So as you all know I have been in Vegas for the last week or so working on Cara’s new office. We have had the BEST time in the entire world. Amidst all of the DIYing that was happening we talked about everything under the sun and I mean, with Allure’s Best Beauty Blogger at your disposal would you not ask everything you could think of!?!
So on Friday, after we scored some amazing deals antiquing
(think pristine condition velvet settee and a card catalog)
I got my very own MaskCara makeover.
The best part? She taught me so much, I feel like I might actually be able to replicate it a little. Obvs not the way that she did it so perfectly but enough that it will still be a HUGE improvement over the last 15 years of my makeup job.
We also chatted about this phenomenon called Thigh Gap. I mean. I didn’t even know it was a thing. Have I been living under a rock? Actually its been a paint can.
You. Guys. I am having the best time working on Cara’s Office this week, if have you ever questioned her genuine-ness, let me tell you, this girl is the real deal. I don’t know if I have ever met a nicer person in my life. We have talked about everything under the sun, and one of my favorite chats was about YOU!
Have you ever heard the expression Too Far Down The Tunnel? I feel like every project/room that I do is bigger and better than the last. I LOVE trying new things and rarely do things more than once. The problem? The stuff that I am doing is WAY down deep in the tunnel of DIY skills. I just think (even though I know that this is SO NOT THE CASE) that everyone of you have read my blog from the beginning. Travelling the same DIY journey and acquiring the same skills.
So. Chatting with Cara my eyes were totally opened to the error of my ways when she said “I love looking at your projects, but I don’t think I would ever attempt them.”
Ding! (That click was the light bulb in my brain FINALLY understanding a few things that have kept me up at night.)
So I am going to be sharing a post with you every Friday called Basic DIY. It may be something from a room project that I am working on, or my favorite tips, or a project that you can execute in less than 10 minutes. Its all about the basic skills that you need to get started working on your own fun projects, so that you can follow your gut intuition when it comes to decorating for yourself (remember no PB catalog should dictate how your house FEELS.)
Are you as excited about this as I am? Are you ready to start walking into the tunnel of DIY love?!
I want to know what YOU want to learn. It could be something as simple as my trick for getting paint off of outlet covers (because sometimes/all the time, I am too impatient to track down a screwdriver and think that it will be fine…)
So speak up, what Basic DIY skills do you need to know to conquer your DIY demons?
Not because I don’t love you all, but because I am actually not here to work on it.
I am currently living it up in Vegas with one of my favorite friends Cara, overhauling her office. (Have you ever met someone that is exactly like you? Its a little freaky over here. I keep hearing the tune to The Twilight Show.)
The best part is that Cara is an answer to your email prayers. She rents. Oh yes, friends. We are giving a full Mandilicous Makeover to a rental!!
So if you are itching for some really amazing makeover magic today head over to Maskcara and check out her before and afters. This girl is talented with a capital T.
Also? I might end up a blonde before this shindig is over. NBD.
I have been known to do a crazy DIY here and there. Remember when I made an actual rug? Good times. Any who. After I got the green monster painted, and had my curtains up, I temporarily hung my headboard, and threw a few scarves on the bed (to give it a little bit of color in place of the pillows that will one day live there).
I sort of have this gut intuition. If I don’t love something along the way, the chance that I am going to get heart palpitations every time I see it, is slim. And heart palpitation inducing is what I am going for.
So I am sitting on my couch on the other side of the room, and running every option that I can through my mind. It was just feeling way up here (insert me waving my hand around my head) and I needed something to ground it. It was just too painted, and colored. It was like one of the Real Housewives. Too much fake crap.
It needed something natural. In fact I think that I was subconsciously anticipating it because I bought this knitted pillow from Target.
So.
We are back to sitting and stewing. Then it hits me like a bolt of lightening. Its needs leather. Leather PILLOWS! Angels sing, Mr.. Richard Simmons gets longer shorts, and everything is right with the world.
The research begins. Oh don’t you worry. The leather pillows that are for sale online are 1. Reminiscent of a Tricia Yearwood belt circa 1992. 2. Roughly the price of a kidney. 3. Look like something that came off of a sectional at Big Lots.
Ex-nay on that idea.
Next idea, buying fabric. Even FAUX leather that is not lick worthy is going to cost me $80 + Shipping.
#sonofa@*#$
So then my heart says “Mandi. Why are you straying so far from what you actually want to do? Get your butt on Craigslist and see what you can wrangle up.”
So that is just what I did.
And guess what?
I found a couch. The ad said that the seat cushions had been redyed but that it looked great.
I was actually feeling a little bad about the possibility of cutting up a nice couch to make pillows. It had to be THIS couch because it had the perfect amount of wear without being janky.
Imagine my surprise when I stopped by to look at it and the dye job was not awesome and all of the hesitation and guilt? Gone. Sold. Getting a Heidi Montag makeover.
This was a very nice couch. I am not going to lie. I am sure if someone wanted to they could have had new leather put on the seats or a blanket or something, but this couch’s destiny was for something different.
Repurpose onward and upward friends.
Cant wait to show you how they turn out, after I do them…still working on that.
So what do you think? Is this a brilliant upcycle or a terrible idea because I did in fact, cut a couch apart to make pillows?
Also I have a naked couch sitting in my garage. Anyone want it?
My gosh this Real Time Room Makeover is just moving right along, isn’t it? Today instead of unveiling a new piece to the puzzle we are talking a step back and talking about one that is probably the most important one.
Painting over the stencil.
Yes. I know what you are thinking. All that hard work, how could I bear to do such a thing?! I have one simple answer. I love the process. It is so exciting for me when I get to try a new technique and unfortunately I don’t live in a house with a 1000 walls.
But back to the stencil covering.
Stenciling is all the rage and at one point some of you hot mamas are going to want to cover it up. So here are my tips.
Tip # 1 Buy a good quality paint. When I say good quality I mean GOOOOOOOOOOD. One of the reasons I LOVE Sherwin Williams is because their paint is the best. I know that it does what they say it will do. Up until probably December my favorite paint from their line was Super Paint. It has great coverage and is awesome. Since then I have exclusively been using Emerald. It is a No VOC latex base and it is my favorite. Favorite. Favorite.
The first time I used Emerald was on last years Epic Room Makeover. To be honest while we were painting it on, I wasn’t loving it. It didn’t look like it was covering well and I was really frustrated. After giving it time to dry, we were surprised at how well it did cover. Since then I have grown to love it more and more.
When I am painting I want to get it DONE. Why is it that we always minimize the actual paint process? You know, we are thinking, I’m going to paint the walls like it will take 3 seconds? (PLEASE tell me I am not the only one that does this!) And then you start painting and you are like “Hmmmm, I forgot how much time this actually takes. Suck.” That being said, the better the coverage, the less I have to paint, the happier I am.
When I painted Dylan’s Bulldog Wall it took 1 coat and a handful of touch up spots where my roller was too dry. I wanted to make out with the wall I was so happy about that. (Because remember I had to redo the room design?)
Covering the high contrast stencil in my bedroom was something that I thought could take up to 3 coats because 1. I chose not to prime it and 2. Its almost black and white.
Well guess what? It only took 2. AND this was before I learned the secret that adding more white to your base helps with coverage.
Tip# 2 Buy a lower sheen. Depending on the stencil that you used and the technique, there is a pretty good chance that you will have some build up formed along the edges. If it is really bad you can sand the entire wall down, but most likely you will be the only one that sees it. The lower your sheen of paint, the more camouflaged it is. I usually go with Matte or Satin.
The one fear with using a Matte paint is durability. It can be washed away easier if you are a scrubber. That is not the case with Emerald. If it can withstand the scrubbings it takes in Dylan’s room, it can withstand the freaking zombie apocalypse. (remember how she loves to draw on everything? Yes. that.)
Tip #3 Buy the right rollers. Did you know that there are certain types of rollers that you should use for different types of paint? Mind. Blown. when I discovered this. (Another reason why the guys at my local Sherwin Williams are fast becoming my best friends.) It makes such a big difference when you are using the right tools.
So there you have it. My 3 tips to painting over a stencil. Hope you guys have a fantastic day!
psst. The winner of the $250 Home Depot Gift Card and 2 rolls of Bounty Paper Towels is Holly. Please check your inboxes if that is your name!
This post is a collab between myself and Sherwin Williams. I love and believe in the quality of their paint and will shout it from the rooftops until I die.
Earlier this summer (while I was shopping like a mad woman trying to get things ready for the Hoard Sale) I stumbled across this AWESOME rug. Being the first one at the sale that morning, no one else had had the chance to scoop it up.
I bought it for $150 and happily stored it in my garage until a few weeks ago. Before the wicker headboard took the fate of my bedroom design in its swirly hands, this rug is what I was planning on being the jumping off point.
I moved it in and put it under my Craigslist couch (read about that here) and was instantly disappointed. It was just SO big. You don’t realize when it is sitting in a driveway the actual size in the context of your house. Its like when you are starving and order extra food, you think you are going to eat it all, and you have every intention. But then 1/2 way in you realize that its just not going to happen. Now I am hungry.
I hate when size doesn’t translate in pictures. Ok picture this. The couch is just over 7 feet long and the rug is 10×8.5. It took up the ENTIRE area between the bottom of my bed and the couch and it was just visually overwhelming.
I think that is why it wasn’t my jumping off point. It is a BEAUTIFUL rug (that already has found a home at my Mother In Law’s) but it just wasn’t right for this spot.
I have been loving the real time makeover journey with you guys, I hope you are loving it too! I am so excited to show you the first giant piece to this puzzle of granny awesomeness. The cornerstone if you will.
A few weeks ago I was running blog errands and stopped at the DI (Utah’s Version of Goodwill). While going through my normal rounds my eye was drawn to a pretty awesome/trashed wicker étagère. It was super swirly and I liked it, not enough to invest the $20 in it but still…it started the wheels turning.
If you know anything about me, it should be that I make design decisions very quickly. If I like something, I know right off the bat. And then the dominos are falling faster than I can explain and BAM the room design is done. So. During the 3 minute drive back to my house I came to the conclusion that I needed a swirly wicker headboard for my Master.
A quick google search when I got home confirmed that I did in fact need a swirly wicker headboard
After this post you are going to need one too.
Actually finding one? Complete divine intervention. This is one of those Life of Pi situations where its a crazy story but in the end you believe it, so God must be real.
Ready to be a believer?
Here are the things working against us.
1. My bed is king sized (most beds from that era are NOT).
2. Wicker is super fragile (frageeelay) and finding one intact after 30 years is about as hard as squeezing blood from a turnip.
3. I live in St. George UT, not Pensacola Florida.
4. I have NEVER seen one on Craigslist in all my Craigslist hunting days.
Of course the first place that I look is CL. Nothing. So I widen my search to include Vegas, Salt Lake, and Phoenix. Nothing. Not. One. Thing.
They had 2 twin size swirly wicker headboards. I am pretty sure I yelled in the phone “I WILL BE RIGHT THERE!”
I RAN out my front door (insert 15 minutes of hyperventilating and yelling at every red light) and raced into the store. The lady took one look at my crazed eyes and said “You must be Mandi.”
That’s what I like to call a first impression.
She then said she will be right back, they had them stored in a different place in the store. After about 10 minutes (insert more hyperventilating) she came back empty handed because, SHE COULDNT FIND THEM.
Do. You. Mind?
In my life at that exact moment, is the equivalent to finding El Dorado and forgetting to write down the GPS coordinates. It is just too much.
I feel tears welling up as she goes to check with another employee to see if they had sold. This headboard has dictated the design of the entire bedroom. I HAVE to have one.
Then like manna from heaven she walks out with them.
I KNOW! Do you have goosebumps? I know I did!
Apparently they had been put on the truck to go who knows where (she really didnt know). The truck was literally getting ready to drive away when she went back to ask about them. That is what I call minute to win it, because 2 more minutes and they would have been out of my life forever.
Now they are nestled snug in my garage, waiting for makeover Monday. Can you guess what I am going to do to them?
Pssst! My girl Emily at Jones Design Company is interviewing bloggers and giving away their favorite item! I am up today and IN LOVE with the prize I chose! Go over and check it out! Oh and while you are there check out her fireplace, it is out of this world!
