* Spring has sprung!
What lovely weather we are having in Jozi!
Is there a better way to celebrate spring…than with flowers?
Our national flower
If you haven’t received any lately…why not make your own?
Protea mirror
Here’s how to:
I found it a bit difficult to paint after gluing the spoon ends down. I would suggest painting them before-hand! Enjoy!
I just luuuuurve creating something new from discarded items. A few months ago I posted about a bathroom I did for clients. Ashley did the actual work and plunged a whole lot of rubble on our rubbish-dump on site. I once again became a scavenger and went looking for treasures. I managed to collect some off-cuts from the tile border we used.
Tile border
For this project you need:
Off-cuts
2. Glue each mosaic down on the mirror. Make sure the tile still has the mesh on the back. This will insure that the tile adheres to the mirror.
Mosaic tiles
3. Continue until you have completed the border.
Almost completed mirror
4. The mirror should be almost complete. All you need to do now is use tile-grout to finish it off. I haven’t done that yet as I don’t have at home. As soon as I have bought I will complete the project.
Mirror on the wall
Another low-project. Apart from having to still buy the tile-grout, it cost me absolutely nothing but a little elbow grease. Go on and try it!
Now for my weekly DIY project. I have been meaning to make-over this mirror in the bathroom.
Naked mirror on wall
I have been playing with a few ideas of jazzing it up, then I saw this picture on the Internet:
My inspiration
So I went on a excursion around the house and picked up a few sticks and twigs.
Sticks & twigs
Then I grabbed my trusty jigsaw and started sawing away.
Cutting time
After a whole lot a noise and saw dust all over the place I ended up with a whole lot of wood chips.
Naturally some of them had to be sanded because of the rough edges. Then I started placing them on the mirror.
Placing the chips
Then I used the hot-glue gun to fix them to the mirror.
Mirror on wall
I really like it.
Close up view
Ideally I would like to have a bigger mirror. I also think I should make a flat wood frame and fix the chips directly to the frame. That will naturally enlarge the mirror.
Project cost: R0,00
Gotta love it!
I mentioned in our bedroom makeover before that some of the walls still needed art. Read about it here. So this space has been like this for ages while I decide what to do with it.
Empty wall space
So I recently came across an interesting recycling project on the Internet that totally excites me! I love re-using and recycling so this project is right up my alley! Check out this great wall art:
Recycled toilet roll tubes into wall art
This comes courtesy of http://noisypitta.blogspot.com. It is gorgeous and brilliant! I have been saving all of our toilet tubes for weeks and I can’t wait to start on this project.
Here follows the step by step instructions: (I saved these pics from the web last year and for some reason I cannot trace it back to the source. Unfortunately I cannot give credit now as I do not know who owns it.)
Toilet roll tubes
2. Flatten the tubes and measure 1cm spaces in between.
Measure and draw lines
3. Cut the strips with scissors
Cut the strips
4. Glue the pieces together in the pattern you like and keep them together with paper clips or pegs while they dry.
Glue strips together
5. Spray paint them in the colour you prefer. Be sure to do this in a ventilated area.
Spray paint the unit in the colour you prefer
6. If you have a mirror you want to incorporate in the design, spray it the same colour.
Completed recycled art
I have inserted the picture in our bedroom shot to envisage how it would look:
Vision for bedroom wall
I think ours will be slightly different as I want to let it branch over from the corner to the other wall. I also want to paint the wall a different colour and maybe paint ours white. I am also still deciding whether I should use a mirror. You know by now I don’t like spending a lot of money on projects like this. So I will scour around the site to see what I can find.
I am super-charged for this project and itching to get started. However it has to wait for a while we host my parents who are visiting from Paarl. It is so nice to have them here. The kids are really enjoying having Ma and Pa over. Ashley and I already made use of our ‘babysitters’ and went to see the new movie: ‘Ek joke net’, last night. Great for laughs, and proud to see our friend, Solomon Cupido in his 2nd movie for the year! (Also see him in ‘Superhelde’ that was released in April 2011)
I will post the progress of this project as soon as I can! Hope this inspires you to start your own! Please comment and send me your pics…would love to see them!
Lilly Loompa 