Jan1

New Year, New Directions

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New Year, New Directions

No project today, just the beginning of a whole new year.  I could spend this first paragraph explaining all my “reasons” (a.k.a. excuses) for the extended hiatus between posts on this blog, but I’m going to skip that and tell you where it is going from here.

I love to make things and most of them are before and after-type projects, but I’ve found that I will go weeks without completing one and that keeps me from posting.  I also love decorating my home, thrift store shopping, and selling some thrift store finds on eBay.  I would love to share a little of everything with you and going forward, that’s what you’ll find here at Redopalooza.

This year is starting off in really exciting fashion for me, as I am moving in to a new house!  I live in the St. Louis metro area and bought a place closer to my job.  It is cute as it is, but one of the reasons I chose to buy it is the abundance of DIY projects I can tackle within.  First was refinishing the wood floors, about which I will post in the very near future.  Meanwhile, I’m going to rest after a full day of packing and moving.

10000 EBD OMO

Happy New Year!

Aug24

I Wish Everything Was In 3-D

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I Wish Everything Was In 3-D

The title today is brought to you courtesy of my dad’s former coworker. Kinda makes your head hurt, doesn’t it?

I’ll tell you what made MY head hurt – spray painting this thrift store cabinet! I had it in a box so I could paint it in the basement and thought I could just shoot one side and then the other after I removed the back. Well, that was a pipe dream, my friends. I smugly “shot one side and then the other” and then I looked at it from another angle and realized that entire planes were still bare. There was a lot of leaning (the cabinet and myself) and spraying and leaning and spraying after that discovery….

The back of the cabinet was easier to deal with. I just turned to my trusty Mod Podge and adhered this fabulous fabric to the hardboard that was behind the mirror of the “before” cabinet. After a trim and a coat of Mod Podge over the top of the fabric, it was ready to get remarried to the shelf section. So much easier working in one dimension!

I almost replaced the knob on this one as I did on the gray and yellow cabinet, but once I got it all back together I found I actually liked the original pull. And saving a couple bucks never feels bad!

I hope you like this makeover – I never get tired of doing these cabinets because they’re small enough to maneuver without help but I think they make a big impact. If you’d like this kind of impact in your home, this cabinet is for sale in my etsy shop!

Thanks for stopping by!

Nov26

Twofer Tuesday

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Twofer Tuesday

Today I’m coming atcha with two different makeovers from one room. I guess it’s technically a bedroom, since it has a method of egress and a closet, but it really serves as more of a walk-through space for me. But I wanted a spot for a sundry niece or nephew to stay, so I stuck a daybed in there! But a naked closet and a 1980’s daybed would not do for a spot in Chez Redopalooza.

Funny story about the daybed – I was cruising Craigslist with the vague idea of buying one, when I discovered one that was listed just down the street from me. I leaped from my chair and went running out the door in my comfortable clothes (okay, they were pajamas) and hustled down the street. There I met the nicest woman and carried the daybed home with me in pieces. Later on I would discover that she is the owner of this amazing etsy shop: ReMain Eco Designs, where she sells incredible pieces made from bicycle parts. Small world!

After many nights in my chilly basement and a substantial mattress investment, the daybed is now a much more palatable and comfortable orange. And just so the closet wouldn’t feel left out, I dressed it up with some cathedral windows fabric from Joann. That was another funny story – I bought the remaining fabric on the bolt and when I got home discovered that it was EXACTLY the right size! I didn’t have to cut it once. Okay, that’s not that funny. Sue me.

Anyway, here are the afters, in all their glory!


Hope you like them! Thanks for stopping by and Happy Thanksgiving!

I linked this post up to

Nov8

Who’s Your (Fry) Daddy

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Who’s Your (Fry) Daddy

I mean no patriarchal disrespect when I say this, but nobody needs their daddy around anymore. Not with all the bad news out there about the evils of cholesterol and deep-frying. Oh! I meant to say nobody needs their FRY Daddy around anymore.

I’ve never been much of a deep-fryer person anyway – every time I attempt it, everything in my house (clothes for work the next day) ends up smelling like a greasy strip mall Chinese restaurant. So I didn’t have a Fry Daddy to dismantle, but somebody did and this fry basket ended up at the thrift store.

I grabbed it with a light fixture project in mind, thinking I might stick something in those holes or hang something beaded off of them. But the longer I had it, the more its industrial vibe spoke to me and I decided to go a more purist route. All it took was some spray paint (of course), tin snips, and a light kit from Cost Plus World Market.


If you insist on keeping your Fry Daddy intact, you can purchase this light fixture in my etsy shop! Hope you like it and thanks for stopping by!

I linked this project up at:

DIY Show Off

Read more at http://diyshowoff.com/2013/11/10/that-diy-party-42/#zVc44gcySUZXJ3Zz.99

Sep24

Reflections of the Past

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Reflections of the Past

Geez, that title probably made you think you were going to see some kind of Lifetime for Women movie, didn’t it?

Well, I’m happy to say that’s not the case (or sorry to disappoint, depending upon your feelings about Lifetime…it DOES have Project Runway going for it)!  This is a post about mirrors.  See what I did there?

I found a set of four Burwood pictures at the thrift store.  Only three of them would fit in the frame for these pictures, but rest assured, they all came out the same.  I LOVED the shape of the frames, but the finish on them was hideous, as Burwood/Syroco/Home Decorators vintage items usually is.  And the “artwork”…?  Ahem.

Can ya guess what I did?  Of course you can.  I painted them.  And, after nearly severing a digit while trying to do it myself, I had a glass shop cut some mirrors to fit and glue them in place of those sad, 70’s butterflies.  This all happened about four years ago and I still love them just as much!  I hope you like them, too.  Thanks for stopping by!

I linked this project up at

DIY Show Off

Read more at http://diyshowoff.com/2013/10/06/that-diy-party-37/#8tiwySeCxXhDtBoh.99

Sep10

Around the World In a Briefcase

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Around the World In a Briefcase

This little briefcase called out to me at the thrift store a while ago.  It reminded me of a vintage suitcase and I immediately knew what I was going to do with it.  I had a moment’s couple month’s pause about altering it because it had a vintage shoe company brand name on it (Wikler Shoes) and I wondered if it was a old salesman’s case or something.  Eventually, however, I just decided to dive in with my Mod Podge!

As I mentioned in my laundry room makeover post, I love anything travel-related, especially vintage designs of travel posters, advertisements, stickers, et cetera.  Knowing this, my parents have gifted me with two different sets of travel stickers over the years that were laying dormant in Craft Purgatory.

Sidebar – it’s so funny about things like these stickers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I loved them so much I didn’t want to use them on anything.  So instead, they were languishing in a drawer, gathering dust.  Strange way to show love, don’t you think?  I do this with scrapbook paper, too.  Arrggh.

At any rate, I stuck the travel stickers on in what I perceived to be an attractive fashion, Mod Podged over them and here is the result!

 

Hope you like it!  Thanks for stopping by!

Jun30

Happy New (Fiscal) Year!

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Happy New (Fiscal) Year!

What can I say, I’m an accountant at heart. :0)

Since I last posted, I have relocated back to my beloved Midwest. You should come to St. Louis and see me! Or, uhhh, see the Arch! Yeah! :0)

Here’s a little project that I couldn’t walk away from at my new favorite thrift store, St. Vincent de Paul. I got this sturdy, but kinda sad, little cart for THREE DOLLARS!

I administered the usual treatments (paint, bright fabric, elbow grease) et voila!

 

Hope you like it and are looking forward to a fantastic fiscal year!

Apr21

Chic but Not Shabby

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Chic but Not Shabby

I’ve been at it again, and you won’t be surprised to hear it involved spray paint and colorful paper!  This little set of frames was hidden on a shelf at my favorite thrift store, and I didn’t even give them a second thought before I put them in my cart – I knew I could do something with them.  Plus, I think they were a buck each and it was 25% off day!

What’s really strange about the “before” frames is that the framed images were not paper or photos or needlework.  They were printed pictures on fabric, with a tiny little piece of foam behind them – like very shallow pincushions!  So I ripped that stuff out, took a toothbrush and some dish soap to them and then they headed for the spray booth.  As I was thinking of what to put in them to make the finished product SUPER cute, I opened my “patterned scraps” drawer of paper and right on top was this floral pattern with all the exact colors in it!  Craft kismet.  See for yourself!

They really make me smile now!  I think they’ll be in my (poor, sad, neglected) etsy shop soon – check them out!

Thanks for stopping by!

Dec25

I’ve been posting . . . Periodically!

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I’ve been posting . . . Periodically!

This is an oldie but a goodie.  At one point in time a few years ago, I was in search of a new coffee table.  It struck me at the time how boring most coffee tables are, and the ones that aren’t boring are usually hideous.  Neither option appealed to me or my living room decor!

So I got to thinking about making a unique coffee table and I just couldn’t stop thinking “Periodic Table.”  I considered creating a coffee table with the standard-issue chemistry class periodic table, but then I stumbled across this GENIUS project:  http://azuregrackle.com/periodictable/table/, and I knew immediately what I would do.  I tracked down a super-boring but high quality oak coffee table and used paint, paper, and Mod Podge to transform it into my own Periodic Coffee Table of the Elements.  Behold!

And here are a few closeups of my favorite elements (well, not favorite ELEMENTS, because I love all the elements equally [doesn’t everybody?], but my favorite PRINTS of the elements):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the interest of education, I’ll leave it to you to discover what the more cryptic of these elements are.  Please visit the project website, too, for more information:  http://azuregrackle.com/periodictable/table/.  I believe they may even sell prints of certain of the elements.

Enjoy and Happy Holidays!