How to weather new wood

This is a little 411 on how to make some new wood look old – or in my case my old wood look old again.

Sand down my craft table with a palm sander to get all the potential slivers away and you're left with a table that had a “fresh wood” look – well, that was definitely not the look we're after. I loved how the table looked prior to sanding, and i wanted that same old gray weathered look back.
Before sanding…

after doing a little google search and found a few how-to’s to gray wood.  I came across an easy one and gave it a shot.  One piece of steel wool, glass bottle and vinegar.  Just take the steel wool and rip it in small pieces, put it in the jar and cover with vinegar.  After 24 hours most of the steel wool will be dissolved.  Mine didn't turn dark like this until the metal on the lid reacted with the vinegar and turned it dark – it was like my own little science experiment :)

Then i just brushed it on the table and as soon as the vinegar touched the wood, it started to change.  I guess the steel wool reacts with the vinegar and when this is put on wood, it speeds up the natural oxidation process – neato.

But, let me just tell you that this little process STUNK!!!  Not like vinegar that you would think – but it was worse – seriously nasty.  So here's half the table with the vinegar and the other freshly sanded – big difference

This is what it looked like after all the vinegar was on – then i let it dry for a day – soak up all that vinegary goodness.

After it was dry, i gave it a light sand and it is back to its good ol’ gray self – just the way i wanted it – i love when things work out like they are supposed too – it makes my world a happier place :)

Acid Mirror

WARNING: Mirrors made before 1941 can have mercury in them, which is hazardous to your health.  If you don't know how old your mirror is, don't try this technique.  It should only be done on mirrors you know to be new.

Do you like the look of these mirrors?

So heres how to do it.

You will need:

Neoprene Gloves
Jasco Brand Paint and Epoxy Remover
Muratic Acid
Old Shirt or Carpet (So that your mirror doesnt get scratched)
Possibly a scraper.

Ok so first you want to lay your mirrors out face down on a surface that cant be damaged by the paint remover.

PUT ON YOUR GLOVES!!!

Pour some of the psint remover onto the back of the mirror and with your hand gently spread it around so that the entire surface is covered.

Wait 15 minutes.  

In an ideal world every mirror would do this:

and that would turn into this:

but it doesnt always work that way.  If your paint doesnt bubble then you will have to scrape it off.  I use a floor scraper (I think thats what its called) with a razor blade on the end. This will work just as well but it will take a little more work.

Once you have taken the paint off the back take your mirrors somewhere that you can wash them off with the hose (empty lots next door work great or the curb.)  Then dry it off.  The back will look pretty much like the front of the mirror.  

WASH OFF YOUR GLOVES,  BUT STILL KEEP THEM ON!

Next you are going to bust out the Muratic acid.  If you do not have any at your house you can get it at Home Depot.  It is a chemical that they use to clean swimming pools so it will be by that stuff.  As far as I know you can only buy it in boxes with (2) 1 gallon jugs.  Its about $10-15

Pour some acid into a spray bottle and spray around the edges of your mirror.  IMPORTANT!  Each mirror is different!  If you have compromised (scratched) the surface of the reflective coating then the acid will work faster so be prepared!

After 10 seconds wash off the acid with your hose and see if it has started to work.  If it hasnt put more on and wait a little longer,  keep doing this until you get the style that you like.  If it has make sure that it is the effect that you want.  There was one mirror that I did for this project and the acid worked instantly and pretty much ate all of the reflective coating away (its the small rectangular red one on the left side).  If your acid isnt working then you can gently take a piece of sand paper and sand the coating a little.  If you do it too much then it will look scratchy and not eaten.  Basically dont be afraid to wash the acid off and let it work slowly. You can always take more off but you cant get it back!  You will notice after the first time you wash it off what is going to happen.  If it comes off in big reflective flakes when you put water on it but didnt seem to be doing anything until you rinsed it off BEWARE it will be gone extremely fast.  If you can start to see it eating away at the coating before you rinse it but it hasnt made it through all of it let it sit a little longer and you will get a mirror with more color variation.

This is a mirror that the acid slowly ate away.  You can see parts where the stripes from the stool are starting to show through.

A great way to see what it looks like is to lay it on the grass.  You can see the places that are gone really well.

Once you have done this the rest is CAKE!

Use your favorite spray adhesive on the back of the mirror and lay your fabric right side down on top of it.  Cut it to shape and put it in your frame.

Unusual shelving units and bookcases

So I saw this idea and thought it was so creative and so interesting. The tables are sawn in the middle and stacked together and I love the fact that the drawers could be used for extra storage space! I personally would probably go for all the legs being square but this is pretty cool too, to have a variety.

Another simpler example is seen below

Another unusual shelving unit that you can make is toolcrate shelving. You can find all different shape and sizes at garage sales, moving sales or antique stores. Just nail them together and create your own design.

Here is a simpler version of it where all the crates are the same shape and size.

Fabric Wallpaper

Live in an apartment or have a landlord that won't let you paint the walls? Or perhaps you're just tired of looking at bare walls and want a temporary fix. Well here is an easy and non damaging way to dress up those walls with fabric accents.

What You'll Need
Liquid Starch
Fabric
Scissors
Paint Roller
Sponge
Pan
Push pins

Instructions
1. Before you begin, wipe down your walls so they're dust and dirt free, and tape over outlet holes with waterproof tape for safety.
2. Measure the wall you plan to cover, and cut out the fabric accordingly. Leave at least one inch of additional material where the fabric meets the floor, the ceiling, and around windows and doors. (This will account for any shrinking that may occur when starching the fabric. You'll trim the additional material after the fabric been mounted to the wall and is dry.) TIP: When adhering fabric to walls, lightweight fabrics work best.
3. Pour the liquid starch into the pan, and use your paint roller to apply starch to the top half of the wall.
4. Stick the fabric against the top half of the wall and smooth it out. If necessary, use push pins to hold the fabric in place. If needed apply more starch, and work your way down the wall, attaching and smoothing the fabric over the surface.
5. Apply starch to the top of the fabric, continuing to smoothing out wrinkles or air bubbles. Make even strokes with your paint roller.
6. Let your fabric dry completely, then use an x-acto knife to trim any additional material from the ceiling, floor, and around doors and windows.

Removal
Want to remove the fabric from your walls? One of the benefits of using fabric to cover your walls instead of wallpaper is that fabric is much easier to remove. Simply spray the fabric with a mist of water, and pull off your wall. Clean the starch from the wall with water and a sponge.