CasaSugar

How-To: Remove Contact Paper Adhesive

CasaSugar — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:00:12 -0800

Remember how I covered my hideous linoleum floors with woodgrain contact paper? Well, while they looked fabulous, it came time to take them off. The contact paper itself was easy to remove, but as expected, a very tough adhesive residue was left. I tried literally everything to get rid of the sticky mess - WD40, Goo Gone, vinegar, Oops!, you name it - and searched far and wide on the Internet for tips to no avail. In the end, thanks to a tip from a friend, I was able to remove the residue. Want to know what the magic potion was?

Before and After: KateDavis's Faux Bois Tray Makeover

CasaSugar — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 10:00:04 -0700

Su Casa member KateDavis bought this white Melamine Serving Tray ($12.99) from Target, and decided it needed a bit of a modern makeover. She slapped on a piece of faux bois contact paper, instantly giving it depth and pattern. Want to see the finished product? Then read more.

Looks great, right?! If you'd like to see another wonderful faux bois contact paper makeover, check out how I transformed my ugly linoleum floors. Have you made any updates to your home accessories? Add them to our Su Casa group!

Before and After: Linoleum Floors Be Gone!

CasaSugar — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 07:00:57 -0800

I hate linoleum. Even "nice" linoleum never looks good. I just don't understand why it exists, when ceramic/porcelain tile and hardwood get the job done just as well. My home is plagued with some yucky linoleum, but I'm not equipped to replace it at the moment, so I decided to cure the ugliness with a DIY solution I dreamed up. I found some dark woodgrain patterned contact paper and adhered it to the tiles to mimic the look of hardwood floors. Contact paper is really easy to keep clean - it can be wiped clean quickly with a sponge or a damp mop - and it seems to be really durable as well. The project cost me about $25 - around $4/roll - and took one evening to complete. It took some patience but was well worth it in the end. To see the final product, read more.

Are you troubled with the linoleum curse? I highly recommend this solution. Stay tuned for instructions on this DIY!

How-To: Frosted Glass Stenciling

CasaSugar — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 11:00:00 -0800

Craftynest recently gave a makeover to her antique wooden bookcase, and the topping on the cake was a frosted stencil on its glass doors. If you've got a glass cabinet, vase, or even a mirror in need of a little facelift, you can easily recreate this look with a few supplies. All you'll need to repeat this project is glass cleaner, paper towels, a craft knife, a wet erase marker, contact paper, a large stencil, and Krylon Frosted Glass Finish in white. To learn the steps, read more.

Clean the glass well with your glass cleaner, and wipe it down with a paper towel or rag.
Peel a few inches off of the contact paper and stick it to the edge of the glass, and smooth it down. Unroll a few more inches at a time, and continue to peel. Make sure you burnish out any bubbles.
Make sure there are no open spaces on the edge of the frame.
After you've chosen your stencil, trace the pattern onto the contact paper with the wet erase marker. Repeat, if desired.
Use your craft knife (try an X-acto knife), cut the outline of the stencil on the contact paper.
Then, use the tip of the knife to lift the pieces of the cut pattern.
Wipe off the excess marker with a paper towel. Use the glass cleaner if necessary.
Shake the can of the glass finish. Spray it on the stenciled (i.e. no contact paper) portions of the glass from 10 to 12 inches away in a side-to-side motion. Let dry and spray another coat.
Let dry, and then peel off the contact paper. Fini!

For photos and more details, check out Craftynest.
Source

Before and After: Bistro Table

CasaSugar — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 09:00:52 -0700

Inspired by this table, I decided to give my white bistro table a bit of a makeover. I liked the table as is, and liked my Saarinen Tulip-esque chairs as is, but the white on white was looking a bit bland (especially with the bare walls and floor). But clearly, I'd never think about covering my beautiful chairs in paper. So, I scooted over my to favorite local craft resource and picked up some decorative paper, along with some clear contact paper from the hardware store. To see the results, read more.

Since I needed just over two sheets of paper to cover the table, I chose a busy pattern so inconsistencies in the repeat would be less noticeable. I used a bit of double-sided tape to keep the paper in place on top of the table. Then, I folded over the edge of the table and used stronger, mounting double-sided tape to adhere it. Then, I covered the decorative paper with clear contact paper for durability.

I could have découpaged it, but that would have been permanent. It's not the most seamless or astounding makeover, but it's a small improvement for room that needs a lot of work, which took very little time. And, my fluorescent pink chandelier decal, which I bought ages ago at the Centre Pompidou, picks up the colors of the paper nicely.

View 7 Photos ›

The Seventh DIY of Christmas: Hand-Painted Monogram Tea Towels

CasaSugar — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 08:00:10 -0800

Welcome to the seventh project in my 12 DIYs of Christmas series! I decided to make hand-painted monogrammed tea towels as a gift for a friend that has everything this year. I think taking the extra step to hand-paint this everyday item gives it a personal touch, and shows more effort than any store-bought item. I decided to paint the monogram in my own handwriting and made my own stencil, so it definitely took more time. But beyond that, it's a pretty straightforward project.

Supplies:

Tea towels - Choose flat ones, without much texture or raised weaving.
Washable textile paint - I used Jacquard 113 Navy Blue ($2.79).
A paint brush - A thin watercolor brush or small foam brush will do.
Clear Con-Tact paper
An X-acto knife
A cutting mat
Paper
A pencil

To learn the steps, read more.

Using a pencil, draw a few letters on a blank sheet of paper. Try serifs, non-serifs, and cursive - be creative.
Once, you've found a monogram you're happy with, outline it (i.e. make it thicker) so that you'll be able to cut it out.
Using your X-acto knife, carefully cut out your monogram on your mat. Some letters, especially cursive (like this S), will have closed parts, so you'll need to cut inside them.
Cut a piece of Con-Tact paper so that it's a bit bigger (at least 1/2 an inch) than your monogram on each side.
Peel the adhesive backing off the paper, and lay the paper over the monogram cutout letter so that it's sticking to your cutting mat.
Using the X-acto, cut around the letter so that the letter itself will be the negative space (where the paint will go). Be careful not to lose the shapes of any closed parts, you'll need them later.
Once cut, peel the Con-Tact paper off of the mat and center it on your tea towel.
Burnish the Con-Tact paper to smooth out any bubbles or lifts.
Apply two coats of textile paint onto the letter, being careful not to paint beyond the Con-Tact paper.
Let the paint dry for about two hours, and then remove the Con-Tact paper.
Touch up any spots carefully with a thin watercolor brush.
In order to be washable, your paint now must be heat-set by ironing the towel's backside. Follow the instructions on your jar of paint to do this.

Fini! Clearly, making the stencil takes up most of the time required for this project. But it allows you unlimited choices of typefaces. For a quicker project, you can use a store-bought letter stencil. See photos of each step below!

View 13 Photos ›

Campbell's Chicken Noodle BPA-Leaching Soup

FitSugar — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 07:00:23 -0800

It's uncertain how risky bisphenol A (BPA) is to humans, but I figure better safe than sorry. I threw out my potentially risky water bottles and containers but now a new study from Consumer Reports says there's BPA in my canned goods, too. Metal cans are often lined with plastic that contains BPA to protect the food.

The magazine tested 19 canned food products, finding levels of BPA in each product, including cans labeled "BPA free." The biggest culprits were Progresso Vegetable Soup, Campbell's Condensed Chicken Noodle Soup, and Annie's Home Grown Organic Cheesy Ravioli. Though the FDA has said in the past that BPA is safe in food contact materials, it's now revisiting the issue to see if BPA exposure limits should be revised.

If you are concerned about the effects of BPA, try limiting or cutting out canned goods from your diet. Also, look for foods packaged in glass, paper, or freezer bags.

Do You Store Your Contacts' Data Anywhere Else?

GeekSugar — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 05:47:05 -0700

Last weekend's server crash resulting in T-Mobile Sidekick users losing all of their data left a lot of Sidekick users understandably angry. At first, T-Mobile considered recovering the lost data unlikely, but now it seems that most of the data has been recovered and will be restored to Sidekick users shortly.

Part of the problem: Microsoft offers no digital backup for the Sidekick. My iPhone's address book is backed up on my computer, but (similar to my Moleskine addiction) I also keep a paper address book for important phone numbers - just in case. What about you? Do you have your contacts' information stored somewhere so you won't lose it?

The Office Rundown: Episode 24, "Heavy Competition"

BuzzSugar — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 10:30:05 -0700

The Michael Scott Paper Company has gone from something that seemed extremely sad to a place that seems almost kinda fun. There are certainly days I wish I could spend throwing and catching cheese puffs. And once again, though we know Michael's a little slow on the uptake, he still manages to show that he can be a pretty solid paper salesman when need be. At the same time, Dwight grapples with remaining loyal to his personal "hero" while the new boss, Charles, starts to not seem that bad. And Jim messes with Andy's head for funsies.

Are you rooting for the Michael Scott Paper Company to truly succeed? To check out some of my favorite moments from this week's episode of The Office, read more.

Andy's demo of his acapella group doing "You Can Call Me Al" (with a slow, churchy beginning) as a wedding song is hilarious and a little painful. Jim explains that after Andy and Angela's wedding has been completely canceled, "we are going bargain hunting in the haunted graveyard of their love."
Dwight: "When Michael was in charge, this place was like the Roman empire. And the Wild West. And war-torn Poland. And Poland. There was just, a lot going on, so what you wore to work was the least of anyone's worries. And in that chaos, I soared."
Andy: "I know a few things about love. Horrible, terrible, awful, awful things."
Charles tells Dwight to take a seat. "I prefer to stand. Less blood clots."
Charles: "No. That's weird. You're gonna sit." Then Charles asks Dwight out for a drink and Dwight is amazed.
Yay, Mose reference! On the phone, Dwight tells Michael something's come up. Michael: "Is it Mose? Did you put the cover on that well?"
Dwight: "No, Mose is fine, I roped it off. It's not about Mose."
Michael says he has dibs on Dwight. "You respect dibs, don't you?"
Dwight: "I'm not a barbarian."
Andy wants Jim to break up with Pam, but Jim says she gets him through the day. "I'm pretty emotionally needy." So Andy says he'll be there for him. "Let me be your traveling pants."

Charles wants Michael to stop squeezing Dwight for information. Michael just feels betrayed that Dwight led him into a confrontation with Charles. "It's like a girl says she'll make out with you, but then her boyfriend is waiting around the corner with a pee-filled balloon."
Trying to prove how emotionally needy he really is, Jim pretends to freak out about doing poorly on a sales call. "When I look in the mirror I don't like the face that looks back!"
Andy: "Well, so what? Your body's a 10!"
Dwight offers to take out Michael's staff for lunch, and then goes to their office and throws a fish up into the vent, while claiming that he's late to lunch because he hit a bear. "He's technically fine. I imagine the true horror will be when he wakes up in a zoo."
I love that Pam holds up notes explaining to Michael what's actually going on when Michael doesn't get subtext.
Dwight finds his contact card in Michael's rolodex. On the back it simply says "tall" and "beets."
I can't decide if I think the stuff with Andy and Jim is funny and cute (especially when Jim promises Andy that he will find someone else) or just a bunch of filler.
Dwight rushes down to Scoffield's office as Michael is persuading Scoffield to change paper companies, but Michael smoothly readjusts the power balance in the room and isn't flustered by Dwight's desperate attempts to usurp him. Pretty impressive for Michael Scott.
Ha! Michael color-coded his rolodex contacts. "Green means 'go,' so I know to go ahead and shut up about it. Orange means 'orange you glad you didn't bring it up?' Most colors mean 'don't bring it up.'"

Source

Casa Beta: Seventh Generation Automatic Dishwasher Detergent Pacs

CasaSugar — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 07:00:01 -0700

Single-use, to me, usually means extremely unfriendly to the environment, but the Seventh Generation Automatic Dishwasher Detergent Pacs may be changing my mind. These single-use packets come in a recycled paper package, 15 tablets to a package. The small box it comes in can be flattened and recycled, and the only waste is the small rezippable plastic bag the tablets come in, which could easily be reused for storing any number of small items.

Each of the tablets is encased in a pouch that looks like it's clear plastic, but don't try to open the pouch. It's actually made of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), a biodegradable polymer. The pouch is simply part of the tablet, and will disintegrate as the wash cycle starts. The package warns you not to touch the pouch with wet hands, since the pouch will start to disintegrate upon contact with moisture, and will actually stick to wet hands.

To use the tablet, simply open up your main dispenser cup on your dishwasher, pop the pouch in, and run the wash cycle as usual. I found the Seventh Generation Automatic Dishwasher Detergent Pac very easy to use. But how well did it get my dishes clean? Find out.