Cockroach Jewelry

Sick, right? Sick in a bad way, in my opinion! When you read "Cockroach Jewelry" images of sterling silver inanimate bugs come to mind, thinking maybe they could be cute? Nope. Try bedazzled live hissing cockroaches. Yep! You know the ones you see in pet stores and you wonder "who in the world wants a cockroach as a pet?!" I know, I'm biased, I just can't imagine holding one. All those legs would creep. me. out! So since it's fall now, and the posts have gone spooky spidery on us, these just popped into my head this morning. Who knows, maybe some of you will fall in love with this...

Sources: Mapping the Marvelous, Black Chandelier

No, this is not a joke! Haha, I couldn't believe it either. I think it's the creepiest thing ever! Not to mention a little sad, poor lil guys...with those heavy crystals all over 'em.  Either way, they are no longer available due to ethical reasons (see I thought so!) but they were $89.  Each.  That's what real crystals get ya, a high priced bug. Did I mention they hiss? Gross. Doesn't that model in the lower right corner remind you of Johnny Depp? Don't worry, it's not him.. but.. am I the only one who sees a little resemblance?  I think it's the eyes. Hmm. Head over to Black Chandelier to read about these Roach Brooches, it's kind of neat the care instructions show they intended for people to really take good care of these critters, they live for about 3 years.  Don't you just wish you too could have a little bug tethered to you all day?...................................No thanks, I'm good!

Here's a video if you want a live look, skip to about 1:10 ish... get ready for some goosebumps.

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New String Art

I'm just finishing up another batch of string art orders, and thought I'd share since these are some new designs & color combos. I'm really liking the red with the dark walnut stain...these were all custom requests.

Eight Letter name sign, this was the last name of a recently married couple. Cute idea! Isn't the red on brown great? I may borrow those colors for a piece of furniture I'm working on....

This was a full on custom request, I didn't have an example to go off of - but the customer had asked if for the third tablet, some sort of nature themed design, hopefully with the moon, and there we have it. Love that red!

This was another of that persons set of 3, she requested a red bird on the dark walnut stain. Looks great, I wish I could see how they look in their living room!  All these are off to their homes, and everyone has said they are happy with them.  If you want to order a set for yourself, there are many examples in my etsy shop, or you can message me directly to discuss what you are looking for. Thanks for checking in!

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Bar Stool Brainstorm

*** UPDATE: Finished stools HERE***

I recently finished up the Roll Top Desk using chalk paint for the first time, wow - that was great! So great in fact, that I'll be doing it again with these beautiful mission style bar chairs my sister picked up for me (thanks Denise!):

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Beach Towel Bookshelf

I thought today I would post a little bit about some of the things I've been working on lately.  I've been fortunate enough to have a good chunk of time off this July, and I'm going to put that time to good use. I hope!  I've got a long list of projects that need taclking and this is the perfect time.  Aside from all the string art orders lately (thrilled!) I've managed to set aside some furniture time. Which I didn't realize it as much before, is my favorite time.  It's relaxing, I get to take a break from orders, blogging, marketing etc. which can surprisingly eat up a huge chunk of time! So these first few projects I'm embarking on should serve as a real treat. Here's the latest:

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Ghost Lamps

Have you heard this term before? Ghost lamps? Well I hadn't, but I had seen the style before.  It's where you strip an old lampshade to it's bones, and either leave it as is or give it a (tedious!) paint job.  After some research it seems they've been coined "Ghost Lamps" - which is kinda cute!  Seems every style gets a title at some point (wait until we talk about ombre... haha). 

My big concern when I saw these lamps was how bright they seem.  Would the bulb blare at you? So I had to try it out.  I had a few lampshades here with some less-than-lovely fabric on them, and they were begging for this project.  I wanted to review this style for myself, and it turns out I really like it! Check them out:

 I did lime green for mine. I bare bones'd 'em, primed and painted.  The wiring is new and was from one of those lamp bottle kits at the hardware store. It had everything I needed. Since the shade is lightweight, the wire is enough support.

 Here is the secret to making this work. Low wattage bulbs.  In this case, I used "Vintage Style" bulbs that are now available at any hardware store. Look at the filament in there! The light is soft, non blaring, and gives a great accent to any room.  Any low wattage bulb will work, but since the bulb itself is a big part of the focal point here, it's fun to get an interesting one.  Tons are available online too.

 When it's off, it adds a bright color accent in this green & cream corner.

 Here's the second ghost shade, and it was one of those scalloped frames before.  This is also a vintage bulb, they come in two shapes so I got one of each.  The filament in this one is more like a spiral.

 There we go! I gotta say, I like them best as a set. And it STILL was not too bright or blarey, despite what my camera is telling you.  It's nothing to go studying under, but it's perfect for an accent. 

So, my review of the ghost lamp idea is complete, and I'm in love. I really like the style, and I'm happy that these vintage bulbs are available and affordable.  I got mine for about $8 each. Since I already have one thousand lights in my home, I will be putting these up for sale in my shop.  I will eventually be doing some for myself though, hehe. What are your thoughts on this upcoming trend? Have a great weekend!

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Spotlight: Modern Colorful Mobile

I love mobiles, I always have.  They're fun, they move, and they can add a lot to a room.  Plus most mobiles you can easily make, which gives you the flexibility to change it at any time.  You just need a few materials on hand.  Before I start, check out these beauties:

 SO pretty! I think what also attracts me here, is the color spectrum.  I have always referred to this as the "80's rainbow" since it doesn't have green.  I don't that was an actual thing in the 80's...but I noticed a lot of toys and clothes from the time seemed to flaunt this green-less beauty.  Anyway, seems like a lot of people are incorporating the sewing machine into paper arts, making garlands, bunting, and in this case - mobiles.  Here's the link to the original tutorial where I first saw this: DIY Modern Colorful Mobiles.

 While the tutorial says great for showers, etc, I can see making a few of these to spice up a boring corner of a room, gently spinning.  Adding the fishing weights is a great idea too.  I bet a group of these huddled in a corner with a spotlight underneath would look fantastic.  Imagine all the variations of this you could do, if these colors aren't your thing.  It can affordable be tailored to compliment any room. Just thought I'd share, enjoy!

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Barn Red Dresser

When this dresser came to me it was in an "interesting" state to say the least. Take a look:

One drawer was busted, a track for another drawer (see the tape?) was split and being held together with electrical tape, and the finish had overall seen better days. But, at it's core it had some great qualities. Solid wood, no particle board, and what's this? All of it's handles? Yes, something could definitely be salvaged from this situation - even if it ended up only being some really cute hardware to add to the collection. I thought about it for a few days, and I'm a huge fan of letting the furniture be the guide. Like I mentioned, it was not without it's wear and tear, so that set us on the path to a shabby chic - antiqued look.  I made some executive decisions and got to work.  First, take a look at the after:

 Tuh Duh! Yea, I had to ditch two drawers. I probably could have kept one, but an 8 inch tall shelf didn't seem as useful as a 18 inch high. I think this would be great for a TV, record player, bookshelf, wine bar, you name it.

 Yea, I went with red. This red is almost like a wash or a glaze too, so the wood grain shows a little. The entire piece was stained with dark walnut as well.

 I was able to make this with almost entirely re-used parts from the dresser itself. The back you can see are the fronts of the old drawers. The only new wood is the shelf.

 See the gap back there behind the last shelf? I did that on purpose, here's why:

 

A hole for wires! In case the new owner decides to run something electrical through it, the wires can be concealed and run out the back via that gap I showed you. 

 I'm really happy with this one! Just a few more details and he'll be ready to go up for sale. Thanks for looking!

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Spotlight: Zipper 8 Lighting

Recently I posted about the paper artichoke lamp tutorial, and shortly after I found Zipper8 Lighting. Oh wow! Allison, of Zipper8, and I have been corresponding and she shared her blog with me, check it out: The 3 R's Blog .

Right now she's in the midst of 30 projects in 30 weeks that revolve around reusing materials, there are SO many creative ideas on there. She also has an etsy shop where you can buy many of the creations she's been making, I love all her lighting!

She has so many great ideas on there, and here you can see she did an artichoke pendant lamp for herself. It came out fantastic! Here are some pictures of her wonderful lamp, and many other pictures from her blog:

The straw lamp blows me away, it's so cute! Reminds me of a Jelly Fish. Have a great day everyone, be sure to check out more from Zipper 8!

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Two Tier Table

Now that drop leaf baby is finished, it's time to move on to this two tiered end table I've been glancing at for a while now. I'm not sure what to do, just yet, but I have a lot of ideas floating around. I'm thinking something along the lines of cobalt blue... I might stripe it with the wood, I might two tone it, I might do a fabric inlay, a pattern stencil.....I really can't decide. Do you have any ideas?

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Squares

Here's another newbie for the bunch. I saw this table and had an immediate flashback to my childhood. I completely forgot about tables in this style!

The almost checkerboard squares inlaid, really takes me back. I think my Dad had a rectangle one of these.  I had to give it a try, partly because of the memories and partly because this is a genuinely cool table. Ross had a great idea to paint it checkerboard, and that sealed the deal for me. I bought it, threw it in the car (it fit, that's always a plus!) and started brainstorming.  I have a lot of ideas.  The one I'm leaning towards is all matte black, with the squares alternating matte black and ivory.  then distressed and rubbed with a walnut stain, and sealed for durability.  I'm excited that the wood texture will show through the paint too, that will give it a lot of character. What are your ideas? We'll see where this week takes us. We have a lot of work to do in the shop itself now that it's raining.  The main workshop is getting it's own pallet floor solution like the storage area, as we've been getting hit with a few puddles! Well, thanks for stopping by and have a productive day!

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The Kill

Hello again! Hope everyone had a great weekend. Quick side note, I've always said "Hello again" without thinking twice about it, but recently we had a night with Netflix and the movie that arrived was "Hello again" with Shelly Long.

I hate to say it, but it wasn't the greatest movie in the world, but somehow it stuck with me, and I can't stop thinking about or quoting it!  Eighties movies are so fun to watch though, I think it's something you just HAVE to see. Anyway, moving on!

We just got in a few pieces of furniture and I've been racking my brain to remember what it is CALLED. I've seen them all over and I used to know, but I'm drawing a blank! Maybe you can help:

I love the style, the raised back perfect for a lamp, leaving room for book and knick knacks underneath.  I'm toying with a few different ideas as to how to paint it, any suggestions?

Now I usually don't talk about all the vintage things we put in the shop, simply because there can be SO many that it would hog the whole blog.  This one though, I had to show.  This plate is actually titled "The Kill". Check it out:

This has to be the most interesting plate I think I've ever seen... well, have a great day!

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Long Break!

Hi everyone! I apologize for such a long break, we have been working really hard getting our new workshop set up. Here is a picture:

There you have it. That table was a crazy find, we went to a "free" sale which turned out to not be free (long story) and scored this table.  It's HUGE! We don't have a big enough truck at our disposal, so we paid extra to have it delivered. Well, we got a call that night around ten p.m. saying they dropped it off at the liquor store NEAR our house... and that's it! SO Ross and I, at ten p.m., were carrying an enormous table down the middle of the street.  It was very awkward, but very worth it! We can each work from a side with plenty of space. 

I've started in on a few projects.  The first is one of the chandeliers. I decided to break all the glass out, and I will paint it bright red with oversized light bulbs.

Breaking the glass was a fun stress relief!

 The other project is a set of four chairs from my Grandma.

It's so cool to be working on these chairs after growing up around them. It's neat to think all this time I never knew I'd be redoing them one day!

Set of four, all matching. Here they are primed:

Like our make-shift paint booth? There is one chair missing from the photo. I think I am going to paint them a light blue, and use this fabric for the seats and the back:

I haven't finalized any of the plans though, so it is still open if anyone wants to reserve them to buy and choose the colors and fabrics.  Anyone have suggestions of chair color, after seeing this print?

Ross is working on a few things right now too, but I only have a picture of one. This mirror:

It's pretty big - It's been primed now too, and is about to receive a coat of color. This is also up for reservation if anyone is interested. 

Thanks for checking in, I'll post progress pictures soon! Have a great one.

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Digest

A lot of things have been going on this week! Sales have been up, and the purple hexagon table was adopted by a couple in San Francisco, and left us on Sunday. I'm glad they liked it! I have two more end tables in the works right now.  Both are square, one I already showed you so here is the other one:

Pretty crazy isn't it....... this one definitely puts up a big challenge. I'm open to ideas! I need a lot of them. I'm definitely thinking solid color, but the panels behind the designs on the doors come off, so I might do them a different color or maybe in a fabric. We'll see. Here's another "beautiful" project I have going, that I have some ideas for but I'm also pretty blocked:

Interesting, right? The problem here is some of the glasses are broken. But, I know something good will come of them. I have 2, this is the big one and I have one more that is smaller. Wish me luck!
Lastly, I put up a couple more parasols also:

Alright! Those are in the shop, have a great day!

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New Projects!

Here is a few things we are starting on - if you would like to reserve anything, let me know, and you can choose the colors - etc.

We are also now on Facebook under "Nine Red" or you can click here to become a fan!  For you twitter lovers, we are there too under NineRedDecor. Nine Red was taken! Oh well. Thanks for stopping by!

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