DIY Painted Birch Slice Coasters

I have a spray painting confession that you might not expect from an avid DIYer: I have the tendency to rush my spray painting jobs.  Too often, I'm so antsy to be done and see the finished project (yay!), that I don't wait long enough between coats or I apply some coats too thickly. 

It's a problem!  A rookie problem (I'm so ashamed). 

BUT - I have solution that's worked well for me the last couple of years:  having smaller spray painting projects on the go at the same time!  See, I just need to keep my hands busy.  So while I was recently spray painting a fire pit Hubby welded (it's so gorgeous), I distracted myself by applying the topcoat to an Ikea hack we stained grey (details soon!) and whipping up these "dipped" birch slice coasters as well.  With three projects on the go at once, I was occupied enough to allow my projects time to dry in between coats.   

And, as an added bonus, we now have this adorable set of DIY birch slice coasters!  Aren't they the sweetest?

In our allotment of firewood this year, most of our logs were split but we did have a few whole birch logs that I squirreled away for crafts.  You could easily buy all of the supplies for these birch coasters online, though.

Supplies for Making DIY Birch Slice Coasters:

• Birch log/branch and chop saw - or purchase ready-to-go birch slices
• 220 grit sandpaper
• Painter's tape
• Spray paint (this is a great project for using up leftovers!)
• Watco Spray Lacquer (Clear)

How to Make Painted Birch Slice Coasters:

Using the chop saw, Hubs and I quickly chopped one of the birch logs into even slices.  I peeled off the loosest layers of birch bark and then gave each slice a light sand with 220 grit sandpaper, just to smooth out any roughness:

Easy, peasy.

When my friend Ashley and I made her wood burned birch slice ornaments, we left all of the birch bark on, which you can do, but for coasters I just didn't want too many loose bits. 

Then I taped off half of each birch slice coaster with a good painter's tape.  I really had to press down on the tape with my fingernail to get it to adhere to the uneven wood surface.  I propped each coaster up with a rock and gave each a blast of a different spray paint, including Rust-Oleum Ocean Mist (left over from the candle holders I painted for my bottle brush tree mantlescape), Rust-Oleum Harbor Blue (which ended up not working for my painted terracotta planters), and dribs and drabs of different silvers, gold, and copper (the latter is actually Rust-Oleum High Heat Enamel Paint in Copper...hint, hint).

To seal them - probably the only step that really needs explaining - I lightly coated each handmade birch coaster with three thin coats of my newest favorite product, Watco Spray Lacquer, which is such a great alternative to laboriously brushing on a clear coat.  I'm loving how easy it is to use!

Since trying those wood burned wood slice ornaments, I'm really on the birch slice craft bandwagon.  The materials are cheap and I'm two for two finding super easy projects to make with birch wood.

Best of all, while I was fiddling with these DIY wood coasters, I was occupied enough to properly let our fire pit project dry.  I just need to do a little finessing (i.e. rake the goose poop) and I can share that project soon!

I love that guests can choose their own unique coaster colour!

I call dibs on the mint.



Although...I do love the contrast of the glittering metallic spray paints and the rustic birch slice:

I just have to chat about the napkin for a second.  It's such a gorgeous colour, isn't it?  I scooped a set of four from Value Village.  There was a bright orange set with a looser weave (bought that too) and a pretty speckled yellow set with the original 1960s tags (Mom scooped that).  They were all crisp, brand new, with such a strong mid-century modern vibe.  This colour pairs so beautifully with turquoise and the gorgeous texture of the linen totally makes me happy - I love a good linen!  I don't even mind ironing them, it's soothing to set the ironing board up facing the lake on a rainy day and iron linens.

Anyway, these days I find so few gems at the thrifts, I just wanted to share!

DIY Aquamarine Tassel Necklace

In May I felt the urge to make some jewellery but because I'm trying my best to budget, I vowed to steer clear of the craft stores and use supplies I already have.  Luckily I found some gems in my stash (haha): pretty aquamarine chips, to be specific, plus some filigree bead caps from a pair of vintage chandelier earrings.  I lit a fire on a chilly afternoon, turned the music up loud enough to drown out honking geese, and plonked down at the dining table (facing the lake, naturally).  After an afternoon of blissful crafting, I felt so recharged!  Plus I have a sweet new necklace to wear with summer tops and dresses (or, if I'm being honest, the black t-shirt/grey cardi combo I lived in all spring).

This necklace was really simple to make!  If you're feeling crafty, I've listed all of the supplies I used below, but you can use any kind of beads or stones.

Supplies:

Aquamarine chips (but they don't need to be chips - these faceted ones are even prettier)
Gold eye pins
Flat filigree bead cap - needs places to affix the dangling chains for the tassel
A second, more spherical bead cap - should be smaller than the flatter bead cap
Pearl or other bead to fit inside the second bead cap (optional, you could skip the centre chain)
Needle nosed pliers
Wire cutters (or use the cutter on your pliers)

A note about the supplies: the number of beads and eye pins you require will depend on how long you'd like your necklace, and how big of a tassel you'd like.  For my project, I used approximately 200 eye pins and stone chips.  You will inevitably squash some eye pins and some stone chips won't have evenly drilled holes, so buy a little bit more than you think you'll need.

Steps:

Grab an eye pin, slide on a aquamarine stone bead, trim the wire, and form a loop (see this post of mine for a clear tutorial on loop-making).  Before you gently close the loop with your pliers, slip on the loop from the next eye pin.

Repeat a zillion times until you've formed a chain long enough to slip over your head (or you can stop and add a clasp for a shorter necklace at any point).

For the tassel, I used an eye pin, two bead caps, and a pearl.  It's easy: thread the pearl onto an eye pin, then add the smaller bead cap, and then the larger.  This will form the base for the tassel.  I was overzealous and already started to make my tassel before I snapped a photo, so here is the same idea with a glass bead instead:

Next, create a series of smaller chains, using the steps above.  Dangling from my pearl - the centre of the tassel - is a chain with five stones.  On the smaller bead cap are a series of chains with 6 stones each, hooked onto the edges of the cap.  For the largest bead cap, I have chains with 7 stones.  This way, the lengths of the chains are very similar.  But you can shake things up.  As I finished each mini strand, I simply hooked it onto the edge of the filigree bead cap and gently closed the loop - so it's key that your bead cap has a place to affix the beaded chains.

When it's completed, the tassel looks like this:

For the ends of the tassel chains you can use a straight pin so you don't end with a loop, but I didn't have any so I just used eye pins.  I seriously just ordered a pricey planter from Modernica, but didn't want to spring for straight pins.  I penny pinch in the weirdest ways.

My Mom was kind enough to snap a photo of me wearing my fancy new necklace...

But then all of a sudden she was wearing it.  I think I might be making a second one...

I'm really quite besotted with aquamarine  - no surprise, given my penchant for mint and aqua - and I'm so happy I finally found a use for these beads!  I've been hoarding them since 2009 (I'm hanging my head in shame).

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I Need Your Thoughts: Half Bath, Round II

I recently received a new bathroom faucet to review, courtesy of American Standard.  I was able to choose from a few styles and this was my favorite because it was the most modern.  The second Hubby and I installed it though, it was evident that it's too good for our half bath, and that realization has set into motion a very mini re-vamp of the mini makeover...

Although I was really keen to give the powder room a new look when we moved in, I didn't want to spend any money.  Maybe it's because it's one of the last temporary, budget-friendly makeovers we tackled, but by the time we got to it, I was just really done spending money on anything impermanent.  I've been anxious and sweaty about spending money on some impending, more permanent updates and I didn't want to divert funds, I guess.  In my penny-pinching efforts, the half bath was spruced up with leftover white wall paint, leftover grey cabinet paint, leftover tile paint, leftover everything, and then we hung up some art we already owned.  I didn't really put much thought into it beyond, "paint the oak," and "white walls, white walls, white walls".  The towel ring was another generous blog freebie (that I picked out).  I did spring for a new curtain rod, though, because I wanted both bedrooms and both bathrooms to have the same style (there's no curtain yet, though).  The result?  Perhaps unsurprisingly, although I'm much happier since the painting mayhem, it's still not a room that I loooovvve.   

Maybe because it's a smaller room, or maybe because it's beside the cheery laundry room and across from the even brighter kitchen, but I just don't love the grey cabinets in here - even though I really like the grey in the main bathroom.  Although I'm still in penny pinching mode (especially because we've started comparison shopping for the main bath reno - yikes!), I have decided to make one little change, even if it means opening up the old wallet:  I'm thinking about re-painting the cabinets.  It's a quick fix and I think a more dramatic or cheery colour will make me happier.  I don't want to paint/cover the counter because all of the solutions seem dusty and I actually don't mind the colour (strangely).  But I am open to painting the tile again (and am wondering if just painting it the same white as the walls, but in a semi-gloss, could be a simple solution?).   

I like the green abstract (by Hubby's grandpa) that is currently in the bathroom, but I'm not opposed to moving it elsewhere.  I also have a cool, sentimental ballerina print (in need of a more modern frame) and a collection of silhouettes, both without walls to call their own, so I can easily switch up the art, if need be.  

Here are my contenders for a cabinet makeover (along with my rambling thoughts, plus a photo for inspiration - aim high!  The photos are also handy if you'd like to skip my blah, blah, blah and just breeze on through):

The same dark, almost-black grey of the fireplace (but perhaps this is too dark for the small space, or maybe even just too much of a lateral move?):

A Beautiful Mess

Leftover aqua paint from the kitchen (free and coordinating - but even I can agree that perhaps, perhaps, it's too much of a good thing.  Just kidding, it's my favorite option, but it does clash with the green painting...)

I could also mix the cabinet colour with leftover white, for a mellower hue (this has the appealing combination of still being free, but helping me look just a little bit less insane):

House of Turquoise

 A deep teal, like our velvet chair and Emily Henderson's credenza has me taking a look at darker paint swatches (but Hubby thinks it's too dark):

Emily Henderson

A rich navy, something I have very, very little of in the lakehouse and which looks amazing in kitchens/baths with lots of white, not the bisque toilet and sink I'm saddled with (I think this option would generate more problems than it solves, but look how pretty!):

Emily Henderson

I'm also considering a basic white (but I worry that white would make the bisque sink and toilet look even more blah - yeah, I just don't love having to find something to work with the beige):

Apartment Therapy

I'm really liking the idea of a minty hue to complement the painting and make the mint counter look intentional.  Maybe a kind of a vintage Jadeite colour? (I like green and there's quite a bit in the townhouse, so it wouldn't be a jarring color departure):

One Kings Lane

Even a bright, apple green would work, or a muted leafy green (many shades can be pulled from the art):

Young House Love

 Or a pretty, more muted mint (then layer in some brighter colour in smaller doses):

A Lovely Lark

SF Girl by Bay

Here's the painting, as a refresher.  I always like pulling colours for a room from art, and there's lots of fabulous greens here that I could splash onto the cabinets...

 

Thoughts?  Here are the options again:  Darker grey? White? Teal? Navy? Turquoise (nudge, nudge)? Pale Turquoise? Apple Green? Mint Green? Grey Green?

Leave it as-is?  Other ideas?  Lay them on me!  Half baths seem to be my Waterloo - I'm always fiddling with them, never content.  Growing up we didn't have a powder room, so maybe this whole "guest half bathroom" concept is still foreign to me.  Or maybe it's the tiny scale?  Smaller rooms are trickier.

Thank you to American Standard for providing me the Speed Connect Times Square Monoblock faucet.  I was not otherwise compensated nor was I encouraged to provide any sort of positive review.  In fact, I'm quite peeved because this shiny new faucet was the ultimate catalyst for my dissatisfaction with the room ;)  It was a snap to install (minutes!) and we didn't have to use any caulk or putty, as promised (the Speed Connect faucets are said to be the easiest and fastest to install).  We haven't yet installed the drain - is it weird that I want to save it?  Although this isn't mentioned on the website, I have to say that an exceptionally awesome feature is the way this chrome finish cleans up.  Unlike my other chrome faucets, which required a designated chrome cleaner, the water spots buff right off of this faucet with only a soft dry cloth - you're not even supposed to use cleaners on it.  Hopefully this faucet will transition to our more permanent makeover down the road and be right at home.  For now, it's like pairing a sparkly tiara with yoga pants.  Really sad, kind of bagged out in the knee yoga pants.  So yeah, now I'm a little more willing to spend a tiny bit  - a very, very tiny bit - of money in here to make this powder room a little prettier - more like a good-ish pair of skinny jeans.

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Paint a Basement Door Mint and Create a Handy Message Centre

After we spruced up the basement landing/stairwell . . .

. . . the door to the basement remained sadly un-spruced.

It had been painted white and given new brushed silver hinges and door knob like all of our other interior doors, but it had been painted quickly and there were spots where the old grey-ish paint could be seen on the inside (that's my Mom above, Vanna White-ing it to show you where).  We had also started using it as a place to store vital information, like the garbage day schedule, but we had been using painter's tape to stick stuff up there.  I didn't have any white paint left, but I had my trusty free gallon of mint paint.  I decided a little colour would be fun, especially because it's just the inside of the door (the outside and edges stayed white).

I taped off the edges and the door knob, removed the papers and unscrewed the white bag holder.  Two coats of paint later, I had a fresh new minty door.  I grabbed a set of cork trivets from Ikea and affixed them to the door with construction adhesive, holding them in place while the adhesive dried with painter's tape.  And voila - much tidier!  Plus the mint looks sweet with the framed brooches in the stairwell.



We re-hung the holder for random plastic bags (on the rare occasion we get them from a store, I hang on to them and re-use them).  The cork trivets tidied up our important info.  We purposefully installed them in a vertical row, with one at kid-height, so if future owners have kids they can pin up their school stuff.  I would have liked to have painted these a fun colour, or done a whole grid (like this) but I was short on both time and money.  The natural cork looks cute against the brick when the door is open, anyway, and three tiles means we only have so much room to clutter up!

I'm really enjoying painting things mint . . .

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