Handywoman Chicken Coop
We now live where we can have a few farm creatures and Chickens are top on our list. We love eggs and Chickens are too cute not to have a few. So we ordered 10 (that was the smallest amount you could order). First I ordered Cochin chickens and found out my order was for all MALES ! So of course I canceled that order, we don't want any roosters for our roost :) ) Then I ordered Black Laced Silver Wyandotte because they did not have any female Cochin's. I was disappointed but that soon passed :). The first set arrived mostly dead or near death. We tried to revive them but it didn't work out sadly, and it was sad for sure. Our next set arrived safe and sound but we did have one that apparently was a double yolk. She was deformed and her twin was attached to her backside but was not animated at all. This little girl lived about 2 weeks then she passed away.... So while we were brooding our new chicks I set out to build a chicken coop. I wanted to be able to walk into the run part and the coop part large enough to hold all 9 chicks happily. I didn't have plans but if you search on the internet there are tons of them. This chicken coop and run ended up costing close to 2000.00 with the price of lumber sky rocketing. About 6 months ago this would have cost about $400. I hope the cost of lumber goes back down but I've never seen anything ever do that so we will have to wait and see if these prices are our new normal. :( So I purchased lumber.... and I kept purchasing it till my coop was complete because as I said I didn't have plans .... While it is not perfect and I am finding things to improve on, our chicks love their new home even though it's rained nearly every day since they've moved into their new digs. Here is the progress, I hope this inspires you to just do it and do it till it's done.... No one said it has to be perfect and if you can see it in your head you can make it real or pretty darn close. You can find a the video of the finished coop here if the Instagram one below doesn't work.
Well, I'll post more pictures soon. I'm off to make my Christmas cookies, I'm running out of time for the cookie exchange...and then I have more stockings to make for the guild...I am so over extended that it is just plain crazy around here!
Okay so here it is with the drawer in, the bottom shelf is completed. All I need to do now is sand, paint and distress then put on drawer pulls and door knobs... Yippee all most done!
I'm going to paint this in robin egg blue and distress with a dark ebony....I'll show you when it's done...so excited.
The last few days have been burrrrr cold, so painting was out of the question. Instead of painting I decided to give carving a try...well it's not perfect but I carved a Fleur-de-lis with some scrolls across the drawer. You'll see it soon because I might be able to paint this weekend. Suppose to be in the 70's a couple days....Let's hope so, I'd sure like to get this piece finished!
Can you believe it...the first layer of paint on...need to hand sand then antiqued and seal and I'll finally be done with this monster!
as hard as I try I can not capture the antiquing that I've done on this piece. I used a dark ebony to antique it.
Can you see the carving in the picture above? It's more apparent in person.
And Finished!
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Here it is, I finally finished this little gal today! Took me 5 days on the finish to get it just right. You can't see the finish in these pictures so much but it matches a piece I purchased at Star Furniture. The grandma's attic collection. The top is done in a mahogany satin finish. I added the hardware to the top so that it would stay up when you open it. This was a fun project and I think I'll be making a few more of these. If you haven't tried wood working then you really should. If I can produce something like this then so can you!
Here are Ana Whites plans:http://ana-white.com/2012/05/plans/stair-leg-flip-top-console-table
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So as you must be able to tell by now that I'm a glutton for anything crafty ..I can't get enough. And I probably make something most everyday. My mind is always ready to tackle something new. I found this plan on http://ana-white.com/2012/07/easy-kitchen-island and wow she has tons of really cute plans that I intend on making some more of. I decided against the wheels on this one and I didn't take pictures of the whole process as I should. I also added corner block on the inside to attach the top rather than the given instructions. I used oak for the corner block so that this piece would be sturdy for many years to come. I used all pine and this thing is one heavy mama! I hand painted the Bon Appetit onto the front apron, that was sure time consuming but I think well worth it in the end. What do you think?
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To make your counter height garden you will need:
24 thread inserts http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/Hex-Drive-Threaded-Insert-4KXU4?cm_sp=IO-_-Home-_-MPC&cm_vc=HPPVZ3
24- 1/4-20 , 2 inch bolts
24 washers
12 galvanized or brass 1 1.2 inch screws
All wood should be Cedar or Fir, it's too much work to make these to not use materials that will last for years.
2 4x4x8 cedar or fir posts cut into 32 inch lengths (I used Fir for these because it was cheaper and still would last a good long time.)
2- cedar 1x8x8 cut one into2-48 inch lengths and one into 2-24 inch lengths
2- cedar 1x3x8 cut into 6 or more 24 inch lengths
Galvanized hardware cloth 2 ft x at least 50 ft.
UPDATE:
I cut all pieces out and assembled the bed using one pin nail on each side to hold together or clamp the two shorter ends together...I then used a hand drill to drill the three or two holes onto each side piece only going through the the side piece and only marking the legs or a Qtip with a bit of paint works well to mark the holes. The leg holes really need to be as straight as possible and at the depth you need to accommodate the length of your bolts. I used a drill press to make sure of the depth and that the holes are very straight to except the threads.
You can read the bit below for other info but I would definitely use the hand drill for marking the legs.
Drill your three holes in the 1x8 pieces then place them against the 4x4 pieces in the location they need to be(I set up all the pieces and number the legs and the boards and draw arrow for the top on the boards for later reference then using one pin nail on each side to hold it all together I mark where the holes will go on the legs) and using a center punch hammer into each hole marking the 4x4 so you can drill the corresponding holes. I used all 1/4-20 screws and I used E-Z LOK threaded inserts instead of drilling all the way through the 4x4. I made sure that I drilled the hole deep enough in the 4x4 so that when I inserted the thread and bolted the sides on I would be able to screw them on tight.
Attaching the hardware cloth. I made sure that when the planter was together that it was no more then 24 inch wide this way the hardware cloth would fit the width without me having to sew together or cutting down the width. I only had to cut the length because I purchase hardware wire that was 24 inches wide by 25 feet long. I can make 6 planters with this one roll of hardware wire.
The planter turned right side up
another close up
Another bird house
I enjoyed making the little quilt shop bird house again and still had the bug to make another one. I used my biscuit joiner and glued up the front and back some time ago and those glued up boards have been calling my name ever since. So finally I dug them out of my wood pile and began the process of figuring out how to make a rounded roof bird house. I had this picture in my head since I glued up those boards! I didn't feel like driving to the home improvement store to get more wood to make this little birdy house so I used my biscuit joiner and glued up some more wood. Now mind you I don't have a planer and my joiner is still in the box two years later. Crazy I know. My garage at the moment is a big mess. I even have a roll of garage floor covering taking up one entire side of the garage waiting for me to get it installed. I'm a procrastinator!!!Anyway here are some pictures of the rounded top bird house so far. On the back side I've decided to use my carving tool and carve out faux details. I'm hoping to have time for that today.
** Update, here is the finished bird house. This one was so much fun to make.
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Building Noah's Ark
Here is a tiny piece of art. It's cut out using a scroll saw. This was very difficult in that not cutting a finger off took lots of patients. I wanted to show you how tiny it is. It was fun to make and paint. Maybe you'd like to give such a thing a try? I've placed a nickel next to this piece to give you an idea of the size.
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Building an ornamental bird house.
I'm building another bird house much like the one I did for the guild raffle, only this time I'll post it for sell. This bird house could be used outside to house blue birds that visit your yard however, why would you. These things are so cute you'd want it to last a life time right?
Anyway, I decided I'd post some pictures of the progress so you can see how I built this one.
These three top pictures are of the parts cut out and sanded ready for assembly. The middle part of the bird house consists of 4 pieces of wood while the sides are only 3 side because they attach at the sides of the middle or main house.
Cut list
Middle section
2 - 8 (which is about 7.5 inches actually) x 24 inch pieces that are mitered at the top at center of each board so that they stay 24 inches in length. Cut two holes about 2 inch diameter and drill 1/2 inch holes under these holes going only half way through. You will use the bottom holes to add the dowel perch.
2 - 21x8 compound mitered at one end.
Side sections
4 - 8x 8 and 7/ 8 inch pieces compound mitered at one end
2 - 8x11 inch pieces that are mitered at the top at center of each board so that they stay 11 inches in length On each of these boards cut one hole about 2 inch diameter and drill 1/2 inch hole under this hole going only half way through. You will use the bottom holes to add the dowel perch.
Middle section roof
2 pieces cut at 7 and 7/8 x 6 and 1/2 inches with compound miter at one of the long ends so they stay at 6 and 1/2 inches in length.
Side section roof.
4 pieces cut at 7 and 7/8 x 4 inches with compound miter at one of the long ends so they stay at 4 inches in length.
4 pieces cut at 7 and 7/8 x 4 inches with compound miter at one of the long ends so they stay at 4 inches in length.
3 - 1/2 x 3 inch dowels to use as perches.
Columns
Cut one stair spindle to 21 inches and then cut in half lengthwise using a band saw
Sand all pieces on all sides including the bottoms and tops of the boards.
Begin by gluing and nailing the two 8 x 8 and 7/8 inch pieces that are compound mitered at one end to one of the 21 x 8 compound mitered at one end. as shown below. Make sure when you assemble these that the compound miters on all sections are facing out. I hope you can see this below or in one of the following pictures. If you nail these up incorrectly your roof will not fit properly.
Do this to both of the 21 x 8 compound mitered at one end. as shown below. Notice the compound miter direction of all these boards.
Now attach the two 24 inch front and back to these two side pieces you've made. The front and back fit inside of the two sides not on top as shown in the picture below.
Now if you have placed the compound mitered boards facing the correct direction your roof should fit perfectly onto your 3 sections. At the now using glue and nails. Do not worry if there is a gap at the top. You will fill this with caulking later, and you will be adding shingles that will hide this gap.
Now add the stair spindles to either side of the middle house covering the seam. You will have to notch the spindles so that they will fit around the side roof on each side. Notice my notches I cut out of the spindles.
Next you will counter sink all nails and using a wood filler you will fill all the holes. You will use caulking to fill all the gaps around the roof and on the roof line and any seams that seem to not fit perfectly together. When you paint, the paint will not hide cracks so this is important. Let this dry over night. Then hand sand the excess away so that you don't have lumps. Lumps can not be hidden with paint.
Decorate and paint as you wish. Here it is finished!
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Much like most of you, I've been scouring the internet for ideas and wow there are so many! This has taken me much longer than I'd hoped, and I'm still not finished. Not everything fit into my room! :( My treadle sewing machine that I thought would be a MUST in the room I am most creative in, but NOPE....there just isn't any room for much in the way of "ornaments". She's on the catwalk....and I think she'll have to stay there at least for now...
Anyway getting back to what I intended on sharing.... :)
So I found this post on how to "file" your fabric. http://sewmanyways.blogspot.com/2012/01/tool-time-tuesdayfile-your-fabric.html. Well, wouldn't you know it, I've thrown all my filing cabinets out and now I find a great use for them! I was still determined to file my fabrics, so I went on line and I found these crates, 6 for $24.00 so I bought two sets.
You can buy cubicle cabinets at Walmart and Ikea however those cabinets the cubicles are only 12x12 and these crates are 15-1/4"L x 13-3/4"W x 10-1/2"H and that is where the dilemma began. Now I had to build my own cubicle storage unit just to be able to file my fabric. Mostly because I'm a bit anal and more because I wanted a inspirational room not a storage space. So I went to the home depot and purchased some cabinet grade plywood. It was on sale for $34.99 a sheet and I calculated I needed 3 sheets. This turned out to be wrong and I only really needed 2 sheets, I did end up using most of it in the end though.
So with all my supplies purchased I began building. I sort of used these plans but altered them to fit my new filing crates, http://ana-white.com/2010/07/well-i-did-promise-you-i-would-work-on.html.
With the frame of my cubicle cabinet mostly complete on the first day, and the day I realized I had too much plywood. I decided to make three drawers to fit on top so I went inside and ordered drawer slides from here dirt cheap: http://www.zorotools.com/g/Euro-Style%20Drawer%20Slides/00064403/None.
Then the next day I finished the cubicle by putting on trim and painting it white and pink.
Then I made the three drawer unit and waited for the slides to arrive. Wow, drawer slides are harder than one would think! I got some good instruction here: http://sawdustgirl.com/2012/03/09/installing-cabinet-drawers-with-glides/. Once I figured it all out and had the units completed and painted, then I had to wait for my son to come over to help me get it up the stairs.
Then I took a break from my craft room because I got side tracked and decided I needed two new fountains for my back yard. I was not willing to pay for the cheap ones again cause they only last about a year and I wasn't going to spend all the money I spent on the front yard for the back yard! So I went to walmart and got 4 plastic pots and two clay pots and then off to home depot for 330 gallon per hour pumps. Here is what I made with Walmart Pots.
Now with my distraction over, back to my craft room. I decided a while back to move my craft room to the game room because we never used it for games anyway. :) but I never thought about the lighting...or lack of lighting! The older I get the more light I NEED! So I needed a better light source..... I made one. :) Very simple.....
And then I found a use for that old window I purchased. I made a cabinet and used the window for the door. Doesn't look like much here, but I fixed it up.
And remember those ruler crates I made to sell at the quilt show boutique.... well I made myself a few. They are perfect for ribbons or vintage spools. I hate ribbon holders that have a dowel in the middle. I like to take my ribbon to my work table and I hate having to remove all the ribbon just to get to the one I want to use.
As the quilt show draws near we are little little elves working away getting ready for the show. We have so much to do and so little time left. We even have one more workshop to complete.
I have all the tags done thank God! I used my SIL and the print and cut function this made our tags looks so chic :) .
We've sent all the thank you cards and an extra special one to Connie at QuiltWorks and we've made and delivered all the thank you gifts 38 of them..wow that was work in itself but these ladies are so worth it! I have the Light Box started. All the pieces cut out and the finish is complete. All I have to do is assemble it, well that is the actual hard part but I'm half way there. Here is a picture of the pieces and sentiment. I'll post another picture when it is all together.
I also finally completed my spools. My big drill died so my spools were on hold. I got a new drill and now my spools are complete. I still have 11 of those ruler crates to make but that's an easy job.
My new drill press...oh she's a beaut
Of course here are the spools...:)
And then, I didn't like my hand painting on the tin can raffle bird house so I redid those but printed them and modge podged them onto the signage for the bird house. Looks so much better!
My list of "To Do's" is getting shorter but it isn't short! I have had a ton of fun with the boutique but will be so glad to have my life back. Oh it's not so bad but it does take lots of time. We are so excited to see how we do. We hope that the boutique is a success. Our guild does so much for the community and the more money we have the more we can do. It is a blessing to be involved!
Yesterday's project, shelves for Graham's shed so he can get his lawn mower in the shed and have plenty of room for his other "good" stuff. It's one of his Christmas presents. Only one casualty...I rammed the drill bit all the way through my little finger...scraped the bone going through...very very soar but I sucked it up and finished my job. I think it turned out great.
These took only a couple hours however one word of advise....do not let the home improvement store cut your plywood. I had them cut it for me and each strip was a different width which would not work in the application so I lost an over an inch on each board cause I had to re rip them to 14 1/2 instead of my original plan of 15 7/8 width for each shelf. Live and learn.
You can find the video here, and it's well worth watching.
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Sometimes us DIYer's are self taught enthusiast. Whether you are a DIY welder, woodworker or any other handcraft-er of sorts, you are probably like me in thinking "there must be an easier way"!
I had this "brilliant" idea (I always do) :) to make bobbins/spools like the vintage ones you can purchase on Ebay (if your rich and famous) and fill them with 5 yards of quilt binding. Because this idea is for the boutique project I've been involved in this past year I was determined to make these bobbins because the price of the vintage ones are too high to make any sort of profit on. So I set out to make my own. Now of course they will not be vintage but since even the vintage ones are so hard to come by I decided that ladies/gents that sew would love to be able to purchase replica bobbins with bias tape.
Okay so I made my first one. It took me forever to figure out how to get the hole all the way through the dowel and have the hole in the center of the dowel... Drilling a hole in a dowel straight is another story in itself and this post is not about that, it's about finding an easy way to mark the center of the dowel without a lot of marking with a pencil. I found plans for jigs that you could use to scribe lines all the way around the dowel to get the center point. YUK Since it is my intention to make 50 of these spool (I think they will be a good seller....hoping) this method was too time consuming and I hated having to draw all these lines over and over again. So.... I began thinking about it...and this is so easy you'll want to kick yourself in the butt if you have ever tried any of the other options available on the internet for getting the center of a dowel!
You have to have a forstner bit the size of the dowel you are wanting to mark the center of; one like this:
Then you need to get a piece of scrap wood at least slightly larger than your bit and at least 3/4 inch thick.
Using your forstner bit drill through your scrap piece of wood until the point (see the point on the bit above) barely comes through, leaving a tiny pin hole that can be seen on the other side of the wood where you did not drill.
This is a piece of 1x2 scrap pine I had from making a raddle (weaving tool) it is not necessary to have a dado cut into your wood, it's just a scrap piece I had and the dado wasn't a problem for this application so I used it. In the picture below can you see the tiny hole left on the other side of the wood by the forstner bit?
Now, believe it or not your jig is complete.... place your dowel that is the same size as your forstner bit into the hole you made then using a small nail gently hammer that nail through this tiny hole into your dowel just enough to make an indentation, this is your CENTER YAAAAAA. The indentation the nail makes will also help you when you begin to drill the hole you need in your dowel because your drill bit will not veer off course as easily.
Here I am placing my dowel into the jig, then I will flip it over.
Here is the jig with the dowel in it and flipped over. I've placed a nail in the tiny hole and hammered gently enough to make a mark but not so much that I have to use a claw hammer to get the nail out.
Here is my perfectly centered hole in my dowel...YAAAAAAA
Now, even though this post is not about drilling the hole in your dowel, I thought I'd share another tip with you. You can use this same jig to hold your dowel upright and straight for drilling your hole.
Now having said that, there is one exception. If you have an awesome drill press that will actually drill a hole all the way through your dowel (I don't, I have to turn my dowel over and drill again to make a hole all the way through a dowel longer and a couple inches or so) then you will not want to use your jig to hold your dowel in a straight upright position, you will want to make another jig using the same forstner bit to hold your dowel upright and straight to drill your hole. By the way, if you have a drill press that will drill all the way through your dowel...I AM JEALOUS! :)
So here is my project started, in this item for sale there will be this rack made using Home Depot rulers that will have picture hangers on the back so it can be hung if desired and 5 or 6 spools (haven't decided yet) filled with 5 yards of bias tape on each bobbin/spool in different colors. I think (still thinking about it) I'll leave the spools unfinished so customers can finish them if they want or not if they don't. I have considered putting a color wash on them that will match the bias tape but that is more work so....thinking, always thinking.
This is the first spool I made before the centering jig...if you look closely the hole is NOT centered. :) mistakes always seem to inspire creativity don't you think?
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I don't know about you but I absolutely love getting handmade cards. I rarely get them in the mail these days but years ago people did send letters in the mail and sometimes you'd be lucky enough to get a note from a creative friend that took the time to hand make the note card! On the other hand there are people like my husband that when he gets a homemade card he will accuse you of forgetting to get the card from the store and had to make one at home....I laugh at this, cause it's so hard to believe there are people that don't have an appreciation for ALL things handmade!
Years ago, maybe 10 or so, a friend dragged me to a card making bee of sorts. I'm ashamed to say I do not remember what friend it was. We made three cards and that was my first group project ever. I had fun but never have done too much with card making. Since I have so many hobbies I only make thank you cards and the occasional birthday card for the most part. Here lately I have been making note cards that I write little notes in for my niece who is currently deployed.
Well as the boutique workshops are winding down and the end of this year and a half long project is almost over, I decided to make handmade thank you cards for all the wonderful ladies that attended our workshops. We have been so blessed with so much participation that I had many cards to make. I found this video on YouTube for the cutest thank you card and decided I'd set out to make this card.
Here is the video:
The unfortunate thing was, I didn't have the Cricut cartridge "Country Life" so I had to go get that and I didn't have the cute rubber stamp "Thank you sew much". I wasn't able to get that stamp because it was retired, but I made due with a "Thank You" stamp I already had. I also had to get a couple Tim Holtz rubber stamps, I was so glad they were not retired! This project took nearly two whole days to complete. I had 45 thank you cards to make! The little sewing machine took the longest to make because there are so many tiny pieces to it. It would have been less time consuming if it wasn't a Cricut project, Sizzix dies would have been so much faster. Here are pictures of a few of my finished cards...I couldn't make up my mind on the design.
I ended up choosing the one on the left but using brown ribbon instead of the tape measure ribbon. Adding thread and a needle to the spool was just too time consuming since I had so many cards to make.
Here are some more pictures and close up's of the cards. Also a picture of the huge mess card making makes! I had to use my spare bedroom for this project because I already had a project going in my sewing room. It was a bit tight but with two tables it worked out fine. The mess is cleaned up now but I've left the tables and machines in the room for when I make my Christmas cards in the next couple weeks. (Hoping to find time!)
I used my printer for the sentiment on the inside of the card.
Here is a box full of some of the cards.
Here are the tiny pieces needed for the sewing machine.
Here is the mess....
This would have been a faster machine to use! I did use it to make my niece a thanksgiving card with a pumpkin on the front!
Another pile of junk!
The good news, everything is cleaned up, all dies are back in their boxes and this mess above looks like I was never in that room except to set up some tables and my machines ready for a project! :)
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You know, I'll be 50 next year but I feel 70! I wish I was more fit but I'm not. I told my son that he needs to think of everything labor intensive he needs done so we can get it done before I'm no longer able to tackle jobs like these! You seen he acquired his first pet now that he has his first home right? Well part of dog ownership is to keep your dog from roaming the streets! Jason's new home needed tons of repairs and one of them was his back fence. It was leaning at a 45 degree angle toward the treeline behind his house. Besides that the pickets were probably as old as the house and needed to be replaced 5 years ago! Well, me sending pictures of cute dogs, then Jason choosing one at the end of August was probably poor judgment on my part knowing the fence needed replacing! Oh sometime I think I just love punishing myself, and I do it often. Anyway last weekend we tackled the job, it was 100 in the shade..(had we had any shade) but we did it and we did it well. The fence looks like a professional put it up. We are so pleased! Here is the fence complete and Catlin is hosing it down so we can seal it...definitely sealing it, don't want to have to repeat this project anytime soon.
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So we decided to do a raffle to raise some money for the 2014 Quilt Show Boutique. We are hoping to raise 200.00 to go toward supplies for the boutique projects that we have been busy making in our workshops. We have been working on "Sewing Room" themed items and we hope we will have good luck selling all things sewing room related. We do have a couple things that are not sewing room, the ladies had to twist my arm to get me to agree though :) .
So I searched high and low at all the hardware store that I knew about for the opaque plastic for the top of the light box and well I ended up having to custom order it on line. Then I purchased a florescent light fixture that didn't include the cord (for crying out loud) so I had to wire the darn thing. This ended up being okay because the cord needed to run through the box anyway.
I had fun making this and I'm at this very second putting the clear finish on it. 2 more coats to go before I can post a picture with the white opaque plastic in place. But for now here is the box....it is complete...I hope we get some interest so we can raise some cash! This thing is a dream for anyone that needs to trace. It is a full 21x27 1/2 inches....I WANT ONE!
Raffle tickets are $1.00 if anyone is interested. We will have a couple places in the greater Houston area where tickets can be purchased. Let me know if you are interested and I'll tell you where you can get some raffle tickets for this beauty!
Update: No raffle for the Guild :(.... We didn't bother asking about doing a raffle, we never even thought about asking....and well, the guild is only allowed 2 raffles a year because of their tax status. They don't want to waste one of them for this and I don't blame them. But the great news is Quilt Works is going to either sell it for us or have their own raffle for us. Can you believe it? Wow the ladies at Quilt Works are so awesome. We sure couldn't be so productive without them! THANK YOU Quilt Works !!!
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I love a good find and I am always on the lookout for ways to store my ever growing fabric stash. I call myself the organized hoarder. As long as I am able to organize this growing beast then I'll not end up on the TV show Hoarders! Pray for me I need it. :)
I got a bug in my bonnet on Monday and decided to move my office into the room my craft room was in (wall to wall and not inspiring at all) and my craft room into where my office was (the game room) We never used the game room, I would go up there to do some work on my PC but other than that, we did nothing else in that room and it is so much bigger than the room I dedicated to creativity. I felt so claustrophobic in that room! As I said before I am a organized hoarder and I was running out of room to organize all the "good" stuff. I'm all moved in to the game room...I was hoping I'd have tons more room but the game room is now packed full. I can however open my cutting table all the way up, I can have my huge ironing board up all the time and I have a table I can sit at and put things together so all is good in the world of my imagination!
So I find this dresser, it was a DIY project gone seriously bad. I think the woman used it as a practice piece with the intention of someday restoring furniture to sell. She has a long way to go...
Well I didn't take a before picture and I asked the woman if she'd send me the picture she had posted but so far she hasn't. If she does I will post it. The dresser I believe had two doors on the top at one time and someone took them off which didn't bother me cause I thought the dresser had great bones and could imagine some of my fabric hanging out of it. It was painted a weird color of blue and it was sponged or something, really can't explain it other than it was in my opinion the ugliest paint job I had ever seen. Because she did not sand the piece before she did her paint technique I was able to sand all the blue off for the most part. I was so pleased and so covered with blue dust....
Here is the finished piece along with some photos of my new craft room (remember, I am a hoarder so please don't judge me).
I hand painted "Fabric Stash" on the top drawer....time consuming but oh so worth it!
I also had to do something with the insides of the drawers, they were so sticky and I couldn't get the sticky off. So I decoupaged the insides. I used wrapping paper, and yes I got wrinkles! Oh well it's not too bad and still is better than sticky.
Here is a picture of my baby...I love this machine!
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As you might know (or not) that I love to work with wood. I've been making the raised gardens now for almost 2 years for others because I loved mine so so so much!
I have been wanting a potting bench so bad. I purchased one and well it lasted about a year before it fell apart. I was so sad about this. I paid a lot for it and it was so small and I couldn't move it around. Well yesterday I decided to make my own potting bench. I decided that I wanted to move it around so I made it like a wheel barrel I guess you might say. Anyway I put wheels on one end. I also put sides on the bottom shelf so that stuff wouldn't fall out if I decided to move it closer to my raised gardens.
I am so over the top about my portable potting bench. I still have to stain it but haven't decided on a color yet. I was thinking of doing it in red and yellow, what do you think????
Here are some pictures of my price possession:
If you'd like one...call me. :)
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I like to start my own plants from seed. Here in Texas you really don't need a cold frame unless you are trying to start seeds in the winter months and even then it's probably not necessary. But when you need a place to put all those starter pots this seems to fit the bill. I found the plans (not very good ones but plans no matter) on the internet here: http://gardenplansfree.com/furniture/cold-frame-building-plans/ and here:http://onestrawrob.com/?p=1769 and here: http://www.wrcla.org/pdf/coldfr.pdf and again here: http://www.howtospecialist.com/garden/greenhouse/how-to-build-a-propagation-bench/
All these plans really leave you to your own imagination on most of the construction so this project challenged my wood working skills a tad bit.
At this point I have the project complete except for the window pane lid and the hinge that will hold the lid up in different positions (I have to figure that one out still).
I thought I'd show you my project so you can see that you too can build it. I didn't even require any help hold things together at any point. This is a great thing because hubby really isn't into working with wood. I will post finished pictures soon so you can see this little beauty in action.
At this point I have the project complete except for the window pane lid and the hinge that will hold the lid up in different positions (I have to figure that one out still).
I thought I'd show you my project so you can see that you too can build it. I didn't even require any help hold things together at any point. This is a great thing because hubby really isn't into working with wood. I will post finished pictures soon so you can see this little beauty in action.
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Clever plant markers
Aren't these the cutest little plant markers! I was searching the web for ideas and maybe even to make a purchase for some plant markers for a friend who purchased one of these raised flower bed from me. She had posted on facebook a picture of her newly planted garden and gave a list of all the plants she planted into her new raised beds. Since she is such a sweetie, and I really like her I thought I'd surprise her with some markers for each of her new plants. I found some really cute ones made from vintage silverware that were stamped with a metal stamping tool. Very cool, so I purchased them. Then I just kept looking because there were so many cute one. Ones that were made of clay and fired. I thought I could make some of clay and fire them because I do have few kilns but then I found these. Little tiny flower pots with copper hangers. They were very expensive about 3.50 each and well I needed about 30...so I decided I could make these easily myself and I already had the copper wire. I first tried to use the stained glass paint that you use in the oven but I didn't like the sheen...kind of dull, then I thought I could paint them with pottery paint and fire them and they would surely be water proof. Well, in the end I just painted them with acrylics and sprayed a sealer on them. I decided they were so cheap to make I can always remake or repaint these if they need it.
I used a black sharpie to write the herb name rather than hand painting the name on each one. I think they are adorable! The little pots were 1.99 for 6 at Hobby Lobby, I do not remember how much the copper wire was but I would guess about 6.99 and it took one roll and a small part of another.
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Again, I've decided to make something that would make me happy. I love organization and can't work unless everything is organized. So when I was thinking about what to do with all my scrap wood I decided I would make a cabinet to hold all my router bits and accessories.
I didn't have a plan so I had to plan as I went. I wanted at least two drawers and enough space for all my router bits and future router bits. This cabinet is the perfect size for me. To make the groves in the sides of the cabinet for the drawers and the bit shelves I lined the sides up on my work bench and clamped them together and used a 3/8 straight bit to make the groves. This worked out perfectly because all my groves lined up perfectly. I did however have a few errors in my calculations so I only have 3 router bit shelves instead of the 4 I had planned on.
Here are some pictures of my cabinet. I did not paint and it's not perfect but it is perfect for me. :)
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About 2 years ago I purchased a small parts bin organizer for my garage. I used it to hold all my nuts, bolts, screws and nails. I paid about 24.99 for it and it really was a worthless bunch of junk. If I needed a bottom bin then I had to take all the bins on top of it off and half the time I ended up playing pick up nails, screws, bolts and nuts! So I finally did a bit of cleaning yesterday and I had an old drawer that I used to hold paint junk. Not a really good solution because like any drawer, you can't find anything you need when you need it.
So I decided that this old drawer would make the perfect cabinet for my parts bins....oh the idea went swimming through my head. I marched out into the garage this morning and got started on my new project. A project that was for me! Something I really wanted so I was so excited. With a little less than 1/2 sheet of 1/4 inch plywood left over from the hutch project, a drawer, a good length of left over 1x12 that I glued a 1x6 to to make wider and some other left over bits and pieces I made myself this wonderful parts bin cabinet. No I didn't paint it...and I didn't make sure each door was exactly the same size and I had to cut off a bit of the front of each bin...BUT I AM SO HAPPY about this project that I could just have a big ole garage cleaning party! <wink>
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I've been making weaving tools for at least 12 years now, I loose track of time these days. I have met so many wonderful weavers throughout the years, I get close to many of them and their stories. I even have a couple pen pals because of my love for this wonderful art form.
One of the ladies (Nance) that recently purchased a raddle from me and had come to know was part of the Colorado Springs fire disaster. She lost everything, even the cars that sit outside. She lost all her pictures, her entire life. She'd go to the rubble that was left behind looking for little pieces of her life that that fire may have spared. Billy Graham and some of his congregation came to give support and hope. The group went about looking for pieces of peoples lives they could find. They found one tiny piece of woven fabric that belonged to Nance, she was thrilled.
Needless to say she lost her loom, the thing that she went to daily for joy, she lost the raddle that I had made for her. Then a few days ago she tells me that someone was so kind and gave her another loom. She was so thrilled to say the least. I made a new raddle for her to replace the one she bought and the right size for her new loom. She doesn't know I've done this and I hope she loves it. I put on the raddle the words "With God all things are possible".
Let's all say a prayer for those people who have lost everything.
Here is the special hand painted raddle:
Okay so I just started using my Cricut with the SCAL program and I've made a few cards. I've made my Christmas Cards for next year, my thank you notes for my customers and My son's 29th birthday card. My son so appreciates handmade items, not sure if all children do or not but I'm very pleased he does. So for the first time I've made him a card. He loves and plays the game Angry birds and because coming up with a birthday card for a guy is hard I thought this would make the perfect choice! I'll post pictures of my Christmas and Thank you cards soon but for now I'm posting my Angry Birds Birthday card. So so so cute!
You can get your own free svg file from The Lady Wolf's blogg spot: http://theladywolf.blogspot.com/2011/06/angry-birds-svgs.html
Okay so here is my thank you and Christmas cards
Do you dream in color? Of things that when you wake you have the need or compulsion to recreate? It is so weird but I always have, and generally I am not able to recreate these things, although I feel the need to give it my best shot. I can not just let it go as just another nightmare. I have to rummage through all my art supplies and figure out how to recreate that crazy thing I seen in my dream.... Here are some examples but believe me these are the least crazy of them all!
I call the one below, Nose in the News....lol
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