Home Improv-isation: Part 2

About a month ago, I spilled the beans about how skilled I am at sewing fond I am of using tape for DIY projects. If you also lack sewing skills, you'll likely appreciate the following two improv-isation projects.

I'd been wanting to add a table and some artwork to our foyer for a while, but just hadn't found the right pieces. As luck would have it, within one week I was able to find and create everything I needed!

Exhibit C - Foyer Table Drape Cloth

Living around the corner from a Goodwill definitely has its advantages!

I recently found the perfect sized table to put in our foyer. The only problem is that it was begging to be covered, since I bought it secondhand and has some wear and tear (but I can't resist a bargain!). After I bought a burlap-style tablecloth to conceal the table, I decided it needed a little color. Then I remembered that I still had some fabric leftover from our family room curtains. So, I cut a piece to size and then attempted to seal the edges together using fusible webbing.

Well, I clearly either 1) didn't read the instructions on the box correctly (who has time for that)? or 2) bought the wrong kind of fusible webbing because I absolutely could not get the stuff to work. Rather than head back to the store to try and find the right kind, I decided to instead turn to a trusty friend.

No, not duck tape. Good 'ol industrial-strength glue. May I introduce you to E-6000.

This.stuff.rocks. You can use it for all kinds of projects, including on fabric. All I had to do was iron the edges of the fabric over to create a clean edge, and then glue the "hem" that I'd just created. Not even 15 minutes later, I had my drape. 

It's good thing I didn't mess this project up, because I only have a little bit of this fabric left.

Could I have used duck tape to hold this together? Sure. But I had another project where I knew my trusty companion would be needed. 

Exhibit D - Burlap-covered Poster Frame

This poster, which is a compilation of Italian postcards, is an awesome daily reminder of our honeymoon in Italy.

I was at the Ballard Designs showroom last month when I found a pile of what the store was calling "book wraps." Well, to me these looked like reproductions of vintage posters. And there were only $6. SOLD!

They had a handful of different posters, and the images were either French or Italian. Since we spent our honeymoon in Italy, I grabbed the three that were Italian (a map of the whole country, a map of Rome and the one above) plus a map of the whole world. But then I needed to figure out a way to display the posters.

I knew I didn't want to go the traditional frame route, but I did give some thought to making some pallet wood display boards. After weighing my options, I decided to do something that didn't involve hammer and nails. (And splinters.)

All I needed to complete this project was foam core board, burlap, thumbtacks, picture hangers and - you guessed it - duck tape. I'm fairly certain you can figure out how to put it together, but just for fun, here's a picture of the back of it.

I should have invested in this stuff years ago. 

And, voila! We finally have some artwork for our foyer. The cool thing about these boards is that now I can easily swap out the posters should I find something else that we want to hang up. I'm already thinking about what I can create and hang up for holidays and special events.

Finishing this project and knowing that I could easily swap out the posters down the road inspired me to get cracking on another project that I've been procrastinating thinking about. Believe it or not, duck tape was not used at all. But it did involve spray paint ... can you guess which project I'm referring to?