Do It Yourself Section
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Do It Yourself Section
| Homemade Pillows | Pewterize With Paint |
| Garage and Yard Sales | Cheap, Framed Architectural Prints |
| How To Do Better Vinyl | |
Homemade Pillows Pillows are one of the easiest ways to change the look of a room. They are inviting and cozy and can be bought or made at little cost. Pillow covers allow you to use old or out-dated pillows and give them a new lease on life to fit in with your decor, and they are a great way to use leftover fabric. The pillow covers shown here are easily removed for washing or to fit the seasons.
Square or rectangular pillow: Fabric With sewing machine or needle & thread, hem the raw edges of the fabric. Do not make the hems too thick; remember that you will be punching grommets through the fabric. Do the same to the other piece of fabric. With awl, pierce a hole through the hemmed fabric at one corner. Insert grommet into hole and use grommet puncher to attatch it to the fabric. Place a grommet at each corner and at the halfway point in between each corner. Do the same to other piece of fabric. Sandwich the pillow between the fabric squares. Place one square right side down on table, place pillow on top and put the other square on top of the pillow, right side up. Lace the ribbon or cording through the grommets to hold the two fabric squares together.
When selecting grommets, keep the size of the pillow in mind. A large, 25 inch pillow will probably need bigger grommets than a small, 8 inch pillow. Instead of just using grommets at the corners and halfway points, try using lots more. The sides of the pillow will be less open and will hold together more. If you have only a few grommets leftover from other projects, make a slip cover for the pillow that is closed on three sides. Use the grommets only on the fourth side, and lace with ribbon or cording and tassels. Use some fray check on the grommet holes to prevent the fabric from unraveling. Don't like grommets? Make buttonholes instead. Experiment with different lacing patterns. |
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Pewterize With Paint Although metal objects look nice they also tend to be more expensive than objects made of other materials, such as plaster, wood, concrete, etc. By learning to use paint to achieve the look of metal, you'll be able to save money buying unfinished pieces and painting them yourself. By painting the objects yourself you'll also be able to customize them to match your decor. Even though this project is called "Pewterize...", the techniques can be applied to simulate practically any type of metal you like. This project is great for beginners. It uses a minimum of materials, simple techniques and if the desired effect is not achieved, it can always be painted over!
An object to paint (wall plaque, plaster gargoyle, concrete planter) Paint: If you are planning on filling the object with water, be sure to seal the inside properly (try a silicone sealer). Give the object a good base coat with the black paint. Be sure to get into all the cracks and crevices. You may need to apply a couple of coats. You do not need to let the paint dry before continuing, but it will make handling the object easier. Mix a little of the black paint with the white until you get a medium grey color. Dip the tips of the brush bristles into the grey paint and blot, or "off-load", the excess onto the newspaper. Holding the brush at a 90 degree angle to the object, tap the bristle tips against the object. Do not sweep the brush from side to side or up and down, and do not try to delibrately get grey paint into the cracks and crevices. You should achieve a speckled appearance with the grey paint; do not completely cover the black base coat. Allow paint to dry thoroughly. Dip the bristle tips into the silver paint and off-load any excess paint onto the newspaper. The bristles should be almost dry (dry-brush technique). Apply the silver paint onto the object using broad, sweeping motions. Try to keep the strokes in the same direction; if the strokes go from side to side, don't also do them up and down. Again, do not try to delibrately get paint into the cracks and crevices. Stop painting when you feel that you have achieved the look of pewter. The object should have a silvery appearance with darker areas in the cracks which give it some depth. Allow paint to dry thoroughly.
Spray with a clear coat if desired. Try to choose objects that have deep recesses in them or that have rough surfaces. Gargoyles, plaster wall plaques and concrete planters have these characteristics that allow the dark paint to settle into and give the finished project a nice depth. You don't have to use your finest, sable-bristled brush for this project. The more old, frayed and fluffed out the brush, the better. I use an old, 1-inch, synthetic brush that I've had for years. Once you become experienced with the techiniques for this project, try it on flat surfaces. The effect will look more like brushed metal but will still be beautiful. Experiment with various color combinations. If pewter doesn't go with your decor try these other color combinations or think up some other combinations. |
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Garage and Yard Sales The absolute cheapest place to find furniture and household items. Most things are under $10, and you can always haggle. People who hold garage/yard sales just want to get rid of what they peceive as junk. They're not out to make a lot of money, since they think it's junk -- BTW, don't disabuse them of this notion. If a seller thinks you're hot for an item, s/he is likely to hike the price up. This applies in all shopping endeavors. Flea Markets and Swap Meets *Sigh* I remember the days when all flea markets were like a hundred little garage sales piled into one parking lot. Not these days. Many flea markets have become nothing more than outdoor malls where people sell junky new merchandise like cheap toys and trashy clothes. If you can find a flea market where at least half the merchandise is old and second-hand stuff, enjoy it while you can! Those flea markets (often called "swap meets") are great fun and very worthwhile. Again, play it coy if you find something you like -- experienced flea market sellers will jack up the price if they think you're dying to have an item. Thrift Stores From the national chains like Goodwill and Salvation Army to local charity thrifts and mini-chains like Savers, thrift stores are the good ol' standby and a mainstay of budget home decorating. Look in the Yellow Pages and find all the thrift stores in your area. Get to know the differences and specialties of each store. You can also find out what day they get new merchandise in, and when they put out seasonal items. One category that most of these places excel in is dishes. For a few dollars or a few cents, you'll probably find lots of glass, china, silver, and brass dishwares -- everything from utilitarian plates and cups to ornate trays and fancy goblets. Another frequently found item is candleholders in all shapes, materials, and sizes. Estate Sales These are garage sales held by rich people, or, more often, a rich person's heirs after said person has died. The heirs just want to get rid of the old person's stuff as fast as possible. The prices are usually higher than a typical garage sale, but you might find some unusual items for modest prices. Unfortunately, antiques dealers often stake out estate sales and try to snap up all the best stuff, so get there early. Antique Stores Unless you've got bucks, don't bother too much here. On the rare occasion you can find bargains, but it is pretty rare. Antiques dealers are as fond of the 100% markup as regular retail stores are. Discount Stores Now we break into the first-hand merchandise sellers. Discount and off-price stores like Ross, Marshalls, Target, and Wal-Mart can be surprisingly good places for affordable luxuries like silver candlesticks and tapestry table runners. Pick through the housewares departments at different seasons, and don't forget the clearance racks. Also in this category are the clearance centers and outlet stores for major name-brands. You never know quite what you'll find there -- it's either absolute crap or it's a fabulous find. Department Stores These are the top of the line retailers like Macy's and Bloomingdales, and usually these places are the most expensive. But every now and then they have big sales, and they almost always have clearance racks. Plus, just looking at what's currently in fashion and what it costs lets you know how good of a bargain you're getting elsewhere. |
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Cheap, But Great Looking, Framed Architectural Prints
From the first time I saw framed architectural prints in a fancy design magazine I wanted some for my walls. However the ones I saw in catalogs and home decor stores were way too expensive for my budget. Antique plates, even if I could find them for a good price, would probably leave me feeling guilty if I had to cut them out of their folios. The solution to my problem was to find books with lovely black and white line drawings and to photocopy the images. A trip to the library yielded some results, as did looking through my Ancient Greek archaeology books from college. Scanning them into my computer and editing them in Photoshop allowed me to resize and clean-up the images to suit my tastes. The end results were "prints" that looked as good as those in the catalogs for a price that's much cheaper. Supplies List Architectural images (they should be good quality black and
white line drawings) Project Technique Photocopy the architectural image onto paper. Reduce or
enlarge the image as Using mat knife, cut mat board so it fits snugly in frame. Cut opening in mat for image. Center image in mat opening. Cut the image's paper to the same size as the mat (if paper is too small, tape it to the back of the mat). Clean the frame's glass and insert the mat and image into the frame; replace frame's backing (if the paper on which the image is printed is thin and allows the backing to show through, place a plain piece of white paper between it and the frame backing). A Few Tips Don't feel limited to architectural prints. If you prefer flowers or animals or insects, use those instead. A good source for black and white line drawings are books by Dover Publications (the gothic arch image shown for this project comes from their book The Architectural Plates from the Encyclopedie edited by Denis Diderot). Dover also reprints many old catalogs (from when photography wasn't common and line drawings were the norm). You can request a free catalog by writing to: Dover Publications, Inc.
Be sure to request their complete catalog. You can also list areas of interest for more specific catalogs. Dover currently only accepts checks for direct orders, however Amazon.com does carry many of their books. If you are using your home printer (or if you can change the paper in the photocopy machine), consider using some nice quality paper. Regular laser printer paper is fine but by using paper that looks like parchment, or have linen or cotton fiber in them, you'll add texture and style to your prints. Frames can get expensive, especially the larger they are. Consider using four smaller frames and images grouped together, instead of one big picture and frame. Cover stock looks just as good as mat board for small, framed projects like these (the pictures below are exactly the same except the black mat is true, mat board and the other one is cover stock). Paper supply houses (the type that supply offices, print shops and schools) often take damaged reams of paper, cut them in half (5.5"x8.5") and leave them out as samples. These samples are yours for the taking and can be trimmed for use in frames with 5"x7" (or smaller) image areas. Now, I'm not suggesting you grab a stack of paper, but if you see a paper you'd like to use as a mat, but don't need to buy a whole ream, this could be an answer. |
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| Nine
Steps to Better Vinyl
By Mike McClintock
The first vinyl siding was produced through a profile extrusion method that sometimes created irregularities. Sales lagged compared with aluminum. But when those problems were solved, the low-cost, no-maintenance and, for back then, space-age material took off. Vinyl now has 44 percent of the cladding market, in large part because it's so easy to install. But whether you hire a pro or try it yourself, it pays to know the crucial and often counterintuitive application details. (Always follow the vinyl manufacturer's instructions, which vary somewhat.) 1. Storing siding. Keep delivered cartons flat and fully supported to prevent waviness that can cause problems during and after installation. The storage area should be dry and not subject to excessive heat that could deform the material. The threshold is about 130 degrees. That seems easy to avoid, but not if you store vinyl on a blacktop driveway on a sunny day under a dark-colored tarp or wrapped in shipping plastic that prevents air circulation. 2. Fitting panels. There are many configurations (most simulate clapboards) but all are thin and react to changes in the weather. Standard 12-foot lengths can expand and contract 1/2 inch or more. That's why vinyl is never nailed tightly like wood. Instead of making tight, square-cut joints, vinyl is overlapped about an inch to allow the panels to slide. Lengths generally come from the factory with nailing hems cut back to make room for the overlap. On field-cut lengths you need to snip them back yourself. 3. Driving fasteners. Most pros leave 1/16 of an inch between nail heads and panels to allow for shifting. A 1/32-inch gap is the minimum standard, but you can't very well stop each time to measure. Overall, it's better to leave nail heads a little too high than to drive them too tightly. Keeping that loose fit in mind, nails should be driven straight and level into the centers of the elliptical fastening slots. Nailing at the slot edges, or driving angled nails, can restrict movement, hang up a panel, or cause distortion and even buckling. 4. Nailing trim. To conceal and protect the open edges of thin-profile vinyl, panels have to be boxed in with trim. It's tempting to nail home J-channel and corner posts, creating a stable perimeter frame within which the panels can slide. But trim pieces need to be loosely fitted as well. The exception (up to a point) is starter strips -- the narrow fastening edges used to secure the bottom of the lowest panels on the wall. Some manufacturers say nails there can be "flush driven" to reduce starter looseness that can make it difficult to keep the rows level, aside from causing other problems. The trick is to drive starter strip nails more than usual, but not to pound them down. 5. Leaving gaps. Clapboard panels are overlapped so they slide freely, one over the next. But posts, edging and other trim that isn't overlapped has to be installed with gaps. It may look like a mistake, but the standard on starter strips, for example, is to install them at least 1/4 of an inch apart to allow for expansion. On installations during cold weather (below 40 degrees) increase the minimum clearance to 3/8 of an inch. 6. Interlocking panels. This is the simple part. You just push the bottom of one panel against the top (nailing hem) of another and they snap together. But then let the connected panels settle. Forcing the top panel flat or stretching it tightly against the interlocked seam before nailing can cause buckling. 7. Sealing. Caulk is the ultimate problem solver on most exterior construction, filling all the discrepancies from miscuts and minor measuring mistakes. But not on vinyl. Manufacturers say not to caulk panels where they overlap or meet inside corners, outside corners or J-channels. 8. Planning panel end laps. Horizontal overlaps should flow away from vantage points such as doorways. This helps to disguise unexpected shadow lines where the top panel rides high over the one below. Joints should also be staggered randomly across the wall and separated vertically by at least three courses. If you used the same full-length pieces starting from a corner or door frame, lined up joints probably would leak and laps stand out instead of blending in. Many panels are formed to look like more than one course. But the illusion can fade on a three-course panel, for example, which seems to show three aligned seams at each lap. It's something to consider when you select a panel style. 9. Surface fastening. Don't face-nail or staple through the exposed surface of vinyl. It's likely to cause rippling, buckling and leaks. In the real do-it-yourself world, however, if you box yourself into a corner where a face-nail is the only option, at least use a compressible washer under the nail head to seal out water. It would be better to backtrack and remove incorrect panels by separating their horizontal seams. Do that with a zip-lock tool -- a $5 can opener for vinyl. Pry the curled end between panels, then slide the tool along to unlock the joint and expose the nails. |
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