{outdoors: part three}

It's glider time people! We received a beautiful wood glider as a wedding gift from some wonderful people last year, and I left it unfinished until I figured out what I wanted the rest of the front of the house to look like. After I figured it out, I was delighted to see that YELLOW was not only an option, but really the best choice I could make. Yay! This post will go through prepping and painting the glider, and sewing the cushion.

Here's the gorgeous glider I started with. It's ok if you're jealous, I mean it's curved for lumbar support for the love...

Sorry, I just couldn't get this picture to stand up. I got a quart of Curry colored outdoor paint from Walmart. I cleaned the wood with a damp rag to get spiderwebs and what not off of it, if it had already been painted, I would've sanded it first, but in this case I didn't have to.

This is one coat, I did two total. I used a brush, it's a lot of work getting in between all those slats and in all the nooks and crannies of the undercarriage, etc. so be sure to set aside enough time. I put it on the tarp because I didn't want to deal with grass at the bottoms of the legs, and it worked just fine. And I sat on a sheet so I wouldn't get chiggers!

Here's the hard fun part. The cushion! I started with a cut of 3" foam from Joann. No idea if there is such a thing called 'outdoor foam,' I didn't think about it or look for it..if it ends up getting moldy in a few years or whatever I'll just replace it. Anyway, you can have someone cut it to the size you want, my experience with that wasn't great, only because there was an older lady working that day who thought she was awesome at cutting foam and she sucked, bad, I was thisclose to asking her if I could just do it. Anyway, that must've been why I didn't ask them to cut the width for me, only the length. I made marks at both ends to cut the width, you can use a serrated knife or good scissors, OR the best way is an electric knife if you have one. Hopefully for you there will be a competent Joann employee working that day and you won't have to worry about it! Also- foam isn't cheap, FYI.

This is the real fun part, the FABRIIIIIC! This is a lovely Chevron pattern in dark teal and white, it's outdoor fabric that dries quickly and won't fade until it gets something like 5000 hours of direct sunlight or something, and it goes beautifully with my new shutters.

Based on my math and measurements, I cut my pieces, top, bottom, sides, and ties.

First step was to pin all the sides of the cushion together.

Double-checking after they're sewn. Time for the top. Unfortunately I don't have any pics of this step, but it's just attaching 1 panel of fabric for the top, and two for the bottom, you'll see how they're put together in a bit.

Before attaching the bottom, I made these ties so I could tie the cushion to the glider once it was on so it would stay. Just cut strips of fabric, 2" wide would be sufficient, fold just like this and sew.

Here are all 4 ties. They don't have to be beautiful, they're in the back and they tie together, so they're not on display.

Position 2 ties between the bottom panel and side panel in each corner. This will be the back of your cushion. Sew over them as you sew the panel itself on, and they'll be attached!

Here they are sewn in, and I've cut off the extra ends that would be on the inside of the cushion.

This is what they look like on the outside.

Top, sides, and ties are done. All I need now is the bottom pieces! This is a pocket cover, no zippers or buttons, just an overlapping piece in the back.

Here's what the back will look like. Sew along all edges, and leave the two pieces to overlap like an envelope. After it's done, squeeeeeeeeeeeeze the foam into it, it'll be difficult, but it'll go!

And VOILA! Cushion. I tied it on and made some matching pillows, which also tie to the glider.

Here's the 'big picture' with the shutters framing it. So fun! I'm so happy with it. There's the transformation that took place on my house this summer! Now I can LOVE it and smile when I drive up the driveway instead of shaking my head in exhausted derision. :D Hard work pays off. Especially before it gets too hot outside for the summer!

{outdoors: part two- painting front door}

You've seen the shutters go, now time for the matching front door! The door was the same color as the old shutters, that maroon color I just couldn't live with anymore. Using Sherwin-Williams' Color Visualizer on their website, I uploaded a picture of the house and played around with the shutters and front door to find the colors I wanted. Since our house is basically cut in half in the front view with the garage, the color was going to be very concentrated on one side and then the garage is all white on the other. I wanted to balance it out a little more, so I decided on the color Greek Villa for the front door instead of matching it to the shutters. Supa fresh. Here's the process, my first time painting a door. FYI, my door is wood, not steel. Using a sprayer would probably be a better idea for steel.

Supplies:

Exterior primer and paint (Quarts will do)
paint brush
4" foam roller (best type of roller ever!)
power sander
wet rag/sheets for clean up

Original door, sheets down for sanding, doorknob not removed yet.

power sander! i used a very rough grit, don't remember what number, it was low. you should also use a fine grit to smooth it out before painting.

Just look at this nonsense!! Supposedly this was painted by a professional? Ugh. I also used this opportunity to clean this mess up by painting the side.

Door is sanded. It's not necessary to take off all the existing paint, only to take off the gloss of the existing paint and smooth the surface. You can use individual sandpaper pieces to get in the crevices, like the picture below.

crevices!

Be sure to wipe all the debris off of the door with a wet rag between sanding and painting!

This is where the fun begins! I took a 2" wide, thin artist brush and put on 2 thin coats of primer in all the crevices of the door. You can't let the paint pool anywhere, or it will dry that way and you'll have bumps, that's why the thin layers are important. Do this anywhere the roller won't fit with the primer and paint.

close-up of crevices

This is the primer I used. I used primer because my door was so dark, and I wanted the paint to come out as quality as possible!

THIS is the important part!! I'd never used or heard of these foam rollers before, but they are AWESOME. I'll be using them for many other things, I'm sure. Sorry this one is blue, I used it for something else, incidentally- this is the roller I would've used for the shutters if I'd known before! You'll find the handle in the same section of the store.

STEPS:

 1) Use brush to prime crevices.

2)Use roller to prime door. Repeat 1 & 2 for another coat.

3) Use brush to paint crevices.

4) Use roller to paint door- thin, smooth layers, going in different directions as if you were painting a wall. Repeat 3 & 4 for another coat.

 *BE SURE TO dry each coat before painting another**

Here's the painted door, behind my hideous storm door lol. I thought it looked too plain! A friend suggested I paint the door yellow, and I loved that idea, but I just thought it would be too much. I decided to just accent it with yellow.

I took an artist brush and painted the ridges and accented the architectural elements of the door. This took way too long. It was a lot more difficult than I anticipated. But I am very happy with the result!

Close-up!

Checking it out from the front. Gah! That door.

Not only did I re-paint the door, I ordered a new handle set that is GORGEOUS compared to my old one. LOVE.

TA-DAAA! Finished front door with the old one gone. New storm door coming, but definitely enjoyed this look while it lasted! Couldn't be happier with it, it's so different!

Would you ever take on changing the look of your house, now that you know how EASY AND FUN it is? Ha!

{outdoors: part one}

Hello! I've been working hard on the front of the house this summer, so there will be a series of 3 posts on how I've changed it. First up is the shutters! I'd never painted shutters before, so I'll tell you about what I learned and what I'd do differently next time (next time will be a long time from now hopefully lol).


This project took a good 1-2 weeks, when you count finding someone to take down the shutters, a couple coats of paint, and hanging back up. This post will be short so I don't have to re-live it all. :D

Here's what the house has looked like since my husband bought it a few years ago. We live in a bit of a cookie-cutter neighborhood, and I wanted to change the look of the house to be unique, but not stick out like an awesome sore thumb when it comes time to sell. SO lots of planning and negotiating with Ryan and I could get started!

Original plastic shutters taken down by a family friend whom I subsequently made cookies for as a BIG thank you! Taking down shutters is no easy task, at least for me. I was definitely not strong enough to do it, because you basically have to yank them out of the house. They are held in by Shutter-Loks, which are basically plastic nails that look like screws? It's weird, you'd never need to know until you want to take them down though. :) People have a lot of ways they take shutters down but yanking them out seems to be the best way to go.

Same shutters with one coat of Sherwin-Williams' "Plymouth Blue" color. I wanted a dark teal that was more blue than it was green, and I found it! I used a regular paint brush for all of it, but I'll tell you what I would do differently with it. I ended up with 3-4 coats of paint on each shutter!!

Close-up of shutter with one coat. Exterior paint is very sticky and different to work with than interior paint, just FYI.

This is what I would've done differently, if I'd known. I would have used a small foam roller on the sides, because the sides have no texture, and the brush doesn't work well on it. At this point, I was hot and tired and figured no one looks at shutters closely anyway! ;)

Here's the house with no shutters! Compared to the maroon, I even liked this better lol. **IMPORTANT TIP: When you take the shutters down, label their placement on the house for when you put them back up!! A lot of builders don't use a template to put the screws in shutters, and the holes could be in a bunch of different places, which means in my case a lot of frustration and crying when you try to put them back up!

One thing you'll definitely have to do if you take them down is get all new Shutter-Loks to put them back up. The Loks bend very easily and WILL break when you remove the shutter. GET EXTRAS!! If you are getting a standard color shutter, you may be able to find the color of Lok as well and not have to paint them. I had to paint, so I stuck them all in boxes so they'd stand and I could just paint the tops, which is the only part you see once they're up. 2 coats on these with a foam brush.                                     **TO PUT SHUTTERS BACK UP: Since you were smart and labeled where your shutters go back to, it'll be easy peasy. All you do is get a hammer (a rubber mallet would be best if you had one, it chips the paint less!!) and gently tap the new Shutter-Loks back into the house. Carefully, they are prone to bending!

Ta daaa! Shutters back up, sections by the door painted, just need a new front door! Which I got for my birthday, by the way :) New storm door and painting the front door is the next project coming on here so stay tuned if you want to know how to paint a front door! Yay.

{latitude&longitude}

it's been months since my last post, i was a tad burned out for a bit, BUT it's SPRING! i am mega motivated, so i think you can look forward to a whole series of great outdoor projects in the near future. this is a really simple one i've been thinking about for awhile, and it's finally here.




i picked up this great old window, but really didn't have a plan for it. i knew i wanted it on the porch, and that i wanted it to have a unique finish. i've seen pillows, etc. with latitude and longitude printed on them, and i LOVE the idea of identifying your little teeny tiny piece of the world where you live and where your life happens, and displaying it. 


here are the steps:


1} i googled the latitude and longitude of our house
2} measure the window space where your numbers will go
3} divide that measurement by how many numbers you have to fit in it (you could do far less numbers than i did, even no decimal points, i liked the idea of being very specific)
4} copy/paste the latitude and longitude you're using into microsoft word, choose your font, and modify the text size until it's the size you need for the window.
5} print out the numbers, and trace each number onto the back of the page it's printed on with a thin sharpie
6} tape numbers in order to front of window, letting the tracing show through (this is so you can paint on the back of the window, protecting it more from the weather and giving it a more finished look)

numbers taped to the front of the window with traced side showing through

 7} trace numbers onto back of window using a sharpie

top row is traced, bottom is not yet. please excuse my husband and dog :)

i laid it down to trace the bottom row so i would have a steadier hand and not have to lay on the floor to reach it

sorry, not a phenomenal picture but you can see the outlines of all my numbers are done

i thought for a minute i might just leave it at an outline, but only for a minute.

8} use painter tape to protect your wood from the paint. be careful though, depending on the paint you use, you may have some acrylics trying to stick to your tape and go with it when you peel it off later, like i did.

i chose some cheap paint i found at michael's, patio paint because it's supposed to be weather-resistant, andi mixed it about 1:1 with the multi-purpose sealer (per the instructions) to have it seal more as well. hopefully it will hold up!

9} paint inside your numbers on the back of the window. i did 3 coats (letting them dry between, this paint dried pretty quickly), but depending on the level of 'rustic' or 'weathered' you are going for, you may end up doing only 2 or even 1. up to you! 

10} be careful removing your tape! start slowly by pulling the tape corner by the paint in the opposite direction and trying to cut the connection to the paint early so the paint doesn't want to stretch or drag as you pull.

TA-DA! unfortunately it's too heavy to hang without putting holes in the siding, which i want to avoid, but it looks great where it is! anyway it's a great start to the big plans i have for the porch and front of the house this summer.

  

i'm hoping it will be a nice conversation piece and i love that i can display my affection for my favorite place in the world!