Sunday, November 18, 2012

Curtains


We are headed down to the lake tomorrow for a Thanksgiving celebration. I made curtains out of red ticking for the upstairs bedroom tonight, roughly following this tutorial. Nothing like waiting until the last minute! It should be a very lovely time, with lots of family and food. I am very excited to see all the renovation progress as well. Not all the things are as complete as I wanted (i.e., the kitchen tile is not installed, the wood floor has not yet been sanded and stained), but I am embracing the process.

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Ships at sea


I found this painting on Craigslist. It was in a small little town about two hours away, but I made a detour from a work-related roadtrip to see it. After a little negotiation, I paid $60, which was probably too much given its condition. When I got it home, my husband grimaced because it was so yellowed with tobacco stains and age. I briefly researched oil painting restoration techniques and then quickly settled on a very rough do-it-yourself approach to cleaning it. I figured that if I destroyed the painting, I would not have lost too much in the trying....

I first rubbed the painting with a cut potato, which supposedly pulls out the dirt. That did not seem to make a noticeable difference, though, so I skipped to a more direct approach: dishsoap and warm water followed by a wipe down with rubbing alcohol. It worked like a charm. The old yellow tinge came off and the painting was not visibly harmed. I am sure it will not last for generations, but at least it was saved from the trash.

I then cut the painting down to fit an existing canvas that I had in the basement. I glued the painting to the front using basic craft glue. Then I used a staple gun to secure it, folding the edges around the sides of the canvas. I am not sure where I will put it in the cabin, but surely it will fit somewhere! You cannot get a sense of scale in these pictures, but it is quite large - about 2 feet by 4 feet long.


Friday, November 9, 2012

Chairs!


My wing chairs are ready to be picked up! I am so excited. I ordered them from an Etsy shop called Urbanmotifs. She finds old chairs and recovers them in modern fabric.  My parents are picking up these two babies tomorrow and then bringing them to the lake house when they come on Thanksgiving. Speaking of which, there has been a LOT of activity happening at the house. New hardwood floors, new paint, new tile, new carpet.... I have been promised that it will all be done by the time we arrive next Monday evening. Let's hope so! At least I know we will have chairs.