It is that time again… snowballs, mittens, cocoa, and handmade lovers everywhere, busily creating gifts and ornaments for the holiday season. We have gathered up all of SBLC’s Christmas posts, for a fantastic collection of over 50 handmade ornaments, gifts, printables and inspiration to get you going this Christmas. Happy handmade holidays!
Archives for November 2013
Build an Armoire & Distress it With Chalk Paint
I am so excited about today’s project. The closet situation in my new place is less than optimal (totally crappy). In desperate need of a solution, I searched and landed on this simple armoire building plan from Ana White. If you have been around here long, you know I am a big fan of Ana’s site. She introduced me to woodworking and I have been covered in sawdust since that day. This project was easy to follow. I made some adjustments since I wanted it larger than the dimensions of the original plan, and I was improvising with salvaged wood I had on hand.
This was my first project using Annie Sloan chalk paint. Don’t you love the color?! It is called Arles, and I finished with Annie Sloan Clear Wax, then Dark Wax over the top of that. Its a bit more “aged” than what I had planned. Turns out a little of the dark wax goes quite far. I will keep that in mind for my next project. I still love it. If you run into that, you can always paint over the wax. It wasn’t that big of a deal to me in this case. We all know I will be painting it a new color when I change my room decor anyway, right?
Here is the Annie Sloan paint. Yum.
Sad quality iPhone shot of the armoire before painting. Hard to get any shots of it really, because of the room size and… oh yeah, I made it huge.
Did you check out the knobs I found at Hobby Lobby? Perfect.
That’s it. I love it. Off to figure out what to build next.
Over 50 Things to Make from Repurposed Chair Parts
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The abundance of curbside discarded chairs in my area has me looking for ways to repurpose old chairs and their parts. Today’s post brings my favorite finds for DIY upcycling inpsiration. I truly didn’t anticipate finding a wreath during my searching on this one, but it happened. Not only that, but it’s pretty cool, I must say. You will see chair back, legs, spindles, even entire chairs given new purpose in some seriously creative ways. Enjoy!
GreenCraft Magazine Featured Project
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This is a joyous moment for me. The Fall Aluminum Can Leaf Wreath DIY I shared with you was featured in GreenCraft Magazine! When i got the email expressing interest in my project for this issue, I literally squealed from my bed, where I lay with the then current issue of GreenCraft on my nightstand. It is my go to publication for creative upcycling inspiration, and I am delighted to have my project amongst its beautiful pages.
Check out the issue, and be sure and visit our Recycled Projects Gallery for tons more project ideas using recycled materials!