Randolph Street Market

 

I think I comfortably speak for both of us when I say that the Randolph Street Market far surpassed our best expectations.  Though it was quite a trek (trains, planes and automobiles…no joke) and possibly one of the hotter days of the year, we spent hours perusing the incredibly diverse stalls and pressing our eager little noses against cases of vintage Chanel and crocodile Temporis watches.  We made a few fun purchases, avoided the luring temptation of crystal chandeliers and walked home happy.  We’re already looking forward to next month.

Painting my little heart out

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Inspired by:  Cocoa and Hearts and esty shop LuluAnddrew

 

Creativity a brewin’…

 

Lamp Makeover part ‘Deux’

Ikea lampshade. Small white coffee filters.  Hot glue gun. 

One big, ruffled lamp.

It’s Ladder time!

So something in me thought it would be a great idea to carry 7 foot pieces of lumber home on the windiest day of the year.  Seriously, those bitches were like sails.  Sorry mom.  It took years and cost thousands of lives, but eventually I dragged the wood up to my apartment and took out my handy pink hand-saw and got to work.

By the way, this hand-saw is the reason I started the “not pink” list – this is a running tally of things that, in the future, I’ll know not to buy JUST because they’re pink (the idea being that perhaps I should consider qualities of importance rather than their cute  color).  Also on the list: running shoes, dish soap, pens, antacids and bed sheets that pill after a day.  ONE DAY.

Anyway, hours later I had chopped, sanded and painted my way to a partial ladder, only to stand it up and realize that it was completely crooked.  I made the ladder-rookie mistake of measuring the placements for the rungs from the top of the posts instead of the bottom.  Sigh.  Take two led me to a relatively level result and I’ll take it.  Yes, a stiff wind could blow these puppies over, but they lasted through the night and I’m calling it a success!  This weekend Laura and I are scouting the brown elephant for the perfect last touches…wish us luck  

 

PINSPIRATION:

Lamp Makeover

So sometimes I decide to redo things that don’t really need to be redone.  Like this lamp:

There’s nothing really wrong with it, in fact it’s perfectly nice.  This lamp and I have stuck it out through 3 separate Chicago apartments, and consequently 3 separately Chicago moving experiences.  It’s seen 3 US states, 2 colleges, countless…um, a very small and selective handful of boyfriends and untold rerun episodes of 90210….buuuuuuut it never felt like mine. 

So this past weekend, a dreary and VERY windy weekend in fact, I decided to give it a spruce.  Using my new hot glue gun, paint, wooden sticks and mint green paint, I fashioned a sweet and romantic lamp shade that’s entirely likely to burst into flame at any moment. Seriously it’s made out of wood, acrylic paint, toxic glue and it’s literally tethered to the base with wire.  It’s been fun ya’ll

 

Pinning lately

 

Alright, I’ll admit it.  I haven’t cooked anything delicious, I haven’t made over any furniture, I haven’t painted anything pretty, I haven’t done anything fun and different…but I have caught up on New Girl and pinned like an absolute professional.

 

Spearmint Rehab

After graduating from college, I gladly took any furniture my parents were kind enough to donate to the poor-undergrad fund.  While I still have and love the majority of it, some of it could use a bit of a work to be considered my style.  This weekend I took a small and simple wine rack and gave it a spearmint twist.  The end result is a bit jazzier than the original – just the way I like it!

 

For a fun and antique-y look, I’ve jotted down a few brief steps below – of course, you should make it your own!

1.  Clean and lightly sand the object, concentrating on the edges.

2.  Lighten the object with a neutral base.

3.  Apply the overall color.  I mixed white with a bright teal and a bit of periwinkle for a very light spearmint tint.  I applied streaks of gray, gold and copper with a paper towel to blend it with the spearmint paint while still wet.  I wanted the rack to look like it had a bit of depth and distress to it.

4.  I glued copper pieces I found at the hardware store to the top edges for an industrial flair – it also helped to bring out some of the bronze highlights from the paint!