Upholstering a Small Bench

Posted by on May 7, 2012 in Blog, Upcycling & DIY | 0 comments Amazing things are happening and as you can see I have been very busy (by the minimal number of blog posts…). Weekends are stuffed with shows and fairs; means getting up at 6 driving down to Dallas, and then all the time throughout the week, getting prepared, selling online, lining up at the post office and all the awesome street finds along the way (and restoring them)!! Taught two cooking...
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Upcycling an Old Rocking Chair to Bench

Posted by on May 1, 2012 in Blog, Everything Green, Upcycling & DIY | 5 comments A while ago, I found this broken rocking chair at the curb and I knew it had potential. It’s been sitting in the garage for way too long and it was totally in my way so I decided to throw it away -tomorrow or so. And when I made that decision, I finally came up with the idea of turning it into a bench. I didn’t really have a plan, I rather went from one step to the next, hoping to...
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Upcycled Wine Bottles

Posted by on Apr 29, 2012 in Blog, Everything Green, Upcycling & DIY | 5 comments Today, I made something out of old wine bottles. Maybe someone else came up with this idea before me, but I think it’s a great and unique one. Earlier, I turned empty beer bottles (Shiner beer, yum!) into hanging vases -and someone came up with this before me, too, as I found out later! So here’s what I did… Recycle wine first (that’s the best part), then use the bottles...
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Upcycling a Street-Find: a Dresser!

Posted by on Apr 8, 2012 in Blog, Upcycling & DIY | 6 comments I am very excited about my latest find. On my way to the chiropractor, I passed a house that had this cute little dresser on the curb. Thanks people!! I am so happy I am driving my new (used) Subaru and I don’t have to guess whether it fits into my car or not… My old 3-series BMW was a problem, I had to leave so many treasures behind just because they didn’t fit inside. I took...
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My Latest Upcycled Projects

Posted by on Mar 30, 2012 in Blog, Everything Green, Upcycling & DIY | 3 comments The last couple of days have been filled with picking up scrap wood at construction sites, building stuff, painting and getting ready for my next shows. I am so excited about all the cute stuff I made and that will (hopefully) find a new home this weekend. Here’s a slide show of some of the things I made this week from scrap to upcycled home...
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How to Save Money on Art Equipment

Posted by on Mar 28, 2012 in Blog, Everything Green, Upcycling & DIY | 2 comments Some of you know that all my artwork is painted on all kinds of recycled materials and I am proving that it is not necessary to buy all this expensive equipment to make high quality art. Who says that you have to use artist linen from the art store? Who says that frames have to be built professionally and how does that look like? I paint with oil and I paint on anything I find. All I need to know...
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Can I Call A Blog Post “Miscellaneous”?

Posted by on Feb 27, 2012 in Art, Art Marketing, Blog, Everything Green, Food, Ideas & Inspiration, Living & Design, Upcycling & DIY | 1 comment It’s my blog, I can call it whatever I like! This is a little visual review of random things I did, that kept me busy in the last couple of weeks, days… Here’s a sneak-peak into the life of Franziska! Enjoy Can you change the color of your leather boots? Hell yes you can! Will they last? I don’t know but I painted my boots from purple to brown to glossy black: I made...
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Studio Organizing Ideas

Posted by on Feb 5, 2012 in Blog, Living & Design, Upcycling & DIY | 4 comments So, here’s my office / studio -some of you have seen it before in one of my earlier posts and it looks a little different every time I write about it (like THIS...
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How to Prepare For A Garage Sale

Posted by on Jan 28, 2012 in Blog, Living & Design, Upcycling & DIY | 6 comments Today, I had my very first garage sale and here I am giving you tips how to prepare one! It was a great success, so I guess I must have done something right and why not pass on my suggestions? 1– First you have to check if you need a permit for your area (or if you are allowed to have one). 2– Set a date, preferably on a weekend (I read somewhere that the beginning of a month is...
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What to Make With an Old Window Frame

Posted by on Jan 12, 2012 in Blog, Upcycling & DIY | 10 comments No, I did not make a square hula hoop out of the old window frame… I always get so excited when I drive along the streets and find stuff that screams at me “no I don’t want to end up in the landfills, rescue me!”. The ugliest things get my attention because I see their value; I would say that 80% of what most people throw away could be reused, up- or recycled in some way....
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Upcycling Quiz: What Did I Make?

Posted by on Jan 4, 2012 in Blog, Upcycling & DIY | 6 comments Recently, I have been extremely busy with all kinds if upcycling projects because the next flea market is coming up soon! But I do hope to be kissed by the muse soon (and make time) to paint with oil -running out of canvas, gotta build some more first. So, here’s a window frame that I picked up along the street last week. Now guess, what did I make out of it?! My artist friend Therese said:...
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I Need Your HELP: Which Fabric Should I Choose?

Posted by on Dec 30, 2011 in Blog, Upcycling & DIY | 26 comments HELP! I picked up this chair yesterday and I am restoring it, now I need your help. Which fabric should I use? I am kind of tempted to use the flowers but not sure… I am upholstering tomorrow, so I’d need your suggestions by then! Ok, here’s all the pictures (note how I squeezed that thing into my car -definitely need something bigger): I sanded the chair (not done yet) and I...
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Upcycling Project Kids Rocking Chair

Posted by on Nov 27, 2011 in Blog, Upcycling & DIY | 2 comments Did I say I am not going to upholster again? I guess I did it again. My last chair was such a frustrating project that I decided this was it, no more. It’s only been a few weeks but I guess enough time had passed to forget how much I got annoyed by the project. This time, I have a small kids’ rocking chair, its backrest was broken and the fabric outdated. It used to be my...
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Stylish Winter Decoration On A Budget

Posted by on Nov 14, 2011 in Blog, Upcycling & DIY | 6 comments When it comes to decorating the house, I am always in favor of change! I usually change the decoration every couple of weeks, rearrange furniture, artwork and just love to move things around. And sometimes, I do a little too much and the house looks a little cluttered with all the pretty things I like to put on display. Then I know it’s time to get started again and clean up, remove some...
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Upcycling Project: Upholstering a Garage Sale Find

Posted by on Nov 11, 2011 in Blog, Upcycling & DIY | 14 comments My latest garage sale find: a new chair for my studio. Well, not new but used -kind of new for me. My friend Elisabeth had a garage sale and while I decided to come by and give her some support, I immediately fell in love with this chair. I tried it on (sat in it) and it was so comfy that I had to have it. The office chair I have been using almost fell apart and I needed three pillows to not hit...
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How To Stretch Artists’ Canvas

Posted by on Jul 3, 2011 in Art, Blog, Everything Green, Upcycling & DIY | 4 comments Before you start stretching canvas on a frame, you have to have a frame of course! Here’s a link to how I build my own frames. I usually use recycled wood from construction sites or other places (wherever I find leftovers..). The fabric I use is also recycled, any fabric I can find. The art supply industry makes us believe that only their expensive canvas should be used for oil paintings....
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How to Ship Large Stretched Paintings

Posted by on May 4, 2011 in Art, Blog, Upcycling & DIY | 3 comments Things you’ll need: - thin fiberboard (you can get those at home improvement stores) - table saw - plastic film - bubble wrap - package tape - large cardboard box (I keep the ones that I get from shipped items or I ask places like World Market if I can take some of their boxes they throw away anyways) - razor blade knife - patience and time! 1 ) Measure length, width and depth of painting,...
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How To Make Oil Paint From Pigments

Posted by on Apr 3, 2011 in Blog, Everything Green, Upcycling & DIY | 2 comments I use natural pigments from EarthPigments. Their variety is really nice and all pigments are non-toxic. On their website, they offer a lot of recipes for making artists’ paint, colored cement and any other paint for your home projects. For making oil paint you’ll need: 1. linseed oil 2. pigments 1. To start with, use very little of the pigment powder and make a well...
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How & Why To Use Pigments For Any Paint Project

Posted by on Mar 28, 2011 in Art, Blog, Everything Green, Upcycling & DIY | 2 comments Today, I did my oil paint inventory and decided to order my color online. While I always love to support my local art store here in the Dallas area, I decided to study a little more about pigments which my store does not carry. You don’t have to be an artist to use paint, every one of us has used paint for inside and out house projects, walls, furniture, etc. But do you know the...
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How To Custom-Build Your Own Frames

Posted by on Feb 27, 2011 in Blog, Everything Green, Upcycling & DIY | 0 comments Have you ever thought of building your own frames and stretch your own canvas? There are several reasons why I think custom-build frames are better and more convenient than the store-bought ones (or if you have someone who builds them for you even better!). Here is why: - you can decide the size of the frame, large/small/very large - you can build frames that you won’t get at the store:...
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How To Custom-Make Free Office Organizers

Posted by on Jan 4, 2011 in Blog, Everything Green, Living & Design, Upcycling & DIY | 2 comments Every time I wanted to get my office organized, I stopped half-way because I did not have the right tools and equipment to finish the job properly. So I had an excuse to drop the work and headed to my favorite store: The Container Store! I can easily spend 2-3 hours in there without actually deciding what I want, I love all their ideas. Then I decided to visit IKEA, another favorite store where I...
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Recycable And Creative Gift-Wrapping

Posted by on Dec 17, 2010 in Blog, Everything Green, Upcycling & DIY | 0 comments Don’t throw it away, use it to wrap gifts! Every time I walk up to the trash can with something to throw away, I double check first if I am be able to reuse it in some way. And yes, most of the paper gets recycled in our household. But besides old paper here’s a list of items you can use to wrap your gifts: - the easiest way is to reuse old wrapping paper from last year, just make...
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