Tag Archives: wood craft

The Office Project is DONE!

04 Wednesday May 2016

Posted by in Home and other Repairs, Home Decor, January Cure 2016, Wood Crafts

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The office project has actually been done for a couple of months. I’ve just had too many other things going on to write about it.  The battle with the local fauna has begun and it’s gotten ugly, the pool water reached a point where there was no alternative other than draining and refilling (it lasted healthily for 10 years so I can’t complain, even though I complained a LOT at the cost. I’d best find flecks of 24 karat gold in that water at that price.), it’s weed season, a new planting season, and wind season. We also had a tragedy which took the wind out of my sails for a while and I’m still not over that yet, but here goes.

It’s been so long since I posted, I can’t start the reveal without reminding everyone what the office/storage/swap meet/ebay/junk room looked like before we got in gear.

Officebefore2

Before

Other than packing up some of my husband’s things, we’d just closed the door on this room for 2 years and used it to store things we didn’t know what else to do with and couldn’t let go of yet. It was the junk drawer of rooms. I had been needing to do something constructive with it for 2 years. I decided during a previous Cure that I’d turn it into a Guest room/craft room/office, but still didn’t have the energy/heart to get to work on it. My brother had contacted me a year ago to let me know he was planning to come out this spring to do some hiking and wanted to visit for a couple of days. This was the boost I needed, but I still didn’t do anything about it until finally, three months before he was to be here, I was jolted into the home renovation version of last minute cram for finals mode.

My son and I cleared the room of boxes, junk, furniture, and dust bunnies. Starting from scratch we painted, pulled down the wall shelf unit from the north wall, repainted it the same color as the walls so my “stuff” collection would take visual priority, measured for a queen sized bed and craft tables, and built the tables. We bought 3 things for the room, other than cheap wood for the tables. I ordered a bedspread, glass chimes and a fabulous painting done by my best friend. Then, we added the crafting stuff, computer stuff and my collection stuff. The result is a relaxing place to work, play and sleep. Guests can relax, work and play in here too. The way it is arranged is very wheelchair accessible.

guestbed

Eternity Tree bedspread from Pyramid Collection. Years ago I had gotten their Tree of Life bedspread for my own bed and I’ve loved it. They are machine washable!

guestbed1andprint

My friend Daphne MuShatt’s painting. She has many available, but I’ve always loved this one and it reminds me of Maiden, Mother, and Crone life stages.

daphneart

The colors in the painting and the subject suit this room, and my spirit, perfectly.

officeshelfhungwithtoys

Funny thing about those shelves William made many moons ago when we lived in town. He’d decided on a paint color for his office (our living room) and painted the shelves to match so that the shelves would disappear and his History of Space Exploration models would stand out. The color he chose for that poorly lit room made you want to sing “Under the Sea” at night and swim laps through the living room.  When I began repainting them to match the color John and I had chosen for this room, I was shocked to realize I’d picked that same color! I was terrified I’d end up in another giant aquarium room, but turns out, lighting makes all the difference here. I still think William had a hand in the paint color choice though because we went in thinking we’d made our choice online and this color caught our eye at the last minute.

curtainsandchimes

The east facing office window. I watch the sun come up every morning with my coffee and Facebook friends and relatives. Those curtains were made with cheap cotton drop cloths and they were the first project for the new sewing machine. The glass chimes were ordered at the same time as the bedspread and also come from Pyramid Collection. The breeze coming through the window makes them sing prettily. My homemade incense drying in old glass tumblers lends a pleasant aroma.

chimes

Just a close up so you can see the patterned glass and pretty colors in the chimes.

dementorsnape

Part of my Harry Potter collection arranged on the top of my bookshelf. Those “stones” were made by William about 5 years ago. We were trying to make a Sorceror’s Stone for a friend of ours. The stones in the photo were some of the fails, but too pretty to toss.

Unfortunately, my brother had to cancel his trip to Arizona, so I have a fabulous guest/craft/office available if anyone wants to come visit. Maybe if we add a microwave and a mini refrigerator I’ll just live in here.

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January Cure 2016- The Big Office Project part 2 and closet

12 Tuesday Jan 2016

Posted by in Home and other Repairs, Home Decor, January Cure 2016

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At first I was disappointed that there was a 30 minute time limit this year on the closet project. I was extremely grateful for the full closet clear out last year and that is one of the many assignments that worked perfectly without me having to give it any thought at all during the year. I find that the only things that did not work well, were things I had a limited amount of time to do last year.  Thus, I decided right from the start today that I would ignore the 30 minute time limit and get my hall closet completely cleared, cleaned and organized so that I could use a shelf for office supplies. Things didn’t go as planned.

The company that installed that new AC unit I had to spend nearly half my meager savings on last summer had made an appointment to come by as part of their routine maintenance agreement. Once he had checked out the unit, he came inside and showed me pictures of just how caked with dust my brand new AC has become. Since it is sealed from the blowing desert dust, the filth can only be coming from the ducts. Cleaning the unit is part of the maintenance agreement so that won’t cost me anything. However, to prevent the unit from clogging up again within the next 6 months my ducts have to be cleaned. There may be a few tear stains on that 600.00 check I had to write.

Anyway, so the guy is sending a team out tomorrow. This meant my closet project was immediately put on hold. I had to finish clearing and sorting the office so that workers can get in and out of there. I also have to deal with the lump of laundry on my bed immediately and not put that off while I work on other projects. Cleaning off my night stands was on my list of small projects but I now have to do that tonight so they can be moved out of the way so that the ginormous king sized bed can be moved over so the workers can access the vent.

Not a damned thing “routine” about AC maintenance. It’s forcing the bedroom, office, laundry lump and nightstand projects to be scrunched up into a 24 hour period. No flowers, just a “bend over”.

I did get to spend 30 minutes in a closet today. Just not the one I wanted. I needed to clear a shelf in the office closet for craft supplies to get them off the floor so that workers can move around in that room. I added more things to the garbage pile and more things to the outbox/swap meet box while making that space.

Thankfully, tomorrow is “work on your project” day so once the AC crew leaves (hopefully by noon), I’ll be able to get to that closet, create a space for office supplies, which will in turn allow me to clear a space for guests to place their clothes.

officecleared

The office is now cleared of extraneous “stuff”.  That pile on the floor is the “outbox”. Next step is to box my toys and the computer stuff temporarily, so the furniture can be removed and the new furniture built.

DIY Cabinet Door Chalkboard Success!

15 Sunday Feb 2015

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chalkboardworksIt’s very easy to draw and write on and the chalk comes off with a very slightly dampened microfiber cloth! I love simple successes, even though my mishaps make better stories later.

Here’s a link to the original post.

https://azprancingponyfarm.com/2015/02/08/make-a-chalkboard-out-of-a-used-cabinet-door/

Front Porch Chair

09 Monday Feb 2015

Posted by in Home Decor, Wood Crafts

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I finally got out of the house today. I’ve been trying to get the house fully in order where it can pretty much stay fully in order. This, however, is a long process and is about dull as dishwater. I’ve been itching to get outside and build something, ANYTHING.

A couple of months ago I decided that the front porch needed a table and a couple of chairs. The big back patio faces west and is just too hot to enjoy for about 5 months out of the year. Once the sun moves over the house, the back patio starts heating up and I could bake stuff out there by 3:00pm. Gosh knows John and I have baked ourselves pretty thoroughly out there trying to get projects done last summer. Thus, the front porch will be our go to spot for bbqs and such. I can even clean up the old grill and put it out there. Add a few plants and make it a spot I’ll actually remember to use. I’m pretty sure the front yard landscaping would appreciate it if I remembered it more often.

I had John cut the wood for the chairs back when I thought of this project, but then got side tracked by an intense month of house keeping and organizing. The past two days have been so beautiful that I just could not stand to work in the house again today. I needed sun, blue sky and creativity before I went berserk.

Here are the cut pieces of 2×4 for two chairs. Right where they’ve been sitting for over a month.

woodcutsYup, the cute work table we used all last summer before we finally painted it and made it a part of our patio decor is being pressed into service as a work table again.

I pre-drilled pocket holes in the chair back boards, front apron, side boards and support board. While doing this I had the first inkling of problems caused by not getting around to doing this for over a month. The wood was damp and devilishly difficult to drill because the bit kept getting clogged. I finally got it done though and began putting the chair together.

This is where I noticed problem number 2. I had disregarded my rule of using lumber within a day or two of purchase. No matter how straight a construction grade 2×4 is when you buy it, it can warp, bow and twist while waiting to be used. I had actually thought of this and had John go ahead and cut the pieces the day after we brought them home. Then I put off building the chairs, thinking the cut pieces were too short to bow, warp or twist. Wrong.

The job was more difficult than it had to be, but it’s rustic right? Rustic is a great rationalization.

buildingbackClamping the back boards to one back leg, the job was fairly easy until I had to attach the second back leg. That’s when I noticed slight twists in those tiny short 13″ boards. This would mean that I could line them up perfectly with the 2nd back leg but the twist in the short back boards would make the leg slightly crooked. Rustic. That’s the ticket.

chairbackNext on the assembly list is the chair front. The front apron wasn’t too deformed so attaching it to the front legs was ungainly, as usual, but not difficult.

chairfrontOnce the front of the chair was built and I leaned it up against the back I noticed problem 3. The plans were off by about 1/2 inch. The lowest back board, back apron board, was 1/2 inch higher than the front apron. Not quite enough slant to slide a guest onto the ground, but enough to make them feel like they would. The back apron had to be unscrewed and moved down so that the seat would be level.

Then it was time to add the side boards. The plans said to attach the side boards 1/2 inch from the outer edge of the legs. I measured and marked the spots. These boards also needed to be attached flush to the top of the front legs and even with the top of the back apron.

chairframeVoila! A chair frame. This was when that slightly crooked back leg began to neener me. Because that one back leg was slightly crooked, the chair wobbles slightly. Rustic. That’s what it is.

Next it was time to screw in the extra seat support board. This board needed to be attached flush against the back apron board, between the two side boards. It didn’t fit. It was, guess what, about 1/2 inch too long. Either the side boards needed to be removed and attached at a little less than 1/2 inch from the edges of the legs or the support board is going to have to be cut again. These are 2x4s. No one is going to fall through them. I’ll recut that support board at some point, but not today dammit.

Next, the three middle seat boards needed to be attached to the front and back aprons. You have NO idea how joyful I was when all three boards fit neatly, and without argument, through the opening in the back. If that measurement had been off I might have just had a bonfire at that point.

Next it was time to add the side seat boards. This is where that slightly crooked leg gave me a full on raspberry. One side seat board was lovely and even with the three middle seat boards. The other, not so much.

chairWe have a jigsaw. Nuff said.

Once the other chair and the table are built, we’ll sand, putty and paint. For all it’s issues, it’s still a cute chair! You can find the plans for it here: http://www.morelikehome.net/2012/10/day-4-build-simple-chair-with-2x4s.html

If you build this chair, it might be wise to build the front of the chair first. This way you can be sure that the back apron is attached at the same height as the front apron. Also, before attaching the side boards, place the seat support between them and mark where the outer edge of the sides strike the legs.

 jailedagainThe dastardly dachshunds were jailed by the open back door. They just don’t understand why their help is not appreciated.

Make a Chalkboard Out of a Used Cabinet Door

08 Sunday Feb 2015

Posted by in Home Decor

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This is so easy it’s almost embarrassing to post it. Almost. There are still folks out there that have not picked up on the many wonders of used cabinet doors. If you’ve read my blog, you’ve seen me turn them into serving trays, a tech cabinet, an outdoor planter, and even a patio storage bench.

Last year I scored a pickup load of used cabinet doors for about 1.00 each. They came in various sizes and widths and the fellow I bought them from even threw in a 5 gallon paint bucket filled with hinges for them. Those I found on Craig’s List, but since then I have found that every Habitat for Humanities ReStore I have visited has a selection of these gems as well for only 2.00- 4.00 ea. depending on size. STILL a bargain because I am highly likely to run out of cabinet doors long before I run out of uses for them.

I have finally recognized a need for a chalkboard. Not enough of a need, mind you, to paint an entire wall or back splash with a writing surface, but a need for a larger reminder than sticky notes provide. I chose a 16 and 1/4 x 21 and 1/2″ cabinet door from my pile. (This is also a good size for a large serving tray.)

Because I like the rustic look and because I’m quite fond of green, I used a Hunter Green spray paint and gave the cabinet door a light coat all over. This allowed the wood tones to show through.

paintcabinetdoorNot into the rustic look? Not a problem. Choose what ever color you wish and use enough coats to completely cover up the wood. You’ll need to let each coat dry thoroughly before applying the next.

I then taped the “frame” of the door to make it easier to roll on the chalkboard paint without worrying about getting it all over the edges.

tapecabinetdoorI have a quart of Disney black chalkboard paint. You can get other brands and other colors. I also found a site that says you can DIY your own chalkboard paint in a treasure trove of colors using non-sanded grout mixed with semi-gloss latex paint in whatever color you wish! For those of you that want to paint an entire wall, this would be a more economical option: http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/3454588/list/diy-make-your-own-chalkboard-paint.

You’ll need two coats of the paint rolled on with a small paint roller. The first coat must dry at least 4 hours. I simply let mine sit over night and finished up the next morning. However, you could roll on one coat in the morning and the 2nd in the afternoon.

2coatschalkboardpaintOnce both coats are dry, run a utility knife under the edge of the tape to prevent any of the chalkboard paint from peeling up as you remove the tape.

letcure7daysWAIT! Don’t grab your chalk! Now that both coats are dry and you have removed the tape, the paint has to cure for 7 (SEVEN) days.

I’d love to tell you how well this worked, but I’ve got 6 days to wait 😉  Next Saturday I’ll scribble out a message for you.