retro – Melodrama

DIY: Here’s How I Colored My Appliances with Heat Wrap Vinyl

Published on May 10, 2019November 29, 2025 by Krys21 Comments

I’m a renter so anything I do in my apartment has to be put back to its original condition when I move out. Because of this (as you may have noticed from the rest of my apartment) temporary wallpaper has basically become my best friend. I even covered my modern refrigerator in a cute retro blue before I brought in my vintage GE. Unfortunately, temp wallpaper isn’t ideal for stoves because of the whole ‘they get hot’ thing. Even though my oven door never gets hot to the touch, I wanted to be safe. I reallllly wanted a pink stove, but none of the vintage ones I was finding could fit in my kitchen. Besides it was already a pain in the ass to swap out the refrigerator. I looked for a solution similar to peel and stick wallpaper and that’s when I thought of heat wrap vinyl!

I wrapped the vinyl around all of the door edges and replaced the screws and handles.

I made sure to cover the sides too! I didn’t cover the cooktop because it most probably would burn and melt, being so close to the fire and all. I used the same method to cover the front of my dishwasher.

And here’s the final result!

It took a lotttt of patience, but once I got into the groove it went on a lot faster and smoother. It’s very easy to clean and has held up really well. Even with JV cranking the oven to ungodly temperatures when he’s baking bread. When I’m ready to move out I’ll just peel it off and be good to go. Yay!

{Update: We moved and it peeled off clean! I used a little rubbing alcohol and stainless steel cleaner to buff out any markings left behind and the appliances looked brand new.}

DIY Mid-Century Inspired Colorful Metallic Sputnik Ornaments

Published on December 12, 2018November 29, 2025 by Krys8 Comments

When I was gathering decorations for my space age tree I knew I wanted to try and find some vintage or retro style colorful sputnik ornaments. Unfortunately my search game up empty for exactly what I was looking for in my price range, so I got crafty with an easy DIY version.

I gathered everything I needed from my local craft store including:

Mini wooden dowels
Metallic round beads (the dowels should fit perfectly into the bead)
Glitter Styrofoam Ball Vase Filler
Metallic washi tape
Metallic embroidery thread
Craft glue

First create a loop with a piece of embroidery thread and insert both ends through the bead opening. Next, insert the mini wooden dowel into the bead opening. This should hold the thread in place.

Then wrap the wooden dowel in metallic washi tape. The best way to do this is cut strips the length of the dowel and wrap it lengthwise like you’re rolling a j….nevermind you get the idea ;).

Finally dip the end of the dowel into craft glue and insert the dowels into the styrofoam ball in a sputnik type pattern.

You’ll end up with ornaments like this!

Told you it was easy! Get creative with colors and patterns! Be sure to tag me at @melodrama or use the hashtag #krysmasgram on Instagram to show me your creations!

DIY No-Sew Retro Atomic Space Age Tree Skirt

Published on December 12, 2018November 29, 2025 by Krys11 Comments

One of my favorite things to do each year is make new no-sew felt tree skirts. They’re super easy and fun to make and don’t require any skills except being able to use scissors and glue. You can see past tutorials with measurements and instructions here and here.

This year I needed something to match my office’s retro space age theme, so I used flying saucers and atomic shapes like boomerangs and starbursts.

I used the method detailed here to cut my skirt out of green felt. Then I cut my shapes out of sheets of different colored felts. I used silver metallic rick rack to add rays to my flying saucers and shiny snowflake starburst buttons for a little extra shine. I finished off the edges with silver metallic fringe! I always use standard craft glue to adhere all of it.

Here are the shapes I used to make your felt cutting life a little easier! Print on a standard piece of paper. (Opt to scale to fit paper on your print settings if possible.)

Tada!

Make sure to tag @melodrama or use the hashtag #krysmasgram on Instagram to show me your creations!

DIY Retro Inspired Christmas Space Age Reindeer

Published on December 12, 2018November 29, 2025 by Krys12 Comments

As you saw from my previous post I went full on atomic space age for my home office. I had to do a few DIYs to make it exactly what I wanted it to be, but my favorite is probably this astrodeer!

This project required some Frankenstein style surgery, but I’m really thrilled with the way it turned out. Here’s what I did!

Supplies

Paper Mache Deer
6.5″ Round Glass Terrarium
Aluminum Foil Tape
Utility Blade
Hot Glue
Craft Glue
Silver Tinsel Garland
Silver Tinsel Stems
Craft paper or paper bags

Ok I’m going to admit right now I didn’t take process photos because I’m the worst and I wasn’t even sure it was going to work, BUT luckily it’s a pretty straight forward process. (Note: I’m going to make one for a friend so I’ll try to update this post with photos when I do!)

In order to get the deer’s head into the terrarium, but still have the helmet in the position I wanted, I had to make cuts on the points shown below.

I added paper ears and eyes and placed the head in the terrarium. Once the head was in the terrarium (from here on known as the helmet) I reattached the bottom part of the antlers, and the upper part of the neck with craft glue and used chopsticks to help get where I had trouble reaching. Once it was dry, I used wet strips of paper bag and glue to cover the cut seams.

Then I used hot glue to attach the rest of the antler to the top of the helmet, and the helmet to body. I used a black sharpie to draw on the hooves and a nose, then I covered the body in foil tape, and covered all the glue joints with tinsel wire and garlands.

There it is! My new spacey pet. Isn’t he a cutie?

How I Fixed Up My 1950s Refrigerator

Published on June 28, 2018September 30, 2024 by Krys11 Comments

A couple of months ago I found a busted down vintage GE refrigerator freezer combination with original ice tray online for about $100. The owner told me it didn’t work but that it should be an easy fix, so I took the risk and drove a couple of hours to San Diego to pick it up. It was in muchhhh filthier condition than the pictures lead on, and had some old wires sticking out of the back, but I figured I’d already invested the time and money to rent a pickup truck and drive out, I might as well just lug it home and see if I could bring it back to life. It’s hard to find the right sized vintage appliances to fit apartment kitchens, and this one was the PERFECT size for mine so I didn’t want to give up. I should note I also drove to Newport Beach, another couple of hours from San Diego, on the same day to pick up a 1950s gas stove that didn’t end up fitting my kitchen. More on that later, but I was extra determined to make the fridge work after that defeat.

Here’s what I was working with.

Rust, scratches, dirt, grime, and slightly corroded chrome. Not terrible.

But inside was much worse. Rust, mildew, a weird smell, so much grime. What did I get myself into?

Since this was going to be the place I stored our food I wanted to be cautious about what I used to clean the inside. I didn’t want to use anything that would leave a lingering chemical smell or residue so I turned to the following products and methods, and used A LOT of elbow grease.

First, I removed all of the shelves and drawers and soaked them in my sink and scrubbed the hell out of them. Then I did a whole general scrub down with Simply Green and let it air out with the doors open. I did this a total of four or five times until it was clean enough to move on to the rust and mildew.

For the mildew and rust I used a mixture of good old baking soda and vinegar, a Scrub Daddy sponge, and a toothbrush. The gaskets were still supple and the seal on the doors were good (test with a sheet of paper, if it slides out get new gaskets), so I just I applied the baking soda and vinegar paste and scrubbed over and over until the mildew was completely gone. Some of the rust spots corroded the paint, but I was able to use extra-fine sandpaper to buff it smooth and applied appliance touchup paint over the smaller chipped spots as needed. On the bottom the rust was too extreme so I used a couple of coats of white automotive spray paint. I wouldn’t recommend painting the whole thing that way, but it worked for this small part.

Now onto the outside! The original paint was mostly in ok condition, so I just wanted to fill in a couple of scratches and bring some lustre and shine back to it. For this I used automotive detailing supplies. I applied several layers of a buffing cream and car wax with an electric orbital buffer. Just as you would detail an old car. I used a chrome polish and superfine steel wool to bring as much shine to the chrome as possible.

And there it is! The only thing was it still had a lingering smell. Not a horrible smell, just that general old freezer smell. The only thing that worked was these miracle Arm and Hammer Fridge-n-Freezer Packs. They’re super cheap so we replaced them every couple days until the smell was completely gone. That took about a week and now we replace it as needed.

The last thing I needed to tackle was the mechanics. After all of that cleaning the damn thing didn’t work. I consulted a few vintage message boards, and spoke to a repair shop, and was confident it just needed a new relay. The problem is the replacement relay for this model is long gone so I had to rewire it with a new universal relay. This was way easier than it sounds, you literally just follow the directions on the package. Definitely consult with a repair shop or the manufacturer if you have questions though.

As soon as I plugged it in the compressor kicked on and I jumped up and down and ran around in circles because WOW WHAT A PAY OFF! IT WORKS!

I know old refrigerators have a reputation of being energy suckers, but our bill and usage hasn’t gone up at all compared to our modern fridge. From my understanding the high energy consumption comes from older models that incorporate an automatic defrost system. This model needs to be defrosted every couple of months, but I simply use a blow dryer and old towel and it takes me about 15 minutes. Another issue of concern for some people is size. It is smaller inside than a modern refrigerator, but we don’t store very much food at once, so that hasn’t been a problem for us.

Here it is living happily in our kitchen! Perfect fit. I love it.

Spring Wardrobe Update with Rit Dye

Published on April 24, 2018September 30, 2024 by Krys2 Comments

Hey, fam. I’ve been busy at updating some rooms and my back patio for spring and thought it would be a good idea to update some of my wardrobe too! While going through my closet I found this white dress I got last year from Tatyana that I haven’t worn in foreverrrr. Rather than giving it away I decided to try to dye it using Rit’s new coral color. I love that they came out with this color because I used to have to custom mix a few different shades together to make color, but now it’s ready to use! I figured if it didn’t work out I could just use Rit’s color remover, which I’ve had a ton of luck with in the past.

The cool thing about this dress is that the fabric has an iridescent sheen and a subtle retro bubble pattern. My hope was that the dye would bring out the bubble pattern and leave some of the sheen.

The fabric is mostly polyester so I was worried it wouldn’t take the dye, but as soon as I dunked it into the dye bath it soaked it right up and I was not disappointed.

The way I like to dye everything, including synthetics, is to make a very hot dye bath in my sink with hot, hot water and a few drops of liquid soap. I let the garment soak for about an hour, stirring and shifting the fabric every 15 minutes or so for an even dye. Then I rinse with cold water and Rit’s color fixative. Then I line dry.

See how the fabric took the dye and made the pattern pop? I love the way it turned out!

Now I have a spring-y new dress to wear while pretending I’m good at gardening.

This post was sponsored by Rit but all ideas, opinions, and words are my own.

DIY No-Sew Mid-Century Inspired Christmas Tree Skirt

Published on November 27, 2017November 29, 2025 by Krys7 Comments

It’s that time again! Christmas time! I love this time of year. No matter what is going on in life, good or bad, decorating my Christmas tree always cheers me up. This year we switched things up a bit and used our fake pink tree instead of trying to find a natural, flocked one here in the desert. We even got a rotating stand so the whole thing spins!

I badly needed a new tree skirt since my last DIY one got ruined during our move. Wahhh.

I used the same tutorial and materials as my previous no-sew felt Christmas tree skirt (pictured above), and put a different spin on it.

First you need a couple yards of 72″ felt. Then you make a circle in your desired size. I explain this in more detail here.

Then use pieces of felt in various colors to create curved rhombus shapes that were popular in the 50s and 60s.

Like so!

Then just simply use fabric glue to adhere them to the felt skirt in whatever pattern you desire.

And there you have it! A quick and easy DIY tree skirt for your retro tree.

Happy tree trimming!

Be sure to tag your Christmas photos with #Krysmasgram on Instagram!

Checking In: A Weekend at The Parker Palm Springs

Published on August 3, 2015April 25, 2025 by Krys4 Comments

As you may have guessed by now, I have this love affair with Palm Springs. Funnily enough while I was growing up and living there I couldn’t wait for any excuse to get out, now I can’t wait for any excuse to go back. It’s one of those weird things where you don’t appreciate something until you’re a grown up I guess. Or maybe it’s because Palm Springs is totally making a come back as the hottest (literally) vacation spot around for millenials. Since the 1920s Palm Springs has been the quick getaway of choice for Angelenos, and I’m no exception. I’m not entirely sure that I’ll ever live there again, but I do like making the trip as often as possible.

This time we stayed at The Parker Palm Springs. Once you see the pictures, you’ll know why I love this place.

Built in 1959, it was originally California’s first Holiday Inn. In 1961 Gene Autry purchased the property and changed its name to Melody Ranch. Throughout the 90s it took on a few other identities, but in 2003 it became The Parker we know today. The hotel is fabulously decorated and set on a 13 acre secret garden-esque property, where getting lost isn’t so bad. Don’t worry they give you a map upon check-in.

Let me take you on a little photographic tour.

When you drive up to the secluded property you’re instantly greeted by the most photogenic brick wall and the friendliest valet around.

After you pass your keys along to the nice guys in the colorful shorts, stop and take a deep breath, because you’re officially about to experience what The Parker is all about.

Pass through the big orange doors and straight into the lobby.

The hotel, which was decorated by one of my favorite designers, Mr. Jonathan Adler, has the kind of colorful, eclectic, retro vibes that I live for. JA is great at mixing vintage and mod styles with humor and unexpected touches. Like the cheeky DRUGS sign that hangs on the wall.

You’ll notice is there is plenty of lush seating areas and colorful glasswork featured throughout the lobby.

That mid-century Flintstones-like wall kills me. Behind it you’ll find what reminds me of a 60s party pad, in the best way possible. I mean LOOK.

There’s a firepit and hanging basket chairs. What, what, WHAT?

There are three places to eat on the property – Mister Parker’s, Norma’s, and the Lemonade Stand. Mister Parker’s is open for dinner and features a posh, dark dining room where they serve french bistro style fare.

Norma’s is most known for its impressive breakfast and brunch menu and casual dining experience. I love the cute ambiance and colors of this place and the round chair cushions make me insanely happy.

Norma’s also has a small dinner menu and PIE SHAKES. That’s right…PIE. SHAKES. You pick the ice cream, filling, and topping. Like pie a la mode in milkshake form.

If you’re looking for something more of the liquid diet variety there’s the Lemonade Stand. Here they serve up refreshing and delicious alcoholic drinks.

I’ll be honest, at first I was a little shocked by the price on my tab(around $30 for 2 drinks), since the drink prices aren’t listed on the menu, but when you take into account the size of the drinks and the quality and amount of liquor they use, it’s not really any more expensive than other places. The drinks really are delicious and sizable. I definitely caught a buzz.

The Lemonade Stand is a bar conveniently located next to the main 24 hour adult pool so you can sip and sun your way through the weekend.

There is also a family pool (which was closed for renovations during our stay) and an indoor pool at the resort’s luxe spa, PSYC.

The grounds also have plenty of little secluded pockets featuring fire pits, hammocks, and lawn games where you can lounge and play.

We stayed in one of the 465 square foot deluxe patio rooms situated near the back of the property.

I loved this spacious room. It was a little dark because it’s on the ground level and has a private fenced patio, but it was nice and cozy and good escape from the heat and sun. The king sized bed was comfortable with soft pillows and good linens. I slept SO well. Oh! And free wifi!

Jonathan Adler everywhere!The spacious bathroom has double sinks and a soaking tub.Our favorite part of the room was the private patio that has a small table with chairs and a HAMMOCK. The hammock is great for private outdoor napping and milkshake sipping. Warning: the hammock is so exciting you might get a little too eager and fall out like my husband did. See what I mean about those Lemonade Stand drinks? Don’t worry. He’s ok!Now you’ve gotten a full glimpse of one of my favorite hotels in Palm Springs. I can’t wait until the next time we get to spend the weekend. Who knows, maybe I’ll see you guys there.Thank you to the Parker Palm Springs for a wonderful stay.

The Parker Palm Springs
4200 E Palm Canyon Dr, Palm Springs, CA 92264
(760) 770-5000

DIY: Tropical Retro Inspired Decoupage Easter Eggs

Published on March 26, 2015September 30, 2024 by Krys11 Comments

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Checking In: A Technicolor Weekend at The Saguaro Palm Springs

Published on July 29, 2014April 25, 2025 by KrysLeave a comment

You would think after our summer road trip we’d want to take a little break from hotel life for awhile, right? Oh, no. Not us. We almost immediately got the urge for another adventure so we headed out to our beloved Palm Springs. Oh, Palm Springs. How I love your style. If you know me, you know I have a love for all things vintage, and Palm Springs is the best place to catch the vintage vibe. Whenever I look for a hotel I always look for three things: great design, great dining, and pet-friendliness. But when it comes to Palm Springs, a great POOL is a must. Summer temps soar into the 100’s so there is no point to being outside unless there is a pool and drinks. This time we stayed at The Saguaro Palm Springs – a Joie de Vivre hotel. It was my first time staying here but I’ve had it on my mind for awhile, and it has everything on my list of requirements. It was originally built in 1965 and had former lives as a Ramada and a Holiday Inn, but it’s never been as cute as this! The Saguaro opened in early 2012 and has taken on a new life in vibrant technicolor. The rainbow colored palette is the work of Peter Stamberg and Paul Aferiat, of New York-based Stamberg Aferiat Architecture. Each hue is inspired by indigenous flowers of the Colorado Desert and carried throughout the property. And the color continues inside where it’s met with handcrafted Mexican furniture. An interesting contrast that makes sense when you consider the southwestern inspiration. I loved the use of cacti and vintage brownie cameras as decor, further bringing the desert and vintage elements together. It works. The front desk stands out with its bold orange and yellow floral walls. The front desk staff was very helpful and accommodating to us. Great first impression. We were directed to our room on the color coded map and were happy to find self parking was ample and a breeze. Our king suite was spacious, and of course, colorful! The rooms are minimally decorated with only a few coffee table books and retro photography on the wall. The living area had a comfortable pull out sofa, little dining area, dresser, flat screen TV, and a walk out balcony. Oh and a refrigerator to store your drinks and stuff. Very convenient. The bathroom was ORANGE, spacious, and had a good shower. I hate when showers just have that weird, stupid mist that sprays at you and you can’t rinse your hair well, so you have to stick it under the bath faucet…sorry I’m ranting. This shower had none of that! It was delightful. The toiletries by Lather smelled gooooood. Lavender Lime lotion, bamboo lemongrass body wash, yuzu bergamot conditioner, and mint thyme shampoo. I was about to be like “heyyyy, can I have like 27 of each to take home?”, but then I just figured I should just buy them like a regular person. The bathroom has everything you need. My only “meh” is that the tile didn’t do it for me, aesthetically speaking. Hopefully it’s just left over from the Holiday Inn days. Anyway, enough about tile. LOOK ROBES! Hooded ones. The bedroom portion had a work desk, a table, and another wall-mounted TV. And a bed. Duh. Oh man, that bed was super comfy. I hadn’t slept that well in days. A lot of people are picky about room noise, but the room was quiet to me (except when the DJ was pumping jams on Saturday afternoon). It might be because I live in an apartment building on one of the busiest streets in Los Angeles, but I honestly didn’t notice any noise coming from other rooms. Bonus points for having lamps with electrical outlets on the base. I hate having to find a place to plug my phone and laptop in. Extra bonus points for the washable slipcovers on the sofas. That’s a good idea considering the dog friendly policy. WAIT. Let me talk about their super friendly dog policy real quick. No pet fee and they don’t stick you in the crappy rooms. They even included bowls and cute dog things. Mango and Pandie loved watching people at the pool and their hair colors fit right in. Now for the pool. The pool is important. If you don’t have a pool in Palm Springs, what is even the point? The Saguaro has one of the best and it’s open until midnight. There are two hot tubs, if you feel the need to soak. There is also a pool bar that has light snacks and drinks. Helllooooo. But wait, that reminds me. The middle portion of the pool goes to 9ft deep. Normally, I’m excited if any pool goes to even 6 ft deep, but in this case it’s kind of a funny problem. Every weekend they host a pool party (12pm-6pm) with a DJ and the drinks are flowing. Everyone ends up crowding into the shallow areas because they can’t stand and party it up while trying to keep their head above water in the deep end. Just make sure you snag a pool floaty if you can’t snag a spot in the shallow end. Oh, and one more minor observation: while it’s cool they have a DJ (because what pool is a party without one), they really need a better playlist. I enjoy the occasional ironic 90’s jam as much as anyone, but there really needs to be a better mix if they want to attract the crowd I think they do. The property also has a spa, bocci ball court, and daily yoga that I can appreciate but did not partake in. And FREE BIKE RENTALS! Jvee got stung by a bee and it was 106 degrees so we had to cut it short (typical luck), but taking these for a ride around the neighborhood is a blast. Rentals are for two hours at a time. There are two restaurants at the hotel, Tinto and El Jefe by Iron Chef Jose Garces. Tinto was closed during our stay but we had dinner at El Jefe where our server was very sweet and attentive. We ordered the vegetarian queso fundido as our appetizer. I had the fish tacos and loved them. Some of the best cabbage on a fish taco I’ve ever had. Jvee had the carne asada tacos because they were out of the cabrito that he had his heart set on. He enjoyed them. I liked the taco presentation. Very cute. However, I wish the food came out in the right order. My tacos came out, then the queso appetizer, then Jvee’s carne asada tacos. But it all tasted good in the end. You better get THE MARGARITAS. These aren’t watered down chain restaurant margs. I caught a little buzz off of one and the flavor was tops. I recommend the charred pineapple, even though I kind of wished it came with a charred pineapple garnish. Everywhere you look there’s color and it makes you happy! And the views! Maybe it’s the colors. Maybe it’s the tequila. I don’t know, but I’m definitely going back. I highly recommend you take a little visit to The Saguaro, too. And don’t forget to dress the part. Bye until next time.