Thrift Store Chandelier

A while ago I wrote a post about some things I found at my local thrift store. I found an awesome chandelier that  I bought for our front entrance way. I knew I wanted to change it in some way, but wasn't sure how.

I started off by taking all of the 'crystals' (plastic crystals) off of the light. They were held on by pieces of wire that were secured by being bent around itself. They were super easy to remove.

At first I thought I wanted to paint it, but then I realized that I would probably put hours into painting it, only to have it look almost the same as when I started. I decided to leave it as is.

I got my Dad to help me install it. I still have a fear of doing electric work, so I left it up to someone who knew what they were doing.

 Chandelier Before

Chandelier After

I was so pleased that it actually worked once it was all wired up (you never know when you buy from a thrift store!)

It's so much nicer than the basic builders light that was there before. It was so worth the $9.99 that I paid for it and then some!

Our Big Tiling Weekend

This past weekend we kept busy by tiling the back splash. I had never tiled before, but it wasn't too bad. It was more time consuming than it was difficult.

We started out by mixing the mortar that's used to stick the tiles on the walls. I'm sure different kinds of mortar have different instructions, but this one said to put the mortar and water in a bucket, mix for 5 minutes, let sit for 10 and then mix for another 2 minutes. I would definitely recommend using a corded drill as I think this would burn a cordless drill out in no time. It's about the consistency of peanut butter when you're done.

I didn't get a photo of the mortar on the walls, but you use a mortar spreader to put it on, which makes ridges. This makes the tiles adhere better. The fun part about putting the tile up is going around all of the outlets etc. We had 4 outlets, a phone jack and a window to contend with. Put spacers in between the tile to make sure they're the right distance apart.

After all of the tiles are up, wait for around 24 hours.

The next step is the messy bit. Grout! We chose a charcoal coloured grout. The mixing process was similar to the mortar. You use something called a grout float to apply it. You have to be quite quick while you're doing this part as it dries really quickly.

It looked pretty horrible at this point. I was really hoping it would wipe off and look nice! After 25 minutes, we started to wipe the excess grout off with large sponges.

After a lot of wiping, it finally started to look good. We had to keep on rinsing our sponges off so that we weren't just spreading the grout around. In this photo the grout is still wet.

This is the finished product up close.

Before

After!

I'll put more after pictures up when it is completely finished. I still have to do some painting around the windows, and caulk around the counter top.

I would definitely recommend that everyone try tiling at least once. The end result is really rewarding!

Frame and Mirror Collage

We have a large wall that I wanted to do something a little bit different to. I didn't want just one huge painting filling it, and I thought I'd have a go at making a collage out of some mirrors and frames.

This is what I ended up with (sorry there is some glare. It was pretty sunny when I took these):

We painted our whole house, and I decided that I wanted very light neutral walls throughout. Sounds boring, I know, but I prefer to add colour with accessories and furniture. That way if I get sick of the colour(s), I can just change the pillows or a painting rather than having to paint walls where the ceilings are 14 feet high at some points.

My best tips for creating a collage are as follows:

- collect the main bulk of frames and mirrors that you want  to include before you start if possible. This means that you can plan out where everything fits in better and you wont have to move things around as much.

- Try to stick with on colour for your frames so it is somewhat cohesive and flows well. I went with gold tones. You could do whatever colour you'd like or if you'd like a more wild look, you could just use a bunch of colours.

- Some of the frames I bought were a different colour initially. I bought some cheap gold acrylic paint and gave them a base coat with that. I then lightly brushed some dark brown paint over top when the gold paint was dry, and then removed it with paper towel. This gives them an antiqued look.

- Don't spend too much on your frames/mirrors/pieces of art. The most expensive piece was the large oval mirror for $9.99. Go to thrift stores and you can find wonderful things!

Here are some close ups of the individual items in the collection:

I found this real butterfly in a frame at Value Village. The frame was plain wood and so was the background. I opened up the frame, removed the butterfly and added a paper backing. I then painted the frame gold and reassembled it. Total cost - $4.50

 This frame was a gift from my Mom from Home Sense. The picture is a cross stitched pheasant that my mother in law made and sent me from England.

 These two frames and prints were from Value Village as well. They were $2 each. I love how the prints inside are somewhat random and I really wonder the story behind them. I didn't have to do anything to them before hanging them. Bonus!

 This is a doily from my Mom and Dad's friend. His grandmother made this a long time ago. So much time and effort went into this piece I thought it would be a shame to fold it up and put it in a drawer, so I framed it! The frame was one that I purchased from Home Sense a while back. It was supposed to hold a bunch of smaller pictures, but I liked how this looked better. I painted the backing board a dark cranberry colour and put the doily in.