Archive for the ‘Rip Off’ Category
Project #2 of that famed flea market run from so many weeks ago has finally come to fruition, folks! Let me tell you, travelling for business does not a happy idea thief make! PHEW! Read on to find out how I’ve created this Stylish Bulletin Board Alternative (with custom decoupage clothespins, I might add)!!
Today I’m ripping off an idea from one of my very favorite catalogs – Wisteria. You see, my office is on a lovely sun porch which makes me feel like I’m working in an aviary (I adore this fact) but leaves little room for getting rid of clutter. So when the space between my lamp and my phone started to look like this ….
… I decided it was high time to find a place for all of my “fun mail”. You know all of the baby announcements, wedding invitations, sweet cards and photos that I just can’t throw away … at least not yet. But I didn’t want a traditional bulletin board that would block the view and the light. When I came across this on Wisteria …
… I knew I had found just the right concept. But I’m not crazy about chickens and $39 seemed a little steep. That is when the hunt for the perfect frame began and by golly if I didn’t find a beaut!??!
All the gory details on what you need to get from flea market to fabulous are just below.
MATERIALS:
Flea Market Frame
Needle-Nose Pliers
Sandpaper
Caulk
Spray Paint (I chose an Heirloom White in Satin finish and Gold Leaf for the clothespins)
Yard Stick
Hammer
Tacks
Floral Wire (mine was wrapped in neutral raffia from the floral department at Michael’s)
Mini Clothespins
Decorative Paper
Mod Podge
Foam Brush
Spray Enamel
STEP 1: PREP YOUR FRAME
I started by giving my frame a nice bath with a damp cloth. Next it was on to removing staples, nails and tacks with my handy needle nose pliers and below a screwdriver to pry off the name plate. I even sanded down the back of my frame since it was going to be hung on a window but if yours is going on the wall then why worry with that?!? My frame was super old so we put a little bit of caulk in the corners just to smooth things out a bit.
STEP 2: COAT THAT BABY WITH PAINT
Not much to say here except follow the directions on the spray paint can! And even though I’m painting at night here, the second and third coats had to happen during the day to get a nice, even spray on all of those little nooks and crannies. I’d like to thank my good friend John Deere and my husband for collaborating to make me this fancy painting platform.
STEP 3: MEASURE FOR YOUR “CLOTHES LINES”
I ended up spacing mine 10″ apart but it’s worth noting that I think it looks best to have the top one about an inch and a half from the top of the frame (it looks like 2 inches here but see how that lip of the frame takes up 1/2 an inch – that will make a big difference in the look). Wouldn’t want to waste a whole bunch of space up there but wouldn’t want it crowded either. Mark where your tacks will go on the backside of the frame.
STEP 4: CUT, WRAP & NAIL THE LINE
(Just don’t Walk the Line … that’s never fun.)
This floral wire wrapped in a raffia-like material that I was using was heavy-duty stuff. I needed the needle nose pliers to manipulate it, no doubt. The idea is to create a little loop that you’ll wrap around the tack on one side and get that hammered in. Then, cut the line so it’s just slightly beyond your marked spot on the other side of the frame. You’ll use the wrapping action to wrap it just tight enough that the wire is taught. You can always give your pliers a little bit more of a turn if you need it a hair tighter. Pull, pull, pull and then nail in place. Here’s a shot of those tacks (available at your home improvement store) as well as what it looks like to wrap the wire around it.
Use your pliers to make a little loop that a tack can just barely fit through. If your raffia stuff starts to fray like this did, trim and secure with a piece of scotch tape. It’ll be on the back of your frame anyway.
Then slide that tack in there:
And nail that puppy in place (and I mean the tack, not actually the puppy! see my old boy snoozing in the background of the pic above – such a sweet guy he his):
You will notice that all of that care that I took to sand the back of the frame and paint it got just totally demolished by my hammer. Oh well. Our neighbors will forgive the ugly view. Oh and I suppose you could use twine and spare yourself all of this wrapping and pulling taught. But to me, it just seemed like the wire would provide a more sturdy foundation for the mail and keep things from tipping this way and that. I like to think my selection makes for a tidier presentation in the end but who really knows. If you’ve got the twine already, give it a whirl!
STEP 5: HANG ‘ER UP
Forgot to get a pic of this step but I happened to already have some hooks hanging in the metal frame of my sun porch for a Christmas stained glass window so I used some fishing wire to loop the frame to the hooks. If you are hanging your creation on a wall, you can easily add a picture hanger. Just choose the kind with the little jagged teeth that doesn’t use a wire.
STEP 6: SECURE YOUR GOODIES TO THE CLOTHESLINES
Clothespins are easy enough to find but with all of that fancy carving, a plain one just seemed BOR-ING. I thought of just giving them a coat of paint and calling it a day. But then I remembered seeing these cute clothespins on Etsy:
You can buy those at The Papered Crown on Etsy if you like. They are only like $8.
When I remembered those, I realized I could do anything I wanted to complement my new frame remake. So I purchased some mini clothespins, sprayed them down with a little gold spray paint (mostly just on the sides so there would be a little shine) and then decoupaged them with this cute, muted, floral craft paper that I found at Michael’s. Here they are on the tray drying after their decoupage treatment.
Kind of cute, huh??!?! And I had never decoupaged before but let me tell you it is really easy and really, really fun. I just used these instructions. I pretty much feel like a 1960’s housewife but I might be hooked on the decoupage now. Eeeks! We’ll see if it becomes a new blog category. HA!
So let’s have a few final shots of my Wisteria rip off before we close down this post. Hooray for cute, custom, DIY organization!
posted by Julia on May 22nd, 2010 in Crafting, Organizing, Rip Off
8 Comments »
I’m going to credit this rip off to our friends Kasey & Justin who have 3 legit reasons for hanging guitars in their house:
#1. She works for Gibson.
#2. He is a FABULOUS musician.
#3. They have great taste.
Here are some of their fancy wall guitars:
I mean these cats are the real mccoy. Do Will and I boast these same credentials? Absolutely not. Perhaps I should revise my credits here. I’m going to credit this rip off to the city of Nashville. By virtue of the fact that we live in Music City USA, we feel justified having a guitar hanging in our house. Ok that’s not a great reason either. But Will is signed up to take some lessons and the guitar was my Christmas gift to him. It’s not a fancy guitar. As a matter of fact, it’s the second cheapest one that Yamaha makes and came with a crappy lessons DVD. But still, I’ve hung cheaper, less personal things on my walls in the name of decor. So here she is:
In case you are interested, the hanger we used is available here. I have no idea if it’s a good one but ten bones got my hubby’s new hobby up off the floor. So yes please!
City of Nashville (ahem, Kasey & Justin) rip off accomplished! Do you think we are posers? Tell me in the comments. Comments make me feel loved!
posted by Julia on Mar 16th, 2010 in Decorating, Organizing, Rip Off
5 Comments »
As you have probably gathered, I am all about stealing good ideas and making them my own. Sometimes this means doing things on the cheap. Other times it means that a great idea is worth a little cash so I go for it. Last week I got my Napa Style catalog. It’s Michael Chiarello’s company – you might know him from his Food Network TV program Easy Entertaining. The TV program is pretty good stuff – lots of Italian cuisine and California wine country influence. S0 you might imagine I was pretty intrigued when I realized he had a catalog company a couple of years back. Never purchased anything from him, though. The prices are just way to high, in my opinion. The dude must be making a fortune!
I think it’s high time we take vintage back to the flea market and get a Michael Chiarello/Napa Style rip off in the making. Let’s begin here:
#1) Napa Style is selling Vintage Pressed Glass Goblets (pictured above) for $49 apiece in their catalog. They are mismatched (super cute, tons of personality and interest there). These are each apparently at least 80 years old and made of pressed glass, a lost art from the 19th century (according to the Napa Style catalog).
First and foremost, pressed glass is not a lost art. Just about anything you buy that is glass is going to be pressed glass, including anything you find at Target or WalMart from glass giant Anchor Hocking. I’ll give Michael this, they aren’t as fabulous as they used to be. But that doesn’t mean you have to pay $49 a goblet to get the look! Here are a few I found on Replacements.com and eBay with prices.
Duncan & Miller Hobnail Goblet for $15.99 on Replacements:
Wright Glass Moon & Stars for for $15.99 on Replacements:
Set of 4 Duncan & Miller Pressed Glass Goblets for $19.99 on eBay:
Here’s a Highbee one from circa 1890 on eBay for $17.99. I am no longer impressed with your $49, 80-year old glasses, Michael. Not impressed at all.
And these are just the clear glass ones! If you are interested in colored glassware to spice up your table, pressed glass offers TONS of cute, vintage options. Spend a little time rummaging through yard sales and flea markets and I’m telling you, you’ll see TONS of these at crazy low prices. They were so common for so many years, it might even be worth asking grandma if she has any tucked away. My grandma does … in olive green.
#2) Napa Style’s Sugar Mold Candleholders (above) are apparently an Exclusive. At $99 for a half mold and $179 for a full mold (not including votive holders), they had better be! But guess what? They are not. For sure Southern Living at Home was selling sugar molds from their catalog a few years ago and they were not that pricey.
Look at this reproduction one I found on eBay. It’s $79 for a 43″ (that is 3.5 feet!) one including 12 glass votive holders:
And if you are ok with a reproduction sugar mold, the Nashville Flea Market always has tons. They sell them for $19-$30 and you can always haggle them down. Not a trip to the flea market has passed that I didn’t see the vendor with the sugar molds. It’s a sure bet. Look how cute my friend Molly’s table looked when she used a sugar mold to decorate her holiday table:
(Stolen without permission but with gratitude to my friend Molly Witherington who blogs right here.)
And here’s how Southern Living uses a sugar mold to make a kid-friendly centerpiece for Easter:
Moving on.
#3) Let’s tackle the Napa Style Vintage Spindle Collection, pictured here:
I’m going to ignore the $1,599 chandelier because I would not want to rip that off anyway. But the magazine rack, towel bar, and table are intriguing options for our upcoming lake house project. But at $349, $79, and $249 respectively, you can forget it. But you better believe I’ll be looking out for some old spindles on my next flea marketing trip. They can’t be much – and what a cool way to give the lake a little character. You’ll have to stay tuned for that one.
#4) Now let’s have a look at the Napa Style Antique Clawfoot Door Stop f0r $39.
Personally, I love the idea of using a clawfoot for bookends:
But whatever you fancy, it’s not a $39 investment. Random mis-matched clawfeet are everywhere at flea markets and salvage shops if you just keep your eye open. As a matter of fact, my hubby and I stopped into Preservation Station here in Nashville over the weekend and we saw lots of clawfeet around the shop:
These were $25 apiece, no matter the size. Still better than paying $39 but still not great. I’d be willing to put money that a flea market purveyor would part with one of these for $10 or $12, especially if was a stray with no matching pieces. But please don’t think I’m knocking Preservation Station. I’m not! Those guys have some fantastic stuff that is definitely worth the investment. Like maybe $495 for this pair of lamps made from an antique balustrade? They are calling my name and are worth every penny:
So Michael Chiarello, we are taking vintage back to to the flea market. Your good ideas can come to life in our homes without spending an arm and a leg. Rip off accomplished!
posted by Julia on Mar 8th, 2010 in Decorating, Rip Off
3 Comments »
Who’dve thunk I could stretch out a topic like houseplants to 3 posts? But that’s exactly what I’m planning to do! Today’s topic represents a collaboration between Martha Stewart and I. It’s one part Martha Rip Off and one part Julia Original. Let’s begin with the Rip Off.
Remember how in my very first post I told you I was reading Martha Stewart in my early 20’s? We’ll here’s proof. I’ve been toting this idea around with me since 2001. Behold Martha Stewart Living’s March of 2001 Find of the Month. Silver Pot Saucers!
You can click on these images and get more of a close-up if you want to read about this straight from the Martha’s mouth. But the concept is pretty easy to grasp and pretty elegant once executed. Use flea market silver plate platters with pretty edging as your plant saucers instead of those ugly, flimsy, plastic plates. You’ve got to have something to protect your furniture. Silver plate is cheap and if it’s flawed it either won’t show or won’t matter. It’s available in abundance at flea markets and yard sales and with a little polish and some stick-on felt surface protectors to keep the silver from scratching your furniture you are good to go. Here’s what it looks like in my house and I’m not even using old clay pots (which for the record look fantastic in the top picture above, IMHO):
You might have noticed the silver plate under the tulips from my roman shade post:
And also under this very same orchid on my mantle in my last post. I keep several of these little gems on hand to embellish any house plant that needs extra sparkle. In the case of my orchid, you get all of the texture of something organic like cork dressed up with the jewelry of a little silver pedestal. Beautiful and simple. Thank you Martha, for the fantastic idea. Consider it stolen.
But that’s not where the Houseplant Bling extravaganza ends. I’ve got a few tricks of my own to share. The first is … drumroll please … moss! I firmly believe that adding a little moss to cover the dirt of your houseplants makes them look infinitely more finished. And it’s totally easy. I get my moss at Michael’s. It’s $4.99 per bag. This is what it looks like:
And this is what it looks like when it’s tucked around your houseplants ….
Valentine’s tulips with ugly foil wrapper (and gift of diamonds lotto ticket from hubby attached) BEFORE:
Valentine’s tulips with red foil removed, plopped into a silver cachepot that’s not even the right size, and moss gaps filled in looking VERY fancy AFTER:
Take note! I did not plant that tulip in this pot. I just dropped it down in there and covered up all of the terra cotta colored plastic and the gap between the ovular cachepot and the round plastic pot with moss. Easy.
And here’s a close-up of another of our plants. Just a plain old plant, looking WAY more finished and thoughtful with a little moss tucked in there:
And this little guy on my living room coffee table. I had received a basket of mixed houseplants and over time several of them just got gangly and crazy looking. This little one stayed small and pretty so I repotted it and tossed the rest. I originally planted it to the side thinking that I would put another type of houseplant in with it. But now with the little carpet of moss, I’m looking for a little embellishment of another sort. Maybe some little mushrooms made of organic material or a few robin’s eggs or a couple of sticks of driftwood. Too much? Maybe. But I’ve got an eye out for something that would look interesting right there and at the end of the day, it might just be another plant. Check it out that fabulous, organic, mossy texture:
But forest floor moss doesn’t fit every plant. I have this awesome little aloe plant that my friend Brandy gave me for Christmas. The little lady was calling out for a bit of jewelry of her own but my usual moss selection just wasn’t cutting it. Well luckily on the same aisle at Michael’s is Spanish Moss. Spanish Moss is a great choice for cactuses, succulents, and anything that has more of a desert feel (ironic since Spanish Moss is a mainstay on the Georgia Coast). Check out my little lady aloe:
Pretty, right? Looks like it was purchased at a nursery, already all dressed up for a night out. Not so! Totally DIY dressed up. (For the record, she was dressed for the holidays when Brandy gave her to me … adorable but looking a little neglected now that March is upon us … wardrobe change!)
Bling out your houseplants! It’s cheap, easy, and makes things look so finished and fancy.
posted by Julia on Mar 1st, 2010 in Decorating, Gardening, Plants & Flowers, Julia Original, Rip Off
7 Comments »
I am a big fan of holiday photo cards. Some people think they are cheesy but I love tearing into envelopes all December to see pregnant bellies, new babies, fun kids expressions, and even an occasional prank. If you are anything like me, you probably feel really guilty about throwing these out at the end of the holiday season. That’s exactly why it’s mid-January and I’m just getting around to doing something with the cards I received this year! Just can’t get rid of them!
Well, I’ve got a great idea that’s a double rip-off. My friend Katie Nalley had 3 or 4 years worth of holiday cards neatly organized with binder rings sitting in a long, wooden bowl on her kitchen table when I visited her over the holidays. I thought it was such a great idea that I just had to ask about it and it turns off she learned the trick from her mother, Cindy! I love the Meeker/Nalley clan so I’m super excited to be ripping off one of their time-honored traditions!
It’s easy as pie. At the end of the holiday season when you are packing up our Christmas decor, all you do is punch a hole in the corner of each of your cards. You go on down to your local office supply store and pick up a few binder rings. Mine happen to be multi-colored but plain old silver would do just as well. Loop those cards through there (most have the date so no extra step of dating them needed) and toss the lot in with your Christmas decorations. The following year, dump them in a basket, tray, or large bowl and set them near a comfy chair ripe for reminiscing. And, it’s a great way to make absolutely sure you reciprocate cards year after year as well.
So Meeker/Nalley Rip-Off Accomplished!
posted by Julia on Jan 15th, 2010 in Holidays, Organizing, Rip Off
6 Comments »
Big find, y’all, big find. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll read on.
I’ve had a slow burn of an obsession to do something with the “antique” chandelier in our breakfast room. Here she is. What a beaut.
I think this little room is adorable (the built-in china cabinet practically sold me on our house) and merits equally adorable lighting. But I’ve quickly learned that adorable lighting will break the bank faster than you can say “honey, the light bulb needs changing!” Since I hope that one day we’ll renovate our house and expand our kitchen into that space, I don’t want to spend a bunch of money. After seeing a couple of these hanging in my friend Eleanor’s house, I thought to myself that a drum shade pendant would absolutely do the trick. Here is one of Eleanor’s shades:
I mean it’s a shade and a wire, it can’t be that expensive, right?? WRONG. Those suckers can be pricey! Well, I should say that most drum shade pendants with any measure of style can be pricey. Like $200ish. And that price is definitely true of those with substantial size. I’m trying to make a statement here, folks, not any drum shade pendant will do.
So just when I was about to throw in the towel on this quest and put a coat of paint on my “treasured antique” just so I don’t cringe every time I look at it, I came across this little gem:
It may not look like much to you but to me it is a world of possibilities. May I introduce you to the Shade Pendant Hardware Kit from ShadesofLight.com. For a whopping $45, you can convert any standard shade with a washer ring adapter into a hanging fixture. Yes that’s right, any standard shade.
Let the shopping begin! There are some cuties on the ShadeofLight website that I’m mulling over …
16″ Geometric Textured Fabric Drum Shade in Aqua for $79 can be found here.
16″ Crewel Fabric Drum Shade in Brown Multi for $119 can be found here. I’m pretty sure Ballard Designs or Pottery Barn was selling a curtain in this same crewel pattern earlier this year. Not that I’d match them but I just think it’s interesting how fabrics can show up in different places like that. Don’t you?
… but before I commit, I’m going to stew on this purchase for a bit. Why? Well for one, that’s what I do. And for another, armed with this new tool in my decorating arsenal I can shop with an all new lens on the world. There is NO TELLING where I might find an inexpensive shade that will be just perfect for my sweet little breakfast room.
This is super exciting and has me on a whole new shopping mission. Best-friend-Eleanor rip off in the making!! Stay tuned!
posted by Julia on Jan 4th, 2010 in Decorating, Rip Off
3 Comments »
No sir. I don’t need expensive Pottery Barn decorations to make the outside of my house a winter wonderland! I found myself pretty taken with this exterior shot when the holiday Pottery Barn catalogs started arriving in October.
But there was no way I was paying $79 for a 22″ wreath and $59 for a 60″ garland studded with plastic ornaments. Plus, the greenery is FAKE! I hate fake!
So I got my own REAL pine wreath for $19 at the Boy Scout tree lot near my house and set out on a mission for ornaments suitable for outdoors. An impulse trip into Kirkland’s turned up just the thing I needed. I came home with over 40 red and silver jingle bells in 3 different sizes for $35! And the next day I found the red and white wired ribbon in a gift shop for $3. Here’s the outcome:
I nestled some of the bells in between ornamental cabbages and kale in my front window boxes. REAL, LIVE ornamental cabbages and kale.
I used floral wire to wire bunches of bells into my wreath. And yes, I tied that bow! WOOT! Click here to see the video that helped me make such a gorgeous bow.
So I’m pretty excited with the outcome, if you can’t tell. What could have been $200 at Pottery Barn was $57 (not including the cabbages and kale because in our climate those will last until spring time) and they should be usable year after year.
Pottery Barn rip-off accomplished!
posted by Julia on Dec 21st, 2009 in Decorating, Gardening, Plants & Flowers, Holidays, Rip Off
1 Comment »
I’ve always envisioned myself as a domestic goddess. In my early 20’s when my friends were reading Cosmo, I was reading Martha Stewart Living. When dinners at their house were pizza delivery, dinner at mine was Chicken Divan casserole with homemade fudge pie.
In those years, I learned that the creative and hospitable genius I envisioned myself as was rarely the reality. One particular project, an upholstered headboard, suffered dreadfully from an impulse fabric change from neutral and beautiful to bold and busy, not to mention my mediocre-at-best sewing skills. I can now admit that it was super ugly and a total failure. But I chose to live with that thing in my master bedroom for 4 years, rather than shatter my self-imposed identity as the next Martha.
Now that I’m married and living in my dream house, I still seek out opportunities for creativity at home. Decorating, entertaining, gardening, and an occasional craft project are my favorite ways to pass my free time. But since the mistakes of those early years I’ve become a copy cat. I won’t settle for that shitty headboard anymore, I want real beauty, durability, and creativity in my home life and I want the finished product to look like it was done by a professional.
So, I steal good ideas and take all the credit.
This blog is where I’ll out my secrets and share the tear-outs, links, pics of friends’ and stranger’s houses, etc that I rip off. You’ll see pics of the outcome when I attempt the project all by myself. And since my ultimate goal is to create my own ideas for beauty and functionality in my home, I’ll walk you through my journey from ideas ripped off, to ideas inspired by what I see, to ideas that are all my own. I’ll occasionally post tallies from the “Ripped Off”, “Inspired” and “Julia Originals” tags to track my progress.
They say imitation is the best form of flattery. I’ve flattered before and I’ll flatter again. But hopefully this blog will help direct my journey to originality. I look forward to your feedback!
posted by Julia on Dec 10th, 2009 in Inspired, Julia Original, Rip Off
1 Comment »
