Not another one: dealing with gifts you get again & again
As part of spring cleaning, I’m sifting through closets and trying to figure out what I need and what I’ve got too much of. As part of this process, I’m realizing that I’ve got an overabundance of certain objects … all of them gifts. See, Andreas and I seem to attract certain types of presents, and while each gift has been deeply appreciated and a great idea, I have several boxes full of duplicated great ideas that I’m now guilt-battling to say “I don’t need all of these, get rid of some.” When I looked at the gifts that just kept on coming, patterns emerged. Once I’d identified the gifts we got over and over again, I decided to start dropping hints about related alternatives…
Level up: How to spraypaint well
You have to practice spray painting. This came as a surprise to me, my sophomore year of college, my first year of art school, when I was trying to spray paint my Piet Mondrian-inspired birdhouse for Intro to 3D Design on the sidewalk outside my dorm during a very cold March. I guess I thought spray paint was magic — that it automated the process of painting — but I found out that wasn’t true, and that I didn’t know how to use spray paint at all.
Many projects later, I am a master spraypainter. I paint coatracks and shoes and art work and bones, and I really think this is one of the most valuable DIY skills I have. Being able to finish up a spray paint job with no drips or ripples can make the difference between a ruined project and one I LOVE. Having a good grasp of this skill means anything in my house can be ANY EFFING COLOR I WANT.
Let me teach you the right way to use a can of spray paint.
Nerding out: how we wired our house for ethernet
Setting up a wired LAN in your house is somewhat unusual, because most people do just fine with a wireless connection. But it does offer some distinct advantages over an exclusively wireless network, like faster speeds, lower latency, and better reliability. If you’re a hardcore enough nerd, this might be your next home project.
6 ways to use strings of twinkle lights all year long
Hands up: how many Homies have a cadre of Christmas lights boxed up somewhere? Sounds like you have some project ideas to brainstorm this weekend — especially if you’re living in a dorm. These projects SCREAM “battling bland.”
SPRING HAS SPRUNG! Everything’s growing in this week’s reader photos
Dudes, I woke up this morning and looked out the window and the world looked SO GREEN after all the rain Iowa got this week. It’s been warm here for weeks, but it’s not spring until the plants are growing. And it looks like people in the Offbeat Home Flickr pool are feeling the same fresh verdantness. Let’s take a look at the world with fresh eyes, and enjoy the Clicky Link bounty.
Gardening preparation check in: have your garden dreams dried up yet?
Yo, hopeful gardeners! Check in! How’s everything looking with your starter seedlings?
If you haven’t already, it’s a good time to look at your babies and see who’s past the germination deadline without showing any green. Some of my seeds have a very long germination time (10-14 days) but once two weeks is up and I haven’t seen any proto-leaves, those little things are quickly replaced with new seeds.
This year I’m planting a bigger variety of plants than I ever have before. I’ve started most of them already (all that I had toilet paper rolls for!) because I have a feeling we’re in for a warm spring. I don’t think I’m going to have to worry about frost as late as I have in years past — so I’m kind of starting all my stuff at once. If I’m wrong, well…then I’ll just start again. I’ve been late in planting seeds in the past, and everything turned out all right, so if I end up starting something late because I THOUGHT it was already covered, it’s not the end of the world.
Auction house odds and ends — emphasis on the odd!
Come in!
I’ve been curating my household of oddities, antiques, and collectibles — largely from my job at an auction house in San Francisco, and also fed by my love of local sales and thrifting. I think my finds add a charm to my home that was otherwise missing.
This is my house, where I keep all my Things and make my art.
How to paint a polka dot washer and dryer that will hold up over time
The laundry room has been a sticking point as we put together out house. It was such a cramped, cluttered nightmare that no one would want to see. U to the G-L-Y. BUT NOW, thanks to a polka dot stencil and some turquoise paint, my much-prettier washer and dryer are leading the way in laundry beautification.