jane's apron

the best red paint ever and thomas edison artwork

 

We live in a house built in 1929.  The basement foundation is epic; like a dungeon (you can see a little of the stone wall in the top photo).  The TV room has no natural light so I painted everything a light gray and painted one wall bright red.  Every time I look at the wall I think "that is the best red I have ever seen".  But I didn't start with the best paint.  

I bought a Martha Stewart color (from Home Depot) called Maine Lobster.  Three coats of paint later, I was back at Home Depot. This time I bought their Behr Premium Plus Ultra Paint and Primer in One. I matched Martha's Maine Lobster to Behr's Firecracker.  O.M.G.  That paint went on like whipped cream icing.  One coat.  Done.  I'm a color freak and this red is perfectly red; not too blue, not too orange (my photo skills don't really do it justice).

I blogged about the Thomas Edison patent drawings this summer.  I put them in black 24x36 frames from Micheal's.  On the same day I bought them.  You can see how I did it here.

Ok...only one more post about the basement; the plank wall, vintage sign, and source for some of the furniture.  

feats of strength and stupidity; my galvanized pipe table

 

The purpose of this post is not really a DIY for making a galvanized pipe table (although it is based very loosely on these excellent plans).  Its purpose is to serve as a warning for the things you may not know and how to avoid the same mistakes I made.  As an overview, let me just say that I spent about 4,000 hours in the pipe aisle at Home Depot and made many mistakes (in both design and in my calculations (including a mistake in my Pythagorean Theorem calculation when the design briefly did not have crossing bars (oh, the math teacher shame)).

• DO make a very detailed list of parts.
• DO wipe all of the parts with a de-greasing cleaner.
• DON'T mistake a "coupling" and a "union" for the same thing.  A union is VERY important if your design has any closed loops (no matter how strong your teenager is or how hard you hammer and try to close the loop)
• DON'T let the pipes get wet (like during an unexpected rain shower when you are at Home Depot again and can't get anyone to cover the table legs or move them into the garage)
• DO use a pumber's wrench to take pieces apart.
• DO understand that the table will possibly cost more than you expect.

We had a great piece of butcher block leftover from my mother-in-law's apartment and that's what started this DIY.  In the end, I've forgotten how hard it was to build and I really love it.  It's a perfect perch to watch TV, eat, or mess around on pinterest looking for the next DIY.  (And DO try to make your kids drink from a cup with a lid).

 

my industrial basement; the details

When we moved to our house in 1999, our basement had a home theatre in it.  It wasn't a deal-maker or anything but we used it.  Somehow, the projector was taken down and the room became a dumping spot for furniture and the influx of my mother-in-law's move.  

Ross is the one that pushed for turning it back to a TV room...and I'm so glad he did.  We cleared out the room, pulled up the nasty carpet, and got to work.  The room is nothing like the rest of our house.  It's very guy-ish but not in a goofy way (I didn't completely ignore everyone's input but sometimes you just have to say "no freakin' way" and "trust me" and "Ok, but only one red wall" and "really? an 80-inch TV?").

There's furniture, a plank wall, a lovely red paint color, a vintage sign, artwork, and a galvanized pipe bar table to share; plan to squeeze it all into two more posts this week.

skirts

 

I put up a plank wall in our basement this summer (using masonite; long story) and had a stack of scraps at the end of it all.  I'm a life-long leftover saver ("Oh, I can use this for something") and sometimes use what I save.  The boards I saved are about 6x15 inches; the perfect size for something tall and narrow.  

I had some sewing patern girls that need a dose of "modern" and a new stack of scrapbook paper.  I gave them each a new, bold skirt.

Chevron, monster dots, and numbers.  I painted the boards (one with chalkboard paint), layered them with tissue paper and a vintage transfer.  I also smudged on some brown ink to give a little more dimension to the images.  

Always looking for validation, I showed it to Ellen.  She said something like "that's a cute skirt".  Nailed it.  

accidental project

My son was looking for a sewing needle recently.  He was like a bear.  Like a bear looking for a sewing needle.  Everything went flying off the sewing cabinet and he just put it all in a pile.  The thing is, it turned out to be a chance to refresh the space.  A new pile of books, a new look.  Thanks Ross.

13

I have taken a ridiculous amount of pictures of our dogs and cats with my new camera.  They basically hold still and stare straight into the camera (or gaze passively into the distance); making it super easy to practice shots.  I got Penny mid-lick on this one.  

Ellen turns 13 this week.  I have 3 teenagers.  Help me.

be awesome

I've been organizing my photos and ran across this one last night.  That coffee cup?  Love. I added a favorite phrase from my Pinterest "say" board.  Kind of motivational for the new year.  

undershare

We all know about overshare on the internet but there's also undershare (yes?).  There is no doubt that I've undershared this year.  I've got lots to share creatively but...it somehow feels like I'm repeating myself (been there, sewed that).  I've gotten really good at the instant share; from my phone to instagram and I LOVE it.  So...I've got a new camera (Ellen took the picture of my favorite yellow lights) and I've got my MacBook back from the depths of Ross's room.  

Plans may change but I'm thinking this will be a good home improvement year around my house and I know I love before-and-afters so I plan to share it all.  At my real life snail's pace...but, still. 

Famous-Barr French Onion Soup

It's another snow day here and I'm making french onion soup; a soup from our local department store called Famous-Barr (now just another average Macy's...blah).  The soup is from back in the day when department stores had restaurants and escalator rides to elaborate visits with Santa (like Elf).  

This soup takes some time and lots of slicing but, like anything warm and topped with toasted bread and cheese, it's worth it. 

Famous-Barr French Onion Soup

• 5 pounds onions
• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 2 Tbsp paprika
• 3/4 C flour
• 3 qts beef broth
• 1 C white wine
• 2 tsp salt
• sourdough or french baguettes 
• swiss or gruyere chesse

Peel and slice onions and add them, along with the stick of butter, to a large stock pot.  Cook (uncovered) over low heat for 1 1/2 hours.  Add pepper, paprika, salt, and flour and saute for about 10 minutes.  Add broth and wine, bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 2 hours.  Pour soup into ovenproof crocks or bowls and top with sourdough bread and cheese.  Heat under broiler until cheese melts (about 5 minutes).

My sister snapped the picture of my house yesterday morning ...from across the street and through the trees.  I LOVE it!

 

to market

 

I became a fan of World Market last year; shopping for chairs for my mother-in-law's apartment I think.  I loved the kitchen stuff.  And still do.  The red berry basket, the jadite cookie cutters, the cute tags, and the red silhouette dish towels don't scream "Christmas" and I love that.  

The enamel sauce pan is so swedish-cool I want to keep it on my stovetop all winter and make real hot chocolate (here with free shipping...I might just go shopping again for the red metal cake stands).  No product endorsement here.  Just an enabler.