Wine Cork Board

Do you have a bunch of wine corks that you've been saving and just waiting for an idea of what to do with them? Me too! My jar that I kept them in was beginning to overflow so it was time to figure something out. Plus I haven't done any crafty projects for a while and I was beginning to have withdrawals.

My idea of slicing them up didn't work to well the first time around, but this time - Success!! Check it out!

 This was pretty easy to do. To begin I pulled out my scroll saw and sliced those babies up. (If you don't have a scroll saw or other thin bladed saw Kara Paslay used an Exacto knife to slice corks for her project.)

At first I tried pushing the cork through the blade, but that seemed to take a long time and was hard on the blade. So instead I began to rotate the cork into the blade and it sliced up easily.

I didn't measure the cork sized exactly, just eyeballed them. This left me with a few odd ends but I still had more than enough to complete the frame.

The cutting didn't take very long with the saw; before I knew it I had cut all my slices and was ready to arrange them. 

I used a frame I already had and just added some white spray paint. I wanted the frame to be neutral so the texture of the cork would stand out.

To arrange the corks I used the cardboard insert that came with the frame as my backing. I arranged them the way I wanted them glued them down using Aleene's Craft Glue.

After that I let it dry and was done! Easy and fun!

I like the texture of the cork and how the varies sizes give it interest. I also left some of the brand marks right side up for some extra detail.

Not only is it decorative art- it's functional as well!

I think cork is so versatile. It's eco friendly and easy to come by. Have you ever used cork in a project? 

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Trial & Error

I wish I could tell you that every DIY project that pops into my head is so easy and turns out great. Well that's not always the case, but that's ok because one of the things I love about projects and DIY'ing is the trial and error and finding new ways of doing things.


This time around I've been collecting wine corks for a while and was ready to do something with them.

A LONG time ago I made this with corks I had saved:

I wanted to try something different this time. I like the way the cork looks on the ends. I thought it would be cool to cut the corks into slices and glue them in rows and make a cork board.

First I tried cutting them with my Dremel tool. It worked on a few of them but ending up leaving burn marks on most of them.

So my first attempt hasn't worked out quite the way I thought it would. But I'm not ready to give up yet. The few cork slices that do look good are pretty cool. I want to try another method of cutting before I am ready to give up.

Do you ever have a project that doesn't go quite as planned? Has anyone ever tried to cut corks this way before that has had success? I'd love to hear about it!

Super Side Tables

Don't you love these Mid-Century side tables? I've been seeing a lot of them around lately.

I've heard them called "Step Tables" They are so versatile, they can work in almost any room of the home, living room, bedroom etc. You can leave them the original wood or paint them up!

My friend Stephanie found this awesome table at the Goodwill and gave it a new life with some paint and tape. !!LOVE!!

 

My Mom (Hi Mom!) found a pair for $10 each and gave them a fresh coat of paint. She uses them in two different rooms in her home.

And I rescued  a pair from the side of the road and stenciled a pattern on them:





So if you happen to come across one of these little guys don't pass them up! Give them a new home, they will really appreciate it. 

A Tisket A Tasket-

An Easter Basket for Con-Man! 


I went out to buy an Easter Basket for The Con-Man, but everything was either really girly looking (where were all the boy baskets!) or had large stuffed animals on them; which is fine but I wanted something simple for him. So I had to take matters into my own hands.


I bought a basket at Micheals (40% off!) for $5. And using some leftover fabric from when I made Con-Man's crib bedding I got to work.

I measured the depth of the basket and cut out a long fabric strip, then cut out a circle for the bottom.

I pinned them together and sewed the strip and circle together, then sewed up the side.

After it was all sewn up I hand sewed it into the basket.

Then done! Now Con-Man has a cute Easter Basket he can use every year. :D 

I put it by the fireplace (that's where the Easter Bunny comes right?!). I can't wait for Con-Man to see it. I saw some at the store with a bow, but I wasn't sure if I should but one on Con's basket or not. What do you think? Bow or no bow?

He likes it!

Linking here

Chair a Holic

Hi My name is Rachelle and I am a Chair A Holic.

Ever since we got the news that we are moving I've been trying to clear our clutter and decide what furniture we'll take with us to the new house and what we might try to sell. And something I've discovered is that I have quite a few chairs. 

Vintage Chairs

Dining Chairs

Mid Century Lounge Chairs

Cafe Chairs (I have 2 of these!)

Outdoor Stools

Lounge Chair

I don't know what it is but I LOVE chairs! All kinds of chairs, small chairs, big chairs, lounge chairs, dining chairs, side chairs, ect. I may be in danger of becoming one of those people on that hoarders show.

I know a lot of people have collections but chairs are kind of a big thing to collect.

Famous chairs I'd love to get my hands on:

So what to keep and what to get rid of? I think that once we find a new house in Altus I'll have a better idea. Until then I'm going to enjoy my chairs, all 25 million of them!

Do you have a favorite furniture or decorative accessory you can't get enough of?



Repainting- The Deck

Our house has been on the market for almost 3 weeks now. We've had steady showings and most of the feed back has been positive. No offers yet but our realtor said in this market it could take a few months to find a buyer.


One of the kind of negative comments we've received is about our deck. We use it a lot, to lounge on while we watch Con-Man play, hanging out with friends and grilling. 

But over time the paint treatment that was done has worn away.

I have some theories on how this could have happened. I don't want to name any names, but I think I know who the culprit may be....

In an effort to make our home look as good as possible we decided to repaint the deck. I started by looking up some tips on deck refinishing:

- Remove all plants and cover any landscaping before using a paint stripper or deck cleaning product

- Don't use chlorine bleach and always do a test spot before using a cleaning product on the entire surface

- A clear coat of urethane will not protect your deck from UV rays

- Clean your deck before applying a finish coat with a powerful hose and scrub with soapy water and wait 24 hours between the cleaning process and starting the painting process

- Look for a finish product that is water resistant

- Don't over apply your finish coat, the wood can only absorb so much before it becomes over saturated

- Wait at least 3 hours between coats

I  bought some paint that is specifically made for outdoor decks I got started painting. (The painting was the easy part...) I went to Home Depot and had them match the paint for me since I'm not sure what the original color was. It matches almost exactly!

I also decluttered the deck by removing my homemade patio furniture and moved all the potted plants so people could see how large the deck is.

The steps look a lot better and Gracie approves!

Anyone else been taking on outdoor projects lately?