Week 18 Project

When I graduated college and moved into my apartment in Nashville, I had very little furniture of my own. I've posted before that a lot of my stuff is hand-me-downs from my parents. There were still three kids living at home, more or less (my sister was in college) and so there was no extra bedroom set. I didn't need a whole set. I had a huge walk-in closet all to myself. I had my sister's old day bed, and my childhood desk.


When I stepped up my "big girl" (read adult into that) game and bought a bed, I suddenly needed a nightstand. Enter the weekly Bed Bath & Beyond mail inserts including the 20% coupon. Super simple, rather inexpensive nightstand. Two things I knew a wanted: a bit of storage and space underneath. I'm not a huge fan of furniture that meets the floor. I think it cuts of the line of sight and makes a room feel smaller. I digress. Like I said I didn't have any other bedroom furniture to speak of, so it didn't need to match anything.


Well, now with the house, I've been buying more furniture and actually have a dresser I love. It's 'beaut from IKEA and its black.



Time for a paint job. I used some more of the high-gloss paint I used in the kitchen and fireplace. So, this was a no-cost job. Two coats later and this is what I got!

Not too much crafting here, but my weekly project all the same.

Hopefully in a future post you'll see how well it matches my dresser!




Painted nightstand, Done.

Home Reno

When my grandmother passed away, I bought the family home. It was built by her in-laws in 1930 and has always been in the family. There is actually a street in my town named after our family. There is a lot of history with this house.

 This is the cousins on my front porch this past Easter. There are actually 8 more cousins. There are 3 great grand-babies in the pic and two more that are missing. If you're counting, that's 18 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren.Oh yeah, and miscellaneous spouses. My grandparents raised 8 children in this house, look what they left behind. 
 
This post isn't really about a weekly craft, I'm just showing off my home improvements. It's taken me just over two years, but with a little lotto money I could probably finish off what I wanna do. Maybe I should start playing the lotto.

I've tried to update the house without loosing too much of its 1930s character. There are great wide mop boards around the base of all the floors, arches between the rooms and wonderful old wood windows. I totally need new energy efficient windows, but need cash.  

Here's the family room before.


One day I went downstairs to get the vacuum and then decided I didn't want to vacuum anymore. So I went upstairs and ripped up the carpet. Totally normal rational decision.  I had no idea what was underneath, but was hopping for the same wood that's in the bedrooms. I was in luck! The floor still needs to be refinished, but I love it. I painted the walls and frosted the bottom of the front window, although that's hard to see in this pic.

This is the old view from the living room looking into the dining room and kitchen.
I don't have a the same "after" view.







The dinning room got a new light fixture, new paint and some swapped out and new furniture.

Kitchen before...

The kitchen was repainted.
I made the curtains and inserts for the cupboard doors.
My dad helped me put up the shelf for the microwave, again to add to the counter space.
I added a tin (plastic) backslash.
I hung, amateur style, the light above the sink.
I have more I want to do... black and white floor, new cabinetry, sink, facet, counter top... I really need to buy that lotto ticket.

The table and chairs were removed, since the dinning room table and chairs are just a few feet away. The island was a nice expansion of the very limited counter space. I have no idea how Grandma spent all those years bent over the table cooking for 10.

My absolute favorite reno has been the bathroom.
Tiny sink, light fixture with pull-cord overheard that I could only reach on tiptoe (which was also where the only outlet was located), not so cute pink and blue tile, no shower (just a tub)...












My dad and I put up the new bead-board.
my friend Dave came and put in the new light fixture, which was actually a fixture made for a ceiling, but I got creative. He also added a light switch at a normal level and a new outlet.
I found the sink on the floor at my local home improvement store. It had just been used in a home and garden show and I got it for a steal. Always ask and then ask for a discount.

I lost some storage space putting in the pedestal sink, but my dad and I added a cut-out in the wall behind the door.( I picture of that at a later time. Also one of the shower. So glad to have a shower!)
I made the curtain.Yep, I made that.Oh yeah, I also replaced the mirror in the medicine cabinet. I couldn't find a single new medicine cabinet I liked, so I just spruced up the one I had.
I was so glad to be able to save the old hex tile floor.




I'll probably do another post on the rest of the rooms, but just took some updated photos and wanted to share.

Thanks for letting me brag!

Week 17 Project

I knew I had a problem when I said "Well, in my current BOT the topic was pre-New York State Manna-hatta (Manhattan to us today)...." Yep, in conversation with my peers I said "BOT"
Oh, you don't know what a BOT is?
Book On Tape

I went away for college and road tripping has been a part of my life since then. I usually ride solo and can't stand searching for a new radio station every hour passing in and out of different cities. When I found audio books (most now come on CDs or are download-able) at the library, the nerdy side of me could not have been more stoked. It's been a love affair ever since.

I currently live 63miles away from work. ( I know, I know)  Fortunately I only work four days a week, but that's a  minimum of 8hrs in the car commuting every week... that's if I'm lucky. I live in Ohio, a state that gets snow, has traffic, and who's department of transportation always finds something on that stretch of highway that needs fixing. Oh, Hi orange barrels.   So, I always has a stack of BOTs with me. I think I currently have about 75hrs in the car. Libraries are the best! Online renewal is even better!

Back to the project.

 All those BOTs tend to end up all over the car. I put them in a shopping bag, but they spill out and it makes me look like I go shopping all the time, which I don't, I promise. Jo-Ann's doesn't count right? The shopping bag just doesn't work well.



Time to make a BOT tote.

Rather than shopping for more fabric, I remember that I had some old tab-top curtains from an apartment I had like 4 years ago. 






I thought I'd try gusseting the corners on the bottoms so that it would sit like a paper grocery bag. I cut off most of the tabs, but kept one, opened it and attached it to the opposite side to make a handle. I kept some of the buttons on, but will probably take them off and set them aside for a future project. Believe it or not, I made one cut to the curtain (except for removing the tabs) and completed the project with three stitches.!


BOT tote, Done.

Week 16 Project

I haven't felt that any of my projects have been fails.. until now. The idea was good, end results, not so much.

My house came with maybe 10 lawn chairs.
You know the kind white, plastic and stackable.

They still serve a very useful purpose, but they are at the point of no return when it comes to making them look clean.
I tried everything.Bleach. Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. Dawn Detergent. everything.

The spray paint they have for plastics has intrigued me, so I thought I'd give it a try.

 Seemed like an easy fix and I hate throwing useful things out.

My original thought was a goldenrod color, but the only

 color I saw at the store that I liked was a color called "brick red".

Does that look red to you?

My cousin/roommate and I both decided its not.

I'm ok with pink.

What I'm not ok with, is how the chair looks. 

I didn't think through that the paint might hide the "dirt", but highlight the imperfections; the scratches and dents and scraps and wear and tear that happens over 10 odd years.


Paint the lawn chairs chair. Done. Not again.

I now have one pick lawn chair and nine white. Good thing that won't bother me.