Camper Progress // The Cabinets are Primed

If you follow me on Instagram (and you do, right?), you may have noticed that I've got a few week's lag time between when I do something and when I actually get around to blogging about it. I could blame it on standardized testing season, or on this nice weather, but it's actually just laziness. These days, I've been feeling less ambitious and more willing to waste time relaxing. It's been great for me, but it doesn't make very exciting blog content.

BUT! I have some camper progress that I haven't shared yet! And after all the stupid prep work, it's nice to finally see something changing colors in this thing. As you can see in the photos, all our cabinets were covered in this lovely faux-wood film that was not at all pleasing to my eye and had to go.

Camper Progress // Buh-Bye, Blue Panels

Time for another progress update on the camper!

In case you missed it, we bought a camper, made plans for a cosmetic renovation, and began removing rubbish and prepping the cabinets for white paint. Unfortunately, we had an obstacle in our way with these goofy blue fabric panels in the cabinets. They matched the Motel 6-looking floral nightmare in the rest of the camper, but they weren't really what we were going for, so we ripped them out.

When we removed them, we figured out they were just really thin plywood panels wrapped in blue fabric that was stapled on the back. At first, we thought it would be easy to remove the fabric and staple the panels back in place.

Things Are Finally Hanging From My Ceiling

An apartment just isn't a home (to me) until things are hanging from the ceiling. I love finding a good stud and suspending my possessions in the air. For plants, this is a must, since my sweet babies will destroy any plant they can reach. And in such a small apartment, it's a huge space saver. But I did this a lot in our giant old home, too. Hanging things from the ceiling just makes a place look more finished, in my opinion.

The problem was, I didn't have a good stud finder. I'd had a battery operated one before, and it was very confusing and unreliable. After a little research, I learned about magnetic stud finders, so I ordered this one online.

Rental Backsplash Options: Is It Worth It?

One of my favorite bloggers, Anna Dorfman, has been reading my mind lately and sharing some affordable, temporary options for kitchen backslashes in rentals (check out this post, this post, and this post). This is a very tricky subject, I think. Should I bother to fix up something like my kitchen backsplash in my apartment, where I will probably only live for a year or so?

I’m leaning towards yes, always. Ha!

Gray Floors

Oh hey! We have gray floors.

Just to review, we started with these lovely floors you see above. They weren't pretty, but they were in good shape. I removed the carpet, carpet padding, tack strips and loose nails, sanded, and then primed.

After priming I filled holes with wood filler and caulked up any big gaps, then primed again. After that, the floors were flawless and ready for paint.

And I went with gray. So glad I did.

Here are some lovely, grainy nighttime shots of the floor.

I took these photos the night I finished, then the next day Rand immediately moved his desk and mess back into the room. I doubt I'll be sharing any photos that craziness.

This has made me realize that all my upstairs floors should be gray.

The Last of the Carpet is Gone

This holiday break is flying by because I'm staying very busy. One of my biggest goals is to finish painting the upstairs floors before I go back to school. So Rand and I carried everything out of this room and took it downstairs. This room had become a giant closet for all of Rand's pool supplies, so I'm glad I'll finally have the opportunity to organize it.

We ripped up the carpet, pulled up the tack strips, sanded, filled holes, resanded, and applied two coats of primer. I am exhausted.

The floors will be Benjamin Moore's Rockport Gray. Hopefully the gray paint will help disguise the usually-not-totally-clean floors a little better than the white painted floors in the bedroom.

These floors were in the best shape of any room upstairs. That saved me a lot of time in filling and caulking. It's just lots of paintbrush time for me.

Here I go...

Dining Room Shelfies

I put up some shelves on the wall in my dining room, and it only cost me $1.

*Results not typical.

What do you think? Not sure why the bottom of this photo looks so weird.

Hmm. I don't feel like this photo reflects it, but those shelves ARE level. I checked.

How were they $1 you ask? I found those white IKEA brackets at a garage sale for a dollar, and I used scrap wood from our garage (actually old original trim pieces) for the shelves. The shelves aren't as deep as I would like, but that can be adjusted later. I was determined to use materials I already had on hand for this project to keep things as cheap as possible.

I added my gold trunk underneath and it fit perfectly. The best part about this project was getting to style up the shelves afterwards. They're still not quite right, but close. Having good shelf space for all my cute crap is da best.

I drilled into studs in the wall to hang these shelves, so I know they're not going anywhere. I still cringe a little every time I set something on them, though. I do that every time I sit in my hanging chair, too. It's still just a little scary, but seems to be holding up. For now.

Ahh, it feels so good to get this done and get some things up off the floor. They're still looking a little bare, but I plan to hang some small frames in those empty spaces and gradually add more plants as I get a little braver. These shelves add more cat-safe real estate where my plants are safe from being gnawed down to nubs. In fact, I think I want to buy two more of those brackets and put some matching shelves on the other side.

I call that a pretty productive weekend.

TRJ trivia question: How many DIYs can you spot in the picture above? :)

A Little Travel Loom DIY

I can't stand to feel like I'm wasting time. Is anyone else out there like this? I have so many things I want to accomplish, and I feel really guilty letting a precious second slip by. So of course, when Rand and I want to drive somewhere (we'll hop in the car for a road trip on a moment's notice) I feel like I need to take something with me to work on. 

I thought a little travel loom might be a good idea. I tried taking my other loom in the car the last time we made the three hour drive to St. Louis, and it didn't work out so well. It was so big I couldn't get anything done or get comfortable. Fortunately, looms are very easy and cheap to make! Here's my version:

I used a dowel rod, canvas stretchers, and my staple gun.

I used these canvas stretchers from a local craft store. They come in all different sizes and fit together easily, so you can just pick your dimensions. 

My staple gun is one of my best friends.

Just fit the stretchers together like a picture frame and staple. Don't be afraid to nudge and tap the stretchers into place until they line up.

So easy, yes?!

I tested out a new warping method, and so far, it has worked pretty well. I tied these two pieces of yarn around the top of the loom and the dowel rod.

This part was a little tricky, but next I tied my warp thread around the dowel rod and the bottom of the loom. I started in the middle to help keep everything even.

I kept going, tying warp threads the same way until I had the number I wanted. This method was a little more trouble than just wrapping it back and forth around the loom, but I'm hoping it will allow me to weave all the way up to the dowel, and when I'm done with the weaving, I can just remove the dowel and the weaving in one piece from the loom. I originally saw this idea on Instagram from Hooked on Happy and I thought it was brilliant.

So there you go-all ready for a good weave.

Now, with a little Dramamine, I'll be ready for my next road trip.

How to Clean Vinyl Records

There is something special about listening to music on vinyl records. I love digital music, but with records, it's more of an activity all by itself. Rand and I love to put on a scratchy record and relax in our living room together. It's not hard these days to get into vinyl, since new record players can be purchased at a pretty reasonable price and there are records available everywhere. A lot of new music can be purchased on vinyl, and often they include complementary digital downloads of the album. This past Christmas, Rand got me my favorite Neutral Milk Hotel and Green Day albums on vinyl records.

New albums are a little pricey, so it's also nice that there are bins and bins of old records for sale at nearly every flea market. It takes a lot of crouching down on the floor and digging through music you hate just to find a treasure, but it is so worth it. When I finally discover a record I've been wanting, I usually squeal and run for the register as though someone else might try to take it from me. Some of my favorite recent finds include Dolly Parton, Joan Baez, Carole King, and Linda Ronstadt albums. They usually range from $0.50 to $5 in the flea market bins.

You can find some amazing deals digging through flea market record bins, but you should always check the record itself before you buy it. First of all, make sure the record is actually in there and that it's the correct record. Second, look it over for scratches. Some records look like they've taken a lot of abuse, and if you see deep gashes in the surface of the record, those can't be fixed and will affect the sound quality. However, don't be intimidated by a layer of dust and dirt. That can usually be fixed.

Here's a recent record I picked up at a flea market in Springfield. I have loved Peter, Paul, and Mary since I was little, so I was pretty excited to find this album for $2. It had a couple of small scratches, but mostly it was just covered in grime. Here's a closer look at the surface of the record. I can live with a couple scratches, but look at that dirt. 

Since it wasn't too damaged but it still didn't sound great, I went searching for a method to clean the record without hurting it. It turns out, once again, Dawn is the best choice. Is there nothing that stuff can't do?

Giving your old records a scrubbing is incredibly easy. Grab some Dawn, a rag, and get to the sink. Squirt some dawn all over the record, but try to avoid the paper label in the middle. Get your rag wet and scrub both sides of the record.  Rinse the record off under cool running water, again doing your best to avoid getting the label wet.

Towel dry the surface of the record with a lint-free cloth, then lay it out to air dry completely. From what I've read, it is very important that the record is completely dry before you play it. 

I was amazed at the results! I did my best to capture the difference in photos, but the real improvement was in the sound quality. It still sounded like a scratchy old record, but in a much better way. Does that make sense?

Of course I had to go through and clean all my records after making this discovery. Things are sounding much better around here these days.

The Pink Chair // How to Clean Vintage Upholstered Furniture

I'm ashamed to admit it, but there was a time in my life when I would have looked at a chair like this and thought, "Ew."

Vintage upholstered furniture can look really gross at first, since upholstery holds on to gross stuff better than materials like wood, fiberglass, or metal. But it only took one look at those legs, that tufting, that pink velvety fabric, and that midcentury hotness to convince me it was worth a try to get it clean.

Also, it was FREE.

A friend of my mom's thrifted this chair and gave it to her. My mom didn't need it, so she offered it to me. It was still in great shape, but the fabric had some stains, crumbs and crustiness.

Let's see what we can do.

Here are a couple of sick before shots I took to show you how dirty this guy was.

Sorry if this first photo hurts your eyes. It ended up blurry, but I needed it to help illustrate what a good job I did.

So this is how I recommend cleaning up a vintage upholstered piece of furniture like this one.


Step 1 // Vacuum like a crazy person. I throw the hose over my shoulder and run the end of it up and down the upholstery like a paint brush. Get down in all the tufting, details, and deep inside the cushions. Go over every surface a least twice, until you have all the loose stuff removed. Don't forget to turn it upside down and vacuum underneath as well. That's where cobwebs and critters like to hide.

Step 2 // Make repairs. I had to turn this chair over and tighten some things up. I still need to replace the things on the ends of the legs because they're scratching up my wood floors, but at least all the bolts and screws and whatever are tightened up.

Step 3 // Spray all the fabric surface with a light layer of upholstery/carpet cleaner. I know you're smart enough to find the carpet cleaner at the grocery store, but I took a photo of what I used. Bloggers are supposed to do that. Actually, seeing that logo with my living room makes me realize I want a sunburst clock.

This stuff says it can clean both upholstery/carpets, but be sure to check the label of whatever you buy. Let that sit for a few minutes, then scrub the whole thing with a clean cloth. Look closely for stains and be sure to get into the little cracks and crevices. Repeat this step as many times as you need to get the fabric looking good. When you're done, the piece may still feel a little damp, so let it dry.

Step 4 // Touch up any wooden parts, like legs, with a rubdown using Howard Feed 'n Wax. Rub it on, give it a few minutes, then wipe up the excess that didn't soak in.

Step 5 // Sit down, admire your piece of furniture and congratulate yourself for being eco-friendly and stylish.

So don't be grossed out by vintage upholstery! As long as the fabric's not falling apart, see if you can revive it. If it's too worn or torn, consider reupholstering it.  I have a little green love seat that has sat in my classroom's reading nook for the last five years, and now I'm thinking I might get brave and try to recover it.

Maybe white vinyl?

I ended up throwing a sheepskin on this chair to hide all the cat hair that Max and Mitzi would get all over the seat anyway. Max never leaves this spot now.

The Carpet Removal Continues...

The carpet in the craft studio/dressing room/whatever is finally gone! Rand wasn't at home, so I did all this myself. It was a serious workout.

The flea market booth has allowed me to clean out some closet space, so I was able to consolidate everything into one other closet and free up this one. Once it was empty, I started in the far corner and pulled. It went as planned, but I was disappointed to discover that the wood floor in the closet doesn't match the wood floor in the rest of the room. I suspect this closet was originally an unfinished space, and someone just did a crappy job finishing it. I may be able to fix it up with caulk, though.

On a side note: I really want to paint this closet black. I've discovered that besides the crappy wood floor, the walls are also some paper thin material rather than plaster or sheet rock. I'm wondering if I should just paint the thin stuff, add some trim, and call it done, since it hasn't really been a problem up to this point. Or do I owe it to my house to rip out the cheap junk and do it right? Either way, I think the final result will be black.

Next I continued out of the closet...

...and across the room. Compared to the bedroom, the floor needs more of a sanding to get all the paint and plaster splatters up, but the wood floors are actually in better shape. Some of the trim is also missing its quarter-round, so we have to replace that.

Currently this is the state of my craft studio. It is such a luxury to have all this space dedicated to my projects! I can't wait to have white floors in here, but I don't see myself getting to that project before summer vacation. *Sigh*

It will be so worth it in the end.

Weave Me Alone

I'm still alive...in case you were wondering, since I haven't written a blog post in over a MONTH. Here's why.

Lately, I've been weaving up a storm.

I have horrible insomnia, so lately I've been weaving and listening to podcasts until the wee hours of the night (in my new craft room-more on that later!). Weaving has become my absolute favorite crafty activity, since I was already in love with the result, and now I know I love the process as well.

After playing around with the techniques I've learned from watching YouTube videos, I've produced two pieces that actually ended up finished and looking right. There were also a few practice flops that will not be seen by anyone. Here's what I've made so far with my little DIY loom. I like to think I'm a little bit good at it.

I've got another piece in progress, so I'll share it as soon as I finish it. What do you think?

Everything I Know About Ripping Up Carpet

Monday I had a snow day off from school, so I decided it was a great time to rip up my hallway carpet. It's a small space, but it felt good to get moving on this giant project, since I'm planning to remove the carpet from all our upstairs floors and paint them white. 

When I first started ripping up our carpet, I was a little scared. I had no idea what I would find under there. I had to use some trial and error to get a good system down, so today I'm sharing with you everything I know about ripping up carpet. It's not much, but it's a start!

First, you're probably going to need a pair of pliers, a flathead screwdriver, and a hammer. A box cutter would also be a great thing to have, if you're working room by room, like me. I'm just cutting off the carpet in each doorway so I don't have to tackle the whole thing at once. 

This picture makes me sad because that was my favorite screwdriver. Just minutes after this picture was taken, I dropped it down the vent. I'll never see it again. 

Pick a corner and start pulling up the carpet and the padding.  You'll probably find these annoying things, called tack strips, along the walls where your carpet was installed, along with some staples. Whoever installed my carpet got a little staple-happy, but fortunately it was just along the walls. 

Use the hammer to wedge the screwdriver under the tack strips and pull them out. I discovered that prying up the strips in spots that were close to the nails in the tack strips worked best. The would pull the nails out and the strips would come up in one piece. No matter how you pull these up, just be careful not to poke yourself or damage your floors with your screwdriver. 

Use the screwdriver and the pliers to pull up any staples. No matter how hard I try, I have always missed a few. Fortunately, I'm painting my floors with a brush, so I'll get plenty more changes to catch anything I've missed. 

This stressed me out a little. These tack strips were underneath the piece of metal that was between the carpet and the new wood floor in the bathroom. I was able to pull them out with the pliers, but I'm going to need fix that gap somehow.

Again, I'm so glad I'm painting this floor!  I originally painted the stairs for this reason-the stairs were all sorts of mismatched wood. This strip at the edge of the stairs is a completely different type of wood and it's going in a different direction. Trying to match stains would be a pain, but when I'm done, it will all be white.

The floor was so dirty! I swept and swept, but it still needs mopped, just so we can live with it until I get around to painting.  Someone was not very careful with drop cloths in the past, so there's another good reason to paint the floor. Soon, I hope to paint this floor just like the bedroom floor. Maybe it will brighten up this sad little hallway!

Still to do in this hallway:

+ Caulk along the edge of the floor and any gaps in the floor.
+ Fill the nail holes and any flaws in the floor with wood filler.
+ Spray paint the vent cover. Maybe black?
+ Repaint the hallway trim (BM Simply White) and hallway walls (BM Moonlight White).
+ Sand the floor, then check for any holes I missed the first time around.
+ Apply two coats of primer.
+ Apply three coats of floor paint in Simply White.
+ Sand away the painted runner on the stairs, and prime and paint the stairs Simply White.
+ Do something to give this hallway some oomph! Maybe a great light fixture or a black wall or just something to make it special. We'll see.