Elise Blaha :: enJOY it.

project 17 of 26 / painted pot.

I painted this clay pot over Thanksgiving and was excited to transplant my favorite plant into it as part of the unpacking process over the weekend. I used Liquitex Acrylic paint (so one step up from the cheap craft paint) and covered the whole thing in white before freehanding the black triangles. It’s perfectly imperfect and brings a fun pattern into my new place.

I no longer have any doubt I'll be completing my 26 projects. This new house is full of inspiration. Today's mission is to paint my office...

This is project 17 of 26.

I am attempting to tackle 26 personal craft projects before I turn 27 on 02.22.12. You can follow my progress here on the blog or on pinterest.

See project 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 & 16.

project 16 of 26 / holiday stars.

I have had this project in my head since last Christmas season and am happy I was finally able to execute it. While I wanted for my paint at Home Depot last week, I picked up a cheap ($6) piece of wood that was 4 feet by 12 inches. I had them cut it down into four 12x12s. Then I brought it home, stained it up (and did a downright terrible job on the staining - I think my stain needed to be shook) hammered in five nails and wrapped red and white bakers twine in a star shape.

They don't look so excellent on the floor, but I can't wait to decorate with them in the new place. I am going to add little hangers to the back so they'll stay on the wall (just like in this project).

Seriously, so simple. Hopefully this is one of many holiday DIYs. I have a few ideas I hope to try as soon as I get unpacked!

This is project 16 of 26.

I am attempting to tackle 26 personal craft projects before I turn 27 on 02.22.12. You can follow my progress here on the blog or on pinterest.

See project 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 & 15.

project 15 of 26 / new quilt.

Remember when I went insane trying to finish a queen size quilt before I left town? I can't tell you how glad I am that I got that accomplished. This month is flying by and November is shaping up to be even crazier. Now that I am home, I had a chance to throw it on the bed and take some photos.

The majority of the steps for creating this quilt were similar to my first quilt. The two exceptions were that I measured the rectangles this time (they were 5x11 inches) and I machine stitched the whole thing together. For those unfamiliar with quilting, a quilt is usually made up of three major pieces : the quilt top (which in my case is patterned), the batting and the backing (which in my case is white). All three pieces need to be held together in multiple places. This can be done all sorts of ways, but usually is accomplished through tying, hand-stitching or machine-stitching.

This time around I went with machine-stitching. I wish I had a secret for how I stitched something this large, but I don't. I just shoved it under the needed and made it work. I don't even have a "walking-foot" which I've heard is a good thing to have to keep your needle straight. Basically, I wanted to stitch around some of the blocks with similar colored thread, but I didn't care if it was perfect. Actually, I think that's the secret : let go of perfection and you can get this done.

Anyway, I love the color mix. It's subtle and perhaps a bit girly, but hopefully Paul won't mind. And I love it with our headboard. Now I just need to move to Ventura and redecorate our bedroom around it. I think our teal dresser will become the future baby's dresser. ;)

ps : I learned everything I know about quilting from Denyse Schmidt Quilts.

This is project 15 of 26.

I am attempting to tackle 26 personal craft projects before I turn 27 on 02.22.12. You can follow my progress here on the blog, on pinterest or on flickr.

See project 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 & 14.

project 14 of 26 / metallic paintbrush vase.

I saw this flower vase on Pinterest awhile back and loved it. I figured a DIY version was worth a shot and while it didn't turn out nearly as rad, it's still pretty cute.

This is exactly the type of project that I had to be at my parent's house to try. I needed the backyard for spray-painting and I needed my dad to figure out how to get the handle off the mug. (He used a screwdriver and pried it off. The first mug shattered, the second one worked.) Of course, you don't need a mug for this project, just some sort of vessel that flares out slightly at the top. (Or maybe you don't even need that!)

We had a few old brushes at the house and I purchased the rest in bulk (the cheapest I could find at Michael's) and used Elmer's Craft Bond Ultra Stix All to adhere them to the mug. I let the glue harden over night and kept a rubber band around the whole thing too keep them secure.

The next morning, after confirming that the brushes were stuck for good, I coated the vase inside and out with about six or seven coats of silver spray paint. I was trying to replicate the metallic in the inspiration vase, but in retrospect, I think this would also look awesome with glossy white paint. Or even a bright pop of pink. I might change up the color down the line.

It's not as much to look at without flowers, but with them (especially in fun colors) I think it's just interesting enough.

This is project 14 of 26.

I am attempting to tackle 26 personal craft projects before I turn 27 on 02.22.12. You can follow my progress here on the blog, on pinterest or on flickr.

See project 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 & 13.

project 13 of 26 / text art.

I saw this on pinterest the other day and immediately wanted to scrawl it across every wall in my apartment with black paint. In some ways, I felt like this statement had become my mantra.

But the ironic thing is, I painted this over the weekend while I was feeling great about things and confident that this deployment was going to fly by. I was making plans to visit apartments in Ventura and starting to think about moving up there on my own this December. It was so easy to create this painting then. I felt so strong and able to power through.

But Tuesday and yesterday morning were a completely different story.

This deployment hit me like a ton of bricks and for the first time since Paul left I really felt like "I can't do this." Except, of course, I am doing it. One way or another, this is going to end and I'll get through it.

As I struggled through the past two days, this painting sat on my dresser and served as a quiet reminder. I spent a lot of time wanting to throw it out a window. But I didn't. And I'm glad for that.

And so moving on... here's what I did to make this text art that ended up making a much bigger statement than I intended.

I knew that I wanted something substantial. I had a square piece of plywood left over from another project and I painted over it with two coats of white glossy wall paint (because that was what I had on hand). Then I used letter stickers from Staples to create the text. I didn't do any measuring here - just eyeballed the placement.

Next, I painted over the stickers with white paint to try and create a seal so the black paint wouldn't creep up under the stickers. I am not sure if this helped or not.

After I painted the white I debated what the second color should be. Eventually I settled on black so it would be more neutral and work in whatever room I decide to hang it in down the line. I didn't have any black wall paint on hand, but I did have some acrylic, so after the white paint dried I brushed some of that on top (after testing on another piece to be sure the black would stick over the glossy white). I used a smaller paint brush and was sure to get full coverage over the letters, but purposely left the edges messy.

After the black had time to dry, I carefully peeled up the letter stickers with an exact-o knife. They came up pretty easily...

...but because of the unfinished texture of my wood, there were lots of leaks in the letters from black paint.

I let it sit for an hour or so to be sure everything was completely dry and then went back over the letters that needed touch-up with white paint and a detail brush. It's not quite perfect, but totally works.

As mentioned, this piece is currently leaning against the wall on my dresser with some other good stuff. For now, I like it there though I think my office will be a good place for it someday too. And in case you're curious, the frame on the left is Crate & Barrel, the silver frame & mat is from West Elm and that large black frame is from Michael's a few years ago. My dresser is from Ikea and I repainted it last January.

This is project 13 of 26. <-- halfway done!!

I am attempting to tackle 26 personal craft projects before I turn 27 on 02.22.12. You can follow my progress here on the blog, on pinterest or on flickr.

See project 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 & 12.

project 12 of 26 / a pinwheel painting.

I have been dying to try a pinwheel painting since I saw this on pinterest ages ago. Then I really got serious over the weekend after seeing a similar project on Oh Joy.

I bought a birch 18x24 canvas at Blick and marked the center with a pencil. Then I used painter's tape to create triangles (one at time) so their points all matched up at the center.

I bought yellow, red, teal, cobalt blue and white acrylic paint and mixed to create different colors. The paint dried pretty quickly so I was able to tape off triangles right next to each other by adding a line of tape right on top of the painted edge.

I didn't go into it with much of a plan for a color scheme and I am pretty happy with how it turned out.

I think I might need to seal it with something clear and I am pretty sure I am going to paint the edges of the canvas white.

At the moment, I don't even have a place for it to hang in our current apartment (I moved stuff around for the first photo) but I am so excited to give it prime wall space in our next place. And speaking of our next place - I have a feeling it's going to hold a lot of DIY art. I finished another painted piece on Monday (& will be sharing it tomorrow) and I still have 13 more projects to accomplish by late February...

This is project 12 of 26.

I am attempting to tackle 26 personal craft projects before I turn 27 on 02.22.12. You can follow my progress here on the blog, on pinterest or on flickr.

See project 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 & 11.

project 11 of 26 : wooden frames.

While I was up in Sacramento, I was able to make a few frames out of old fence wood.

My dad recently replaced the redwood fence in our backyard. When I heard the plan, I asked him to hang on to some of the old weathered wood so we could make some frames.

My dad liked the idea and he actually figured out how to make them and created a few before I got home.

We used a Miter saw to make pieces with 45 degree angle cuts on either end. Then we used wood glue and U-shaped nails to join the corners together. My parents used their frames to hang some large prints and I made a 5x7 and 11x14 frame to hang in our apartment.

The frames do not have a routed ledge on the backside for dropping in glass and art, so we used plexi-glass to protect the front of the prints. The plexi-glass is held into place with a few staples from a staple gun and the art is carefully secured behind that with paper and tape. The print in the photo directly above is from Little Brown Pen and it's a new favorite.

Both of the pieces above are going to fit into a gallery wall that I am making in my office (since Paul is deploying and we will be moving as soon as he gets back, the office will soon be rearranged to make it better suited for one). I'll share once it's done!

This is project 11 of 26.

I am attempting to tackle 26 personal craft projects before I turn 27 on 02.22.12. You can follow my progress here on the blog, on pinterest or on flickr.

See project 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 & 10.

project 10 of 26 / tye-dye!

I'm just cruising through all the old school crafts I can find this year apparently. I saw a rad tye-dye project here a few months ago and then patiently counted the days until I was visiting my parents and had full access to a garage and a utility sink. Some folks dream about beautiful backyards and kitchen renovations. I dream about unfinished cement floors and a sink I can stain.

Someday Paul and I will have a house and I'll spend all my time in the garage just because it's there.

Anyway.

This project was sitting in the dream box for a long while and finally I got to try it out. And the results were even more exciting than expected. My sister-in-law Kristen and I dyed three shirts each in just a few hours (which included a trip to Michael's, Old Navy and Target for supplies). We bought Rit Dye at Michael's in teal and navy, clearance tank tops at Old Navy and rubber bands at Target. We mixed the dye with hot water in old garbage cans and let the tops soak for about 10 minutes.

For the record : the tank tops are both from Old Navy. The one on the right started out a lime green and now thanks to the teal dye looks yellow and kelly green. As mentioned, we used NAVY Rit Dye but it turned out purple-ish. I would use the DENIM one if you are looking for a blue. The white v-neck is American Apparel and I chose to dye it because it already had paint on the sleeve from when I redid the kitchen chairs. The pattern shown on the left tanktop was picked up from the honestly wtf blog post.

To summarize the tutorial : I started at the bottom and folded the shirt accordion style then secured it between two wooden pieces (shown in the background above). I wrapped rubber bands around the whole thing to keep it tight. Then I followed steps 7-10 below.

The spiral pattern is the "traditional" tye-dye pattern that I remember from grade school. I took a few step-by-step photos of most of that process, if you're curious.

1. lay your shirt flat.

2. pinch a bit of the shirt between two fingers. This is going to be the center of the spiral so you want to make sure it isn't right on top of your chest (awkward) or right in the middle of the shirt (looks too deliberate).

3. begin twisting up the shirt clockwise by holding the pinched piece.

4. keep twisting.

5. you should have a snail or cinnamon roll shape at the end. Secure with a rubber band.

6. and then lots of rubber bands. Make them as tight as possible.

7. dunk the shirt in the dye (make the dye bath according to instructions on the box). Wear plastic gloves to avoid staining your hands! Be sure it is fully submerged. (We had to flip the shirts held in the wood halfway through to be sure they got full coverage.)

8. remove shirt from the dye and rinse under cool water with the rubber bands still in place until the water runs clear. This step takes awhile.

9. remove rubber bands and lay your shirt to dry in the sun.

10. wash your shirt in the washing machine on cold to be sure all remaining dye is out. Dry as you usually would.

And that's it! So fun. I want about six more colors but I'm going to hold off. Check back tomorrow to see how I plan on wearing these without looking like I belong in another decade.

This is project 10 of 26.

I am attempting to tackle 26 personal craft projects before I turn 27 on 02.22.12. You can follow my progress here on the blog, on pinterest or on flickr.

See project 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 & 9.

project 9 of 26 / a striped dress.

A while back, I pinned this skirt tutorial and decided right away to try and make a maxi skirt. I picked up two yards of silk striped fabric sewed the edges together, added elastic at the top and hemmed the bottom. Super simple.

Then I pulled it on and realized that horizontal stripes + too much fabric = fail.

As a skirt, not very flattering. But pulled up to chest high and belted? It worked!

I wore it to dinner our last night in Palm Desert and had Paul snap these photos. All the standing-still ones looked terrible because I am awkward and the sunlight was so harsh. So what you are seeing here are the twirling ones. Once again, it appears that people look their best non-staged.

additional outfit details : j.crew belt, martin & osa sandals, kate spade sunglasses.

This is project 9 of 26.

I am attempting to tackle 26 personal craft projects before I turn 27 on 02.22.12. You can follow my progress here on the blog, on pinterest or on flickr.

See project 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 & 8.

project 8 of 26 / a camera strap.

Okay. So this is up there on the Not Too Exciting list. But I've got a long way to go to get to 26 projects by February so we're rolling with it.

I never use a camera strap. Ever. In general, I only use my big camera around the house so it's never in harms way. But, before we left for vacation, I decided that I should attach the strap to make carrying it around easier. And then I made the executive decision that the strap needed to get fancy.

Enter : The Only Fabric I Ever Seem To Use. Green and white striped decor weight fabric. It can also be seen inside the trunk, on the couch pillows and as box covers at my craft shows. Good times.

Like it always does, it seemed perfect for this project. I cut a piece that was about 4x22 inches and machine stitched it right on top of the original Canon strap with a heavy duty needle.

Again, nothing too exciting, but certainly an improvement. And it's already helping me use the camera more so check plus to that.

This is project 8 of 26.

I am attempting to tackle 26 personal craft projects before I turn 27 on 02.22.12. You can follow my progress here on the blog, on pinterest or on flickr.

See project 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 & 7