang iduck, suckas!

I think you'll agree mine is far superior to the original. Much cuter, anyway.

maybe i want to look cheap!

2008-12-21T23:29:00.000-07:00

I suffer from severe sticker shock..

... to which I usually respond with something uber sophisticated like, "YER MOM!"

And then I make it myself.

It's not that I'm cheap (I prefer "fiscally prudent").. and I will shell out the big bucks if I deem the item worthy of the price. But some things I refuse to pay for if I can possibly achieve the same effect myself. Which I'm usually too lazy to do.. also saving me money (hooray!). Sometimes, however, I succeed.

Herein I will post such successes.