Vintage Revivals • Page 82 of 120 • Fearless DIY

Retro Desk Overhaul

By Mandi | 04/16/2014 | 15 Comments

I dont know if it was because I had just woken up, but I found this in my instagram feed this morning and thought it was extremely giggle worthy. (thanks for sharing Scout and Nimble!)

Now. If that didnt wake you up, I bet this will:

Wowza right?! I didnt even know that they made spray paint in those colors.

For the entire length of the Macie’s Bedroom makeover I was on a desk hunt. Finding something small and shallow and cute and not outrageously prices turned out to be quite the task. But in the 11th hour, this little ray of sunshine burst through the dreary clouds and right into my heart.

I was really interested in finding out what color it was originally (sometimes I am a bit of a furniture hippy) so instead of initially painting over it I decided to strip it.

Citristrip is my product of choice. It works well, and if you accidentally get some on your skin it doesnt feel like the fires of Hades are coming after you. The original finish was a light grayish blue (you can see it peeking out of the paint below). It wasnt what I was hoping for (a really light green) so I decided to paint it.

Painting metal is really simple, in fact most spray paints are formulated to work with metal. The one difference that I have found is that you have to let it cure for a lot longer than you let wood cure. If you move it too soon the paint can just scratch right off. That is not the funnest thing.

I painted the back with Krylon Copper Metallic (Michaels is the only place that I can find it in St. George) and the sides with Krylon Flat White.

Simple DIY Shelves (AKA The Project That Cost Me 3x More and a New Windshield…)

By Mandi | 04/15/2014 | 30 Comments

How is that title for a spoiler alert? Every once in a while you get a project that seems so easy. But is like the Pandora’s box of swear words and frustration. Yes. This is one of those projects. Good news? I have had enough trial and error for the both of us.

I am pretty in love with these simple shelves in Macie’s Bedroom. They are not hard to install, no tools required other than a drill.

Here are the supplies that you will need:

Shelving Brackets (I used these 12×8 ones from Home Depot)

Wood (I used 2×10’s)

Hex Screws (the kind with the point on the end) (2 per bracket for your studs):

Hex Bolts (the kind with the flat end) (2 per bracket for your shelves)

Cap Nuts (2 per bracket for your shelves)

We are using bolts and caps to hold the shelves on because we are mounting the brackets upside down. I would hate to use a screw and then have it strip because of the weight on the shelves. This is the safe way to do it.

Before we get started on the tutorial, let me tell you our fun little experience so you know what NOT to do. Arent you glad that you can learn from my mistakes?

When we were working on Macie’s room we were under a crazy fast deadline, so the thought process was under stress.

That is the only excuse I can come up with…

I measured the wall that the shelves would be living on and decided that I wanted them to be 30” wide. I was so pumped about this little project, I jumped into my car and headed to Home Depot. I bought the brackets, the screws and the wood. While I was there I had them cut the board into 30” pieces. You guys, I was smiling the ENTIRE time. I just kept thinking about your adorable faces and how much you were going to love this simple inexpensive project.

When I got home we realized that I hadnt figured out where the studs were on the wall. They were spaced 33” apart *palm to forehead. Fail #1.

So I went back to Home Depot and had them recut a piece into 35” sections. Got home, and it BARELY fit on the brackets. I hadnt factored anything in for an over hang. Such an idiot. Fail #2.

At this point my adorable and patient husband was not amused. So he decided to take matters into his own hands. He went to HD and bought a piece of wood and decided to cut it at home. That way we could measure 970 times before we cut it. Great idea in theory. He used my 16 yr old sister in law’s truck to pick it up. The board was 10 feet long, so to avoid a really large overhang he opened the sliding back window, and had the board resting on the tailgate and on the window seal while he got into the truck. Once inside he reached over and pulled the board forward so that more of it was inside the cab (can you see where this is going?) This caused the other end to fall off of the tail gate, and like a teeter totter from Lucifer, it made the end inside the cab pop up and crack the windshield.

Imagine his delight.

The good news is that we were able to get the shelves done. The bad news….well, you know…everything else.

Now that you know what not to do, lets go over the right way to do this.

Start by finding and marking your studs.

Decide on the width of your shelves (make sure to factor in the overhang!)

Attach your brackets to the wall. While you are doing this remember to add the thickness of your shelf + the amount of gapping that you need to get the shelf height that you want. Use a level. Eyeballing is not your friend.

When you are using such large screws, always drill a pilot hole so that you dont split your stud.

Once your brackets are in place, center the wood underneath. Mark the holes that need to be drilled. Drill it with a bit that is the same size as your bolt.

Then using your bolts and cap nuts, attach them to the brackets.

Also it helps if you put a fern on them to get the full effect.

Very doable.

Think of all of the fun places that you can hang them! I might have another suggestion in Friday’s room reveal. Just sayin.

Before you go on your way for the day, I have one favor to ask. My Creating With The Stars partners Classy Clutter, are in FINALS!! Today is the last day to vote and it is SO close. I cant tell you which one is theirs, but I can tell you that it is very amazing. So please pop over and vote for your favorite, they have worked extremely hard (as have all of the contestants) and deserve to win!!

Behind The Scenes of the P&G/Home Depot Shoot

By Mandi | 04/14/2014 | 16 Comments

Sometimes I have things come into my life because of this little blog that make me have to pinch myself just to make sure that I am still awake. This fun experience caused a.lot. of pinching. I have worked with P&G quite a few times for different campaigns. Last Nov/Dec. they came to me with an idea. They wanted to shoot a little video series and a room makeover . Um YES!!!

In my mind it was me, a camera guy and maybe some sort of director…Imagine my surprise when just a few days before it was set to happen I found out that it was a camera guy, a sound guy, a director, and 3 of my friends from the PR agency. It hit me then that this is sort of a big deal…

The room that I decided to overhaul in 3 short days was a spare room at my Mother In Law’s. You remember her living room and kitchen makeovers from last year right?

This room is rarely used and was sort of a catch-all for anything that needed a home. We decided to turn it into an office and to make the closet more functional for the storage that Alicia needs.

Once we cleared everything out of the room we could see how much space we actually had to work with.

It was a great blank slate.

P&G wanted to film as much of the room makeover as possible, so I was pretty much allowed to paint. Everything else needed to wait.

Here are a few behind the scene pictures.

It was SUCH an amazing experience. I cant wait to show you guys everything on Friday!!

DIY Wall Sconce Task Lights & A Target Update!

By Mandi | 04/11/2014 | 27 Comments

Happy Friday!!! Let’s get this party started (of course by party I mean the tutorials for Macie’s Boho Bedroom Makeover!) If you are looking for sources for the items that are in the room check out this post.

Up first are the incredible wall mounted task lights that are on either side of Macie’s bed.

First things first, you need to get your happy self to Target. They have these really great stick lights that will make your life SO much more simple and you sort of need them to do this project….

Start by taking the light off of the base, you will just have to loosen the screw, and it should come right off.

I decided to change out the cord because I am obsessed with cloth coil cord right now, but that is 1000% optional!

*If you decide to leave your cord on you will need to tape it off while you are painting!

Give it a few LIGHT coats with the color of your choice. I used Black in satin for mine. Let it dry completely before you manhandle it. Rewire it if you chose to change it, or take the tape off if you didnt.

Now pull out your wooden dowel and copper fittings.

You will need:

Super glue (DO NOT use Gorilla Glue for this. Trust me.) I love this type from Loctite

Start by painting your dowels (or leaving them plain if you are a hippy and just love things natural.)

The assembly is simple folks. Just put the glue on the dowel before you put it into the elbow.

Let your glue set for the recommended time (usually around 24 hours) before you attach your light.

Once your light is on you can glue on the caps that will on the end of the dowels.

Mount them using pipe straps and enjoy the amazingness day and night!

Total cost? $23.00

I just wanted to update everyone on the Target Copycat situation.

First I need to say thank you for your support, you guys have blown me away with your love and concern. I think the term Target used was very devoted readers. You guys are amazing. That is all there is to it.

I did have a conference call with Target, they were so nice and understanding. They will be doing a really fun Q&A on the Bullseye View blog in the next few weeks (I will be sure to let you know when that is live!) and we are thinking of some some ways that we can work together in the future! I am a firm believer that you should date a brand before you expect them to propose a lifelong commitment to you. So Target and I have had a little bit of an awkward first date, but I am really looking forward to seeing what kind of relationship I hope it can blossom into. Because I think we both like each other. Hopefully in the next while everyone on the playground will be singing “Vintage Revivals and Target sitting in a tree….”

There is a really amazing secret project in this week’s newsletter, you probably wont want to miss it! Sign up below!

Macie’s Boho Bedroom Source List

By Mandi | 04/10/2014 | 42 Comments

As I was writing the reveal post for Macie’s bedroom overhaul, I realized just how many elements in the space were DIYed. I have tutorials for all of the projects that will be starting up tomorrow (yay!) but in the mean time, I would love to give you as many deets as possible.

Obviously the paint job was the first major change. I used Sherwin-Williams Emerald in Secret Garden for the ceiling (SW 6181) and Oakmoss for the doors (SW 6180). For the walls I used their Ultra White Base with 4 oz of white pigment added for coverage.

The gold paint that I used to stamp the wall is Sherwin-Williams Metallic Impressions. I was really impressed with how metallic it actually came out.

The tutorial for the leather safari sling bench is here, and the pom pom pillow is here. Would you believe that the llama pillow is made from a sweater I found at Target? The word art pictures are a few of the designs that Jamie and I have been working on and will be avaliable soon for the Cricut Explore!

Lets talk about the rug. It was the first element of the room and pretty much the only thing that wasnt DIYed. I found it on RugsUSA.com, they were running one of their crazy sales and I got it for $100. It is currently sold out but you can be added to a waitlist if you are really obsessed. This one from West Elm is similar.

The bed was a really really really (did I mention really?) simple build that I will be posting a tutorial of soon. The army green wool blanket is from Urban Renewal (a local consignment store), as is the desk chair and one of the pieces of art.

The hex mirror was a thrift store score at $8 that got a blast of white spray paint. The desk received a major facelift. Major. I cant wait for you guys to see the transformation!

Both calendars, the basket, the hanging succulent planters, and the woven wall hanging (ie rug) are from Target.

I am majorly obsessed with the task lamps that I upcycled from Target desk lamps. This is going to be the first tutorial out of the gate so that I can update everyone on the copycat situation, so watch for that tomorrow!

The picture on the left is thrifted and reframed from this beauty, and trust me the blur from the camera is totally doing that frame some serious favors.

The ivory and gold box is from homegoods, and the brass crab is from a local consignment store, it is actually an ash tray! The top flips up. He is just such a cute fellow.

The tutorial for the Macrame headboard and plywood bed are on their way down the pipeline too. You guys will die when you see how simple the bed was to make.

The black and white pillows are iconically Ikea and the gold pillow is from Homegoods. The beige herringbone throw is from Target. It is kind of weird but they run really small, so I would buy the next size up. Apparently there is no vanity sizing on blankets!

The nightstands are Ikea RAST dressers (I mistankenly said Malm in my reveal post, but can you keep all those swedish nonsense words straight?!) I have found a secret to painting things perfectly smooth with no paint lines, no roller marks, nothing. I cant wait to spill!! I also have a tutorial for the burgandy and hot pink vase coming up, and you can find the tutorial for the planter here.

These shelves are amazingly simple, and might have a pretty hilarious story that goes along with them. The Himmeli heart tutorial is happening on the 17th, so mark your calendars! Globe, books, camera, were thrifted. The crystal skull is Halloween at Homegoods (I have been hording it for a long time!) The cute ampersand art is made from a card that I scored at Target (like a greeting card!) The wooden hand is from Michael’s (you can find it in the fine art section!)

PHEW. Is that it? If I have missed anything be sure to let me know and I will edit the post!

It was so fun seeing everyone’s reaction to the room! It has been done for a few months and I have looked at the pictures about 5 million times and had kind of gotten to the point where I wasnt even sure if I liked it any more (you know that feeling right?!). But seeing it through your eyes was exactly the boost that I needed so THANK YOU!

Macie’s Boho Bedroom Makeover Reveal

By Mandi | 04/08/2014 | 164 Comments

*I will be truncating today’s post because there are approximately one million pictures. 1,000,000 pictures does not equal happy blog loading time. Make sure to click READ MORE to see the entire reveal! xo

It’s HERE!! Today is the day that I FINALLY get to show off Macie’s bedroom overhaul! I am not good at keeping things secret and this doozie has been eating at me for months. The special occasion for a room makeover celebration? Well Sherwin-Williams National Painting Week of course! Last year I was assigned the color Pink and created Dylan’s Dream Room for my 4 year old daughter. This year my color was Green and I am pretty obsessed with how it turned out.

Last week I introduced you to my niece Macie. In short she is fantastic. Her bedroom? Um….welp, let’s just let the pictures speak for themselves.

What we have here is a room that has been transformed multiple times over the years. From an office, to a bedroom that all 4 of her younger siblings have enjoyed (hence the sharpie on the wall and the sticker residue on the door), to finally a room of her own.

Mace is a great kid and deserves this space to be wonderful.

Here is how it looks now (pssst! isn’t Buster the fluffiest pup you’ve ever seen?)

7 Tips To Pull Off A Budget Wedding (and Pictures!)

By Mandi | 04/03/2014 | 63 Comments

Miranda’s wedding was a HUGE success! It was beautiful and perfect and a million other things that I cant put into words. I am just so happy for them!

Before we get started you should know that all photography is courtesy of the AMAZING Avi Stoddard.

And as much as you want to hear me gush about how much I love my sister and how I cried the ENTIRE day, I know what you are here for…the pictures and the details. So lets get on with it! Here are a few tips that we learned to create a fabulous wedding on a budget.

1. Make it small and special: Miranda and Rob chose to celebrate their marriage with a luncheon for all of their close family and friends, instead of having a big reception. The location that they chose was The Gathering Place in Gardner Village. It was a big open space the comfortably fit the entire crowd. Pretty sure that every husband in the room was celebrating that decision. Instead of the groom’s family paying for a luncheon, and the bride’s family paying for the reception, they split the cost of the larger gathering. Pretty awesome if you ask me.

Which leads me to tip #2.

2. If you have a large space to fill, fill it with BIG things.

We used 14 giant balloons from the Tom Kat Shop. To fill them we rented helium tanks from a party store. (can you imagine the school bus we would need to transport these behemoths?!). We were super concerned because the clerk at the store told us that one tank would fill 3 balloons, and at $50 a pop that was NOT budget friendly. So like any responsible adult with a rebellious streak I bought one, just one, to see how far it would go. Um. SUCH a good idea. One tank filled 7 1/2 balloons!! So we used two total. To make them even more amazing we added 2 tissue paper tassels and a section of gold table streamers to each rope.

I also recreated the giant marquee letters from the tutorial that I wrote for Dylan’s HGTV Magazine Shoot. (Sometimes it is REALLY nice having detailed instructions again.)

The flower vases are just really basic tall glass vases that we found at Tai Pan. We added the copper and gold leafing. The bunches of Babies Breath are one of my favorite things ever.

All of the terrariums were upcycled from thrift store lights.

So good right?!

3. Thrift It UP! A lot of the planters were thrifted lights that found a new lease on life, but do you know what else was thrifted?

The AMAZING white leather chesterfield that we used in the guestbook photo booth. It was $35 and needed a really good scrub down to take it from dingy gray to bright white. Guys, Magic Erasers really are magic.

4. Buy your cake topper at Home Depot! Ok, so I know that this wont work for every wedding, but it TOTALLY worked for ours! Instead of having the florist make a $200 cake topper we found an amazing purple succulent at Home Depot for $10. I cut it off at the base and set it on a small piece of plastic wrap that I put on top of the cake. (Cake was from my favorite bakery in Salt Lake One Sweet Slice. Janell knows what she is doing.)

5. Inexpensive florals are your friend! Miranda is not much for flowers, and of course you know the obsession with Succulents on Vintage Revivals is at critical mass. We had a florist make the bouquet and boutonnieres, and then all of the hundreds (well, not hundreds, 160 to be exact) succulents were ordered off of Ebay. I want to say they were around $.70 a piece.

We used 13 bunches of babies breath to fill the tall vases. They were around $16 a bunch and the florist just ordered them for us, so she didn’t have any time invested into them.

6. Hire a good Natural Light photographer. The photographer Miranda and Rob used was in.cred.i.ble. Her name is Avi Stoddard and she is so talented, really great at directing a large crowd of people, and FAST. I loved meeting her and have loved every single picture that she has sent over. A Natural Light photographer is someone that specializes in working in outdoor conditions. Their rates are usually less because they don’t have studio or lots of equipment to store. But this is hands down the most important part of the wedding memories, so make sure that you are familiar with their work. Sometimes your cousin’s sister’s coworker’s best friend is amazing. And sometimes they just have a nice camera that they don’t know how to use. Don’t make that mistake.

7. Rent a dress. Miranda’s dress was a custom rental. Confused? Let me explain. The dress shop Gowns By Pamela specializes in rentals. They have a really big selection of skirts and tops that you can mix and match, and then you choose your sleeve, belt, and veil. We even added the piece of lace on the neckline on a whim. It comes with everything that you could need and includes the cleaning fee.

*Bonus Tip 8. Have THE BEST husband in the world. We had a few things to set up in the hour break between the temple sealing and the luncheon. It was chaos and Court helped me with everything. Even hot gluing leather letters onto our backdrop. Such a lucky girl I am.

Miranda is enjoying the sunshine in Puerto Rico, so there are some sources that I don’t have readily available, but I will update this post at the end of the week with everything (as soon as I can get her on the phone!)

Photographer: Avi Stoddard
Venue: The Gathering Place
Dress: Gowns by Pamela
Florist:
Cake: One Sweet Slice
Table Runners:
Glass Terrariums: Thrifted
Glass Vases: Tai Pan Trading
White Brick Backdrop: Wallpaper Direct
Marquee Letters: Tutorial Here
Balloons: Tom Kat Studios Shop

Have any questions PLEASE leave them in the comments below and I will answer them! xo