Awesome Scrabble Letters {epic fail}

Not all DIY projects have a happy ending...luckily for me, I found a way to turn this epic failure into a success story!


So, if you're at all in love with Etsy like I am, you've probably seen lots of cute things and thought, "oh, I can't afford that, maybe I could DO it."  For me, it was huge scrabble letters for Mr. S's 30th birthday party.  I mean, you can't have a game themed bash without scrabble letters!!  Well, when I first checked a few sellers for large letters, I was looking at about $6 - $8 each {a steal for home decor} but as I was going to use them to spell out "FOOD" and "LOVE" and 1 custom designed one, I really didn't have the budget to spend about $70 on this part.  So, I started Google-ing tutorials.  I found a few that appeared promising (links at the bottom) but went with this one from Green Wedding Shoes.


First, you need the wood blocks.  If you are fortunate to have a miter saw or table saw, you can buy long, thin boards ( think 1/2 in x 5 in x 48 in) in the building supply section of your local home improvement store and cut them at home.  Some stores will cut it for you, but that's WAY less fun! ;)

Cut the board into square pieces based on the width of the board.

Next, is printing your letters onto the wood.  So if you jump to the bottom and check out the other links, you'll see that a laser jet printer is one requirement.  This is because all of these methods of transferring some image/letter/etc onto wood uses water to remove the paper.  A laser jet printer uses heat to melt a powdered ink to the paper, which bonds it there and that's why photocopies don't get all ink-runny when they get wet, but papers out of your home printer do.  (As most home printers are inkjets which use water soluble ink.)


However, the directions from Green Wedding Shoes are not specific to the type of print necessary and I had all the other items I needed from that how-to.  So...off I go creating from their directions my scrabble letters
 (printed backwards!) on card stock to become my awesome scrabble letters...here we go:

So as you can see....I started by running the card stock under water like the instructions said, but this wasn't working {and I PAY for my water...so it's wasteful to just let the water run} so I decided to turn it face down in the sink of water.  In the instructions it says the card stock should release and come off on it's own...but...you can see that it didnt... So as I used more water and rubbed the paper off the ink began to ran!  The ink ran probably because I used an inkjet printer.  Should have known better....


I ended up with this:

Not so pretty and definitely not going to work (imagine I had 3 other letters to go!).  Luckily, I only did the word "FOOD" first as a test.  Unfortunately, I waited a while to do these thinking they would go smoothly and there were too many other things to worry about to do them over...so WHAT TO DO!?


First, I had to breathe...and think...and let them dry, because they were very wet from being in the water and they were warping from the expansion (caused by the water).


In design school we did some pretty extensive lines with sharpie markers when we would forget to hatch wall sections and such on the computer before plotting.  So if your scrabble letters looked like this and you have a steady hand....don't worry!  I used a fine point Sharpie marker to trace around the letter and number like this:

Fill in the small number with the small sharpie, because the larger one would've looked fuzzy and not crisp enough.


Then fill in the rest of the letter with a larger tipped sharpie.  You can use a fine point on the entire thing if you have that kind of patience...

I don't know why blogger wants to
 rotate this image?!

So here is what I had when it was partially done...


Once all the letters are filled in and dry, you can spray the whole block with a clear top coat to protect it, if you wish or if it is going to come into contact with water.










And here's what they looked like with the sharpie fill-in:

I don't think they turned out too badly! :)  If you want to see them in the party, check them out here!


For how to's (that might actually work for you! lol) try these websites:
Wholly Kao's Photo-to-Wood transfer
Green Wedding Shoe's tutorial
PetaPixel's Wood Block Photo

And here's one I hadn't seen before I did this for transferring color photos to wood using an inkjet printer and t-shirt transfer paper!  From another power-tool savvy lady!  Tool Girl Mag Ruffman

Hope you have good luck with your photo to wood transfers!! I think next time, I'll just buy the letters! ;)

The Little Table that Could

Ever just get lucky?  Like designer lucky?  It happens to Mr. S and I a bit.  And I'm learning something from it...
Make a piece work for YOU even if it is an "antique" piece, it doesn't have to stay in it's original style/color/finish.  Especially if that style/color/finish doesn't work with your home.  I've tried over and over to force-fit things into my life that I didn't {LOVE} because they were antiques and I was afraid to change them!  But fear no more! :)  I just decided this weekend, if I'm going to cherish everything exactly as it is, I will ALWAYS have a "designer's block".  

So here's the {antique} table that became the crowning glory of my breakfast nook.

First, you should know this table was FREE.  Always, always, always think about what you can do with Free.  Especially if you are on a budget.

                                 

The original table top sanded down to a beautiful, natural color with it's pits and scrapes.

An amazing thing happens if you just sand down or strip a product down.  Suddenly, you have a blank canvas.  You can be inspired anew!  It's ok to change directions after you've started.  Mr. S and I sanded this table and pedestal down before picking out stain colors, because we figured the color didn't matter until the stripping was done!  I'm glad we waited because we ended up agreeing on a brighter green than previously imagined. :)

The pedestal base.  I'm in LOVE with the green

The top after being stained a honey oak color.

At the moment, I don't have dining chairs that I love, but I've been inspired by the vibrant green of the pedestal, which is a complete stain-newbie mishap.  I didn't TEST the green stain before using it, nor did I use a wood conditioner to make the stain take evenly.  I ended up with a very uneven, more vibrant, green than I had anticipated.  And honestly, I love it!  I feel like I always fall back on Bob Ross when it comes to art, but he always said "there are mistakes, just happy little accidents" (at least that's the way I remember it). And I totally believe that.

And the finished product???

My beautiful, inspiring {very} green table! :)

This is my $25 breakfast masterpiece!  All $25 went to sand paper, stain, and brushes.  I own an orbital sander and used that for all of our sanding except on the curves of the legs and there is one metal band around the bottom that I want to cover with a copper strip {or spray copper} but for now, it is just there and we don't notice it.

The one thing I would say is that I felt the Polyeurethane/Stain in one (I used on the top) did not work very well.  Maybe this is just me?  Anyone else have trouble with that?  Whenever I wipe my table clean, it seems the stain/poly is coming off of my table.  Any others encounter this or know what I've done wrong?

There once was a kitchen inspired entirely by green Marjolica pottery.  If I ever find that magazine/article, I will link it for you to see!  This table reminds me of that kitchen!  Now...what to do for chairs...

M.I.A. in the quiet blogsphere...

>tree frogs singing....owl hooting...breeze in the trees<  

Wow...it's quiet out here...Sorry I've been M.I.A.  It's certainly isn't for lack of WANTING to blog.  My {not so great} camera had decided it doesn't want to give up the photos of my living room!  Evil thing.  So I am trying to find a way to download photos.  I may have to break down and go buy an adapter for the memory card so I can just put that in my computer....don't you just love technology! :)  Either way, here are some iPhone photos of future projects to keep you updated!

Picking a Paint Color!

Breakfast Nook Table Restoration

Industrial Cart Coffee Table {for less}

Recreating a {favorite} Pillow

{d.i.}Why not?

The first room Mr. S and I wanted to tackle was the living room!

Not a terrible color, but in a room with only one window, it did make for a bit of a cave like feeling.  Also, the entire house has those pop-corn ceilings, which we’re not crazy about.  So we thought, “Let’s try a living remodel and see what happens!”  We felt we could learn a lot from the first room and get it finished in order to have company over!  First things first the CEILING!

Now, this should be a simple, but messy DIY project.  

I watched several videos on Youtube, Googled many how-to’s.  I highly recommend Ron Hazelton’s video on removing acoustical (aka popcorn) ceilings.  I did not go into this project unprepared – or so I thought…

Ceilings come in lots of different styles.  Smooth, Textured, Coffered, Tray, Cathedral, etc…It’s often the forgotten last moment of the room.  I mean how many people (other than designers) really think about what their ceiling is going to look like when visualizing a room?  Not many except to think, “I want high ceilings.”  Imperfections in the ceiling, from patching or whatever, can be easily covered by acoustical (a.k.a. “popcorn”) ceilings.  If you have these “popcorn” ceilings and you hate them – as I do – or you just want to do something more charming in a room, you may be thinking surely this is a DIY project I can handle?  Why not?

First, let’s talk about what it takes to remove a popcorn ceiling texture.  I used Ron Hazelton’s video to learn what to do.  After watching several videos, his was the most clear and concise.  Supplies you will need:

1. Painter’s Tape/Plastic Sheeting – These are essential for keeping the water off your walls while you’re spraying it at the ceiling.  No matter how careful you are, you WILL want to prep properly!  This job is MESSY!
2.  Contractor’s paper – This helps you to make clean up easier.  Put it over the plastic as Ron suggests in his video.
3.  Coveralls/Goggles/Mask/Gloves – I strongly recommend a cap too if you can stand it, because this stuff gets ALL over you.  Do NOT try this without goggles.  You don’t want this stuff in your eyes.
4. Scraper of some description – I used a dulled putty knife.  Dulling the edges keeps you from gouging the ceiling as badly.  Ron’s video showed a wide tape knife.
5. Water – Using a garden sprayer is an inexpensive option that won’t kill your hands (imagine a spray bottle?? Yikes).  I got mine for $8 at Wal-Mart and now I can use it to water the flowers.
6. Ladder or scaffolding – Honestly, if you have some kind of scaffolding to use that you can make long walks across the room without getting up and down a ladder, that would be less tedious…
7. Alternative source of light – You are going to need a work light if you are going to be doing any work at night.  I found this out when the project took me MUCH longer than I anticipated and I’m stubborn enough to work all night to get it done!  Do yourself a favor and get a work light with an extension cord (if you don’t have an outlet near the door of the room)
8.  Sheetrock tape/mud/sanding block – these are the tools you’ll need to patch/repair any problems you find (cause) on your ceiling.  I highly recommend the low dust brand from Wal-Mart.  It was only $6 for a large bucket and I ended up needing almost all of it…

Ok, first go check out Ron Hazelton’s Video then come back here for a recap and tips/photos on some troubles you may run into!  Get yourself a bottle of water with a protective lid and get ready to work hard!!

Steps:

1 - Tape sheets of plastic up around the entire room.  Cut a slit or leave a flap for ventilation in and out of the room, and so you aren't stuck in the room.  You can see in the photograph how i had to sit an extra work light outside and shine it through the plastic.  Though it doesn't appear to be helping, it was like being in the room on a cloudy day.

2 - Cut the power to the room before spraying any water AT ALL.  The last thing you're gonna want is an expensive electrical problem!  And even with all the plastic - better safe than sorry!!

3 - Remove any ceiling diffusers (if you have them).  This is simple - removing the two screws on either end of the grate is usually all that is needed to get them down.


4 - Begin at one corner of the room and spray a section of ceiling 4' x 5' {ish} and let it set in for about 5 minutes.  In the video, it says to immediately scrape the ceiling and if your ceiling has never been painted try that.  Our popcorn ceiling had been painted before, and it took a minute for the water to soak through the latex paint.


5 - Begin scraping using GENTLE pressuer - it shouldn't take force.  If you press to hard, you WILL gouge your ceiling.  Also, only go as far as you can comfortably reach to help avoid gouging.

6 - Work your way around the room in this manner.  If you run into spots that don't want to scrape off (as I did), just let the water sit on there for 5 or 10 minutes and try again.  I don't recommend trying to cut it away with a razor or sanding it while it's wet because you'll just tear up your ceiling.


7 - As you finish around the room, go back and work on the trouble spots.  I highly recommend leaving the plastic and resin paper down until you've mudded/sanded everything that needs it.  This will make cleaning easier.


You may run into some trouble spots {as I did}!  Acoustical ceiling treatments hide imperfections in ceilings VERY well.  Unless you built your house (or know who did), don't be surprised when you find weird patches or uneven spots in your ceilings.  We had a large, unusual patching job that was 1/4 in lower than the rest of the ceiling.  We opted to go several rounds of joint compound feathering to create a smooth appearance.  This, however, added about one week to the overall time-table of this project.

Some Tips:  {From Mr. Hazelton & Myself}


* DO have your ceilings tested for asbestos if your house was built in the 1960's or 1970's.  The cost seemed pretty unreal to me - like $90 - for an EPA certified lab (at least all the ones I looked up) but it could be a lot cheaper than dealing with asbestos poisoning.  The NIST keeps a list of labs.  You can contact them at (301) 975-4016.  For more information visit www.epa.gov/asbestos/pubs/help.html


* DO use "resin" paper ("rosin" paper?) that Mr. Hazelton refers to is worth the extra cost.  I used regular rolls of brown paper (marked for latex painting) and while it did absorb water, it tore very easily.  The other would probably hold up better to being soaked through.


* DON'T feel like you HAVE to buy 2 mil poly sheets to line your walls.  I know this is recommended in several of the "how-to's," but I used 0.5 mil poly sheets.  A 3-pack is cheaper than 1 roll of the 2 mil and it worked great.  Also, 0.5 mil poly is lighter and, therefore, easier to hang on the walls if you're working alone.


* DO wear protective gear.  Even if your ceiling has NO asbestos, you don't want that acoustical stuff getting into your eyes, nose, and throat.  I noticed that Mr. Hazelton's video did not show wearing coveralls, but I strongly recommend this as my job made a HUGE mess.


* DO use water - and you could probably mix it with something to help "loosen" the ceiling.  I've heard vinegar works well, but I used Method Clementine All Purpose cleaner (1 tbsp to 2 gal) and that made our living room smell wonderful.


* DO NOT think this will be done in one day!  If you have to mud anything, the mud has to cure for 24 hours.  Bear this in mind when planning your project!


As much as I LOVE diy projects, I'm not sure this is one I will tackle again in this house.  After fighting with the suprise "patch" in the ceiling, I waled away from this DIY more exhausted than exhilarated.  However, seeing our beautiful, flat, white ceiling...I'm in love. <3

Thanks for reading and come back to see us take on that bold red color!