When visiting my family in Denver, CO over the Holidays, I had the opportunity to FINALLY try Upstairs Circus. I had been dying to try the craft/beer/social gathering space. Basically, you go online and see the assortment of projects that are available to do. You'll get your friends on board and register and appointment to secure your spot. Once you arrive, you'll finalize which project you want to create. Then you'll be given all of the materials and instructions to create something fabulous. I went with four fabulous women and we all created different things. Plus, the absolute best part is that they are also a bar. Their cocktails are delicious and make you care less about messing up your project.
I decided to create a leather clutch because I have never worked with leather. I love how it came out even though I was intimidated with the number of instructions. It was a fun girls night out and I can't wait to go again when I'm in Denver, CO.
Check out www.upstairscircus.com for more information.
Plus, if you get done before you group like I did, they have a hunky selection of adult coloring books. I decided to color Jude Law and David Beckham.
I'm always stumped about how to best display the beautiful holiday cards that I receive each year. I was inspired at my local hardware store to create a beautiful display with chicken wire.
Items Needed:
1 roll chicken wire (many options to pick from)
2 long wood pieces (1/2 inch thick, any size desired)
2 short wood pieces (1/2 inch thick, any size desired)
4 corner brackets
Screw driver
Wire cutter
Staple gun
I used a 2 inch hex netting wire design.
First, stain or paint your four wood pieces.
I went with a Christmas festive green stain from IKEA.
Next, align your wood pieces into a square/trangle and attach decorative brackets. You can put the brackets on the front or back. I selected to put them on the front to add character. You could also glue the pieces together.
Next, attach your wire. I suggest to be very careful as you cut the pieces, the edges are very sharp. Two people makes the job easier. Start on one side and staple all edges, then cut the wire.
I like any excuse to get out my power tools. I like using my jigsaw and my drill bits to create beautiful pumpkins for Halloween.
I recommend having assistance when carving with power tools as it's hard to hold the pumpkin and tool at the same. For a more precise design I recommend drawing your design with pencil first then carving.
Lastly, I worked on funpkins (foam pumpkins) and actual pumpkins and the tools were great on both.
I purchased these chairs from a restaurant that went out of business for a great deal. I didn't realize what bad shape they were in until I started working on them. I've only done two so far but will admit that I've spent over twenty hours on these chairs.
My transformation began with stabilizing the chairs and glueing. I then stripped the fabric and stripped the hundreds of layers of paint (took most of my time). Lastly, I was able to reupholster, my favorite part!
