Home Decor - 14/32 - The Idea Room

I am so excited to share one of my latest home décor projects with you. I am really happy with how this one turned out. I have seen these fun “antiqued” mirrors in quite a few places on the internet recently, but saw it them when my friend Mandi from Vintage Revivals shared some that she made for a Crafting with the Stars competition. I have wanted to make one ever since. My Dad was recently going through some of his old stuff and asked me if I wanted this old mirror. Ummmm…yes please! It was perfect for what I had in mind.

I took the mirror apart by removing the backing and the frame. I set the mirror aside and took the empty frame and cleaned it up with a damp cloth. Then I spray painted the frame with some white Krylon Semi-Gloss Spray Paint. The frame needed two coats. Be sure to let the paint dry between each coat and then let dry for several hours before touching or moving your frame

Then I took the mirror outside and placed it on a thick layer of newspaper. You need to remove the layer of paint that is on the back of the mirror to get to the reflective coating on the back of the mirror (which gives the glass it’s mirror reflection). I put the stripper into a spray bottle so that I could easily spray it onto the back of the mirror.

**Important—When working with paint thinner you should always wear some protective gloves for your hands and protective eyewear! You can also find some regulations for using Paint Strippers here.

Spray the stripper so that every surface of the mirror is covered and let it sit for several minutes. Let the paint stripper do the work for you.

You will see when the paint is ready to be scraped off when the paint is all bubbled up.

Then take a putty knife or a scraper and scrape the paint off of the entire mirror. There may be a few spots on the back of the mirror that the paint does not come completely off. I was not too concerned about these areas because I wanted an antique look. I scraped the back of the mirror clean and carefully gathered up all the paint strippings and disposed of them according to the directions on the can.

I followed the directions found here from HGTV Making a Distressed Mirror if you are interested in the full process.

I wanted to put a fun patterned material behind the glass mirror. So that you could see the pattern in the areas that the mirror had been worn away by the acid. So I took this fun Cutting Edge Damask Stencil in the Anna style and made my own patterned fabric.

I bought some minky soft buttery yellow fabric and stenciled white paint directly onto it. I used this great stencil paint in white from DecoArt.

I was really happy with how it turned out. And I love the texture it adds to the mirror.

I cut the fabric so that it fit the mirror perfectly. Then I took this lovely vinyl lettering that I was given from Ten 23. I selected the saying “Be Your Own Kind Of Beautiful”. Don’t you just love that? I ordered it in a white vinyl because I wanted a very classy, fresh and subtle look to the overall finished mirror.

I carefully measured it and centered it and then with my husband’s help applied the vinyl lettering to the front of the mirror.

Then I took some clear Silicone and applied a thin layer to the inside of the mirror frame. Don’t do too much or you will have the Silicone oozing everywhere on the front of your mirror which will not be too pretty.

Gently place the mirror into the frame. Have someone help hold up the mirror so that it is still laying flat and get under the mirror and check for any silicone that may have seeped over the edges and onto the front of the mirror. Gently wipe clean with a damp cloth.

Then I attached the fabric to the back of the frame with a staple gun (I forgot to take a picture of this part). Then I screwed the back of the mirror which I had originally removed onto the frame.

Then I scuffed up the frame so that it looked a bit distressed to match the overall feel of the antiqued mirror. I used this handy dandy sanding bug from Rockler.

This has come in handy on several of my home décor and remodeling projects!

Then I hung it in my daughter’s room. This has been one of my absolute favorite projects. I just love how it turned out. It was super easy to make and fairly inexpensive. And it looks like something that would cost some big bucks if you were to buy it in a boutique. Ahhhh! I love how it turned out! What do you think?

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June 21, 2011 · Filed under: DIY Dare Blogger, Girls, Home Decor, Home Remodeling, Re-Purposed Items, Tutorials Tagged with

DIY Soda Can Coasters

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Well, Summer is in full swing here now. Kids are home all day and we are enjoying the more relaxed schedules. I am heading out tomorrow to attend the annual MDA Summer Camp I have been involved with for several years. I shared a little bit of my experience with the camp last year here. I have been a volunteer camp counselor (group leader) over a group of kids with Muscular Dystrophy and their volunteer helpers. We basically are there to get them where they need to be and doing what they should be doing while having fun the entire week. I LOVE it! So I am busy getting my family ready for Grandma to come and spend the week with them and watch them while I am at camp! I am hoping to pop in occasionally and share some pictures with you from the camp.

But today I have a new little project for those of you who drink your beverages out of a can or know someone who does. These will also be a great gift idea for Father’s Day…Soda Can Coasters.

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Yes…that is my favorite drink of choice…that I no longer drink…Boo! Getting to old to be drinking my calories! But I can still enjoy looking at it when I place my ice water on my lovely new coasters!

Simply empty out some cans of your choice and rinse them out with water. Then take some tin snips and very carefully cut off the top and bottom of the can. This can be a bit tricky. **But be very careful as these cans are super sharp!!!! I suggest wearing garden gloves while cutting to help give you extra protection. I reenacted these photos because the gloves were not so pretty in the pictures…cause we all know how important that it! Be sure to save as much of the flat part of the side of the can so that you can get a nice size square for your coasters. Then cut down the seam of the can. Most cans will have a definite seam on the side…usually by the ingredient list.

Then I took some Silicone and put a good amount on the back of the square. I then attached them to some simple white tiles that measured 4 by 4 inches. I found them at Home Depot in the tile aisle and I believe they were 16 cents a piece. Flatten and rub the tin square so that it is securely attached. Wipe any excess Silicone off the top of the tile with a damp warm cloth.

Then I set a paper towel on the top of it and laid a pile of books on it and let them dry over night! The next day I took a small paint brush and painted some glossy varnish over the top of it to seal it all off so that the edges would not peel up and to protect the edges from poking or scratching any users of the coasters.

Then simply place some felt pads on the bottom of the coasters to protect your table top from getting scratched!

Aren’t they fun? I think they would be great to have in your TV room or game room.

And did I mention how inexpensive they are to make? Pennies per coaster! Really! And you are recycling with a purpose!

So go ahead and whip some of these bad boys up! One of the perks of this recent project was that I HAD to have one last drink. Really! There were no empty cans to be found! And I enjoyed every last drop. Who knows, I just may HAVE to make a LOT more of these coasters to give to ALL my friends and family!

What do you think? If you were to make some, what aluminum cans would you use?

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June 6, 2011 · Filed under: DIY Tutorials, Father's Day, Food Crafts, Gifts, Home Decor, Teacher Gifts Tagged with

Silhouette Heat Transfer Project—Dream Pillow

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It is time once again for Silhouette’s monthly promotion. This time the you can get a great deal on the Silhouette SD and some heat transfer material.

This promotion is good through May 17 –25).

1 Silhouette SD machine

1 package of white flocked heat transfer material

1 package of teal smooth heat transfer material

1 package of dark pink smooth heat transfer

All for $219!

*Just use the code “IDEAROOM” at check out to receive the discount!

For this month’s promotion I was given some heat transfer material to play with. I have been wanting to prettify my daughter’s pillowcase since it was just plain green. This is the pillow she sleeps with at night and is not usually a pillow that is used on top of her made bed. I just put it there to display it for the picture.

I used this white flocked heat transfer material that has some soft texture to it.

In my Silhouette program I typed up the word “dream” using the Aharoni font. I enlarged the letters so that they measured about 3 inches in height. Then when using the heat transfer material you need to remember to “mirror your image” so that it will iron on correctly and not be backwards. I cut mine with the blue cutting tip on a speed of 3 and the thickness at 33. I placed the heat transfer material into the cutting machine without the mat. Be sure that the plastic coated side is placed down as you feed it into the machine.

Then I peeled away the heat transfer material that I did not need so that all that was left was the letters. Take your iron and lightly iron the front of the material for just one second or two where you want your material to be on your item. This just sets it in place. Then I placed a cloth between the plastic layer and ironed the material onto the pillowcase. Be sure your iron is not too hot. Do not use it on a heat setting hotter than the cotton setting. When it is securely ironed on, gently peel away the plastic layer.

That’s really all there is too it! Pretty simple. This is a quick and easy project that anyone can do! And the possibilities for this material are endless.