Turn a Vintage Ad into Wall Worthy Art

Personally, I'm not crazy about art in general (please don't hate me). I don't believe in throwing up pictures just to fill a blank space. Anything I put on my walls has to mean something to me.

I discovered the joy of vintage ads when I was browsing e-bay one day. And I came across an Orange Crush ad that I just adored! Orange Crush was the only pop I would drink growing up, so while it's not something I'm emotionally tied to, it does provide good memories of when I was growing up.

So, I ordered the ad, and rather than just slapping it into a frame, I decided to dress it up a little.

I used...

Black ribbon $0.50 for a small spool
Orange swatch of fabric $2
Plain jane frame $3

And I came up with...

I loved how this turned out! I have a couple more vintage ads waiting for their turn.

Have any of you decorated with vintage ads?

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Quality Customer Service

My glass is officially on order!

The company I ordered from, Barrie Metro Glass, has been an absolute breeze to work with. Every single e-mail I've sent has been answered with amazing promptness. Less than 24 hours after my first inquiry, my glass is on order and will be available for pick up on Monday. And for what I consider to be a wicked good price.

So, here's where I'm at with my first window restore project:

• remove window from opening
• remove old glazing and glass
• strip old paint
• sand with 50 grit sandpaper, sand trim with heavy grit sanding sponge
• patch gouges and holes
• sand with 80 grit sandpaper, 120 grit sandpaper, sand trim with sanding sponge
• prime with oil based primer
• get glass cut
• set glass in sash with new glazing putty and new glazing points
• clean out window opening from dirt and loose paint
• caulk all gaps with paintable exterior grade caulk
• paint window opening and brickmold with exterior formulated paint
• install weatherstripping
• after putty has skinned over sufficiently, prime sash again with oil based primer
• paint sash with exterior formulated paint

Because it can take DAP 33 a long time to set up enough to be ready for priming/painting, I'm leaving the window opening work until after I've reglazed the window - I'll have time to kill!

Any projects on the go around your house? Let's hear about them!

* I was not compensated in any way by Barrie Metro Glass for writing about them. All opinions are my own based on personal experience. They have no idea that I am writing this!

Projects, projects, projects!

I have a million things running around like Wile E. Coyote and the Roadrunner in my head. And they're in fast forward, because winter's on it's way. I apologize in advance for the jumbledness that will be this post.

I haven't made any progress on my window since my last post - I need glass, which I'm hoping to have by the end of the week or early next week at the latest. One I have my glass, I can get to glazing. And then wait endlessly for the putty to set up enough so that I can paint. I need to find somewhere that sells glazing points before I can glaze. For an awesome tutorial on glazing windows, check out Old Town Home's tutorial. These guys do amazing work restoring their 1880's row house in Alexandria, Virginia.

I've been advised pretty strongly to not use the glazing putty that I have on hand (DAP 33). The alternative is to order a highly recommended product online (Sarco), but at this point I wonder if there's any point. By the time the Sarco got here, my DAP could be all set up and ready to go. So I think for this window, I'm going to take my chances with the DAP. If I have to redo it next year, so be it. I suspect that I won't though - most people report good final results with the DAP, it just takes forever to skin over. If you're a nerd and want to learn more about glazing putties, go on over to this thread at the Historic HomeWorks Forum.

Another project that I have on the go is our "new" salvaged storm door. My door opening is 3/8" smaller than the width of my door...the door is patched and sanded, it just needs to be sized, hinges and locks  mortised, primed, painted, have glass and hardware installed, and then hung. At least the salvaged hardware is refinished already. Well, everything except the actual lock. Oooooh dear.

When we get around to doing our bathroom at the end of October, I have plans for making a custom sink base out of salvaged turned table legs and 2x4's. I guess if it gets too cold outside before I get to this, I can do it in the basement, although I really don't enjoy being down there.

And finally, thanks to Pinterest and the fun folks over at Young House Love, I've decided that I need a pretty office all to myself. We have two closets in the entire house. One in the hall, and one in what will be the master bedroom. Boyfriend has the hall closet, and the one in the master was to be mine. Well, I've decided to turn it into an office space. Clothes will be stored in a refinished thriftstore/Kijiji/Craigslist wardrobe that I have yet to find.

Whew! Feeling a little better now that I've written it all out. It's not so bad, not so bad...at least there's no timeline on the office closet...I just want it!

Frivolous Friday!

Welcome to another Frivolous Friday post!

Source.

I've been jonesin' for this linen cabinet from Ikea for quite awhile. The simple lines are much more appropriate for our modest farmhouse than most frilly Victorian pieces. At a whopping $499, this is way out of our price range. At some point, I might try to bang together a similar something if I can find a suitable wardrobe or cabinet at a thrift store. With our bathroom reno plans finalized, I think we'll even have room for a linen cabinet! Hooray for storage!

Back in Action!

Finally, I'm back at work after three horrible weeks. I'm beyond happy to be back at work, and that's all I'm going to say on the subject.

I have a few projects on the go right now, all of which require me to be working outside. I have to keep telling myself to finish each of them from start to finish, because if I keep going back and forth and doing bits and pieces of each, I'm never going to be finished before the snow starts flying.

So here's a sneak peak of the first project I plan on finishing - my first window sash restore!

I started with this:

And I'm currently at this:

Stay tuned for a finished "after" picture!

Labour Dispute!

Unfortunately, support staff at my place of work are currently on strike. My position falls under this category, so I'm spending the next several days (weeks?!?) marching the picket line.

I am without regular access to a computer at home, so expect further delays for content appearing here...

Hope to be back soon!

Ashley