Claire's New Bed

The girls' rooms are still not in order yet, and my guilt levels have been off the charts for the past few weeks. It's time to get these little ladies more settled.

My sister sent me a link to this pretty bed that was listed on Craigslist and the price was right (cheap) so I went and picked it up the same day.

The full size frame is perfect for this little room. I have a pair of midcentury modern night stands in the garage that will fit just right here also.

The wood is not worth saving (even though I love the pretty design!).

There's a cracked part on the headboard that needs to be filled probably with Bondo, which means we'll need to paint the frame. I think white will make it look too PB Kids, so maybe something like black?

I want to upholster the inset of the frame. Probably not tufted this time, but I did a similar project here.

Ever since the yellow chair experiment, I've been thinking a lot about tone on tone frames and upholstery. Maybe a bright cobalt blue on the frame with this pale blue cotton fabric I picked up during a 50% off sale for about $9 a yard?

Maybe a contrasting tape under the nail heads, too?

via

What would you do? Don't you just love it when the footboard curves back in? That's my favorite part of the bed and I think it will look even better when it's upholstered and outlined with tape and nail heads!

MTG Halloween

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Happy Thursday MTG peeps,

Whether you are observing Samhain or hitting up a Halloween party, we wish you the best.  Anywhoos - as it is Halloween, we should probablly have a looky-loo at an appropriately themed Magic: the Gathering build to take to tomorrow's Friday Night Magic event or to play this evening.

Carved MTG pumpkins from Kevin / Abigail submitted to WotC Monty.

The obvious place to start is a creepy trio of Magic 2014 core set cards which is a top-down designed combo.  Festering Newt (Common), Bubbling Cauldron (Uncommon) and Bogbrew Witch (Rare) will never likely see play in a copetitive deck on a pro circuit but delivers big on fun.

Should you have four Festering Newts and a Bubbling Cauldron, you could potentially deal 16 damage while gaining 16 life.  Not too shabby.  One cold possibly find the Witch with a Diabolic Tutor then the Witch's ability to find some Newts and a Cauldron to have all the ingredients complete the combo.  Even by itself, the Newt is a decent value - for one black mana, you get a 1/1 which can block and kill creatures with 2 toughness.  

Here's an excerpt from the mothersite - Bruce Richard's Double, Double Toil and Trouble which was published on 2nd July this year.

Bogbrew Witch: You have a 1/3 blocker for four mana. You might want to consider activating her ability and giving the Witch a Cauldron in which to stir her brew.

Bubbling Cauldron: You can sacrifice a creature to gain 4 life. If you don't have a spare creature, then I expect your Cauldron will be safe from any artifact destruction since it doesn't threaten anyone.

Festering Newt: You have a 1/1 with a minor ability that your opponents will be happy to see you use before a Bogbrew Witch shows up to make him truly nasty.

Bogbrew Witch and Bubbling Cauldron: You can block some creatures and sacrifice a creature to get 4 life. Perhaps a Festering Newt would improve your lot?

Bogbrew Witch and Festering Newt: Ahh, you have a pretty solid defense and you are likely threatening to do a lot more. Perhaps one of your opponents will decide that killing your Newt now is better than waiting for the Cauldron to appear and cost him or her life as well.

Bubbling Cauldron and Festering Newt: You are a minor threat to creatures, since the Newt will give one of them -1/-1, but really, everyone is waiting for you to throw your Newt into the Bubbling Cauldron as part of the bigger life gain and loss.

Bogbrew Witch, Festering Newt, and Bubbling Cauldron: The trifecta! If you give a Witch a Newt to throw in her Cauldron, your opponents lose 4 life each, you gain all that life, and one of their creatures is taking a serious hit!
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Vintage MTG

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Happy Wednesday MTG peeps,

Here at MTG Realm we play a lot of different Magic: the Gathering formats - namely Standard (our fav) where there is plentiful access to stock at MTG Mint Card, Commander, Modern, and of course casual kitchen table formats where almost anything can go.  We did not however touch Vintage or Legacy - perhaps because we did not get into the game until Lorwyn block, perhaps it was a budget thingy - we don't know.  Anywhoos - it certainly doe not detract from our appreciation for these formats one bit.  For a run-down of all sanctioned format, check out this mothersite page.  Today's post is all about Vintage / Legacy news - let's go -

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If you play Magic: the Gathering Online, you'll want to check the mothersite announcement from last week -

Set Name: Vintage Masters
Magic Online Prerelease Events: June 13-16, 2014
Magic Online Release Date: June 16, 2014

Vintage Masters is a set that will be similar in size to Modern Masters, available only in Magic Online. Vintage Masters will introduce fresh new artwork for several other classic cards you'll find in the set as well.  Vintage Masters will be a non-redeemable set available only in Magic Online in 15-card booster packs. Vintage Masters booster packs will retail for the MSRP of $6.99, and each pack will contain the following:
• 10 commons
• 3 uncommons
• 1 rare or mythic rare
• 1 premium foil card (any rarity, including the extremely rare premium foil Power Nine card), OR 1 Power Nine card

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Next up -  

If you find yourself in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania this weekend, and happen to play Legacy (aka Type 1.5) or Vintage (aka Type 1), you'll definitely be wanting to check out the Eternal Weekend hosted by Card Titan at the convention centre.  There will be two main events and a number of side events starting on Friday and running all weekend with a number of amazing Magic: the Gathering artists on site including Mark Poole, Dan Frazier, Matt Stewart, David Palumbo, Jeff Menges, Chuck Lukacs, and Bryon Wackwitz.

Saturday Main Event - 2013 Legacy Champs
The Legacy Champion receives a special alt-art trophy of Wasteland by Steven Belledin (original art by Una Fricker) with potential pay-outs in the form of store credit to 64th place.

Sunday Main Event - 2013 Vintage Champs
The Vintage Champion receives a special alt-art trophy of Ancestral Recall by Ryan Pancoast (original art by Mark Poole)with potential pay-outs in the form of store credit to 64th place.

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Wish List Wednesday- Art and Furniture

Hi friends...my apologies for no post yesterday...I had a really shit 48 hours so just needed a wee break to be honest.

I won't bore you with the details but real life stuff is slamming the door on unicorn dreaming right now...things are definitely not always sunshine and roses as it were.

Anyhow...as always, I know goodness is just around the corner so time to buck up and thanks the gods that all of my loved ones are healthy and really, that's all the fuck that matters.

And on that note, daydreaming about better days means fantasizing about goodness on my wish list and since it's Wednesday, let's go for some...

...action.

For this week, I'm still totally obsessing over artwork.

Topsies on my one day list are...

1. Venus by Petrina Hicks

...I'm literally in AWE of this image.

2. This loveliness by Skye Parrott...

...wouldn't it be perfect in a master bath against sheets of wall marble...giant size?

3.  And of course, my girl crush on Stephanie Vovas continues/is great (see the other works of hers I want/am getting here)...just discovered this beauty...

..and I lurv her.

Also quite enjoying her boyfriend...

Outside of art...I've got these guys on the list...

4.  All of these amazingly fabulous pieces from recent/ thanks to my 'I coudn't live without her' friend Christine discovery...Brabbu....

The Mursi rug...

I die over it...like dead die.

And this marble table...

...also afterlife worthy.

Oh and their brass plinthed sofa...

...I wouldn't throw it out of bed for crackers either.

5. And then there's this stuff from my newest 'I saw it in real life and can buy it locally + I want EVERY SINGLE PIECE IN THEIR COLLECTION' discovery, Stellar Works...

Barstools for the new house...but mine in black leather...

These incredible chairs...in front of a fireplace...

And THIS...in #projectdreamhouse kitchen across from the fireplace...

I mean have you ever?

The fabric...the shape...it WILL BE MINE- you heard it here first- no way in China this baby isn't going to belong to me...come hell or high water as it were.

As for the rest, I think it's high time I won the lottery...or landed some type of dream design job that paid large buckets of money...or both.

In the meantime/before I strike it rich, stay close to my Instagram feed over the next few days...peeks of my finished laundry area are a coming.

Smoochballs.

xo

DIY Modern Sunburst Mirror

It's no secret that my love for sunburst mirrors runs long and deep - especially chunky antique ones in gold tones. So when it was time to figure out a mirror for the Pax makeover project, I thought nothing but a gold sunburst mirror would do to help break up all that dark gray paint.

I looked around for something to buy quickly because we were short on time, but it was important to me that the mirror fit the back of the vanity space perfectly (about 36" square was just right). It was obvious pretty quickly that the only (affordable) option would be to make something myself. This image has been in my mind for a long time and I thought the look would be perfect for this project.

Here's how I tackled this DIY for about $75 in supplies:

Depending on how big you want your mirror to be, you'll need to buy a lot of small wooden dowels from the hardware store. I used 55 dowels and I had leftovers. I bought 30 of the smallest size, 15 of the next size up and 10 of the size just bigger than that.

I used a miter saw to cut down the dowels to random lengths between three and six inches long at a 45 degree angle. The trick is the wrap a bundle of dowels in masking tape on the spot you want to cut. This prevents any splintering or fly away pieces, which can be really dangerous, so make sure you don't skip this step.

I wanted the mirror to look mottled and not new, so I rounded up my collection of gold spray paints. 

I threw all the cut dowels on a drop cloth and just started spraying and tossing the drop cloth to move the dowels around. I tried not to spray the dowels directly too much. I wanted the paint to sort of float down onto the dowels so there wouldn't be harsh lines if another dowel was blocking part of a piece. I found the best method was to spray from farther away with one hand and then use the other hand to move around the dowels. I think painting with the different golds really helped add depth to the frame. Each of the individual dowels looks a little different and is a slightly different color combination. I was so happy with how this worked!

I used my favorite gold spray paint from Design Masters to spray just the edge of a piece of plywood cut at the hardware store to 27" square. I also sprayed four pieces of flat trim cut at 45" angles to make a 26" frame.

It's super important to use the right glues for this project. I used Liquid Nails Paneling for glueing on the dowels to the plywood backing. This stuff dries quickly so it's best to work in smaller sections - like three or four inches at a time.

I ran a 1" wide bead of the glue down the plywood board and quickly stacked the dowels next to each other, varying the lengths and dowel sizes and the color. Pushing down really hard on the dowels makes everything line up. The glue will squish up around the sides of the dowel which helps everything stay put even better. 

The corners are pretty much the only tricky part. I use a few thicker dowels first and then filled in with small and short pieces. I broke a few down just with my hands to make them short enough to fit in the tight angles.

Once the frame is done, give it a day to dry out and then cover everything with a ton of mirror glue.

I had a 24" mirror cut at a glass shop for about $20. I glued the 1/8" thick mirror right on top of the dowel frame and then used more Liquid Nails to glue the top frame made from flat trim on top of the mirror, which really finished the whole look

I sat heavy books and other items on top of the flat trim frame and let it dry overnight.

I forgot to take a photo of the final step, but I flipped the mirror over (which was a two-person job, as was hanging it on the wall - pokey!!!) and screwed two small D-rings into the perimeter of the plywood. Then the mirror was ready to hang! It's been up for about a month now and it looks and feels super secure. That Liquid Nails product is amazing stuff and made this project a breeze.

B/W Janky Junk

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Happy Tuesday MTG peeps,

You may recall yesterday's article about Commander 2013 pricing.  We were yattering last evening and decided that we would rather pick up some singles online from MTG Mint Card for some of our EDH stacks this Friday and then wait a few short weeks until the second print wave hits out local gaming store by which time, prices should hopefully correct downwards a titch which will allow us to grab one or more additional decks.

Anywhoos - today we want to talk about our play style for a moment.  We love to play under-used / under-appreciated cards in our strategies.  It's difficult to look at the hundreds of cards on our shelves, all perfectly standard-legal, and not use but a fraction of them.  To this end, we enjoy developing some interesting kitchen table games (like 'pile draft' where we draft from decksets of commons), or have casual pauper matches in order to better appreciate some of the cards in our collection.

Righto - onto today's topic - black 'n' white junk.  Perhaps not an apt description but one we could use as there are some questionable card choices or just outright jank which could serve better in another format - but perhaps not standard.  It was our aim to use a few cards which we rather liked but did not quite make the cut to popular standard.  Let's have a look . . .

Nothing totally weird just yet here - a cr@p ton of Orzhov goodies - High Priest of Penance, Sin Collector, Alms Beast, Desecration Demon, Obzedat and Blood Baron of Vizkopa.

Some of the non-creature spells - thoughtseize, Doom Blade, Devour Flesh, Read the Bones and Whip of Obzedat.

Now for some of the interactions we rather like.  First and foremost is to nullify the downside of lifelink provided to creatures blocking or blocked by Alms Beast with Erebos - not too shabby.

We also would love to get Gift of Immortality onto High Priest of Penance which essentially can nerf non-creature permanents all day long and keep coming back for more.

We are also thinking about the inclusion of Ethereal Armor (gawd we do like that card a lot) in this mix as well - perhaps giving a pump and (what some players forget about) first strike.  Giving that Alms Beast first strike will mean that you opponent may never get that extra life link.

We know this may never get to Top 8 at our local Friday Night Magic event but it does feel rather nice that we are using some of our cards we might not normally use by getting in some games at the kitchen table.

Got a deck you don't feel comfortable letting off its leash at your FNM?  Drop a line below in the comment thingy.
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