Citra Solv Transfer to Fabric

I was scouring the inter-webs to find an easy and inexpensive way to transfer an image to fabric, and came across the Citra Solv technique.  It is simple and easy and compared to transfer paper, inexpensive.

Finding my Citra Solv was the toughest part of the process.  It is not available everywhere.  I didn't want to drive all around town, so after checking my grocery store, Target and Whole foods I went on line.  I spent about $13 for a 16oz bottle (with shipping) at Soap.com.

Once you have your solvent, you will need an image to transfer.  The printed image needs to be one from a toner based printer, not an ink jet.  Also be aware that the image will be in reverse from the original, so if you are using text you will need to print it as a mirror image.

Once you have your image, place it in your fabric.  I used painters tape to keep it in place. 

Then apply the  Citra Solv to the back of paper.  I poured the cleaner into a small dish and used a small paint brush to apply.  For an image this size it did not take much cleaner.  The fumes can be strong, so you may want to have a window open.

After applying the solvent you will need to burnish the back of the transfer. I used the flat end of a fork, but if you have a larger image you could use the bowl of a spoon.  Just make sure you get all of the image rubbed.

Remove paper and let dry.  The tighter the weave of the fabric the crisper your image will be.

There you have it.  A quick and inexpensive way to make your own transfer.  From what I have read you can wash this and the image will stay. 

Have you tried this technique yet?

-Laurie

House Portrait in Fabric

Here is a little something  I have been tinkering with over the last few weeks.  It is a portrait of our house done up in fabrics.

Here you can see the actual house versus the portrait.

It is a rather smallish portrait, measuring 12"x12".  I wanted to keep to natural materials, using cotton, wool and linen.  The trees are wool felted with embroidered leaf and flower accents.

 Does it look familiar?  It is the same process I used when recreating 3 Girls on a Jetty, just on a much smaller scale.

Check out how it all came together.

Now I just have to find where to place it.

I think it may go on the gallery wall devoted to our family.

-Laurie

The Eyes of TJ Eckleburg

I should not be surprising anyone with my declaration of love for F Scott Fitzgerald and the Great Gatsby.  And now that my basement is completed (mostly), I can move on to my next project, which is going to be a guest room inspired by The Great Gatsby.

OK I said it.  I really did not want to spoil the surprise, but with a remake of the movie in production and a Christmas release date, and not knowing what monkey wrench will be tossed my way, I want it known that I have been wrestling with a Gatsby themed room.

I don't have much more than solid ideas for the room at this moment, really not much more than preparing the room and a duvet that I have purchased and have waiting for my amazing Gatsby treatment.  But I do have something I made a while back.

I am not in love with it, but it is a start.  Or maybe a pro-type would be a better description.  Well- here I will let you take a look...

It is a plaque of the floating eyes of TJ Eckleburg. 

I have always wanted an old antique oculist sign, but I yet to come across one.  So I attempted to make one.  It is not what I envisioned, but currently it is above my door.  I would like to try again.  It would make sense to put one in the new "Gatsby" room, but I kind of like it above the door. I like the reference of keeping an eye on what you see outside the door and the idea that the eyes remind you that when you go out people are also watching you.

Much more to come....

-Laurie

Basement Artwork

I want to address the art work in the basement, and why I did what I did.  Mainly I am speaking of the one sign to the right of all the others. If I lived in a perfect world I probably would not have placed a lone piece in right there.  But some times there is a hole one needs to cover.

And you can see the hole in not in a regular picture height, it is high on the wall, so I knew I needed a long piece that would not be floating around the top pf the room.  Oh and not only did I have a random hole, I also had a floating outlet, a phone jack and light switch (there is a second light switch just our of this shot) I needed to address.

Lets take another look at the finished wall....

The tall plaque covers the hole.  I placed the piece to just cover it.  I then lined up the collection over the sofa to share the same bottom height.  The large picture on the bottom left (the umbrella) just covers the phone jack.  For the outlet and the switches, I painted them out. Normally I would not suggest painting over switches and outlets, because the paint just chips off, but in this situation we will not be using them so I just wanted them to disappear.

The tall piece was one that I created especially for my kids.  I have always love Winnie the Pooh and I love this particular saying, and what better saying could you subconsciously give your children? (You know they don't actually see things like this, nope it is just part of the back ground for them)

It says- Promise me you always remember you're braver than you believe and stronger than you seem and smarter than you think - aa milne

It is exactly what I want my kids to internalize.

For the cluster above the sofa- I used some of the kids art work, some art from a calendar I purchased on Etsy and some printable images from the internet and a key.  I also has a few mirrors left over that help balance it all out.  I really struggled with the layout. In the end it was a simple solution, but really it took me hours, and I had to discard many other collected frames.

I think there is an opportunity to connect the lone plaque into the cluster as the years go on, but really it was not an option at this time.  I just did not want to spend the time collecting images or spend the money of frames.  I just wanted to finish the basement.

-Laurie

Basement Before and After

Yesterday I shared our basement facelift.  Today I wanted to share some of the before and after images to show just how much had changed.  In the end I think I touched everything except the carpet.  No wonder it took so long.

When I see the side by sides, I am amazed at how different the rooms look.  By changing the floor plan, lightening the walls and painting the ceiling it really expanded the space.  I will spill a secret.  It took many samples of white to find the right shade.  Since there is no natural light in the basement whites really took on different casts in the space.

In the end I ended up with Popped corn by Behr (I think it is the one to the left of the knob).  It was bright enough not to take on a dirty cast, or become too yellow-y.  It was light and white, but not a pure white.  I then decided to paint the trim and doors in a warm gray,  Sherwin Williams Backdrop (7025).

One of the other problems that bothered me was the "tile" by the back door.

As you can see in the left hand picture the tile cuts half way under the table. I am not sure why they had the tile end where it does, it seems pretty random to me.  But either way, I needed to neutralize the brown.  I wasn't prepared to replace the existing flooring.  Then I remembered having these Ikea rugs that I was no longer using.  I pieced them together and used carpet tape to affix them to the floor.  I did take up the floor trim, paint it and re install to cover the raw edges.  Done and done.  No more crazy brown tile and in the end it was free for this project.

Speaking of budget.  This was a budget project, but I did splurge in some areas.  OK splurge may be a stretch, but I went over my allotted budget and my comfort range on expenses.  I wish I had kept better track, but I didn't.  I did spend about $80 on the sofa, another $80 on the fabric for the chairs (although I did win the chairs themselves... score), around $120 for paint, $10 for pink chair slip cover, $15 for table, and $30 for pillow covers.  That brings it to about $335.  I am sure I put more into it, but in the end it was under $500 all said.  So not too bad.  I did re-purpose and reuse whenever possible, which saved me a lot of money and even more important, saves landfill space.

-Laurie

Basement facelift reveal- finally

I know you have all been waiting for this.  Or maybe it is just I have been waiting for this.  I am finally able to write these words.....

My basement facelift is D.O.N.E

And it only took me 7 months to complete.  OK 7 months may not be unreasonable if I was actually doing construction, but all I was doing was a quick update.  You know, a lipstick job, some paint, some rearranging, some fabric, just making it look nicer.

But however long it took me, I am happy with the results of the basement space.  This space is mainly for the kids, but I also wanted to be able to hang out and enjoy a movie or drink with friends and family.  The room ended up being bright and colorful.

First you should know, there is not one window in this basement.  The back door does open, so you can get light in, but mostly the door stays shut.  So bringing in bright colors and and having high contrast was something I wanted to play around with in this space.

The sleeper sofa got a new slip cover, as well as the chairs.  Recently I shared with you how I refinished the toy chest.  Here it is in its new home.  It is still a much need toy storage receptacle and also a coffee table/Lego play surface/wii-mote landing pad.  And the art work above the sofa features my kids art as well as internet printables and calendar images.

Here is a view of the far corner.  Do you remember the chair?  Yep that is my $10 bedspread slipcover.  Also I brought down the table I painted almost a year ago (and talked first about my basement makeover).  The rather large entertainment center was left from the previous owners and also got a coat of yellow paint.  On a side note, if this was more of an adult space versus a kids space, I would have chosen different accessories, but in the end it is mainly their space, so cue the toys.

Here are my Blissdom chairs sporting their new furry covers and caterpillar pillows.  Also the new home of my recent craigslist find.   The painting on the wall was given to us at my bridal shower.  It is one of those treasured pieces.

And I finally got to execute my door plate idea with a nod to the movie Hugo (even if my thunder was stolen).

So there it is, 7 months of hard work.  I am glad to say I am done.  Well, maybe not 100% done.  I still have 2 items left.  

The cubby under the stairs, which I want to turn into a reading nook and the dreaded ceiling.

Yep it still needs to be painted.  Oh well.  It will get done, someday.

-Laurie

Craft Wars Floor...Looks familiar

I finally got a chance to check out TLC's new show, Craft Wars.  This is the type of show I enjoy Tivo-ing and watching when I get a spare moment to enjoy a cup of coffee. 

And do you know what jumped out at me? 

Craft Wars striped floor

The Floors.

They look a tad bit familiar.

You can read more about how I striped my floor.

Have you checked out Craft Wars yet?  What did you think?

-Laurie

Refinishing a toy chest

I have been dragging this toy chest around with me ever since I have moved out of my parents house. 

It was my siblings and my toy box from when we were little.  It was in rough shape and being the sentimental type I wanted to try and fix it rather than scrap it.  The base was falling off and the back wall was starting to separate, not to mention the layers and layers of paint applied to it over the years.

Basically, I had to take a 2 prong approach to save this piece; structure and finish.  To deal with the structure I called into service clamps, wood glue and brads.

And in dealing with the finish I stripped the years of paint with chemical stripper, which I talked about yesterday.

My plan was not to get every scrap of paint off.  I wanted to leave some to help give it character and show its age. It is a chest that has a past and you can't fake aging like this.

I had decided early to stain the top and bottom portions and paint the body cream.  I knew when staining some of the paint remnants would pop out.  I wasn't exactly sure how it would look, but that is half the fun.

 Once the staining was done, it was time to coat the base in a warm white.  I decided to use a satin finish this time instead of a high gloss.

For the interior I decided to paint it a soft gray.  I also decided to leave the top edge a bit raw, showing all the different layers of paint.  Again, I didn't want to disguise the age of the piece.  I wanted her to be able to share her secrets.

Another place you can see the age in on the feet.  I love the feet.

 In the end, I am so happy with how it turned out.  It may not be dramatically different, but I have successfully saved and revived our old toy chest and still preserved its age and history.

-Laurie

Paint stripper review and how to

Recently I had a project that required me to strip layers of paint off of a toy chest.  It had many, many layers that had been added over many, many years.  I remember this toy chest from when I was a kid, and my mom is not even sure where she got it from. So lets just say it has some age.

From the time I've had the chest I can count at least 5 different layers of paint I've added, not to mention some decoupage and artists oil paint to boot.  The toy chest was in rough shape, so a total rehab was in order.

After getting some of the top paint off with scraping, I knew I was going to need some chemical stripper.

Now I should maybe call this a how not to post.  Because as I progressed I made some mistakes and learned some lessons.

In the end I ended up using 2 different strippers, and I wanted to talk about what I discovered between the two. (I was not prompted to talk about these products in any capacity)

I started out using the Klean Strip Stripper (on the left).  The reason I went with this one initially was because of price.  It was around $7 a can, and I wanted to avoid the Citrus strippers, because of a bad association with the odor, which involves citrus cleaning supplies, wet dog and dog vomit (not a pleasant scent memory, I am just saying)

After applying and following directions, which suggested leaving stripper on for 15-20 minutes before starting to remove paint, I got what I thought was a pretty good result on the top of the chest.

But when I moved on to the sides I had more difficulty.  The paint was gummy and I had to really put some elbow grease into removing the paint.

As you can see, some areas are cleaner than others.  At this point I ran out of stripper and needed to get more.  Instead of going all the way to Home Depot, I decided to go to my local Ace.  They did not have the stripper I had been using, so I reluctantly purchased the Citristrip.  It was slightly more expensive at about $10 per can and the directions suggested a longer wait time.  Have I mentioned how impatient I can be?  The wait time was turn off for me, not to mention the scent.

When I got home I gave the top a good coating of the Citristrip.  It suggests letting the stripper sit for 45 minutes up to 2 hours.  I ran a couple of errands and got back closer to the 2 hour mark and found the paint just wiped off.  No work needed.

You can see here how clean the top of the chest is.  I was able to get the back and one of the sides clean, but was left with the front and one side still needing to be stripped.

I ran out of Citristrip, and still needed another can.  I still didn't like the smell of the Citristrip, so I thought if I went with the  Klean Strip and just left it on longer I would get similar results.  Not so.

It was still gummy and took lots of work. The picture above is as best as I was able to do with the Klean Strip even after leaving it on for 2 hours.

So in the end this is what I discovered.

Citristrip was the winner.  It is does not cost that much more and works more efficiently.  You just need to remember to leave it on for 2 hours.  I did try and rush the wait time with Citristrip and it did not come off as clean.

I do however, prefer the smell of Klean Strip over Citristrip. 

Check back tomorrow to see the full result of the toy chest rehab.
-Laurie