Trees and Dreams: 2012

Dec 27, 2012

Secretaire desk makeover

Secretaire desk after makeover Secretaire desk before makeover Furniture makeover is one of my favourite hobbies. In today's consumer society we tend to throw away things, buy new, then throw them easily, ... I prefer to makeover things and personalize them. This secretaire desk is one of pieces I refurbished...

Dec 23, 2012

How to enlarge fonts in Microsoft Word

Text, letters, signs - we use them in many forms and sizes. There are numerous font types on internet. But how to make large stencils or print very large fonts? It is rather easy to accomplish. Here are some tips and tricks for Microsoft Word. Enlarge text using font size This is very simple. Type a text,...

Dec 18, 2012

How to easy make fritters

Sometimes very simple recepies make a difference. These fritters are one of them. The taste is rather neutral, so they can be combined well with cream, aivar, chutney or marmelade and chocolate. I love them most with plum jam. And even the beginners can make them easily. ...

How to personalize (almost) everything

Letters come in many shapes, sizes, colors. There are number of letter types as well. I am familiar with Latin and Cyrillic, unfortunately not with others. But any of them are great to personalize gifts, decorate home, design jewerly, there are endless possibilities, why not to use them. Letters on thousand ways Find...

Dec 2, 2012

How to wrap gifts for Christmas

Went to the city center this morning - Christmas decoration everywhere, large Christmas tree on the main square, stands with Gluhwein, sausages, decoration, gifts placed in nearby streets. How can I not think on gifts - what to make, what to buy, how to wrap (and upcycle)? Old magazine + burlap = Gift wrapping Old magazines...

Gift wrapping for Christmas, birthdays, wedding, love

Holiday season started and these days we are thinking more and more about the New Year's Eve and Christmas. And, of course, gifts for our family, friends, loved ones. I am always much more excited to see if I chose the right gift, whether it brought joy to my loved ones, than looking forward to unwrap mine. Wrapping gift...

Nov 14, 2012

Chalkboard everywhere

Last few weeks I became a 'chalkboard' freak. Refurbished kitchen using chalkboard paint, then made a frame for notes (you can find this tut in my post here) , painted inner sides of desk's doors. And found this awesome tutorial how to make chalkboard wrapping paper . I love the possibilities...

Nov 11, 2012

DIY shabby chalkboard frame

A couple of weeks ago I got few wooden picture frames from my neighbor and decided to make chalk board. Yes, we all have mobile phones, send text messages and emails, but I recognized the advantages of the old-fashioned chalk board near the entrance door - hubby can't have excuse now: 'I forgot my glasses, couldn't read the...

How to choose between roller and brush

Is is better to paint using roller or brush? This question I asked myself a lot of time when refurbishing furniture. And tried with various rollers and brushes to see what works best for me. I love water based, acrylic paint. For larger surfaces, with fine velur roller I achieve the best results (and much faster than with...

Oct 26, 2012

Paper bead jewelry

I am always working on few parallel projects. Sometimes it is OK, I need to rethink about the next step or simply, wait for paint to dry. But sometimes, I am eager to finish everything and have too much on the agenda. I am writing this because I was frustrated this morning when remember that started paper bead necklace few month...

Oct 23, 2012

Wonderful news - I am on Totally Tutorials!

I am thrilled my post is published on Totally Tutorials. As a new Blogger it is difficult for me to reach to the people and have followers or readers. Hope this would help, and more surfers will find my blog useful. I learned a lot reading other sites and hope my blog will help somebody else providing some interesting informati...

Oct 19, 2012

How to choose paint brushes

Synthetic or natural bristle brushes? When painting furniture people (myself too) usually pay attention to choose the right paint - color, type, supplier. For a long time I didn't take take what type of brush to choose. But if you want to achieve the professional look, this is important as well. Basically, the choice of the...

Oct 10, 2012

Pumpkin, squash, pumpkin

Fall has arrived and surprised us again with all these beautiful colors. Every Saturday I visit local market and enjoy the variety of vegetables and fruits, and this month, the color, shapes, sizes of pumpkins and squashes. In my country (Croatia, Europe) Halloween is not part of the tradition, but we love squashes...

Furniture makeover - Wood stains

I love trees - you can see that from the blog title. And I love wood and wood grains to be visible on furniture, if possible. When refurbish some old piece, I usually plan to use stain and to have grains visible. It is not always possible for many reasons - item condition, previous paint layers, too much (manual) sanding efforts....

Oct 3, 2012

DIY Shabby-looking sign

Shabby chic furniture look has been very popular last years, and for the reason. It is particularly convenient for the hobby crafters and beginners as you don't need to be master to refurbish something old and get astonished new piece of furniture. That is one of the reasons I like it as well. The other is sense...

Amazing laces

Pag lace Fall has begun, fashion theme articles, magazines, portals are inviting us to malls and clothes shops. Lace is 'must have' in wardrobe. That reminds me on the art of hand-making lace in Croatia, where I live. We are small country, but there are even three main centres of lacemaking in Croatia, whose work is a...

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