For a while my blog is going to take a completely different slant. Several months ago I made the decision to travel full-time as a volunteer at different parks across the country so all projects at home came to a halt as I prepared the house to sell. The house is sold, the travel trailer ordered, and starting in mid June I will be on the road for (hopefully) the next few years. This is a big change so no telling how I’m going to feel about it until I am deeply into it. I will still be posting to the … Read more…
Okay, there’s a catch… Let me explain. I am in the middle of massive downsizing and have 2 small and 1 medium sets of slings, corner fittings, and end caps for the legs from the test samples I made. I would love to see these go to good homes where puppies can enjoy them. The color is dark brown in the top and middle cots pictured above. The 2 small sets and medium set have been claimed. Actually, I have the PVC for the sides and legs too, but after checking boxes and shipping it’s cheaper for you to buy the … Read more…
I’ve had six good quality resin Adirondack chairs for quite some time. I bought them for my house in Texas that was a soft moss-green with snow-white trim and the original forest green color of the chairs was perfect for the white decks on that house. I also had three forest green tables and one white table. They all held up really well on the west-facing decks that baked in 110 degree Texas summers, but I did freshen up the color on them three years ago with a coat of forest green paint. The problem in 2015 was they were … Read more…
Just a quick post about a product I’m trying — I am not sponsored by these folks are anyone else. I read about StopLossBags in The Family Handyman magazine and wanted to try them since I’ve had to throw away a considerable amount of varnish and polyurethane over the years. Storing polyurethane and varnish is a matter of protecting it from air and these bags look like they will solve that issue. I used a small funnel to store about half a quart of leftover oil-based polyurethane and was able to easily push the product up to the top of the bag forcing … Read more…
In retrospect I suspect I have been studiously avoiding any use of varnish or polyurethane for fear of failure. I used polyurethane years ago, but don’t recall it being a total fail. Maybe it’s my constant battle with floating yellow lab hair. I’ve used a variety of hand applied rubbed finishes to get around using a more difficult finish. When I made the large ottoman tray I opted for water based polyurethane to avoid mineral spirits clean up. I watched a video showing how to dilute the finish with 50% water and applying with a cloth and I loved the … Read more…
I’ve been wanting to change my bedroom for months and have gone through so many iterations of headboard designs that it was getting ridiculous. I wanted it to be coastal. I wanted to be able to build it alone and get the materials home in my Xterra and most importantly I didn’t want it to cost all that much. I really should have name my site the FRUGAL DIY Girl… Plan Once I had arrived at the plan for the bedside tables I could move forward with the headboard. The open style of the tables meant I could have a large, … Read more…
I’ve done a lot of searching for ideas for a new headboard and side tables and ran across this image on Better Homes and Gardens: Let me count the ways: I loved the pedestal open bedside tables instead of something closed and solid. I loved that the headboard was rustic and wider than the bed so it served as a frame. I really loved the lights mounted on the headboard but that’s a whole other issue to be tackled later. The table base I did a little looking around the internet and found these at Beekman 1802: Oh my. They even … Read more…
After spending months researching alternatives to a bed frame I stumbled across universal Bede’s at us-mattress.com. With all my research, how had I never seen them before? Here’s their description: Are you tired of metal bed frames limiting the space underneath your bed? I don’t blame you! Here’s a tip – get rid of that metal frame and experience the new generation of mattress support! These bed legs are made from 100% recycled plastic and are available in four different heights so you can customize the amount of storage space under your bed. The Universal Bedlegs System easily attaches to … Read more…
I have planned on making a living room table following the same design as bench I made for the entry. You can see the details on the bench here. I think it’s only fair to point out the reason I make “rustic” pieces — it’s because I don’t have the tools or the know-how to produce a finely crafted piece of furniture. Rustic fits me and my style better anyway. In designing it I had to start with the top and then back into the measurements for everything else. I wanted the top to be between 32-34” square. I decided … Read more…
I am a big advocate of good tools for painting since they make a huge difference to how difficult it is, how long it takes, and how it turns out. Buy good tools and take care of them and they will last for years and years. So I thought I’d run down my favorite paint tools and why I think they’re essential. Paint It doesn’t matter how great your painting tools are if you’re applying poor paint. Bad paint isn’t just a pain to apply — it’s a pain to have on the walls since it doesn’t clean up (it wipes off … Read more…