2011 August

Installing a Branch Towel Bar

The other day I showed you how to prep and sand a branch to make a towel bar. If you haven’t viewed that tutorial, you may wish to do so now.

Okay, so let’s get started. This shouldn’t take too long, but you’ll want to grab a few supplies before you begin.

Materials:

Prepped tree branch
Tape measure
Pencil
Level
2 Handrail brackets
Drill with drill bits
Philips head screwdriver
Safety Glasses
Miter saw or hand saw
Water-based Polyurethane
Brush
180 grit or finer sandpaper
Damp Rag

Tutorial:

Start by marking the desired height of your towel bar. I hung mine at 38″ high.

Use the drill and the philips head bit to insert one screw into the bottom of your handrail bracket. Drive the other two screws into the bracket.

Repeat the steps above to install your second bracket.

Rest your branch on top of the brackets. Mark the desired length of your towel bar onto the branch.

Cut the branch with a miter saw or hand saw.

Sand down any rough edges at your cuts. Lay the branch on top of the brackets.

Center the branch and check to make sure it is relatively level. If it isn’t, you might need to move one of your brackets.

Hold the “U” shaped hook under the handrail bracket and make a mark where the holes are on the branch.

Choose a drill bit slightly smaller than your screw.

Drill pilot holes into your branch for the first bracket only.

Rest the branch onto the bracket and drive the screws loosely through the “U” shaped hook and into the bottom of the branch.

Line up the other end of the branch onto the handrail bracket and trace the holes through the “U” shaped hook.

Remove the screws holding the first hook and drill pilot holes where you marked for the 2nd “U” shaped hook.

Lay the branch back on top of the handrail brackets. Attach the screws through both “U”shaped hooks and into the branch’s pilot holes.

Wipe off the branch with a damp rag. Brush a water-based polyurethane over the entire branch and allow it to dry (about 30 minutes.)

Gently sand any burrs or imperfections off the branch and wipe the branch with the damp rag.

Add another coat of polyurethane.

Repeat sanding and adding a coat of polyurethane until your branch has 5 coats of poly. Do not sand the last coat.

Let the branch dry completely for a day and then add towels to your unique branch towel bar!

I purposely left some extra overhanging branch on the ends for extra towels.

I don’t know about you, but I love it! I think the branch is unique and adds some warmth to the bathroom. How about you? Do you like it? Or is a branch in your bathroom just wack-a-doodle!

Linking to: Funky Junk Interiors Branch Party.

19 Comments
Filed Under: bathroom, towel bar, Upcycling

Sanding Tutorial and Prepping a Branch Towel Bar

29 Aug posted by Brittany Bailey

We’ve moved several times and each time I’ve packed one special tree branch with us. I have had this branch so long that I can’t remember where I found it. I do know that I picked it up on one of our camping trips. Whether it was Yellowstone, Acadia, Nova Scotia or somewhere else I’ll never know. What I do know is that I kept it because I thought I could do something really special with it someday. Well, that day has arrived. I decided to turn the branch into a towel bar for my sons’ bathroom.

Materials:

Tree branch stripped of bark and branches
Coping saw or other hand saw
Sandpaper (80, 120, & 180 grits)
Pencil
Scissors
Power sander
Gloves
Dust mask
Safety glasses

Tutorial:

Start by sawing off any nubs, knots and sticks using a coping saw.

Pull out the sandpaper and power sander. 3M just sent me these color coded sandpaper sheets. I think the idea of color coding them is brilliant! It really helps you grab the right grit quickly. I give them two gloved thumbs up.

Stack your sandpaper sheets. Lay the sander along one edge of the papers and trace a line along the edge of the sander with a pencil. Be sure to leave excess on both ends to attach under the clips of your sander.

Cut the papers along the pencil line.

Load all three pieces of sandpaper into the sander (if possible). The coarsest grit (80 grit) should be on the outside, followed by the 120 grit and finally the 180 grit sandpaper.

Now you are ready to start sanding!

Here is a video tutorial on sanding the branch down. I’ve upped my level of professionalism, so I hope you enjoy my efforts.

Coming up next. Installing and finishing the branch towel bar.

Just a teeny little reminder: Don’t forget to enter the giveaway to win a brand name sofa slipcover (think of the initials PB & J, minus the J) from UglySofa.com. Three winners will be chosen at the end of the day, Wednesday, August 31st. I just love that I get to choose three winners instead of just one. Good luck y’all!

20 Comments
Filed Under: power tools, sander, towel bar

End of Summer Slideshow from Ocean Isle Beach

26 Aug posted by Brittany Bailey

There is a little sliver of an island located just off the coast of North Carolina. It is only accessible by one bridge, and is a mere 3.4 square miles in size. I adoringly think of this island as our little slice of heaven.

Every year as the beginning of school looms, we make an annual trip to Ocean Isle Beach to close out the summer. If you are the party animal type, and want to compete with the shenanigans of Snooki and the Situation, this is NOT the beach for you. Ocean Isle has a strict no house parties policy. And is a sleepy family-friendly beach.

Ocean Isle Beach has the unique geographic situation of facing south.

Because of this early risers are treated to stunning sunrises.

While the lazy sleepers can catch the colorful sunsets.

Facing south also has an effect on the waves. They are usually much calmer as they meander onto shore from the south, instead of directly from the east. But, the surfers don’t seem to mind.

Another thing I like about Ocean Isle Beach is that you can bring your dog along. Dogs are allowed before 9am and after 6pm during peak season.

I don’t know if Buddy has ever seen the ocean. He was very inquisitive and chased a crab until it disappeared into the waves. Buddy didn’t want ANYTHING to do with the water!

I think he’s a land lubber!

One week at Ocean Isle is enough to wash your cares away. I hope you enjoy the rest of this pictorial tour of Ocean Isle Beach, NC.

If you are in the area, be sure to stop by Ocean Isle Inn and ask for Tracy. He’s a great guy with some cool history nuggets about Ocean Isle. Tell him I sent you ;0).

The evening that we walked to the pier was truly beautiful. The clouds were pink and purple and blue After the sun set, as I sat by the water a mother and her children walked by. I couldn’t resist snapping a picture of their silhouettes against the golden waves. I love this picture!

But, I love this picture even more because all the wonderful things in my life are here. All four of my boys!

That’s it. I gotta run now. I hope everyone in Hurricane Irene’s path stays safe tonight and tomorrow.

20 Comments
Filed Under: Beach, Destinations, Ocean Isle Beach, Photography

How to Slipcover a Couch Beautifully and UglySofa.com Giveaway

24 Aug posted by Brittany Bailey

We definitely have paranormal activity in our home. Things move without explanation. Pillows that were strategically placed by me to look magazine pretty inevitably end up on the floor after I leave the room. Kid sized chairs levitate on their own and land on top of the couch.

And don’t even mention this pillow that has systematically lost all its buttons one-at-a-time!

When questioned, both boys emphatically shout “It wasn’t me!” Hmmph.

Well, if this continues I might have to call in an exorcist, because it is getting VERY annoying.

But, I know you don’t want to hear about my boring ghost stories. Instead I thought I’d share with you a great source for brand name (to remain un-named) slipcovers at a fraction of the cost! May I introduce to you UglySofa.com.

And let me tell you, the name is a misnomer, because this family-owned company is actually on a mission to give you a beautiful sofa! When UglySofa.com emailed me and said they wanted to send me a “brand name” slipcover to try out, I was skeptical. I mean – come on – how can you sell slipcovers from the famous PB&J (minus the J) at a fraction of the cost? I really doubted their authenticity. But, low and behold, a few days later my boxpleat slipcover arrived and when I opened it up, it truly was the brand they said it was and the quality was just as good as the slipcover I bought years ago from the store “that shall not be named.”

I immediately ran over to pull back the worn red slipcover I’ve been using for as long as my oldest has been alive. WARNING: What you are about to see is a flashback to the 90′s. I admit, I did recover this sofa way back in my college years when hunter green was popular color. (I’m sad just wondering when blue-gray will be the “dated color”.) But, if you saw the granny fabric that lay beneath you’d be even more horrified.

Now don’t even ask me why we still have a sofa that is well over 20 years old. Someday we’ll get around to replacing it…until then I have my new slipcovered sofa! Isn’t she pretty?!

Have you ever purchased a slipcover because it looked beautiful in the catalog only to get it in the mail and you can’t for the life of you figure out how they got the slipcover to look so good?

That used to happen to me too, until I worked as a photo stylist for Plow & Hearth (one of my responsibilities as a graphic designer for their catalog). I learned how to install slipcovers so they look beautiful.

Here are a few easy tricks for installing a slipcover so it look less like a rumpled ~~college frat house~~ slipcover. Please excuse my “butt shots”. I’m still new to this little thing called vlogging!

Start out by getting the ginormous cover on.

Find the “Back” tag on your slipcover. (And don’t look at the famous PB & J (minus the J) tag. Ha, I made you look .

Throw the “back” of the slipcover over the back of your sofa.

Locate the center of your slipcover and center it between the two arm rests.

Then line up the front skirt of your slipcover. I like to let the skirt puddle on the floor a little instead of kissing it.

Smooth out the fabric with your hands, and neatly tuck and fold under any excess fabric.

This is especially crucial on the arm rest, you want to disguise any excess fabric so the slipcover looks like it was custom made for your sofa.

Wrap the side panels around the side.

Locate the D- rings on the back of the slipcover.

Feed the straps from the side panels through the D-rings in the back of the slipcover, and loop back between the two rings.

Pull the straps until the slipcover is tight. Be sure to leave enough slack to be able to tighten the other side.

Tuck any excess fabric into the folds behind the side panels and the d-rings.

Once you have the slipcover positioned, folded and tucked the way you like, then insert several cardboard ~~light-sabers~~ shipping tubes into the crevices between your cushions.

These will secure and hold your slipcover in place.

And now, another little video on eliminating the wrinkles in your slipcover. I just used my hands and a squirt bottle filled with water. Be prepared as I almost cross the line. I admit it, sometimes I have the mind of a 7th grade boy.

I hope those videos were helpful for you! Do you like my new UglySofa.com slipcover?

Do you want one? If you answered “Heck, yeah!” Then you are in luck because UglySofa.com is giving 3 of my readers a slipcover of their own. I don’t want to sway your choice, but can I just mention that the boxpleat slipcover has a nice relaxed weave, very similar to a grain cloth.

And the sides drape nicely over my sofa’s arm. The color I chose was ivory linen.

You have two chances to win one! Here’s how:

Step 1: Head over to UglySofa.com, then leave me a comment letting me know which slipcover you want to win.

Step 2: Follow me via Google Friend Connect, Feedburner, Twitter, Pinterest or Facebook . I’m not picky, you could even follow me at Home Depot and I’d probably let you enter!

A winner will be chosen at random on Wednesday, August 31st. Best of luck!

155 Comments
Filed Under: Before and After, decor, Giveaway, no-iron wrinkle remover

How to Build a Built-in Decorative Shelf

22 Aug posted by Brittany Bailey

Thank you for all the kind comments about my boys’ bathroom. One of my favorite changes in the room was the addition of the built-in decorative shelf. It was fairly easy to build and install. I used a router to give the shelf a decorative edge, but it isn’t necessary if you don’t have a router (or are afraid to use one.)

Materials:

1x 8″ Pine board (cut to length for your shelf)
2 Wooden shelf brackets (with included mounting screw)
Sandpaper
Construction adhesive
Finish nails or nailgun
Hammer
Primer
Paint
Brush
Router and bit (optional)

Instructions:

Cut your shelf board down to size. If you want to add some pizzazz, use a router to give your shelf a decorative edge.

Sand any rough edges down with sandpaper.

Set the shelf aside and get the shelf brackets. Line up the top of the shelf bracket with the top of the board and batten moulding.

Insert the mounting screw into your shelf bracket and press it into the board and batten where you wish to install the shelf.

Remove the screw and drive it into the board and batten where you left the mark. Slip the bracket over the screw. Adjust the depth of the screw until the bracket fits snug against the board and batten.

Squeeze some construction glue onto the back of the bracket and then slip it back onto the screw. Insert two finish nails through the bracket and into the board to further secure the bracket.

Repeat the installation steps for the other bracket. Lay the shelf on top to check the fit. Little gaps are okay because you can always caulk them later.

Remove the shelf. Squeeze a bead of construction glue on top of the board and then reposition the shelf on top of the board and shelf brackets.

Nail finish nails through the top of the shelf and into the board and the top of the shelf brackets.

Your shelf is now attached.

If you want, you can add decorative moulding underneath your shelf at the top of the board. I cut the edge of the decorative moulding at a 30 degree angle.

The moulding was cut at a straight 90 degree angle between the two brackets.

Caulk, prime and paint your shelf. Then wait about 3 days before resting anything on the shelf to avoid it sticking to the newly painted shelf.

But, then you need to put some pretties on that shelf and admire your handywork!

And now the moment that you have all been waiting for! We have a winner of the MirrorMate giveaway! I really wish I had more than one. But, don’t forget you can still get a 10% discount. Simply use: PHGBlog at checkout. Hurry because it expires on Sept. 27th 2011.

Let’s give a big “Congratulations!” to Diana C. who was chosen at random to win the MirrorMate frame credit!

Diana said: “What a great and easy way to update a bathroom mirror! I liked MirrorMate on FB … and my favorite frame is the simple, yet elegant look of the Chelsea Espresso frame!” Nice choice Diana, I hope you send me before and after pictures of your mirror.