Archive for August, 2010
Put A Cork In It
You may have spotted our little DIY cork vases back in the big office reveal (and the follow up guest bedroom/playroom post). And now we’re back to share our two-different-looks tutorial. Yup, you can keep them au naturale…
… or cover the cork with fabric for a playful printed look:
We first got the idea to create cork vases for pinning up little reminders and paint swatches that we loved from seeing an expensive designer cork lamp a while back. It seemed like such a smart way to keep from forgetting Clara’s checkups along with our dental appointments- and to add some aesthetically pleasing function to the room as well. But we didn’t need a lamp, and we just happened to have two glass vases lying around (one from Ikea and one from a bouquet of flowers that we received a while back). And so the cork vase idea was born. All we picked up was a pack of cork from Target for around $5 and we were ready to go.
The four squares of cork in the pack provided more than enough material to cover both vases. And they even came with self adhesive squares that we used to stick our cut-to-size rectangles on each side of each vase. We just laid the vase on the cork, and traced an exacto knife along the edge of the vase to create our rectangles for each of the four sides for each vase. Then with a sticky square on each of the four corners for each plane we stuck them carefully to the vase (going slowly enough to ensure that they were straight and lined up with each other before firmly sticking them on).
Before we knew it we had two cork vases. Easy, peasy. Oh and here’s a tip. Since we used the white adhesive squares to secure the cork, if you look on the inside of the vases you can see them (since they’re clear vases and the squares are white). So it helps to consider what you’ll be filling your vases with to hide those white squares (a plant and some paint decks did the job for us). You could also use dabs of clear glue from a hot glue gun in each corner to adhere the cork if you plan to leave the vases less full and don’t want to worry about the white squares being seen if anyone peers down into each vase.
Although we loved the rough natural texture of the cork, we actually decided it would be fun to take things one step further with some printed fabric. The pins would still stick through the textile and grab the cork (so none of the function would be lost) and we really liked the idea of gaining some pattern and fun since we knew these babies would sit on Clara’s bookcase in our office/guest room/playroom. First we roughly cut out a strip of fabric that could easily wrap around the entire circumference of each vase (with extra fabric on the top and bottom to allow for a “hem” to create a more polished and finished look).
Then we whipped out some iron-on heavy duty hem tape…
… which instantly added those polished looking hems that we were going for.
When it came time to apply the fabric around the vase to cleanly cover the cork we knew that a tight fit was the only way to go (something loose or baggy would have looked messy and weird). So we used duct tape to hold the soon-to-be-hidden edge of the fabric in place so we could pull the other side around for a nice and tight look. We hemmed the other side of the fabric so it would have a finished edge when it overlapped the duct tape (completely hiding it for a snug fit and a professional looking result).
We debated using a glue gun to adhere the hemmed side of the fabric (the one that hides the duct tape) but couldn’t find any glue sticks so I quickly stitched the hemmed flap over the other side of fabric to create a tight fit that would really hold up over time. The seam landed right in the middle of the back of the vase, and thanks to some white heavy duty thread it looked nice and clean back there:
And of course the front looked even more seamless:
Fun right? The whole project only ran us around $5 for the cork since we already had the vases and the fabric (scored for cheap at U-Fab here in Richmond for Clara’s weekly photo project).
We love that we can use our DIY cork vases to house everything from magazines and paint decks to plants and pens in our multifunctional home office/guest bedroom/playroom.
And the fact that they help us remember all of our appointments is the icing on the cake.
Have any of you guys worked with a roll of cork or the same pre-cut cork squares to DIY something fun in your house? Do tell. And do you have any quotes that keep you going or make you smile? We pinned one of our favorites up: “Do what you love. Love what you do.” So share those cork projects and inspirational quotes!
Psst- Looking for another fun cork project? Check this out.
Stars, Butterflies & Teardrops: Freebie Winners!
Sherry and I had trouble figuring out our own answer to the bonus question in this week’s giveaway about what you might dream of reaching stardom for accomplishing. I’ll admit that I had a fleeting vision in high school of “making it” as a rock star right after I was invited to jam with my friend’s band. But I was only invited once. Why? Um, because I was “jamming” on my French Horn. Meanwhile Sherry used to dream of becoming a well known fine artist but sheepishly admits that it’s been years since she has picked up a fan brush or some charcoal (consolation prize: she picks up a paint brush and a roller quite regularly). Maybe our house is her new canvas.
Anyways, let’s talk about the papery goodness going on with this week’s duo of prizes that are about to be awarded to a duo of winners. And we’ll kick it off with a duo of special discounts. The Starcraft is giving YHL readers 15% off any order in August with the code YOUNGHOUSE…
…and This Neck of The Woods will refund the cost of shipping through August 19th (just mention Young House Love in the “notes to seller” for that reimbursement).
As for our pair of winners, we promised random.org fame and fortune by means of a blog mention and it naively provided these two random names: Dana (who wants to reach fame for her future children’s books) and Nicole (who dreams of interior design stardom). Congrats!
And don’t worry if you didn’t take home the big prize this week. Monday’s giveaway marks another pairing of prize givers – one of our favorite new magazines is teaming up with one of our favorite decor stores. Swing by next week on Monday to find out who it is!
See our Giveaway FAQs for more info. Pics from The Starcraft & This Neck of The Woods.
Reader Redesign: China Cabinet Change-Up
Taking an old thrifted piece of furniture and freshening it up is one of our favorite types of makeovers. Which is why we’ve enjoyed Tanis’ china cabinet project so much (and no, not just because it involved painting it white). Check out the beautiful transformation that she and her husband recently achieved:
A friend of mine introduced me to your blog and I’ve been hooked ever since! The love of my life and I bought our first house in May, and then 3 weeks later we got married! We’ve just started tackling a few DIY projects around the house and are particularly proud of this one: a china cabinet makeover to display our special wedding china (you can read more about why it’s so meaningful to us here).
The entire piece was washed, sanded, primed and then painted a semi-gloss pure un-tinted white. Then we wallpapered the back with a textured wallpaper from the Debbie Travis collection and painted it ‘Aegean Blue’ by Martha Stewart. I have to admit, I am beyond pleased with the result! It took a lot of elbow grease, but it was worth it!
We’re looking forward to many years of wedded bliss and many more DIY projects to tackle together. Thanks for the inspiration! – Tanis at Tanis Fiber Arts
Isn’t that blue painted wallpaper such an incredibly elegant accent? We love that Tanis and her new hubby jumped in there and fearlessly made that dated china cabinet their own. What do you guys think? Will anyone else out there be following in their very stylish footsteps?
