LOV YOUR SPACE BLOG

Sunday office.

Sun, 21 Apr 2013 12:36:15 -0700

Sunday office.

thanks YouTube for showing me how easy it is to make cute plant...

Sun, 03 Mar 2013 19:09:38 -0800

thanks YouTube for showing me how easy it is to make cute plant hangers. #yaymacrame

another finished tree stump table!

Mon, 11 Feb 2013 12:07:25 -0800

another finished tree stump table!

it’s i official! I have a branding iron.

Mon, 11 Feb 2013 12:06:28 -0800

it’s i official! I have a branding iron.

speaker revamp tweak-out!

Tue, 27 Nov 2012 13:04:00 -0800

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.

my stumps, my stumps. my lovely lady trunks.

Sat, 08 Sep 2012 23:16:00 -0700

i kept noticing these tree trunk remnants on my walks around the silverlake reservoir. i knew it was only a matter of time before they were destroyed by rain, bugs, dirt, or before someone else got the same idea i had—turn them into tables! so i was really glad when the park ranger gave me permission to take them. i was scheming for ideas on how to haul these (very heavy) things and have them cut. i called around to various lumber yards, but nobody wanted anything to do with it… until finally it occurred to me… tree trimmer!! duh. of course. they could cut AND haul them. so i hired jeff hugg. tree hugger? maybe a little. tree trimmer? maybe a lot.

he was awesome to work with, and he didn’t seem to mind one bit when dozens of lizards came rushing out of the space between the bark and the trunk and started crawling all over him. “aw wow, maaan, these are beautiful,” he said, and i was like, “yikes! keep those things away from me, you dirty hippie!” kidding! we all know that i’m a dirty hippie, too (but only on the inside).

when we were certain all the lizards were free, i told him where to cut. we ended up with 7 pieces and hauled them to my studio, where i did the sanding and varnishing. i had to pry the bark off first and then let the tree trunks dry out for a couple months before i could start on them. it’s a lot of work but well worth it when you consider that these cost anywhere from $300 to $2000. i’m keeping a few and selling the rest. they are awesome! definitely the sturdiest tables you can find. i like the idea of clustering a few together as a coffee table, but they make great end tables on their own too.

here are some photos from the process, which has been so fun… enjoy…

lil alligators.

zebra wood printer hider console thingy

Wed, 27 Jun 2012 11:15:00 -0700

what do i call this thing? i’m open for suggestions…

i wanted a piece to keep and hide my printer, paper & scanner. something that would look clean and good when closed. since moving into my studio space, i no longer needed a home office, so i took apart the desk i’d made at home and used the beautiful zebra wood top to build this instead. i made a couple shelves with some of the remnants too and if you read the last post well, then you know how that went…

not enough zebra to use for the entire piece so i used birch plywood for the back and bottom.

wood glue & screws.

plumbing pipe is a great and inexpensive leg option.

love the 1.5 inch drill bit for back of cabinet wiring access. time to call drew phillips for some hinge installation help….

yes!

now a couple coats of varnish and some light sanding….

smooth as a baby’s boonzies (butt) ~~~~~~~~~~ legs could use some color no?

any excuse to spray paint!

slate gray at top and light pink at bottom.

um… excuse me, but i love this thing. if i do say so myself.

i made the desk & work table too…. will share that in another post.

if you made it this far thanks for reading! xo, sarA

when furniture attacks...

Mon, 18 Jun 2012 16:27:00 -0700

it wasn’t my intention to post this type of thing but it happened and seemed too good a story to skip….

a couple weeks ago i got a splinter. i wasn’t building anything, so not wearing my work gloves. it happened when i picked up a scrap piece of zebra wood that i’d been saving to use as a shelf. the splinter went in fast and deep and there was no getting it out. i’ve heard that soaking or putting baking soda on it could draw it out so i tried. after almost 2 weeks of waiting and hoping it would come out on it’s own, i went to the doc to have it removed. i thought it was going to be a minor thing like having a mole removed. i was shocked to find it was a surgery. yikes. lucky for you (or maybe not so lucky?) they let me take pictures….

doesn’t look like much right? don’t be fooled! it was really deep and not visible on the surface.

this looks pretty gnarly but it’s just the betadine they used to clean my hand/arm…

are you kidding me!!! just for a splinter!?! the nurse assured me that doc wouldn’t be using all these but needed to have options…

yikes! vewy scawy.

my doctor was a sweet and chubby swedish man. he had little sausage fingers but apparently that wasn’t a problem for him.

taking photos helped me relax (kind of). the worst part about the whole thing were the shots to numb my hand. so freakin intense. i barely made it through that part. the rest was not a big deal.

little bastard piece of zebra wood.

one stitch. one little stitch.

oh really? i need that thing on there? sheesh.

still proudly wearing my hammer necklace.

i’m not gonna lie, my eyes were sweating a little.

submit zebra bastard!

bye bye splinters!

a bit of zar ultra max satin for a smooth finish.

yup. it’s safe now.

the best part is that my dog noodle and i now have matching stripey socks to cover our injuries - she broke yet another nail while jumping high in the park a couple weeks ago.

this is the shipping desk at LOV YOUR SPACE / SPLINTER RECORDS

splinter records. literally.

making the pink cabinet....

Sun, 03 Jun 2012 17:07:00 -0700

hi….welcome to my first post!

in the last year and a half, i’ve spent most of my free time building furniture and renovating (on a budget) my color/design studio (and splinter records headquarters). my tripod has been documenting most of it. this is a cabinet i made…. done in steps as i waited for time & $ to make it all happen… if i tried cutting the wood myself i’d surely be missing fingers so i had help with that part. my friend drew phillips helped with the hinge installation. he is awesome!

enjoy… ; )

now the shelves are built, just need some paint & a door!

noodle is the best helper.

primer done… now for some color!

a quiet gray to calm the loud pink. now for the door….

i drew the oval and had it cut at a lumber yard…

some lovely visitors! my neighbors [lisa, jennifer, see wah & charla of lisanelle.com]

after painting, i had plexiglass put in…. then called the badass drew phillips to help me install some hinges. woot woot.

yay.

coming soon!

Thu, 31 May 2012 14:07:00 -0700

coming soon….