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OMG - what's happening to my little sewing blog? What am I doing surrounded by all of these power tools?!? Why do I have a palm sander to thank for my new jacked up manicure?!? Seriously!
I have been playing with wood again today, but rather than show you what I made, I'm only giving you a sneak peek. "They" will be unveiled when both of them are finished and in place. Thanks again to Ana, who has given me the inspiration and the means to finish all of these projects - my head is spinning with all the possibilities yet to be dreamed up!
We're also getting ready for a yard sale this weekend. Have I ever mentioned how much I loathe yard sales? Yeah, I love the extra cash because it feeds my fabric addiction, but I hate the hassle of dragging everything out, pricing everything, then haggling over a quarter in my driveway. And, it's supposed to be chilly this weekend.
I think I should probably put the power tools away for a couple of days, focus on the yard sale, and then maybe do some sewing ... that's what this blog is about anyway.
Hope you all are having a great day!
Late last night I finished my first building project ... ever. Aside from the ship that I made in 7th grade wood shop, but still.
So, here was the inspiration piece. It's the Logan collection TV stand, available at Pottery Barn. The cost is $799, plus shipping, plus a $75 surcharge for delivery.
And here's my TV stand. Total cost, about $200, but only because I had to buy a few extra things like drill bits, sanding blocks, a table saw ... you know, tool stuff. So, there's probably about $50 worth of materials invested in the stand itself.
My next order of business are end tables. I'm either going to start on them today, or wrap up some quilting that I need to finish, haven't decided yet.
Two posts back to back, oh yeah, it's happening ... just go with it.
Just wanted to share my progress on the Logan TV stand project. Last weekend for my birthday, the hubster bought me a table saw. It was very much needed, since the cabinets were an issue.
I had to have them cut a total of 4 times. The first time, they were too short. My fault for not getting things cut as I went. The second and third time, both Home Depot AND Lowes cut the cabinet doors "off" ... so one side was shorter than the other ... on BOTH cabinets. I mean really ... how hard is it exactly to cut a square piece of wood or MDF for that matter? Seriously!?
So, I took matters into my own hands last weekend and found a wonderful used table saw on Craigslist. I cut my own gosh darn cabinet doors and they came out perfectly. See, it's not that hard if *I* can do it!
Everything's been sanded and primed. At this point, I just need to paint, cut the hole in the back for the cables to feed through, and put it in place. I'd like to have this project 100% complete before the Super Bowl starts. No, I don't watch football (I don't even know who's playing), but I do enjoy the commercials. Anyone else? Just me??
Anyway, here's a couple of snapshots of my progress as of almost 1 a.m. Saturday morning (yep, it really is that late - I'm going to bed now)! Pay no attention to the crooked shelf in the middle, it's kinda just sitting there since it's still drying, the cabinet doors are just kinda sitting there too - not attached, just wanted to take the picture.
I just wanted to give my dad a little "shout out" today. He's come to be my hero in the last couple of days ... not that he ever stopped being a hero, but he was a tremendous help to me with the entertainment center that I'm working on.
When I was growing up, my dad tried to build everything that he thought we needed. Entertainment centers, tables, decks ... he was a pretty good woodworker. When his eyesight started getting the best of him, he sort of put his hobby of building things on a shelf and took up other hobbies that were better suited for a man with limited sight. You would be amazed if I told you that he crochets now - and he's nearly 100% blind!
Anyway, when I told my dad that I was going to start building some furniture around here, I saw a little part of him light up again. I think he was just as excited as I was, and he's been helping me with ideas, tips, and "rules" that I didn't know about until he taught me. To say that I could've done this without his help would be a lie. A part of me would like to think that I'm giving my dad back his old hobby, even if he can't do as much as he'd like to do himself - he's doing it through me. I guess it's true that at some point, parents do live their lives through their children.
So, this post is for you dad. Thank you for helping me with this entertainment center, and thank you for all the help you've offered for my future projects. I'm blessed to have you as a dad and I'm looking forward to "talking shop" with you for many years to come. Who knows, maybe one of these days I'll even let you teach me how to crochet.
Love you!
I turned 34 yesterday. I don't feel any different. I don't look any different. I'm just older, I guess. What does that mean, anyway? How are 34 year-olds supposed to behave? Just curious ... because I think I might be doin' it wrong.
I like to play video games with my soon-to-be teenager.
I like to play blocks with my toddler.
I don't clean up my room.
I tend to stay up too late and have a hard time getting out of bed in the morning.
I hate vegetables and I love junk food.
I think that the PTA is for the other moms.
I can't balance a checkbook to save my life.
I could spend all day at the mall if you let me (or the craft store - it's a toss up).
But I guess there's a lot of good things about being older ... I just haven't thought of anything life-changing yet. Care to share your words of wisdom? I could probably use the advice ...
Oh, and this picture HAD to be posted! Have any of you seen the LOL Cats? Click for the bigger picture so you can see the cat in the background. This picture is dying for a funny caption!
Did I say that I would be "cleaning" this week? What I meant to say, was that I would be sidetracked from the cleaning by starting yet ANOTHER project. I can see how the two could be easily confused. What I'm working on, is building a new entertainment center for our living room. We finally sold the dark, giant wooden thingy that took up too much space and lacked appeal. What I'm building is the Logan media unit designed by Pottery Barn.
Apparently I can handle it, because I started the project on Monday (which consisted of buying the materials), and by this afternoon I had what you see in the top picture - it's resting on the top of the piece, waiting for the glue to set so that I can screw in the top and make it sturdy. There is maybe about one hour of work put into it at this point. I had to keep starting and stopping to take care of Miles, run some errands, and just take lots of breaks. Building is exercise - I broke a sweat several times while doing this!
Around 7:30 we went out to dinner to celebrate the hub's birthday (Happy 36th, my love!) and came home to enjoy some ice cream cake. After the kids were snug as bugs in bed, I went back to my project. And as of about 11 p.m., I have what you see in the second picture, as well as several blisters on my hands. Ouch indeed!
All I have left to do before this is finished is build the doors (there will be "cabinets" on each end), attach the shelves in the middle, attach the decorative trim, and then sand, prime and paint. We have a few pieces of Pottery Barn furniture in the house right now, but it's nice to know that I can make the pieces I love without spending the small fortune that they charge for essentially the same thing I can make! So, blog on Ana - blog on! You rock girl!
I don't know about you guys, but I'm horrible at cleaning my home. And organizing ... forget that. I've been saying for months that I'm cleaning my studio, but in all honesty, I manage to clean the house and shove everything into my studio.
Well, I decided it's time to put a stop to it and I'm going to really stick to a cleaning routine. I have tried FlyLady in the past, but it got to be complicated and I gave up. Way too many lists. So, I'm going to try this one at Just Mommies. Consider it my New Year's resolution, so to speak. It's a small daily list of "to do's" and if you do a little more researching on the website, you'll see that they have an organizing schedule too. Just one small task per day. I can handle that.
So, if you want to join me in my resolution to become more organized, leave a comment and let me know! We can check back in with each other once a month to see how everyone is doing.
I'd like to introduce you to Mocha.
Our girl has been here a little over a week, and already, we're attached. Mocha was "adopted" from a family who just didn't have the time to show her the attention that she craves (and boy, does she crave lovin'!) ... so, we met her last Saturday and she's been here ever since.
Mocha is 7 years old, and obviously, she's a golden retriever.
To celebrate her arrival and adoption, I baked her some yummy treats (recipe below). She munches on one a night - like dessert.
Mocha's Munchies
Ingredients: 1 egg, 1/3 cup of peanut butter (as little sugar as possible is better), 1/2 cup of mashed banana, 1 TBSP honey, 1 cup of whole wheat flour, 1/2 cup of wheat germ, 1 cup of carob chips, 1 TBSP shortening.
Directions: Preheat your oven to 300 degrees F. Lightly grease a baking sheet and set aside. Stir together the egg, peanut butter, banana and honey in a medium bowl, blending thoroughly. Stir in the flour and wheat germ and mix well. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and roll to 1/4 inch thick (I tend to go a little thicker than that for a bigger dog). Cut into desired shapes with a cookie cutter and place on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until dried and golden brown, about 30 minutes, depending on size. Remove from oven and cool on a rack. Once cool, melt the carob chips and shortening in the microwave. I found it best to do so in 25 second intervals, stirring in between. It took about 3 spins in the microwave to get a nice, creamy consistency. You can then dip the treats into the melted carob chip mixture, or do what I did and pipe it on to half of the treat. You can also add a small amount of sprinkles (like I did), but be careful not to go overboard with the sprinkles. Refrigerate overnight to set the "chocolate" and store in an airtight container. These will last for approximately 6 weeks if stored properly in the refrigerator.
So, bake some goodies for your four-legged friends and celebrate Mocha's homecoming with us!
I had my graduation yesterday at school. I'm not finished completely, but I graduated from the esthetician portion of my studies. Whew. So if you're wondering where I've been - that's my reason for going into hiding. I had projects to finish, notes to finish, and finals to study for ... but for now, it's over. At least it's over until I go back on Monday night and start the nail portion of my studies. Can't wait for THAT graduation, because that means that I'm officially DONE!
We had some quiet holidays around here. No big elaborate parties, but we did enjoy some simple and sweet family holiday get togethers. We rang in New Year's Eve and then went promptly to bed at 12:02 - when did I get to be so tired all of the time?
I did manage to finish up some quilting bee blocks before the holidays started. I still owe blocks for December, and now January. It's my "turn" in one of the bees, so I need to get my fabric sent out - it's coming ladies, I promise! I decided I'd use my turn to get rid of some of my stash, so the girls are going to get lots and lots of random scraps! It should be a pretty colorful quilt when it's done.
We're also "on the market" to add a new family member in our home. We've been doing some research, contacting some rescues, even posted an ad on Craigslist, and I think we're going to be adopting a dog soon. We feel it's time for the boys to enjoy growing up with a dog, especially considering that the cats could really care less if the boys are here or not. It's not much fun trying to get a cat to "play" with you.
There are 2 really high-potential girls out there that we'll be meeting over the next few days. Be sure to check back often to see who's coming to live with us!
Anyway, I hope you had a wonderful holiday season and are looking forward to all that 2010 has to offer! I know we are!
With everything that's been going on, I decided to declare yesterday a "me" day.
I spent some time in my studio. Organizing (a little bit), finding things, and testing out my machine's quilting abilities since I had to take it to the shop about a week ago ... gotta make sure that I remember what to do. ;o)
Anyway, I found enough of the quilt blocks that I had received from my group (A Piece of Work B) to complete a table topper. It was originally supposed to be a finished quilt for my bed, but I never made it that far and ended up stashing the blocks in the messed up studio as soon as they came in. Since they were scattered to the four corners, I have no idea who completed what, but the ones in this table topper are to die for!
I was able to piece the blocks together, quilt and bind this quilt all in about 8 hours. I'm so proud of myself!
As soon as I find the others (I know that there are at least a few), I have pillow plans.
So, no quilt again for my room this year, but at least my dining room table is ready for the holidays.
