Sheet Music Display Cubby

I can't believe it's so close to Christmas! There hasn't been any decorating at La Maison Junky, but lots of projects are getting done :)

Since there is still lots of sheet music on hand, I figured I'd make another display/cubby/tray/shelf thingee as they turned out nicely in white and black. These little wood shelves are in every thrift shop -when you see the after, bet you won't pass them up next time!

For you photo skimmers - here's a little close-up luv :)

Sheet music looks fantastic as a backdrop for just about anything, and here's how this project started out:

Look past the country hearts people!

This got a nice coat of cream paint, distressed, glazed and waxed. I cut out a backing for it the same way I did for my other two trays. It's just that 'wood' panel that pegboard is made of, but is solid. The same 4x8 sheet has been very useful for a number of projects. It's light enough to use as a backing and easy to cut - I use a table saw, but it would probably cut with a box cutter or Dremel tool.

This next step is probably the hardest part of the whole project...and I'm sure I'm making it harder than it needs to be, but this is the way I think it looks best:

Take an individual page of sheet music and line it up within each divided cubby.

oops, that second from left might be a little off...

Then mod podge the individual squares down.

And hope that you lined it all up properly. I do it this way to get the most music displayed; it would be easier if I didn't care so much to show the prettiest design, but it just wouldn't look right to me.

I add handles on the ends to make it into a tray or just for decoration...this package somehow was missing two screws :( I hate that, but seriously who checks to make sure there are enough screws in the individual handle packages? (Me from now on, that's who...this has happened to me more than once!)

Screw and glue the backing onto the shelf, add some cork backing and then decorate!

Making sure the glue has good contact! Oh, and that Mythic paint can? It's a clue to a big project going down...

Some cork on the bottom to project surfaces.

It was an overcast day, so there was no way of getting a good shot inside. Back outside to take advantage of the light...

Look who showed up - Hootie!

And there it is - isn't it purty? Didn't I tell ya? You'll think twice before you snub that homemade-lookin', country-heart painted, bare-wood shelf next time you're cruising the thrift aisles! On second thought, leave them...more for me :)

Estate Sale Jackpot!

Some days it really pays to hit up an estate sale on it's last day...heck in the last few minutes. This one was literally packing up when I finally made it over there and nicely asked if I could pick through what was left. The estate sale person said there wasn't anything left, but go ahead.

This is what I found:

The sewing kit has vintage wooden spools, and the little brass urn will get a spray paint makeover as soon as the weather warms up.

Check out those feet!

So what's the jackpot you ask?

Again, in the basement was this little table with a chipboard tabletop. Nothing special right? And with a price of $20, there was no way it would have gotten bargained down to a price I wanted to pay...unless it was the end of the sale. I hauled it upstairs all by my lonesome, with the kit and urn (both unmarked) and boldly asked for a bundle price of...

...here's a pic of the whole bundle again...

...how about $5? For all of it!

Can you believe I got these legs for $5?? Yep, those are the only things of value here folks. Vintage steel 22" hairpin legs. Sturdy as heck, expensive to buy new, and awesome to boot. Yessiree, the table was passed over for three days by estate sale shoppers who couldn't see the potential past the cheap top.

That sticker reads 20.00! Um...no thanks at that price.

You can always tell somethings vintage cuz NO ONE uses slotted screws anymore! What a pain they are!

I'm going to make something special with these legs and you'll be among the first to see it! Like all my projects though, please don't hold your breath waiting for me to finish something quickly...I like to take my time and let a project speak to me sit around for awhile before going for it. So, all in good time and I hope it'll be worth the wait :)

You'll find me sharing this here:

I Party on Tuesday

I Party on the Weekend

Freezer Paper Transfer/Homemade Chalk Paint Tutorial

There are tutorials for all kinds of things out there, and whenever there's something awesome that someone has made, the project gets put on my to-do list. And my list is loooooonnnnggg, let me tell you!

Like the post title says, this is a tutorial of sorts for a freezer paper transfer and for homemade chalk paint...try these techniques at your own risk...read on and you'll see what I mean.

Here's Part One of a recent 'inspired' project:

This started out as a dark wooden wall box thingee. I sanded it down (along with some cheese plates - that's another post), ready for some paint.

I tried my hand at some homemade chalk paint - three shades of it: cream, lilac, and yellow. Since I'm lazy thrifty, and baking soda was already on hand, that's the recipe I made. About a handful tablespoon of baking soda to a small splash half cup of paint, plus a smidge of water...are you getting the picture that measuring ain't my thang??

One tip that seems to work well is to dissolve the baking soda in water before adding it to the paint - it makes the paint smoother, but still has the same sanding properties. Anyway, back to the box thingee...

Painting like crazy on one of the last warmish days in Michigan!

See that yellow thing on top of the paint can/on top of the box/on top of the table? Well, that's the painted box. Painted with some buttery yellow oops paint (thank you Home Depot! Oh, and this post isn't sponsored by HD - I just end up there every other day, but I digress, as usual). Which was made into homemade chalk paint. Which was painted over a lovely lilac homemade chalk paint. So the lilac would peek through after distressing. Except for one thing...

After sanding the lovely, buttery yellow...it turned into a horrible, putrid chartreuse color. It truly was awful and thanks to the magic of paint, it was quickly repainted back to lilac. Whew! 

With distressing, the yellow shows a little but isn't obnoxious. But the box needed something...

Part Two of this post:

One thing that I'm always on the look out for is a good transfer method. Overhead projectors, carbon paper,  homemade carbon paper, citra-solve - there are many methods out there and I've tried a few with ok results.

That's why I was excited when I read about a method using freezer paper and an inkjet - both of those things I already had! I used freezer paper for my curbside table stencil and it worked ok, but this was for a transfer of a detailed image.

Wreath image compliments of The Graphics Fairy. I added the text on Picnik.

I read the directions: adhere freezer paper waxy side out to a sheet of paper. Print out your image, place it where it's to be transferred, burnish with a spoon, and instant detailed image. Easy, right?

Well, late at night is not the time to be trying new projects.

• I forgot to mirror the image with the text; fail. 
• I didn't use spray adhesive to glue the freezer paper to the regular paper (the first time); fail.
• I thought I remembered the directions, but forgot about dampening the wood before placing the image on it; fail.
• I was able to wipe off the backwards text, properly adhere the freezer paper with spray adhesive, print out new text, dampen the wood...and smeared it completely; fail.

I thought about getting pictures of each of these failed steps, but honestly you get the picture. It didn't work, so pictures were not taken. The image was wiped off with a damp rag, and then painted over, and I'd try it again when in my right mind :)

Part Three:

After a few days of not thinking about this at all, it was time to try again. I almost gave up and stenciled the project, but I'm not a quitter  I wanted to show off my mad skills I really, really wanted to figure this out so I could do it again!

Image of properly adhered freezer paper, with a properly mirrored image:

You can see that this paper has been through the printer a few times because of my mistakes...it wipes off, but leaves a ghosted image. Seems to be fine though.

After properly dampening the box and after looking around for where I put down the image after letting it dry just a bit, I carefully lined up and centered guessed on placement for the image (maybe putting it on  a transparency would've been a better idea? Ya think??) and burnished it really well with the back of a spoon. For even longer than 10 seconds. Like for 12 seconds at least. 40 seconds probably would've been best.

Now it's very important to not move the image around or you'll get a smeary image. Trust me on this one (see above...way above...like in Part Two of this obnoxiously long post...).

Here is the transferred image:

With dampening, the image turned out much darker than my first try.

It smeared just a little in spots, but a dampened q-tip cleaned up those areas.

Best shot on a cloudy day - sorry it's tilted, but this is the only way I could get the whole box in the light.

My little 'La Poste' box will live on my kitchen table for now. That's where I do all my mail sorting/recycling, plus I'm not sure where else to put it ;)

And see that picture of my and my hubs? It's a pretty funny story about how that all happened...maybe I'll tell ya sometime.

Here are a couple of thoughts on the transfer method and homemade chalk paint:

• Mixing the baking soda with water before adding the paint makes the paint much smoother, but doesn't affect the chalky qualities of the paint. I did try it without dissolving the baking soda in water first, and the paint was very thick and lumpy. Makes for more sanding. Just sayin.
• Putting the image on a transparency would've been a good idea for placement - will try that next time...and no sticky mess with spray adhesive - bonus!
• Dampen where you need to transfer, but be careful not to get it too wet or the ink will just smear.
• Putting the transfer onto chalk paint doesn't leave a perfect transfer because chalk paint is a bit textured to begin with; transferring to a smooth surface would leave a better impression. If you're going for a distressed, old-ish look anyway, then transferring onto chalk paint is fine.
• Make sure you let the transferred image DRY before touching it!! 
• Make sure you don't seal it with anything water-soluable or it will smear!! Use an oil-based sealer and test it on another piece first just in case.

And there you have it! Learn from my mistakes if you try this - and remember that with these projects, there's nothing that can't be fixed with a little more paint ;)

Knick of Time Tuesday Party
Boogie Board Cottage Masterpiece Monday
The Idea Room
A Picture is Worth 1,000 Words 2nd Time Around
Blue Cricket Design's Show and Tell