Shapes, wine, and a 7 year old

I had to share this...it really has nothing to do with design.

The moment you realize you have impacted your child's learning...not sure if this is positive of negative, but I'll drink to that!

Pantry Dropper: The reorganization of my life

I decided that the pantry needed help. You don't realize how bad off something is until you make a change (oh how applicable that is in all aspects of life). I look at the before picture and am in shock at how bad the pantry actually looked!

Here is how most of my projects start...a nice sketch on any piece of paper I can find and if I am really into it I even add the measurements!

Oh and the mess a pantry project causes. Just keeping it real and on of the reasons I wanted to be done with this project quickly!

Now since the day I moved in I knew I needed to maximize this space. The wire shelves were just across that one wall and it is a walk in pantry. I also wanted to paint the pantry the same color I painted the laundry room-blue. But first a little demo and patch work would be required. I love DEMO!

I wanted to do a custom wood pantry but I did not want to have to paint all of the shelves and wait. The only way to paint them and them be able to stand up to heavy traffic would be (in my opinion) to use the stinky oil based paint which means a head ache for days. So, instead I used melamine shelving with a wood trim piece attached. I just had to spray paint the trim piece before I glued it to the face of the board. Here is my set up. I love that saw!

The braces are 1x2 mdf primed pieces screwed to the wall into the studs with 2 1/2" screws and on some of the shorter pieces where studs were not present wall anchors were used. The braces are also affixed with construction adhesive for added strength. These shelves will hold some heavy loads, especially the can shelf so I wanted to make sure they were sturdy! The tricky cut was the corner turn on the side wall-approx 45 degree angle, but I used a card board box and made a template for these shelves and figured it out pretty quick. I need to get the tool that will make that process much easier and a lot more accurate. On the longer wall the shelves are 16" deep and they are 12" on the shorter wall. The trim pieces are also glued with construction adhesive. I was afraid finish nails would split the trim or pop up through the shelves so I tried to stay away from using my finish nailer on these. Some glue and tape to hold the trim in place and in a few hours it was good to go.

The other conundrum was how to connect the 2 shelves. A metal plate was used and screwed to the underside of the joint. This proved to provide the perfect support for the shelves and there is no movement. It may not look the best but once the pantry is loaded up you can barely see them anyways.

I also decided to add a few extra storage touches with some wire spice racks-I know get rid of the wire just to add more back in. BUT I think these did the trick in some of the smaller hidden walls. WOW look at that angle on the bottom shelf! :)

This project cost about $350 and took approx. 8 hours of work time. Saturday work day was stopped by the calling of the pool and fireworks and by Sunday mid-day the pantry was loaded up and we were at the pool once again-feeling oh so accomplished! IT was very much work the sweat (106 degrees on Saturday) and saw dust. I open the door to the pantry and am amazed by the difference it has made. Now my chocolate covered peanut butter pretzels from Trader Joe's are much easier to locate!

Do you have a quarter?: Gumballs are Serious Business in this House

Ok, this is NOT an original idea. I am not trying to steal credit from anyone and I have seen this all over Pinterest so I cannot give credit to just one person or blog but I will say I STOLE THE IDEA FROM SOMEWHERE! Over the summer I am hoping to do one "kid" project a week and this week it's all about the Gumballs. My kids love gumballs and I don't mind them either. ;) After a quick trip to Hobby Lobby for the supplies, well quick minus the debate in the spray paint aisle as to what color we should paint it-blue, glitter red or black. Black was the winner and my first choice I might add, funny how the one buying got her way, soon we were home and ready to get started. Total cost approx. $15. Our supplies:

We spray painted (by we I mean me and the kids told me all of the spots I was missing) the lid-aka plant saucer, the clay pot and the wooden knob. After a few coats and a trip to the pool in between coats we came home and glued the pieces together. Knob onto middle of saucer, glass bowl onto clay pot turned upside down and let dry. After it was dry I drew the additional embellishments onto the base with a silver paint pen. It was just a fun little addition to drive home the fact that it's a gum ball machine. I just free handed it. AND then the addition of the gumballs! $9.99 for a foot of gumballs at World Market, oh and I got my favorite bottle of wine during the same trip to reward myself-Dashwood. :)

If the kids are chewing gumballs they are quieter right? ;)

Front Porch Sitting: From a South Georgia Church to a North Georgia Porch

Wow! I know it have been a few months. I actually started a project that took me away from the blog for a while. I started a magazine in the area which was a huge undertaking and a lot of lessons learned. Most importantly, I learned I could make cool things happen if I dedicated myself to the success of something. So many things have been happening since September, but the good news is I am happy to be back doing projects and blogging about them. I just hope I can be forgiven for my absence. :) I am also enjoying the summer with the kids so when I'm not working with something for Southern Sunset I may be at the pool soaking in the southern (HOT) sun! Upon returned what better way to start but with my church pew refinish. I purchased this church pew at a yard sale atleast 8 years ago. Some friends had one in their home and I loved the idea and happened to have the perfect spot for it in the 1950's home we were living in. I was proud of my find but a few months later we moved to another house and then shortly after that we moved again and 6 years after that we ended up in Georgia. The thing with a church pew is they are kinda heavy and long and there is a lot of grumbling when they have to be moved. Somehow I was convincing enough to keep it in my possession all these moves and I am now proving that it was worth all of the effort. You have to have a perfect place for something like a pew and at all of the other houses the perfect place was either on the pool deck or the back or front porch. In our beautiful Georgia home the church pew landed on the front porch for some great front porch sitting! The pew is from a church in south Georgia and is still in great shape construction wise it just needed some love. After a light sand it was ready for some stain.

I do not like working with stain because it can be messy and the non-water clean up drives me crazy so I normally end up throwing everything away after I am done because I am impatient and dislike wasting time on things such as clean up. I used plastic gloves since I am not the cleanest of project people and 2 different sizes of chip brushes for the larger vs. smaller areas on the pew. I had the stain left over from my stair project thats not quite complete yet (that will be a future blog) so the project only cost a few bucks for the brushes for the refinishing side of it. I just applied the stain with the wood grain with the brushed and didn't wipe off any of it. I only applied one coat and it dried pretty fast. THe pew was back on the porch that evening.

So now the pew is done but needs a little flair. I found the "W" at Hobby Lobby and painted it the same color as the front door and applied it with some adhesive. This just adds some customization to make it a little different. The green pillows I made years ago but I purchased the 2 patterned pillows from Home Depot for about 27$ to add some pattern and fun.

Now I need to stain to front porch because it looks very blah against the new gem of a church pew. Looks like another project in the works! Until then I will enjoy some front porch sitting just how it is! Cheers-because you have to know a glass of wine will be in hand as I enjoy watching the kids from the porch!

Planter Fabulousness: Huge custom cedar planter

It was about this time last year I began plotting for a HUGE cedar planter in the front of the house, first I had to finally get the extra set of windows I had wanted for years installed (yes, some things I won't do myself!) After I got the windows done it was easy for me to say,"Ok time for the planter" because we could build the planter ourselves! I have a feeling when the hubby sees me sketching something he begins to break out in cold sweats...So, I drew my planter, planned it all out, got the cedar 1x3s and the framing materials for the inner structure, PT pine and started the project. One thing I did was NOT have the dirt go all the way to the bottom. Wood touching dirt is not a good thing in Florida! I created a false bottom about halfway up the structure and even lined it with pond lining (but a cheaper version) to hold the soil in. You can also see I used cement stepping stones where the structure would sit on the ground. Later these are covered with pine bark so they aren't screaming, "I'm UGLY!" Again, I treat these things like a puzzle...measure, cut and piece together.

Here is the front before:

It's in the details, I didn't even mitre the ends but they didn't need it and it saved a ton of time! I used a shim to space out the boards.

I went with a dark stain, I did have trouble deciding to stain it because cedar is a beautiful wood but I think I made the right decision because stained cedar is even better in this application! :) (Professional Photography by Coffey Shots Photography doesn't hurt it either!)

It's even a perfect place for the Easter bunny to hide Easter eggs! ;)

Collectors Must have: Custom built shelving

My name is Tracy and I have an addiction: IRONSTONE! I love white ironstone! I love the history, the simplicity and the ability to mix it in with any set of dishes or serving pieces. Not only is it beautiful it's also practical. The one issue I was having was a way to display my ironstone. During the holidays I would also need a way to display my Department 56 Christmas in the City village (another addiction my hubby just LOVES-ok no he doesn't). Well, I'd say I found the perfect solution...I would build custom shelving units to sit on the built-in buffet I had built in the dining room, sounds easy enough!

I started measuring and sketching it out of course! So I came up with a plan and now time find the time...I would never have the time if I waited for the perfect moment so off to Home Depot I went. When I did this project my son was VERY young so juggling that was fun. I actually remember setting up the painting of the shelves just outside his bedroom window so when he woke up I would hear him! My point, there is not perfect time but us gals tend to be resourceful when we are determined!

I do not claim to be a finish carpenter but I know enough to get by! I used squared dowels for shelf supports and for the plate holders on the back of the shelf. I also thought ahead for the Christmas village display and made it so I could flip the shelves over and have a flat surface (no plate bar in back) to accommodate the Christmas houses. I also drilled holes in the back middle of all shelves so I could run the cords. I used white for most of the unit but painted the back a deeper green to make the ironstone stand out and to match my dining room.

For me putting the piece together is about measuring, cutting and piecing together. Think of a craft with paper, scissors and glue but you are using wood, saw and a nail gun (well and some wood glue). If you simplify and think of it in small steps its much easier to tackle!

Adding Frost to the {Sun}Light: Frosted bathroom window

This is an easy, yet practical one!  The kids bathroom had a window just above the toilet.  I appreciate the fact it lets in light so it's not a small dungeon type room but it forgoes privacy since we could see the side of the neighbors house, including part of their front porch.  What a way to meet your neighbors!  I have used a spray frost product before with ease and loved the results...so why not again?  I thought about the typical blinds and curtains but it's a kids bathroom and we know how kids can be with things such as blinds or curtain.  Then you still run into the issue of if they aren't closed there is no privacy anyways.  Oh not to mention who would be responsible for opening and closing these things...I think we all know where that is going!

So I used blue painters tape and taped off the window and then protected potential overspray areas with newspaper.  I sprayed one coat, walked away (maybe ran away because of the fumes!!!) for 10 minutes and sprayed another coat.  This stuff is stinky I will warn you!  Don't overspray the coats, just plan to do 2 coats, that should cover the area nicely.  When dry I removed the tape and newspaper and viola...frosted glass window for about 5$, instant privacy and the sunlight can still flow in!