Thursday DIY: Stained and Painted Bar Stools

This is a DIY project I did a little while back in the fall. I had these bar stools from Wal-Mart since I got my first apartment 3 years ago. They were definitely bland but have always served their purpose. I have, however, developed a love for dark-stained wood. 

Bar Stool DIY: Before and After

Stools are a really nice place to start experimenting with staining because typically no one notices them while their butts are on them. So I had seen a number of really cute looking tutorials on sprucing up bar stools and took a shot at my own style. 

Bare with me on these horrible pictures, I did this project well after midnight and took pictures on a Blackberry.
First off you will want to sand at least the top of the stool to take off the thin varnish it comes with.

Spray down and wipe off the sanded areas to remove any dust. If you don't do this you will end up with clumpy stain and you're gonna have a bad time.

I used Minwax finish on mine. I chose a dark stain with an ashy tint, as opposed to red.

A little bit of style comes in to play at this point. I really wanted the top of the stools to be dark, so I did 2 coats, applying with a rag. After the second coat had sat overnight for maybe 5 or 6 hours, I went back with my rag and created a rougher texture.

I really liked the way the top turned out. It has a lot of grain texture in it and a nice rubbed look. After the stain had fully dried, which probably took around 2 days, I then applied a few coats of ModPodge to seal it all up.

Finally, I painted the legs white with just one coat of acrylic paint (that's what I have lying around so that's what I used).

Happy crafting!

Action and reaction, ebb and flow, trial and error, change - this is the rhythm of living. Out of our over-confidence, fear; out of our fear, clearer vision, fresh hope. And out of hope, progress. - Bruce Barton 

Organize

So it turns out that it is really difficult to keep up with writing when I'm taking so many classes. Therefore, I made myself come up with a schedule of what will happen on what days, not as a commitment to write every day, but as a helpful push which will encourage me to write by already having a topic assigned depending on what day of the week it is.

Mondays will be Art day. This includes write up on my Favorite Artists (a few previous ones can be found by clicking the link), on pieces I have seen recently that really struck a chord, and on my own artwork. Hopefully some day soon this will also broaden to show reviews once I move out of Findlay.

Tuesdays will be for Travel. I love dreaming about where my next adventures will happen. I would love to share with you all the beautiful places I want to go.

Wednesdays are Home days. I will round up great images of home decor, furniture, and ideas that inspire me. I have watched this on several blogs I follow and absolutely love the days when they post. Check out Espacio Vital.

Thursdays we will explore the Do-It-Yourself world. I will post recent projects I have taken on as well as share projects that other bloggers have posted that I find especially useful or intriguing.

Friday will be Fun day. I love posting some well needed funnies to begin my relaxation for the weekend.

Saturday is a Style day. On Saturdays I will show you some of my favorite outfits of my week, ongoing trends, and great ways to spruce up any ensemble.

I really am excited to start posting more again, and can't wait to see what comes up. Have a wonderful weekend!

The human mind is capable of excitement without the application of gross and violent stimulants; and he must have a very faint perception of its beauty and dignity who does not know this.  - William Wordsworth 

Experience {Happiness}

Why does it feel great to learn? Dopamine. Check out this article, Learn something new - your brain willthank you, where Dr Gary Marcus discusses why it feels good for your brain to learn a new skill.

However, you don’t need to pick up a new musical instrument or learn any knew skill to experience the dopamine rush that learning will give you. Get out and experience the world! It has become quite apparent to you, I’m sure, through reading my posts that I have a lot of interests: lots of DIY projects (haircoloring, making over my bedroom, earrings, and crafts), traveling, and I guess it’s inherent that I love writing also (poetry included).

Steps to make getting new experiences easier:

Make a List

I know I harp on this idea a lot, but list-making . . .  well, it makes life easier. Make a list of places you would like to go and things you would like to see. For example, on my list I would include bands I want to see, like Florence + the Machine, Punch Brothers, Neko Case . . . , cities I have never visited, such as New York and Chicago, as well as National Parks I want to see yet.

Set a Date

Decide exactly when you will do the things you want. Get your planner out now, load a new tab and do a Google search, make the necessary texts to invite friends. Go on. Do it.

Execute

Actually follow through with your plans. Your friends dropped out on you? Go anyway, make new friends while you’re there. An event got cancelled? Find a new one. Go through with your plan. Execution is key.

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. - Mark Twain

Hobby {Happiness}

Idle hands are the devil's tool. Think of it as if God's plan is for your happiness, then the devil's is for your sorrow. Boredom is a disease, a sickness that affects the mind, body and soul. Today I saw a sign that read You're not bored, you're boring.

It is so incredibly true! If you are one of those people who constantly needs to be entertained, or find yourself always saying I'm bored, then I strongly suggest your find a hobby.

No, drinking is not a hobby. No, your job is not a hobby. Sitting on the internet looking through random crap isn't a hobby either. I'm talking about finding something to do in your spare time (and don't act like you don't have any) which you can see through from beginning to end that gives you some kind of product or valuable asset.

Why should you have a hobby? TheImportance of Hobbies For Stress Relief states “Hobbies are often thought of as activities for people who lead quiet, relaxed lives. However, people with full, busy, even stressful lives may need hobbies more than the average person, and benefit greatly from having hobbies in their lives” (Elizabeth Scott, M.S).

But don't just chose something random that you don't give a hoot about. Find a piece of furniture in your living space that needs updated, or nurture a fruit-bearing plant of a fruit you love. Make an abstract painting to hang on your wall, take bike trips, join a sport league. In my opinion, the more options you give yourself, the less stressed you will be; I personally enjoy five or six different hobbies.

So think about things you love watching about on TV, or that empty space on your wall and go fill your hands and your time!

Once again, I believe Pinterest is a wonderful place to start: check out my Crafts board for some ideas of things you can make.

Today is life-the only life you are sure of. Make the most of today. Get interested in something. Shake yourself awake. Develop a hobby. Let the winds of enthusiasm sweep through you. Live today with gusto. - Dale Carnegie

Rugby Cleats!

With 3 weeks of school already done I think I'm in the groove of class. I have, however, started to get an itch for more adventure and travel again. On the bright side (incredible bright, in fact, you could even saying it is blindingly optimistic) I have joined Findlay's rugby team! I have been so excited about it that for the past few weeks I have been able to talk about little more than how awesome practices are. Our first game is actually this weekend, so you can expect an update next week about how hard I got rocked.

In light of this great news, I have a fun project to share with you. As part of my gear for the team I had to purchase some cleats, so I went to Walmart, bought a pair for just $15. Then the unthinkable happened: my friend asked me to spray paint his cleats for him. If you can just imagine me slapping my palm to my forehead, then you know my reaction. Why didn't I think of that!? I spray paint everything! So, naturally, I stole the idea and applied it to my own shoes in my own fashion.

Here are the results.

What do you think? I love them. I think it is really key that if you do this to your own shoes you leave the sole the original color otherwise you run the risk of them looking homemade. This actually turned out far better than I expected; the paint didn't chip or scratch off the next practice, and it didn't look all plastic.

Now I'm working on my friend's cleats and they're posing a few more difficulties. The paint wasn't really grabbing the material like it had on mine. I think the brand of paint really makes a difference. For mine I used Rustoleum, and for my friend's we decided on Krylon. The Krylon didn't want to play nicely so I just painted over the material with a white that would stick first (Rustoleum brand).

Let me know if you try this yourself and how it turns out!

Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing. - Helen Keller

Hair We Go...

There have been a lot of lavender hair styles on Pinterest lately, with shades ranging from deep purple to pastels... most of which I love. So, naturally, I get the grand idea that I will bleach and then dye my hair myself! You may already realize my flaw, but bare with me, because what is a better learning experience than seeing what someone else does wrong?

Here is the hair color I started with:

I'm a natural light brunette, and about 3in out from my roots there was a lot of red from previous colorings. Turns out, red is not only the hardest color to keep in your hair, but it is also the hardest to get out!

I purchased Splat Lightening Bleach (2 packages)... and after the first go around with bleaching, I was to this:

To me, I looked like Goldie from Sin City...

Tacky. Right?

So then I got another 2 packages, and got to this:

Oh la la face...

Hey look, I'm the Lorax! (just go with it)

Then it was time to try dying it purple! This was finally the exciting part. So here were the steps:

Necessary supplies: cling wrap, conditioner, Kool-Aid of choice, mixing utensils 

I mixed 6 tablespoons of powder with just enough water to make a paste that was NOT runny.

Add some conditioner.

Uncertain face... a key ingredient when dying with Kool-Aid. Plus it looked like I had dipped my hair in oil.

Wrap it up in cling wrap.

For extra caution, I also wrapped an old t-shirt around my head.

I slept on it over night, woke up like it was Christmas morning, rinsed my hair to step out to the same exact super blonde color I had the night before. What the... ? Apparently, I have to actually color it, not just dye it, because I stripped out everything the dye could cling to when I bleached it. Well, shoot.

Guess I'll try something different.

Oh well, for today?

“Don't fear failure so much that you refuse to try new things. The saddest summary of a life contains three descriptions: could have, might have, and should have.”

Image Roundup: Crafting Ideas

I am in with love crafting, making old things new, refurbishing furniture, and doing things that, in general, enhance a living space. Using a hammer is fun, spray paint can completely change a room, and taking something apart to put something better back together is a huge thrill.

The word “visionary” comes to mind when I think of what kind of people look at some old piece of junk and see how beautiful it could be, either in a perfect location or with a new coat of paint. I find myself cruising the streets of Findlay looking at all the old houses even and thinking about the fresh face I could bring to this city. It's a massive dream of mine to flip at least one house in my future.

In the meantime, however, I will settle for using crafting to bring new life to old things. When I am sitting around twiddling my thumbs, I like to skim through my Crafts board on Pinterest for ideas of things I could be creating. So, here are some crafts I really love from my board that I hope to be accomplishing soon:

DIY Sharpie a stencil on a plate. Bake at 350 for 10 mins = permanent

Piece of wood, 4 legs, padding then staple fabric

 

Painted "wallpaper"- using a stencil

 

The Daily Telecraft: DIY: Mystic Shoe ... diy canvas shoes

Creativity is a drug I cannot live without. - Cecil B. DeMille

Post-Game Recap

As you may have noticed if you read my posts regularly, I did not post Monday or Tuesday. Agh! I have been thinking for the past month that I may have to cut back on my posting come school time, but I thought it would be more of a choice than a necessity. Silly me. Well, I'm less than a week out and already feel like I have places to be and things to do, so on and so forth.

I really can't believe there are only 4 days left until classes start. I feel like this has been the longest summer in the world though so it's not that my break is ending too soon, but it has just gone on so long that it is a little unreal all that I have done and that it's coming to an end.

Recap on my summer of traveling:

Celebrated my 21^st birthday in Ohio with my dad.

Revamped my bedroom and livingroom.

Drove down to Texarkana, TX to live with me mum for a few months.

Visited Miami, FL.

Visited Ozark National Forest and the Cossatot.

Went to Dallas for a Rangers v. Tigers game.

Roadtripped through OK, KS, NB, SD, WY, CO, UT, AZ, NM, hitting up Badlands, Mt Rushmore, Devils Tower, Grand Teton, Yellowstone, Rocky Mountain, Zion, and Grand Canyon national parks.

Roadtripped through LA, MS, AL, GA, NC, TN, WV, stopping in Great Smoky Mountain National Park.

He who does not travel does not know the value of men. – Moorish proverb

7 Days of Driving

This Friday my brother and I are taking a 7 day roadtrip. I know, I know, I just told you about (half of) the destinations for my drive home, but this trip is really getting me pumped. We're hitting up a bunch of National Parks which I have drooled over for years, and never seen. This also means it may be really difficult for me to post during that week, but I will try to at least get some pictures up for you!

The plan is to make a stop at each location, collect a post card, mail it to myself, and then create a book like this one from Curiosity Contained. I plan to do this on my solo trip to Ohio as well. Hopefully it will make for an awesome memoir. . . I really only wish I had found this idea sooner and had done it all summer.

From Curiosity Contained . . . of course theirs is from Paris . . . rude

Why I travel: Adventure is a path. Real adventure – self-determined, self-motivated, often risky – forces you to have firsthand encounters with the world. The world the way it is, not the way you imagine it. Your body will collide with the earth and you will bear witness. In this way you will be compelled to grapple with the limitless kindness and bottomless cruelty of humankind – and perhaps realize that you yourself are capable of both. This will change you. Nothing will ever again be black-and-white. – Mark Jenkins

Magic Gold Pen

I have two crafts for you today. One is yet another cute inspiration from . . . love Maegan where she used nail polish to spruce up the ends of chopsticks. Since I am going through a hardcore gold phase though, I used my gold pen.

This second one I intend to use as a jewelry holder when I get home from Arkansas. I took mini terracotta pots, painted them, gold-ed them (yes, with my magic gold pen) and hot glued them together.

I love the chopsticks and need to make an Asian dish soon to use them with, or take them with me to a Chinese restaurant . . . maybe not. The pot jewelry holder turned out nicely enough. I'm not crazy about the colors and the hot glue needs reinforcing on one spot but other than that it's holding together nicely.

Quote about creating things: True happiness comes from the joy of deeds well done, the zest of creating things new. - Antoine de Saint-Exupery