a splendid summer - DIY branch sailboat.

Welcome to summer, friends! I don't know about you, but I can't believe we're already closing in on the end of June...yikes. And while summer's heat is definitely not on my wish list, thinking about cool lakes is. So it's no wonder that I've got sailboats on the brain...

I was trimming our large cedar trees the other day and this particular branch caught my eye because it's twiglet was almost straight up and down and I thought...hey that looks like a boat mast!

And thus a hare-brained idea was born. The Mr. might say another hare-brained idea...but what does he know  :-)

So I was off and running. To Craft Warehouse, that is.  To buy some delightful navy ticking fabric so I could make my very own DIY branch sailboat.

First, I measured the fabric for the two sails by measuring the height of the sail twig:

[ticking fabric].

I loved the raw frayed edge so I left it like that. Those raw edges of each sail are up against the mast.

After cutting the fabric into two triangles, I took some screw eyes and hand-screwed them into the top of the branch at each end. Cedar is pretty soft so I was able to do it by hand but if your wood is tougher you can always pre-drill your holes.

You can [kinda] see in the image above that I sewed a button hole where I wanted to tie the sail to the eye hook. This is totally optional, you could just as easily poke or cut a small hole in the fabric. I just love using my sewing machine so I break it out whenever I can.

You can also see I turned the bottom of the sail under and hemmed it, but only because I wanted some extra texture from the hem thread. Again, totally optional...if you want all raw edges go for it!

Then I just used some rope I already had to tie each sail to the branch in multiple places.

This project couldn't have been simpler. Or cheaper!
Supplies:
• branch: free! [gotta love free]
• less than 1/2 yard of ticking fabric: $3
• screw eyes: I only used 2 out of an 8-count bag, but I'll count the whole bag: $1.20
• rope: less than a foot, I'll be generous and say: $1

This was a super fun project.  Next time I'm out cutting trees, I'm going to keep my eyes open for a small branch and make a mini sailboat to go along with this guy...

Best,

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how I fixed my scratched up kitchen cabinets.

We have this particular cabinet door in the kitchen that is just below and to the right of the sink. Ummm, I guess it gets splashed. A lot. Because seriously...look at the picture below. Yikes.

I'm super embarrassed to show you this before picture:

[ack!]

Wow, up close the damage was hideous. Not only was the wood scratched, it was buckled at the bottom of the inset panel.

I knew I could sand the whole thing down, then try to find/remember what finish was on the wood and hope against hope that after all that work it would sorta kinda maybe match it's neighbors.

Then one happy day I found this on Pinterest [thanks Tara!], which showed how to rejuvenate scratched wood with Watco Rejuvenating Oil.  So I thought, why not? If it doesn't work I'm no worse off than I was before. At only $6 it was sure worth a try.

First, I removed the door from the cabinet [ooh look at the nicks on the drawer above! those will get fixed as well]:

[removing cabinet door]. 

I took the door down to the garage and gave it a light sanding with some superfine grit sanding paper. Watco's instructions don't say to sand, but I wanted to smooth down the buckling a bit if I could.

[a wee bit of sanding].

[the magic potion].

I followed Watco's instructions, which are basically:
1. rub the product into the damaged area with a clean cloth
2. wait 10 minutes
3. wipe with a clean cloth

Simple! Even I could do that!

And check the result:

[after watco application].

While not perfect, I think it's 1,000 times better.  You can still see the damage at the bottom of the inset panel but once it's hung, that area is down by your feet so it won't even be noticeable.
And I didn't expect it to be perfect. As you saw, that door was pretty destroyed. In truth it probably needs to be replaced. But at least I can put it off for a while longer!

Friends, can you handle two more before and after pictures?

Take a look at the scratches on this kitchen drawer:

[what are we, animals? geez].

And now after a swipe of Watco magic:

[after the magic].

Now that's incredible!  :-)

If you plan to do this, of course please test it on an inconspicuous area first.

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DIY feature wall - picture frame molding in the master bedroom.

[feature wall: picture frame molding in the master bedroom].

Our master bedroom has this feature wall, under a peaked ceiling, that you see right when you walk into the room.
The Mr. hates that wall. And the ceiling, come to think of it.

I was ok with the wall, but wanted to make it stand out more. Nothing drastic or dramatic, just a little added texture and depth with some picture frame molding painted the same color as the wall.
Simple and elegant.

So out came...you guessed it! My favorite purchase of all time, my Ryobi cordless nail gun.

I tell you, there's no rest for this poor thing.
First, came The Great Board & Batten Wall:

[The Great Board and Batten Wall].

Not too long after that was the shiplap wall/plank wall in the dining room:

[shiplap wall/plank wall].

Right on it's heels came the lattice wall in the stairwell:

[lattice wall].

And now here we are again, battery charged and ready to create a feature wall in the master bedroom.
Here's the wall before, inexplicably with a stationary bike in front of it:

[a bike? really?]

Not quite the feature I was looking for. Obviously that bike was the first to go.

Then off to Home Depot to look at molding options. So many options!

[home depot, molding options].

We went for this one, since it looked the most like picture frame molding:

[winner winner].

I sort of arbitrarily decided on the size I wanted for each frame, which ended up being 32"x66".
Total molding cost only $30.38  [49 ft x $0.62 per foot].  Wow, what a deal!

We cut the pieces on a 45 degree angle, painted them the same color as the wall [Artist Studio, by Ralph Lauren], and nailed them up using our trusty Ryobi nailgun.  A little spackle on the nail holes and some touch up paint, and it was done!

Looking better already:

[molding up!].

Better still, the simple art went back up...pictures I've taken while exploring the Pacific Northwest:

[pictures hung].

And here's a closeup of the frames:

[closeup].

There you have it friends! As always, please let me know if you have any questions and I'll be happy to answer them if I can.

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DIY - beautiful bleached pinecones.

Here in the Pacific Northwest, pinecone gathering can be done with your eyes closed.

I mean, they're everywhere.

Since I love decorating with natural elements, I've got a pretty big stash of these guys.

I love them natural, painted...and now bleached!

I first read about bleaching pinecones on Country Living Magazine's website.  Their instructions are wonderful and really simple...it basically boils down to this:

Step 1: place pinecones in a glass container; I chose a glass cylinder vase:

[step 1].

Step 2: fill the container 2/3 full with bleach, fill the rest with plain water
Step 3: pinecones float! place something inside your container that will keep those rascals submerged. I used a juice glass:

[step 2 and 3].

Step 4: leave pinecones submerged in the bleach mixture for 24 to 36 hours.  You'll notice I've got mine down in the garage.  No sense smelling that stuff inside the house for 2 days, am I right? Plus yikes you wouldn't want to spill it inside.

Step 5: remove the pinecones and rinse with clean water. the pinecones will be closed up.
Interesting sidenote: even after 36 hours, most of my pinecones still looked pretty dark brown and I'll admit I was disappointed because I thought it hadn't worked. so I left a couple in the bleach mixture for an extra 24 hours and the rest I put in the dryer to dry.

Step 6: dry the pinecones. I have a rack for my clothes dryer so I put them on the rack and ran the dryer on medium, checking on them regularly. After about an hour, they had turned a lovely shade of light tan and had started to open up again:

[step 6].

Step 7: display your beautiful bleached pinecones!

Aren't they the most gorgeous creamy tan color?
Here's a closeup, I love how the tips still have a bit of darker brown on them:

Remember the couple of pinecones that I said I left in the bleach for an additional 24 hours? They did indeed get whiter, but you can see this one came pretty close to disintegrating:

[creamy white pinecone left in bleach an extra day].

So I think I'll stick to the 24-36 hour rule in the future!

Have you tried this project yet? I'd love to hear about it in the Comments below and as always I'm happy to answer any questions you might have.

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diy lattice feature wall

[DIY lattice wall].

So after the Great Board & Batten Wall, and the farmhouse Plank Wall, my nail gun was getting antsy and looking for a new project...

Ta-da! A lattice wall at the staircase landing was born.

Before:

This is the wall at the bottom of the staircase in view of the dining room, so it was a good place to do something fun.

Cost: at $0.70 a foot,  this one came out to $42 for the lattice. I already had the paint from the farmhouse Plank Wall project.

Since I measured and cut each piece on site, I just brought the miter box up from the garage instead of using the circular saw.

I used my awesome Ryobi nail gun to tack the lattice pieces to the wall.  Have I mentioned that buying that nail gun was my most favorite-ist purchase I've made in years? I have? Ok.

I measured and put the verticals up first, then filled in the horizontals. These lattice pieces were so super-lightweight that I didn't worry that my design missed every stud in the wall :-)

Here it is nailed up and ready for paint:

Finally, it was time for a couple coats of paint.  Last step: hanging my Oregon map art:

Yes that is my gorgeous Grandmother's high school picture underneath the light fixture:

[done!]

I still can't decide whether to hang more stuff on the lattice wall or leave it empty and clean. What do you think?

Sorry for the grainy pictures, guys. One day I'll get myself a real, big-girl camera!

diy industrial garment rack - tutorial.

You all remember the DIY Industrial Garment Rack we made last month?
Click here if you missed the story and reveal...it's a wee insight into our household dynamic.
And my often wacky brain :-)

I promised you the tutorial so here it is!  This was a lot of fun to make and not only did it work perfectly for our overflow of guests last month, it looks awesome too.  Well, according to me at least...

Let's start with the materials. I'm listing the prices for everything [even items I already owned] so you can get a true cost of the project.
materials list and cost:
[1] galvanized pipe [cut in 2 for the vertical bars] @ $14
[1] galvanized pipe [for the top horizontal bar] @ $9.28

[2] galvanized elbows @ $1.62 each = $3.24

[2] galvanized flanges [the cool circle things in the image above] @ $5.17 each = $10.34

[4] spinning casters/wheels @ $3.44 each = $13.76 [spinners are a must especially for this particular project!]

[8] bolts @ $0.24 each = $1.92

[8] washers @ $0.11 each = $0.88

[8] nuts @ $0.06 each = $0.48

[1] 2x6 radius edge cedar plank* [cut in 3 for the base] @ $11.07

[1] 2x6 whitewood stud plank [cut in 2 for the underneath supports] @ $4.26

[1] can Minwax dark walnut wood stain [already owned; used about 1/4 can] @ $4.78
= $74.01 total out of my pocket, not bad!
[*I could've easily used another whitewood stud plank which would've been $7 cheaper, but I liked the rounded edge on the cedar plank]

optional materials, highly recommended:

GoJo pumice hand soap [easiest way to clean the pipes; already owned] @ $3.29

clear spray paint [for sealing the pipe; already owned] @ $3.76

= $81.06 total with optional items

Why I recommend the optional materials:
Have you ever handled galvanized pipe? It's dirty and greasy!
Since this garment rack was going to hold...well...garments, I definitely didn't want dirt and grease anywhere near my guest's clothes. So I wanted to clean the life out of the pipes and fittings, hence the GoJo which worked a treat.

Fair warning: the GoJo will make the pipes shiny so if you don't want that, don't use the GoJo...
but the alternative would be scrubbing those pipes with soapy water for *hours*.  I didn't think I'd like the shiny pipes but I ended up liking the contrast against the rustic wood so it all worked out.

All right! Let's get cookin', shall we?
1. measure and cut the 2x6 cedar plank into [3] 32" long pieces. these pieces will become the base of your rack.

[measuring and marking at 32" long].

2. measure and cut the 2x6 whitewood stud plank into [2] 15" inch long pieces. they will be used on the underside to join the base planks together.
3. lay the 3 top planks upside down and place some nails between the boards to provide a little spacing
4. place the the [2] 15" inch long pieces across the 3 top planks.
5. screw the 15" long pieces to the 3 planks. so not only are these 15" long pieces being used for joining, they're adding extra weight and stability to the rack.

winner winner!

[underside of the wood base].

6. screw the wheels to the 4 corners.
7. stain the wood your desired color; I dry brushed it on so the finish is a bit rustic.
8. flip the base over so it's right-side up.
9. screw the galvanized pipes together, placing the elbows at the top and the flanges at the bottom.
10. have someone hold the pipe setup on the wood base so you can see where you want to secure the flanges to the wood.
11. mark and drill the bolt holes:

[drill holes for flanges].

12. we'll be attaching the metal flange to the top of the rack with bolts, washers, and nuts. optional: drill out a recessed area so the washer is sunk into the wood. again, this part is totally optional; the washer sitting flush against the wood is completely fine.

[totally optional: drill recessed area for washer].

13. drop the bolts through the holes, slide a washer on, and tighten the nut:

[underside with bolt, washer and nut].

And voila, you have yourself a unique industrial garment rack...with wheels. shazam!

Don't you just love the base?

Thanks friends, hope this all makes sense! Of course please ask any questions you like in the comments below and I'll do my best to answer them.