You can make an oversized chalkboard for your home, business or school using this easy tutorial. It’s so lightweight almost anyone can lift it and move it around. I wanted to make this large piece for a large blank wall in my studio…. it doubles as artwork and a photo prop. I added two quotes to mine to fill up the space. Total cost of materials was $35. [Read more…]
I can’t stand clutter around the house….so my junk drawers can tend to get out of control. I also have more than one. They are located around the house.
The first thing I do is consolidate all the drawers in one place…..with a large work area. I use paper plates to sort through everything. Then I split the items up by drawer and return everything else to it’s right place. Anything I’m not quite sure what to do with goes in the JUNK JAR. (see the junk jar tutorial here)
I like for the containers to match the insides of the drawer if possible (makes the drawer look less cluttered)….so I use spray paint to paint various boxes and containers that will fit well:
My newly organized junk drawers:
I went through every single marker, pen, highlighter etc to see which were working and then sorted them into bins within these large wood caddies:
The hardest part about my junk drawers is that I don’t like to throw anything away because I know it will end up in a landfill. I found everything under the kitchen sink: medications, over 50 dried up pens, tons of old batteries. These are things I don’t want to throw in the trash because:
:: Over 10 billion writing instruments are sent to landfills every year.
:: Over 100 different pharmaceuticals have been detected in lakes, rivers, reservoirs and streams throughout the world.
:: 3 billion batteries are bought a year…and contain harmful metals that leak into our water and soil.
It takes a little more work to recycle and donate….but it’s worth it. I created a little recycling station in our laundry room to make it easy on the rest of the family. I painted large coffee tins and added a simple paper label:
(CAUTION: Make sure to wrap any 9V batteries in electrical tape to prevent a complete circuit from being formed. Risk of fire!)
This can is for random items that need sorting: writing instruments, old blades, medications etc:
Here’s where you can easily recycle items from your junk drawer….the links are below the images. For office supplies that are still working and in good condition consider finding a local non-profit to donate them to!
I’ve been doing some redecorating recently. I’m taking photos as I go so I can share the before and after with you. I’m going from beige/beige/beige to grey/white/black…..crazy right? Ha. My friend Paul came over to give me some ideas and his first suggestion was to carry over the subway art sign I made a few years ago. Here’s the sign in our breakfast area:
When I first made this I was inspired by the black and white vintage subway signs from Restoration Hardware (original tutorial here):
I loved Paul’s idea of taking it to a pillow as a similar accent. I picked a few street names that were important to Mr. LBB and I and here’s the result:
Diesel uses them as a ramp to get up to his perch:
I found a pillow cover with a nice thick upholstery fabric from Ikea….and added the white canvas letters. They are just slightly frayed on the edges giving kind of a vintage feel:
You could use freezer paper to paint your letters onto a pillow or cut out fabric letters to make your own. I have a Silhouette machine so it was so much easier to use that to design and cut out the letters….but cutting by hand would work too. First, I ironed fabric interfacing/fusible web to the back of my white canvas. Any fusible web should work….but if you are using the Silhouette make sure to use the kind that has the shiny clear look to it so it sticks to your cutting mat well:
Designing my pillow on the Silhouette machine software (see fonts at the bottom of this post!):
The cutting machine:
My canvas was so thick the machine didn’t cut all the way through in places but it was easy to trim:
If you don’t have a cutting machine just trace your letters onto the fabric with a disappearing fabric marker and cut them out:
Here my letters are placed onto the pillow cover:
I ironed the letters to adhere them into place (the fusible web on the back is what does this):
Then I carefully stitched each letter with a straight stitch:
It’s easiest to sew the letters all at once and then trim the thread in between as the last step:
Material & Sources:
Ikea Karlstad pillows in Dark Gray
White Cotton Canvas by the Yard
Looking for vintage subway fonts? Here’s a list of a few I love! Links are at the bottom of the image:
amble / underground nf / helvetica / franchise / lane – narrow / copperplate / bebas neue
