Antique Technique DIY

Wow has our summer not slowed down yet. With working outside the home, a slew of local and etsy store orders, a home school conference and VBS this week I just simply have had no time to write. I have a list of what I want to write about, but with a packed schedule something had to go. It is hard to believe it has been almost two weeks since my last post. But I am back and have lots to share with you this summer. So thank you for stopping by again!
In my last post I shared about my great deal on curtains. Today I will share how I coordinate the hardware in our dining room with a DIY on antique technique. As a kid and even young adult I spent a lot of time in my grandma Lois' ceramic shop. It started with little Christmas ornaments I would paint as 5 years old--I grew up with it. I even made all the bridal shower favors, wedding thank you gifts and candle centerpieces for my wedding from my grandma's shop. It was a fun way to spend time with her, be creative, and learn a great deal about technique. One of them is how to antique something. Which now carry's over into our home decorating.

DIY antique; it is easy. I promise! The first thing is to start with something that has a base coat. The curtain rod ends already were a finished wood. The ceiling medallion (I will show at the end) was white and I painted it brown.

The ones in the picture I started back when I first got my ruined curtains and never finished them. Probably because it was close to Thanksgiving and I ran out of time to finish. But on this project I have 3 colors to antique so I will be able to show you how with the next 2 coats. What you see is the original wood rod ends that have the first color (black) antiqued on them.

Once you have an established base coat you will then decide on your antique colors. For this project I have three because I want it to match the other hardware in our dining room.I used a simple acrilic paint that any craft store will have.You need a paint brush, rag, and small recycled dish or cup.

Take your paint and add a few squirts into the container. Then add a little water at a time and mix it together. This is called thinning your paint.

Then brush your thinned paint all over your piece.

 

Then immediately and gently wipe off the excess paint with your clean rag. If you wipe off too much just paint it again. If you need more to come off, then dampen your rag and keep working at it.Once you have finished, let it dry. I used a foam block so these could dry upright.

Now if you only have one coat then once it is dry, coat with clear coat spray paint and you are done.
But if you have a 2nd or 3rd coat, like this project then I will repeat the process again.
My third and final coat will be gold. Same steps as before. Thin down my paint with water. Brush gold over entire piece, and gently wipe away the excess (but leaving a bit more in the cracks and crevices). Then let it dry before spraying a little clear coat on it.

The picture doesn't do it justice. It looks really nice in real life.

Here is the project that I did that inspired me to the the curtain rods ends. Sorry that I don't have pictures of the process (this was before the blog). My husband found this white medallion at Home Depot. He then, knowing my painting abilities ask if I could make it match the light we were putting up. Challenge excepted! I painted the entire thing brown and then antiqued it black, gold and silver. Then sprayed some clear coat on it.

What do you think? Want to try it? It really is easy!

Patience Pays Off, Thrift Store Curtains

Welcome back to Thrifting Thursday. Today I want to share with you my latest find at our local Youth Ranch and why I needed them. Every year before Thanksgiving I do a deep clean of the whole house because 1) I always host Thanksgiving and 2) I only have to do upkeep on the house to keep it nice looking through the holidays. This last year, on the night before Thanksgiving this is what I did to my dining room curtains. 

They were really dusty and so I washed them but totally forgot to turn the dryer down on low and I ended up melting the backside of my curtains! Uggg! I was so disappointed because these curtains weren't very old. Dear Hubby reminded me that I would be able to replace them by shopping at the thrift store. It was also his way of reminding me our our super tight decorating budget. 

I would soon find out, I was going to need to be flexible and patient to find something to replace the ruined ones.

Almost 4 months later I found a set at one thrift store. They were burgundy like what we had but would need to be hemmed. They were also not at a price I wanted to pay for used curtains. But if I could catch them on sale then I would get them. When I went back a week later to see if they would be on sale they were gone. That is the gamble. So if you REALLY want or need it-- get it. It may not be there next time.

But most always being patient is always best...

Almost 6 months after the melting curtain fiasco, I found a set that seemed like new, would fit the window without any hemming, actually match the ones in our living room and only cost us $4.22 total (with tax). 

It felt good to have pretty curtains in the dining room again!

You may notice in the picture that the rod is missing it ends. In my next post I will share with you how to antique something. 

Has patience payed off you for lately? Please share I would love to read about it! 

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Mason Jar Bug Catcher

Sunshine loves bugs. Unless it happens to be a spider that is on her or a wasp anywhere in the area. Those 2 happen to terrify her. But harmless boxelder bugs she loves! And it wasn't long after I took the photos of her enjoying her bugs that she stared calling them buddies. I think as a 2 year old she was trying to say buggies. However, she is creative and cleaver, so she very well may have meant to name them buddies. Lol! Boxelders happen to live in the elm trees on and next to our property.

                                                                 
 image source

So every spring and summer since then she has had just about every sort of contraption to carry her buddies around with her. This week I thought of this idea for her bugs.

 A mason jar with some pink tulle we had in our scrap ribbon bucket and a canning ring to hold it on. I like this much better than trying to poke holes into a lid.

Happy "buddie" catching!

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Father's Day gift from everyday items

Welcome back to Thrifting Thursday. Today we are sharing how to make a Father's Day gift from everyday items. We are using the wooden parts to the clothespins left over from our Mother's Day gifts from everyday items. This idea came from one of our 4H leaders, she taught the kids how to make them this week. To make these holders you need an empty can, wooden clothespins, rubber band, wire, wire cutters, sharpie markers, clear spray paint.

Note on cans and clothespins: we used mandarin orange and mushroom cans to match the length of our clothespins. You will need to match up the length of your clothespins (older clothespins may be longer) to your can. First place a rubber band around the can. This will hold the clothespins in place while you fill around the can. Make sure the double ridged part of the wood is facing out.

Once your can is full you will wire around the can twice to hold it together. Use wire cutters to twist the wire tight then clip off excess wire.

Once you have finished wrapping wire around the can. Use sharpie markers to write Happy Father's Day, the year, and any thing else they kids would want to draw on it. When decorating is complete spray each can with clear spray paint to give it a protective coat.

I forgot to take a picture of the final look of the cans because at our meeting we moved on to our sewing projects. But they looked so neat! I think it would be fun to fill it with dad's favorite candy when the kids give it to him. Thanks for stopping by!

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Baked Beans

Welcome back to New Meal Mondays. Thank you for stopping by.
I think I finally have a baked bean recipe that I like. I have been trying for over a year with no success. It always seemed to bland. I realized I needed to use more flavors. This one worked. We enjoyed it this week with some macaroni salad and corn on the cob. It was really quite simple and the crockpot slow cooked it to combine all the flavors together.

I dumped 1 can of pork & beans and 1 (drained) can of red kidney beans into the crockpot, then started adding what I thought would work. Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, BBQ sauce, molasses, mustard, 1 Knorr chicken stock concentrate and some homemade dry onion soup mix my sister made for me. I then browned some breakfast sausage (what needed used up) and added it to the pot. I didn't measure just went by taste but if I had to guess I used around 1-2 Tbs for the Worcestershire, molasses and soup mix, then around 1/4 cup of mustard, ketchup and BBQ. Once I had everything mixed in, I let it cook about 3-4 hours in low.

Next time I am going to make it with ground beef and some bacon! What do you use in your baked beans? Please share I would love to try it next time.

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No time for a shower? A quick hair fix!

This is the hair I was born with. Straight, thin, fine, lifeless, oily hair that has been passed down to me. The most bothersome, is the oily part. I can't go 36 hours between washings before it starts looking like I haven't washed it all week. It seems the older I get the worse it gets. Only washing it 2 days a week it simply not an option for me. To help control the oil I don't use conditioner on the top part of my head. I don't overdo any hair products. And currently I am trying organic shampoo too see if this makes a difference. And I will try the "no poo" method again if the organic doesn't help. However, what about the days I am needing to skip a shower because I spend too much time writing a blog post? lol! Here is what I use:

A mixture of cocoa powder (the baking kind) and corn starch = dry shampoo. I first read on this from the Modest Mom and decided to give it a try. I have dark blonde/light brown hair. Mom calls it dishwater blonde so I do half corn starch and half cocoa powder. The darker the hair the more cocoa powder you would use. The recipe also calls for essential oils, but I don't have any so I just skipped that. I keep it in a salt shaker in the bathroom cupboard. To use: I comb my hair and start a the back top part. I sprinkle some on and work it in with my fingers. Then work my way forward and hitting my sides above my ears last. I look like this when I am working it through:

When I'm done working the powder through, I comb again and fix my hair, and finish off with a bit of hair spray.

I have tried the can stuff before but it didn't work for me. This totally works and helps on those days when I want to skip washing my hair. Give it a try and let me know what you think.

P.S. Another day just to show what it looks like when I leave it down.