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thrift project

By atrophie Wastebasket1

i know i haven't updated in forever, so i thought i'd post this little tidbit:   picked up a wastebasket at Goodwill for $1.99. hated the colour, loved the shape.  picked up some Krylon  Fusion black spray paint for plastic surfaces for around $5.  a few coats and hours of drying time, and now i've got a really classy wastebasket for my room. i'm not sure if i should spray it with a top coat of anything.  it seems to be doing fine so far...the paint says 7 days until it's chip-free.  it seems to be bonded pretty well to... »MORE

March 01, 2008
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my closet has curtains!

By atrophie Closetcurtains

rich, chocolatey velvet ones!  with grommets!    and my walls are lavender, rather than bright blue (painted when i was 12!).  don't worry, the blue carpet is coming out this weekend :D the curtains i got here (and need to be steamed); the wraparound curtain rod i got here (and it's totally sexy btw). some inspiration sites are here and here i'm just happy to not be looking at all the junk in my closet anymore! it's also great to have a curtain because the doors (which opened out) took up so much space and limited my furniture placement in... »MORE

October 25, 2007
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desk refinishing part four (CONCLUSION)

By atrophie Desk1

...continued from this post it started with this:   and now it looks like this: and the inside drawers: (that's just lace fabric, not lingerie!) so as you can see, i acquired some sheets of acrylic, which turned out to be more expensive than i predicted.  however, i am very pleased with the finished product.  i had the corners on desktop sheet rounded so they fit seamlessly with the wood.  the inner-drawer sheets fit over some cute rainbow polka dot calico fabric i got at Joann's.  i chose that fabric because i love rainbow, but by keeping it inside the... »MORE

October 21, 2007
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desk refinishing part three

By atrophie Desk7

...continuing from this post   so i finally finished all the painting and today i finished the desk with Minwax Polycrylic Spray Protective Finish.  that totally took away the tackiness, but it smelled like ant poison.  now my desk pretty much looks done at this point, and is usable, but i have more tricks up my sleeve :)   i staged the desk with accessories :) as you can see, i've got my drawer pulls installed! they are blinged-out and quirky!  they are made by Siro, and are 6.5" long in total!  i love them. so what else could i... »MORE

October 08, 2007
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desk refinishing questions part two

By atrophie Desk5

so, you may have seen my first post here well, i got this desk exactly one month ago, and i'm still working on it.  my creative intentions are beginning to be realized! as you can see, i chose a colour!  the pull-out wooden tablet is missing from the photo--it's off getting painted.  i've given the rest of the desk a few coats, and i've ordered pulls for the drawers!  they are 6" rectangular pulls from the "mosaic" collection by Siro, and hopefully they will look as good on the desk as they do in their photos - click here to... »MORE

September 20, 2007
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desk refinishing questions

By atrophie Desk1

ok so i got this desk for free off a curb (thanks to craigslist) in Menlo Park.  i think it's completely awesome. i patched, sanded, and primed it and now it looks like this: (i still have to prime a little bit of the inside) as you can see, it's got a cool pull-out tablet. 1) what should i do to the tablet?  i'm thinking a sand and a stain, since painting it would probably interfere with its usefulness. 2) what colours should i paint this desk?  the only idea i've come up with is two-toned chocolate and black (painting... »MORE

September 04, 2007
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goodbye, Delaware

By atrophie Newmoss1

so my boyfriend and i are finally getting out of this dreadful state.  we're packing up all of our things, but i have a new green friend that cannot be packed along with my other belongings.   i got this "pot" at a local garden shop.  it's carved volcanic rock, from what i can tell.  it's even got three little legs carved out of the bottom.  i thought it would be perfect to grow my moss in (and hopefully on!) because it's porous.  so tonight, i transplanted the moss i'd been keeping into it, and it looks lovely.  it's got... »MORE

August 01, 2007
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i'm a poacher, lulz

By atrophie Pbmoss

okay so don't tell my landlord, but i poached some moss from the trunk of an oak tree on the property.  i was inspired--no, driven--to start trying to grow my own moss from this Pottery Barn catalog photo:   then i remembered this estate that my dad's business partner owned.  it had hills in the backyard that were completely covered in moss.  i remember how beautiful i thought it was, like nature's carpet.  so i've started my own moss garden:     i've researched a little about different types of moss and how to grow it, and i hope i'll... »MORE

July 23, 2007
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the fountain

By atrophie Fountain1

the planter i bought to make the fountain.  it's got a cool grey stony glaze with this dripping metallic pewter-looking glaze around the lipi started by using my mould-making platinum cure silicone to fill the bottom of the planter, after attempting to use duct tape and insulating foam and failing.  i threaded the cords for the egglight (with dichroic lens!) and pump through a hole in the bottom of the planter.i bought huge chunks of light blue glass and stacked them on top of each other.  then i connected a 5/8" clear vinyl tube to the pump and attached it... »MORE

July 04, 2007
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new take on magnetic spice rack

By atrophie Rack1

so i don't cook, but i do craft!  and i have a crafting desk specifically for my hobby.  i've always heard that if you don't have much living space, go vertical!  i've loved magnetic spice racks since i first saw them, so i decided to put a new twist on the original idea. my messy workstation: i don't have enough room, as you can see, and i already installed a shelf above the desk. i went to the Home Depot and bought a 12"x12" square of 26ga galvanized steel for just over $5, then went to Wal-Mart and bought a... »MORE

April 07, 2007
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amusing idea

By atrophie Medcab1

so in my last post, i wrote about trying to make a magnetic strip to stick metal hygeine tools on.  well, i came up with a better and simpler idea.   my medicine cabinet is some sort of metal that's painted over with white.  the mirrored door on it is a couple inches wider than the actual cabinet on three sides.  i stuck some neodymium magnets on the bottom of the cabinet, and now i've got hidden but organized tools! for some reason, this solution really amuses me.  it's perfect! and i've replaced my ugly brass cabinet hardware with the bar... »MORE

April 02, 2007
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baby steps

By atrophie Apartment6

i've been busy lately with another hobby of mine--jewelry making.  and i've been broke.  so i haven't been able to put much effort into my home.  i decided today, however, that i'm going to replace my cabinet hardware with bar pulls.  i forgot where i saw it first, but it looked decidedly stylish.  i'd custom-order stuff but it's too expensive...i'm just getting some pulls from the Home Depot. so the top is the bar pull, and the bottom is the one i was going to choose...which now looks more like it belongs on an office filing cabinet...ugly!   my cabinets are... »MORE

March 25, 2007
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simple project

By atrophie Vase1

my home lacks decorative items.  i found a nice vase at Goodwill for $3 and got a bag of decorative opalized glass 'rocks' on clearance at Michael's for $3.  the vase had some scratches on the lip area, so i took some blue painter's tape and some etching cream and etched the glass up there.  picked some fallen birch branches off the grass outside, and it's done!     now if i only i could find a place to put it!  that's what happens when don't own any furniture...   and an update on my shower...i got this 2-part refinishing... »MORE

March 16, 2007
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there are some things i can tolerate...

By atrophie Shower1

and there are some things that i cannot.  one thing i can't tolerate is a dingy, dirty bathroom in which i feel i could never get clean.  i don't think this is unreasonable. i was overjoyed to discover this post on Apartment Therapy, where multiple readers said that removing their sliding shower door was no biggie.  my apartment is the nicest i've been able to find in my area (that isn't some brand new, luxury place), especially when it comes to the bathroom (i saw some seriously nasty bathrooms while touring potential complexes), but my tub/shower is still far from pristine.  i... »MORE

March 12, 2007
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projectos

By atrophie Bubblemirror

so i'm new here...trying my hardest to become a cosmopolitan crafting and decorating diva.  i love learning how to do new things.  a few of the projects i'm working on at the moment are BUBBLE MIRROR generic brown plastic framed full-length mirror that i drew swirls on with a white-board marker.  i glued the round mirrors on with mosaic glue.  i'm in the process of giving the frame a few coats of pewter metal leaf paint (i have to paint outside because of the fumes, but it's been snowing recently)   PERFUME TRAY this was one of those plain wood trays... »MORE

March 09, 2007
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ugly bathroom cabinet doors

By atrophie Doors1

i hated the ugly cabinet doors (brass hardware, dated style, in-the-way) in my apartment's bathroom...so i removed them!  however, now i'm left with some marks on the veneer/laminate, and too much view of my beauty products.  BEFORE: AFTER:  i'm actually not using those rectangular baskets anymore...as you can see, they are too small for the space they need to fill. i'm thinking either using velcro and sewing a valance-like 'curtain' to stick above the holes, or trying to make some sort of removable border (contact paper?  fabric? stencil?) around the holes to cover the marks from the cabinet door hinges. ... »MORE

March 09, 2007
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