Trash To Treasure: Upcycled Light To Vase

Sometimes the most unlikely objects can turn from trash to treasure.

As weve been changing the light fixtures throughout our home over the last 3 years (Im pretty sure every. single. one. has now been updated), most went straight to the curb. A few weekends ago when the last old, brassy light came down in the upstairs hallway, it was half way to the trash, until I had a thought

Could I upcycle it into something else? But what?? A cloak? Another light? A vase? Should I spray paint it or leave it brass? Lots of thoughts were brewing.

Of course, I forgot to take a pick of the light in its old home, but heres what it looked like right after taken down from the ceiling.

Dust and all

After giving it a good scrubbing, I decided to leave the brassy finish (I liked the warm hue) and use it as an accessory to hold a vase. A vase within a vase. Yes! Perfect!

I removed the base (which I was going to you as a candle stick, but it all fell apart), as well as the wires.

And then within minutes it went from ugly to this treasure

O, you know how I love to spend $0 and shop my home!

Via: Trash To Treasure: Upcycled Light To Vase

A Quick and Easy Fix For Unaligned Bookshelves (and Furniture)

I hope youre having a wonderful week! The BIG Room Makeover Giveaway has been huge. I hope youve had the chance to enter. Can you imagine winning over $1500 in prizes to redecorate an enter room? how exciting!

So this post is not a specific DIY-follow-along-with-every-step kinda post, but instead its more of I-hope-I-can-inspire-you-to-think-outside-the-box type. Basically, youre not going to have the same shelving or the same scenario as I, but hopefully with my show-and-tell youll be pushed (in a nice way of course) to fix something thats been buggin you or somehow have an ah-ha moment.

Confused? nevermind Im in a silly mood, so lets just begin.

So the famous (well in my nutty mind since theyve been pinned over 135,000 times) painted laminate bookcases got moved once twenty-thirteen hit. Theyre in the same room (which I will be sharing soon), but instead of being separate as they once were, now they are together side-by-side. And boy, do I love the look!

In my mind, I envisioned a built-in look once the bookcases were next to each other. BUT, with any house and any piece of furniture, 99.9999% of the time there is some unevenness (ie: worn wood flooring, warped furniture, etc). The result for me when the bookcases came together was that the bottom mouldings aligned perfectly (well almost), but the tops were really off.

See what I mean

Heres the fix.

Using my handy-dandy drill (love this tool)

and (1) flat head 2 long screw with nut,

I drilled through the side of the ONE BOOKSHELF (not both).

I positioned the hole about 1 away from the decorative front so you cant see it.

Once I drilled through the side of the first bookcase, then I pulled the other one in position so the top moulding was perfectly aligned next to it.

THEN I drilled through the second bookcase side. Once that was complete, which only took seconds to do, I put the screw through one side and tightened the nut on the other side.

Super Simple!

Literally, this took me from start to finish, 5 minutes max.

Once it was done, I had a few changes to make.

I have to be honest with you though, since I styled my bookshelves last year, not much has changed. They still make me smile. The change I made was I added two pictures to the face frame where the two bookshelves meet.

I added a nail and hung them up

Im so happy that the look of a library, with two cheap-o bookcases, has been created. And this quick and easy fix of aligning the mouldings has helped tremendously.

Via: A Quick and Easy Fix For Unaligned Bookshelves (and Furniture)

Love Downton, but Where are the Gardens?

Guest Rant by Layanee DeMerchant

I confess; Im caught up in the romance and intrigue of the PBS series, Downton Abbey. Im enjoying the fashion, the opulence and the stunning backdrop of a castle, on top of the great acting and the fascinating changes going on in British society at that time, so unfamiliar to us Americans. But something is missing from the series, especially for those of us who have devoted our lives to gardening in one form or another.

Most of us recognize the iconic image above. The castle, framed by cedars of Lebanon, is sitting as if it just landed in an open field. Where are the gardens? Where is the classic English perennial border? The cutting garden? The vegetable garden?

Downton Abbey is actually Highclere Castle. Many of the scenes are filmed on the grounds and in the rooms. The building stands as it did when first built in 1842. Its surrounded by 1,000 acres of parkland. The grounds of Highclere include those gravel walkways and drives seen in the series. There are those towering cedars of Lebanon planted 250 years ago. Weve seen Lord Grantham strolling with his Cora along the walks. Weve seen him strolling with his yellow lab. We watched as Coras mother, Martha, played by Shirley MacLaine, arrived in the mist in her fancy car. The austerity of the grounds is theatrical but what of the actual gardens have we spied? They are there, they are just not shown.

Britain is a gardening nation and the grand estates had greenhouses and vegetable gardens, along with follies, parks and meadows. The lavish perennial borders were coming into vogue a la Gertrude Jekyll, albeit perhaps first for the wealthy, the aristocracy. In the early 1900s the estate gardens provided food and flowers for the table year round. Flower arranging was one of the arts which could be pursued by a lady and surely was a more interesting pastime than changing clothes yet again. At Highclere Castle there are three greenhouses, though no hint of them is shown. No vegetables are now grown on the property.

The filming of the series is said to take place from February through the spring, a period when the house is closed to the public. I have it on good authority that the gardens are actually off-limits to the cast and crew. I guess a homeowner has to draw the line somewhere. It would be hard for any film crew to turn a spring garden into a lush summer perennial border.

Historically, many of the great estate gardens went through a renaissance as the English landscape style of Lancelot Capability Brown took hold, changing the face of the English estate from the former style, which was architectural in nature think parterres and geometry. In the 19th Century formality was eschewed for the park-like atmosphere of open space. The flower and vegetable gardens of the aristocracy were mostly functional in nature they provided food and flowers for the table.

At least the series has shown us the fruits of the garden. Three weddings have been planned, along with numerous dinner parties replete with extravagant flower arrangements. Two of the weddings didnt take place, but no matter. The flowers were there and were magnificent. What of the number of gardeners needed to bring the flowers to bloom? Theyre hidden away, along with the gardens and the greenhouses.

Are there enough of us who love gardens to petition PBS for more exposure to them in this entertaining series? Parlor maids, ladies maids, footmen and the house servants in general may be on a higher status level than those whose tasks involve the garden, but the subject matter could be equally compelling. Perhaps PBS should consider a new series. What would you name it, The Parlor and The Potting Shed or Inside/Outside. After all, theres quite a bit of dirty subject matter in gardening and that always titillates the viewers.

Via: Love Downton, but Where are the Gardens?

Pretty Pincushion Projects

Sometimes its the little details that count, like having a pretty pincushion to hold all your pins in place. A pincushion can say something about your personality, can coordinate with or match your sewing space, and can make a wonderful little gift for a sewing friend. Here are some free pincushion projects to get you inspired to stitch up your own pretty pincushion.

Use Martha Stewarts classic Tomato Pincushion pattern and tutorial to make your own interpretation of this time-honored project; you can stick with traditional red, or mix it up with your favorite fabric.

If you want to try an updated pincushion, give Heather Baileys Square Deal a go. A great project for using up your little scraps of fabric, spare buttons and snippets of trim!

And for something completely different, try Trish Prestons totally adorable Ring Pincushion tutorial. These are so cute and clever you wont want to stop at just making one!

If we missedyour favorite pincushion project or tutorial, share it with us by leaving a comment on this post with a link!

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Whirpool Duet's SilentSteel dryer drum stops the banging

The dryer's tumbling sound reminds you that it's doing its job, but that reassurance can be annoying if it's too loud and the dryer is near a bedroom or family room. Consumer Reports tests of 100 electric dryers found that 53 were relatively noisy or worse, making them less than ideal for placement near living space. Whirlpool claims that its Whirlpool Duet WED96HEAW electric dryer, $1,300, runs quieter thanks to its SilentSteel dryer drum. Here's what our tests found.

The claims. Whirlpool's website says that this dryer offers quiet efficiency and goes on to shout about how little noise it makes by adding that the Whirlpool Duet's "unique sound-dampening material that surrounds the stainless steel dryer drum ensures metal buttons and zippers will make less noise as they tumble, so your dryer runs quieter and only as long as necessary." That's because the dryer has sensors that monitor the temperature and moisture levels in the dryer, shutting off the machine when laundry is dry.

The check. Our latest tests of electric dryers included the Whirlpool Duet WED96HEAW electric dryer with a SilentSteel dryer drum, $1,300, and a similar model, the Whirlpool Duet WED94HEAW, $1,100. Both are recommended models. They have large capacities and were superb at drying. But the Whirlpool with the SilentSteel dryer drum was quieter and scored excellent in our noise tests—only four of the 100 dryers tested earned that noise score. So how quiet is quiet? "Using our standard tests for determining noise, we found this dryer produced a low humming sound that while audible, was not intrusive," says Emilio Gonzalez, the engineer who runs Consumer Reports' tests of laundry appliances.

The other Whirlpool Duet scored very good in our noise tests, and Gonzalez says that dryer is very quiet, but you could more readily hear the tumbling without it being annoying, so this machine could also be installed near living spaces. If you want a gas dryer, the model numbers are Whirlpool Duet WGD96HEAW for the dryer with the SilentSteel drum, and Whirlpool Duet WGD94HEAW without.

As for Whirlpool's heavy metal claims—metal buttons and zippers make less racket as they tumble—we also dried a 12-pound load of laundry that included jeans with zippers and metal buttons mixed with other heavy items in both Whirlpool Duet dryers. We found that the dryer with the SilentSteel dryer drum did dampen the noise.

Bottom line. You heard it here. The Whirlpool Duet with the SilentSteel dryer drum is quieter than most dryers we've tested. For complete details on test results and features, see our Ratings of electric and gas dryers. Next up, the Whirlpool Duet's matching frontloading washer, the Whirlpool Duet WFW96HEAW, $1,300. It can be paired with either Whirlpool Duet dryer and is in our test lab now. We'll post the results as soon as our tests are complete.

Via: Whirpool Duet's SilentSteel dryer drum stops the banging