The Hungry Bear

diy monogrammed clutch

Today's DIY tutorial is for all the lovely fashionistas out there! When it comes to gifts, I try to seek out something based on their interests/personality/things they love. This one is for a friend who is a fan of bags so I thought why not add a monogram for an added personalized touch! Searched on Pinterest to see how others have done DIY monogram. So many creative ways, don't know how we have lived without Pinterest. I was most in love with The Atelier version. 

MATERIALS:

• Clutch (Scored this one at Forever 21 for $14)
• Gold Paint (Got at Michaels, Martha Stewart brand)
• Adhesive Stencil Film (Got at Michaels, Martha Stewart brand)
• Xacto Knife
• Cutting Mat
• Fine Paint Brushes
• Tape

INSTRUCTIONS:

Step 1: Print out your initials in black ink on regular paper (I printed a few different sizes to see which I liked best). Choose a size that fits best depending on the size of your clutch.

Step 2: Tape monogram onto the adhesive film and using an xacto knife to cut the letters. Remove the paper backing and place the adhesive film onto the pouch.

Step 3: Center the adhesive stencil on your clutch and press firmly/smooth it down. 

Step 4: Paint one coat of the gold paint. Let the paint dry for one hour. Paint a second coat and let dry.

Step 5: Voila, fill your clutch with your favorite things!

holiday gifts for the animal lovers.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING FRIENDS! Hope you're enjoying plenty of time with friends and family. Eating your heart out with some delicious food. After all the yumminess, lets kick off holiday shopping with a little holiday gift guide. So isn't Bear such a nice pup?! After creating his own wishlist, he thought of the humans. Here are a few of Bear's picks for all the animal lovers out there!

01  |  Goldendoodle Pillow Cover

02  |  Hidden Bear Mug  

03  |  The Art of Racing in the Rain

04  |  Dog Bone Cookie Cutter Personalized

05  |  Personalized American Apparel High Quality Dog Lover's Tote  

06  |  BarkClips

07  |  Canvas Lunch Bag, Puppy Love Doggy Bag

08  |  Goldendoodle Letterpress Notecards

stylist patina.

 

Latest vintage finds adventure: Stylish Patina. It's a place where vintage meets modern in home furnishings & decor. On Sunday, as part of the store, there is Rough Luxe which is a warehouse into a vintage furniture shopping extravaganza. It is a 2,500 square feet chock full of re-imagined vintage furniture, modern accents and fabulous salvage. This is a monthly weekend event, the next one is the weekend of October 17-19. There are photos of the inventory that is updated on their Facebook page.

You wouldn't think this was in a warehouse based on the way everything is styled and placed!

They also have an actual store down the street that we visited after going to the warehouse.

The sign made me chuckle and was too cute not to post.

In love with the vintage luggage/trunks.

And not to mention the wooden crates. Swoon!!!
 

Had to have self control with signs like the one below. $1 for china. Too awesome!
 

diy hairpin coffee table.

Remember my old coffee table?! Been wanting to change it up for awhile now. But I had a hard time finding just the right one. When I did find one that I like, it was a bit more than what I wanted to spend on a coffee table. Mostly, sold on etsy and those run anywhere from $200-300. So I thought, what if i build one based on the inspiration I see. I was so lucky to find a wooden roundtop table at Second Chance for only $5! What a steal!

So it all started with this lovely green wooden round tabletop. From the crayon drawings, looks like it was used for a children's table.

I borrowed a sander from my friend Marie. I was amazed by the change. Can't believe a table this green can be striped down to the bare bones.

It didn't take long at all to sand the entire roundtop, probably 30 minutes max.

And viola!

Next, staining. I went with the Rust-Oleum Wood Stain in a Dark Walnut. I had used this color before in staining some crates. Had enough left over to stain this the area of this tabletop.

I Applied probably 6-7 coats to get to the color I liked. I let each coat dry for about an hour.

Had ordered Raw Steel Hairpin Legs (16in) from Hairpinlegs.com. Using the #10 Pan Head Screws, screwed all the legs in.

Final stop is add the Polyurethane, it was recommended to add 3 coats.

The finished product! Lets see the savings breakdown:

• Wooden Roundtop Table: $5 (From Second Chance)
• Hairpin Legs: $83 (Biggest splurge for this project! Looked around for sometime and the ones I really wanted from Spring Modern were sold out. I ended up going with ones from Hairpinlegs. Shipping was the killer part, the standard was $15.)
• Wood Stain: Already had (Color: Dark Walnut)
• Polyurethane (Wood Sealer): $7.79
• #10 Pan Head Screws: $8.71
• Power Drill: Borrowed (*Thanks to Robert's Parents)
• Sander: Borrowed (*Thanks to Marie)

GRAND TOTAL: $ 104.50!

hairpin coffee table inspiration.

Last week, I had written about going to Second Chance and finding a wooden tabletop. (Link to post here) I wanted a round shape table since everything in the living room is pretty rectangular. The current Ikea table (Previous Post here) is starting to get worn. Wanted to change it up and have more variety in shape. Started to look into different websites that sells hairpin legs. Trying to determine what size legs and color to get. Looking to some inspiration below to see what would fit best in the living room.

Love how these are spray painted with gold paint. (via withHEART)

Inspiration of the Dark Walnut wood stain finish and the dark metal. (via MakerandMeadowHome)

Or 3 Rod Hairpin Legs, which is more rigid than the regular hairpin legs. (via inspiritdeco)

Wouldn't be able to use these for the round table but thought it was interesting to connect the legs like that. (via Urban Outfitters)

Or wide V to cover more area around the bottom of the table. (via HauteLook)

How about flat tip hairpin legs?! These seems like it would hold up well for a wooden table. (via Hairpin Legs for Less

current coffee table.

The Ikea Coffee Table. Pretty sure at some point you have owned some variation of this table or have seen exactly what this table looks like. I currently own the standard black one. Definitely bought this way back in the day just to have something to fill the room. But I believe it's time for a change, an upgrade to something different.  

The couch is pretty rectangular, for the most part, the coffee fit in pretty well with the straight lines of the other furniture pieces. I wanted something round cause I occassionally bump into the side edges of the table and that isn't too fun.

It even blends in with the rug. Also pretty worn because in the beginning, we used to use it as a dining table when we didn't have one at the time.

ryan's relics.

After our adventure at Second Chance (Link to post here). We made our way to Ryan's Relics. It opened in June of 2004, and is locally owned, offering estate selling and buying. They buy out and liquidates estates so we're able to sell a vast quantity of antiques, used furniture, and collectibles. Also sells various household and business items. You can find new, antique, and contemporary items.

There are two locations for Ryan's Relic, both had a ton of mid-century pieces. I believe my sister would love to come here because she is a lover of china sets!

How awesome is this mirror below? I would love to spray chalkboard paint to create a vintage sign.
 

ready for a second chance?!

Architectural salvage places. I believe this has become a regular weekend hobby. Last weekend, we had went to Community Forklift where my friend was searching for a piece of vintage glass for her china cabinet redo. Unfortunately, she is still on a hunt for the piece of glass. This past weekend she decided to hit up Second Chance. It is a nonprofit that provides people, materials and the environment with a second chance.  They deconstruct buildings and homes, salvage usable materials and make those available to the public.  With the revenue generated, they provide job training and workforce development for those with employment obstacles in the Baltimore region. 

My coworker who have also been to this place before said it used to be about 5 times as big. Where items were spread out across several warehouses. They have now condensed down to one warehouse but it is still big with lots of items. I thought it was well organized, they separated out items into different sections such as glass in one area and wood in another. There was even different "show rooms" where they had displayed items to create a room.

My friend succcesfully found a piece of vintage glass for $30!

I believe this is also a great place if you're looking for vintage/rustic pieces for a wedding. Like these shutters below, so many different colors, can use this as decoration or escort cards.

There was even a final clearance section where there were further discounts. What I liked about this place was that they have several dates on the price tag. Once the date passes, they price of the items goes down.

Was in love with these mid-century nightstands. If only there was extra room in my bedroom for these, just the width of these were too long to fit.

I have found my next DIY project with this wood round table top. Would love to add some hairpin legs and create a new coffee table. 

let there be light!

With the new finished dresser, wanted to add a little more light to the room. Decided to go Target, can always depend on their selection. To keep with the vintage with a bit of modern twist theme, have narrowed down to the following:

 

There was a great selection in the store, even more online. Decisions, decisions, decisions. Sources for the lamps:

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6

Which do you guys like?!

estate sale.

There the saying, "one man's trash is another man's treasure". I have been on a search for a dresser for awhile now. My friend Marie, who is a guru in finding unique vintage furniture had pointed me to Estate Sales. Hadn't think to go to one of those, been looking on Craiglist mostly or hoping to find a deal online. Estate Sales are located nationwide, you can find estate sales, tag sales, and audition based on state.

The one we went to was in Alexandria, Virginia. The address would be listed a few days before the sale but photos of the different items being sold would be on website. The website was easy to navigate and when you're at the actual estate sale, there are people who work the payout station. Also employees to carry out the bigger items like a dresser or table out of the house. You would just have to find your own way to transporting the item home. I ended up taking the dresser in the last picture home! More on that to come soon!

What is great about the estate sale is that unlike a yard sale, you can find "vintage" type items instead of just everyday type things. Then you can take the piece and update and make it your own. Here are a few photos from the estate sale, very charming type items.