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Monday, December 1, 2014

Racing Bib holder on reclaimed wood

OMG. I just realized that I had no posts in November. Life just got away from me. Honestly, I thought by now, I could be posting 2-3 times a week. HA! I guess I (and you) will just have to be happy with the occasional monthly post. :)

I hate throwing away my running bibs. On down days, I could always look at them and say, "See, you did that." Then I'd have another cupcake. Anyway, they have been stored in between pages of my notebook for years and then I thought they would make a great display.


After deconstructing a pallet, I used some of the larger pieces of wood to make these displays. The hooks along the top left are obviously for holding the running bibs and the hooks along the bottom are for hanging medals (you've scored the jackpot if you get a medal AND a T-shirt).


After sanding down each piece very well, I just used paint and THIS technique for making the lettering.

I love this: I Did It. And I'll do it again. It's so badass.


This sign is one I have to keep reminding friends who worry about their times:


You don't need a Silhouette machine to cut out your fancy fonts either. You can just type it out in a word processing program, shade the back of the paper with pencil, then transfer it onto your board. If you want one for yourself or a friend, and just say the heck with making them on your own, you can purchase them here and here in my shop.


Well, off to sign up for more races to fill up my racing bib holder. Because . . . . you know . . . . I did it . . . . and I'll do it again. :)

Have a splendid day,
Debbie







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Thursday, October 30, 2014

Meet Jenna, the hutch

Meet Jenna, the hutch.


She's a solid piece of furniture but a bit outdated, for my tastes anyway. I had to do something about that.


First, I knew the glass had to go. Personally I have no problem with glass, but I've always wanted to add chicken wire to furniture and she is my guinea pig.


I wanted the contrast from the creamy white to the pop of blue, and I continued that throughout the whole piece.


I love furniture that has keys intact. It gives it a bit of historical charm.


I wish I had room for her in my little cape, but alas, someone else will have to dress her up with their books, baskets, plates, and other knick knacks.


Have a great day,
Debbie


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Tuesday, October 21, 2014

DIY Cornhole Boards (AKA: Making your husband happy)



So, my husband's weekend away with the guys was fast approaching and he decided they must have a cornhole set for their big getaway. Now, I've been to parties where the game was played and remembered the flimsy sets you can buy at the sporting good stores, and knew those bad boys wouldn't hold up to a weekend of drinking beer and tossing bean bags. In so many words, he said to "get on it". That was translated as, "get your butt in the garage and make me a sturdy cornhole game in the limited time you have." :)

Whenever I take on a new DIY project, I scour the internet for tutorials. I read quite a few of them and often take a little bit of information from each. But I settled on one cornhole board tutorial because it was so complete. You can find the link to the tutorial right here.

I have to say . . . . . he was happy.


This particular tutorial had the legs going back at quite the angle to avoid collapsing legs during play. Wouldn't want to mess with the scoring.


Well, I just couldn't keep it white, now could I?!? Some painters tape and you've got stripes.


Handles are necessary as these bad boys are heavy. Making jute rope handles is super easy.


 I used my Silhouette Cameo to create the stencil for the scorecard. Drilled holes and golf tees got the job done.


I screwed a little storage cup on the underside of one board to store the golf tees for scoring.



I purchased the bean bags from this retailer on Amazon.com


The boys enjoyed themselves, and my husband sent me some camera phone photos as proof.



Now to practice on my cornhole skills. :)

Have a great day,
Debbie



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Sunday, September 28, 2014

From piano bench to coffee table

This happened.


I made it for our living room from these fabulous plans on Ana-White's website. Note to self: do not use coffee table as a train. Second note to self: never put wheels on tables; kids will always use them as trains. Kids and adults, that is. ;)

In her glory days

Anyway, we needed a new coffee table and in a hurry. We had guests staying at the house the following week and they needed some place to drop their refreshments. Since I had to move fast, I used what I had sitting in my garage. And here she is.


Yup, a piano bench. And one in very sad shape at that. This was left in the house when we bought it and I held on to it for some reason, and now it's going to make itself useful. From a wallflower piano bench to a showcase in our living room.


We wanted a smaller table for the space, so the footprint of this piece was perfect. I just cut the legs down to size and added a bit longer and wider top to fit our needs. I even kept the door that hinged open so we utilize that storage. I didn't want to mess with making a new hinged top, so I decided to just build the new top on the old.


First I covered the yellow paint with brown paint/primer, added Vaseline to the edges and other parts of the body, painted with black paint, then lightly sanded. Where I applied the Vaseline, the paint just fell off. That achieved my shabby look. But I also wanted it to be rustic, so I went for the 5/4th inch wood at the lumber yard for the new top and shelf. It gave it a beefy feel. I used Minwax Provencial stain in a few coats and also lightly dry brushed on some black paint, before sealing it with coats of polyurethane.


I had almost finished when I remembered to add the shelf for the bottom. I am all about getting the most storage you can get, so it seemed wasteful to not use it. :)



I love the way she came together in just a few short days. It really doesn't take a whole lot to completely transform a piece. It's just perfect for our room. But I will miss our train rides . . .


Have a great day,
Debbie




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Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Update on the Gutter Garden

You can find the first post about our inaugural gutter garden here.

So, we are three months in. And now we have an update . . . . . .


We still have strawberries, and they did very well, the ones that made it, that is. I had transplanted the strawberries from someone else's garden, so I blame their death on my inexperience. But we did have three harvests with our lettuce.


 I've replaced many of the flowers, since they did not bloom all summer.


Herbs love the gutter garden.


What I've learned about our gutter garden:

1. Birds love strawberries. Make sure you cover them up with netting.
2. Not all flowers will bloom well in shallow soil. Will have to do research on better garden flowers for longer blooms next year.
3. Lettuce and herbs are the way to go.
4. If you are going away for a week in the summer, expect on coming home to a thirsty garden.
5. If you plan this with your 5 year old, yup, you'll be doing it all by yourself.

Thanks for reading,
Debbie

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Friday, August 15, 2014

A Shark Room for Shark Week

I have a dear friend, Kristy, who asked if I would help make her son's room into a shark lovers delight.  Yup, I was more than onboard. I grew up on Cape Cod when they filmed Jaws off of Martha's Vineyard Island, so I've always had a fondness for sharks (yes, I do realize it was mechanical). Oh, and it just happens to be Shark Week on the Discovery Channel. Sweet!

Kristy had to have a big shark. I mean, any shark lover would pee his 6 year old pants to have a big shark in his room. I hope a four foot one will do it.




Most of my ideas were born from photos I found on Google Images. I loved this image, printed it, and put it through my projector onto 1/2" plywood before tracing the shape. After cutting with a jigsaw, the painting fun began.

Can't have a shark room without the shark fin, right?!?


I had fun creating the waves that my husband, Tom, didn't think I needed. But I felt it would just be hanging on the wall without it being grounded in the water. Grounded in the water. Isn't that a oxymoron?!?

I love this sign. Saw something similar on the WWW and had to make my own version.


Tom's idea to change "swim" to "sleep" and I think it's just perfect. I'm going to make this for sale in my shop very soon.

And finally, had to add a good ole' shark head


Here's the collection. I had so much fun making them, I'm kind of sad it's over.


Kristy got them on her son's wall in hurry, so I ran over with my camera before it looked like a 6 year old lived there. Sorry for the terrible photos - it was pouring outside which led to very little light and I forgot my tripod, so we're stuck with these sub-par photos.

This bad guy looks like he's swimming towards you to eat your face off, as you sleep in bed. Yikes!


Over the bed is the perfect place for this sign. Wish I got a photo of the shark bedding from Pottery Barn, because it's just awesome.


Love the placement of the fin at the back of the dresser.


And this happy guy is at the door to greet you. (Had to funky the photo up because the lighting was extra terrible here.)


Love them and I hope you love your room Ryan!

Have a swimmingly great day,
Debbie


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Saturday, July 19, 2014

Meet Amelia, the dresser

Meet Amelia.


Looking kind of drab until she received the makeover that uncovered her true passion. (Ugh - just caught the blur that must have been on my lens.)


Decided to name this piece after Lady Lindy, Amelia Earhart.  I can only imagine she would be proud to display this piece in her home.  ;)


I added a bit of trim to the top and bottom to give it a bit more definition.


I usually hand paint the silhouette over the base coat, but because the red is highly pigmented, the white plane was painted in the negative space.  Took lots of coats but it was worth it.


Gotta love friends who pick up furniture from the side of the road knowing you will welcome it into your garage.  :)  Thanks Tina!


I hope this dresser makes it's way into a child's room and reminds them to soar.


Have a fabulous day,
Debbie

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