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 

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

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

Heads Are Gonna Float

Recently I have been doing a lot of busts of women in my art, or as my adviser likes to call them, floating heads. I quite often get comments about the girls being me, although I'm not entirely convinced they actually mean the girls look like me but that they reflect something about me.

I hadn't drawn in quite some time, but today I finally had images to work from and the foresight that the semester will be starting soon so I should put down some of the ideas I've had floating around my head.

Here are a few of my floating head girls. Do you see me in them?

preliminary Indian Girl sketch

Indian Girl, linoleum print

Masked Girl, monotype print

Masked Girl, monotype print

Dia de los Muertos, mixed media

Dia de los Muertos Queen, sketch

Thoughts about art: A guilty conscience needs to confess. A work of art is a confession. - Albert Camus

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

Music Studio

I have been asked a surprising number of times what kind of music I listen to while I paint. Like... a seriously surprising number of times. So, I'm just going to let you in on a short sample playlist of what I put on in the studio.

A lot of people like to listen to popular music and there are even some people in the Art program at UF that put on techno. Let me just tell you... if you ever have to share studio space with other people and you are at all picky about music y'all should either agree on a joint playlist beforehand or both bring headphones. Whatever you do though, you must discuss the topic of music in your joint space before it becomes an issue.

Anyhow, here is the type of music I listen to:

Thoughts on music: If one plays good music, people don't listen and if one plays bad music people don't talk. - Oscar Wilde

Ninety And Nine

Last night I got some much needed crafting time. In all honesty, it was a craft-athon. I worked on a few birthday gifts, made bracelets, decoupaged notebooks, and even did some design work on a wallet I recently acquired for a dollar.

I probably would not have done so much (and stayed up until 4am) had I not been completely obligated to go check out Texarkana's new Dollar Tree. My sister-in-law and I went to town there. She was a bit more responsible than I, since she had a list of projects and supplies she was looking for, but when you go to a dollar store and spend $40 on supplies, you're in for a night of making.

I got the idea for my wallet from …Love Megan, the bracelets I found on Pinterest, and of course the notebooks weren't that hard to think up so really they were an opportunity to just apply style. I will show you how I made the bracelets, but let me warn you, there has to be a better way.

these turned out a lot messier than what I had hoped, but sometimes you just can't hand-make something and not have it look handmade (and sometimes, that's the point)

the crafts of the night, minus the birthday gifts, of course

so I guess I'm set for the upcoming semester... (minus the dreaded books)

my new wallet couldn't look as though it belongs with my things any more than it does

Thoughts on making things: The ninety and nine are with dreams, content but the hope of the world made new, is the hundredth man who is grimly bent on making those dreams come true. - Edgar Allan Poe

Image Roundup: DIY Furniture Updates

I am really really missing working on my furniture so I am doing a Pinterest round up from my craft and furniture board today to ease me through my sorrows. I love using Pinterest because it makes my life so much easier and frees up a lot of memory on my computer (since I don't have to save all the things I like). Check out my House Stuff board and my Crafts board and tell me what you think! Hopefully when I'm back in Ohio I can get back to work (and I still may be able to convince my mother to let me at her furniture).

I would love to dress my simple bar stools up a bit with fabric and paint or stain

this is possibly my favorite before-and-after I have ever seen... I love everything about their final product!

this just blows my mind... fabric spray paint!!

mod podged, book page covered table. brilliant. 

mod podged lace fronts, and then painted over. I must try this

Thoughts on home décor: Books are not made for furniture, but there is nothing else that so beautifully furnishes a house. - Henry Ward Beecher