Happy Halloween 2013!

Oh, Shed!

My dad rocks! My dad is retired and extremely bored. I was joking with him over the winter that since he built my sisters dog a dog house that he should build us a shed. I kept telling him it was the exact same thing he just needed to make it way bigger. He called us one day and said to meet him at Home Depot, a.k.a. my second happy place, to buy the wood. His boredom overtook him and he was ready for a project!

The happy builders! 

We had a few arguments over the windows. He didn't want windows, I did. Once I bought the windows he wanted them on the ends (north/south) so the shed would get better ventilation. Yes, that is probably true, I was just trying to make it cute. So windows on the front, the colors I wanted, and we were good to go!

As a joke my dad put that moon on the door thinking it would bug me and I'd "squak" about it. I love it! I totally ruined his day when I left the moon up and told him I was going to paint it yellow. Besides saving us a bunch of money by building a shed rather than buying one, it kept  my dad busy for a few months. See, my dad rocks! Now I just need him to get bored enough to build us a chicken coop. My angle is going to be it's bigger than a dog house, but smaller than a shed!

Mini Front Porch Re-do

I have had these purple chairs for years and I've been sick of the purple for a while now.

I finally got around to repainting them. They are going to stay this color forever since they were a pain the ass to paint! My favorite part is the pillows. I had it in my pea brain that I wanted lime green pillows with birds on them. Of course, I could not find them anywhere. I finally found these lime green cushion covers at IKEA for cheap and painted/stenciled the birds on.

Now I just need to get around to pulling out that dead tree that's right smack in the middle of the pictures!

Hose Reel Post

Travis and I have this ongoing argument with the hoses. When I use a hose, I leave it laying on the ground where I used it. Ok. I know that is not what you are supposed to do, but I do it anyway. I don't care if it's on the grass, in the dirt, wherever. I leave it there until I use it again then I drag it to that location and leave it there. It drives Travis NUTS!

This is how Travis does it. He rolls it up in a nice coil and sits it on the dirt. He does this each and every time he uses the hose. Yes this is what you should do, but I don't. I should note, this is exactly opposite of how we do everything else. I am the total OCD person and keep things neat and tidy. Travis not so much.

At the old house we had these cheap plastic hose reels that you rolled up the hose on. When we moved two of them got a crack and we threw them out. I decided we needed a more permanent reel. I saw one in our neighborhood that was posted on 2x4's and my wheels started turning. I headed off to my second happy place, Home Depot, and decided this is what I wanted.

 

I love how it turned out. We bought a 4x4x8 post and cut it in half. Travis cemented it in the ground about 15". When it dried I painted the posts, then Travis attached the hose reel. It is so easy to use and I actually roll the hose up now. We have two more to put in. Until then...those hoses are laying on the grass.  hee hee.

Refinishing More Furniture!

Let's see....it's been how many months since I've posted on here?!?! It took me several tries to remember my password.

I've been busy with just the usual life stuff, and having fun refinishing some furniture. I have had a few people ask me for pictures of this desk, so I figured this was the easiest way to do it. Well, easiest once I remembered my password! :-)

Parker has a little plastic Little Tykes desk that he loves. He will sit there for hours drawing pictures. I figured that he would love a bigger desk. As usual I was wrong. He still sits at his little desk. Oh well. I had fun refinishing it. If he doesn't use it I will put it on KSL and sell it.

 

Before. I picked this desk up for $15.00 so I'm not out much if he never uses it. I had my dad tighten everything up, then I removed the handles and sanded away. It looks like it was originally painted pea green with several layers of cheap, poorly done white paint over it. I had to sand and sand to get it ready.

And after. I really like the color. I used Rustoleum Lagoon spray paint then glazed it in black. I bought new handles at my go-to place, Hobby Lobby. I also took a small rock and hammer and beat the wood up a bit to make it look older. My last step is to go thrifting and find him a chair. One of these days I'll get around to it.

I've also refinished a headboard for my mom, and I'm currently working on a nightstand and my porch chairs. I'll post more pictures when I get them done. That is if I can remember my password again.

Framing Mirrors with Molding

When we were building our house, one of the things I wanted to do was have our bathroom mirrors framed. The day I was ordering the mirrors I sat and looked at the different frame styles and colors and I could not make up my mind. Mirrors was one of the final things I had to pick out, and honestly I was so sick of looking at things, and picking things out, that I just didn't care. I ended up ordering just plain ole mirrors and left the place. I am so thankful that I did. To have them framed at the same time we ordered the mirrors it was $400.00-$500.00 per mirror, depending on size. On various blogs and home improvement sites, I've seen people frame their mirrors with molding and decided that I could do that. I started with our small bathroom in the mud room as my practice.

I bought my molding and corner pieces at Home Depot (my home away from home), and sprayed them with Rustoleum paint. I used the molding that is the "fake" wood since it is lighter, cheaper and already primed. I cut my pieces to fit before I painted them so all I would have to do is glue them on the mirror.

Before shot. The pieces are painted and ready to be glued on. I started by gluing the bottom piece on first. You can not start at the top or you are stuck at the bottom with no wiggle room if you need it.

During. I used painters tape to prevent slipping while the glue was still wet.

After! I think for my first practice mirror it looks fine.  Best of all...making them myself saves about $1,500.00. Yea!

Cost for one bathroom:

Molding & corner pieces $14.00
Paint $4.00
(I used Liquid Nails glue that I had on hand)

Total $18.00 YEA!

I have three mirrors to go still. I have the wood but it is too cold to paint right now. It needs to be at least 50-60 degrees to paint, and we have not been above 20 for weeks. Burrr......