Bookends

I finished another Christmas project, again for the girls… one set for M and one for A.

No paint

Finished and painted

Bookends are relatively easy to make. All you really need is a 3 foot 1x6 board (I use knotty pine as it’s relatively inexpensive at about $1.50/foot), graph paper, a mitre saw, scroll saw, wood glue, clamps, and some sandpaper of various grits (plus paint, varnish, or whatever you wish to finish it in).

Using the mitre saw, start by cutting two 7inch and two 5inch lengths (make sure to chop off the end of the board as it usually has glue or stamping on it). Sand the ends of those boards and glue/clamp the end of the 5inch piece to the 7inch piece to make an L-shape. Using graph paper, draw your pattern in a 4 ½ inch by 5 ½ inch rectangle (tall). You can do whatever you wish. I chose to do and ‘a’ and ‘z’, but you can do the child’s initials, a teddy bear, or whatever your heart desires. Cut two more boards at 4 ½ inches to transfer your pattern(s) to. Using the scroll saw, cut them out.

Scrolling tips: If you have a hole to put in the center of the piece, drill a hole using a drill press (or regular drill will do) and then insert the scroll saw blade through the hole before putting it on the saw. Cut as normal, then remove the blade to remove your board. Another scrolling tip is to use the drill in really tight corners to help maneuver the scroll saw blade (easier turning without it snapping). Make sure to use the right blade as well. I use a 15 tpi (teeth per inch). The higher the tpi, the better control over tight curves (also smoother cuts), the lower the tpi, the faster you can make the cuts. If the tpi is too low, you may end up with chatter and difficulty around tight curves. If too high, your wood may burn. It is always recommended you keep at LEAST 4 teeth in the board at all times.

Sand all the pieces, making sure to round all the edges. Using a pencil, draw lines 3/8inch on either side of the center of the boards on the L shape. These will help with placing the 'patterned' pieces. Glue them in. I also chose to put 1 1/2 inch nails where I felt it was necessary, but the glue should hold fine by itself. When the glue is dry, finish the project how you wish. I chose to paint them pink with a fake painted off-white stitching around all the edges.

Sit back and enjoy while reading a book! ;)

Workaholics Anonymous

So yeah, I'm a workaholic, just ask my hubby. If there was a group he would send me to it, I'm sure. Anyway, I've created a list of things I really want to get done by the end of this month. Basically, the workshop, the babyroom, and the stairs/hallway. I broke the tasks down, and have about 31 of them, so as long as I complete at least one item daily I'll finish by the end of the month.

I've already completed a bunch of my workshop tasks. Mainly, helping hubby put up the shelves, and then putting my crafts away (some needed to be organized into pails and such as well). Today I put up all the electric components (and plumbing, and hardware, etc) and took much of the stuff out of my spare room. That room isn't cleaned out completely yet (that is also on my list) but it's pretty close!



I've als been working hard on the babyroom. I have the ceiling painted a very pale blue color (called polar sky) and the walls a nice light yellow (named buttermilk). I wish to paint the clouds on the ceiling very soon, and need to figure out what I'll need to do the sponging technique for the walls. I think a gallon of glaze and a quart of yellow one shade darker would do it. I already have a sea sponge. I love that thing. Anyway, if you can see it, the blue doesn't go all the way to the wall. I'm going to be putting up trim to frame in the ceiling area. It will make the room look like it has a really large skylight.



Besides that, on Canada Day I spent most of the day at my parents helping with the garage sale. Not too many people came through, and I didn't sell the large items I really want to sell. Nobody was interested in the big things really. We're planning on redoing it on the 10th, and since many of us still had things in the house we didn't bring last time, we'll be getting them there for then, and my aunt is also adding things to the sale, so it won't be the same.

I'm looking forward to finding the material I want to get for the baby room. I can't wait to start working on the curtains and stuff (I also wish to sew them for the dining room and kitchen). I haven't done any sewing in awhile.

Things have been a bit stressful lately again, mostly in dealing with certain people which I won't name here. We got a rather nasty message on our answering machine from one particular person regarding something another person told him we had done(that is another rather lengthy story which occured over 2 weeks ago). He called us names and mock screamed at us on the message. We are sincerely thinking of blocking his number. He's done this sort of thing before, and about 3 months ago we quit communicating with him due to how rude he was being toward us. This is the last straw. No way I want these sorts of things continuing after my child is born. I was thinking of trying to record the message and send it to him so he could hear how he sounds. Maybe he just doesn't realize it. Sigh. Anyway, it's stressful, and I'm tired of dealing with it. I just want to quit communicating with both of these people, not allow them on my yard, everything. I can't handle this anymore, and I almost want to get back at them, which is something I've not dealt with before. It's not the way I usually am. I'll just keep praying about this.

Again, doing all sorts of work keeps the mind off of all the stressful and emotional matters right now. I'm still trying to deal with them, but there is so much outside my control that I can't do anything about, so I'd rather keep my mind on something I can do something about. Plus, getting things done feels good. It's so nice to accomplish things.

Baby is getting bigger too. I can hardly believe how much this little one loves to squirm. Yet, apparently I'm small for 6 1/2 months. We'll see. I can't believe appointments are only 2 weeks apart now. And I only have 11 weeks till due date! Scratch that, 10 1/2. Aaah! I gotta get that babyroom done!

Anyway, that's all for now. I'll be posting more pics when babyroom is closer to finished. I'll also post in-between pics when I finish the room, and before-after's. I'm so excited! :)

One Week till Valentine's

I love Valentines day. Not sure why. Could be I love red and pink, and hearts, or just that I like getting chocolate or flowers, and seeing all the cute little stuffed animals. I just really enjoy it. That said, I have no idea what to get for my hubby.

What do you get a guy for Valentine's day? Especially if you can't spend a whole lot of money on it? Any suggestions?

Anyway, I'm really excited about the work we got done last week. Dad came down and helped me (or more like I helped him) build the counter top for my workshop. I need to put up some shelves and stuff, then I can move my tools and wood and crafting supplies in. I also want to make a center table for some of my other supplies, and maybe have it on wheels.

I still need to work on the mural, as I havent since last week monday. First, working on the workshop took up lots of energy, then I got sick this week, so I didn't bother.

But now I am tired and it is time for bed. I will contemplate what to get dear hubby for Valentine's another day. Till later...

Workshop

Well, we've been working on my workshop, dad and I. We have most of the pieces cut for two parts of the counter. We are going to set it up so these two portions are at 36 inches off the floor (like a kitchen counter), which is perfect as they are in the "corners" of the room. The section under the window (there is a LOT of window in there) will be 30" high, like a table, so I will probably put my scroll saw on there with a chair to sit at. I also want to put up shelves and make a center table that I can roll and lock in place for crafting, sewing, etc. I'm so excited! I'm going to finally have a space for all my woodworking tools! And my sewing machine, paint, craft supplies, material, wood... etc etc. Yeah, I have lots of hobbies.

I will post pics when we finish the counter. The wood we got from the city... it was used for roofing so it's extremely sturdy at 1.5inches thick planed down. We're using it for everything, and I only paid $95 for the whole lot (it was cheaper per linear foot than a 2x4, and each board is 5" deep, 12 ft long, has a tounge and groove (bringing it to 5 1/2") and 1 3/4" thick). Nice wood! It helps that it was cheap too. We're still not sure what type it is, dad thought it might be fir. (Just to bring things into perspective, I would have needed 2 plywood sheets, they are $50/sheet, and that doesn't include the lumber for the frame of the counter... plus they tend to bang and rattle loudly when tools are on them, so this wood is much much better in the long run).

Well, the pizza is almost out of the oven. We're still on our tv/movie fast (till the first of February), so we are going to eat pizza just because we like it! Ha ha! Enjoy the rest of the week!