Tutorials

Part One: Finishing The Basement

April 26, 2013 By Stacy 12 Comments

If you remember back at the beginning of the year I did a post on our home goals for 2013. First up on the list is our basement bathroom. Right now we only have one for all six of us! But before we can do any of the fun stuff, we had to get down and dirty!

The pipes are original to the house (1938) and have holes. They need to be replaced. In order to replace them we needed to tear down the ceiling so the plumber can access them. Our ceiling is made of lathe and plaster.

We wore shower caps (makes clean up faster for our hair), safety glasses, leather gloves, thick soled shoes, and a mask.

Next time I would probably wear a long sleeved shirt because I ended up with a few small scratches. It wasn’t a big deal but a long sleeved shirt would have helped. We always stand to the side when tearing down a section so we didn’t have issues with it falling on our heads but it might be a good idea to wear a hat as well.

SAFETY FIRST!!!

(The outside was dark grey but the inside was white!)

This is what lathe and plaster lookS like in case you have not seen it before:

We used a crowbar and hammer to remove the ceiling. The lathe (the boards) is held on by tiny nails. Once you pry one end off you can pull the rest down. The plaster will come off in chunks with it.

Be careful where you step because not only are the ends of the lathe pointy but they may have nails in them.

We worked slowly and methodically because of all the pipes and wires. The plaster got thrown away and the lathe got added to my ever growing wood pile. I swept up what I could and then used the shop vac to get the rest of the dust. We had the whole thing done in a few hours.

Sometimes progress isn’t pretty. But hey, it’s progress, right?

What is the dirtiest job you have ever tackled? I would love to hear!

Filed Under: Projects, Tutorials 12 Comments

Office Closet Makeover {The Big Reveal!}

April 15, 2013 By Stacy 30 Comments

After surviving spring break with the kids home, two bouts of the stomach flu, and what seemed like endless days of dark gloomy skies, I FINALLY had a day where I could do a photo shoot for my office closet makeover. We had a sunny day and my husband was home to wrangle the kids :)

I think I need to give you a little reminder of what it looked like before. It was bad. Brace yourselves….

So you can see why I needed to overhaul the whole thing, right? And sad but true, this “before” was actually after I had bought totes and sort of organized it. The problem was that the totes were piled so deep in the shelves that I had to unload them all to get to the totes that were in the back. It was not very functional I needed to somehow get everything out front and center.

One of the ways I did that was by adding pegboard. I was not utilizing the wall space across from the shelves before. So by adding the pegboard, I instantly added a TON of storage. And the best part is that everything is right there and easy to grab. No more unloading a million totes to find something.

I bought the pegboard from Home Depot and decided to keep it white since the wall were a darker color (Peacock Blue by Glidden mixed in Behr Ultra). The pegs, hooks, and baskets came in a “starter kit” box that was a really good deal (also from HD). The baskets were black so I spray painted them silver to match everything else.

The turquoise long metal container started out white. It came from IKEA and I spray painted it. The smaller silver buckets also came from IKEA.

I love that the colors of the tools add to the fun :)

I love my polka dot lamp shade :) I bought a basic white shade from IKEA. Then I cut out circles from vinyl and stuck them on the shade like stickers. I then spray painted it lightly. If you spray too much and it gets saturated, when you turn the light on the shade will look uneven.

I love the bookshelf!!! I wanted the closet to look like the rest of the office as much as possible. So I bought the same baskets and canvas boxes. I built the peacock blue boxes out of scrap plywood and painted them. The light turquoise baskets are also from IKEA but they started out white. I spray painted them.

(Do you see the same baskets and storage boxes?)

(I had to hang out the office window to get these shots! The closet in in the corner of the room and it was so hard to get his angle)

The shelves got a makeover too. The were just simple plywood shelves we put up soon after moving here. Functional but not pretty. Added some molding and stained them with Walnut Gel Stain from Minwax. I put everything that didn’t fit in a cute bin on these shelves. Because this is above the stairs that go to our basement it is on an angle. SO the top shelf is 41 inches deep, the middle shelf is 31 inches deep and the bottom shelf is 21 inches deep.

Underneath the bottom shelf was shallow enough that I didn’t think it was worth adding a fourth shelf. But I wanted to take advantage of the space. I hung hooks under and put some empty paint cans filled with more DIY goodies in them. Did you know you can buy paint cans like this with out any paint? They were less than $5 each at Home Depot. And since my closet is all about DIY I thought they were fitting :) I cut out vinyl lettering to label them.

Here are some of the during shots :) Even the floors got a makeover!

I know there is a ton of stuff crammed into this 3 foot by 3 foot closet, but it has made my DIY life so much easier! And I am even going to keep the door off because I like seeing it all organized and pretty.

To see my full office read this post. And to see my computer hutch I recently finished for my office read this post.

Filed Under: Decorating, Painting, Power Tools, Projects, staining, Tutorials 30 Comments

Armoire turned Computer Cabinet

March 27, 2013 By Stacy 32 Comments

We are probably the most un-tech savvy family ever. Everything we have is old. I just got my first cell phone a year and a half ago. And we still have a land line. So it was big deal for us to upgrade and get a new computer!

Our computer was almost 10 years old which in computer years is like 12,587. Sheesh! No wonder why it didn’t work.

We got our new computer from Staples. P.S. I was surprised at how many different things Staples carries. I think I am officially addicted to office supplies. My hubby and are were not super picky but we definitely wanted something with a lot of storage. Between taking pictures of my 4 kids to the blogging pics, I need STORAGE baby :) We got an HP and I love it! I am still trying to get used to Window 8 though. Please tell me it grows on you!

(source: Staples)

So our new computer was going to need a home…..

When I finished my office over a year ago, the plan was to turn our old armoire into a computer hutch. Yeah…… It has sat there this whole time, almost empty. Why are the little, easy projects the ones I always put off? Getting the new computer was a much needed kick in the pants to get this project done.

This armoire was the very first piece of furniture my husband and I bought together. We had been married for a month. We used it for clothes since our tiny apartments had tiny closets.

Ever since we moved to this home (about 6 years ago) it has been kind of useless. It held random things. So I am happy to have it actually functioning now!

The only thing I really had to do was add a sliding shelf for the keyboard and cut a hole in the back for cords. Easy, right?

I cut a 1″x12″ board to the right width, stained it to match, and added drawer slides to the sides. The drawer slides are about a 1/2 inch each so I subtracted an inch from the width of the inside of the hutch to figure out the width of the board.

One easy change and it has a whole new function!

I also decided to add some magnetic paint, chalkboard paint, cork board, and dry erase vinyl to the inside of the panel doors.

(See our home phone? We are probably one of the last people in America to still have a land line :P)

The chalkboard section I put at the bottom because I figured my 3 year old would want to use it too. It is right at his level. I try hard to not be on the computer during the day very much, but if I am, he can be a little helper.

I happened to have some dry erase vinyl on hand but they also sell dry erase paint. Rustoleum is the brand, which is also the same brand as the chalkboard and magnetic paint. I had to paint 6 or 7 coats of the magnetic paint to get it to hold the big heavy magnet clips.

The baskets on top and the file folders (I painted them blue) are from IKEA and the chair is the chair I painted. It has held up really well! The drawers hold printer paper an other supplies.

I am sure as I use this more and see what works and what doesn’t, that I can make little changes. But for now I am having fun with my new blogging space. I love that I can close the doors and the mess and work is hidden. I am kind of OCD like that, hence the desk with nothing on it! What about you? What is your work space like?

Full disclosure, Staples provided me with this computer. The words and opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own. To see the full line of computers visit Staples.com.

Filed Under: Decorating, Furniture, Painting, Projects, Tutorials 32 Comments

Closet Makeover Part 1: PaintStick Review

March 21, 2013 By Stacy 18 Comments

I get emails asking me to review products a lot. Most I pass on for various reasons. But I got an email the other day that I decided to look in to a little bit more. I watched the videos on HomeRight’s site for their PaintStick and was actually really excited to try it out, so I said yes. After I said yes (I am going to be honest here folks) I worried it was a case of “infomercial hype”. You know, you are watching TV late and see an infomercial and you HAVE to have the pasta maker, juicer or ab roller thingy? But then when it comes you realize it is not all it was cracked up to be?

So I was a little hesitant to use it. I am an old school person and I don’t usually use “gadgets”.

BUT…..

I love it :)

Here is why I said “yes”:

One of the biggest selling points for me was the fact that I would not need a paint tray. I am always paranoid that the paint tray will spill or I will step in it. Any mess I have had while painting was because of a tray. It is also so awkward to try to balance a paint tray on a ladder while painting high.

Also I loved the fact that you waste less paint doing it this way. I hate having to try to get all the extra paint back into the can. If you watch the video you will see how cool it is that you can “spit” the paint back into the can.

They have a paint stick that has a push handle, one that has a twist handle, and they even have a short handle for tight spaces. I used the Easy Twist handled one since it was the longest. SO no matter what project you are doing, it will work for you.

I had a closet that needed a major overhaul. I decided to put the PaintStick to work in there. I put the special top on that they provide. It has a tube. Then you stick the valve onto the tube and pull the handle to fill it with paint. The paint sucks up into the handle so easily as long as you hold the handle high enough. (It helps to watch the videos)

You have to slowly push (or twist) the handle to send the paint to the roller. It takes a bit so be patient. When it first comes out it will be spotty. It will take almost a whole handle-full to get it going. Then I filled it again and really started painting! It was awesome! The coverage was amazing. Part of that is because probably because of the Behr Ultra paint, but a lot is due to how this roller system works. I did ONE coat and then minor touch ups.

You can’t see it in these pictures but my closet is over our stairs so one side goes up in an angle. We have shelves on that side too. So I was worried that painting it would be difficult. But the EZ Twist was long enough to reach the ceiling and waaaay back inside the shelves.

I can’t wait to show you the completed, newly organized, pretty closet. But this is all you get for now :) Doesn’t that color rock? The color is Peacock Blue by Glidden but mixed in Behr Ultra.

Okay, so what is my overall thoughts on the PaintStick now that I am done? Let’s break it down.

PROS:

No paint tray! Less mess :)

It was not as heavy as I thought it would be

It took a lot less time to paint and the coverage was a lot better

It was very easy to use and their site has excellent videos/instructions

CONS:

I normally throw away the roller covers when I am done so the clean up (while easy) was more than what I normally do.

The roller covers are more expensive that a typical cover. You can’t use regular rollers covers. Since the PaintStick needs to feed paint to the roller, there needs to be perforated holes. They sell for $5.97 at Home Depot. But given the amount of time I saved I think I am okay with it. Plus, I washed this one so I will get multiple uses out of it. I may end up evening out since I am not throwing them away as much :)

So this time the product lived up to the hype for me. I am happy I tried it and my husband can’t wait to try it out for himself. He is not old school and LOVES gadgets :)

What do you think? Would you ever try it? Or have you already?

This is a sponsored post on behalf of HomeRight but the thoughts and opinions are all mine baby! See my disclosure for further details.

Filed Under: Painting, Reviews, Tutorials 18 Comments

Upholstered Bench

March 11, 2013 By Stacy 26 Comments

I built this bench when we first moved in this house which was long before I started blogging. We had poured all our money into buying the home and had very little left over to furnish it. We needed more seating so I used some particle board, a little foam, batting, some 4×4′s, and fabric I got for free to build a tufted upholstered bench.

When I redecorated my family room recently, I needed to reupholster it to match the new decor. It would have been a good idea to have taken a picture of it while it was torn apart but it was one of those “I forgot I was a blogger” moments that has me hitting my forehead and saying “DUH!” But I think it is simple enough that showing you the underneath and talking you through it you will totally get it. If not, you can email me and ask any other questions :)

I built a basic box. I have 4 little boys and little boys like to jump on things so I added boards across the center to give more support.

I noticed that it had a little bit of a creaky noise if you moved around when sitting on it so I used caulk along to the seams to quiet that. It is one of my little secrets :) Caulk is awesome!

I then cut a 4×4 post into the 4 legs and screwed them into place.

Before I added the foam and batting I measured where I wanted to buttons to be and drilled holes with a drill bit that was slightly bigger than the needle I would be using. For each button I drilled 2 holes next to each other about an 8th of an inch apart. Those holes are what the needle goes through when you tuft. And I did two so I could go up through one, then down through the other, and then tie a knot.

Then I cut a 4 inch thick piece of foam to fit the top of the bench. I wrapped batting over that to hide the seam between the wood and the foam.

Now the first time around my mom offered to sew the top because she is my mom and knows me well. I am not a very good seamstress. After breaking a record number of needles in Home Ec in Jr. High I was politely asked to just observe the others for the rest of the term….. seriously. BUT this time I was determined to try it on my own. After a quick lesson from my mom I did it myself! And unsupervised to boot. And I would love to point out that the fabric is STRIPED. Small stripes that were a bugger to line up and keep all pretty.

(an instagram of me sewing the cover….my only proof I did it :P )

Since I barely survived sewing it, I do not think I am the right person to do a tutorial. If you need more info you can email me or search online for instructions. Or you could borrow my mom. She is pretty sweet :)

Not only did I conquer the stripes, but it fit like a glove. I slipped it on and then flipped the whole thing over. I used a stapler to attached the fabric to the underside. It took a long time. I wanted to make sure that the seam wasn’t being pulled more in one spot than another. I wanted everything straight as possible. And I had to make sure the corner seams were right at the corner of the bench.

Once it was all covered it was time to tuft.

I LOVE these little button kits. I buy them at WalMart. They make fabric cover buttons.

(source: dritz.com)

I bought a big ‘ole needle at a fabric store. It is 8 inches long. I have heard of people using fishing line or coat thread as their thread but I actually used non waxed dental floss, doubled up. This is my third tufted project. The first that I did was about 8 years ago. Dental floss has always worked well for me. But you can use anything that is strong and doesn’t stretch.

Like I mentioned before, I stick the needle up through the bottom (hole #1), I thread the button on, and poke the needle through the top going down to the bottom again through the second hole.

I have a helper push down on the button (so that it has that indent you want with tufting) while I tie a triple knot below. Ten buttons later I was done!

This project from start to finish is a big project. It is fairly simple but it is time consuming. But I am thankful I did it and have no regrets because I adore it. I also was able to have seating when we had very little money.

We also use it as an ottoman/coffee table when we need to. And my hubby and I have also been known to play board games on it as well. I know, don’t be jealous of our super adventurous lifestyle…… We are pretty wild around here :P

Where ever it is in the room, it is gorgeous!

Which place is your favorite?

Filed Under: Decorating, Power Tools, Projects, Tutorials 26 Comments

How To Build A Card Catalog

January 21, 2013 By Stacy 47 Comments

I have always wanted a piece of furniture with a bunch of tiny drawers. My mom had a spice cabinet on the wall of our kitchen growing that I would hide all sorts of treasures in. As I grew up I wanted my boys to have something similar. What I really wanted was a card catalog. I have actively searched for one for one for about three years. And the ones I found were either too big or too expensive. Every once in a while I would find a decently priced one on ebay but then I would notice the shipping. The shipping more often than not was more than the price of the cabinet!

So when I was in the planning stages of my family room renovation, I decided to figure out how to build one and make it look like an antique.

Before I show the tutorial, let me apologize for the crappy cell phone pics. I do a lot of my DIYing at night when my kids are in bed and since I was doing this project indoors (because of record low temps this winter) it got pretty dusty in my dining room so I didn’t want to pull out my nice camera. They won’t win any photography awards but you will get the idea :)

The building………

You basically start with a box. Make the dimensions fit your own space but be smart and make sure with the size that you choose, you will have the least amount of cutting possible to eliminate extra work. For example…..

I am old school. I should one day learn sketch-up or some other computer program but for now I really enjoy just drawing out my ideas on paper. I had it all done. The dimensions, shopping list, cut list, etc. And then I lost it. I was pretty confident that I remembered everything so I went to the store and bought the lumber. I had remember the width of the box being 18 inches. So that is how it was cut. But what it really was, was 18 inches on the inside of the box, not the outside. If I had made it 19 1/2 inches like it was suppose to be, the 1×6 boards I was using for the drawer fronts (which due to planing/sanding are really 5 1/2 inches) would have worked perfectly and I would not have had to cut them down. Instead, I ended up having to shave some off with a saw. Just something to think about when you are doing the math.

I went with a mitered joint since you would see the edges and because I was choosing to stain and not paint.

Then it is time to do the insert. You can do one of two things…..

Here are some lovely sketches. The first is just like the shoe cubbies you can buy for cheap at Target or Walmart that you put together your self. There are notches that slide together.

The second way is to screw the pieces together using a Kreg Jig. I used one on the barnwoood cupboard I built awhile ago and you can buy a small inexpensive one like the one I have.

Kreg R3 Jr. Pocket Hole Jig System

Here is a good look at the joint up close.

(image source)

If you go this route make sure and put the screws on the bottom so you will not see them. I know the drawers will be in the cubbies they create but it will just look better ( in case you take the drawer out) if the screws are hidden.

Okay, if you cut everything right your insert should slide right in. If it is too tight, just use a hand sander ( don’t use a belt sander since they eat through wood VERY quickly) and sand it down a bit. If it is too small and there are gaps, then cut a thin piece of wood to act as a shim between the box and the insert.

Luckily mine was a perfect fit :)

I then nailed it into place with my brad nailer. I draw a line across so I know where to nail.

This was the easy part. Now on the the tedious job of making all 12 drawers!

I cut all the the wood except for the ply wood I used for the drawers. Home Depot will cut wood for you so to cut down on my work load I decided to have them rip cut the ply wood into 4 1/2 inch strips. That way I just had to come home and use the miter saw to cut them to the right length. I do not have a table saw and this would eliminate having to ~~mooch~~ ask our neighbor to use theirs AGAIN.

I chose 1/4 inch plywood because the thinner the drawer sides the bigger the inside of the drawer. That was my reasoning. I had used 1/4 inch ply wood on my son’s floating side table drawer and it worked out pretty good. BUT I will say that it is very hard to nail the brad nail into such a thin board without it missing. I would recommend using 1/2 ply wood for the drawer sides, back and bottom.

I wanted the drawer to be shallower than the cubby it was going in so it could have some wiggle room. You don’t want it to be the same height or it will get stuck easily.

I cut the drawer fronts one at a time. I measured each individual cubby, then cut the drawer front for that specific cubby, and then labled it with a number. There are bound to be tiny imperfections ( something bog ones) so even if it only off my a 1/16th or 1/8th of an inch, it will look better if you cut them one at a time to have a nice fit.

I knew I was going to be sanding mine quite a bit to make it look aged so I was okay if the fit was a little tight. If you want to sand it, keep that in mind.

As far as how I got the drawer fronts to be nailed on with out too many nails missing their mark, I hot glued a tiny dot on each drawer and stick the front on. Once it was stuck, I drew a line (like shown above) to know where to nail. The thicker the wood the bigger the target and the less likely you are to have a nail miss. That is why the 1/2 inch would be easier.

I puttied the crap out of it. I always add more than maybe what I need because you can always sand it off, but that way you don’t have to go back and add more. ALWAYS use a paint-able, sand-able, stain-able putty. And pick the color closest to the color you will be staining. Especially if you are going to stain.

The staining…….

I wanted it to have an aged look. It is easy to get an aged look if you paint something. You either sand it or you glaze it (or both). Aging something stained is a whole other ball game. If you look at a real antique, it looks almost rubbed off. It is smooth and lighter in those areas. I had actually never tried to age a stained piece so this was an experiment for me.

I applied a thick coat of Minwax’s oil based stain in Dark Walnut. (This method will only work with oil based stain. Do not use water based) Instead of following the directions and letting it sit for a bit and then wiping off the excess stain, I let it sit for quite awhile. I let it sit to the point of it being almost dry. It was sticky. And very dark. You couldn’t see a lot of the wood grain. I then got a cloth and wiped it. I had to wipe hard and almost buff it because it was so sticky. And at first the fibers from the rag were sticking and I thought “Crap! What have I done?” But as I kept rubbing along the wood grain it began to get better.

I thought about the places that would normally get worn, like the edges, and the top where things would get set. I rubbed those areas more and it took off more stain. You have to play around with it. There were a few places I took too much off so I lightly brushed a little more stain over it and it was fine.

Once I got it to where I wanted it I let it completely dry over night. The next day I looked at it with fresh eyes and realized I wanted it a little more worn. Since the stain was dry at this point I got a very fine sand paper (220 grit) and ever so lightly sanded a few more spots. The sanding worked but didn’t look as good as the other way.

I normally use Minwax’s polyurethane to seal and finish off a piece but since I was going for a worn look and since antique stained pieces have a rubbed look, I decided to go with a wax this time. It requires a little more elbow grease to buff, but the look was perfection when I was done!

The hardware…….

I knew the kind of drawer pulls I wanted. I searched online and MAN! They were pricey. I needed twelve and I didn’t want to break the bank. While I was searching for them I saw on my friend Beth’s blog, that she had found the same style I was looking for at a really good price from a place called Van Dykes. I am not sure why or how the site works, but the prices vary all the time. I got the drawer pulls for like $1.20 each but today the price says $3.50 each and I think Beth got them for $2 something.

I knew they would be too shiny and new for my aged card catalog but I knew a trick…..

A long time ago my mom told me about soaking metal in ammonia to age it. I did it for the first time about 10 years ago on the yellow side table in my front room. So I did it again for these.

The first that will happen after a few days, is the clear ammonia will turn blue. Then clear coating will dissolve and they will look dull. After that is when it starts to get darker.

*A little tip….. If you don’t watch it close and it goes too dark, then you can stick it in new (clear) ammonia for a few seconds and it will lighten. And if you lighten it too much you can stick it back in the blue used ammonia. BUT be careful how long you let it soak because eventually it will eat through the metal coating down to the real metal it is made out of. These pulls were made out of copper and a few of them have the copper peeking through.

Filed Under: Furniture, Power Tools, Projects, staining, Tutorials 47 Comments

Holiday Decor {made from duct tape}

December 4, 2012 By Stacy 17 Comments

Hold on. Don’t go anywhere. Did the phrase duct tape scare you a little when paired with holiday decor? Cause I am not going to lie, when I was asked by Scotch Duct Tape to create something for the holidays with Scotch Colors and Patterns Duct Tape I was a little baffled as to what I could do. BUT after a little brainstorming, one idea lead to another and then another. And I am THRILLED with how my two projects turned out!!!

PROJECT #1

I have seen so many versions of Christmas trees made out of the styrofoam cones that I thought I would make my own version using duct tape!

Actually I made two different versions. The first one was two toned. And I unintentionally made a harlequin pattern. I thought it was fun! And I bet you could figure out how to make it a chevron pattern too.

Here is how I did it:

#1 Gather your supplies. I used a styrofoam cone from the craft store and duct tape. I also used scissors. I prefer to cut the tape instead of tearing it.

#2 I don’t work with styrofoam a lot and MAN! It is messy! So I covered the whole thing in a layer of duct tape mainly so it wouldn’t shed everywhere while I was working. But also it helped the other duct tape to stick better.

#3 Cut small pieces of duct tape (about 1 1/2 to 2 inches) Fold thetop edges in to create a point. ***If you always fold down the ripped or cut edge, then you piece will all be the same width. If you fold down the smooth, original edge they will not*** I learned that the hard way and if you look at my two toned tree you can tell they are different sizes.

#4 Start adding the pointed pieces to the bottom and work your way up. stack them off set like a brick pattern.

Project #2

My kids wanted a project they could do. But the tree projects took a long time (at least in kid time!) So this next project was born :) I took the same idea of folding the pieces of duct tape but added them to a styrofoam egg instead. It was much faster to make and it wasn’t as big of a deal if the points all lined up. Perfect for the kids to do!

For more project ideas follow Scotch Duct Tape on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter!

Scotch Duct Tape’s Facebook page

Scotch Duct Tape’s Twitter page

Scotch Duct Tape’s Pinterest page

This post is a collaboration with Scotch Colors and Patterns Duct Tape. To see more creative projects, visit www.ScotchDuctTape.com.

Filed Under: Kids Activities, Projects, Tutorials, Winter/Christmas 17 Comments

How To Build A Simple Cupboard

November 16, 2012 By Stacy 13 Comments

I am excited to have another project for my new family room crossed off my list! And I am going to show you how I built it today :)

I am just sharing the basic cupboard today. You will have to wait for the room reveal to see it all styled, what goes inside, and how it looks with everything else.

The idea for this cupboard all started with a light switch…..

This light switch was in an awkward spot as far as decorating goes because there really wasn’t anything I could put on the wall right there. I tried putting a wreath once even though I am not a big wreath person (GASP! Did I just admit that?!?). But it fell off a lot and I wasn’t in love with the look. So I decided to cover it up :)

These are actually old fence pickets we got for free when someone took down their old fence. I cut them to size using my miter saw. Here are the sizes and how many of each:

There is a piece of plywood measuring 18×16 that will be for the back. The 18 inch boards will be for the door. The 16, and 16 3/4 inch boards will build the basic box of the cupboard. I decided to do butt joints with this cupboard instead of mitering the edges. So the reason I don’t have two 16 and then two 18 inch boards (since the cupboard will be 16×18 when done) is because two of the boards will be sitting inside of the other two to form the box. You need to measure the thickness of two boards together and minus that from the length, hence 16 3/4 instead of 18 inches.

Here is an example of a box that was mitered:

And here is an example of a butt joint which is the type of joint I did this time:

After I cut the boards I sanded the crap out of them. I wanted them as smooth possible. This will be a cupboard that will get opened and closed a lot so I didn’t want there to be any chance of getting a sliver.

Because I was going to be putting it over the light switch I needed to cut out a hole in the plywood back. (If you are not going to put yours over a light switch then you can obviously skip this step) I put a little toothpaste on the switch then held the board up to where I wanted it on the wall. I pushed it into the toothpaste to mark where the switch was. Then I traced the light switch plate. I wanted a little bit of wiggle room so I used the switch plate as a straight edge and made it a little bigger.

Then you need to drill a hole big enough for the jigsaw blade to fit through and then use the jigsaw to cut out the rectangle.

Here is the box all put together. The thinner 18 inch board will be nailed to the box because the hinges will attached to it later.

Now on to the door :)

To attach the 18 inch boards together I used a kreg jig and drilled at an angle. That way I was able to screw one board into the other. (sorry for the crappy cell phone pic taken at night)

I didn’t like the look of it and even though it was on the inside of the cupboard I wanted to add some trim.

To hang it I just screwed it directly into the wall.

When I cut the wood the ends were not grey like the rest of the boards so I stained the ends ( and the back) using Minwax’s Weathered Oak.

(source)

I love the look of the butt joint for this cupboard because of the barn wood. It seems very primitive and rustic. If I had built it our of new wood I would have done a mitered joint.

I can’t wait to get building the biggest project of all for my family room. It is going to be EPIC!!!

Filed Under: Decorating, Power Tools, Projects, Tutorials 13 Comments

Checking for Lead Paint {3M DIY Safety}

October 30, 2012 By Stacy 15 Comments

Lets chat about lead paint. As I am sure most of you know, lead was used in some paints in the US until 1978. It is harmful if the paint chips are eaten or if the dust is inhaled. It is particularly dangerous to young children (they are always putting things in their mouth!) and pregnant women. (for more details about lead paint visit the EPA’s website)

When we moved into our home that was built in 1938 lead paint was a concern for us. We had our home tested by a professional and there was luckily no amount of lead detected. But when you buy old pieces of furniture that you would like to refinish, antique toys to display, or other old items, you don’t want to pay a professional to test them every time.

{Sneak peek of my project}

Here is a short video on how you can test for lead paint……

Since my frame tested positive for lead, I cleaned it with damp paper towels, I primed it with an oil based primer and then spray painted it with Rustoluem X2 in Heirloom White.

We just got new family pictures and I can’t wait to see how they look in this *new* frame!!!

You also get a sneak peek of my new paint color! I love it :)

Here is a link showing all the places you can but the Lead Check tests:

http://leadcheck.com/where-buy-0

3m also offers a ton of other safety gear. Make sure any time you tackle a DIY project that you are using the right safety gear for the job. For more project ideas and safety tips you can visit their DIY website, 3MDIY.com.

You can like them on Facebook here:3M DIY on Facebook

And follow them on twitter here:3M DIY on Twitter

You can also enter to win all the 3M safety products in this sweepstakes!

This is a sponsored post in behalf of 3M. The thoughts and opinions are all mine.

Filed Under: Decorating, Painting, Projects, Tutorials 15 Comments

Trellis {from my Secret Garden}

August 31, 2012 By Stacy 17 Comments

Remember when I posted my “final” Secret Garden post? But then I remembered I forgot one of the projects? *sigh* That is what I get for writing my posts at night… late at night.

Here is the trellis from my Secret Garden.

This is what it started out as…..

I took the rounded swirly parts off from the sides. I sanded, primed, and painted them. Then I Screwed them together and used wire to attach them to the fence. I really want to add a metal rod to the bottom that would go into the ground and would keep the wood off the ground. I have an early blooming white clematis growing on it. I can’t wait for spring to see the huge white blooms again!