Mirror Frame Take Two

Last week, I told you how I framed out the mirror in the master bathroom.  Well, I neglected to tell you how the mirror was installed in four pieces, with tiny gaps between the mitered corners, and adhered using double stick tape that began popping off the frame the next day.  Cry.  After much deliberation and driving around to five different stores looking at various kinds of adhesive, I finally found something that I think is a permanent solution!  Here’s the story…

Blogland was buzzing with before and after framed mirror makeovers; I became awe-stricken that my mirror was, as yet, naked.  Frameless.  Sad.  I had to have me one of those mirror frames!  Finally, the time had come for us to redo our master bathroom, and at last, I would have a framed mirror!  After a little research, off I went with my trusty Papa in tow (and Papa’s truck, too!) to pick up some molding.  I think what we bought is technically chair rail, but it was the right size and shape and had a flat back that I could adhere over the mirror.  Sold! 

We measured our mirror, keeping in mind that the new frame had to cover the thin metal clips at the top (We replaced our giant plastic rosette clips with 1/4” offest metal mirror clips that were low profile, so the frame would sit flush on top of them.) and also cover the gold J-channel that was holding our mirror at the bottom (basically it sits on the top of the backsplash).  So I added about 1/2” to the mirror dimensions on all sides (a little overlaps makes it harder to see the edge of the mirror behind the frame.  Then we cut our pieces and mitered the corners.  I stained the pieces, front and back (mirrors reflect about 3/8” of the back of the frame) but left the mitered corner cuts free of stain so I could later glue the corner joints together. 

Here is where the story goes all wrong.  I used thick double stick tape (of the vintage variety) to stick each of the four sides to the mirror.  This is why I had those gaps in my corners.  So, after the thing fell off the mirror (lol), I decided to buy corner braces to secure the corner joints and glue them together properly.  Glue + braces + weights to hold it all together + 24 hour drying time = frame. 

Then came the next hurdle… to double stick tape (again) or not to double stick tape.  I was still stuck on the tape (pun intended) for its quick stick ability, but I thought I would use liquid nails all over as the adhesive.  Tape in the corners and glue everywhere else, that way it wouldn’t fall off while the glue was drying.  What do I know, I’ve never even used liquid nails??  Thus began my search for the elusive double stick tape of yore.  All I found was mounting tape which wouldn’t stick to my finished wood.  Boo!  Back to the drawing board.  In all my adhesive hunting, I stumbled upon a product I hadn’t used in a while: adhesive velcro!  This is a perfect solution because when stuck together the two pieces of hook and loop make a thick strip with adhesive on both sides (just like double stick tape!).  See that channel in the middle of my molding?  That’s what was keeping the double stick tape from sticking (even though I used two pieces stacked on top of each other for double thickness).  The tape wasn’t thick enough to bond the mirror properly from inside the recessed channel.  I couldn’t put the tape on the inside edge because the mirror would reflect it back, and I couldn’t put it on the outer edge because my mirror edge is beveled.  So, it had to go in the middle recessed channel.  But, lucky for me the velcro fit perfectly and made up the thickness that I needed to clear the channel.  Finally, I cleaned off the old tape and put on a lot more velcro strips than before.  Then I stuck it on the mirror!

::Cue the angels::

Hallelujah, it worked!  It’s working! :)

And here is your secret glimpse at Mr. Adhesive Velcro.  This is what you see if you lay your face against the mirror and try to look behind the frame… a fuzzy white strip of Velcro.  Heaven help me if I find my guests in my master bathroom trying to look at my shoddy mirror frame adhesive.  You’ve been warned.

That’s it, that’s my secret.   No messy liquid nails.  No more tape.  ADHESIVE VELCRO! Hooray!  So, that brings us to the end of the lesson.  Hopefully if any of you attempt a similar project you have an easier time of it.  :) 

All-in-all, however frustrating it was, the ends justify the means:

 

Master Bath Reveal!

A couple weeks ago I started this master bathroom makeover and I am finally back to reveal the finished product!  You may remember our old vanity cabinet—Builder grade plywood with an oak stain; it was dirty, scuffed, and lackluster.  Nothing that a little sanding and a million five coats of stain can’t solve.  :)  I used the same technique as before with my favorite Bombay Mahogany Polyshade.  Polyshade is stain + polyurethane all in one.  It goes on like thin paint rather than stain, so you have a lot more risk of runs, drips, and brush marks.  I had my fair share that I had to sand out, but after five coats, they are not so noticeable.  As it dries, the brush marks settle out and give a nice smooth finish (hopefully!).  Even with a few mistakes, it still looks way better than before.  And for the price of stain and hardware, you can’t beat this DIY cabinet makeover!  Throw in a new matching mirror frame and a few accessories and voila!

 

Goodbye Blah… Hello Fabulous!

 

It’s hard to tell in these photos, but there are highlights and lowlights in the finish.  It looks more like stained wood than painted wood in real life.  To finish off the new look, I added new brushed nickel knobs (eBay) and spray painted the old hinges and reused them.  I love the new look!  Especially the mirror frame!  It makes the mirror look huge, and reminds me of a fancy hotel.  :) 

For the frame, we bought simple molding, mitered the corners, stained it, and stuck it to the mirror.  Easy elegance.

Now, the vanity coordinates with our oil rubbed bronze shelf, shower curtain rod, and framed art. 

While I was at it with the polyshade, I slapped a couple coats on the butterfly frame so it has a fresh look, too.

  Now that my second foray into staining cabinetry is at an end, I think I can safely say this bathroom is DONE! :)

(for now) ;)

It has come a long way from back in 2008 when we moved in.  Here’s your parting glance:

 

So, comments are open, I want to hear, What do YOU think?

A Spring Inspired Mantelscape

Most people probably don’t acknowledge the word “mantelscape”.  It’s like “tablescape”, but for your mantel.  Okay, some of you don’t acknowledge the word “tablescape” either.  It’s okay.  But in the world of home decor, mantelscapes are important.  People host link parties for them.  While I don’t find them important enough to party over (okay, maybe sometimes I do), I do like to decorate my mantel.  And “mantelscape” is easier to say and faster to type than “random stuff I arranged on the shelf over my fireplace.”

Anyway, after refreshing the foyer, and stealing our family sign from over the mantel, this area was looking a little neglected… especially since it hadn’t been redecorated after the Christmas decor was removed.  So, I set to work arranging random stuff on the shelf over my fireplace. :)  Some of it was already here, and some of it I thieved from other rooms.  I took those flower prints from the foyer before the refresh, and the green vase from the laundry room, and the other vases I had in the kitchen cabinets sans flowers, so I put them to use in here.  I like the different metallic finishes we’ve got going on, all variations of silvery gold.  And I’m digging the Spring colors popping off the blue walls… green and pink, my favorite :)  I thought about doing something Valentine’s inspired up there, but I didn’t really have any hearts and cupids laying around, and didn’t really feel like getting crafty, so I’m thinking this mantelscape will last well into Spring.  And for now, it’s serving to remind me that Winter won’t stick around forever, and Spring is just around the corner!

While we’re in here, I thought I’d show you the second wingback chair that was finished last year, but never pictured.

 

He’s a happy guy… if I could just keep Bandit from using the back as a scratching post, I’d be golden.  (Evil cat.)

And I did a little sprucing over on the black cabinet, as well.  But I ran out of cute pink stuff.  Tragedy. 

Anyway, hope you are enjoying the last few weeks of winter.  As if!

I hope Spring makes its arrival early this year!

And so does Riley…

The Sweet Gum Chainsaw Massacre

Let me introduce you to the gum ball (in case you haven’t already met).  And not the sugary candy from a machine kind.  The kind that prevent you from playing outside barefoot in summer, roll around like marbles trying to trip you on the driveway, and entice your dog to endlessly chew on them.  Yes, my dog loves to chew on gum balls… and acorns… and sticks. 

Anyway, gum balls are evil.  They litter up my yard every fall, covering it with little spiky balls of torture.  The mower won’t shred them, the blower won’t scatter them, so they just sit there, getting smushed into the dirt, becoming permanently imbedded between tufts of grass, and piling up in the flower beds.  We hate them.  We have waged war on gum balls.  The only effective way to wage war against gum balls is to wage war against gum trees, from which all gum balls come.  Enter the gum ball warriors! 

My Papa and brother John, the chainsaw wielding lumbermen! 

 

Yes, I realize one of these pictures is from Halloween. I also realize there is no use of hammers in gum tree wars. 

Note to self:  Must remember to take more pictures of Papa and John holding chainsaws.

Last year they took down two gum trees in the side yard and this winter they felled one in the front yard.  Here are the lumbermen in action still life:

    

They made swift work of that tree, felling it in the time it took for me to brush my teeth. I didn’t even get to see it fall… which is probably a good thing, considering that this is where it landed:

Right smack on top of my butterfly bush!  Luckily, these things grow super fast, and this one was due for a trim anyway. 

Here’s a glimpse of the new landscape sans gum tree (plus all the wood that the lumbermen couldn’t carry and will have to come back for):

We are already enjoying the more open view without the tree, but come this Spring, I will really enjoy all the extra sunshine!  I can finally grow some “part-sun” plants on that side of the yard!  I’ll be sure to post before and after shots when the leaves come out.  While the tree may be gone, it left behind all its gum ball hangers-on.  I look forward to raking them all up and saying good riddance!  Now if I could just convince the neighbors to cut down all their gum trees, we could eradicate these pesky gum balls from our yard once and for all!  For now, I’m happy just to be free of one more gum tree. 

Lumbermen 3  Gum Trees 0. 

Victory is ours.

DIY Jewelry Organizer

Yesterday I showed you how I had these two matching frames and I took one frame and two pieces of glass to make a butterfly collage.  That left me with a second frame and two pieces of cardboard backer.  Being ever-resourceful and in need of more things to hang on my walls ;) I decided to make a jewelry organizer to display some of my necklaces. 

All you need is a frame, cardboard, fabric, tape, pushpins and jewelry, of course!

I took the two pieces of cardboard (that fit in the frame) and taped them together into a double thick piece (the thickness is important so your pushpins don’t fall out).  Then I wrapped it with cream silk that would match my decor.  I simply taped the fabric to the back of the cardboard.  Easy peasy.  Then I spray painted my frame white to match the trim in the room.  Put the cardboard back in the frame and tape securely on the back.  Tape is your friend. :)  Lastly, I hung it on the wall behind my closet—it fits perfectly in that little space.  Add some pushpins and the jewelry! 

Now I have a place to hang my new fancy necklace that doesn’t fit in my jewelry box! Plus I get to display the weird old key that I found.  FYI, I don’t wear that as jewelry. :)

What do you think?  Do you have any old frames that you could convert into stylish jewelry organizers?

Les Papillons

This blog should be called “Decorating with Butterflies”.  Apparently I love them and just can’t get enough butterflies!  They live in almost every room of the house:

They are my go-to for art, fabric and accents.

Case in point:  I’m looking for something to hang above the towel bar in our newly repainted master bathroom.  Everything I have is either too big or too small or has kittens on it and says something about sisters.  Then I remember these two long skinny frames that my Mama gave me.  With seashell prints.  Obviously the seashells have to go.  But what can I put inside?  At 14” wide I don’t have anything I can print that would fit.  So I decide to sandwich something between the two pieces of glass (one from each frame).  Ferns would be good but its winter and I don’t have any in the garden that don’t look frozen.  Hmmm… how bout a picture of something… Butterflies?  I can’t find anything to print (vintageprintable.com) that is landscape and close to my dimensions. 

Lightbulb!  What if I use cutouts of butterflies in a collage!  So I find and print two pages of butterflies and cut them out (minus their antennae… poor butterflies).  Then I simply arrange them in my frame and stick them to the glass with a glue stick.  Place the second piece of glass on top and replace in frame.  Voila!

Instant art.  Love.

What do you think?  Think I should be committed for using butterflies all over the place?  Think I am a genius with a color printer and a glue stick?

As soon as it gets warm enough to spray paint, I’ll show you what I did with the second frame!

Moody Blue Bathroom Makeover

The long-awaited Operation Paint the Master Bathroom has finally been accomplished…  And I even got the right color on the first try! :)  Don’t you love it when that happens?  I have no patience for picking up paint samples and taping them to the wall.  Nah… I just grab a pillowcase or curtain that is the color I want and traipse on down to the paint department.  Lucky me, I found the perfect moody gray blue for our master bathroom.  It is called “Lunar Eclipse” by Olympic Paints. 

Whatever the name, the color is just what I was looking for!  A perfect complement to the adjacent Master Bedroom with all its blue linens, while also bringing out the blue background print in our shower curtain. 

You may remember what we were working with before… It was a grayish cream color that was all on the walls in this house when we bought it.  We are steadily ticking off the rooms and adding some new colors to this place.  Here is a side by side comparison.

  

Painting is just one of the many steps in this bathroom makeover.  As you can see, we also have a new light fixture, faucet and wall shelf to showcase!  The faucet was a Christmas gift from Santa… Santa obviously knows what I like! :)  Isn’t she pretty?  Yeah, I’m the kind of person who gets excited about a new faucet… and then blogs about it.  And let me just say, I’ve had this beauty installed for two weeks (Thanks, Papa!)and I’m STILL excited about it!

Meanwhile, this past weekend we installed our new light fixture which was a must-have for the new bathroom.  I wanted a chrome four-light fixture to match all the other hardware in here, but alas, it was not meant to be… and I had to settle for brushed nickel… maybe no one will notice? ;)  The best part is, I saved $20 by buying the fixture and the glass shades separately at Lowe’s.  Apparently they think they deserve an extra President Jackson just to pick out the shades for you and put them in the same box.  I also had a gift card to sweeten the deal, thanks John and Heather! :)

Oh, I almost forgot how “we” installed it.  I stood on the countertop and installed it, while Papa gave instructions and handed me things!  Yay, me!  If it weren’t for pesky things like the potential for electrocution and circuitry and what-not, I could be my own electrician.  Haha…

 

Voila!

It looks good and it puts out a lot of light, which you all know I am fond of.  However, compared to the old light, which was one of those “oak” strip lights a la 1984, the shades on this one funnel the light down over the vanity.  That’s excellent when you are trying to locate the foreign object on your contact lens, but it makes showering a little dim.  So, next on my list is a bath fan/light combo to replace the jinky fan-only unit in the ceiling over by the shower.  They do make some lovely bath fans these days that look like elegant light fixtures.  I’m a fan.  :)  Now to convince the hubby that $88 is not too much to spend just for the convenience of a well-lit shower. 

Last but not least on the “new things in my bathroom” list is our oil rubbed bronze wall shelf.  Don’t you love how trendy paint finishes sound like expensive hand-polished metals?  Yeah, me too.  Anyway, the wall shelf was another gift from Santa (he SO loves me!) to replace the “oak” wall cabinet that was a freebie from a friend.  I really enjoyed having that cabinet, but I was worried how it would look when I refinish the vanity in bombay mahogany.  So, I merely suggested that I liked this shelf and thought it would make a good replacement.  You know what happens when you tell my mother… I mean Santa… that you “like” something.  She goes and buys you a twelve place setting of it!  With all the accompanying serving bowls and platters!  I mean… she surprises you with it for Christmas!  Thanks Mama!  And then after…. ahem… three tries, and as many hours waiting for a second round of spackle to dry, I successfully installed it… by myself!  I didn’t even drop it and wake the puppy! 

And here it is, securely attached to the wall… with two anchors… that hold 100 lbs each.  Not. Going. Anywhere.  :)

And dear readers, what is a new shelf without new accessories?  (And some borrowed from other rooms that have been invaded by puppies anyway.)  The new accessory is that cute glass canister with the darling bird on the lid.  It’s from Pottery Barn… my Love.  And ergo, it’s from Andi!  Thanks Andi and Nick for the Christmas present!  I got it to put bathroomy things like cotton balls and Q-tips in.  PB even offers some staging tips:

But, I don’t have any cotton balls.  And I’m pretty sure it would hold a case of Q-tips.  So, I just filled mine with bars of soap.  :)  But I forgot to emboss them with flowers and tie little pieces of string around each one.  Darn.

So, that brings us to the end of the “new things” tour.  Next on the ole to-do list in here is to refinish this vanity!  And install the matching mirror frame.  And I’ll probably restage the countertop.  You know, cause that’s what I do… when I’m not admiring my new faucet and jar of soap.  :)

I’ll be back soon for the big reveal!  Will you?