= awesome fun times
I've had this on my brain for a while, ever since I got my IKEA catalog back in June. I'm finally doing it!!!
EIVOR pillow
Sharpies
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Hint:
= awesome fun times
I've had this on my brain for a while, ever since I got my IKEA catalog back in June. I'm finally doing it!!!
EIVOR pillow
Sharpies
Monday, October 1, 2012
Kitchen Sources
Clockwise from the top:
Basisk ceiling track light. IKEA now has a whole series of these, so you can get pendant lights to match.
The drawer pulls I got are no longer available, but these are similar. Knobs, $12.55 for a 10-pack and drawer pulls, $16.95 for a 10-pack.
Armstrong laminate flooring. My color is discontinued. You can find similar products at Home Depot and Lowe's. Lowe's has a better selection, but expect to pay a little more.
Stainless steel sink. Our large single basin one is $75, but you can get a standard kitchen sink with divider for $55.
Wilsonart laminate counter. Link is to Amazon, but we got ours from Home Depot because they didn't gouge us on shipping.
Pressed aluminum backsplash. $11 for a clear-coated 18"x24" sheet, more colors available if you order direct from the supplier.
Behr paint in Pinedale Shores and Sandstone Cliffs. Depending on the formulation you get, Behr paints range from $25-35 a gallon. You can also test out 8 oz. samples before you commit to a gallon.
Saturday, September 29, 2012
Things I've Learned
My goal in remodeling this house is to make it look as nice as possible without spending a lot of money. Granite counter tops would be wonderful to have, but they're just not cost effective for a house in this neighborhood. After we move, the house will probably be sold to someone to use as a rental property. While it's important to us to pick paint colors and things that we like to decorate the house with, it's equally important to not personalize the house too much. I've tried to use either neutral colors or colors that I think other people will also enjoy while decorating.
Later, I'll post links to where I bought some of my stuff.
Here are some things I've discovered while remodeling this house on a budget...
Learn some new skills
Why pay someone to do it for you when you can do it yourself and acquire another power tool at the same time?
Paint
I used Walmart paint when we first started working on the house because it's cheap and I didn't know any better. Don't make the same mistake I did. Use Home Depot's Behr paint. That's probably the most important thing I've learned. You'll end up applying fewer coats (1 with a few touch-ups instead of 3) and the paint is more durable. This means less paint gets used, and your time isn't wasted painting the same wall over and over again.
Buy good paint brushes, cheap paint rollers. Dampen your brush before you start painting, it helps to keep the paint from drying on the bristles. Clean your brush well after you use it and take care of it so it will last a long time. The first time you use a roller, wrap it in tape to pull off the extra fuzzies. If you need to take a break from painting, wrap the roller in a plastic bag and put it in the fridge (I've done this for up a day or two). You can never wash all the paint out of it. Reuse it as many times as you can, then toss it.
Plumbing
Buy a good quality faucet (Delta, Kohler, etc.) from eBay. They sell last year's models at discounted prices. We paid about the same amount for each of our good quality faucets as we would have for one of the junky ones from Home Depot.
We found our kitchen sink supplier through Amazon. We paid about $80 for a better quality sink than the similar $200 sink at Home Depot.
Lighting
Get your light bulbs at IKEA. They're cheap and they last pretty good. One of our ceiling fans uses special bulbs. Regular compact fluorescent bulbs burn out too quickly so we have to use special vibration resistant ceiling fan bulbs that are $$$. I discovered the regular IKEA ones last just as long as the special ceiling fan ones.
The type of lights that I wanted for the kitchen (halogen track lights) were over $100 at Home Depot. I found something similar at IKEA for $25.
Wait until the Hunter ceiling fans go on sale. Don't waste your money on the cheap Hamilton Breeze ones. They break.
Our under-cabinet lights came from Walmart. We paid about $12 each but saw similar lights at Home Depot from $20-50. They aren't hooked up to a light switch, they plug into a wall outlet. Good that you don't have to do any electrical work, bad that you have to search for the tiny little switch to turn each of them on.
Flooring
Peel and stick flooring has come a long way. We have a 12" faux slate, but I've seen newer 24" tiles and strips of faux wood that I would love to have had. Starting at $1/sq. ft. it's the cheapest option. You only need a couple of simple tools to install it yourself; straight edge and a box cutter.
Our carpet is used. Yup, that's right. My parents bought a new house and replaced all of the carpet with hardwood. Because their house is bigger than ours, we had plenty of large pieces to work with. We found someone to install it for about $400.
Contractor packs
These are your friend when you have a lot of one thing that needs to be replaced. The downside is that there isn't as much variety to choose from and you sometimes have to buy more than you actually need.
We replaced all of the old almond colored outlets, switches, and wall plates with white. For example, light switches are are $0.69 each at Home Depot, or you can buy a pack of 10 for $4.90, which will save you $0.20 on each light you replace.
We also used contractor packs for the kitchen drawer pulls and hinges. I have found that Amazon has a better selection of these than Home Depot.
Shop around
I wanted a back splash for the kitchen that was easy to install. I found sheets of molded plastic at Home Depot that looked like a pressed tin ceiling. They were $20 for an 18"x24" panel, which I thought was too much to pay for a hunk of plastic. I found a store online that sells a better product for half the price. They make theirs out of aluminum and they have a better selection of patterns and colors.
Later, I'll post links to where I bought some of my stuff.
Here are some things I've discovered while remodeling this house on a budget...
Learn some new skills
Why pay someone to do it for you when you can do it yourself and acquire another power tool at the same time?
Paint
I used Walmart paint when we first started working on the house because it's cheap and I didn't know any better. Don't make the same mistake I did. Use Home Depot's Behr paint. That's probably the most important thing I've learned. You'll end up applying fewer coats (1 with a few touch-ups instead of 3) and the paint is more durable. This means less paint gets used, and your time isn't wasted painting the same wall over and over again.
Buy good paint brushes, cheap paint rollers. Dampen your brush before you start painting, it helps to keep the paint from drying on the bristles. Clean your brush well after you use it and take care of it so it will last a long time. The first time you use a roller, wrap it in tape to pull off the extra fuzzies. If you need to take a break from painting, wrap the roller in a plastic bag and put it in the fridge (I've done this for up a day or two). You can never wash all the paint out of it. Reuse it as many times as you can, then toss it.
Plumbing
Buy a good quality faucet (Delta, Kohler, etc.) from eBay. They sell last year's models at discounted prices. We paid about the same amount for each of our good quality faucets as we would have for one of the junky ones from Home Depot.
We found our kitchen sink supplier through Amazon. We paid about $80 for a better quality sink than the similar $200 sink at Home Depot.
Lighting
Get your light bulbs at IKEA. They're cheap and they last pretty good. One of our ceiling fans uses special bulbs. Regular compact fluorescent bulbs burn out too quickly so we have to use special vibration resistant ceiling fan bulbs that are $$$. I discovered the regular IKEA ones last just as long as the special ceiling fan ones.
The type of lights that I wanted for the kitchen (halogen track lights) were over $100 at Home Depot. I found something similar at IKEA for $25.
Wait until the Hunter ceiling fans go on sale. Don't waste your money on the cheap Hamilton Breeze ones. They break.
Our under-cabinet lights came from Walmart. We paid about $12 each but saw similar lights at Home Depot from $20-50. They aren't hooked up to a light switch, they plug into a wall outlet. Good that you don't have to do any electrical work, bad that you have to search for the tiny little switch to turn each of them on.
Flooring
Peel and stick flooring has come a long way. We have a 12" faux slate, but I've seen newer 24" tiles and strips of faux wood that I would love to have had. Starting at $1/sq. ft. it's the cheapest option. You only need a couple of simple tools to install it yourself; straight edge and a box cutter.
Our carpet is used. Yup, that's right. My parents bought a new house and replaced all of the carpet with hardwood. Because their house is bigger than ours, we had plenty of large pieces to work with. We found someone to install it for about $400.
Contractor packs
These are your friend when you have a lot of one thing that needs to be replaced. The downside is that there isn't as much variety to choose from and you sometimes have to buy more than you actually need.
We replaced all of the old almond colored outlets, switches, and wall plates with white. For example, light switches are are $0.69 each at Home Depot, or you can buy a pack of 10 for $4.90, which will save you $0.20 on each light you replace.
We also used contractor packs for the kitchen drawer pulls and hinges. I have found that Amazon has a better selection of these than Home Depot.
Shop around
I wanted a back splash for the kitchen that was easy to install. I found sheets of molded plastic at Home Depot that looked like a pressed tin ceiling. They were $20 for an 18"x24" panel, which I thought was too much to pay for a hunk of plastic. I found a store online that sells a better product for half the price. They make theirs out of aluminum and they have a better selection of patterns and colors.
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Finished Kitchen!
Here's the craptastic kitchen that I started out with.
I'm not exactly sure why all the cabinet doors are open, but it probably had something to do with airing out the previous owner's funk. Notice the lovely, gold rimmed, boob lights? The counter tops don't match each other, the cabinets are stained a hideous orange color, and the Harvest Gold oven doesn't work. We were all a little horrified when I cleaned the counter top near the sink and discovered that it was off-white and not tan. The walls are shiny, shiny white and are stained with nicotine (see that light spot on the wall under the "E" in before? They had something hanging on the wall that kept it from being coated in nicotine).
There have been a few changes to it over the years, but we never quite finished. The broken oven was the first thing to get replaced. Jason's roommate bought it in place of his first month's rent. Then the boob lights got replaced with some little halogens from IKEA. We repainted the whole house a nice, neutral tan and replaced all of the doors and trim. I painted the inside of the cabinets with lime green enamel to create a barrier between the old homeowner's funk and our nice, clean dishes. I attempted to strip and stain the cabinets, but never made much progress. We redid the floors after the dog was house trained.
Last year, when we got a new roof, we had them remove the skylight because it was causing major problems with condensation. If I cooked anything on the stove when it was cold outside, condensation would cause the nicotine on the walls around the skylight (never painted up there) to drip on the stove. We replaced it with a third IKEA light.
Six years later, the kitchen remodel is finished and I love it!
The fruit plaques, above the microwave, belonged to my Grandma Bessie.
The red and white flower hot-pads are from Gram's family.
My little elephant belonged to my great-grandmother, Granny Myrick. All of the decorative bowls I have (there are more displayed on top of the cabinets) are either gifts or inherited.
It's been a lot of work, but I'm happy to finally have a pretty kitchen!
I'm not exactly sure why all the cabinet doors are open, but it probably had something to do with airing out the previous owner's funk. Notice the lovely, gold rimmed, boob lights? The counter tops don't match each other, the cabinets are stained a hideous orange color, and the Harvest Gold oven doesn't work. We were all a little horrified when I cleaned the counter top near the sink and discovered that it was off-white and not tan. The walls are shiny, shiny white and are stained with nicotine (see that light spot on the wall under the "E" in before? They had something hanging on the wall that kept it from being coated in nicotine).
There have been a few changes to it over the years, but we never quite finished. The broken oven was the first thing to get replaced. Jason's roommate bought it in place of his first month's rent. Then the boob lights got replaced with some little halogens from IKEA. We repainted the whole house a nice, neutral tan and replaced all of the doors and trim. I painted the inside of the cabinets with lime green enamel to create a barrier between the old homeowner's funk and our nice, clean dishes. I attempted to strip and stain the cabinets, but never made much progress. We redid the floors after the dog was house trained.
Last year, when we got a new roof, we had them remove the skylight because it was causing major problems with condensation. If I cooked anything on the stove when it was cold outside, condensation would cause the nicotine on the walls around the skylight (never painted up there) to drip on the stove. We replaced it with a third IKEA light.
Six years later, the kitchen remodel is finished and I love it!
The fruit plaques, above the microwave, belonged to my Grandma Bessie.
The red and white flower hot-pads are from Gram's family.
My little elephant belonged to my great-grandmother, Granny Myrick. All of the decorative bowls I have (there are more displayed on top of the cabinets) are either gifts or inherited.
It's been a lot of work, but I'm happy to finally have a pretty kitchen!
Friday, September 14, 2012
Thoughts on Painting
I think I started painting almost a month ago. It's been so long I don't really remember. All I know is that I'm sick of it, but I should be finished by this weekend.
It's taken me so long because I'm trying to keep the kitchen as useable as possible. If I had of packed up everything in the kitchen into boxes, taken all of the doors and drawers off at the same time, I probably could have finished in a week or two. Instead, I've been working on one cabinet unit at a time. I take everything out of one cabinet and stack it on the bed in the spare bedroom, then I get to work sanding, priming, and painting. It takes a few days to get each cabinet unit finished after waiting for the paint to dry between coats.
After I got the first section of cabinets painted, Jason came home and said, "Wow that looks just like your mom's kitchen."
Shut up. No one asked you. That's a completely different color.
Now I'd like to take a moment to complain about Kilz.
In order for the primer to stick to the old polyurethane, I'm being forced to use is Kilz Odorless, which is oil based. I hate it. I'm sure that it smells less than Original Kilz, but it is in no way odorless. False advertising, y'all. I've decided that it smells like shoe polish with a hint of fish. I've never used Original Kilz before, only the latex Kilz. I have no way of comparing the two oil-based Kilz, but compared to the latex, that stuff sucks. It's too runny, it dries so fast you can't touch-up spots you just painted, and it leaves really bad brush marks.
I've tried using both brushes and foam rollers. Brushes leave very obvious brush streaks. With rollers I expect an orange-peel finish, but what I get with Kilz Odorless is a sandpaper finish. No bueno. This house isn't my perfect forever house and I'm too lazy to sand between coats. I've opted to paint everything with a brush instead of the roller because I'd rather the next homeowner look at my handiwork and say, "My, those are some brush strokes," instead of, "Did they paint over sandpaper?"
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Stuff in My Sink
The old sink was an enamel coated, cast iron behemoth. We considered reusing it, but it was difficult to keep clean, scratched, and Dr. Plumber permanently adhered it to the old counter top. Also, it may have been damaged a little when it was accidentally dropped then hit repeatedly with a hammer during demolition.
We've had the new sink in for a few weeks now. It's been enough time to thoroughly test it out and say that I like it!
We were pretty sure that we wanted a single basin sink. At Home Depot a stainless steel one was over $200. The cheapest, flimsyest, double basin sink was almost $90. Things seemed a little overpriced for the quality you were getting. Jason looked online and found one from MR Direct. Not only is it a better quality, thicker gauge steel than the $200 single basin sink, we also paid less for it than the cheapest, smallest sink that Home Depot sells.
So, new sink looks really huge, but it's the same size as a normal stainless steel sink, only without the divider in the middle. It's amazing how many dishes it holds. How easy it is to wash large, bulky things, like my enormous pots and pans, casserole pans, and cookie sheets.
Just to give you an idea:
Giant skillet and pot.
Cookie sheet, muffin tin.
Dog.
We've had the new sink in for a few weeks now. It's been enough time to thoroughly test it out and say that I like it!
We were pretty sure that we wanted a single basin sink. At Home Depot a stainless steel one was over $200. The cheapest, flimsyest, double basin sink was almost $90. Things seemed a little overpriced for the quality you were getting. Jason looked online and found one from MR Direct. Not only is it a better quality, thicker gauge steel than the $200 single basin sink, we also paid less for it than the cheapest, smallest sink that Home Depot sells.
So, new sink looks really huge, but it's the same size as a normal stainless steel sink, only without the divider in the middle. It's amazing how many dishes it holds. How easy it is to wash large, bulky things, like my enormous pots and pans, casserole pans, and cookie sheets.
Just to give you an idea:
Giant skillet and pot.
Cookie sheet, muffin tin.
Dog.
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
How to Caulk a Sink
Put one strip of masking tape on each side of the seam where the sink meets the counter. Make sure there is about a 1/8" gap between the two strips of tape.
Overlap several short pieces of tape to make a curve for the outside seam of the counter.
Use a single piece of tape to curve around the edge of the sink.
Using clear silicone caulk, run a thin bead of caulk down the seam.
Caulk has nasty stuff in it. Wear gloves while running your finger along the seam. This smooths out the seam and gets rid of excess caulk. Keep a wet paper towel nearby to clean the excess caulk off your finger.
Peel the tape off while the caulk is still wet.
The caulk will turn clear and shrink as it dries so any imperfections will be hidden. It takes about 30 minutes to an hour for it to become clear and four hours for it to dry completely. Be careful not to get it wet or bump it while it's drying.
Friday, August 17, 2012
Setbacks
The new sink we ordered had a dent in one of the edges. It looked fine when we got it out of the box and glanced it over. When we went to install, it wouldn't lay flat against the counter because of the dent. It's taken almost a week for the replacement sink to come in. We're eating a healthy diet of take-out and frozen dinners and I'm getting tired of doing dishes in the bathroom sink.
I started priming the cabinets with Kilz. I had a bad feeling about it, so I tested it by scraping it a little with my fingernail. It came right off. After talking with the folks at the paint store, I learned that I have to use the oil based Kilz to go over the old polyurethane based finish on the cabinets. So, I'm scraping off all of the latex Kilz, sanding everything again, and dreading working with the oil based Kilz.
Jason went to hook up the dishwasher again and discovered that one of the previous homeowner's many, many rodents had chewed through the electric cord. Hot wires were exposed. Fanfreakintastic. So, more crap to replace because stupid, lazy people couldn't take care of their house. It's amazing that I haven't caught the house on fire.
I started priming the cabinets with Kilz. I had a bad feeling about it, so I tested it by scraping it a little with my fingernail. It came right off. After talking with the folks at the paint store, I learned that I have to use the oil based Kilz to go over the old polyurethane based finish on the cabinets. So, I'm scraping off all of the latex Kilz, sanding everything again, and dreading working with the oil based Kilz.
Jason went to hook up the dishwasher again and discovered that one of the previous homeowner's many, many rodents had chewed through the electric cord. Hot wires were exposed. Fanfreakintastic. So, more crap to replace because stupid, lazy people couldn't take care of their house. It's amazing that I haven't caught the house on fire.
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Cue Kitchen Remodel
We've lived in this house for over five years now. Most of the house has
been remodeled, except for the kitchen. After we got finished replacing
all the doors, trim, electric outlets, light fixtures, bathrooms,
carpet, and repainting everything, we just didn't feel like fixing the
kitchen anymore. Then this happened:
I ran the disposer one night and there was a big nasty metallic clunk. I shut it off really quick to fish out what I thought was my silverware. Luckily it wasn't. One of the teeth from the disposer had broken off and there were lots of little metal fragments grinding around in there.
Jason went to the store to buy a new one, but determined that all the new ones were different sizes than our old one and he would have to redo all of the plumbing under the sink in order to make it fit. Jason hates plumbing. He didn't want to redo all the plumbing just to fix the disposer, then redo it again whenever we get around to remodeling the kitchen.
So, we're doing the kitchen NOW. Jason's really good at carpentry so we're able to do all of it ourselves.
For the past couple of weekends (including my anniversary weekend) we've been working on the stupid kitchen. We spent the first weekend sweating our asses off in 100 degree weather, cutting down plywood, inhaling our neighbor's second-hand smoke, and huffing glue for the formica. Mmmmmm.... good times.
This weekend we've been able to stay mostly indoors, but our kitchen has been turned upside down. All the pots and pans and Tupperware are in the spare bedroom and the refrigerator is blocking one of the doorways to the kitchen. There is a huge hole in the drywall under the kitchen sink (from the previous homeowner) and if we don't block it off the cat will go exploring in the space between the walls. Replacing drywall and having to rebuild one of the cabinets that rotted out have made this project a little more challenging than merely ripping out the old counters and replacing them with new ones we made.
For some reason the previous homeowner decided to "improve" the kitchen by putting floor tile on top of the old formica counter top. We have two parallel counters; one side has the oven on it, the other side has the sink. The guy used a different tile for each side and did a really crappy job at it. I think that the guy intended for them to stay there forever because those things weren't going anywhere. They were nailed in like crazy and they weighed a ton. Jason tried to get me to help him move it out to the back yard, but I physically couldn't lift it more than an inch. His friend came over to help take everything to the dump and it was so heavy that they accidentally dropped the side of the counter with the cast-iron sink.
The previous homeowner was a licensed plumber. When Jason met the guy before he bought the house from him, the guy bragged about how he was so good at plumbing that he practically had a doctorate in plumbing.
Jason doesn't know a thing about plumbing however, he does a much better job at plumbing than our friend, Doctor Plumber. Jason takes his time, reads and watches videos about each task that he needs to do, and does it correctly. Therefore, we have been able to correct some of Doctor Plumber's handiwork. For instance, the drain under the kitchen sink no longer flows UPHILL (why Doctor Plumber, why?). If Jason finds a leak, he does something to fix it instead of letting it go until it rots out all of the drywall behind the sink and the boards for the cabinet under the sink. Jason doesn't make giant gaping holes under the kitchen sink to get to the bathtub on the other side of the wall. Also, if Jason had installed the water line to the ice maker, he would have tied it into the cold water from the sink line, instead of the bathtub.
I occasionally see Doctor Plumber's trucks driving around town and I'm tempted to stop and tell the people that he's working for how much he sucks at being a plumber.
Here are some disgusting things we found in the walls behind the sink:
mold - had to replace most of the drywall behind the sink
bug shit in every crevice - on the ledge of the bottom cabinets that support the counter top, between the counter and the wall -the wall next to the dishwasher looked like sandpaper it had so much
sunflower seeds
packet of rat bait - under the dishwasher with the corner gnawed off
holes in the wall from rats
We found enough cat hair behind the refrigerator to cobble together a second Toby.
Be glad that I'm not including photos.
We already had an idea that the house had been previously infested with rodents. When the house was inspected before we bought it, there was a dead mouse near the breaker box. When we had the bathrooms redone a couple of years ago they found a dead rat curled up with a sock under one tub and a mountain of rat poop under the other tub.
I'd like to make it mandatory for homeowners to completely gut their houses every 20 years. That will give everyone a chance to clean up all the nasty bugs and rodents they've had lurking in their walls, replace all the rotten drywall, remove all 3 layers of linoleum floors in the kitchen, and get all the wiring and plumbing up to code. Sounds reasonable, right?
I ran the disposer one night and there was a big nasty metallic clunk. I shut it off really quick to fish out what I thought was my silverware. Luckily it wasn't. One of the teeth from the disposer had broken off and there were lots of little metal fragments grinding around in there.
Jason went to the store to buy a new one, but determined that all the new ones were different sizes than our old one and he would have to redo all of the plumbing under the sink in order to make it fit. Jason hates plumbing. He didn't want to redo all the plumbing just to fix the disposer, then redo it again whenever we get around to remodeling the kitchen.
So, we're doing the kitchen NOW. Jason's really good at carpentry so we're able to do all of it ourselves.
For the past couple of weekends (including my anniversary weekend) we've been working on the stupid kitchen. We spent the first weekend sweating our asses off in 100 degree weather, cutting down plywood, inhaling our neighbor's second-hand smoke, and huffing glue for the formica. Mmmmmm.... good times.
This weekend we've been able to stay mostly indoors, but our kitchen has been turned upside down. All the pots and pans and Tupperware are in the spare bedroom and the refrigerator is blocking one of the doorways to the kitchen. There is a huge hole in the drywall under the kitchen sink (from the previous homeowner) and if we don't block it off the cat will go exploring in the space between the walls. Replacing drywall and having to rebuild one of the cabinets that rotted out have made this project a little more challenging than merely ripping out the old counters and replacing them with new ones we made.
For some reason the previous homeowner decided to "improve" the kitchen by putting floor tile on top of the old formica counter top. We have two parallel counters; one side has the oven on it, the other side has the sink. The guy used a different tile for each side and did a really crappy job at it. I think that the guy intended for them to stay there forever because those things weren't going anywhere. They were nailed in like crazy and they weighed a ton. Jason tried to get me to help him move it out to the back yard, but I physically couldn't lift it more than an inch. His friend came over to help take everything to the dump and it was so heavy that they accidentally dropped the side of the counter with the cast-iron sink.
The previous homeowner was a licensed plumber. When Jason met the guy before he bought the house from him, the guy bragged about how he was so good at plumbing that he practically had a doctorate in plumbing.
Jason doesn't know a thing about plumbing however, he does a much better job at plumbing than our friend, Doctor Plumber. Jason takes his time, reads and watches videos about each task that he needs to do, and does it correctly. Therefore, we have been able to correct some of Doctor Plumber's handiwork. For instance, the drain under the kitchen sink no longer flows UPHILL (why Doctor Plumber, why?). If Jason finds a leak, he does something to fix it instead of letting it go until it rots out all of the drywall behind the sink and the boards for the cabinet under the sink. Jason doesn't make giant gaping holes under the kitchen sink to get to the bathtub on the other side of the wall. Also, if Jason had installed the water line to the ice maker, he would have tied it into the cold water from the sink line, instead of the bathtub.
I occasionally see Doctor Plumber's trucks driving around town and I'm tempted to stop and tell the people that he's working for how much he sucks at being a plumber.
Here are some disgusting things we found in the walls behind the sink:
mold - had to replace most of the drywall behind the sink
bug shit in every crevice - on the ledge of the bottom cabinets that support the counter top, between the counter and the wall -the wall next to the dishwasher looked like sandpaper it had so much
sunflower seeds
packet of rat bait - under the dishwasher with the corner gnawed off
holes in the wall from rats
We found enough cat hair behind the refrigerator to cobble together a second Toby.
Be glad that I'm not including photos.
We already had an idea that the house had been previously infested with rodents. When the house was inspected before we bought it, there was a dead mouse near the breaker box. When we had the bathrooms redone a couple of years ago they found a dead rat curled up with a sock under one tub and a mountain of rat poop under the other tub.
I'd like to make it mandatory for homeowners to completely gut their houses every 20 years. That will give everyone a chance to clean up all the nasty bugs and rodents they've had lurking in their walls, replace all the rotten drywall, remove all 3 layers of linoleum floors in the kitchen, and get all the wiring and plumbing up to code. Sounds reasonable, right?
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Modern Art Tutorial
Jason watches this cartoon about a spy agency called Archer. Maybe cartoon is a little too lighthearted of a way of describing it. Animated drunken/nudity/violent/profanity fest (with a pet ocelot) is probably more appropriate. You have been warned.
I've noticed in the background scenery that there are some really neat pieces of art hanging on the walls. I decided that I would make a painting like one of the ones hanging in the ISIS office as a gift for Jason.
That's right, I made the guy who doesn't appreciate art (especially modern art) a painting. "Why Dana, " you say, "that's a really dumb idea." You're right, it is. But it's okay. He's really good at faking sincerity. That being said, the router that took 5 minutes to pick out was appreciated much more than the painting that took 3 hours to make.
Here's what you need to make one:
Canvas - any old canvas or smooth piece of wood will do. The one I used is a piece of Masonite with a wooden frame on the back for stability. It's left over from an old painting class project that I hated.
Brush - use a big one. Unless I'm trying to paint details, I find it easiest to work with a 3" house paint brush. For details, a 1/2" to 1" paint brush.
Paint - my original idea was to use house paint because a) I've already chosen the colors to match our decor and b) we have gallons and gallons of the stuff out in the garage. I decided against this plan because a) it's hot in the garage and b) I didn't feel like shaking up gallons and gallons of paint. Instead, I used a combination of acrylic artist's paints, white gesso (primer for canvases), and matte medium (for thinning paint).
Cup o' water, paint palette (old or disposable plate), paper towels, drop cloth (trash bag or newspaper)
Here's how I did it:
Looking at the original painting (far right) from Archer, I made rough sketches of the order in which it appeared the layers of color were applied. I also noted the placement and shapes of those color blocks. It helps paintings to look more visually interesting when there are lots of layers of paint. Also, don't use the paint straight out of the tube. Mix it with another color first, but keep the colors a little streaky.
1st layer: tan
This layer was intentionally dark so that it would show up as shadows under the next layers. I used burnt umber, burnt sienna, yellow ochre, and cadmium yellow. I mixed the colors together and with white gesso, then applied it in streaks to my canvas. The blue spot in the middle is part of the old painting showing through from underneath.
Let each layer dry completely before starting with the next. A hair dryer helps when you get impatient. The shadow across the top of each picture is from the wall shelf above where I was painting.
2nd layer: white
I diluted the white gesso with the dirty brown water from my cup. That made the white less bright. I slopped my dirty water/gesso mix onto the canvas and let the drips run down. I repeated this step until I had built up enough layers to hide parts of the first layer that I didn't want to show as much, but intentionally left some of it visible.
3rd layer: yellow
I mixed cadmium yellow and yellow ochre with matte medium to make the paint thinner and more transparent. I painted a wide, horizontal swath across the canvas. Then I dunked my brush in the dirty water and went back over it to make some drips.
4th layer: orange
Napthol crimson mixed with yellow ochre, cad yellow, and matte medium. I scribbled it across the right side of the canvas and laid the canvas down flat when I wanted the drips to stop spreading.
5th layer: blue wash
Ultamarine, pthalo blue, a touch of cad yellow, and matte medium. I got a little too much in the center of the canvas, so I scrubbed it off with a paper towel and water while the paint was still fresh. Added lots of water to make it drip like crazy.
6th layer: red
Napthol crimson, burnt sienna, and matte medium. I didn't use any water to streak this layer.
7th layer: brown
Burnt umber, burnt sienna, ultamarine blue. My burnt umber was about the consistency of fudge, so I mixed it with some matte medium to thin it out. When that didn't thin it enough, I used a palette knife to apply it, instead of the brush. It's really thick and I'm pretty sure it's never going to dry. Also, WOW, it's really dark.
8th layer: blue shadow
Pthalo blue, ultamarine, a touch of yellow ochre. Oopsie, looks like I forgot to take a photo.
9th layer: brown touchup
The unplanned layer. I wasn't happy with the 7th layer. It's just sitting there on top of the canvas screaming I AM BROWN!! Using some yellow and white I made a lighter brown. Thankfully the paint hadn't dried all the way yet, so I was able to work the lighter brown with the darker, existing brown and scrape the surface so that you can see some of the red layer underneath.
I think that the reason the brown layer didn't work is because it is so opaque. All of the other layers are thin and you can see parts of the under layer peeking through. I wish that I had used more matte medium and applied the brown in several layers so that it had that same effect.
All in all, I'm happy with the way my painting turned out. It's been years since the last time I painted and I'd forgotten how much I enjoy it. Maybe I should start painting again?
I've noticed in the background scenery that there are some really neat pieces of art hanging on the walls. I decided that I would make a painting like one of the ones hanging in the ISIS office as a gift for Jason.
That's right, I made the guy who doesn't appreciate art (especially modern art) a painting. "Why Dana, " you say, "that's a really dumb idea." You're right, it is. But it's okay. He's really good at faking sincerity. That being said, the router that took 5 minutes to pick out was appreciated much more than the painting that took 3 hours to make.
Here's what you need to make one:
Canvas - any old canvas or smooth piece of wood will do. The one I used is a piece of Masonite with a wooden frame on the back for stability. It's left over from an old painting class project that I hated.
Brush - use a big one. Unless I'm trying to paint details, I find it easiest to work with a 3" house paint brush. For details, a 1/2" to 1" paint brush.
Paint - my original idea was to use house paint because a) I've already chosen the colors to match our decor and b) we have gallons and gallons of the stuff out in the garage. I decided against this plan because a) it's hot in the garage and b) I didn't feel like shaking up gallons and gallons of paint. Instead, I used a combination of acrylic artist's paints, white gesso (primer for canvases), and matte medium (for thinning paint).
Cup o' water, paint palette (old or disposable plate), paper towels, drop cloth (trash bag or newspaper)
Here's how I did it:
Looking at the original painting (far right) from Archer, I made rough sketches of the order in which it appeared the layers of color were applied. I also noted the placement and shapes of those color blocks. It helps paintings to look more visually interesting when there are lots of layers of paint. Also, don't use the paint straight out of the tube. Mix it with another color first, but keep the colors a little streaky.
1st layer: tan
This layer was intentionally dark so that it would show up as shadows under the next layers. I used burnt umber, burnt sienna, yellow ochre, and cadmium yellow. I mixed the colors together and with white gesso, then applied it in streaks to my canvas. The blue spot in the middle is part of the old painting showing through from underneath.
Let each layer dry completely before starting with the next. A hair dryer helps when you get impatient. The shadow across the top of each picture is from the wall shelf above where I was painting.
2nd layer: white
I diluted the white gesso with the dirty brown water from my cup. That made the white less bright. I slopped my dirty water/gesso mix onto the canvas and let the drips run down. I repeated this step until I had built up enough layers to hide parts of the first layer that I didn't want to show as much, but intentionally left some of it visible.
3rd layer: yellow
I mixed cadmium yellow and yellow ochre with matte medium to make the paint thinner and more transparent. I painted a wide, horizontal swath across the canvas. Then I dunked my brush in the dirty water and went back over it to make some drips.
4th layer: orange
Napthol crimson mixed with yellow ochre, cad yellow, and matte medium. I scribbled it across the right side of the canvas and laid the canvas down flat when I wanted the drips to stop spreading.
5th layer: blue wash
Ultamarine, pthalo blue, a touch of cad yellow, and matte medium. I got a little too much in the center of the canvas, so I scrubbed it off with a paper towel and water while the paint was still fresh. Added lots of water to make it drip like crazy.
6th layer: red
Napthol crimson, burnt sienna, and matte medium. I didn't use any water to streak this layer.
7th layer: brown
Burnt umber, burnt sienna, ultamarine blue. My burnt umber was about the consistency of fudge, so I mixed it with some matte medium to thin it out. When that didn't thin it enough, I used a palette knife to apply it, instead of the brush. It's really thick and I'm pretty sure it's never going to dry. Also, WOW, it's really dark.
8th layer: blue shadow
Pthalo blue, ultamarine, a touch of yellow ochre. Oopsie, looks like I forgot to take a photo.
9th layer: brown touchup
The unplanned layer. I wasn't happy with the 7th layer. It's just sitting there on top of the canvas screaming I AM BROWN!! Using some yellow and white I made a lighter brown. Thankfully the paint hadn't dried all the way yet, so I was able to work the lighter brown with the darker, existing brown and scrape the surface so that you can see some of the red layer underneath.
I think that the reason the brown layer didn't work is because it is so opaque. All of the other layers are thin and you can see parts of the under layer peeking through. I wish that I had used more matte medium and applied the brown in several layers so that it had that same effect.
All in all, I'm happy with the way my painting turned out. It's been years since the last time I painted and I'd forgotten how much I enjoy it. Maybe I should start painting again?
Monday, August 6, 2012
Working with a theme: go nuts and stick with it, or leaf it to the experts?
Saturday was our 5th wedding anniversary and the traditional gift is wood. We have a stack of plywood out in the garage that is destined to become new counter tops for our kitchen. I'd say that covers the wood quotient of our anniversary gift.
What Jason needed was a tool to help facilitate the construction of the counter tops, so I got him a trim router for cutting the formica we're covering the counters with. The next day he needed a random orbital sander, so we went back to Home Depot and got one. Two new power tools, one weekend. Best. Anniversary. Ever.
I wrap just about everything in brown craft paper. I really like using craft paper for wrapping gifts. It gives you a simple, versatile look and lends itself well to a little creativity. For this gift, I doodled tree rings with a brown Sharpie. Super cute and took about 5 minutes.
I also like making my own cards. For this one, I printed out an inside message on white cardstock. I folded the card in half and cut it to size with an x-acto knife. For the cover, I cut a piece of scrapbook paper to size, cut the heart out with the x-acto, then glued it to the front of the cardstock card. I used a red pen for the details. The inside message? Brace yourself, it's really corny...
What Jason needed was a tool to help facilitate the construction of the counter tops, so I got him a trim router for cutting the formica we're covering the counters with. The next day he needed a random orbital sander, so we went back to Home Depot and got one. Two new power tools, one weekend. Best. Anniversary. Ever.
I wrap just about everything in brown craft paper. I really like using craft paper for wrapping gifts. It gives you a simple, versatile look and lends itself well to a little creativity. For this gift, I doodled tree rings with a brown Sharpie. Super cute and took about 5 minutes.
I also like making my own cards. For this one, I printed out an inside message on white cardstock. I folded the card in half and cut it to size with an x-acto knife. For the cover, I cut a piece of scrapbook paper to size, cut the heart out with the x-acto, then glued it to the front of the cardstock card. I used a red pen for the details. The inside message? Brace yourself, it's really corny...
wood you like to know a secret?
it's hard knot to love you
because you keep me rooted
Monday, July 23, 2012
Tobykins
This is a little embarrassing, so I'm just going to come out and say it. I made this quilt for Toby. Yup, you heard that right, I wasted an insane amount of time making my damn cat a quilt. It's his 10th birthday next month and I wanted to make something special to mark the occasion.
Another way of viewing this occasion: I've made it 10 years without strangling the world's most obnoxious cat.
This one measures about 45"x60". I designed a front and a back for it, just like the last quilts I made.
I did a loop-de-loop design for the quilting, with little mice hidden here and there.
Jason found a piece of paper one night that I had been doodling the cat's name on over and over to practice for quilting it. "Please tell me you're not writing Tobykins on that quilt you're making," he said. Suuurrre... So, that's the cat's nickname right there in the bottom corner.
Trust me, it's there somewhere.
And finally, here's the monster himself sprawled out on his quilt while I was in the process of sewing on the binding.
Awwww.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go feed the world's most obnoxious cat before he wakes our neighbors.
Another way of viewing this occasion: I've made it 10 years without strangling the world's most obnoxious cat.
This one measures about 45"x60". I designed a front and a back for it, just like the last quilts I made.
I did a loop-de-loop design for the quilting, with little mice hidden here and there.
Jason found a piece of paper one night that I had been doodling the cat's name on over and over to practice for quilting it. "Please tell me you're not writing Tobykins on that quilt you're making," he said. Suuurrre... So, that's the cat's nickname right there in the bottom corner.
Trust me, it's there somewhere.
And finally, here's the monster himself sprawled out on his quilt while I was in the process of sewing on the binding.
Awwww.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go feed the world's most obnoxious cat before he wakes our neighbors.
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Couple of things
1) I hate orange.
2) Also don't like things with cat prints.
3) OMG I wuv my orange quilt with cutesy widdle kitty cats!!!
I know, right?
The cat prints all came together in a fat quarter bundle. All the other polka dots and such were purchased separately. If I cut 9" squares, I can get four squares from each FQ (or 1/4 yard, whatever). I started cutting out squares for this one over the weekend.
The finished blocks are 7.5" and I need 48 of them to make a 45"x60" blanket. Last night I sewed together 26 blocks, so I'm halfway done after one night!!!
Here's my plan of attack:
Hack, hack.
Sew.
I think that last one is a little out of focus. Sorry.
One problem I came across is that really didn't like the light brown I was using. When I was picking coordinating fabrics I thought that the quilt needed some lighter value colors.
Bleh. It doesn't. I found some brown batik-y circle fabric that I had on hand, so I'm using that instead. Luckily, I'd only made two blocks with the light brown so I don't have that much to rip apart.
2) Also don't like things with cat prints.
3) OMG I wuv my orange quilt with cutesy widdle kitty cats!!!
I know, right?
The cat prints all came together in a fat quarter bundle. All the other polka dots and such were purchased separately. If I cut 9" squares, I can get four squares from each FQ (or 1/4 yard, whatever). I started cutting out squares for this one over the weekend.
The finished blocks are 7.5" and I need 48 of them to make a 45"x60" blanket. Last night I sewed together 26 blocks, so I'm halfway done after one night!!!
Here's my plan of attack:
Hack, hack.
Sew.
I think that last one is a little out of focus. Sorry.
One problem I came across is that really didn't like the light brown I was using. When I was picking coordinating fabrics I thought that the quilt needed some lighter value colors.
Bleh. It doesn't. I found some brown batik-y circle fabric that I had on hand, so I'm using that instead. Luckily, I'd only made two blocks with the light brown so I don't have that much to rip apart.
Sunday, June 17, 2012
11th Birthday Quilts
I've been working on these quilts for my nieces for about nine months now, which coincidentally is also the last time that I blogged. I had scraps left over from the pj's I made for their birthday last year and I really wanted to make them something big and awesome this year.
I didn't have that many scraps left over from the pj's. I planned to use lots of white (um, about 9 yards worth), and I bought some coordinating solids to mix in. I made 12" wonky log cabin blocks for the tops. After I got them all sewn together I realized that I wanted them to be a little bigger, but I had run out of fabric. Then I remembered that I had MORE fabric!! I had some polka dot fabric squirreled away that I planned to make my sister some pj's with. Sorry sister, your pj's are now borders on the girls' quilts.
Katie's
Jessie's
I designed a back to go with the quilts too. The way I see it, why should the front of the quilt have all the fun?
back of Katie's
back of Jessie's
This was my first time to do straight line quilting. I went for kind of a plaid look with lines stitched .25" to 1.5" apart. I like how it emphasizes the log cabin on the front of the quilt. Don't like how it took forever to do.
At first I tried using my regular old presser foot to do the quilting. All the layers shifted and my beautiful quilt became a big bunchy mess. I think I spend about a day ripping out all of those stitches. So, I went out to the Viking dealer and bought myself a $90 walking foot (on sale from $130... gulp). Works like a dream. There was still a little bit of shifting, but I think that's my fault for not assembling the quilt just right.
The girls are also getting matching pillows to go with the quilts. I didn't come up with the design for the pillows, they're heavily influenced by something else I saw on the Internet. Remember, imitation is the highest form of flattery.
I had so much fun making these quilts. I taught myself a lot of new tricks and I think that I might have found a new "favorite craft" (sorry knitting).
The girls are coming for a visit this week and I'm really excited to give them their quilts in person. I think they'll love them.
I didn't have that many scraps left over from the pj's. I planned to use lots of white (um, about 9 yards worth), and I bought some coordinating solids to mix in. I made 12" wonky log cabin blocks for the tops. After I got them all sewn together I realized that I wanted them to be a little bigger, but I had run out of fabric. Then I remembered that I had MORE fabric!! I had some polka dot fabric squirreled away that I planned to make my sister some pj's with. Sorry sister, your pj's are now borders on the girls' quilts.
Katie's
Jessie's
I designed a back to go with the quilts too. The way I see it, why should the front of the quilt have all the fun?
back of Katie's
back of Jessie's
This was my first time to do straight line quilting. I went for kind of a plaid look with lines stitched .25" to 1.5" apart. I like how it emphasizes the log cabin on the front of the quilt. Don't like how it took forever to do.
At first I tried using my regular old presser foot to do the quilting. All the layers shifted and my beautiful quilt became a big bunchy mess. I think I spend about a day ripping out all of those stitches. So, I went out to the Viking dealer and bought myself a $90 walking foot (on sale from $130... gulp). Works like a dream. There was still a little bit of shifting, but I think that's my fault for not assembling the quilt just right.
The girls are also getting matching pillows to go with the quilts. I didn't come up with the design for the pillows, they're heavily influenced by something else I saw on the Internet. Remember, imitation is the highest form of flattery.
I had so much fun making these quilts. I taught myself a lot of new tricks and I think that I might have found a new "favorite craft" (sorry knitting).
The girls are coming for a visit this week and I'm really excited to give them their quilts in person. I think they'll love them.
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