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Saturday, February 22, 2014

Anniversary Card for my Husband Discussion Photo

Hi Everyone,
Well, today is not only the first day of the Minnesota State Fair, its also my husbands and mine anniversary today.

As I usually make cards for my family out of wood, I decided to make a unique card for my husband and here it is:

This is based on the Scottish quaich which are small, wooden drinking cups made for special occasions. On the rim is a line from a Robert Browning poem, "Grow old with me for the best is yet to be..."

The cup is made out of a section of a maple tree branch from a friends yard and Im going to oil it later on today.

So, Happy Anniversary Jim and thanks for 32 great years.

Best,

VW

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

My first sketchup of the rocking chair cradle

I mentioned in one of my VLOGs a couple of weeks ago that I am going to make a rocking chair cradle for my brother and his wife who are expecting their first child in January. I am hoping to have it completed by Christmas. I have finished my first draft of the project in Sketchup. I expect to be making some design changes as I mock it up but this is what I am starting out with. I have no idea what kind of joinery I am going to use yet or if those rocker bottoms will even work. It should be interesting...

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Gold Pharmacist Lamp My new favorite gold spray paint

Hi everyone! Happy Wednesday! Im not going to lie ... October has been a little rough on us, dont get me wrong, we are very blessed and thankful that were all healthy and have a roof over our heads, but being in transition is tough. Having your home - your "safe haven", where you have everything and know where everything is, etc. helps you feel like you can take on anything the world can throw at you.

Were still in a (furnished) unit (with all of our belongings (in boxes), including our furniture) waiting for ours to be finished ... well be moving in in a week or so ... or well be looking elsewhere. Needless to say, its really tight in here - especially since this place is smaller than our last. Well be moving some things into a storage unit, once we unpack and see what we really need for the next few months.

Just wanted to share since I havent been commenting (on other blogs) or responding to comments here as much as I have been. So a HUGE thank you for sticking with me while we get things sorted out! You all are the best :)

We may have limited space, but that hasnt stopped us from working on projects!!

A week or so ago, I picked up this little lamp at Home Goods. I havent been near a Home Goods since we lived in Tennessee, so I was beyond excited to be back!! I picked up a yellow console table and this black and silver lamp. Great shape, but why its two colors .. Im not sure .. something that small should be just one color, just saying :)

But it had great lines and was only $30. I havent found one under $80, so I was sold!

First, I sanded it with a fine sanding block, wiped it off, and taped the cord and and where the light bulb goes.

I then primed with my favorite bonding primer - Zinsser Cover Stain, it sticks really well, and once dry has a thick durable coat.

I picked up Brittany Makes favorite gold spray paint at Blick Art Supply when we drove through Chicago. Its a professional artist spray paint, but formulated to stick to almost everything.

Brittanys recommendation definitely didnt fall short! It adhered and covered well, the color was perfect - not too yellow/green and not too rosy, just in the middle, but definitely on the warmer side. This is my go to gold now!

On a funny side note, I was holding the paint can in my legs as I bent down I hit the nozzle against my stomach and the paint went straight through my shirt .. it did come off .. eventually :)

I did one light coat and then a second.

I LOVE how it turned out! Definitely worth a little extra money for the spray paint! Its about $8 vs $4.

I just love it - it makes me smile :)

Did you catch the little sneak peak of our new project? Check back soon for details, but the tutorial will be on Houzz shortly!

Sunday, January 26, 2014

My Crozy Shop Floor Part II The Floor Part

Before getting to the OSB, I fastened the XPS panels to prevent them from shifting. I secured each of the 2 x 8 XPS panels with two (2) Tapcons into the underlying concrete floor. Thats not enough for permanent attachment, but since Id be attaching the OSB through the XPS, it only needed to be attached enough to hold still while I installed it. I started every other row of XPS with a half sheet so that though there were many joints where three (3) panels met, there were no four (4) panel joints.

The corded PC impact driver burnt out after
driving about 2 dozen Tapcons.

After the XPS, I installed the 3/4" tongue and groove OSB. I used a half sheet of OSB on every other row also to achieve the same 3 panel joints. Each sheet of OSB was fastened through the XPS into the concrete with 18 tapcons in a 4-3-4-3-4 patten, installed along the factory markings which are painted on the OSB to help identify where the framing is for typical installations. This left me with a floor fastened every 1.7’ on center. It shouldn’t be going anywhere.

Its beginning to look like a floor.

With the XPS installed to 7-1/2” from the garage door and the OSB installed to 12” from the edge of the XPS I called it a day on installing the floor. I has hoped to also make the threshold which will fit in the 7-1/2” space, but I realized too late that my planer was stuck in my living room, surrounded by the other workshop paraphernalia.

The next morning, after I picked up my new jointer, I began the long task of loading all of the tools into the shop by myself. By the time my wife got home in the early afternoon, the only thing left in the living room was my work bench.

Reloaded with the contents of my shop.

Though I still need to build the threshold and tie it into the OSB I’ve spent the few weeks since the floor was installed painting the walls and setting the shop back up. In that time, I’ve already come to appreciate how nice working on the new floor is. When I step from the concrete at the door to the OSB I can immediately feel how firm and soft the new floor is.

Though I’m far from finished, it’s absolutely delightful to be able to reach a