creative little daisy

Because I love a good challenge...

My new friend Linda who blogs at It All Started With Paint, has put forth a very intriguing challenge. Tackle that project you have feared, dreaded, or just plain believed impossible. The time has come to stop putting it off, look that project in the eye and tell it who's the boss. Turn your impossible projects into impossiblities.

Linda plans to finally give her master bedroom the makeover she's been dreaming of by facing her fear of heights. She has mile high vaulted ceilings in her bedroom, well maybe I exaggerate, but man, she's going to need a ladder and a long roller handle. How about cutting in? How will she do that? Is she scared? Yes, but she her desire for a newly decorated sanctuary is stronger than her fears.

I had to think a bit before settling on what would be my impossiblility. Not much in the realm of DIY scares me. Many shake at the thought of painting their kitchen cabinets. I've painted mine a few times.

I've tackled slipcovers, I've changed light fixtures. The one thing I've yet to attempt is building something from wood. I don't mind using power tools. I just get all anxious at the idea of precision cuts and joining wood.

When I gave my bar a makeover I cannot tell you how many cuts I had to redo. That old measure twice cut once adage, how about measure three or four times and still cut half a dozen times.

I got a Kreg Jig for my birthday, and it's still in the box. I see other bloggers using plans from the amazingly talented and generous Anna White and I want to be able to say I built a book case or a bench. I just haven't been able to face my fears and just try. I get dizzy just thinking about the math involved. Did you know a 2x4 does not actually measure 2 inches by 4 inches?

I have a sofa table pinned that John of Young House of Love made. I have the same sectional, so I know the dimensions he used will work for me. I pinned it with the intention of convincing Mitch to make it. He really deserves a break from my never ending honey-do list, so I'm taking Linda's challenge. I'm going to build that sofa table. I think I can, I think I can...

What can you say about caulk?

It's messy, it's tedious, it's not the least bit fun, and for the most part, no one ever even notices it, if it's done right that is. People get all excited about paint. Throw some wood on the walls and it's a party. Caulk is like the eyebrow or moustache waxing of DIY. It doesn't get much attention unless you don't do it.

Yesterday I caulked the stairs. It took a long time, a lot of tape and pretty near a whole roll of paper towels.

This is what the stairs looked like after staining the treads and painting the risers. Not too good. That's a bummer. You do all that work and stand back to admire the lovely....cracks. Even though I spent hours sanding and staining, sanding more and applying polyurethane. Taping and priming and painting. Three coats. It looked like crap. All you could see was cracks and imperfections.

Now, let me say, there will be no after photos of perfection. I'm not a great caulker, but it will pass, and there are no glaring cracks staring at me.

More importantly in this case, there are no cracks for hot or cold air to creep through.

I'm not going to give a tutorial on caulking.

I'm in no way qualified. But I did find a product recently that makes me dread the job less.

Caulk-EZ

I'm not in any way being compensated for mentioning Caulk-EZ. I just happened to come across it when searching tips on removing old caulk.

There is a video on the site that shows how to use it. Basically you just run your bead of caulk and spray the Caulk-EZ along the line, then run your finger along the line, like you normally would.

The caulk smooths out beautifully. It doesn't get all over the surrounding area, and though it still gets on your fingers, it's much less messy.

I used one roll of paper towels, as opposed to two, but I'm the messiest DIYer ever.

By no means perfect, but no more cracks and gaps

Now excuse me, I have about 20 more things I need to mark off the to-do list to get that room finished.

 

PS

On an entirely different note, I need help with my blog. I have been reluctant to admit that. I've always just played around with the layout, and through trial and error got things somewhat presentable. These days, I can barely find the time to post, much less to tweak the blog design. I don't make money on the blog, so it's hard to justify forking out big bucks to make it pretty. If there is anyone out there interested in helping a sister out, maybe we could work out some sort of trade. Free advertising? Cheap labor? I'm pretty good with a sewing machine... 

 

Palletless Pallet Wall how to~

I usually like to share thrifty decorating solutions.

This was one occasion when we decided we'd rather spend

a little money and save a lot of time and effort.

The product I used for my wood plank wall

is v groove wood planks by

EverTrue,

sold in packs of 6 eight foot long planks.

The package says it will cover 14 sq feet.

Our wall is 11 feet wide by 8 feet tall

or 88 square feet, so we bought seven packs.

I also bought three small cans of wood stain,

a light shade, a dark shade and gray.

The light shade was golden oak.

Don't buy this unless you're going for the color of mustard. Blech!

That other can is one I already had.

I usually buy Minwax stain, but I decided to give the Rustoleum a try.

I liked it. Especially the gray.

I stained all of the boards, brushing the stain on, letting it sit a couple of minutes,

then wiped off the excess.

Some I just used the gray stain, some the dark. For some I dry brushed the dark over the gray

and others I stained dark then brushed the gray over.

I was just going for old looking and

wanted quite a bit of variation in colors.

I brought them into the room and laid them out,

according to color.

The foreman was present, to make sure the job was done right,

as usual.

Mitch did the first few rows, before he had to go to work and I finished it up.

He started by finding the studs to determine where we would nail,

but these guys are so light, you don't really have to hit a stud.

There was no formula to our cuts,

we just knew we wanted it to look random, no pattern.

When we got to the outlets, Mitch notched out around them.

He used a coping saw, but said a utility knife would probably work.

We attached them to the wall with an air powered stapler. (from Harbor Freight)

Again, being supervised every step of the way.

The boards are tongue and grove so they lock together.

I was able to put up several rows before actually securing

them to the wall,

That allowed me to be sure I was happy with the layout.

We started at the floor and luckily it worked out

that I was able to finish with a full sized board at the ceiling.

The only place we had to cut the width of the boards was just above and below the window.

Mitch made those cuts and used a box cutter. 

The back of the planks have channels or grooves you can follow for cutting.

You can see in the photo below, the piece above the window

is pretty thin and it broke before I got it installed.

I taped it together and kept installing,

Once it was all up we removed the tape

and patched it with wood putty.

It blended right in.

This is one time I'm so happy Mitch didn't want to go along

with my plan. Shhh, don't tell him I said that.

Remember, the room is unfinished.  Excuse the unpainted window trim.

Don't mind the saw on the floor and the ladder in the corner.

Or the bare light bulb hanging from the ceiling.

We can't seem to find the light fixtures we

purchased at IKEA.

It's a bit of a mess around here.

Finishing up this wall has given me

an extra little push to forge ahead.

It's nice to see my vision coming to life.

 

Sharing is fun! Check out these parties~

 

The palletless pallet wall

We are nearing the finish line with Alyssa's attic apartment.

Mostly finish work,

painting, installing shelves,

bringing in furniture.

Yes the end is in sight.

So what does that have to do with pallets?

I had a definite vision for the room .

White walls, dark floors with some rustic and industrial accents.

I've already shared the barn door that leads to the attic.

The oposite wall was to be covered in wood slats from pallets.

(Real Housewives of Bucks County)

I shared the above photo with Mitch.

He liked it. Phew, that was a relief.

Not because he wants (or gets) a lot of say so in the details of decorating,

but because I knew I'd be needing his help.

I found a source for as many pallets as it would take

but when the time came to go get them,

he started giving me all the reasons it may not work.

Pallets are very heavy-

they are super rough, do you know how rough they are?

Do you know how hard it's going to be to get them apart?

Do you know how many it will take to do a whole wall?

Do you realize how heavy they are?

Finally I acted like any mature and understanding wife and said

just forget about it.

And I went outside to pout and paint baseboards.

While I was painting and pouting, a conversation was taking place in my head.

A good vs. evil conversation.

I'll spare you the details, and just say good won out.

As much as I wanted to pout, all I could think about was how hard

he works and all that he does for me and our family.

I was the one who wanted the pallet wall,

but he would be the one doing most of the work.

I wasn't ready to give up my vision for the room entirely,

I just knew I had to come up with a different plan.

(The Lettered Cottage)

I was looking at this photo on Pinterest, because of the daybed.

We are going to make a window seat/bed for Bayleigh and want to do something like this.

Then I noticed the wall behind the bed.

If you read the post, the boards on the wall are from an old gymnasium floor.

Cool. I just need to find some old gym floor boards.

Yea, like that's likely to happen.

But then (probably the same night)  I saw this.

(Beneath my Heart)

And the wheels began to turn.

I wanted the look of old aged wood,

but something I could handle myself.

Bingo!

This is what I bought, the same planks Traci was using on her ceiling.

I bought them at Lowe's.

Six eight foot planks to a pack.

For some reason, I expected them to be around ten dollars a pack,

but they were closer to $15 a pack.

That wasn't easy, you know I'm

all about thrifty decorating.

The pallets would have been free.

I decided if I turned out as I hoped, it would be worth the money spent.

I finished the wall today and

it is worth every penny!!!

I. Am. In. LOVE!

Like I said, the room isn't finished, the window has to be painted,

but I couldn't wait to share.

I'll be back tomorrow to share some of the steps I took to get here,

in case you want a non pallet, pallet wall for yourself.

Happy New Year friends!

xo Autum

 

 

Is it possible to make just one?

Maybe for some, but not me.

Once I start, I can't seem to stop.

At least it's a cheap addiction.

And they're pretty.

This was yesterday, as the sun was going down.

And my view this morning as I had my coffee.

I love that each one is a surprise.

Unfolding  is like opening a little present.

I never know what they are going to look like,

although, now that I've made a few dozen,

I've learned where to cut to get diferent effects.

Go get yourself some white paper and scissors. 

If you need help with the folding and cutting,

here are a few different tutorials.

Just know, making paper snowflakes is like eating potato chips,

you can't stop at just one.

Apartment happenings

I haven't updated on Alyssa's apartment in a while.

It has been much slower going than I anticipated,

but I hope we've reached a point where the end is in sight.

If you squint, and crook your head to the side, you can see the end.

Mitch put the flooring down last week.

Allure vinyl planks from Home Depot.

The job foreman was constantly watching over his shoulder to make sure he was doing it right.

There you get a little peek at the barn door Mitch constructed for the attic access.

I've been itching to have a place to use a barn door

since seeing this beauty.

(source)

Mitch quickly squashed my dreams, telling me it wouldn't work.

We need a door that will seal out the heat and cold from the attic.

A sliding door would make it difficult to heat and cool the room efficiently.

What if it isn't on a slider?  What if it actually opens and closes, could we have a barn door then?

That poor man. He puts up with so much from me and my design whims. 

Without argument he went right to building me a barn door.

And a lovely barn door it is.

I will be staining the pine boards and the siding in the center

will be painted white.

The walls will remain white.

 well three of them.

For the wall opposite the barn door wall, I wanted to do a pallet wall.

 

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

The tree is up and has lights.

Working lights.

Not the case when I first put it up.

My prelit tree had roughly 43 working lights.

I bought lights and had fun times stringing them. 

Look at that sweet little baby. 

She went to see a high school production of Alice in Wonderland.

Wearing her Alice dress.

and Alice hairbow.

She really loves Alice.

She's trying hard to be good these days.

She has someone watching over her and reporting back to Santa.

She really wants a good report.

Every morning, first thing, she searches the house for Elfus.

Elfus, like Elvis. She named him all by herself. Pretty clever, don't you think?

 

 

 

Friday wasn't black around here

Call me a wimp, but I stayed  home in bed Thursday night and Friday morning.

No late night/ early morning bargain shopping for me. How about you? Any great deals to be fought over had?

I did venture out Friday afternoon, to Lowes.

It wasn't too crowded and there were no lines at the registers.

I know, where's my sense of adventure?

I bought my Christmas/birthday/anniversary/St. Patrick's day, every holiday for the next two years present.

A new fridge. And dishwasher. 

They were both on sale, a really good sale, like half off on the refrigerator.

I don't have them yet, the lady told me they had a negative two showing up in inventory. 

My appliances are 16 years old, so I'm really excited to be getting shiny new ones.

We had a really nice Thanksgiving and had a surprise visitor.

Right here in my kitchen.

She was surprised to say the least to walk in and see the

big guy in red standing in Nana's kitchen.

She was a little shy, but not at all frightened.

He won her over with the rainbow sock monkey.

He told her his favorite cookie was chocolate chip.

She smiled and said mine too!

A very special thank you to my cousin Cynthia for sharing her sweet husband, aka Santa with us.

I hope to get the Christmas tree up this weekend.

No early decorating here.

I'm old school, and believe you should wait till after Thanksgiving.

I'm also old and dread dragging out all those boxes.

Happy Friday!

I'm want to try to be a better blogger. I used to have no problems blogging.

Even when I didn't have anything special to blog about,

I blabbered on about something.

It kept the blogging muscle toned, so to speak.

Like everything, the more you do it the easier it becomes.

Use it or lose it.

These days I get too caught up in feeling

very insignificant in this world of the

Super Blogger.

Like what I have to say surely doesn't matter

when there are dozens and dozens

of blogs out there that are big and flashy.

I know I've published nearly identical words.

I've said all this before. 

I'm still struggling with it.

I love my blog.

I love the friends I've made through blogging,

I want to be here more.

So forgive me as I struggle with my insecurities and try

 to

restrengthen my blogging muscles.

Happy Friday friends.

Happy Veterans day.

Happy 11-11-11!

I'm going to get a much needed hair cut today.

And color.

I really, really need color.

My roots are about two inches long and very gray. 

Later today Alyssa, Bayleigh and I are driving to

West Virginia for the weekend.

I don't really like long road trips,

but my hair will be cute,

and I will be with my favorite girls.

Happy weekend friends!

I love you bunches!!!

 

 

 

Winner, winner!

I hope you're ready to do some cleaning!

I chose the winner of the SC Johnson Cleaning Kit

using Random Number Generator

and the comment number selected was 18,

which completely coincidentally happened to be my

favorite comment.

Michelle said,

my best cleaning tip... is close the door ;-) it doesn't work for long though.

Love your thinking Michelle, but I'm sorry to say, 

your tip isn't anything new to me.

I've used this method for years ; )

I'll be contacting you Michelle, to get your info.

I really enjoyed reading through all the comments and tips.

The general consensus seems,

it is best to do something every day. 

Thank you to the folks who participated in this giveaway.

I have another coming up soon.

It involves paint and rhymes with tinsel.