e shelf

ok...so more than a little late...but, the extra effort put into making this just right paid off i think! this is a project that i've been wanting to do for months now. i know i should be working on my floor, but this wouldn't be the first time i've done what's fun instead of what's necessary!

chances are that eden won't find any mugs or cute little sparkly pens with her name on it...the least i could do is give her something personalized. the fact that this item will hold all of her new-found (and mounting) hair bobbles and ever growing supply of ointments, lotions, etc. is a bonus.

the shelf measures 16" x 24". i traced an 'e' onto a big sheet of 1/4" mdf using my projector and cut it out with a jigsaw. the actual shelf part is also made out of mdf. i'm going to hang this in eden's bedroom.

ok, now on to the floor...honestly!

a little late

i'm going to be a little late with my post today. i'm literally watching paint dry! come back in a few hours...this project is a fun one!

a table to put away

i have a small house, not a lot of floor space for playing and making. so, when i saw great potential floor space under my old kitchen table i knew i wanted to take advantage of it.

so, with a little help from my carpenter friend, Louie, i put together a new kitchen table that i could fold away when i wanted the space under it.

i took a trip to the local Happy Harry's to pick out a solid beech veneered door ($30) and a thick post for the leg ($10). Louie attached the door to the wall for me using piano hinge. Then he attached two blocks to the wall with latch/catch thingys (no idea what they are called...you should have seen me trying to explain what i wanted to the sales person!) from Lee Valley .

the table then folds up to the wall and gets "clipped" in!

it weighs a ton, but trust me, it isn't going anywhere when it's secured to the wall. i eventually want to do some sort of funky artwork on the backside....or maybe a chalkboard for when eden gets older. although, then, i'd probably have to explain why i had chalk on my pants all the time...

laptop bag & advice needed

for some reason i've never liked being called crafty. the word 'crafty' conjures up images of fluffy bunnies and appliqué hearts for me. but, lately i'm finding myself doing crafty-like projects. for example, this laptop bag. a layer of foam, pretty fabric, clear plastic, a zipper and you've got yourself a laptop bag. cute.

alright, moving away from the crafty stuff for awhile. on to building stuff. i feel like i should insert a tim-the-toolman grunt here!

but, first i've got to take care of a priority... i need to lay some flooring in my spare bedroom. and, because i've never laid flooring, i need some help.

here is my newly painted room (cotton blossom). we ripped up the old carpet and have to now rip up the underfloor cushion and stripping around the edges. i want to create a floor from mdf. i know it sounds crazy. but, debbie travis did it!

i'm looking for some advice from you about laying floor. specifically laying an mdf floor. i'll cut it into 4' x 4' tiles, seal it up on all sides really well and screw it in to the existing plywood. then i want to paint it a high gloss white and put a couple of coats of a vanish on top. let me know what you think.

a splash of colour

so, you may be saying to yourself... that just looks like some thread wound around a piece of wood.

yup, that's what it is.

this is the colourful 'art' i created to brighten up a dark corner of my hallway. i wanted stripes of bright colour for this space... but, i didn't want to have to go out and buy dozens of individual paint bottles and a custom piece of stretched canvas (i'm pretty cheap!). so, i dug in my drawer and found handfuls of coloured embroidery thread. i took a scrap piece of wood that i painted white and started winding. 1" for each colour. but, any pattern of stripes would do.

kuler is a great site to visit if you are looking to create a colour pallet of your own.