Craft Corner Completed!

Oh what a great day it was yesterday when I finally completed my craft corner. It ended when I finished covering my Fira chest. It took several coats of paint and lacquer and two attempts at covering with paper, but now I am so, so pleased. In fact, I am very excited about all of my color and paper choices lately. I began to modify the phrase "measure twice, cut once," to say, "think once, create twice," in that whatever my initial plan is, I execute it, something goes wrong or I decide to change it, (like with my bulletin board) and then I love it in the end.


The drawers before I put them into the base.


Close up of the pattern of the side.


The insides of the drawers, painted yellow and lacquered, were dusty, bumpy and rough and I thought that I wouldn't want to put my paper and supplies into the drawers that way. So I covered the bottoms with paper from a pack of 12x12 scrapbook paper that I got at Target for just $1 this past Sunday! I love Target's $1 bins - I also got a stamp pad, ribbon and two packs of small scraps (that match the larger pack of paper), all for $1 each.


Voila! Here is my new, clean space. I think the colors all go so perfectly together. The area really lights up the room and finally something is on the walls! I'm going to order two shelves to put above the TV to display my many cameras and knick knacks and I think that wall will finally be complete.


Speaking of walls, I finally began my mirror wall in the entryway. You see, when I was growing up, my grandmother still lived in her house in Belle Harbor, Queens, NY, that my dad and aunt grew up in. I loved it, so vintage, cozy, a few houses down from the beach. One of my favorite features was that the whole entry wall, going all the way up the staircase, was covered with mirrors collected from all over the world. When she sold the house, I was still young and didn't have any interest in most of the mirrors. But after I moved into my apartment, I had the perfect wall for mirrors and for my birthday, my grandmother gave me a few of the ones that were on her wall. I already had the two larger mirrors and one of the stained glass ones, but the rest are hers. There's a mirror on there from Greece and one from China, probably other places, too, but now I forget. I can't wait to see this wall grow.

That's what I've been up to lately. With each project, I get closer to feeling like I have a completed apartment that really feels like home.

Ikea Hacks

Took a trip back to Ikea on Saturday and loaded up on goodies. Many of them were to "hack" (well, really, just paint!)



This was the first draft of my Chris noticeboard. I used three colors of paint samples from the hardware store. But after I painted it, I realized it really didn't go with my new drawers (see below) and my magnet board. So I changed a little bit and wound up with something much prettier and matching with my new color scheme.





I also got the Helmer drawers that I've been wanting for a while. I took off the casters and it fits perfectly under my desk. All it took was some paper cut to size and spray glue and voila. Though it did take a lot of trial and error to get the paper to stick the right way.

Other things to be painted are the Vika Furusund, which is now a leg of the kitchen table, 6 Knuff magazine files and a Fira chest, which is already in progress.

Other things purchased during the trip were a Rian side table for my sewing machine, 6 Branas baskets, a Global lamp and a Lisbet runner, but we haven't laid it down permanently yet and when we did as a test, wow it made me so dizzy, so we'll have to see if that's going to stay, and several other little things like picture frames and bowls.

I'm looking forward to a happier, brighter apartment soon!

Finally Something Pretty!

I've been absent from writing while I contemplate where I want to go with my craft. I want to open a shop at Etsy, but I don't know whether I want to go in a crafty direction -- and if I do, what crafts in specific? -- or photography. So I've been spending lots of my time on the Etsy forums and taking photos. Next week I start classes again, but I hope the business will make me more active and not stressed.



I found a magnetic board at a Marshall's in New Jersey about a month ago for $14.99. It had a worn finish of white, but with wood color showing through. The image over the magnetic board was several vintage photos of people at a lake or pool (I forget now!), but it looked so mass produced and not my style. I'm kicking myself now for not taking a 'before' shot!



With a bit of sanding, fresh paint, and a new paper covering from Kate's Paperie, this is just the accessory I needed to get my new workspace going. That's all for now, I just wanted to share this!

Sickland

I have been so, so sick this week (and still am!) I've never been this sick before. On Wednesday I almost fainted in Duane Reade and that night my fever was 103.5. So, while I still haven't recovered I can't blog too much.

But, this weekend I had a visit to my family in Massachusetts and I came home with some post-birthday and freebie goodies. For my birthday, a garlic press and a potato masher, which I used last night to make guacamole. As freebies, I got two framed prints, took back two of my old wall hangings, and a few other things. One of the coolest freebies was the 80s Nikomat EL camera I took home, that was my dad's. I don't think I'll use it, but my vintage Duaflex II and Argus 75 came on Tuesday, so maybe I'll make a little shelf of my old cameras.

Well that's all for now, I hope I can get back into design-related posts soon and maybe even start organizing my table so I can craft and make an Etsy shop! How exciting.

What I've Been Up To

I am driving myself crazy with all the design changes I'm trying to make around the house! It recently hit me that I'm going back to school in just a few weeks and I began to worry that I did not have the right environment for studying. That, and I just have not yet found a sanctuary in my own apartment.



The biggest changes so far are in the bedroom. I bought another bookcase and we put them on either side of the bed, giving it sort of a built-in look. I'm still working on properly accessorizing the shelves. More importantly, I gave in and bought a duvet cover and a beautiful mirror from World Market. And let's not even get into how much I spent at Bed Bath & Beyond on sheets, shams, bed skirt, etc. (P.S. If you sign up for World Market's e-mail list, they give you a code for 10% off your next purchase!)

Now the parasols I spent so much time stressing over don't go, so they'll find a new home in the living room eventually. I am definitely considering buying some of Alicia Bock's through the viewfinder prints for over the bed. I was so inspired by her photos that today, (though I'm so far extremely disappointed by the slow speed of the seller) I bought two vintage cameras from eBay to try my hand at the vintage technique she uses, but it's going to require building a light blocker and even getting a macro lens for my camera.

Speaking of the living room, before I mentioned that I needed a good work environment, so I bought a simple white desk from Target (where else?) that should arrive in a few days. I looked on craigslist for so long to find a chic desk, but this ended up being the right size, look and price. Next on the list will be buying two pieces from the modular cube storage system as a new tv stand, and painting it, a la the modular coffee table featured in this month's Blueprint Magazine.

And that's really just the tip of the iceberg because there's still walls, walls, walls to cover, as well as setting up my desk area, getting storage, and my sewing machine back from my mom's house, wallpapering the cabinets, refinishing the table and chairs... I'm getting overwhelmed just thinking about it.

Finally, there's an entry over at Decor8 in response to an e-mail I sent Holly, asking her advice on Etsy shops. I'm thinking that once I get the apartment under control and once I get a feel for my course load, I can settle down and create. But that feels like it'll never come!

Annual Chelsea Stoop Sale

Just saw an ad on craigslist and also clickyourblock.com about the stoop sale. Residents sell books, clothes, household items, toys, etc. I love sales like this, I'll especially be looking for vintage finds and mirrors.

The Annual Chelsea Stoop Sale
May 19, 2007 (rain date May 20)
11am to 4pm
22nd St between 7th and 10th Aves

Mango Creamcicle Smoothie

Speaking of warm weather, here's my recipe for a delicious mango smoothie. This recipe would also be great frozen as popcicles. You can use over-ripe mangos, like the ones I got today from the street stand for $1 each.

2 mangos
1 1/4 cups plain yogurt
3/4 cup orange juice
3/4 cup milk
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon honey

Peel and dice mangos, freeze in a baggie. When frozen, re-dice mango if it has made one giant glob. Add mango, yogurt, orange juice, milk, sugar and honey to a blender. If mixture is too thick, add equal parts milk and orange juice until desired consistancy. Make sure that the sugar has a lot of time to blend in, or else it will be crunchy. Serve immediately!

Yields approximately 6 cups.