Small project with a LARGE impact!

If you didn't notice my new awesome HUGE map.... well then you might be blind!

This monster is 48x77inches of pure beauty!

Well....not yet.

But, I have a cheap project for this map that is going to make it pop off the wall and look just like a frame that would cost over $150 before shipping costs!!!

So, here is my solution.
We want to use this map as a pinboard for future vacations and getaways, so to protect the wall and give something to push pins into, I'll put cork behind the map.

You can find cork rolls at your local craft store for really cheap! For this project, I'll need two rolls of cork and I can cut them down to 77".  Next step, attach the map to the cork. Using spray adhesive, I'll spray the side of the cork I want to attach the map to. Smooth out the paper starting on one side of the map to prevent wrinkles. (You'll probably get some sort of wrinkling, but that's ok!)

Next step. Frame. We've already seen how expensive huge frames can be, so my answer is definitely trim. Hardware stores sell trim & moulding for really cheap. Some sells for less than $1 per foot! For my project I'm going to need 271 inches of wood or about 23 feet.

I'm looking for something similar to this piece of casing. I want something simple, but I also want it to have a little bit of shape. I think this piece will look good as a frame too because of it's thicker outer edge. At 23 feet, my huge huge frame will cost ... hmm.. 23feet x $0.41 = $9.43!

Isn't that outrageous!??
The people at the home improvement stores will cut the pieces for you at 45 degree angles for the corners. Just remember when measuring, that what you're framing is the inner rectangle of the trim, so you'll need to calculate the outer rectangle's length. They might be about to help you at the home improvement store as well. 

The Tally Up!

• Cork rolls- $15 x 2 = $30 
• Frame- $10 
• Spray adhesive- already owned but you can get a can for about $8-$12 at your craft store.

Total- about $40 

So for about $40, I'll get a 48x77 frame for my beauty. Maybe I'll do this today and show you the results!

Money Money Money

It is so frustrating to worry about money sometimes all the time.

I am only 19 years old (almost 20 hehe) and I am already tired of worrying about having enough to pay rent and utilities and still have enough to live on and be creative with and save and blah blah blah money money! It is so heavy. I don't even pay for everything that I have. My parents still help with rent, and they pay my phone and car insurance and stuff. It's such a burden. I want to pay for it all. I don't want them to have to pay for me. I am almost 20 years old! I want all of my responsibilities to lie on me....





...but I can't handle them yet.

My job, well I make really good money. I make more than some people who work full time and that in itself is a burden. I don't want anyone to worry about money! I know that I live a very fortunate life and I do spend money unnecessarily on just silly things like going out with Alan and now I've decided to redo my apartment, but I have to do these things to stay sane. I have been fortunate enough my whole life to be able to do unneccessary things and it is hard to stop. I am sure that I could be perfectly financially stable if I just did the minimum. It is a burden to love unneccessary things.

But I almost feel like these things are necessary, or at least I can justify them. Alan and I go out and spend money to keep our relationship new and fun and alive. And then I feel like as an aspiring designer, my home is my calling card and I would NEVER have shown my apartment one week ago as a calling card and I wouldn't now. Not yet. I don't know if these are excuses.

I want to do 10,000 things at once and be able to do them well. My skin breaks out in little rashes from the stress I put on myself. It is ridiculous. I am ridiculous to let it all affect me, but it does.

The whole point of my little rant is to say that sometimes you have to take what is given to you and make it the best it can be. I can only do so much with what I have, what I am given, and what I am left with after I take. This is why I don't feel silly getting free stuff off of Craigslist or cheap stuff at thrift stores. I can take something and make it mine and give it life again. I can take the plain, old, beat up desk and with a little money, time and effort, I can make it into something that people would pay for. Because of the way I live, I can't buy this stuff off of the shelf, and I wouldn't want to because I know how much it would cost me! But it's not only that, it's the satisfaction I get from making something with my own hands and my own time, and it is beyond the simplicity of paying (alot) more to get the same product.

Be innovative and be willing to try something different. Be conscious of how you spend your money and try to find ways to get the same outcome. Want a perfect example?? Here

Progress...??

Well, the future yellow desk is coming along... slowly but surely and the rest of my living room is adding some character little by little.

As you can see, the color palate is changing and evolving. I'm thinking, not so much green and more blue! (I need a good camera, my phone is just not doing the trick.)

I got the huge 48x77in. map at Amazon.com for $35+shipping and the cute little coffee table on Craigslist for $15!!! (What a steal!) I think the room has already gained character from what it was not too long ago, BORING.

I've GOT to get that lamp out of here!!!

So, with my work schedule, and lack of knowledge for how long it would actually take to sand, prime, paint, fill the original drawer pull holes, paint a second coat, then seal the desk and table. WHEW!

But, with the help of my lovely father, the desk has its first coat of yellow, and the red table I showed before has its first coat of red. I go back home to the parents house Wednesday to finish the project and bring my new lovelies home!

For the desk, I chose these pretties from Myknobs.com. They were $2.99 each as opposed to HomeDepot's $3.39 each. So after shipping, the 13 knobs/pulls cost $44.88.

I really like how the vintage desk will be mixed with the modern yellow and these lovely pendant pulls. My mom tells me these are older style, to me they look more contemporary, so I don't really know how to categorize them, but I think they're going to look beautiful with the desk! I've chosen to lay them out like the picture below. I drew a few different drafts and landed on this layout. I was torn between 1 or 2 pulls on the center drawer, so I drew it with 2 but made a piece to tape over it with 1 pull, this way I could see both and not have to keep drawing more. After showing my friends and family, I decided on one center drawer pull.

What's even cooler about this desk?? Shoved in the back of the drawers were all sorts of receipts and birthday cards and keepsakes. But I found two even more interesting things.
1. S&H stamps, as my post-woman mother called them. Apparently you would save these up and go trade them in for things at the store. Cool? Yes!
2. A letter sent air-mail in 1959!!!! Although the content of the letter was sad and talked about the couples separation, it was really cool to get a little insight into this lovely desks life. I love my little antique Drexel desk!

The sad, but awesome to have, letter.

S&H Green Stamps. Did you know these were first offered in 1896?? I wonder how old mine could be....

I love having a piece of history in my hands! Bringing the past back to life again is something I hope to always achieve with my designs.

Well, off to bed for now. I hope to soon have pictures of my finished products and explanations for how to DIY! Doing things yourself can save a lot of money, and being a working college student in my own apartment in Atlanta, saving money is something I won't sacrifice!

But before I go, here is a price break-down for how I am DIY'ing the desk and the pub table.

• desk- free
• pub table- free
• pulls for desk- $44.88
• quart of Kilz oil based primer- $7.00
• Glidden latex paint in semi-gloss (yellow&red)- $20 ($10 per quart)
• quart of Minwax Waterbased Polycrylic Protective Finish in satin clear- $17
• rollers/brushes etc.- $10 (I had a few rollers already) 

      Total- about $100
                     ^^This my friends is why I don't mind getting used items and putting in some time to make them mine. Similar tables retail at $300 while a I couldn't find a 1950's Drexel desk selling for under $400, and these aren't even the colors or finishes that I would want.

Moral of the story: don't be too good for good deals and hard work.

Refinishing!

Ahh! I am so excited about my recent craigslist.com steal! A man in Austell, GA was getting rid of his Grandmothers furniture since she recently passed, God bless her soul. He is completely overwhelmed and has NO idea of the value of some of the pieces she had. I wish him the best of luck and thanks!

My lovely freebie from him was an awesome antique desk. It needs some love, but it is SOLID wood and with a little tlc this piece will be awesome! It even has a file drawer which is an awesome plus for me!

So, without further ado, here is my beauty in the making!

Isn't she a beaut!?

Add some sanding, yellow paint!, a protective finish, and new hardware (or maybe the same hardware, I haven't decided yet) and this is going to be a GREAT piece!

Yes, I've decided yellow. I've been dying to have a yellow piece of furniture since seeing this next piece one of my favorite blogs 4men1lady, and it will be a pop of yellow for my new living room plan!

It is definitely time to embrace my yellow love and go for it!

Oh and while I am at it, I'm going to refinish a few other projects I've been stacking up!

This lovely's previous owner had cats that just clawed the legs to death!

You can't really see it, but the legs need some serious sanding down. The owner also tried to stain the wood, and I do apologize for being blunt but, they kind of failed. It is super streaky and the wood isn't sealed.

Well I've got my work cut out for me! Thursday is the day! I can't wait for the outcomes!