Thursday, July 1, 2010

OPEN DOOR




"It's hot in here, open a door so we can get a breeze." It's that same cooling breeze we desire to cultivate by opening the door that is also slamming doors closed and disturbing the peace we sought in the first place.  We need to put a stop to this, a door stop. Of course most people would go out and buy a solution but you and I? We're not ordinary like that - we're extraordinary and we're going to make one because it's things like that which make our house a home and give certain death to the phrase "I'm bored".

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I looked around for some things which were homey but not limited to a particular definition of homey.  In my home, I like something which has a little sophistication but you may prefer cottage or contemporary, so keep an open mind and adjust these projects to suit yourself instead of  sitting there cringing and going "ew". That makes you look so unattractive anyway. Oh... there are lot's of door stopper ideas here...


Hold that door open with a good old fashioned rock.  

These beetles and asundry buglets are traced out with a rotary tool and thought them a suitable project for my teenage son. Surely you realize you are going to require a larger rock than these presented to keep that door from slamming.  Add a spray sealer in matte or gloss to complete your little project.  Please remember the safety glasses and try your hand at simple grooves in the rock or entire shapes:



Door stopper weights  Some of these triangular stoppers shown here were also spotted accessorized with wattles of roosters and little bird faces.  These simple cotton ones do the job as would ones made of scraps of decorator and upholstery grade fabrics but the patterns are basically the same for the pyramid door stopper and you can find one here on this charming blog: Bake and Sew.  I also learned that you should fill them with something heavy and not poly pellets, something like rice or sand and if you velcro an opening, you can include a scent sack or baking soda to absorb odors.  As charming as these are I know some bumbling clod will come along and trip over them. If you know such a clod, no worries, just sew up this strip door stopper instead. Use measurement of your doors length, 3 inch diameter and include seam allowance when cutting.


This girly plush thing is something of potential for those with a sense of the unique.  She wears fish net stockings, change out that dress fabric for something more custom, perhaps the hair color, too and you're on to something darling and personalized for gift giving, house warming or name your occasion.  She wears a little heart button in her hair, this too could be customized into something more symbolic like the button from a favorite outfit or add a piece of jewelry or ribbons for shoe laces, necklace, earrings. Go crazy~

Rock STar
Once, while at a friends beach cottage, I noted that their door stopper was a rock. Not just any old rock of course, it was a rock shaped kind of funky and painted to look like a tennis shoe with untied laces. Very detailed piece of something with shading and all and I thought "kewl". Now I wish I'd taken a picture but you'll have to give these painted rocks a gander: The painted rocks on the right are simple, one color/element.  You can use graphite paper to trace an image you find on the internet or where have you. Then using a size 0 round brush or other suitable size, create a painted monocolor masterpiece and then apply a sealer (matte or gloss, can use acrylic brush on sealer also) to preserve your mini-masterpiece. Have fun with these.




You don't paint, sew, own a rotary tool - but you do have a door slamming issue.  Well, you can glue, right? I have a solution: Mosaic's.  You can find the colored glass and grout at any local hobby store but before you go I want you to get familiar with how you're going to do this so check out these directions and consider embedding items more creative than the obvious products that first come to mind.  I think buttons, foreign coins, that little artifact you picked up off the ground and examined because you thought it might be valuable... embed them in your moasaic door stopper.  Basically you are going to glue clean items to a surface and then smear a mixed grout in the crevices and behold, a creative door stopper. Keep in mind the spacing beween the glued pieces as this will effect the amount of exposed grout in your finished product.



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3 comments:

  1. I have two border collies, and they rush to the door as well, but they now have a dog door, which allows them to come & go as they please.Your door stop ideas are great too , as are your painted stones, also love your new website , with lots of great ideas to enjoy, well done , hugs , Mal,..xx

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  2. Thanks Mal =),
    I had a border collie once, I named her Seiko the Watch Dog - she was a charming little food thief... Thanks for the comment. I found that picture brought a smile to me, I hope to you as well.
    ~O

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  3. Have I told you lately that I love, love, love your blog? So many great ideas. And that opening pic is hilarious.

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