i’ve been feeling, lately, that technology is taking over my life and taking away some of the little pleasures i used to enjoy.  so i’m doing a few things to get away from it on a regular basis and making a point of being more in the moment.

i started sleeping with my iPhone in the kitchen instead of next to me, taking longer walks, and making soup ; )

i also created a space to sit and play records.  it feels special, and i love that it forces participation.  arts and crafts is another thing that puts me in the moment so here’s my latest project… i gave my speakers a makeover and built some stands too.  here’s how i did it… enjoy!

i used birch plywood, plumbing pipe, tiny casters & industrial strength velcro.

i stained the wood pieces.  i love “old masters gel stain”.  it’s easy to work with, dries quickly and comes out even and beautiful.  then i attached galvanized flanges & pipes (found in the plumbing section of hardware store).  i put little casters on the bottom so the speakers can be moved around.

i wanted to get rid of the galvanized pipe finish so i primed the pipes and used a metalic paint with a color i liked.  did you know you can have any paint mixed into a custom spray can? it’s pretty great.  it’s called “spray match” and if you live in los angeles, you can have that done at jill’s paint in atwater (where i work as a color consultant). here is fredy making my custom spray paint…

stands are done.  noodle is ready to play ball…. as she always is.

i took the old black speaker fabric off the grill with a utility knife, glued the new fabric on and tucked it behind the grill.  then, i primed the speakers and painted them a light cream. (some speaker grill’s don’t come off so you’ll have to get creative!)

*FABRIC NOTE: using a heavy fabric can definitely dull sound so you’ll want to be sure to use a very light fabric.  i used a sheer, see-through fabric that is almost a guaze, so it doesn’t change the sound at all.

a little velcro…

and voila…. an explosion of cute.         oh. em. gee.