Got Caulk? Fill 'er Up!

Well, here we are for another episode of Caulk Talk (Missed the other?  Check it out here).  In my opinion Caulk is the Queen Bee of remodeling...in ladies laymen terms, the Spanx of all DIY oopsy forgiveness!  I have been meaning to get around to this little project for quite some time so I am glad I have finally found the time to get er' done!!

It is no secret that we at LBR are big fans, OK, HUGE fans of Ikea.  Someday I will have to take you on a tour of all things Ikea in our house but for now let's focus on the heart of our home...the kitchen.  For those of you just joining us, last year we gutted our old dingy musty kitchen (here and here) and transformed it to a nice bright white mecca of food fabulousness, IKEA style!  Ever since the glass front cabinets went up I have been itching to tackle those crazy little shelving holes...

See them?  They are hard to miss when everything else is white white white...  Since I was rearranging and cleaning out the cabinets I thought today would be a fabulous time to break out the caulk and get to work.  This is a super simple and cheap way to make your cabinets look just a wee bit more cohesive without having to get all crazy and paint.  Obviously, if you don't have white inner cabinets then white caulk may not be the way to go but you can find a colored caulk or fill with white then paint over with whatever color you have.

There ar minimal steps to this process and the outcome is well worth it!

1.  Get you caulk...OK, that should go without saying but from past experience (mainly when working with E, my husband) people (again, E) tend to get all set to start a project and don't even bother to gather the supplies...crazy people... You will also need:

• A small flat edge, similar to my painting tool thingy (I never have learned the correct term but I LOVE this thing).  You can also use an old gift card or credit card...I tend to have a lot of .63¢ remaining gift cards on hand.  
• An old work rag and/or paper towels.

2.  Now - take the caulk gun and over fill the holes you are planning not to use.  I left a few holes open in the event I want to move a shelf up or down but that will most likely never happen as I like the shelves sitting where the cross bars on the door fronts are...but anyway, fill them all or leave a few open...the choice is yours

3.  Take your flat edge and quickly smooth it right over the hole.  I was able to do a few at a time.  Now take your rag and wipe off the excess caulk from your flat edge.  

4.  Use a different wet rag to gently wipe around the holes in case any of the excess caulk smeared while using your flat edge.  

THATS IT!!  You are done!!

Here is a little pictorial:

 And here is your glammed up looking wonderful in white end result!

One more time with a before and after:

This look so much better...some of the screw heads could use a coat of white paint but Ill save that for the next time I break out a brush...

Looking good...And for less than a buck and in less than an hour!  Just my kind of makeover!!

FYI - If you accidentally fill a hole that you need to remove the caulk from later just take a small drill bit and gently drill it out.  It removes really easily and you have your hole back!!  Of course, I know this as I may have accidentally filled a few holes on past projects that I wasn't supposed to!   :)

What are you guys working on??  Feel free to leave a comment and/or a link to your post and let me know how caulk has changed your life!!  :)

Click here to check out where I am sharing this link and PAR-TAYING!!!

Bianca

TOTD - How to Remove Primer from Leather Shoes

First ask yourself why you used spray primer outside in windy winter weather wearing your leather work shoes.  Then proceed to the tutorial portion of this post...

As many of you know we live in Chicago where the winters are harsh and there is little to no sun for months at a time.  This can make even the most sane of people go crazy but, in my case, it made an already crazy person go insane.  Mix that insanity with my desperate need to accomplish some DIY and the fact that I have no place to do projects in the winter and you get this:

My poor old Danskos with paint splatter everywhere!!!  OK - so they aren't the prettiest of shoes to begin with but they are comfy, have good support, slip on and off when going through airport security, and do wonders for you when pacing a steel tube for multiple hours a day at 35k ft in the air...did I mention I am a Flight Attendant?  These babies are Flight Attendant tested!

Now - this wouldn't be such a big deal for some people as they could easily go out and buy/replace said shoes with  new ones.  I, on the other hand , have 2 very restricting issues with that:

1. The obvious - I AM CHEAP!!
2. The not so obvious unless you know me - I no longer buy leather.  Don't worry - I am not going to get all preach-a-licious on you!  It is just a personal choice that I am doing my best to stick with.  Since I do not buy leather I make sure to do what I can to repair the leather items I still own.  I ♥ my Calvin Klein brown belt, my Steve Madden cowboy boots (see profile pic), and my Dansko work shoes. 

 This primer has been on there for quite some time.  I probably would never have decided to fix them up if it weren't for the fact that I have a trip I need to fly coming up and had no other shoes to replace them with.  Did I mention they are super cozy and broken in?

I decided to go the unconventional route of trial and error.  After trying to scrap the paint off with my nail, which works so easily on my wood floors but not so great on leather, I considered another option.  Nail Polish remover... Here I am preparing for take - off:

One down one to go:

And in for a smooth landing...

Not too shabby...actually - still shabby but minus most of the paint!  With help from some Vaseline (a little Flight Attendant trick I learned on the road) these babies will shine up quite nice.  Also - with a view from 35 thousand 5 ft up you can barely tell how they started out:

Lovin' these uniform pants!

Mission accomplished.  Oh - and I promise never to use airplane puns again...ever.  So annoying!  I suggest doing a little test spot before applying this to your everyday uses.  I am careless and tend not to do that which, if it hadn't worked, may have resulted in a costly error.  For now the worse thing about this little project is that my shoes reek of nail polish remover.  I am off to give them a little scrub down with soapy water then a quick rub of Vaseline.  These Dansko's will be rocking the runway shortly!

Anyone else have a good tip to share?  Post it in the comment section below and if you're bloggin' feel free to leave a link!

♥ Bianca

TOTD - Be a Stalker...Really!!

As I am knee deep in a mess of a project (a tutorial on improvising for fools and what NOT to do coming up tomorrow) I thought I would get a quick Tip of The Day post in.

So - for today's TOTD to be a stalker please take note.  Do not, I repeat, DO NOT find some cute guy or gal and follow them home.  DO NOT go on Facebook and look up your old boyfriends/girlfriends/enemies and see what they are up to or where they are going just to casually drop in.  The only place you should be stalking right now and at every moment you are near a computer is Craigslist Free section.  I know I talk about this a lot but when you decide to design/furnish a house on a tight budget it is muy importante.  

Here are my tips for snagging a fabulous Freebie!

• Open an extra window to keep Craigslists Free section open at all times.
• Check in periodically - if you are a psycho like me that means every 5 minutes when I am working at my computer.
• If you see something that suits your fancy email them RIGHT AWAY!  Don't hesitate, don't think about it, don't take time to measure the area you want the item...and don't get up to pee!  Just email them!!
• Make sure to put your phone number, the date/time you can pick it up unless they already specified (the sooner the better), and you name.  Make sure they know you are serious!
• Now stalk your inbox for a response.  In the meantime you may now take this opportunity to measure and go pee if necessary!
• When they respond let them know that yes you are still interested or no you just realized it won't work for you.  No worries - they probably had a tone of other people who emailed them.  Move on and let the next round of stalking begin.

This week I picked up my stinky old chair (You can read that post here) and 500 glassine envelopes.  I have no idea what I plan to do with these envelopes but my new obsession with the Free section has turned me into a bit of a hoarder.  Here is what is going on in the Free section as we speak:

Hello SoHo - nice chair!

SoHo again - who couldn't use one of these for storage or a loft room divider?

Ok - so you want to ditch the mattress but this is an Ikea bedframe!  FREE!!

Raleigh?  De clutter and organize your place!

BONSAI!!!  Mr. Miyagi needs to help these babies out in LA!

Nice little table and chairs!  Pretty sure the wine doesn't come with them...great marketing though!

Old rustic Table Top in LA - Nice

Good ole Chicago - Lots of Pianos today...

So there you have it - some good finds, some useful finds, and a couple of BONSAI!!!

Now open a new window and start searching!  The end and the beginning of the month are great times because people are moving and need to get rid of stuff or they have moved and can't fit everything in the new place.  If you are an absolute freebie nut this is also a good time to take a drive down you local alleyways.  I have seen many a good piece of furniture (and even taken a few) in the Chi town alleys.  Hello! Almost-New Tar-jay folding bookshelf.  Oh - "is that you?" Perfectly Perfect piano bench.  It's not for everyone but what the heck - its free!  Oh - and I don't suggest going into actual dumpsters...now that is just plain wrong. 

Drop me a line and let me know what goodies you have found.  

I'm off to take some disappointing after shots of my gone wrong project.  I'll post it up tomorrow though I am dreading the thought of it.

♥ Bianca

Tip of The Day (TOTD) - How To Unstick a Sticky Door

After all of the extra layers of paint I added to my doors and door frames it is no surprise that the doors can not close properly.  The first door got stuck shut and we had to pry it open.  The other door kept jamming at the top where we couldn't even close it!  Shucks...and I thought everything was going so smoothly!  Here is what the door looked like after we managed to unstick it:

Bummer :(

The good news is I knew from looking at it where the problem spot was which made it easier to fix it!  There is more than one way to do this but the following 2 are the easiest and prove to do the least amount of damage:

1.  Use a planer.  You don't need a super huge one - it is just a door for goodness sakes.  I borrowed this one from my step dad, Jim, and although it is ancient I am sure it would work like a charm.  You just glide it along the area that needs shaving down.  It has a little dial so you can decide how much to take off but it is best to go with the lowest setting and do it multiple times so you don't over do it.  After you are done you will most likely be left with bare wood which means you will have to prime AND paint again. 

2.  Use a 2x4.  When  I went to pick up the planer Jim asked me what I was doing.  I explained the whole door sticking thing and he clued me into this brilliant little tip.  Take a leftover scrap if 2x4 and put it against the door jamb like the picture then take your hammer, in my case a rubber mallet, and give it a few hefty taps.  The force to the 2x4 is transferred to the door jamb and king of compresses the wood/paint.  Brilliant!  On both doors this worked like a charm.  Oh - if you happen to crack your paint job or have a little chip come off during "hefty tap" time just go back and dab a little fresh paint on.  I had to retouch a bit of the paint that cracked but it is much better than having to re-prime and paint the bare wood a planer would have left.  Now my doors close perfectly and it didn't take but a minute.  Here is the after minus the touch up paint:

Closed...sorry about the shadows!

Not the prettiest but at least it is closes and better yet, OPENS!!!  That's it for my TOTD!  Anyone else have a great tip they can share??  Please leave it below in the comment section.

Toodles!
Bianca