Tyler's Desk

After a year or so of making skirts and dresses for my girls,
I finally figured out something I could craft-up for my boy.
A desk! (See plans here.)

Thus, following many hours of doing his
homework on the floor of his bedroom,

It was time he graduated and had his own desk. 

Hand-made by me, especially for him!

First, I read through a couple tutorials on staining; and I decided to try a Gel Stain by Minwax, color - Antique Walnut. I hated the results, mostly just a dissatisfaction with the resulting shade, plus I had spent a lot of time rubbing on the stain...by hand...with a cloth. That's tough to do all getting into the tiny little corners. The only good thing about Gel Stain is that its non-drip. I think this product might work better on a piece of furniture that has previously been stained and just needs a little pop.  I went back out and bought a stain-polyurethane in one, PolyShades by Minwax, color - Cherrywood. Much better, although there is dripping involved. And you cannot keep rubbing on the stain since there is polyurethane involved. After several coats, and sanding in between, I was very pleased with the outcome and insisted that Ben help me move it into Tyler's room that very night, so he would be surprised when he woke up. 

I left him this little note (along with a note I found from Katelyn):

The final product:

I decided to put a cork board back on the lower part of the desk hutch. I was so proud of myself for trimming it out. This required me to use lots & lots of measuring (over & over) and utilize the miter saw. For this project, I pulled out all the goodies we have in the garage: circular saw, jigsaw, drill, tape measure, wood glue, wood putty, square, level, nails, counter sink bit, nail sinker, screws and a pencil. Too bad my cuts weren't even (but you might never know if you don't look close, so don't look close!) Oh, and I think I need a table saw!

I love you Tyler! Enjoy your new desk!

Pallet Shelves

So Ana at Knock-Off Wood makes carpentry look so easy. 

I decided to try my next project out of free wood. Pallet wood as a matter of fact.

Sometimes I get SO excited about trying new things, I can't wait to get started.
So here I am just back from the pool cutting up the pallets.

I made this shelf out of totally FREE wood! As a matter of fact, I might have pulled the pallet out of a dumpster in order to make this shelf. I love the unfinished Rustic Look. 

They also look really cute painted.
Which is what I did for my kids and hung them above their bunk-beds in the cottage.

Each of them have a different color.

Yes. I have three children. But only two beds were made. So that's all you get to see.

The Rustic Farm House Table

I was telling my good friend and neighbor

that I needed to find a dining table for the cottage.

So she says to me,

"Why don't you just build one?" 

Sure, right.

But as I walk away I start to think...

The wheels wouldn't stop turning. I started to scroll through plans for the Knock-off Wood's "Salvage Wood Farm House Table". I didn't like the legs so much. But was inspired by this table, and I decided to go on a search of some table legs, as a starting point.

My daughter and I headed to a flea market and found us a table for 20 bucks.

Then I went and got me some wood, cut by Rich, at Lowes,

for specific Rustic Table measurements. Thanks Rich!

Armed with a power drill, long screws, my new countersink bit and some sandpaper, I went to work.

A close-up. Couresty of my son.

Some cross-slats would support the boards that create the table top.

My friends stopped by (with their kids) and joined in the fun

of distressing the wood using forks, screws, washers and girl power.

While we worked, our children (9 of them) played in the back on the playset-turned-waterslide, and on with a slip-n-slip, snacks, drinks, water balloons, games, music and self-appoined lifegaurds

(not captured very well in this picture, but I was eager to get back to the distressing).

After attaching the legs, with the help of my husband, and making dinner (not a "real" dinner mind you; pizza for the second time that week). My friends were back to help out with the staining.

And now: presenting my hand-made Rustic Farm House Table!

I can't wait to get this in the cottage! I'll blog about the bench some other time.

Head over here to see the table in my cottage! We love it and it get a lot of use!

Teacher's Gifts

Here's a couple of quick & cute ideas for teacher's gifts. Start with this,

and this,

and this.

And turn it into this,

or this,

and this,

and this,

I can only take the credit for crafting up these great ideas. Check out these creative gals at Eighteen25 for free templates and how to make these for your teachers.

The Birthday Bag

From bed sheeets to a Birthday Bag... this is my latest creation.

I am in the middle of another project, making duvet covers, and used these bright bed sheets from Target.

 I created the cupcake bag with some left over ends of the sheets, the packaging that contained the yellow sheets, and with the guidance of my new book from Sandy Henderson.

Hot Pink & Zebra Print

As the kids get older, I feel that I need to be more creative with my party themes and activities. I was inspired by this napkin for the theme colors for Sidney's 10th birthday party.

 With the napkin setting the theme, I created these invitations:

The following are my examples
of what the girls would be making at the party.

A bookmark out of a jumbo paper clip, ribbon & punched paper

A goody bag made from a
brown (white in this case) paper lunch bag & paper

And lastly the girls will create this cute little notebook for jouraling, writing notes or keeping a grocery list. I made a pocket inside mine to keep my coupons
(made from a file folder, paper & ribbon).

And a matching pen too!

Happy Birthday to my dear Sidney

So she’s 10 years old.

Where does the time go?

On most days I feel inadequate as a mother. I am thankful to God for entrusting me with such a sweet, caring, smart, beautiful, innocent, loving, daughter who loves Jesus as much as I do.

God is so good. He’s so good to me.

It was fun to make her this skirt and to surprise her with it.

She happily modeled it for me and I’m delighted to share her with you.