Hanging around the garage.

 

Hello all! Been a while, but I have been a busy bee lately. Had to do some house renos and what-not, but I wanted to share this project with you.

I was scrolling through Pinterest, as usual, and came across this pin. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/492581277965603837/

I am always looking for better storage solutions, so I had to make it! And since my husband has a lot of fishing rods, I knew that I would need to adjust for size.

I just happen to have two 8 foot 1x4 that was scrapped from a shed project that I found from a Craigslist ad. I love it when people give away instead of throwing away. This of course meant that I had to do some prep work prior to starting this project. It is always a good idea if you reclaim wood to take the time to remove all the nails and screws and any sharp splinters, if you have the time, so that when you start a new project, you can just grab and go. These boards had lots of finishing nails and had been stained (which was peeling off). Might have been good if I hadn't planned on painting them. So Sanding was a must.

I also needed to buy the hooks. I needed about 40, and the cheapest place that I found them (that were the right size) was at Dollar General. They are called bike hooks $1, and found on the automotive isle. The problem is that most of the stores only stock 8 each, so you have to travel around the city, in search of them at different stores, or you can just wait and order them online.

Once that was finished, then I could start. Using my sawhorses, I laid out the boards and gave them two good coats of interior/exterior paint in dark grey. Allow to dry thoroughly.

Then I  measured out the spots where I would need to drill the holes. You will need to measure the width of the hook and make sure to leave at least that much space in between.
HLT: If you put them too close together, you will not be able to turn then around and be able to screw them into the boards. So measure and then use a scrap piece of wood (or the hooks themselves) as a spacer when you are marking the holes. Leave space at the end for the screws for the ceiling attachment.

You will need to use a drill bit that is slightly smaller than your hook's screw to drill your holes. I used a 1/4 bit. Drill all the way through the board. This will make some mess with saw dust, but clean and touch up paint as needed.

Next, screw in all your hooks. Turn them all the same direction (or different if you prefer). Make sure they have a tight grip, but do not go all the way through the board, or you will not be able to put board to wall.

Next, use a stud-finder and mark all of the available studs in your desired area. This can be difficult on a ladder on the ceiling, and especially if you have popcorn ceilings. WEAR EYE SAFETY!!!! You will need to leave enough space between the boards to correctly hold the weight of the rods, but also, not too much space that your shorter poles will not reach between. I left 4 feet between mine, and it was perfect! Measure and mark the stud distance with a pencil on your boards and pre-drill holes. This step will save you a lot of headache. Then use 2 1/2" construction or general purpose screws to attach. Bring extra hands for this step, because holding a drill, screws and trying to hold up the board is almost impossible. Screw your boards into as many studs as possible for extra support.

Load your rods on your hooks! And give yourself a pat on the back for a job well done!!!!

New looks to old Lights!

Here is a new idea to update those old light fixtures that you have in your house.

First things first - Assess your lights. If they are ugly, but in good working order, then there is potential there. If not, go buy a pretty new one and replace!

 This was your standard brass with white globe, original with the house. Nothing wrong with it(which is pretty good since it was installed in 1982). I was planning on repainting it, but since I decided on a shade, you really wouldn't see it. Ditch the globe. Or save it for another fun project.

Next, find a pretty shade that you love. I found this one at Basket market in the clearance rack. It was missing the bottom trim, so I rummaged through by lace bucket and found this black velvet trim.

Then I had to break out the glue gun.

Start on the lampshade seam, so that the seams will be fluid. Glue a small section at a time and work your way around flattening the trim against the glue to avoid bubbles. I left a 1/2 inch at the top over hang so that once the bottom was glued, I could go back and fold over the edge for support and to cover up the metal ring. Fold trim over and glue down to avoid having a raw edge where you meet the beginning trim.

 HLT: Use a Popsicle stick to press edges down to save your fingers from burning while dealing with hot glue.

Since you cannot insert a lampshade behind the light fixture, you will need to create an opening to place next to the light in the framework of the shade. You will need to measure the base of the light fixture. Mine was 5 1/2 inches across. So I centered it one the frame and marked my points.

 HLT: If your have bolt cutters, this step will take you about 20 seconds. If not you will need a small hack saw. Using a reciprocating saw will vibrate your shade into destruction. (Yes, I tried it)

So I hack-sawed my way through my points. It took about 15 minutes.

Next, you will need to get these handy little clamps. They are called R-type cable clamps. I was lucky enough to rummage though the toolboxes and come up with just enough. Thanks to my parts hoarding behavior. ;) They should be less than a dollar at any hardware store. Also get screws at least 1" long that will fit your clamps. These will need to bypass the popcorn and into the meat of the drywall ceiling.




Place clamps around shade "arms" and place the shade firmly against the ceiling.

This requires a ladder, drill, screws and some finesse to hold all items up there by yourself. Alternatively, you can grab your nearest tall person to hold said shade for you while you do the attaching. As always, be safe. You may also choose to flip the breaker while installing so there is no electricity free flowing.

HLT: Wear eye protection!!!!!! And also keep your mouth closed while doing this. This will keep you from eating the non-food grade popcorn.

 Lastly, screw in securely.

 And ENJOY!

Have fun trying new ways to update on a budget!

A Pretty Place to Sit - Phase 1: Deconstruction

Vintage chair revamp.

This was a long process, but so worth the effort. I found these AMAZING vintage chairs at this great furniture shop in the OKC metro. I was able to get them at a good price, still more than I wanted to, but I wasn't able to physically walk out of the store without them.

They even swiveled! I was super excited!

 Once I got them home, then came the dissembling.
First!!!!!!! Before you do anything else, take a picture of how it was assembled. Once you get the piece apart, it is very common to ABSOLUTELY forget how it goes back together.

Then start unscrewing/ de-nailing/ de-stapling your piece.  

 

 HLT (Handy Little Tip): Old foam and batting will disintegrate after time, so put down plastic before you start ripping things apart.

 Two wonderful tools that I have found to be helpful are the Needle-nosed Pliers and Wallpaper/paint scraper. The scraper has a solid pointy tip that works great for getting under staples and the pliers easily grab little bits.

 Take apart each piece seperately so that you can keep all of the screws or nails together. Put each section in a different baggie and label accordingly. Even if you are going to replace them, it makes it a whole lot easier to take each baggie into the hardware store, hand to an employee and tell them you need matching ones. :) Or, ya know, dig them out of those confusing bins yourself. :)

HLT: ALWAYS buy extra of each type. Inevitably, you will end up dropping one only to watch it roll under something into the dark abyss of lost things.

 If the foam is in good shape - As was the case in the top portion of these chairs - (They were wrapped in plastic before being upholstered).

 The seats were a whole different story. First, I had to take off one layer of staples to remove the dust cover.

 Then you get to see what shape the seat board is in. This is where you decide that it will hold up or you will have to replace. And once again, remove several layers of staples.

 Once the other pieces were down to bare minimum, I started working on the frame. Time to take it outside and sand it down. If you are not up for tedious work (then upholstery is not a project for you). It takes many hours of sanding and deconstruction to complete one piece. But hey, worth the time.

 Once sanded, give it a good wipe down with some high dollar water. Just kidding, plain 'ol tap is just fine. Let dry.

Now, time for phase 2..... to be continued!

Junk Holders! I mean.... supply holders!

Hello all! Happy Hump Day!

We all have those little things that lie around the house in masses and get lost on a regular basis (hair ties - can I get an Amen?). This project is an up-cycled way to keep all those things together.

You know all those jugs you go through, like milk jugs, laundry detergent and softener bottles, etc... this is a great way to recycle and to save money instead of having to buy bins. These work especially great in the garage for nails, screws and other sharp objects since these containers are fairly heavy duty. WASH Thoroughly and dry before starting.

You will need a pair of sharp scissors, marker, sandpaper, and a knife.

Mark your area that you would like to leave open. You can make it as open or closed as you like, but remember to make it big enough to get your hand through.

I like to leave the handles because it just makes it handier.

There are some spots that are too thick for your scissors to go through, so you will need a sharp knife to saw.

Once you are done with that step, you will need to sand down the edges because they will be SHARP.

 Recycle the unused part.

Then your holders are ready! Or you can get super creative and paint them all up with fun colors... Or... Oooh! Chalk board paint would be fabulous because then you could draw on them! The possibilities are endless. Have fun with it!

No COUCH potatoes here....

Pallet Couch!

I call this the tornado resistant (not tornado proof - cause nothing really is) pallet couch because it weighs so much, you need 2 people to move it. Of course I used really heavy pallets cause I wanted it to not go anywhere, but once you start stacking them, they become incredibly heavy.

This color is called Proud Peacock. I LURVE it! It is EXTERIOR paint from CLARK & KENSINGTON, an Ace Hardware brand.

So, I started out with 3 big blue pallets that were 47 x 36". These are super heavy and weather resistant, which means that they are made with pressure treated wood and coated with protectorate. Over time though, they break down from breaks and cracks and they will need to be sealed again to keep for even longer! This is why we paint. (Plus because we love pretty colors).

One of them will get cut in half to use as the back board. Break out that jig saw or sawzall and cut in half on one side of the middle feet. Remove the lengthwise boards but leave the base board and feet intact, because you will use them later.

Once you have all your pieces cut, Sand EVERYTHING. This step will take you the longest. I do not wish my house guests to get skewered by splinters or shards that I forgot to get rid of, so I sand the heck out of it. To get the big shards off, I use the sanding tool on the Dremmel and work out all of the sharp spots and holes that are too small for the sander to get.

HLT: Run your fingers or a linen cloth over the whole piece to find the splinters that you missed while sanding.

Dust off all of the pieces, and then you are ready to paint! These monstrous pallets used about a half gallon of exterior paint. I always get a gallon anyways, so that I can match it later if I have to and to know that I will have enough.

HLT: Paint all of your pieces BEFORE you assemble. It will take way more time and much body contorting to get all of those tight spots after the fact.

PALLETS ASSEMBLE!!!!

 

Using 3" decking screws, connect your pallets together by drilling pilot holes though the top layer foot into the bottom, them screw them together.

Next, attach the base board with feet to the back part of the top layer. Then use the discarded boards from earlier to lean the half pallet to the position you are comfortable with. You may have to cut the boards down, depending how laid back you prefer.
Screw all boards in to make the piece solid.

Now it's time to add the slats.

These can be left over pieces from anything. Any length or width - you just want them to be the same height or they will be uncomfortable to sit on. Start from the middle and match them up laying until you get your pallet covered. Use your jig saw to cut off the excess overhang.

Repeat for the backer piece. Screw in all your boards. I used 1 1/4 length screws for this part to avoid having exposed screw backs poking through.

Sand everything! Clean and Paint!

Add pillows and a cushion if you like, but after all that sanding, it is nice enough by itself.

So go make something fun!

-Deborah