libbyBUILDS Archives

string art

July 7, 2016 | 1 Comment Filed Under: libbyBUILDS

Having summer off has me doing all kinds of crafty things around here. Inspired by a friend who posted a picture of some of her recent string art, I decided to give it a try. The idea was to add to the gallery wall of family photos in our living room. While we were back at the in-laws over the fourth I asked my father-in-law if he had any boards he would let me have. He pulled out a beautiful 4′ long piece of birch harvested from his 80 acre tree farm and roughly milled. And so the project began.

I started by using painters tape to form the letters and moved them around to make sure they were centered. Most projects start by using a paper template for fancier fonts or shapes like state outlines. This simple trick worked perfectly for my first time trying string art.

When the letters were in place, I began nailing the nails about a half inch apart around the perimeter of each. I used 1″ 16 gauge, #6 nails (whatever that means) with a bit of head to help keep the string on. I tried to keep them straight but as you can see, some of them leaned a little. I corrected as needed later. Now is when it’s easiest to remove your tape or template.

It’s hard to see but the nails are all in. This really didn’t take long, only 10 or 15 mins. Next I grabbed some crochet string I had on hand to start the fun part.

Until this point, I had done zero research on the art of string art. Ha! I did a quick Google search and discovered you can be as methodical or loose about it as you want so, after reading that I was using the “correct” type of string, I went back to winging it. Here’s what I did.

Start by tying the string around a nail. I double knotted it.

Then go around the perimeter of your design looping around each nail about half way down. This will give you room on the nail above later. I learned that it mattered a little which way I looped around the nail. For the perimeter, I thought it looked best to loop on the outer side.

When stringing the inner part, looping on the left side can give a slightly different line than looping from the right side, so you can manipulate the way the lines cross slightly. It’s hard to explain but try it and you’ll see. Or you’ll call me crazy.

As I was stringing, I did a random pattern trying to get both directions of diagonals and perpendicular lines. I tugged the line slightly, but not so much that it put too much tension on the nails as to make them lean (more). When I did notice a loose or leaning nail, I just hammered down a little more. It’s good to keep the hammer close so you don’t have to let go and have some of your stringing come undone. When it looked full, I went around the perimeter again and then cut and tied off the string.

I found it easier to make a loose knot and then loop it around the nail head and pull taught.

Then trim the string close and tuck it under so no bits are hanging out.

At this point I lightly pushed the string up on all the nails to make the overall pattern come together on mostly the same level.

And there you have it! First string art done in one evening, successfully, with little effort. I can’t wait to try it again. My neighbor and I are already planning a summer craft night to do another one.

Also, I ended up taking all the glass and pictures out of the frames and painting the frames white (previously espresso brown). One thing always leads to another around here. ☺️

guest room office {desk redo}

May 15, 2016 | 1 Comment Filed Under: libbyBUILDS

Like most of you, we have one of those rooms in our house that is the “guest-room-slash-office” space. I designed the room, on the main level, so that visitors, specifically our parents, would have a comfortable place to stay, with their own bathroom, and access to everything they may need without having to use stairs. But bevause guests are rarely here, it is also our catch all room, where I keep my craft supplies, our office odds and ends are stored, and a few miscellaneous items stay while not in use. It is also the home of a desk we were gifted from Hubs’ aunt and uncle. It’s a sturdy desk with lots of storage. Not too big, and not too small. Although we almost always sit with our laptops in our laps on the living room sofa, we are grateful for this desk that holds and organizes our paper stuff.

Unfortunately, it was not up to date, or very “pretty” by today’s standards.

We’ve been in our house for eight months now. I’ve had time to make the primary areas feel like home. It was time to attack this secondary space.

Thank goodness for chalk paint! I used two coats (plus an extra on the top) of Annie Sloan chalk paint in pure white. I did some light sanding on the edges and topped it all with a coat of clear wax sealant. It took two evenings to complete and I didn’t even have to move it to the garage. I just slipped some newspaper under the edges and painted right in the room.

Add some hardware from Target and we’re half way there.

I had some corbels that I’d originally purchased and painted (also pure white) for the mantle. But, for technical reasons, they didn’t work there. I decided to do a shelf above the desk and use the corbels there. I bought a 48″ piece of laminated shelving at the hardware store and sent Hubs in to find studs and make sure things were level and use fancy tools. (I cleaned the shower. Compromise).

Hubs and his helper hanging the corbels for the shelf.

Ta da! The shelf is securely in place and decorated. I love how it all turned out. I have lots of things that inspire me and carry meaning on that ledge: a picture of my boys, my dad, and Brittany, cards and gifts from friends and family, inspiring quotes, and…

…this! It’s called a hair receiver. Women used to save the hair from their brushes and collect it in this…thing, and then they would…make something out of it? I don’t remember exactly but my mom collects them and bought one when she was visiting once. I found a use for it as a holder for the push pins. Yay!

I moved the “Work hard and dream big” sign from the mantle here. It’s more fitting. I bought this and a few others from a local business called Otter and Fox. Look them up on etsy.

An old flour sifter from a friend holds colored pens and other writing utensils.

While redoing this space I decided the rest of the guest bedroom needed more attention.

Really all I did was buy a mint lamp, fold the quilt back to layer the bedding, and add some better matching pillow cases.

I’ve debated painting this room either a lighter gray than the main living areas or possibly a pale, buttery, yellow. But I really like all the light the white walls reflect, especially since this room is on the north side of the house. We’ll see if it stays that way.

And there you have it. Our guest bedroom slash office. I actually spent some time in this space while writing this post instead of on the couch. Ahh…

my house

March 7, 2016 | 6 Comments Filed Under: libbyBUILDS

(The above picture makes me sing that new Flo Rida song, My House.)

A client came to pick up a cake and cupcakes this weekend and said, as she walked in, “Oh, I love your house and I love the door color and…I feel like I just walked into Fixer Upper!” And with that she became my new favorite person.

Also, I was watching Fixer Upper at the time. Of course.

There’s a part of me that believes we’re not supposed to LOVE “things.” And honestly if this were all gone tomorrow and I had only the people I love, I’d still have everything I need. Except maybe a toothbrush.

But I do love this house and I’m proud of it. I dreamed of it and, with careful planning and thoughtfulness, it came true. There’s an Alice Walker quote that says, “Whenever you are creating beauty around you, you are restoring your own soul.” I took part in creating beauty around me and it has in ways restored my soul.

We reached the six month mark of living in our new home. I’ve purchased new furniture and rearranged what we had, hung things on the wall and then moved them, replaced new things with newer ones that fit better, and made lots of plans but achieved only a few. The entire six months has been a process of creating and I don’t foresee that ending. Ever.

(We added this new piece this weekend to one of the boys’ rooms. My friend Maria at Eco Chic Boutique knows what’s up with furniture and home décor.)

Anyway, it’s really fun to show you edited pictures of my just-cleaned house.

It makes me feel better about the laundry in the middle of the living room floor.

(I’ve since added another full basket and folded zero clothes.)

And the mud room…

And this…

Ugh. I was not ever gifted with the mental capacity to deal with papers. I can do hard things like sit in a room with my dying father and then speak at his funeral, but I cannot for the life of me sort through mail.

Honestly.

I’ll leave you with this cute picture of the Monster’s Inc. cupcakes and cake my most favorite client ever ordered. Now try to get that song out of your head…

“Welcome to my house. Baby, take control now. We can’t even slow down. We don’t have to go out. Welcome to my house, play that music too loud…”

HOME for the holidays

January 2, 2016 | 1 Comment Filed Under: libbyBUILDS

For the first time in several years, and only about the second in both my kids’ lifetime, we stayed home over the Christmas/New Year break this year. As the last night of our break comes to a close, I’m enjoying refelecting on the last two weeks at HOME. I sat down for a little bit several times during the break with great plans to blog about all we were doing. But we were too busy having family fun to get much blogging done. So here I am on January 2, 2016, sharing with you a few of my favorite moments of the last two weeks of 2015.

Hubs hung our mantle just before Christmas. It came to us from his dad. It was the mantle in the home he built that Hubs grew up in but it was originally a bridge tie from the dam in front of their house. That’s a mouthful, I know, long story short it’s been reclaimed twice and is loving it’s third life in our new home.

The window resting on the mantle was also reclaimed from Hubs’ grandmother’s house. The above is what it looks like now after taking down the Christmas décor.

By the way, this is usually what our table looks like. There’s always some kind of project going on we just push to the side to make room for food. And by project I really just mean several large piles of homeless things.

This little scene just made me happy as I baked around it through the holidays. Especially that little old Santa. How cute is he?!

Getting messy with sugar cookies. I baked A LOT before the break and decorated my share of pretty ones, but the boys’ cookies were just more fun.

Outside of Santa’s village just before telling the big guy what we wanted for Christmas. This is one our favorite traditions. Afterward we drove through the park to look at the big lights on display. Then we ate at our favorite Chinese buffet. Because, you know, that’s what you do two days before Christmas, right?!?

On Christmas morning we filled two hats each with our four names and drew a name out of each. The first was the person who got to choose a gift from under the tree, the second was the person who’s name would be on the gift and would get to unwrap it. This made for an exciting and SLOW gift unwrapping experience. The mess on the floor at the end of the morning was glorious! I know there’s a current trend against over-giving, but I’ve found myself saying “Thanks but no thanks” to that. I say “No” to my kids all. year. long. Christmas and birthdays are a time I get to spoil them. And I do! (As much as Hubs will let me.)

After opening all our family gifts and munching on breakfast, we packed up and went to Hubs’ grandparents for Christmas at the Farm. Here we are with his extended family. From now on if there’s a tractor and a silo in our pictures from Christmas then I think we’re doing it right.

This is one of the handmade gifts we gave this year. Hubs read in the newspaper last year about a photographer who took pictures of different deer stands. The differences between them, in a structure as simple as a deer stand, were architecturally beautiful. So we attempted to do our own version in frame for his parents. Hunting is a big part of his family. His dad has built countless stands, each one is unique in it’s own right, and each of them hold priceless memories.

Nine of the twelve stands I took pictures of that made it into the frame.

We spent plenty of time outside over the break too. Sledding – someone I know cheats, I won’t say who but he’s bigger than me – and skating. I choose to skate in my boots long enough to take pictures and then return to somewhere warm with coffee.

We rang in the new year with new neighbors and I have since been cleaning up Christmas and getting our home refreshed and ready for yet another new season. For the second year in a row, I didn’t make any resolutions. The last 18 months, even with it’s lows, has been mostly trending up. I kind of like the people and the stuff my life is made of and where it’s headed. I don’t really want that to change.

Actually, there was one change. On the very first day of the year, I became a GREAT Aunt! That’s right, at the ripe old age of 33 I am a great aunt. Brittany made me an aunt at age 7, so it’s not too surprising, I suppose. I couldn’t help but shed a little tear at the awe and wonder of another beautiful baby girl joining our family as we celebrated the passing of a tough year and the hopes for our future. 2016, I have a feeling, will be full of more GREAT things.

Merry and Bright, With Love and Light,

Libby