Sunday, April 29, 2012

More Pallet Love

Summer is almost here.  I'm not sure I'm ready yet.  I've done a little work on the patio and it's coming together.  I guess I need to really get with it before the really hot weather gets here and it's too stinkin' hot to sit out back unless you're in the pool.  One of the latest projects I've worked on is the pallet walkway.  I love the way Donna from Funky Junk Decor did her's.  Her's is awesome and required a lot of work.  But I'm not quite that patient.  I tried removing the boards off the pallets and it was going to take WAY too long.  Fortunately, there was a little step down from the pool decking to the walk way I wanted to "transform."  I know eventurally they will deteriorate but for now I really like the look.




Now I'm on the hunt for a Coke or Dr. Pepper machine for the back patio.  I love this look that Shenita from SLR Embellishments.  Just that little touch of whimsy.


Monday, March 26, 2012

Getting the Shelf Painted

I guess technically I shouldn't have said that it was finished.  I had just finished by building process.  So this weekend, I broke out the spray paint and went to town.  After attempting to paint it with no respiratory, I quickly realized there was no way I was going to get it painted without one  So off I went to our Jabo's Ace Hardware and bought me a really cute pink one.


I would highly recommend one of these if you're painting a fairly large project with spray paint.


I still need to paper the back of the shelves or Mod Podge some fabric.  I can't decide which one.  I guess I still can't say it really is finished until I do that.

Sunday, March 25, 2012

I Broke Down and Made a Bunting

Not only did I make a bunting, I made two.  I've never been a bunting girl.  I really wasn't sure what a bunting really was.  They seem to be everywhere though.  I got the inspiration for my first bunting from Creations by Kara.  I downloaded her templates that she so graciously made available and cut them out with a fairly thin piece of cardboard.  I got mine off the back of one of my paper packages.


I picked out some kind of sort of Easter paper and got everything traced and cut.  I even did this sitting in the family room watching TV.



I found some book pages where I liked the type style and colors.

 I inked all the edges except the top of the book pages.  That's where you will fold it under about 1/2".  I just cut a piece of jute long enough to attach the book pages and left a little over so the ends could be tied.

Here's a close up of a few of the eggs.


I love adding a second egg cut out to make it look 3D.  Not your typical Easter colors but at least they were springy.


The other one I made for spring so I wouldn't have to put it away after Easter.  I picked out a few colors that fit my decor in the family room and instead of the 3D eggs, I made it into a "spring" banner.  


I think it turned out really cute.  Drop my Kara's blog and see where I got my inspiration.

That mantle is getting a paint job soon.  I thinking, you guessed it, black.  Imagine that.

Monday, March 19, 2012

Giveway at Junque Magnet

Check out the giveaway over at Junque Magnet.  I'm dying for one of the t-shirts.

http://junquemagnet.blogspot.com/2012/03/can-we-fix-it-gorilla-glue-giveaway.html

Sunday, March 18, 2012

The Bookcase is Done

I finished the bookcase this past weekend.  I have a lot of sanding to do and then I'll put a couple of coats of paint on it?

The sides were the first things on and it resembled a box at first.  I was more comfortable with the jig on the second build.  Once you get the hand of it it's a breeze!


The top was clamped with wood glue.  I wanted it to get a good bond without a lot of finish nails.

After everything was squared I worked on getting the shelves in.  Each of the shelves are built with 1 x 12 and a 1x2s.  I followed Ana White's directions to the letter except for the top shelf. For that I used a 1 x 16 instead of 1 x 12, 1 x 2, and 1 x 3


I have quite a bit a sanding and painting to do before I can unveil it.




You can see inside where the pocket holes ares.  This was my second build with the Kreg Jig.  I love it.  I had two things that needed to fit in this bookcase - my sewing machine and my serger.  I just split the rest of area for the top shelves.  The next one I build I will use the Kreg Jig Shelf pin so the shelves are adjustable.
  
My next project on the to do list is the paint the fireplace.  I may have to wait until my man goes out of town.  He might not be on board with that one.  I'll guess we'll see.



 Happy Monday

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Spring is Here


I can't believe spring is here already.  I'm ready to get to planting.  I try to only plant perennials because my garden budget gets smaller and smaller every year.  With three kids in college, I guess any budget is better than none at all.  It gets pretty hot here with our house facing east making the backyard in full sun at the end of the day.   Everything is starting to bloom.  My pink lemon tree (and yes, it really is a pink lemon).



and my Meyer's lemon tree.  Love those little, bitty lemons.




My veggie seeds are coming along pretty good.  I decided I'd try my hand at starting some veggies this year.  My green bean seeds must be bad because this is the second set I've planted (the ones in the middle).  I may have to add some bell peppers and carrots.  Carrots are so simple to grow.


Taking down the greenhouse is definitely on the list of chores while the hubby is off for a few days.  It smells really good in there from all of the citrus blossoms.


This was an inexpensive, portable greenhouse that we got from Wayfair.  We will definitely be purchasing from them again because they have great customer service.  There was a hole torn in the cover and they replaced the whole thing.   It's hard to find good customer service anymore.

I've got all of the lumber cut for my next wood project.  I'm going to get jiggy with it.  Kreg Jig that is.  Ahhhh.  The smell of sawdust and citrus.  I love spring.




The Table Has Color

The table has actually had color on it since this past summer.  I didn't seal it with anything but I definitely will need to throw some poly on it.  With the summers we have here in north central Texas, it will definitely need it.


Saturday, February 25, 2012

Got a Bench for Working

This is my first build with the Kreg jig.  I've had it since last Christmas (2010).  Sad I know.  It was a little intimidating at first but I just went out in the garage and grabbed two boards and started practicing.  I got a little inspiration from the Shanty sisters,  http://www.shanty-2-chic.com/2012/01/20-shelves-anyone-can-build.html.  These shelves are so similar to the ones at Pottern Barn and are on my "to do" list. http://www.potterybarn.com/search/results.html?words=shelves&cm_sp=OnsiteSearch-_-GlobalNav-_-Button&type-ahead-viewset=ecom.  The plans were pretty easy to follow.  I did watch the utube video several times which helped quite a bit.  Not to mention the guy building it was pretty darn cute.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FOx3bTo3G4 :)



The board on the left has the proper amounts of holes.  The one on the right may have 1 or 2 too many.  Oops!



I don't have pictures of the actual building process because once I got going I was in a groove.


Once I figured out which directions the holes should go and which depth to drill the holes it went really quickly.  I love using the Kreg jig and won't use a countersink and putty again.  Ana White also has a great tutorial on using the Kreg jig.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9F5wr-cmalM  Love her!

One last tip would be - don't leave your car in the garage with the top down while you're drilling your holes or cutting your wood.  *&^%@  I just washed and vacuumed out my car!

Friday, February 24, 2012

Chalk Paint Experiment

I really like the way the room divider turned out.  I wonder if you could get the same effect as the expensive chalk paint with just a flat paint and wax over that?  I think I'll use the knock off recipe and not buy any more of the expensive stuff.  Maybe if I was painting furniture as a business I would consider it.  I kind of got caught up in the hoopla and had to at least try it.  I didn't wax the room divider because I didn't want to invest any more time.  I painted it, distresssed it and screwed it all back together.  I'm kind of impatient.  That's why I love spray paint and would use that on everything if I could.  It's my I WANT RESULTS NOW type personality.  The new color suits the rest of the decor in the bedroom.




I may try to use something other than black the next time I paint a piece of furniture.  It's just so easy to go with black.  I've got a couple of end tables in the garage that could use some paint.  I do have a can of ASCP in Duck Blue (you remember - caught up in the hoopla).


Thursday, February 23, 2012

The Table Has Color

The table has actually had color on it since this past summer.  I didn't seal it with anything but I definitely will need to throw some poly on it.  With the summers we have here in north central Texas, it will definitely need it.



I'll post the finished results of my chalk paint experiment in the next couple of days.  I really need to get out in the garage and get busy building my workbench.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Mixing Some Chalk Paint

Yesterday was my day to start a bunch of stuff and not finish any of it.  I've got the wood for my workbench which was actually on the agenda but got a wild hair and decided to try my hand at making chalk paint.  Not to be confused with chalkboard paint.  Ok.  So I don't really now the difference between the two other than I'm not going to be writing on any of this with chalk.  Kind of looks like the same recipe if you compare them.  I bought a wooden room divider at Hobby Lobby a long time back.  It was off white and didn't fit in the color scheme I have in the master bedroom.  I had added toile wallpaper to the inserts which I wanted to keep so I just taped them off with blue painter's tape.  I have used ASCP before but didn't have enough of the Graphite for this project and couldn't afford to buy another can of ASCP.  I've depleted my craft budget for February.  Note to self - stay off the wood aisle at Home Depot.  I took the panels apart and repaired the hinge areas where the wood was cracked.



The recipe for the chalk paint came from http://www.lizmarieblog.com/2011/10/homemade-chalk-paint/. I didn't have any leftover flat paint in the color I wanted to use so I just used satin.  I also used more grout than it called for.  I just mixed it until it looked right.  I also want to try the recipe that uses plaster of paris instead of the unsanded grout.   Probably instead of 1 T per 1cup paint, I probably used 1-1/2 T of grout.


I got the unsanded grout at my local Jabo's Ace Hardware but you could get it Home Depot and Lowe's too.

So far it looks and goes on like ASCP.  I've got two of the panels painted on the fronts.  Since it's such a pretty day here in north central Texas, I'm going to drag them outside and finish painting them out there.

Oh and add washing the car to the list too.

Monday, February 20, 2012

Craft Room is Coming Together

This was pretty easy to building following the plans from Ana White - http://ana-white.com/2010/09/modern-craft-table.  I followed her plans step by step except for the top.  I didn't use the floating top.  I put my top directly on the the bases.   It saves you a couple of bucks by eliminating this step.      I originally found this one on Shanty 2 Chic - http://www.shanty-2-chic.com/2011/01/what-i-have-been-up-to.html.  I love all the things they've built.  Very inspiring.


Ignore the messy garage.



My craft room is coming together.  Woo hoo!  I think 2 bar stools from Ana's site will be my next project.

Friday, February 17, 2012

Meet My Kids

Meet my kids.  Taylor and Kyle are twins and were 21 this past August.  Kyle is a junior at Sam Houston University.  Taylor could possibly be considered a junior as well if she could just pass Art Appreciation.  Really Taylor?  Art Appreciation.  She plays collegiate soccer at North Lake University.  My youngest, Colin, will be 19 on the 28th of February and is a sophomore at Tarrant County College.  Our most recent goal (and when I say our - Jim and me) is to get them all through college and off our payroll!  This would be one proud mama at the completion of this goal.  Kids - say hello!



Wednesday, February 15, 2012

I've Been MIA

It's been a while.  I'll post pictures of my new craft table that I just finished.  It's the Modern Craft Table from Ana White.  You'll find her site here -ana white.