This Belt Drives the Head Gears

I have this belt that I have loved and owned for a very long time. Years. Since high school, I believe. A beautiful, industrial chain finished with purple and pink ribbons, it was more rockstar than I could ever figure out how to work into my outfits. But since the love continued, it was never parted with. This past weekend, after years of the gears in my head turning, I gave the belt new life.



Simply by trimming the ribbon down (and melting the ends to prevent frays) I have a new statement necklace! I wore it out already for sushi night with one of my girls, with success! My friend liked it (and her opinion on things like this ALWAYS matters to me) and so did the waitress! What do you think?

Brightening Up Vintage Lamps

In the planning of my new apartment I have been looking for white lamps (or ones that I could spray paint) for the longest time. I finally found the cutest pair of antique milk glass lamps at a garage sale a few weeks ago for only $3 a piece! The existing gold finish wasn't terrible, but to match my decor theme, and to cover up the slightest bit of rust and tarnish, I decided to paint the metal parts a matte black to resemble black iron or something similar.

The first step was to take the lamps apart. If you have never done this, its a piece of cake. The key on the side of the lamp is internally threaded and will screw off. After removing the light bulb, the wiring component will screw off also. Below is a picture of the wiring component removed from the base.


A flat head screwdriver loosens the wires. Once the wires are removed the rest of the lamp can be disassembled. The next step is to take the wires and twist them to make reassembling the lamps easier, and to increase contact among all of the wires.


On the base of the lamps there were rings of metal that could not be removed, so I had to tape around them to spray paint them. First I did a close taping right around the ring.


Next, I used a plastic bag to cover the rest of the base and taped it around the portion that was already taped.


The most important part of this prepping is to cover the threaded portion of the base with tape so that it doesn't get painted, and so that you can put the lamp back together!


After a few light coats of spray paint on the bases, the middle brackets and the keys, it was time to reassemble the lamps. Thread the wire back through the base and the bracket, and up through the wiring mechanism. When rewiring, wrap the twisted wire clock-wise around the screw so that tightening the screw doesn't unwrap the wire, but instead helps secure it in place.

After tightening down the wires, reattach the wiring mechanism to the base, lining up the key's position with the hole in the bracket. Re-thread the key into place, replace any covers or guards for the wiring mechanism, and insert your light bulb. Top it all off with your lamp's top, and voila! New lamp!


And of course, plug it in to make sure it works...

Success!!

Filing Cabinet Freshen Up

This ugly (though in good shape) filing cabinet was a steal at a garage sale for $5. Its for my boyfriend's 'office' so I chose a black gloss to paint it. After sanding and washing I used a small roller on most of it, finishing it up with a brush. I polished up the aluminum handles with some metal polish to take off some rust and make them extra bright. Its not perfect by any means, but its a lot better than rusty and gray! The final step is making cute labels for the drawers once my honey figures out what he wants them to say!

First Post, First Project!

My biggest project at the moment is getting ready to move into a new apartment in August. It will be the first time in a while that I will be able to paint, decorate, and arrange as I wish! I have a bedroom, office and bathroom to myself and I am so excited to make them my own spaces. The plan is for a lime green bedroom with black, white, dark wood and silver accents, a bright yellow office with dark wood, black and white accents, and a BRIGHT pink bathroom with aqua, yellow, green and white accents.



My first find was this $8 mirror from Goodwill. The frame is actually not wood but plastic that looks like wood. I masked the center and gave it a nice coat of black gloss spray paint. Its home will be above my bed as a pseudo headboard that will hopefully make the room bright and look bigger!



In a month or so I'll have a picture of it in place!