Sunday, January 29, 2012

weekend projects

this weekend jesse and i made our first collaborative work of art. although we have already bought one commercial painting from ikea (which we do love), it is definitely important to us that we make our own original art. this project was really easy and we bought everything we needed for it from home depot (jesse's kind of art project, for sure!).

finished product

so, like i said, friday night we went and got everything we needed for the project: two six inch wide pine boards, walnut stain, ivory spray paint and a front door mat. that same evening we stained the pine so that it would be dry by the morning.

Jesse staining the boards

before and after

Emi and I watched while Jesse stained... haha
on saturday morning when the boards were dry we started the second step: the spray painting! basically, the rubber door mat acts as a stencil, creating a beautiful and intricate pattern!

Centering the stencle

First Coat

Four coats later on either side...
after the spray paint dried we cut the boards in half and then centered industrial velcro on the wall and the back of the wooden panels. after that we just popped them on the wall! i love how they look. obviously, they aren't perfect, but that is what i like the most about them!

half way up

obviously hanging them was jesse's job
I wasn't sure about this velcro but it worked like a charm!
finished product
after we hung these up i started on the second project of the weekend: the trunk. jesse's parents had this trunk in their basement that used to belong to a family member and i asked if we could borrow it since it was hiding away in a storage room.  obviously, they said yes!

Dusty from the days spent in the basement
it was in rough shape
so, before it was going to be able to hang out in the living room it needed to be dusted and polished. obviously, i didn't want to do anything too drastic since the value of the trunk actually depreciates if you alter the original material but something needed to be done so i turned to google where i found this amazing recipe for an olive oil and vinegar polish - it worked wonders!

right hand side has one coat of polish and the left is the original

oil and vinegar polish

Finished product
trunk turned side table

Finished product!




so, all and all we are really happy with our new, original wall art as well as the antique travel trunk! another productive weekend and we are all tuckered out....so please excuse me while i go join my two loves on the couch to cuddle! happy sunday!