Happy Monday you guys!! I can.not believe that it is almost Halloween. Isn’t it still supposed to be June? Where have the last 5 months gone?! Oh wait. I remember.
Holiday decorating is at a minimum at the Gubler household right now, but I just had to share this secret newsletter tutorial that Jamie did a few weeks ago. It is the perfect halloweeny but not too halloweeny decoration. Also I would leave it up all year.
So basically its just a really great project.
Just a reminder that she creates projects like this every week that are only available through the Vintage Revivals weekly newsletter (it comes out every Friday). If you don’t already subscribe, you should SO get on that. (Pssst. You can subscribe in the box below.)
Hey VR besties! Its Jamie and I am so excited to share this tutorial with you today!!
(Insert here, theme song from…The Twilight Zone.) Do do do do do do do do do do do do! I love Halloween time. I love getting becoming irrational fearful for my life in corn mazes and watching old scary movies…I can’t watch new scary movies they scare me too much, I know that doesn’t make a lot of sense but “The Ghost and Mr… Chicken” is about my limit…there’s actually something that I don’t love love about Halloween. The decor. Call me crazy but my sister Janae agrees. It actually makes Janae not want to eat. She doesn’t just not like it, she literally thinks it’s gross and can’t mentally eat anything that is served from a Halloween tray/bowl/etc.
So her and I decided to create some art that was semi halloweeny. (That’s totally a word just go with it.) Plus moon projects are my faves right not (Like this wall, and this clock yes please.)
Look at the moon! So I had this idea for something else and this has maybe turned into a series. I have about 4 more I actually really want to do that I’ll share with you when I’m done. For now this guy totally fits the Halloween vibe we have going on here, and it’s super easy to make.
What you need:
photo print (you can download the high res image from NASA here)
string
needle
pencil (to draw your design on the back so you know where to sew!)
It’s super easy to get a ruler and measure out a really basic geometric shape. Do this on the back of your picture, or you can print off this shape and use it as a hole poking guide.
Poke all your holes first where so then you can see where you’re supposed to sew on the front and the photo of the photo. Give yourself plenty of slack! Paper doesn’t give like fabric does!
If you are following along with this series, you might remember that in Demo Round 2 we took out a cabinet and widened the door frame on the little closet. Taking out a cupboard in such a teensy space with so little storage was a pretty big deal, but the openness that it added was SO worth it. The next step was adding back in the storage we had taken out (and then some).
Once the door was off the closet there was just no putting it back on (again with the space!) so that meant that using it as an actual closet was off of the table. I wanted to add shelves, but shelves in a trailer didn’t seem super functional (especially shelves for storage, not shelves for pretty things) So the idea came about to add lawyer style doors to the shelves, so that you could still see what was inside, while keeping it safe and secure.
Building said shelves and doors was easier said than done. Not ONE SINGLE SPOT in this trailer is actually level. Because tires, also because they apparently weren’t sticklers. So instead of just being able to use a level to build simple shelves, we had to rely a lot on measuring and what looked right to our eyes.
I roughly spaced out where I wanted the shelves to go and marked it with ScotchBlue Painter’s Tape.
We started off by attaching the braces to the studs. The little pieces of tape pictured below are marking the vertical stud.
Oh! In case you are wondering, that big box on the wall houses all of the plumbing that runs from the sink to the outside of the trailer.
Next we added the shelves, as well as a piece of MDF on the front. This is what the hinges and sash lock attach to.
Next we built the cabinet doors. They are just a simple frame, that we attached Plexi Glass to. *Just a tip if you are cutting plexi. We went through 3 of the cutters that are made for scoring before frustration took hold and I pulled out the jigsaw. It worked SO MUCH BETTER to use a fine tooth saw blade. So if you have ever wondered, yes you can cut plexi with a jigsaw. I decided that a cabinet door on the floor, while it would look cute, would be a complete waste of space because really, who wants to lay on the floor to be able to get inside a cabinet? I think I would put a basket or something there.
All I wanted in the world was to be able to use a sash lock to close these puppies. Seriously, every time I walk past them in Home Depot I want to take them home with me and kiss them goodnight before I go to sleep. This was a pretty perfect place to use them.
Also welcome to the Nugget, where there is a fine layer of dust on everything.
I still need to add stoppers behind the doors (they swing in a hair) that is why they are looking a little wonk, but that project is on the chopping block today.
The little guy is sure coming along!
I am SO happy with how this little project turned out, and hello creating 4x the storage that we killed when we took out that upper cabinet was SUCH a win. Also seeing them done makes me want to go shopping for cute dishes and art supplies.
Hey guys!! I have a SUPER fun and simple tutorial ! Leather Strap Planters for my budding cactus garden (I have a serious problem with cute cacti).
To make these planters you will need:
A vessel, bowl, or vase of your choosing
4 pieces of Leather Cording that is the length that you want your planter to hang (or leather that you can cut into cords) *they sell bags of leather scrap at craft stores with cords in them!
Small piece of Leather
Scissors
Start by cutting out small square donuts from your leather. You will need 3 per planter.
Next take 3 pieces of your leather cord and tie a knot at the bottom. These cords will be known as the vertical cords.
Near the bottom of your cords (maybe about 4 inches from the knot) hold a leather square behind the cord.
Take your last piece of cording (this will be known as the horizontal cord) and thread it underneath the leather, through the hole, over the first piece of cording, and back through the hole. See the picture below? The horizontal cord is holding the entire thing together.
Repeat 2 more times. Place your planter inside the vertical cords, resting on the knot. Adjust the vertical cords so that they are evenly spaced and tie a knot in your horizontal cord. (It is really easy to slide the squares up and down to make them level)
Trim your knot if you want (or leave it, because that is adorable as well.) Tie all of the vertical cords together and you are ready to hang it!
So the Nugs, the Nugs has been a little MIA lately. It needed a good long time out before things got more out of control than they already were. Remember this post about the creative conundrum I was in? Well I was in deep. It is really easy for me to rip something out if I don’t like it (a little too easy) and I didn’t want to make any rash decisions because I was a ball of frustration over the design. So the trailer and I had to take a break for a minute.
I came back after a few weeks with a clear vision of what I wanted to do. The first part of said vision, was changing the tile. I LOVE the green penny tile. Like so much. But with the other elements in the trailer it was starting to feel really Easter egg-y. Sometimes living with unfavorable choices is just the reality, but in the case of our backsplash, it was less than $80 to fix it, and we were able to bust it out really quick like because we actually knew what we were doing this time (the tile job looks SO much better!)
We used Merola’s White Ceramic penny tile in gloss with Bright White grout. While it might not be the most cutting edge choice in blogland, I love the nod to retro and that it is adding texture vs.. the color/pattern/texture that was happening before.
Instead of saying “Here is the new tile. Bye!” I wanted to share a few things that we learned the second go around. (because there is ALWAYS something new to learn, am I right?!)
With the first job, we mistakenly used a floor trowel for the walls. Which wasn’t a huge problem because the thinset and the grout were nearly identical in color. But we had to be extra careful this go round because we were using Bright White grout and any bit of thinset that poked through would have to be scraped out. So to combat this we used a wall trowel (novel idea!) it leaves a much smaller ridge and a lot less thinset, so you have less of a chance for ooze that is taller than your tile.
The second thing that we did was flip the direction of the mat. Before, we started by laying the full row of un-staggered tiles horizontally (to accommodate for the countertops) and filled in 1/2 tiles along the vertical edge. This this time we decided to put it against the transition trim and used 1/2 tiles along the countertop edge. The whole thing worked SO much better.
The last thing is something that you sort of cant control, but really made all the difference in the world. The weather. We installed the green tile, mid afternoon in the dead of summer in Southern Utah. The thinset started to dry instantly and we had a very short window of time to work with it. The weather this time was much more forgiving and made the whole process significantly smoother.
So there you go! A few more tips that you can add to your tile laying arsenal!
Happy Monday! If you are in Utah or the surrounding states, chances are that you have heard of Pinner’s Conference. If you haven’t, let the introduction begin!
Pinner’s Conference is a 2 day event held in Salt Lake City that basically brings Pinterest to life. November 7th and 8th are the dates to mark on your calendar. It is a 2 expo packed to the brim with vendors and back to back classes taught by popular bloggers and business owners. Every.dang.drool-worthy.thing. that Pinterest has to offer will be brought to life right before your eyes! (Check out the full list of class descriptions and presenters here!)
I wasn’t able to make it last year, so when it came around again this year Cara (you know, of Maskcara fame) told me that she would no longer be my bestie if I didn’t come. And helloooooo, you don’t just walk away from free makeovers for the rest of your life. So I am presenting, and I EXTREMELY excited about it!
The classes that I came up with are based on the questions that I get asked most, and the most popular projects on VR. Also, I stole these descriptions from their site, so its in 3rd person. Just roll with it.
3 Weekend Wall Projects: You know that blank wall that stares at you day after day? The one that you KNOW could be amazing, but you just don’t know where to start? Good News! Fearless DIYer Mandi Gubler has a class just for you! Learn 3 of her fail proof techniques for a show stopping accent wall. They are all budget friendly and can be done in one weekend! Have you seen the DIY Sharpie Walls that are all over Pinterest? Come and learn all the ins and outs from the creator herself! Taping off patterns is nothing new, but do you know how to get perfect paint lines!? What about molding? There are so many ways to make your walls amazing, let Mandi teach you 3!
Make and Take | Cricut Leather Notebook: The gift giving season is upon us, and Mandi Gubler is teaming up with Cricut to make all of your holiday dreams come true! This is a hands on class where you will make and leave with a DIY Leather Notebook, as well as learn all about the brand new Cricut Explore! Cost for this class is $5.00 and limited spots are available. Did we mention that we will be giving away a couple of Cricut Explores? Yep. Its true.
10 Life Changing Techniques for DIY Dreamers: Everyone loves a good DIY project right? Mandi Gubler of Vintage Revivals has a whole slurry of DIY tricks up her sleeve and she wants to share them with YOU! Everything from finding hidden treasures at the thrift store, to perfectly painted pieces of furniture, and sewing a pillow cover with just 6 (semi) straight lines, to the 5 power tools that every DIYer needs to have in her arsenal. This class is for everyone, no matter where you land on the DIY scale of knowledge, Mandi will have a tip for you!
Now for the REALLY BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!! If finally getting to hug in real life isn’t incentive enough, I am bringing The Nugget!! We have T minus 3 weeks and counting to get everything wrapped up (GAH!!) so chances are great that it will be at Pinners before it has even had a chance to be shot for the blog! You’ll get to check out the vintage trailer goodness in person!
So do you want to come?! Registration opens today so get your cute butt over there before everything sells out!
Tickets range from free for basic entry, to $90 for a VIP pass. If you are planning on coming both days, may I recommend the $30 2 day pass that lets you into all classes, as well as the Expo. Get your tickets here!
Make sure that you use the code vintage revivals at check out to save $5!!
Hey guys! I hope you have a fun weekend ahead of you!! Travelling for the last 10 days has totally thrown off my days, for some reason it feels like Thursday. I am hoping that actually having a weekend at home will straighten the ship.
|| ONE || I felt like you guys have “met” my assistant Jamie a lot (especially if you subscribe for the weekly newsletter!) She came to St. George about a month ago and of course she had to have a Maskcara makeover! We all know that Cara is massively talented, but HOLY CRAP she is a super model right?!!
|| TWO || I spent some time last week in Kohler, Wisconsin (it was so amazing and will get it’s own post) Touring the Kohler Design Center drummed up some really great inspiration. This white cross medicine cabinet was one of my favorite things in the entire space. After doing a little googling I found them (YAY!) and they are over $800 (wha?!) so the wheels are a turnin for a DIY.
|| THREE || Um, you haven’t seen a Sharpie wall until you’ve seen this one
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|| FOUR ||This rug from UO is the winner today. Floor, wall, table, pretty much amazing on anything.
|| FIVE || We are planning costumes for our family Halloween parade this year (we play music and dance behind the trailer while trick or treating. Last year we were Senior Steppers and had an entire routine, it was magical.) I am feeling VERY inspired by this.
Do it yourself lighting is one of my favorite types of projects to tackle. Lighting (well beautiful lighting) can be seriously expensive. But guess what?! It doesn’t have to be! There are so many cool components that you can find around your local hardware store that can be put together to create a serious show stopper.
Originally the plan for the lighting in Ashy’s room was to hardwire this light. I mean, the design is perfect for the space, right? We got it installed and had a problem.
A one light bulb problem.
This room is so ginorm that having a light with just one bulb was not cutting it. As I was problem solving different solutions (where to put wall sconces, lamps etc.) I realized that we really just needed a different light.
Just a side note, if you are at your local hardware store and you see a crazy looking lady in paint clothes, sitting on the floor surrounded by pipe fittings with a wild look on her face, just keep your head down and don’t make eye contact.
The great thing is that after the wild look passes, she probably has a pretty great plan.
Here is what you need: (I bought the hardware supplies at Home Depot and Lowes. Locally, Lowes seems to have a bigger selection of copper fittings.)
(4) ceramic light sockets
(4) 1 1/2” x 3/4” Reducing Coupling
(4) 3/4” x 1/2” Fitting Reducer
(4) 1/2” Threaded Adaptor Fitting (Male)
(5) Washers
(5) Pipe Nuts
(4) 10” pieces of 1/2” pipe
(1) 8” piece of 1/2” pipe (or measured to the length that you want your fixture to hang)
(2) 1/2” copper push-fit male adaptor pieces
(1) Threshold Utensil Caddy
(1) Threshold Bowl
12’ of lamp wire
Loctite 5 Minute Epoxy
Drill with 1/2” Drill Bit, and 3/4” spade bit
Start by taking apart the ceramic sockets. Right now, we just want the metal base.
Using your epoxy, glue it to the inside of the reducing coupling (make sure that it is straight!) Let it set for at least 5 minutes. (Be aware of any drips down the inside, they will cause problems when you attach your next piece)
Add a small amount of glue to the inside of your Reducing Coupling, push the Fitting Reducer into the bottom of it.
Add a small amount of glue to the inside of your Fitting Reducer and attach 1 of the 10” pieces of pipe.
Repeat 3 times. These are your arms!
The heart of this light is a wooden utensil holder from Target (couldn’t find it online, but it is still in store). Originally I was picturing 2 wooden bowls sandwiched together, but I think this worked out to be significantly easier. Using a 3/4” spade bit, mark and drill a hole in the dead center of each side of your box. Even with a 3/4” hole, you will need to ream it out a little bit more so that the Male Fitting Adaptor will fit inside.
These were a little hard to hand screw in, so on some I used a socket wrench (you can see the mark that it left on the top of the box). Just be careful to not make your hole too big when you ream it, this adds a lot of stability to your arms. You are going to do this on all 4 sides, as well as the top. The only difference is that the top gets a Push-Fitting, instead of a simple adaptor.
Next, put your washers and nuts on the threads inside the box.
Attach the top piece of copper (mine was 8” long) to your push fitting.
Cut 5 pieces of lamp wire so that they are 20” in length (this will give you some wiggle when you are wiring) and thread one through each of your lamp arms.
Wire your socket according to the instructions found on the packaging (don’t forget to put the red rubber piece on first!)
Because we are making a light with multiple sockets, be EXTRA sure that you are wiring the hot lines to the same colored screw in each socket (i.e. all of the hot lines go to the gold screw, and the neutral lines go to the silver one.) You will be able to tell which wire is hot because there is a small ridge on the edge of that wire to differentiate the hot from the neutral.
When all of your arms are wired, put a small amount of glue on the inside of your Male Adaptor Fitting and push them on, so that the wire is INSIDE your box.
Using large wire nuts, join all 5 of the hot wires together (4 from the arms, 1 from the top) and all 5 of the neutral wires together.
Now its time to install!
We had to move the junction box so that the light could hang in the right spot of the room. Please please please for the love of all that is good in this world, DO NOT do this if you don’t know what you are doing. Hire an electrician to spend 25 minutes at your house. Ok?! When we moved the junction box, we left the electrical inside the old one and piggy backed the new wire from there. It is illegal to permanently cover a hole that still has live wire inside it. To disguise it (without making the ceiling feel like a land mine) we used a simple cover and put putty on it to sort of match the ceiling pattern. If you look at it, it is very clearly there, but if you aren’t trying to notice it, it doesn’t jump out at you. The most important part is that it is a temporary solution and can be spotted and opened up easily.
For our ceiling mount, I bought this bowl from Target, and used my table saw to cut most of the sides off. I left a small 1/2” lip. If you don’t have access to a table saw, you could use a wooden plate, or even a regular cover and spray paint it copper.
Drill a hole in the center of your mount, and attach the second Push Fitting as well as the washer and nut to the opposite side.
Measure on your junction box the distance between the screws, and drill into your mount. If you are using screw caps like we did, you will need to have them hanging down before you can mount your light (if you look closely in the picture below you can see the screws.
This is where you wire your light. No pictures, because I was the one holding it up, but don’t forget this minor step.
Put the mount on the ceiling with the screws coming through the holes, and attach screw caps. I was a little nervous about just having the screws holding the light up, but after talking with an employee at the hardware store and having him point out giant hanging lights that had the same style mount, I felt so much better about it.
(The pic below was of the dry run, you can see that there are no wires coming through. When you are installing it for real, the light will be hanging down.)
Once the ceiling mount is installed and wired, push the copper pipe into the Push Fitting and TA DA! your light is done!!
I didn’t cover the hole at the bottom because the wires are tucked up inside it so far, but it would be cute to put a piece of copper contact paper or something on the bottom if you feel like it needs it.
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