Quick note to Google Reader subscribers

If you're a Google Reader subscriber, you're probably well aware that it's going away at the end of the month. I love Google Reader was in denial about switching to something else. I kept thinking maybe Google would change their mind and keep it around, but now that June is half over that looks like a no-go.

Over the weekend, I registered with Feedly. It was completely painless and took about thirty seconds to bring everything over from Google Reader. And luckily the interface looks very similar, so no learning curve or minutes wasted trying to figure it out. It even transferred all my "starred" posts. Awesome.

Another popular choice seems to be bloglovin', but that one didn't grab me the way Feedly did. FYI, bloglovin' also has an import feature to bring over all your subscriptions from Google Reader.

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DIY Wall art: Large black and white photo panel

I wanted to make a large square piece of artwork for this wall in our kitchen, and immediately thought back to the oversize black and white poster prints you can get at the FedEx office (like I did for Elise's birthday party last year). They are just printed on thin white officey paper, but it's a great way to get a giant photo printed for less than $5. 

I dug through my files for the perfect photo and found this one I took earlier this year on Dan's birthday. We went down to the Arch grounds for a walk, and the Mississippi River was so low at the time so we were able to walk on the cobblestones. Much of the time, this area is actually part of the river. 

It's often hard to get enough distance on the Arch to get a decent photo of the whole thing (go west and you have to shoot around buildings and trees, go east and you'd be in the river), so this photo makes me happy in more ways than one.

Before I got my photo printed, though, I had to know what I was mounting it to so I'd get the dimensions right. I went into Lowe's thinking I was going to have them cut some smaller pieces of plywood for me, but it turns out they sell pre-cut 2 x 2 foot squares of plywood. Perfect!

Tip: Don't bother buying the more expensive veneers like birch or oak. For a project like this, the surface is going to be completely covered, so the cheap stuff is fine. I opted for the 15/32 inch thick pine one for $6.78. It's got some heft to it, and it is flatter than a lot of the thinner pieces. Plus I knew I wanted to add some trim later and needed a thicker profile to do that.

I know it's sometimes difficult to gauge the size of things in photos, so here's kissy-face Etta demonstrating the scale. 24 inches square = not small.

Then it was time to get my photo printed. A word of advice: if you are trying to meet a particular dimension like I was here, know that your photo will print with a margin, making the actual image about an inch smaller. I found this out the hard way. The first time I requested it be 24 inches high, but my actual image was closer to 23 inches. In hindsight, it was naïve to think it would actually be exactly the height I needed. 

Anyway, I got it printed a second time and requested a height of 25 inches and my actual image turned out to be about 24 1/4 inches. Just be aware.

After priming my plywood, I used some spray adhesive to stick the paper down onto the board. I had already planned out how I was going to line it up, but in execution I was a little bit off. I only had one shot to stick down the paper. The adhesive is repositionable, but the oversize paper was unwieldy and I was afraid it would tear if I lifted the whole thing off.

After that, I trimmed off all the excess paper and smoothed the photo to make sure there were no air bubbles.

Because this was going in the kitchen where it would be subject to messes and spatters, I felt the need to seal it with some Mod Podge. Without sealing it, one splash of water or food and it'd be done for.

I knew this paper was pretty thin, so I wasn't altogether sure how it would react with the Mod Podge, but I took a leap, rolled on a thin coat and then this happened:

Wrinkles! Don't be frightened. This photo was taken while the Mod Podge was still wet.

After it was dry, the wrinkles shrank significantly. I also attempted to smooth them with a plastic gift card, which helped some, but that technique didn't get rid of them entirely.

I considered scrapping the project, but honestly, you only notice the wrinkles if you are inches away from the photo, and even then, they look less like a mistake and more like an intentional texture. It's also hanging in a shadowy corner, so I'm sure that helps hide them.

But if you are re-creating this project and it isn't going into a messy zone, I probably would just leave the paper as-is without sealing it. 

My next step was trimming out the piece. I was going to use some plain wood trim, but the lengths I needed added up to maybe another $6. Not crazy expensive, but I knew there had to be a cheaper option. And that's when I remembered my yard stick trick. These fat yard sticks from Lowe's were 69 cents each, so I picked up four for $2.76 + tax. They are the exact same width (1 1/2 inches) and depth (1/4 inch) as the trim pieces I was going to use, but less than half of the price. I used a hack saw to cut them; the wood is soft, so that was easy and quick.

I painted them black and the graphics pretty much disappeared. The measurement marks are practically invisible. Even so, I like the look. I drilled some tiny pilot holes then tacked the pieces on the sides of the plywood with some small nails.

The combo of the black and white photo and the square shape gives it a modern look. I'm not usually a modern design sort of girl, but the contrast with the rest of the kitchen is nice.

Minus the paint, Mod Podge and the adhesive, the total for this project was just under $15! A total bargain if you've ever priced custom photo canvasses. Of course, this isn't a canvas, but the similarity is there!

See more wall art projects >>

Printing on Con-Tact paper + Utensil holder makeover

I'd been on the hunt for a colorful utensil holder. You know, the canister by the stove where you put all your spatulas and slotted spoons.

There was nothing wrong with the one I had, but it was stainless steel. And next to a stainless steel toaster, in between a stainless stove and a stainless fridge under a stainless hood... well, things were looking a bit too samey. I wasn't finding anything I loved, which signaled it was time to change up the one I had with some paint.

I decided to make a sticker/stencil of sorts with Con-Tact paper. This is one of my favorite techniques for creating custom designs. The poor man's version of a crafter's die cut machine, if you will.

First, I found a shield shape via Google images and re-sized it in Photoshop. 

Then I printed it out on the paper backing side of a piece of clear Con-Tact paper with my normal home ink jet printer. Warning: Don't print on the shiny sticker side! And you probably don't want to send Con-Tact paper through a laser printer because they can get very hot and who knows what kind of mess that might make.

I cut the shape out with a scissors...

And stuck it like a sticker onto my surface, making sure to burnish down all the edges really well. I also masked off the top/inside and bottom of the can with some painters tape and paper so they would be protected.

Next, I spray painted the utensil holder for a smooth, glossy finish with aqua Valspar spray paint (Tropical Oasis). Valspar must have changed the formula recently because this dried a lot "harder" than when I worked with the same paint in the past. Much better! Plus it has a built-in primer and you can spray upside down and it dries super fast and it's cheap (only $3.98!). Winning x5.

After the paint had dried, I carefully peeled up the Con-Tact paper sticker. There was a little bit of gummy residue leftover, but I was able to remove it with some vegetable oil.

Sharp lines! The paint seriously looks like a factory finish. And the shield, my own personal superhero insignia. But if I ever get tired of the shield, I can just spin the can around to reveal the plain backside. Two in one!

Painted wood molding kitchen backsplash

This is the story of how I took a weird problem and turned it into a design feature.

I ordered our new laminate counters without that four inch integrated backsplash so they would look a bit more high-end. But our old counters had that backsplash, and we didn't know what was behind it.

It was a risky move. I expected I would have to do some wall repair (sanding and repainting), but I didn't expect to find this:

Weird holes in the paneling where the electric had been run. Under every outlet. These two walls are masonry, so the wiring isn't really inside the wall. And that left me with these unpatchable holes.

But I also didn't expect to find this.

Big gaps between where the countertops and the walls were supposed to meet. Nearly three quarters of an inch in a few places! Our countertops are square, but we discovered the room is not. Ah, old house. You got us again. So even if I had been able to patch the holes in the paneling, I would still have been left with the gaps.

I gave it a lot of thought, looked at a lot of photos for inspiration, and adding molding was the most elegant solution I could think of to solve both issues. Maybe not ideal, but making the best of the situation I got myself into.

I didn't want it to look like we were just slapping some lumber up on the wall to hide the ugly. Too obvious. So we added the decorative lip to make it look more intentional and to blend with the rest of the trim in the room.

My dad made all of this from some scrap barn wood he planed and smoothed out. (It's the same wood he used to make our cottage style shutters too!) I think he bought the decorative trim for under the lip, but all the other wood was from his stash. After he installed it all, I filled the screw holes and painted the trim and the lower half of the walls the same shade of white (Valspar's off-the-shelf Ultra White).

Throughout this entire process, I had my doubts. Would it look strange? Would it stick out? Truthfully, it wasn't until I got it all painted that I was completely sold. Now it blends right in with the rest of the trim in the room. Like it's always been there!