Category Archives: DIY

A Lovely New Loo

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You have no idea how happy I am to be writing this post, as it marks the end to a very long project.

For the past year, our bathroom has bothered me, taunting me with its dreary walls and overall homeliness .  The worst of it was the toilet being too close to the vanity. YUCK.

old drab floor

I also decided to move in a narrow cabinet for extra storage, but it was too big for the already cramped space. Since it was our second bathroom and received very little day-to-day use, I was able to live with it, but now my husband has been sort of banished to this bathroom and I think he deserves better than this sad little space to prepare for his work day every morning. ( I can only feel just a little sorry for him though, as I’m the one left sharing a bathroom with three teenagers.)

We were only going to replace the vanity with a pedestal sink, but that wouldn’t  have solved our storage problem, nor would it have been an improvement on the ugliness of it all. You know how it is when you start making improvements – it snow balls. Since we also didn’t care for the flooring, we thought we may as well replace that too. And hey – why not replace that mismatched tub/shower installation as well?

After the floor was removed and during the process, but you get a better look at that vanity/toilet problem

After the floor was removed and during the process, but you get a better look at that vanity/toilet problem

As new home owners we are lagging in our DIY skills so a big bathroom project was a little scary for me. Not only was I unsure of our abilities to make it all look good, I was afraid of what surprises we might find behind the shower walls; water damage, wood rot, faulty plumbing – things that would quickly turn a “simple” renovation into an expensive, complicated fiasco. Surprisingly, we only ran into a little bit of mold which was easy to take care of and since it seemed to be completely dry in the walls I took that as a sign all else was well.

The  problems we did run into were just small annoyances and proves our lack of experience and inability to plan:
1- first set of shower walls were delivered damaged, not our fault, but a set back
2- faucet pipes had to be moved just a few centimeters to fit the precut holes in the shower walls (which required us calling a professional – as we didn’t have the proper welding equipment)  - time spent finding and waiting for a plumber…
3- a leg fell off the vanity as we were setting it in place calling for a return to the store,
4- first gallon of paint was a hideous piss yellow and had to be scrapped, another return to the store,
5- first layer of new paint revealed every ugly, deep  flaws in existing walls so they had to be refinished and texturized (if the walls look bad before, there’s little hope a bright semi-gloss paint will camouflage anything)
6,7,8,9… – The realization of not having  the proper tools for certain jobs – more trips to the store………

No serious issues, but certainly enough to put us off schedule by hours, days and eventually weeks.  So our weekend project turned into about a month long project and you can imagine why I am so happy to now be sharing this with you here.

Here are a few shots of the process

bathroomCollage

Initially, I wanted to tile the shower, but I knew that would have been a job far beyond my abilities and time, so we opted for a prefabricated shower instead. I wasn’t crazy about that choice because I thought it might look cheap. As it happened, the existing space for the shower was an odd measurement and limited our choices of premade walls and shower pans. We would’ve either had to go for a super small shower stall and build a wall or knock down a wall and possibly reconfigure the entire laundry room/bathroom area just to make room for a shower that might only be a few inches bigger. Needless to say, we compromised by opting for the only choice in prefabricated walls we had to fit our measurements.

And now without further ado, I give you our new loo.

my husband really liked the mirror, but given that he is a bit tall, it had to be raise just a little - It works for him.

my husband really liked the mirror, but given that he is a bit tall, it had to be raise just a little – It works for him.

My husband did all the work himself and I am so proud of him. I’ve always known he’s pretty handy and quite resourceful, but I had no idea he had the knowledge and skill needed to pull this off.  I mean, where did it come from? Are some people just born with this knowledge or what? The only thing I did was help with demolition, which I am pretty good at and painted (which I’m not so good at). But he did all the hard problematic stuff and I say he more than earned a nice space to call his own. See, he has bugged me for his own space for a while and he just isn’t satisfied with the garage anymore -  but I thought that was an improvement from his own walk-in closet I let him have at our last place… :)

By the way, I’m really digging the new blinds, they are so easy to pull down and push up and there are no cables, cords or rods to get in the way.

The only thing left to do now is find or make some art work, but for now, I think I can live with this. I wonder if my husband would mind very much if I chose to banish myself to this bathroom and let him share with the kids? Hmmm, I’ll let him bring that up.

We learned a lot in this process, and there is a whole lot of frustrating moments  I have omitted from this post, but overall I’m glad we decided to take it on and we have accumulated a pretty nice assortment of tools for future projects as well. Anyway, I guess all the waiting and frustration was worth it and I am glad at least one us was able to make the great escape from a shared bathroom.

What is the biggest most complicated DIY project you have attempted so far? What problems did you encounter? Did you get it finished or did you have to call in the professionals? Please share!

This Business is for the Dogs

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I “work” from home. I use the word work lightly. Currently what I do is go through the motions of work. I guess I shouldn’t sell myself short, I’ve accomplished a lot in the past few months, but still have a long way to go before I’ll feel I can truly say I’m self-employed.

Working from home certainly has its perks; A flexible schedule, lax dress code, unlimited  sick and vacation days, extended coffee breaks all make up for the grueling hours and poor wages.

Of course, there are challenges in working from home. Distractions abound and when you suffer from monkey brain, those distractions can lead you down rabbit holes to nowhere.  On a good day all temptations to “just polish the drip pan under the refrigerator real quick” can easily be pushed aside to attend to more pressing real world goals. On a bad day, I might end up swinging from one chore to another like a gibbon on crack. (Ok a gibbon is actually an ape, not a monkey, but you get the reference right?) Aside from the usual distractions of dishes, laundry, yard work, dust bunnies and actual work, I have to deal with this:

twix waiting

It can be difficult to concentrate with these eyes on me. As  I tap away on the keyboard, I feel the rumbling engines of the train bound for a guilt trip revving.  ”Have you forgotten something this morning?” How can I forget? Do I ever forget? Oh, the short memory span of an impatient pup.

As if one pitiful reminder of my dereliction of duties isn’t enough, there are two of them working as a tag team.

yuma waiting

I mean, really, how is person supposed to get anything done under these conditions?

What the photos don’t project are the sound effects. They start with forced sighs, subtle hints at my neglectfulness. When sighs go ignored, they move onto whimpering. I offer a few words of encouragement, let them know I really haven’t forgotten, which only takes them from whimpering mode to “my life is pure hell” moans. Eventually, if I am very still, they give up and I get a few more moments of (somewhat) guilt free silence.

Any movement on my part is taken as indication that it must be time for the most exciting, fantastic, mind-blowing event of their lives:

walk timeA WALK!!! TIME FOR A WALK (repeat 72 times). However, this is not always the case, sometimes, I simply have to shift positions, or go to the bathroom.  They make their disappointment known. And they know if they nag loud enough, their yowling and rooing will get me out the door.

Yet, I find through the stress of it all, this morning ritual they’ve made me part of is better than any timer I could set for myself. They know, better than I, the importance of taking those small breaks in the day.  A little walk does a lot of good and does wonders for the mind, even if it isn’t the most exciting, mind-blowing event of the day.

You can probably guess, as I sit here typing away, all eyes are on me, they are beginning to throw in an occasional moan with the sighs – I should save myself a little frustration and get going before the rooing starts. Ah heck – why mess up the routine? I think I’ll finish my coffee first….right after I get to that drip pan….

Let the rooing begin!

If You Build It Will They Come?

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This post is a little overdue. You may recall my post from a few weeks ago about my negligence in being a responsible cat owner; In my efforts to create functional living spaces for the family, I neglected to consider the cat’s needs. To make their protests known, they began using our newish furniture as their personal pedicare apparatus (it was bound to happen). Well, they got my attention and I set off to create a space they can call their very own.

catcondobefore

It started with this old metal shelf we stored in the garage where it became a make shift storage unit for odds and ends. (Please excuse the atrocious mess of it all – this is another project on our to-do list…)

And this: Fredrik Ikea desk

For lounging platforms I thought I’d use the shelves from this old desk. It was left over from last years garage sale and I guess $15.00 was too much to ask so it was disassembled and put in the garage. Can you tell many of my projects are also an effort to rid our garage of the unwanted items taking up valuable space?

After moving the shelf into the family room (not too far from the furniture the cats have taken a liking to) and gathering all my supplies, everything just sat there for a while as I contemplated the easiest way to put it all together. I’d often see Rex relaxing in the pile. This was encouraging, at least he seemed interested in the materials:waiting

Since I am NOT a technical writer I’ll spare you my pathetic attempts at writing like one. But I’ll give you a quick overview through photos. Basically it went like this:

I purchased two 4 x 8 boards for about $3.00 each. I cut the boards down to seven feet, the height of the shelf. The plan was to make an adequate scratching post on one side of the metal shelving unit.

board prep

1)  I glued the boards together on the long edge to form an “L” shape. This would be the frame for the scratching post.

2) I used wood screws to screw the boards together (the glue in the first step was just to keep them in place so they could be easily screwed together)

3 and 4) Hooks were used to join the  boards to the narrow frame of the shelf with wire.

postprep

Once the “L” frame was attached to the frame of the metal shelf I wrapped thick twine around it. I started with the staple gun to anchor the twine, then just continued to wind it around the frame, using a bit of hot glue in a few places to keep it in place.  I covered the rest of the frame in burlap as you will see at the end of this post.

uclamp2

I used “U” clamps (four for each shelf) to anchor the lounging platforms to the metal frame of the shelves. I had to add a bit of padding in the space around the “U” clamp, since they were too big and I wasn’t in the mood to run out and buy smaller ones. The padding keeps the boards from wobbling.

Once my kitty condo was assembled I had to soften it up a little. I covered the exposed metal with fabric, added fabric skirting to the wood boards, sewed a couple of pillows together and constructed a little cubby by attaching a fabric skirt around the bottom shelf.  I’ll admit, I was a little lazy about this. I intended to construct a proper bottom for the floor of the cubby, but instead opted to just toss in an old pillow I made back when I was on my sewing kick.

OK – I built it, but would they come? To make it more inviting I added a few dangly toys, sprinkled little morsels on the pillows and rubbed a good quality cat nip all over the  fabric. I also I chanted a few incantations just for good measure.

Imagine my surprise  when I found them exploring the cubby and lounging on the perches?

they came

The real test is yet to come. They still have the nail caps on, so no new scratch marks have been discovered on the furniture, but I have yet to see them go though the motions of using this scratch post either.  I guess we shall find out eventually.

I can’t tell you how happy I was to see them actually using this thing. In a small way it was as if they were thanking me for thinking of them. Yes, I do tend to anthropomorphize way too much.

Here is a side by side before and after:

catcondo Collage

Well, that’s it for this week. TIme to see what else the garage has in store for me. Have a great week.

Cheers!

Doodling With Purpose (Zentangle)

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I’ve been looking for a way to clear my mind, focus my thoughts and pull in a positive, creative energy on a daily basis. I know about prayer, meditation, exercise, eating healthy – all those support a good mind-body-spirit balance, but I need something else. Something to both relax and stimulate the creative side of my brain.

I attended my first Zentangle class earlier this month.  I was skeptical about going, I knew at the end of the class I would be presented with books and pens and specialty papers to buy that were sure to enhance my Zentangle experience. I wasn’t sure I needed to attend a doodling class, and I was absolutely sure I didn’t need to be introduced to yet another hobby I’d never master. But I’m glad I went. Not only did I find a creative, fun way to relax, I learned a lot about what Zentangle is and isn’t. Now I want to share a bit of what I’ve learned with you.

Prior to attending the class I browsed through a few books on the subject and worked through a few YouTube tutorials. Initially, I was reminded of the doodles I did in middle school on the margins of my lecture notes, but I soon realized  Zentangle was on a whole different level.

What is Zentangle?

zenleaf

The longish answer, with a smidge of history is this: In 2005, Maria Thomas, an artist illustrator, and one of the founders of Zentangle, was creating a background pattern for a manuscript. She described the sense of focus, well-being and relaxation she felt while designing the patterns to her partner, Rick Roberts, a former Buddhist monk. Rick told her the feelings she was experiencing sounded like meditation. They then developed Zentangle, a system of creating patterns that encourages others to experience the same state of relaxation.

The supper abbreviated answer could be that Zentangle is yoga for the brain. When practiced regularly it can:

- Promote a focused mind, self-confidence and relaxation
- Develop creativity, drawing skills, hand-eye coordination and problem solving skills

Is Zentangle Doodling?

the eyeZentangle has been described as doodling with purpose. Yet, ‘with purpose‘ implies a planned outcome with little room for mistakes. So not true. The ‘with purpose‘ part is really about focusing on the pen strokes as you move your pen across the paper. It’s about the mind and body being engaged in a conscious effort.  In short, it’s about becoming one with the paper. How zen does that sound?

As a complete novice to Zentangle I find it hard to tell others how it’s different from doodling.  Genevieve Crabe, Certified Zentangle Teacher (CZT) compares it to the study of music:
“The 102 tangles are a form of standardized notation, much as in music, that students first learn to master. Each Certified Zentangle Teacher learns to master these 102 tangles so as to be able to teach students to make art in the first two classroom hours. Standardized tangles make classroom instruction possible. The students soon learn to recognize these tangles in a complex looking piece of art the way musicians recognize chord structure in someone else’s music.”

So perfectly described! Of course that’s why she is a CZT, but I just love the analogy.

Must I Follow the Patterns?

Prior to attending the class, I didn’t think learning the patterns was important. After all, who doesn’t know how to doodle? How difficult can it be? Why should I invest in books or classes aimed at making me a better doodler? I now see to fully understand the Zentangle experience it’s helpful to learn the patterns.

For me personally, I find it helpful to follow along with a book when I want to tangle. For one, it’s a good jumping off point. I also think of it as a warm up, like stretching before a run; following a suggested pattern helps me stretch and warm up my brain.

I told my daughter about the class and she did one of her own Zentangle inspired doodles  without looking at a book or following a pattern:

tangle design

So no, you don’t have to follow patterns. She is quite happy with it and I suppose that’s all that matters. If you are happy with what you create and you found it relaxing and enjoyable then the exercise was successful. But if you’d really like to tap into the benefits Zentangle has to offer, I highly suggest learning more about the patterns. There really is a meditative process that happens when forming them. THAT from a person who doesn’t like to follow rules (at least not in art).

Do I Have to Have Drawing Skills? micro

Definitely not. Though I consider myself artistic and creative I have very poor drawing skills. Well, I can draw, but I can’t draw detail very well and a decent drawing takes me a long time. After practicing Zentangle for a couple of weeks, I see how it may help me develop better drawing skills.

Most artists are observers. I’m good at observing and I know everything is basically made up of shapes and lines. However when trying to translate the shapes and lines I observe into an understandable (attractive) drawing…lets just say something gets lost in translation.

Zentangle has taught  me to break down subjects into blocks of pattern and those patterns into simple lines. In observing a sleeping cat, a flower, trees, I see the chunks of patterns that make up the whole subject.  When you see subject matter in blocks of patterns, it is easier to break it down to more manageable parts. This goes along with the music analogy mentioned above.

Before writing this post, I did a few Zentangle tutorials on YouTube. One of my favorites was the auraknot video. The auraknot  looked difficult, but the tutorial broke the design down into steps and before I knew it, I had a pretty impressive looking design. Unfortunately, I misplaced the drawings  so I don’t have them for you to see, but it was in creating that design I realized how Zentangle is useful in developing drawing skills. In this video you’ll see how to make the auraknot with a simple step by step method.

Do I need Special Supplies?

As you saw in my daughters doodle, she used a sharpie and lined paper for her work.  It isn’t necessary to purchase special papers or pens, though I’m sure you’ll want to invest in better quality products as you progress.

In the book “Zentangle Untangled’, Kass Hall, artist and CZT, writes: “…the materials you use often reflect the value you put into what you are creating.”

As your love of Zentangle grows and you begin to cherish those moments of relaxation and exploration, you’ll for sure want to invest in the higher quality materials, but I suggest just trying it first. The library offers books on the topic and of course the internet is a great source of info and ideas. As supplies go though, the official Zentangle tools are not over-the-top expensive, especially as far as art supplies go, so you really don’t need to spend a lot of money either way. I invested in a nice set of micron pens, but I use a small sketch pad of multi purpose, slightly textured paper I picked up from a Japanese yen store years ago which has been working well for me so far. I haven’t convinced myself  I need the trademarked paper tiles yet.

Why Do I Love It?

As someone who has only taken one class, I’m definitely not an expert on the subject.  I’ve just been so inspired by this form of meditation/art I wanted to share it with you.

I love it for its meditative effects. The process of creating the repetitive patterns is quite therapeutic. Though many practitioners are very accomplished artists and create gorgeous, intricate work, I don’t have a plan when I practice Zentangle. I just let my mind go, a bit like free flow thought, but on paper.

While it seems I might be getting all religious on the matter, I don’t mean it’s an activity full of ritual or that there should be any expectations of reaching Nirvana through Zentangle. It is actually fun and relaxing and isn’t something that needs to be taken so seriously, but I do find it to be a great way to clear the mind.

I didn’t intend for this to be such a long post but once I got started, I found I had so much to share! I hope you will try Zentangle and that you find it useful for relaxation, solving a complicated design dilemma or developing your drawing skills. Most of all though, I hope you have FUN.

Since taking the class I’ve been working on  some of my own Zentangle inspired art which I have scattered throughout this post. They aren’t great, but they were fun to make and with practice, I’m sure they’ll get better. And now that I am using micron pens rather than markers, I’ve noticed improvement in the lines.

WOW – sorry for the long post! Have a fantastically productive week!

riverwalk

Something to Cheer You Up

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Most of my posts might lead you to believe I live a pretty boring life. I seem to be holed up in my house just looking for ways to fill my time. Truth is I don’t often write about my personal feelings or deep thoughts about world events. My blog has become an outlet for me to focus on the positive things about myself and escape from the realities of the world. I’ve found this to be more a productive outlet than watching TV or doing hard drugs.

Though I do have a great life, that doesn’t mean I’m immune from everyday stress or I don’t find the world around me too much to bear sometimes. Daily we are inundated with news of depressing world events, pressing political and social issues, reminders of our failures, uncomfortable memories from our past…it’s easy to fall into a state of depression and despair. This is why it’s important for me to have a positive, creative outlet to pour my energy into.

Then there are times when I am stuck in a creative rut, as seems to be the case lately. So for today, I would like to share with you something that always brings a smile to my face when I think of it.

I came across this video last year and I’m sure you have seen it before, but if you are in the mood for a smile today – give it a view.

What do you suppose the neighbors must have thought? Never mind, from the looks of it, they were all involved. So awesome!

have a great week.

The Girl With the Brand New Tattoo Gun (Part 2)

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Tat gun

I had a bad feeling there would be a part two to The Girl With the Brand New Tattoo Gun. My daughter was 15 when I wrote that post. Since then, I’ve been waiting to write the sequel. Nervously waiting.

Yes, I purchased a tattoo gun for my teen-aged daughter. Call me crazy, call me irresponsible, but only after you read about my ambivalence and reasons for doing so. Then maybe you’ll understand.

I thought her dream of becoming a world-renowned tattoo artist had fizzled away, as many great adolescent dreams do.  After all, it had been several months since I last heard the soft buzz of the tattoo gun drifting through the house.  I was always relieved to discover her canvas of choice to be the oranges and grapefruits she smuggled from the kitchen. But what’s a girl to do when she grows bored with unresponsive, unappreciative fruit? There is only one thing she can do…

I was told the word “love” on her hand was done with permanent marker. But I had my suspicions. I watched that word closely for several weeks – hmm that must have been  a very high quality permanent marker indeed.  My suspicions were confirmed when, one day, I heard my husband call out to me from the other room, a bit of panic in his voice. I rushed to see what the panic was about.

“Did you know she has a tattoo on her stomach?”

“What? No! Let me see.”

Apparently in an unguarded stretch my daughter exposed a flash of skin that looked just a little different. Upon further questioning and investigation she unveiled her art work.

Gasp!

For a while the discussion was one-sided:

“What were you thinking?”

“I can’t believe you did that to yourself.”

“Wow, you did that yourself? How?”

“Actually you didn’t do too a bad job. The outline is pretty straight and clean.”

“But oh, what in the world were you thinking?”

“I dunno.” Why should I have expected anything else in reply?

And that four letter word, written in rather lovely scrolling letters? Well, it wasn’t done with your average house hold Sharpie.

What could I do at that point? Is it possible to be dismayed and impressed at the same time? Was it appropriate to be impressed at all?

I have to say, given that she tattooed herself and she’s had no training, it isn’t half bad. It’s straight and well proportioned.

Example of leaf variation among various cultiv...

Example of leaf variation among various cultivars of Japanese Maple (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Even if it is a ridiculous outline resembling something very similar to a Japanese maple.

What is the moral of this story? I guess I just need someone to cry to. I know, it’s my own fault but really I can’t say I regret it totally. My daughter doesn’t regret it (HA what does she know, she’s only 16!) though I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t do it again. Is it the end of the world? Is she scarred for life? uh – well….

Here is my number one dilemma with my kids: I see almost every request, action, reaction as a chance to make a memory. Will it be a warm, funny one they’ll fondly reminisce about at my wake? Or will it be a bitter, haunting one they relive in hypnotherapy?

Don’t get me wrong, my kids heard “NO” plenty of times. They were disciplined, corrected  and set straight many times, but when it came to things which might help them develop creatively, I always tried to be supportive.

Today at 19 and 16, neither one of our kids seem to have interests they are passionate about. They’ve outgrown or given up on many of their past hobbies. It makes me a little sad. There were so many things I wanted to try when I was a kid; piano, pottery, dance, art – real art, not the kind you do with glue sticks and paper doilies – riding lessons, violin. It isn’t that my parents deprived me, they just didn’t see the need to pay for such things and even if they had, they weren’t able to pay for such things.  I just realized something as I type this –  I might be trying to live through my kids. Not that I ever forced them to do any of those things, I only asked they commit to what they signed up for (what they ASKED to be signed up for I might add).

Then again, maybe I’m just not paying attention to what their interests and talents are – they’re a product of the techy generation, they aren’t interested in the same type of arts or crafts I am. Who do I call when I need help with a software application? Who do I ask for help when a movie doesn’t download? Who creates impressive Simms houses? Well, I think I just had one of those “aha moments” Oprah is always going on about.

Thank you for going on this journey with me.

I’ll be sure to let you know how the glass blowing class goes next month.:) Hey  - she asked!

Inspiration for Next Project (and a sneak peek)

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The inspiration for my next project:

cats

Notice the perfectly manicured nails? Or pedicured I guess, as cats don’t have hands. I’ll explain the why of it all, but first a bit of a tangent.

Things I have learned from living with cats and dogs:

- Some cats think fresh flowers make great confetti – I love a party, but I prefer not to be greeted with shredded flowers strewn throughout the house when I walk in the door.

- Dogs love delicately embellished throw pillows. Such pillows are perfect for napping. Once they are properly fluffed of course. If all sequins and threading happens to be forcefully removed during the fluffing – all the better.

- Beaded curtains make for perfect 2 am play toys, and once they are ripped down there’s more fun to be had batting them around on a hard wood floor.

- Carpeting and pets don’t mix. While the dogs drag dirt and mud in, the cats like to take turns leaving their own mark on our carpets.  Though 75% of our floors are hard wood, the cats always manage to dry-heave their way  across every square inch of bare floor  to deliver their freshly regurgitated hairball or breakfast onto one of only a few carpeted areas of our house. They taught the dogs how to do this as well.

- I haven’t done a jigsaw puzzle in years. If you know cats, then you know how they will decide to suddenly move from one side of a room to the other as fast as possible. A nice smooth surface to slide across makes for more exciting travels through said room – if only that dang 10,000 piece jigsaw puzzle wasn’t in the way – “oh never mind, I cleared it for you” (says cat to bleary eyed puzzle doer).

- Cleaning the glass patio doors is futile.

I’ve learned to accept these things and make necessary accommodations. After all, I spent years accommodating for our kids, why should it be different for the pets? However when fresh claw marks were discovered on our new sofa a few weeks ago I thought ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! Or rather, my otherwise patient husband decided enough was enough.  Off to the pet market I went; sternly escorted by previously mentioned patient hubby. Hence, the prettily pedicured paws.

Now onto the sneak peek:

discarded shelves

I purchased this shelf over 20 years ago at a garage sale. It has worked well in every room in some way. Now it’s stored away in the garage and has become a handy place to store the sleeping bags. I just spray painted it white and now I’m going to attempt to transform it into a cat condo of sorts.

I realize cats need to scratch.  I take full responsibility for them clawing our furniture. I haven’t provided them with a cat friendly scratch zone. I’ve thought of purchasing a climbing tree for them, but they can be pricey and you know how it is with cats:

cat-sit-on-cardboard-box

No matter how much we give, it’s never good enough. (photo from i-am-bored.com/bored_link.cfm?link_id=78744)

I was inspired by a few designer cat trees I saw on-line:

The Refined Feline Lotus Cat Tower USD369.00 from wag.com

The Refined Feline Lotus Cat Tower USD369.00 from wag.com

This is pretty and sleek, more my style than those bulky trees I see in the local pet stores, so I doubt the cats will like it. It’s also expensive. What I have in mind for my shelves will look nothing like this, but I’ll at least have saved myself about $350.00 – I’ve already spent a few bucks on the carpet and twine.

So, I’m off to see what I can put together from the old shelves and the scraps of wood and carpet I found. The plan is to get this project finished as soon as possible; before the nail caps start coming off.

Well, here I go.

I think the cats have hatched a plan of their own.

Stay tuned for more….

My Pinterest Corner

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I’m cheating a little with this post – it’s more of a repost of two separate posts, but what can I say? It was a busy week and this is the best I can do.

I recently posted about how I carved out this little space in the corner of our family room to give myself a place to get “create”.  So far it has worked out great. So great that I had to reevaluate and find a way to organize the templates I’ve made (and continue to make) to design these Altoids tins:

tins

Also, a while ago I posted about my own Ikea hack on a standard Ikea Lack table and made this bulletin board along with these little mini boards.DSC_0403

I had put them away when our son moved back into the room originally intended to be my space and you can probably guess why a 19-year-old guy might not find this suitable decor for his room - long, boring story. ANYWAY I decided to put them to use as a way to organize my templates; I just added cup hooks to the mini boards, which are actually table legs with cork on them then wrapped in fabric. DSC_0878

I use binder clips to clip my templates and stencils together, then hang them on the hooks so they are easy to find when I need them. And I have room to add lots more!

My "Pinterest" Corner

I call this my Pinterest corner. Yes, Pinterest is a fun, easy way to organize your ideas but sometimes it’s nice to have those ideas handy when you work. Now I have a place to “pin” my own scribbles, doodles, templates and other ideas I want to have quick access to.

That is it for this weekend. I have a few projects on my to-do-list for this coming  week so I hope to have something original to post next time, but thanks for reading! Have an awesome week!

Super Quick Decoupaged Box

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So real quick like…. Not a lot of time for a project this week AND I sometimes like to post simple projects for those who think they are not crafty or creative.

I wouldn’t say I’m a type A personality when it comes to organization, but I like to have a place for everything and everything in its place.

I’ve had this filing box for years. No, it isn’t pretty, but it has always been in a closet or a cupboard. What works for me now though is having it out and accessible. I use it to keep all current important documents handy and to file our bills.

filie box

Since it sits on the floor out in the open now, (filing cabinets don’t work for me –  that’s why) I find it to be a real eye sore. I went hunting today for a pretty decorative box and while I found many, I settled on this one:

black boxI thought the little flip top compartment in the lid was so handy; A great place to store envelopes, stamps and mailing labels and a pair of reading glasses – all the items I need when I am working out of the box.

I often cover boxes with decorative paper and use them for storage on shelves. It’s a simple, cheap and easy way to add a bit of “style”, pizzazz, or color.  For this one I just applied some scrapbook paper (from Steam Punk Botanicals Recollections Paper stack) on the top and front. I was in a hurry and didn’t have time to cut around the handle openings on the sides, so I opted for a simple layout:

easy decoupage

Very easy, just cut out a design and glue it on the box (I used modge podge) decoupage style. This is a very simple way to add your own personality and taste to a basic storage box (like a sturdy shoe box) in very little time. This took me about 30 minutes. You wouldn’t even have to cut out the pattern, you could wrap it like a present with some beautiful wrapping paper (just wrap the lid and bottom separately).

Boxes are a great way to organize and store small items AND recycle otherwise functional boxes.  All it takes is your favorite pattern and some Modge Podge! (If you feel challenged at even using Modge Podge, you could opt for stickers.)

And now to find a way to repurpose that ugly file box…

Ideas anyone?

A Pinterest Do

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Ok, so who isn’t a Pinterest addict these days? I know I’ve spent my fair share of hours pinning away  - everything from too cute kittens, favorite bands, beautiful places, art that inspires me and of course cool projects I am “so gonna do”.

Of course the ideas are endless and the talent displayed far exceeds my own, but non the less, that doesn’t stop me from pinning and dreaming.

This past week, I finally decided to try my hand at a Pinterest interest. I’ve had the urge to paint SOMETHING. Now, I have plenty of things I can paint, but I’ve been wanting to do something really bold, fun and different. Then I came across this on Pinterest:

4337691078adf7e6e81c7a24216dd146

(I found the above photo on Pinterest but I think it was originally posted at design dazzle)

WOW I just love this color. A while ago I painted a wall in there a bright aqua blue, but haven’t done much else since then. I have been thinking about how I could simply and cheaply spruce this room up. Some might ask “Why?” Well, I can’t explain it. I know it seems crazy to invest time and energy into such a utilitarian space that no one is  likely to see, but I have this sickness. I’ve also been in a bit of a creative slump lately and feel doing something really different and bold might revive the creative side of my brain.

Of course, I knew it wouldn’t be as easy  as I was thinking it would be, but I prepared myself for that and promised I would take my time and quit when I needed a break, no reason this would need to be done in a day.

First, I made stencils to use as a general guide.

I had a roll of cheap drawing paper which would be great for making a few large stencils. This wouldn’t have been my first choice (as I’ll explain why later) but it was what I had on hand.

I rolled out the paper and let my pen do the walking – swirling and curling.

ceiling stencil

Cutting out the “stencil” with an X-Acto knife was a cinch – applying it to the ceiling was a different matter. I used painters tape doubled over to place the design where I wanted it on the ceiling, then went around with the hanging edges with some double-sided tape for a more secure fit.

applied stencil

I wasnt too worried about applying the stencils perfectly as I figured I would easily just roll my roller brush over them and viola – paint would be applied easily where I wanted it. This has always been the case when I have used stencil for small projects.

Was I wrong—

The paint I used was very thick and sticky which caused the stencils to pull away from the ceiling when I rolled over them.  But with just a little patience (HA–actually  A LOT of patience) I was able to hold them in place with one hand while I rolled with the other.

Since this was just a random splash design, I wasnt worried about it being perfect, I just concentrated on keeping the edges crisp. I knew I could go over the design with a brush and nudge the design a bit if I had to.

Surprisingly, my patience paid off. Over all I am quite happy with it.

After this was done I was motivated to remove the ugly cabinet doors and dress up the shelves a little with some contact paper.

Which brings me to this point; contact paper would have been great to use for this ceiling project, it’s sticky enough to completely stick, but not so sticky that it can’t be easily peeled away. But you know how it is when you don’t have the exact product you need – you make do.

Anyway – here is the result. I had to touch up a few places, but like I said with this kind of design mistakes are easy to fix and blend in.

pinterest do

I also splurged the other day when I came across the little bird. I found it at Target. I just loved how happy the color made me feel.

Are you a Pinterest fanatic? Do you have boards  of “need to try this” and “so gonna do this” projects?  What Pinterest interest have you done lately?