Robbed!!!

So some nice gentleman broke into our house yesterday morning. I was upstairs talking to my mom on the phone and checking emails on my laptop when they broke in through our basement. Thankfully I was able to grab my keys and run out of the house to cal the police, but not before they stole our tv (which we're still paying for), the xbox (which is my brother in law's), and of course, my beloved laptop. Needless to say, the blog won't be up until I buy a new laptop. Once everything's running again, expect the first month to be filed with tons of home safety tips for renters...you can never take security for granted.

Till then, have a happy new year!

India

Merry Christmas!!

What You Can Get for $1

Need a new wardrobe but low on cash?  For less than the cost of an iced coffee, you can have a new outfit in now time!  That's what Marisa from New Dress a Day did.  Using just her sewing machine and crafty prowess, Marisa has spent the past year turning $1 thrift store finds that no one could love into trendsetting clothing. 

Marisa's year long mission to create a new outfit every day may have ended last month, but she's still busy at the sewing machine. Head over to New Dress a Day to see all 365 days of amazing before and afters and read the story behind every piece.

From Ikea to Mykea

Ever gone to someone's house only to find what apears to be an off-site Ikea display room?  It's like they went in and asked for one of everything!  Now don't get me wrong, I love Ikea (still mourning the discontinued Kramfors sectional), but like everything else, it's better in moderation.

Are you or your friends suffering from an Ikea overdose?  Don't worry, there is help.  Mykea offers decals custom-made for Ikea furniture!  In just a few short minutes, you can transform your dressers, beds, and tables into original works of art.  Mykea's website makes it simple: select which item you'd like to customize, choose your decal, and order.  Each print arrives cut into the exact dimensions for your furniture.  There are several amazing designs to choose from, but if you really want a double dose of awesome, upload your own picture or design and have it turned into a decal.

Apt528 Tip: if price is a factor, buy your furniture from Ikea's as-is section or from craigslist.  You'll find great pieces for just a fraction of the already low prices, leaving you plenty of money to buy the decal of your dreams!

Apartment DIY pics!

We've been busy around here the past month.  Our budget's extremely tight right now which means there's not much left to spend on home improvements and decor.  Instead, we've had to be thrifty and creative and use the materials we already have when possible.  As it turns out, we had a ton of black and bright colored paint leftover from my more fun days when I love colorful, whimsical spaces.  After taming things down a bit at our last apartment, I figured it was time to go back to my true passion...colors that pop and make you go "wow!

So, here are a few select pictures of our apartment.  To see all our DIY project pictures, head over to the Apt528 facebook page.  There's still a lot of work to do...rugs, curtains, a couch, painting...but at least we're making some progress!  What do you think?  Any suggestions?

The coffee table ($10 at a garage sale) was beat up and too large for the room.  Now it's a bench with a bright orange base and graphic black and white padded seat.

I loved the deer picture but the Mr. said it felt like something from a hunting lodge so we turned it into a much needed dry erase board.  As mentioned in my previous post, dry erase markers work perfectly on glass picture frames.  Just add your own background and you're ready to go!  Because the frame is a little small for the space, we're going to paint a boarder around it to give it a larger presence on the wall.

 We wanted awesome chairs but didn't want to spend money on paint so we used some old paint colors from my first apartment.  The chairs are what set the mood for our bright decor throughout the upstairs. At first we were going for grey walls with brown accents which is why the fabric is brown and white.  Now that we decided to go with black, we'll probably switch it out for something b&w.

 The decision to go pink was a tough one.  Initially we painted the table brown (we were going for brown accents at the time instead of black) but decided it was too dark for the room.  We needed a punch of warm tones and didn't want red so we went with the pink from my old striped room.  Now we just need to finish the rest of the upstairs so the table's not the only bright piece!

Love the way the black looks.  Gives the room more depth!  Don't laugh at our tree...I have yet to get a tree skirt.  I'm so lazy when it comes to holiday decorating...we'll have it done by next week before our guests arrive!

Doing some DIY!!

Busy weekend doing some DIY...pics to come soon.  Till then, don't forget to get your orders in today to take advantage of FREE SHIPPING at the Apt528 Store.

Here are a few before pics to show you of all our DIY projects.  Can you guess what the after pictures will be?

 

This coffee table is now a bench.  Can you guess what bright color I used?

  Said goodbye to the deer and turned the frame into a...

 Boring is out and fun is in.  You'll love the new dining set.

Olive, white, and grey walls just wouldn't do.  So we headed to the dark side to kick things up a notch.

Apt528 Review: Shur-Line Pro Edger

Shur-Line Pro Edger (for latex paints)
$4.21

Apt528 Rating: 3.5 out of 5
If you're careful, this tool can be an awesome time saver.  Paint loading can be a pain.


The Review

For years, I've been a hater of Shur-Line's edger.  In theory, it's supposed to save you from time-consuming painting tasks like taping your lines or cutting in by allowing you to simply dip the edger in a little bit of paint and roll it at the top of your wall giving you a nice, crisp line.  In reality, the previous Shur-Line edger left much to be desired.  The wheels were constantly getting covered in paint and tracking it all along the ceiling. It was a mess that left you spending all your time scrubbing paint off your ceiling.  After my last run-in with the Shur-Line edger a few years ago, I swore to never use one again.

But I found myself in a tough situation when we moved into our new apartment and started painting.  We have tall ceilings that are about 18 feet high above the staircase.  While we could paint the walls along the stairs using a roller on an extension pole, we didn't know how to edge the ceiling line on our own.  Cutting in and taping weren't options since we don't have a tall ladder that works on stairs and even if we did, I'm terrified of heights!  We considered hiring someone to come out and line the ceiling but didn't like the thought of paying someone to do something so small.

So we headed to Home Depot where I gave in and decided to get another Shur-Line edger.  What other choice did I have?  Thankfully, the powers that be at Shur-Line heard the grumbles of us DIYers frustrated with their previous design and decided it was time for a change.  They've now come out with the Pro Edger which, though not perfect, is a HUGE step up from their old edger.  The new tool comes with a button that lets you raise the wheels when you're reloading the paint so they don't get covered.  Ingenious!

Of course, this doesn't mean the Pro Edger is without faults.  You have to be EXTREMELY careful about loading paint onto it.  I strongly recommend trying your edger on a spot you can easily reach/clean the first time you use one.  I experimented with a few upstairs walls first, that way I could clean up any mistakes and figure out all the tricks of the new edger before doing the stairway walls where I wouldn't be able to reach any mistakes I made.  Two messy ceilings later, I finally figured out exactly how much paint to put on the pad.  I found it best to dip the edger in paint, then remove the excess from the pad by scraping it along the side of the paint tray or on a paint roller. Then I used a wet towel to wipe along the edge of the pad and do a once over on the wheels to make sure absolutely no paint was where it shouldn't be.  After this, it should all be smooth sailing!

It took some trial and error but now I've definitely come to like my Shur-Line!  It's must quicker than cutting in (my method of choice) and gives you a cleaner line than taping (which I'm not a fan of).  It was also helpful for lining the bottom of the wall along the trim and for edging a corner where I had two different colors meeting.  My only mishap came when I was trying to reach the far wall of the staircase.  Even with the pole, there was one spot I could barely reach so I leaned out just a little bit more and ended up with a spot of paint on the ceiling.  It's one of those things no one else will notice but I know it's there!

For cleanup, Shur-Line added a nifty little button that pushes the pad off the holder.  Pad removal was never a gripe of mine but the button is a nice option, though I often forgot it was there and ended up removing the paint pad manually most of the time.  Still, it's nice to have.  Of course the same features you're used to are still there like the ability to attach it to an extension pole for high ceilings and a swivel handle so you can work from all different angles.

Keep in mind there will be a small gap between the wall and the ceiling.  No matter which edger you use, you have to allow the gap in order for there to be space for the tool to run along the ceiling without getting paint on it.  Also, if your ceiling's uneven, your paint line will be as well.  Again, this isn't a problem with the tool, but something you'll have to do deal with no matter which edger you use.  All-in-all, the Shur-Line Pro Edger is a great redesign that anyone can use, as long as you're VERY careful.