She's Crafty: Outdoor Chair Revival!

A couple of months ago I was realizing that our outdoor plastic chairs were looking pretty bad.  No matter the amount of cleaning, they were just worse for the wear.  I searched around for some solutions and found a few other cheap inventive people out there who had spray painted their furniture with pretty amazing results.  So I decided to try spray painting ours to give them a few more summers of use before we actually needed new ones.

I read some reviews of different brands and types of paint and decided to try the Krylon Fusion brand because it had the best reviews for this type of plastic painting.  As a bonus, this paint requires no prep work like sanding or priming, just a clean dry chair is all you need.  I went with "Watermelon" for our shabby-looking plastic Adorndack-type chair and "Patriotic Blue" for our regular chairs that started out white dirty-grayish-white.  Here are what the chairs looked like before and after:

Overall I am really happy with the results!  What do you think?  

Although I linked you to Amazon to show you the colors, I got my paint at Wal-Mart for about $4 a can. Each chair took about 2 cans so total was $8 per chair.  Not a huge bargain but saved us a few bucks and now we have brightly colored seating.  

PS.  Still have no idea why the pics are blurry and/or have to be super-small in order to not be blurry. I have not changed how I upload them or add them to the blog.  I have searched on the help boards but can't seem to find an answer....anyone else with a blog that can help?  

She's Crafty: Clothespin frames

I have been scouring Goodwill for high quality wooden frames to complete a photo project similar to this one that I found through Pinterest.  I found a few frames lately and have been saving them for a crafty-feeling day which happened to be yesterday after I completed a bunch of homework.  In total, this project cost less than $5 total and took me about an hour to complete!

Fast, cheap, and something I would hang on my walls = my kind of project.

Here is my completed version of the clothespin frames...

I recently found the frames below at Goodwill for $2.99 each, but lucky for me, it was 50% off day and so each frame was only $1.50.  

Ugly prints but good quality well made frames.

I peeled off the paper backing, took out the glass along with the little diamond-shaped daggers of metal that were holding it in all around the edges.  (During this process I was freaking out at the dogs because they were running around trying to play and I was afraid they would step on of the the daggers and cut their feet.)  After this was complete, I was left with empty frames.

Sturdy frames.

Next I measured out a guesstimate of how far apart I would want the twine to be to accommodate my 4 x 4 inch pictures.  I used mini-nails that I already had on hand and nailed them in most of the way but leaving enough room for the twine to be tied around the nails.  

Then I wrapped the twine around the nails and tied it securely. (I also already owned the twine.)  After the twine is tied, I hammered the nails down over the knots to secure the twine even more.

Without the pictures added it looks like this:

I had already ordered my prints from Walgreens because they let you select the 4 x 4 inch size which is what I wanted for my frames.  I ordered several extra prints so that I can change them out whenever the mood strikes :)

I ordered the mini-clothespins from amazon because I was ordering other things and it was easier to add them onto the order than go to a craft store for them.  I have been to Michael's though, and they do have mini-clothespins there.

I attached the prints with the clothespins and there you have it.  Clothespin frames.  It's that easy.

Clockwise from top-left: Noell and I, Christmas 2010; Nala wearing my glasses;
Kain after a long run; Benjamin my sweet nephew.

Notice professor Nala Bear in the upper-right :)