how to make paper garlands – darling octopus on virginia this morning

This morning I was on TV again, this time demonstrating how to make a paper flower garland from vintage book pages. This craft project is almost free and really the possibilities are endless. I found some old encyclopedias and went crazy making holiday decorations this year.

Another favorite old paper craft project is this paper tree. All you need is an old book, glue gun, an old pot and a stick from outside.

Here are some more detailed instructions from Lemony Tree Creations.

And here are some different paper garlands to inspire you:

From projectwedding.com

From homelife.com/au

From ellinee.com

how to make felt wreaths – darling octopus on virginia this morning

This morning I was on Virginia This Morning demonstrating how to make felt wreaths. I will post the video as soon as it’s available. This is a super easy, no sew project, that even the kids can do.

You are basically just cutting felt strip in whatever design you fancy and glueing them around a wreath. I like to use the straw wreaths because they are thicker than the styrofoam ones. If you are looking for a good selection of interesting felt try Quilting Adventures at Willow Lawn.

And here are a couple other felt wreaths to inspire you!

From twigandthistle.com

From urbancomfort.typepad.com

 

 

 

 

an exciting new furniture consignment store

I have an exciting new shopping spot for you: Social Consignment. It’s located at 11 W. Broad street, right next door to the Books, Bikes and Beyond thrift store. And bonus, Tarrant’s is a couple of doors down, so when you are done shopping you can pick up a fish taco or a slice of pizza from their take out window! This is starting to sound like a fun Saturday afternoon to me!

Anyway, Social Consignment is full of all kinds of furniture finds. There are pieces that are in great shape and ready to go, but you can also find lots of good deals on fixer-upers too! Another thing that caught my eye was their book and dvd section. They had a bunch of cook books I had to resist taking home and a really great kids book section.

 

 

Like  a traditional consignment store, you can take in furniture to consign to make some money. But if there are pieces you wish to donate you can take them to Social Consignment and when your furniture sells 80% of the profits will be donated to the charity of your choice. This is a pretty awesome alternative to just dropping your stuff off at the thrift store. Now you can direct the money to the charities that you believe in.

 

You will find a Darling Octopus section at Social Consignments. I hope to keep a good selection of my furniture there and I will be marking stuff down regularly, so check back often!

With it’s prime location on Broad Street, right in the heart of the arts district, you can expect Social Consignments to jump into the First Friday’s hoopla with some fun events!

make me pretty – my biggest project yet!

When I re-did this chair for R•Home magazine a couple months ago I knew that I had three more just like it waiting in the garage for me to work on. Along with a dining room table with a leaf. Oh my goodness, the same chair four times. This was not super exciting but seeing it all finished and put together is pretty awesome!

Here is the before:

And here it is all set up at the West End Antiques Mall.

The sad thing is that this dining set is so much nicer than the one I have at home (which could really use some work)! If I had a smaller family this might just have ended up in my house.

a space of my own

I have been selling my furniture creations for about three years now and honestly, it’s been challenging. I started out on Etsy but shipping furniture is expensive! Then I tried craft shows but people aren’t really thinking big ticket items at those kinds of events. I have had good luck selling my stuff at consignment at shops around town and in DC but it’s a lot of work keeping up with everyone, moving inventory around, etc. So I am now experimenting with another option – a booth at the West End Antiques Mall.

If you have never visited, it’s worth the trip. There are 250 booths over 50000 square feet. It can be pretty overwhelming but you can get a map at the front desk (and come find me! booth 56.) I am sharing a space with my friend Paige, of Old Moon Vintage. It’s a good partnership since she collects mostly smaller things and I collect mostly bigger things. I am going to give it three months and see what happens but I love having my own little space!

I hope you will stop by and let me know what you think! Here is some more info:
HOURS: Monday – Saturday 10:00 am – 6:00 pm; Sunday 12:00 pm – 6:00 pm

They are closed New Year’s Day, Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

Address: 2004 Staples Mill Road
Directions: West End Antiques Mall is located near the intersection of Staples Mill Rd. and West Broad St. in the Crossroads Shopping Center, minutes from I-95 and I-64. It’s right behind Kripsy Kreme.
Phone: 804.359.1600
Theme: Antiques
Website: http://www.westendantiquemall.com

paint techniques and finishes for furniture

I taught my first class at the Visual Arts Center this weekend and it was so much fun! I was a little nervous before we got started (ok, I had major butterflies). But once I met my students, and heard about all their crafty adventures, I knew we would have a good time!

The weekend workshop was about different paint techniques for furniture. We practiced on test tiles, covering seven different techniques. We also re-did a chair together.

I wasn’t sure how a chair re-do by consensus would turn out but I have to say I am impressed! And painting goes so much faster with four people!

Here are some of the paint finishes we practiced:

And here is our chair before:

And after we worked our magic:

I’m teaching this same workshop in the fall and an intensive at the end of August where everyone will bring their own piece of furniture and we will re-do them together. If you think you might like to sign up you should visit the Visual Arts Center’s website. They have tons of really great classes and it is such a fun space. I was a student there before I became a teacher!

darling octopus on tv

Tune in to Virginia This Morning on CBS6 this Monday, January 9th and you will see me on tv! I will be appearing to show you, and all of VA, how to make your own, all natural household cleaners. I will be demonstrating how to make an all purpose cleaner and a glass cleaner.

I started using this all purpose cleaner recipe when Jasper was born, almost four years ago. It is really great for counter tops, dirty doggy foot prints and sticky juice spills. It is made from all natural ingredients so you don’t need to worry about using it around your kids. And it contains tea tree oil, which contains antibacterial and antifungal properties so you feel like things are really getting clean.

I will post the recipes here after my tv debut! I also made some lovely labels that you should download and print out for your cleaner bottles.

If you missed me on Virginia This Morning, you can watch a video here. Thanks so much to everyone at CBS6! It was a really fun experience!

And here are the recipes:

ALL PURPOSE CLEANER

• 3/4 cup white vinegar
• 1 cup hydrogen peroxide
• 1 1/2 teaspoons castile soap (such as Dr Bronner’s)
• 30 drops tea tree oil
• 30 drops essential oil (use any scent you like)

Place all ingredients in a 32 oz spray bottle using a funnel or a measuring cup with a spout. Add water until the bottle’s full. Shake to mix and get to cleaning.

GLASS CLEANER

• 1 cup rubbing alcohol
• 1 cup water
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• 20 drops essential oil

Place all ingredients in a spray bottle. Shake to mix.

darling octopus & r•home magazine

Go out and get the January issue of R•Home magazine! There you can read my article about shopping for vintage furniture and home decor in RVA. There are lots of useful hints and a resource list of some of my favorite shopping spots.

I thought it might be fun to elaborate on some of my ideas in the magazine. I found this armoire at the Salvation Army on Midlothian Turnpike but you know you see one of these at every thrift store and yard sale you go to. Flat screen TV’s are making them an obsolete piece of furniture but you could always re-purpose them.

Turn it into a cute home office and just close the doors when you’re done working.

photo from funkyjunksisters.blogspot.com

Or check out this adorable kids art center!

image from thedesignfile.net

I thought this dresser was almost perfect. I love the shape and the color I would just add some new hardware to make it look a little more modern.

My favorite source for cool drawer pulls is Anthropologie. I regularly shop their clearance section – there you will find pulls for as little as $3 each! Below are two picks that I think would look awesome!

photo from anthropologie

photo from anthropologie

I am the queen of the chair re-do. I know I have re-done more chairs than any other piece of furniture. It is hard for me to pass up a chair with good bones because it is usually pretty easy to give it a new look.

Here are some of my past chair projects that might inspire you.

Victorian Chair

Kid Friendly Laminated Cotton Chair

Curvy Chair

Next issue, I will be showing you how to re-do a chair, step by step, with very detailed directions! Yeah R•Home – Yeah DIY!

PS – You can read my first R•Home article, all about shopping for vintage furniture, online now!

unique holiday shopping

Holy crap, Christmas is like 10 days away. How does time go by so quickly? If you haven’t finished your holiday shopping and you are looking for some unique alternatives, I have some suggestions. You can find Darling Octopus goods at both – small stuff at Bizarre Market and lots of furniture at Virginia Street Gallery. Happy shopping!

Bizarre Market – located in the upstairs gallery at Chop Suey Books in Carytown, this little seasonal shop is a must see. Over 50 local artist selling their small stuff. I count on Bizarre Market for all of my stocking stuffers and really special, unique gifts.

Virginia Street Gallery – Part of the Market Umbrella, and a bit of an extension of the South of the James farmers market, this large gallery space features a wide range of artisans. Everything from dulce de leche cookies, to paintings, to pottery to furniture. Quirk gallery also has a little space there filled with cute goodies. Visit this gallery at 114 Virginia Street, Richmond VA 23219. Their hours are Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays: 11am – 8 pm and Sundays 11am – 5pm. And Fridays from 5 – 8 pm you can shop with a glass of wine and live music. It doesn’t get much better than that!

come party with me and my chair

Next Thursday, November 3rd is the third annual Chair Affair and me and my chair will be there! And you should be too. From what I hear it is one heck of a party and it is all to benefit Caritas and the awesome work they do.

I donated this beauty, and about 30 other artist also donated furniture, paintings, etc. to be auctioned off at the event. You can get a sneak peak off all the pieces here. And get tickets here.

Anyway, I am really excited for a night out on the town and I hope to see some of you there!