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Sunday 18 November 2012

DIY - Jazz up a sad wooden table with a simple stencils

Crafty Emily Westbrooks of  lifestyle blog From China Village is back again to share with us some of her slick DIY skills, this time she transforms an old table into an eye catching piece of furniture.



"Repurposed furniture is all the rage at the moment, but it can also be very expensive to buy in a shop. But most of us have a piece or two of old furniture sitting unused in the garage or shed just waiting for a little sprucing. One fast and impressive way to give an old piece new life is with a simple stencil. The shapes and patterns you can choose for your stencil are endless." [Emily Westbrooks]

What you'll need

  • A piece of furniture that needs sprucing! I used an old wooden table, but you could use an old bookcase or even new Ikea furniture you're looking to put your stamp on
  • Electric sander or sand paper
  • Thick card
  • Craft Knife
  • Ispiration for your stencil
  • Paint (I find Woodie's DIY sample paint pots are enough paint and they come in a range of cheerful colours)
  • Small paint brush
  • Varnish

Directions

[Photo's by Emily Westbrooks]


What to do

  1. Create your stencil. Decide what shape you'd like to stencil your piece - this is a great way to bring in a trendy pattern you couldn't find anywhere else. I chose to use several different feathers, but you could do simple, graphic birds or stars or even just circles to make polka dots!

  2. You can either freehand draw your stencil on the card and cut it out with the craft knife, or you can print out a shape, trace it onto the card and cut it out. You'll want to cut out several copies of your stencil as you can only really use each sheet once before the paint starts to soak through.

  3. Once your stencils are ready, you can get your furniture ready for painting. Use the sander or sandpaper to smooth down the finish of the piece you're working on. I found an electric sander took off the old beat up varnish in just five minutes. I chose not to sand the rest of the piece because I wanted to keep it looking rustic - just updated!

  4. Wipe dirt or sawdust off the surface with a damp cloth.

  5. Arrange your stencils on your furniture. You really can't go wrong here - stencils look great grouped together or spread apart. Secure your stencils with blue tack.

  6. Paint the inside of each stencil, brushing from the edge into the middle so paint doesn't get underneath the card. Paint one coat and let the paint dry without removing the stencil. Paint a second coat (and third if necessary) and remove the stencil. If you need to add one or two more stencils, now's the time to decide!

  7. If you have a piece of wooden furniture like mine, you will want to paint the surface you sanded with a few coats of varnish (letting it dry in between).
Then sit back and enjoy your newly revamped piece of furniture. You now have a one-of-a-kind piece you created!  

 [Emily Westbrooks - www.fromchinavillage.com ]


Thanks Emily

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Friday 16 November 2012

Top Six Picks - Kitchenalia


Kitchenalia
 

Cosy nights in seems a lot more appealing right now and looks like the kitchen is the place to be.  Here's six innovative and gorgeous kitchen accessories to elevate your kitchen dining , as well as your cooking!
1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6
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Thursday 15 November 2012

Damn Fine Print Studio



I've been
slacking off this blog of late and I have a valid reason - honest!  Remember that screen printing dream, well Damn Fine Print Studio has been born :) Yep that's me up above,  up to my eyes in red ink.  Myself, Alex Pacheco and Eric Greene are currently putting together one meg screenprint spectacular event on Dec 6th in BLOCK T Smithfield square where we will be showcasing the work of 30 of Dublin's hottest artists and  illustrators in hand-pulled (by us!) screen print. We are screening day and night in the studio at the moment so that we have 30 limited edition prints of each artist ready for the show - that's 900 prints folks!.  You can follow our progress here and check out some teaser sneak peeks of the very covetable artworks that will be on show and for sale at the exhibition for just €30 a pop.

I'll keep you updated on the actual event as we get closer to D day!
In the mean time I will do my best to uncover some Irish made gems worthy of Christmas stockings over the next few weeks.

Kim. x

     

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Friday 9 November 2012

Patterned Prints







Love the colours and repeated patterns of these fabrics and accessories by textile designer, Tara Birmingham, made in Galway. See more of her work here and shop shop shop here!


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Thursday 8 November 2012

Pass it On


The  annual Movember Poster Exhibition ' Pass It On' opens tonight  at the AMAZING (no seriously check it out )  Fumbally Cafe In Dublin. Featuring the instantly want-able prints by some of our top artists, designers and photographers, all for just €10 a pop, Pass it On is a great way to  raise some awareness and funds for Action Prostate Cancer. The exhibition will run for the rest of the month, so if you don't make tonight's party, you’ll still be able to drop into The Fumbally and pick one up.




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Tuesday 6 November 2012

Sweet.




This trio of
gorgeous necklaces is the latest offering from Silversmith Ger Breslin. Aptly titled 'Sweetest Feeling', she is donating 50% of the sale price of each chain to charity - Each handcrafted piece is not only a beautiful design, but also holds a hidden message
spelling out its title..LOVE, JOY,  HOPE , and supports its own charity organization. 

‘LOVE’ supports The Irish Cancer Society 
‘JOY’ supports MS Ireland 
‘HOPE’ supports Console
 
So by buying a necklace not only will you be giving some lucky-ducker a beautiful present but you will also be helping other people in need of the most basic and important things of all, love, joy and hope…the sweetest feelings!

















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