upcycle – Melodrama

Vintage Bergere Chair Makeover Using Chalk Paint®

Easy Chair Makeover with Chalk Paint® and Faux Fur

Published on October 5, 2016October 5, 2016 by Krys6 Comments

Confession: I’m a little bit of a chair hoarder. If I see a vintage chair at a flea market and it’s under $20 I usually end up coming home with it. The reason is because accent chairs are SO easy to salvage with minimal cost and effort, and also a good way to change up a corner in a room without going to too much trouble. Besides, who couldn’t use more stylish seating right?

I got this bergere chair for $15 at my local flea market and thought it would be the perfect vessel for the magic of Chalk Paint® by Annie Sloan. There are a few reasons I like using Chalk Paint®. Firstly, it goes on beautifully and dries quickly with minimal brush strokes. Secondly, you can easily change the finish and look with Chalk Paint® Waxes. And finally, cleanup is a breeze! Soapy water is all you need for any spills and to clean brushes. For all of these reasons I highly recommend trying this method if you’re new to furniture painting.

For this project I wanted something whimsical with gentle color so went with the color Antoinette, which is a soft pink-lilac.

I gave the chair a good wipe down with soapy water and then just used a regular, old paint brush to cover the chair with two coats of paint.

See how lovely and even it dries?

Next I applied a coat of Chalk Paint® Wax to seal and add a nice finish the paint. I wanted to bring out the carvings and details in this piece so I used White Chalk Paint® Wax.

I used a Wax Brush to apply a coat of wax to the entire painted surface.Make sure you get in all the nooks and crannies to bring out the details.

Then use a soft cloth to remove any excess wax and buff out the finish.

Did you know you can paint fabric with Chalk Paint® as well? I thought about painting the seat with Pure White, but changed my mind and went with a luxe faux fur instead. Quick tip: If you want to easily or temporarily change the upholstery on a chair like this, just use a throw and tuck it into the sides for a quick cover.

Voila! An easy painted makeover! If you want to try Chalk Paint® for yourself (and you most definitely should) you can find Annie Sloan Stockists here.

I’m in love!

This project was sponsored by UNFOLDED but all opinions and ideas are my own. Promise.

DIY: Upcycled Patrón Bottle Hanging Bird Feeder

Published on June 12, 2015August 4, 2015 by Krys1 Comment

Welcome to the third installment of my Art of Patrón bottle art contest series. If you haven’t heard, Patrón is holding a contest to find the best creative ideas you can come up with using their bottles. The winner will win $10,000 and nine runners up will win $1,000 each. If you need more inspiration, check out what I’ve already made with my bottles. For rules and more details about the contest, visit the official Art of Patron page.

This project is going to blow your mind with cuteness. Ready?

Tada! It’s a bird feeder. Here’s how to make it.

You’ll need something to cut a hole in the glass. I used a Dremel rotary tool with a diamond saw and diamond bit attachment. I first cut a hole using a diamond wheel, and then evened out the circle and enlarged it by rasping with a diamond drill bit. You don’t want to cut the little birdies’ heads off, so make sure you use a sanding bit to smooth the edges out. That is the grimmest sentence I’ve written in awhile…

ANYWAY.

Once the hole is cut, use the diamond bit to drill a small little hole just under the larger opening. Insert a skewer or small stick in there so the birdies have somewhere to stand while they nibble.

Next use a regular drill bit to make a hole through the cork. Pull a strong string or rope through and make a big knot on the bottom of the cork so it all stays tightly in the bottle. If you want to be extra safe, you can glue the cork into the bottle.

You can decorate it or paint it how ever you’d like. Fill it with your choice of bird seed and hang it out on a tree or patio. The birds will love you. You’ll be like Cinderella! Or the bag lady from Home Alone 2! Or Tippi Hedren in The Birds… Wait, no, let’s go with Cinderella.

Stay tuned for my final Patrón (mini) bottle project and be sure to enter your original projects or art to the Art of Patrón bottle art contest before July 17th for your chance to win $10,000.

This project was sponsored by and made possible by Patrón.

DIY DIY: Patrón Bottle Succulent Planters | The Art of Patrón

Published on May 12, 2015August 4, 2015 by Krys2 Comments

Now that the Cinco de Mayo celebrations are over, you’re probably wondering what to do with all those empty Patron bottles. Well I have an idea for you. Have you heard about The Art of Patrón contest? It’s a contest that Patrón is holding in which they’re asking you to repurpose their bottles into works of art. Repurposing and upcycling is a major part of my DIY point of view, so I was really excited when Patrón approached me with the opportunity to create my own projects using their bottles.

Think about all of the cool things you can do with these things! I mean just take a look at some of the last year’s finalists. Incredible right? The grand prize winner gets $10,000 and nine finalists get $1,000 each. So that’s a pretty good incentive to get to work on your own bottles. Plus you get to show off your DIY skills and end up with your very own piece of upcycled art. You guys are pretty creative. I’m sure you can come up with something. Be sure to check out the official Art of Patrón site for details on how to enter the contest.

One of my first thoughts when I saw the bottles was “Score! New succulent planters!”. I’m not a natural green thumb, but I’ve had a lot of success with outside succulents. I wanted to bring some inside and over to my bar, so I thought what better planter for a bar setup than a planter made out of a tequila bottle?

Really, all you have to do is cut the top off of the bottle. There are plenty of ways to cut glass bottles, and if you’ve done it before you can use your method of choice. For this project I used a diamond wheel on my rotary tool. If you’ve never used a rotary tool to cut glass, it’s pretty easy. Just take your time and go slowly and you should be fine. These bottles are thick and have square edges, so it was a little more challenging than a standard round bottle would be, but the results are worth it.

Make sure you cut your bottle to the appropriate height needed for your plant. You can use the pots they come in as a guideline.

All I did was mark a line where I wanted to cut and went at it with my diamond cutting wheel. I did a rough line because I wanted an imperfect, hand-crafted looking edge.

Safety first! If you’re going to work with glass, for the love of God please wear safety glasses and gloves. I repeat, wear safety glasses and gloves.

Oh speaking of safety, after you cut the bottle, make sure to sand down all of the sharp edges. They can get pretty sharp and you don’t want to ruin your impressive new Patrón planters by bleeding all over them. Once you’re done cutting and sanding, just fill up the planter with your greenery and pat yourself on the back for being amazing.

Are you inspired yet?! If you want to enter the Art of Patron contest, make sure you submit your entry before July 17, 2015. Who knows, maybe you’ll win those $10,000!

This project was sponsored and made possible by Patrón.

DIY: This Hand-Me-Down Cabinet Gets Made Over with Decoupage

Published on February 27, 2014August 4, 2015 by Krys9 Comments

Sometimes people are all “Hey, want this? You can probably do something with it.” and I take it in like a stray animal and give it love and attention and it becomes part of the family. That’s what happened with this hand-me-down cabinet my neighbor gave me. My husband hated it. He said it was boring and sterile and wanted it out. I had to be like “Relaxxxxx it’ll be fine. Trust me!”, as per usual. We agreed that if I fixed it up well enough it could stay, as per usual. Here’s what I started with:

I debated on how I would add color or pattern to the sides of the cabinet and jumped on decoupage. Decoupage may sound fancy but it’s basically just gluing shit on to other shit and hoping for the best. Traditionally you cut out clippings and layer them with Mod Podge, but you can use this wall paper type of method too. A trip to Paper Source lead me to this lovely floral wrapping paper from Rifle Paper Co. It’s perfect. I measured the areas I wanted to cover and cut the pieces I needed.

I used satin finish Mod Podge to stick and seal the paper. First I slapped a layer of Mod Podge on. I always use a decent amount because it dries fast and you want to be able to smooth it out before it dries or you’re screwed.

Use a flat surface like a bone folder or credit card to smooth any wrinkles and air bubbles. Excess glue coming out the edges is fine. You’re going to cover it with more Mod Podge anyway.

Let it dry for a few minutes so it’s really stuck on there. Then seal it with another layer of Mod Podge.

It dries perfectly clear and really makes the colors pop. The texture of the Podge makes it look like it’s painted on. LOVE.

Then I added a cute new pull from Anthropologie.

Done!! This now sits in our hall/bathroom vanity area and holds a ton of toiletries and makeup. Cute right? In fact it’s so cute my neighbor wants it back. Nope.

Befores & Afters:

DIY: Picture Frame Turned Chalkboard

Published on September 9, 2013August 4, 2015 by Krys25 Comments

I found these matching framed pictures in a heap of junk one of my crazy neighbors left behind after they moved. At first I was like “eh” but then I was like “oooo” because I figured I could use the frames for something. Oh, and fun fact: this is a print of a painting by Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman herself, Jane Seymour. I mean we know she’s talented, but I didn’t know she was a painter. (I Googled it to confirm.)

Anyway I took the print out (relax, relax, I didn’t waste it) and painted the glass with like 4 coats of black chalkboard paint. Do thin coats and let that crap dry very thoroughly between coats so it doesn’t peel off like a bad manicure. You know what I’m talking about. You might want to rough up the glass with some sandpaper too. This was already kind of scratched up so it worked fine.

I repainted the frame using Queen Martha Stewart’s metallic paint in Golden Pearl. It’s my favorite subtle champagne-y gold. Fancy.

After I put it all back together and let it the chalkboard paint cure for a couple of days (follow the directions on your paint can), it looked like this. I used Command picture hanger thingies to hang it over the entry way table so we can write things like reminders and our shopping list. Tada!

DIY: I reupholstered our Bergere chair with florals! Oooolala double welt!

Published on August 6, 2013August 4, 2015 by Krys13 Comments

Remember our bergere chair that I found on Craigslist for $20 and reupholstered with curtains?

Well, like everything else in our apartment, I felt like it was time for a change. When we were packing up our apartment during our move I laid this left over fabric from a skirt I made last year onto the chair and had an epiphany.

I loved the way it looked next to our new paint and lace curtains. This fabric isn’t something you would normally upholster with. It’s a silky semi-strechy apparel fabric, but who cares? This chair is rarely used and more for decorative purposes so I don’t care. It’s cute!

I ripped the old fabric and upholstered it just like I did here. Instead of nailheads I decided to finish it with double welt cording. I took these really crappy iPhone pics for you: