Making Some Shelves

Okay, so I’ve had the stuff to make these shelves for my laundry room for quite some time now. I figured I’d better them them put together. Even though I still haven’t finished painting the walls and the trim in there. They were pretty easy to put together so I thought I’d show you what I did.

Here is what I started with. If you don’t have a miter saw a hand saw and a miter box would be just as good since the cuts are small. The poplar boards I bought to size.  24x10 I think.

I did a little measuring. I marked in the direction I wanted the miter cut to go.

 

Then I held the trim up against the fence just like it would be up against the shelf.  

I had already made the cut and just used the tape measure to hold it still for the picture. Not enough hands.

To get the next angle cut you can swing the angle guide to the opposite side. That’s what I did here. I had to cut off an inch or so to get that opposite angle before I could measure for the next side. Another way to do it is to keep your original 45 degree angle like in the shot above and just flip the trim piece upside down. I also had to move it to 0 to get the flat end for the backside.

When you get all of your sides measured and cut you have this. I used wood glue and finishing nails to put it all together. I didn’t want to drag out the nail gun. I probably should have. Let’s just say hammering is not my strong suit. Nothing a little wood filler didn’t cure. I did predrill before hammering in the nails. No pictures as there was glue involved. I’m not very neat.

Next was the brackets. They have this little metal thing on the back for hanging. You can switch it to either the short side or the long side. I wanted the long side under the shelf so I switch them. Fast and easy to do.

Here they are all painted out. Ok, the brackets aren't attached to the shelves yet. Not perfect but not bad either.  I started out with a Martha Stewart sample and it wasn’t the right yellow. So I mixed it with another sample and got this shade. Sort of buttery yellow.

 

They will go up in the laundry room when I get that painted. I just dread moving the washer and dryer. There isn’t much space in there to move around.

But at least the shelves are done and ready to go. I’ve been wanting to paint something yellow for awhile now. This was a nice small project to do just that.

 

I will show them again once it is all finished. Is anyone else out there getting a bit of yellow fever? 

I hurried to get this done so I could join up with Marianne at her party. I missed her last one and didn't want to miss it again. Thanks Marianne!

also linking up here:

see ya,

 

How Many Projects Can One Start?

You don’t want to know. My house looks like a tornado hit it. That tornado would be me. My goal this week will be to finish a lot of little projects that have been started but not quite finished. Perhaps mop my floors should be on my to do list too. It’s in need.



I’ve been working on some sewing. Well, more like ironing. I’m am using hemming tape instead to apply the ribbon to some panels.



But I hit a bit of a snag. Hubby hung the rods for me last week. It was very nice of him. I told him to go with the height of the dining room rods. That was a bad I idea. They are looking too low for me in the family room. So they will be getting raised. It will just bug me to no end if I try to live with them like this. My eye will always go to the rod and I will always think they’re too low. So, we’ll just bypass all that undue stress and fix them now. Like how I say ‘we’?

I also want to thank Donna for her sidebar love at this weeks SNS party for my mantel. She sure knows how to make a girl feel special. Thanks Donna! And thanks to everyone who left me such sweet comments. I always love hearing from you.

see ya,

It's Feeling Like Spring

Hello everyone. Hope you all are enjoying the wonderful weather. Well, those that are having it. Not to rub it in if you not.

Yet again I have about 10 things going on at once. So, why not just mess around with the mantel too. What's one more thing?

I'm really missing my fresh hydrangeas. I hope they come back okay. I want to dry more this year. These got a little squashed.

 I took my firescreen and stuck it up on the mantel then put the two arched mirrors together in the middle.

 Stuffed some shells, bits of driftwood and a piece of coral in the glass hurricane.

All the different shades in this one bloom makes it so pretty . Especially that little bit of green. I am going to have to find a variety called limelight. I think they are just gorgeous.  Maybe I should see what I can order online. I'm so ready for a green yard and flowers to pick. A better spot for growing tomatoes would be good too.

Is it still too early to be thinking about the garden? Does anyone have plans  for some changes outdoors this year? I'd love to hear any ideas.

I will be linking to:

see ya,

Progress in the Kitchen

We’re making progress! The hole is bigger now. The bead board is up. Just need to work on some trim. I took a cabinet door off from anther area to create an open shelf and I was going to use that door. Then we decided it might be better to hang on to that door for future owners. So we picked up a new door at the Restore the other day. We actually got 2 for $2. It’s the lighter one leaning against the wall.



Even just swapping out the old plugs and plates make a difference. We reused some of the corner trim. That will all get painted. And see that outlet on the wall above the doors? That placement bugs me. Why is it there?



We also replaced the pantry door. The old one was just a plain hollow core door that was stained like the trim. It had a hole it in from banging up against the corn of the counter. Even though it’s not painted it makes a huge difference in the room. I can’t wait to do replace more doors. Here’s a shot from the realtor when we looked at the house to show you what the plan is on this side. It’s a disaster zone at the moment.





Even though my kitchen is a wreck it did not stop me from making these little pieces of heaven. I found the lava cake recipe at Pioneer Woman’s site. It's not the best shot to show off the warm gooey goodness but I was trying to hurry because they were fresh from the oven and my whipped cream was melting and it was calling to me to hurry and eat it. The boys had theirs with mint chocolate chip ice cream. Heaven I tell you. Easy and fast too.



So, that's where we are now. Can you see it lightening up? I sure can. More to come.

see ya,

Chandelier Makeover

Hope everyone had a great weekend. The weather here was gorgeous. We have dove into a few projects around here. That hole we made in the peninsula the other day got opened up. We decided to give it a go at putting in that extra cabinet. More on that later. For now I want to show you this.



I finally got the little redo of my dining room chandelier done. This is what I started with.

  you do not see christmas dishes in the hutch

It was a little dark and heavy for what I was envisioning for the dining room. I had already tried just taking off the shades but it was still feeling dark. The little knobby thing on the bottom was already off as I was testing the color of the rub and buff.

 

I taped off the ceiling and got to work with the rub and buff in silver leaf. I mostly used my fingers but also used a small tooth brush to get into spots I couldn’t reach. I had considered taking it down and spraying it but I wanted more control of the silver and I wanted a bit of the old finish to come through.




This is what I looked like after all was said and done. It came off pretty easy though. A little scrubbing and some nail polish remover for what was left under my nails.



I was pretty pleased with the results. I buffed it up to get the shine going and buffed some more on the edges to reveal a bit of the old finish. I wanted some rub and buff in ebony to hit the edges with it and maybe in the grooves. Michael's didn’t have black and AC Moore wanted twice as much. I was annoyed at that and didn’t get it.




 


Let’s do a side by side shall we?

Plus, a sneak peak of what the hutch will look like when it gets painted. It’s looking a little pink, but it gives you an idea. Just squint. I also plan to redo the shades, maybe a white linen. For now shade less is okay with me.




















This was much better then buying a new light. I already had the rub and buff but it's less then $4 at Michael's. I have had this tube for 8 years and I still have some left. This stuff lasts forever since you use the tiniest amount. Have you ever used Rub and Buff? If so, how did you like it?

Linking up with: 

Funky Junk Interiors Saturday Nite Special: Chandeliers
Savvy Southern Style Wow Us Wednesdays

see ya

A Thank You and A Giveaway

I want to thank everyone for all the wonderful comments on the new look of my blog and banner. I’m glad everyone likes it. I needed a bit of color. I think everyone is ready for Spring.

I have been working on my photography and texture skills. I just started to contribute to the Inspiration Studio flickr pool. It’s was hard for me to find the confidence to post photos in any of the flickr pools. I just figured I had to jump in ( jump in the pool). The Inspiration Studio is a blog that Kim Klassen began and she has many contributors with individual creative talents. So when I heard that Jamie chose one of my shots to use in her recent post I was absolutely thrilled. That’s it above and you can see it here at the i-studio. Jamie blogs at Lyrical Journey and she is also a contributor over at the Inspiration Studio where she puts together wonderful sound tracks. So if you are in need of a little inspiration then head over and check out the i-studio and Lyrical Journey. Lots of great talent and creativity! Thank you Jamie for the little boost I needed.

Speaking of jumping in. My friend Maureen over at Cottage 960 is having a giveaway. She is raising money for the Special Olympics of Illinois. That crazy girl is going to do a polar plunge! Brrrrrr! You need to hop on over there and check out the cute camera strap she made. She will make you one too if you win. In the colors you’d like. Because she’s nice like that. Click on the button below to read more about it.



Oh and I have a question to those of you who use Live Writer. I just updated my theme so that my new template would be recognized. But now my preview mode is not working. If you know of a solution to this I’d be grateful. I posted the question on their forum but nothing yet. I googled it for hours last night and nothing. I was shocked. Google usually has the answer for anything.

I need to get back to working on my chandelier. It’s going silver today. I’ve put it off long enough.

see ya,

It Doesn't Take Much to Make Me Happy

Yes sirree, the littlest things can make me happy. Like trash cans. When it’s of the pull-out variety. My trash can has always been in my way. So I gave up one of my cabinets and hubby installed this for me.



Henry was added for cuteness because who really wants to see a picture of my garbage cans? Gosh he needs a groomer.

some stylin hardware, no?

No more blocking the walkway. They are neatly hidden away. One for trash, one for recyclables. Bonus: someone can’t pull out those tasty napkins anymore and leave them shredded all over the place.

There is one little thing. I now have dead space to the right in the corner. I had this plan to go to the other side of the peninsula and cut a hole to have access to it over there.



But we decided against that for fear of weakening the cabinet and potentially cracking the granite from lack of support. This is something that would happen to us. Trust me. I had always planned on adding bead board back here so it will get covered.

There is an overhang for barstools but we don’t use it for that. So, another idea is to make some freestanding cabinets that will fit under there but could be removed if the next owner wants barstools. That’s not high on my list. Painting them, on the other hand, is. Waiting on the weather for that one. It may be a bit of a wait by the way things are looking around here.

Maybe trash cans don’t make you all giddy. So tell me, what little things do make you happy?

see ya,