Happy New Year!

Can't believe 2014 is here already.  Tomorrow is my last day of vacation before heading back to school and tutoring on Monday (I've continued at Ikea over the Christmas break).  The holidays always go by so fast, and I'm always a little sad when I pack up the decorations for another year.  It was a great two weeks though - so much food and good times!  I do feel like I've had a break which is nice, but it will be tough to get back into the rat race again next week.

I wanted to share with you a little project I completed in the living room before the holidays started.  I had been researching wall decals for a LONG time, and when I found this tree at Ikea, I decided to give it a try.
It is the Mossen decorative sticker and is super easy to apply to the wall.  It goes on like a paint by number. You peel off each individual piece and match it to its other corresponding piece on the wall.  Here it is completed!

The little birdies on the branches are my favourite part :)  I didn't want to put more shelves or more art on the walls so this is an interesting alternative.  This pretty much completes my living room now.  I think I'll wait and do some living room tour pictures come the summer when there is more sunlight coming in through the front windows and the Christmas decorations are down ;)

I have also started using Instagram.  Those of you that follow me would have seen the wall decal up a few days ago already.  You can find me here: http://instagram.com/livefromb5.

Here's wishing a happy and healthy 2014 to you all!

DIY Rope Mirror

I've needed a mirror for my front entry for along time.  Before I left the house, instead of just glancing in a mirror, I had to trek into the bathroom to make sure everything was in place!  Once I removed and replaced the mirror in my bathroom, I knew it was the perfect size to use above my half table in my entry/living room. It didn't have a frame though, so I made it my mission to source out some ideas.

I went through many phases including:

A sequin sunburst mirror

Source: Meijo's Joy

A mirrored mirror

Source: Team Southards

Etching a mirror

Source: A Little Tipsy

Framing it with molding and corner pieces

Source: Southern Hospitality

Adding glass beads

Source: Crafty Nest

Tiling the mirror

Source: Centsational Girl

Until finally I found this:

Source: Ruby Lane

But at $895 I knew I could easily DIY this for MUCH cheaper!

Turns out it's way harder to get thick, manila rope than I thought.  After 2 months of searching, and trips to 6 different hardware/home improvement stores, I finally found some in stock at Lowe's online.  They also had free shipping, so for $30 I had myself some rope delivered straight to my door!

Materials:
Mirror
Glue Gun
Rope - I used 3/4 inch twisted manila rope
Duct Tape/Electrical Tape

Here was my mirror before and my materials all gathered together!

I started by duct taping the end of the rope in the bottom center of the mirror (I marked the center with a grease pencil that could be easily erased afterwards).  I didn't glue it as I needed it to be loose at the end.  

Super Duper Helpful Tip:  I started this project by using Household Goop - a strong glue but had a very slow drying time.  I was having to hold the rope in place with heavy books, and even then, the rope was still sliding all over the place!  (This caused me to have a mild hissy fit insisting this project was a dumb idea and would never work...)  An immediate decision was made to go to the hardware store and purchase a glue gun (Shocker I know, a crafter like me does not own her own glue gun...well I do now!)  A glue gun is necessary as you need the quick drying time of the glue.  Hissy fit averted.

When I made it all the way around the mirror, I cut the rope and taped it with electrical tape.  It was smaller and therefore easier to work with than the duct tape and it stopped the rope from unraveling perfectly!  Then it was a matter of going around the mirror two more times and gluing as I went.

I made sure not to glue any of the ends down and just secured them with duct tape.  I needed them to be loose in order to wrap them at the end.

Once I'd gone around three times with the rope, I joined all of the ends with duct tape to make one big duct taped section (I didn't get a good photo, but I also taped up the open gap you can see in the photo below so none of the ends showed.)  I had some rope left over, so I unraveled some skinny strings and used them to wrap and hide the tape.  This ensures that the decoration at the top is the same colour and texture as the rest of the frame.  I glued one end of the skinny piece behind the duct tape.  Since the frame ends were not glued down, I was able to wrap the string around and behind the section.

Here is the completed wrapped area.  Once wrapped, I shoved the glue gun under it and squirted some blobs to secure it.

Then it was just a matter of hanging the mirror.  I did do some admiring of all the money I saved!  All it took was a glue gun and some rope!

Linked: East Coast Creative #cwts2014

Meet My Big, Yellow Bird

Not this big, yellow bird....

but this yellow bird!

He's the new Kladsam mobile from IKEA!  I call him Iggy.  Originally, Iggy was meant to go on my balcony where he could swing in the breeze.  However, I didn't realize how high the ceiling is out there and I couldn't reach...even with a ladder and a chair... I knew his winter home was going to be in my living room, so I put him there for the time being.  Turns out he looks great there and I think he's found a permanent home!  

Iggy is not very heavy, so he's just suspended by some extra manila rope I had and a 3M hook stuck to the ceiling.  So far there's been no danger of him falling down and he has great conversations with his woodland squirrel friend too...  Is it possible to have too many animals in one location?

I love his bright, yellow colour, and he matches a lot of the other decor in the room, while still being original in his own right.

Best part is, it's like having a pet, but he doesn't make a peep, hehehe...

Hiding Out With The Camouflage

Oh man, I'm so late with this post!  I definitely meant to get this out sooner but I got busy with Easter, teaching, and my sister's birthday!

Over March Break the living room, kitchen, hallway, and front entry got painted!  It took a good two days with my mom and I doing it.  It looks awesome and the whole space feels more finished and less "clinical white" now.

Here's some before shots of the rooms.

And here are the afters!

The colour is called Camouflage by Benjamin Moore that I had colour matched at Home Depot.  I love it because during the day it has a beigy tone with green undertones, but at night the green really comes through.

It's really neutral and looks good with the white trim and dark wood.

You might have noticed the above picture where the front hall is only painted half way...there's another project in the works there that you'll have to stay tuned for!

How to Hide Your Cords

Long dangling cords have been driving me crazy lately.  These are the worst offenders right now:

They are right in my line of sight when I am sitting on my couch.  It's annoying.  I give them the evil eye every time I sit down.  I finally got off my butt and did something about it!  I purchased a pack of 3M clear hooks. The smaller you can find the better.

I attached three of them in alternating directions on the back of the table leg, then hooked the cords around them.  (The little tab to remove them was long and stuck out the side of the table, so I just folded it over and tucked it in with the cords and it fit perfectly.)

I then used some blue poster tack to stick the cords along the thin edge of the shelf.

  

You'll never hide the cords completely.  That only happens in magazines ;) But you can make it so they aren't nearly as offensive!

Such a neat and cheap trick, but makes a big difference!

Doing Up the Lovely Lady

Thanks for all your comments regarding my Lack corner shelf tutorial, and a welcome to readers who are stopping by from Curbly!  #6 on Faith Towers Ten Clever Ikea Hacks, thanks Faith!

Remember my Lovely Lady Lamp from last summer?

She got a lovely coat of bright yellow spray paint and a new black shade.

Something always looked a bit off though, like something was missing.  I decided if the Lady was to be Lovely, she need a fancier dress...aka shade.

I wanted to do some kind of ribbon trim of varying widths.  I couldn't decide on the colour, but thought silver could look nice.  It would stand out well on the black, and would match my stools and Bert in the kitchen.  So I went on the hunt for silver ribbon.  This hunt lasted MONTHS.  Every time I went to the Dollar Store or Walmart or anywhere that sold ribbon I scoured their selection for the same silver colour in different sizes.  I had pretty much given up when last week, I found skinny silver ribbon...and in the junk box wayyyy at the back of the shelf there was matching silver ribbon in the thicker size.  I nearly died.  I may have immediately called my mom and squealed my delight.  I bought both.

I wasn't sure how to attach the ribbon to the shade.  It's a satin ribbon and I didn't want the glue to show through.  I did some research, and everyone said not to use a glue gun.  Good, cause that had been my first idea... Others had had success with fabric glue applied thinly with a paint brush.  I went with this.  I picked up some fabric glue and away I went.

Long story short, fabric glue did not work!  Even with the thinnest coat, the ribbon still bunched and you could see where the glue had been applied and where it hadn't.  I have no photo of the badness because I didn't want the glue to dry too much before I ripped the ribbon off.  Sorry...just picture bunchy, wet ribbon stuck to a lampshade and you've got the right visual.

I decided to test with tape.  That worked, but you could see where the tape was folded over under the ribbon.

My final idea was just to tape where the ribbon joined at the seam and then pull the ribbon taut around the shade without attaching it at all.  Surprisingly, it worked!  All that's holding the ribbon in place is some tape at the back on the seam.

I realize this is not a long term solution.  But really, if it falls down I just add a new piece of tape.  And it makes it super easy to change if I get tired of the silver!

Now the Lovely Lady is ready for a night on the town!