Adding a Crochet Bookmark to the gift of a book is also a really great way to make your presents for others a little bit more personal. Enjoy!

From a regular nonagon. To emphasize the illusion of interwoven triangles. New diagrams.

Hi everyone! I posted another tutorial on The Divine Minimalist, click here to hop over there and read it, or read ahead: Welcome to the next class in the School of Restoration! Today we are going to work on painting a chair in a color fade, or "Ombre" as you've probably seen it. I looked it up, because I'll be first to admit that I had no idea what this word meant. Ombre; "Shaded or graduated in tone". Yep! That about sums it up, and I adore it. I've been seeing this new style all over the place, and I'm really happy about it. When thinking of an idea for today's class, this post came through on Design Sponge featuring Anthropologie's gorgeous ombre bench. If you click over to their site, hang onto your seat - yes - that is a $1500 price tag! Now call me crazy, but I'm pretty sure we can do this for less than $1500. I couldn't wait to try it, and I added a third color too. Here's a look at what we're aiming for: Isn't that fun? I think so, and it really was fun to make. So grab any chair lying around and let's get to work! Materials: A sweet chair Steel Wool (paint removal grade) or sandpaper Drop cloth Gloves Mask & Goggles Spray paint primer 3 colors of spray paint - I chose Gloss White, Blue, and Navy Blue. Spray clear coat - gloss Optional: Sawhorse, Electric Sander & Pads, Spray Paint Trigger Gather up your materials. So far, I'm under $30 for all my supplies. Not counting the chair, it just showed up in my shed one day, looking for a makeover - and it's getting one! It looks like the last owner had painted it a brown color, and rubbed some more brown stain all over it. But the chair was sturdy, good bones - and that's what you are looking for. We don't want to go crashing through it after we put this much time into it! Take a peek: There's a look at my tools. Not much is needed! When shopping for spray paint, I look for the kind that says "2X coverage" or "extra cover". I definitely notice needing to do less coats. With primer, I tend to grab the one that says it can stick to plastic, even if I'm not priming plastic. My logic, is that if this stuff can stick to a smooth plastic surface, it'll stick to anything. And that's what I need! The steel wool is "paint removal" grade, which I had on hand. Steel wool is great, it lets you sand surfaces very very gently. Let's start sanding! Here's where I recommend gloves. I know the steel wool feels OK to the touch, but you'll see. Without gloves, after a few minutes, you see little shards of steel poking out of your fingers, and who wants that? Since we are painting over this coat, we're just looking to smooth it out and rough it up a bit. Give our cuter coats something to hang onto. Tired yet? I was. I broke out the electric sander (see how handy it is?) because parts of the coat on this chair just weren't budging. Five minutes later I was good to go! Take a look here at the goal: Scratched up enough to hold the primer. Now start priming! Remember; thin coats. You can re-coat a few minutes apart too. Read your brand of spray paint's directions. Grab that mask and goggles! I forgot to wear a mask during a blue coat, and ended up with blue nostrils. Lovely. Went over fantasticly in public. Side note here: Ever notice that the directions actually say "Re-coat within 1 hour or after 24 hours"? I didn't! I would just paint on my clock, and now and then I'd get these weird bubbles. After a phone call to their help desk, they pointed this out. So far playing by the rules has really helped! Here's the chair after my first coat of primer. I will probably do one or two more coats, because I do not want any of that old paint peeking through later. If you have a sawhorse it comes in handy right here: You can flip your chair over and get in all the nooks and crannies. I can't believe I just said nooks and crannies! It's not an english muffin.... Anyway, be sure to pad your sawhorse though, otherwise that horse will scratch your seat. tsk tsk. Nobody likes a scratched seat. Here's a close up of our underside... An optional tool that is inexpensive and will save your fingers, is this little trigger. I don't know if that's what it's actually called, but it really is like pulling a trigger! It snaps onto any spray paint can, and is around $3. Still staying under our $1500 limit! After your primer coat is dry (I waited about 25 minutes, until it wasn't sticky) we can start our colors. Plan out in your mind roughly where you want these to start and stop. I chose to split the chair in thirds. Take your top color, in this case white, and start coating past the limit of your white section. You don't need to do the whole chair, since we will be painting over that. Remember, thin coats! 'Tis better to do many thin coats than to do one gloppy-drippy one. I did about 4 thin coats on the top half of the chair. If you do get drips or strange textures, just take your steel wool and gently smooth it out, and paint over it again. Once satisfied with the top color, move onto the blue. Take a look before I explain: So my goal here was to get the middle third in my royal blue. Focus on the getting the center of that section solid blue first. You'll notice the over spray is already starting to do the fade, all by itself. Just focus on that center now, back and forth, thin, thin coats. Here's a close up of the seat, notice that I haven't gone up or down the spindles yet, I'm just focusing on a solid blue seat. Here's where things get fun and creative. If you want, practice this paint job on cardboard first. Though by now you probably have a good feel for the behavior of the paint, since you painted the seat. In little spurts, just start spraying the spindles, moving quickly upwards and away from the chair. The only real challenge here is trying to not get a clean line, and keeping your color even heights. Try standing back a little, and just pulling the trigger in very short intervals. See how you are getting that cloudy look? Great. Now you can decide how far up and down you want this to go. I started low, because I had to keep adjusting my heights to get them even, which ran the color higher up the back! Do the same moving downwards. Remember in the downward direction, to spray past the point where you want your navy blue to reach. We want the lower white area to be gone, so spray a good 4-5 inches past where you'd like the blue to dark blue fade to happen. Here's a close up of the fade: So - teacher made a mistake here, and I'm passing this onto you so you don't! I should have flipped my chair before my third color and done the bottoms of my royal blue. So, I recommend, after your blue is dry to flip and get that color on there. Or do it before you do the top of the blue. Either way, just get it done before the third color. This particular chair didn't need extra protection, but if yours does, cover areas behind your spray range with cardboard or paper bags. It was nice and sunny while I did this! Lucky me. The sun really helped my dry times between coats, though I tried to paint in the shade. Once you are satisfied with your middle blue, do the same technique for your third color. I started at the bottom of the chair, and worked up. Once the area you want solid is complete, you can use the fade technique from above to spray up and away into the middle color. You're almost done! I used the sawhorse again to raise my work level, but this would work just the same on a protected floor. So far, so good! While your chair is drying, give it a good inspection. See the missing spot on mine? Mmhmm... good thing I checked. The thing to really look out for here, is to make sure your fades are around the same height as the others. Here we are, complete: Forgive me, those ARE raindrops there! I was taking photos the next morning for better lighting, when it started raining on me! Don't worry - that high gloss came in handy and protected the chair. Much better! I fixed my errors, checked my fades, and I'm happy with the outcome. Let it dry for 24 hours, or longer if it still feels sticky to the touch. Then clear coat the chair, again in many thin coats. I chose high gloss. Let that dry another 24 hours or so and enjoy! Here's a picture of it in the sun: So what did you think? Not too bad, right? I think you can definitely tackle this in a weekend, and we most likely stayed under $1500. Not saying anything bad about Anthro's bench, I'm sure it's great! You have to love that place, if at least for the amazing inspiration. Thanks for tuning in for another class in the School of Restoration here on The Divine Minimalist. I had a lot of fun making this tutorial and I know you'll have fun trying it out! If you tackle this project, share the ombre love and send us your pictures. Share it, tweet it, pin it - it's always great to see other peoples work! If you missed the last two tutorials they are here and here, and if you don't know me yet, that's here too. I'll be back next month with another tutorial. Until then - have a wonderful month, enjoy the moment, and class dismissed! Post a Comment

I'm the type of person that tends to start a lot of projects at once, and then get sidetracked and start more, to the point where I have to really be strict and stick to a list just to finish everything up. I get excited, and motivated, can you blame me? Everything seems like "oh this will only take a second" and it actually takes a few days, or more... Ok after reading what I just wrote, it's decided - that's my goal this week, wrap up all these random projects. I have a folder of literally 200 pictures of these random projects, waiting to be cropped, edited & assembled into posts. That being said - some of you may have seen a recent tablet order I finished up, if not - take a looksee: This was a mega-order. Four tablets. 23 letters. A LOT of string...... This was for a customer's 4 boys.... The colors are so fun - came out cute! It's so funny, I love trying out new projects or ideas that I have, and when I think it's 1) something others might enjoy and 2) something I wouldn't mind making more of, then I pop it the shop. You never really know what will be a success and what will sit there, but these string art tablets have taken off. I've been so flattered & excited to make them for people's homes, and I haven't lost steam on them at all, each one is still exciting. Plus - sometimes I need a break from perpetual home improvements to just work on a satisfying project. Know what I mean? Here's one from a few months ago that never got posted (see!? time flies....) Love that blue stain! Hard to tell in the photos, but it totally shows the wood grain. And actually, the person who ordered this one chose 4 different shades of white for the letters, but on the blue your eye just groups them all into one color. Learned a little tip there.... If you're interested in ordering a tablet or want to discuss a new project with me, I'm always accepting orders - keep in mind I need about 2 weeks (usually less) to do a custom job start to finish. Check out examples in my etsy shop: here. Alright, what are your goals this week? Do you make endless lists like me, only to stray away from them? I've got clipboards & to-do lists for days... days that I don't have - heh.... Do something you love today, hope you are having some spring weather in your area! Warm rain over here, it's so nice... -Jesse Up Next: Let us decorate with wood that washes ashore... driftwood mobiles baby! Let's keep in touch: Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, Subscribe & of course, Email me. Want more? Here are some related moments on the blog: New Designs: Owl String Art Tablet My favorites: Mod Patterns Post a Comment

Today we'll be setting aside the circuits and solder for a little while in favor of good old fashioned wood and bungee chords to make this backyard catapult. Items needed include nine sections of 2x3 ...

***Update: Otis the Owl Complete Pattern download is now available in my etsy shop, as well as complete kits that come with everything you need: Pattern, board, nails, string... you name it. Check it out here*** Hey, hey! So his name doesn't have to be Otis, I'm just a sucker for the whole alliteration thing... I'm excited to show you my newest string art design - this was a project for the winner of the String Art Giveaway I did on Better After a while ago. The winner and I discussed all types of ideas, she showed me a board on Pinterest she had created that focused on many styles she loved. She really wanted an Owl. So I took inspiration from her ideas, and combined them into this: I love how it came out! It was so challenging to figure out all the details (especially on the feathered chest) but it all worked out great - I'm happy, the recipient is happy, Otis is happy, we are all happy. It's bigger than usual too, about 11.5" wide by 23.5" tall, and for a new trick I mixed some paint action in there. The wood was hand distressed using the Aged Wood trick from a while back. This one takes longer than usual, but so worth it. Hope you like it! I'm going to throw this design into the etsy shop, which you can access by clicking here or the My Etsy Shop tab above. If you want to make it yourself, I have downloadable patterns & directions here, and complete kits here. Let's make it a good week ahead! -Jesse Want to see other string art designs? Clicky Clicky.... Up next on the blog: DIY Floor Mirror - huge wood frame! Linkies: Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, Subscribe & of course, Email me. Post a Comment

I've just completed the corrugated structure for my largest project to date - a nine foot tall giraffe. I've always been in awe of this tall...

Model horse tack, model horse blog, model horse show, braymere blog, model horse performance, jennifer buxton, breyer horses, breyerfest, must

Winter Wonderland, anyone?

Ever been in a hot air balloon? What a wonderful feeling that is! Hot air balloons are a symbol of freedom and they also spark our imagination and

Make it Up in Your Favorite Colors and for Any Season! This lovely quilt is gorgeous for displaying at Christmas. It would lend a cheery ambiance however you choose to display it. We especially love how Cozy Little Quilts used it as the centerpiece for their Christmas decor. The pattern will look great made up …

Sculpture is part of our curriculum for 4th grade this nine weeks. I started with a Nevelson/found object sculpture. The students really loved it, and I wanted to continue on with sculpture. I used Oldenburg as the focus artist, and the kids LOVED HIM!!!!!!!!!!! It has been more of a challenge than I anticipated. Kids today have almost NO experience when it comes to needles/thread/sewing. I know my situation is extremely different...growing up in Appalachia with quilters EVERYWHERE. But a majority of these kids had NO CLUE AT ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This has inspired me. This year I'm going to do plastic needle point, and I am planning on doing a button lesson(something practical I'll make artistic). If nothing else..these kids will be able to sew on a button when they leave Mr. E!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

On the ninth day of Christmas,My true love gave to meeeee... Nine drummers drumming! You may not have expected Drummers as number nine, but the song from the 1700s I'm using as my guide has the order

Superhero Baby Boy SVG Clipart Designs. Super Hero Vector Cut Files for Pintable and Download. Captain America, Thor, Hulk and more Babies Inspired Themes

Happy October! Sometimes on the first of the month, like the first of the year, I get the urge to look back and see what was going on around here a year ago. Luckily having a blog makes that extremely easy (click of a button!) - which is how I spent my morning caffeine session today. Here's what I found, a year ago we were still house shopping, and apparently just putting offers on our current place. Here's the post, but just look at this living room during the sale: Wow... I remember thinking, how in the world will we arrange furniture in here?! Just for fun, here it is now, use the door to line things up in your brain: Yea.. little different.. So we were still living in Santa Cruz, I still had my major workshop set up in the back, and furniture was churning out nicely... I had the Chevron night stands, which quickly found a home: I wanted to keep those but had NO room.. plus, getting prepped for a move? I shed things like crazy.. I did get to keep this stool from the Color Block Stool Tutorial: And some of my favorite how-to's of the time were this Origami Star Lantern, that I still haven't made, but really really want to: Photo Credits: How About Orange & Passengers on a little spaceship And my flat marble light fixtures.. I can't believe this was only a year ago! I'll have to do another tutorial on these, I've experimented a lot more with the process. For now, here's the original tutorial. Or this great under-bed storage project, that I completely forgot about! I need to do this one for sure... Photo Source And I was grossing you all out with this pretty nasty & somewhat cruel cockroach jewelry, that actually exists... Sources: Mapping the Marvelous, Black Chandelier I still think that looks like Jonny Depp... haha.. you can watch the video & read more from a year ago, here. And of course, my super cheesy pumpkin: I hope you get the joke! That's just a glimpse of what was going on last October.. what about you? Do you ever take a look back at a year ago to see how much has changed? I'm always surprised to realize things that feel like a super long time ago, were only a year ago.. Kind of slows things down a little bit to remember how much has actually been crammed into just one year. Happy October! I want chili. Cincinnati Chili... -Jesse Up Next: Adding some River Rock around our fireplace.... easy! Linkies: Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, Subscribe & of course, Email me. Post a Comment

This felt orange tutorial shows you how to make a whole orange, half orange, and an orange slice. Perfect for pretend play and also makes cute home decor!

Loom Bands! It's a craze. A big fiddly tweeny fad that just last week swept up my eight and nine year old. I've been reliably informed by fr...

While it may technically be fall, I’m still not ready for browns and greys (though I can’t say I’m ever ready for that). Instead, I’m still clinging on to the…

Here is another project from pop taps. It's easy and fun . Making this pop tab bracelet is a great way for you to show your creativity and your concern

(no wings needed) bookbinding paper - vintage japanese postal label - vintage ledger paper ˚˚˚˚˚˚˚˚ Dit jaar maak ik tijdens de adventsperiode 24 luciferdoosjes. Harmonica's (leporello's) zijn een leuk element in dit soort doosjes, haast speelgoed. This year's advent period I'm altering 24 matchboxes. Concertina's (leporello's) are a fun element in these kind of boxes, almost like a toy.

Sometimes I wonder why I don't post more crafty things to Motherhood and More. Then I do a craft and remember why. We're always out of tape. And crafts are not all that much fun to write about, quite frankly. It's much more fun to make up parental mental illnesses or get deep about my racism. B

Origami Accordion Box More modular origami today. This accordion structure is made from nine origami boxes which are connected to each other by inserting side flaps into side pockets, no adhesive needed. I believe the origami artist who designed this structure is Ayako Kawate. I have attached hardcovers to each end to make it more bookish. I now have a PDF with instructions available on Etsy if you want to make it yourself.