Pine Cabinet Door Gift

A name is a gift.

A last name as well as a first. 

Many of us as married women have a last name we didn't grow up with. 

I like my married name, and I liked my maiden name.  Our youngest son has my maiden name as his middle name.  I wanted it to be passed on somehow.

Our first born, #1 son who leads my gaggle of six offspring in age, celebrated a birthday and I wanted to make something for him.

Last minute of course because I seem to be operating that way lately.

He recently gave himself an office in his home.  He carved out a useful space in what was their nursery.

He made himself a desk...... aged the boards, sized it for his space, and gave it a patina to match a locked cabinet that his dad made for him.  (His dad - my husband - in case there was question who he belonged too!).

The antique dresser in the background is all that remains of the former nursery.  The dresser was converted out of being a changing table and might be coming to reside at my house.

#1 son built some shelves, giving them round bolt head details on the corners.  And without asking him or my daughter in law I took photos.

I tried not to capture the big suitcase in the corner packed with swim suits for the Florida vacation they were leaving on.

I must be every woman's mother-in-law nighmare huh?  Show up with my camera intruding on their life, all so I could show you how the sign I made will fit in with it's surroundings. 

#1 has turned into quite the DIY'er.  Of course he knows where to go for help and questions, his dad can build anything.

This cabinet is made out of all sorts of cast off junk wood laying around in Brawns half of the garage.  My half of course is covered only in treasures from garage sales.

I kindly asked Brawn if he would find me an old cabinet door in his junk.  No problem - he gave me three dirty choices to pick from.

I started painting and layering colors, thinking to myself, "how it ends up it ends up".

My regular readers know I have a lot of sample size pots of just about every brand of chalk or clay paint made, and I mix them all on projects.  The different brands get along quite well in my opinion.

This particular project happened to use all CeCe Caldwells paint and wax.

I mentioned this was last minute.

I started the project 3 hours before I needed to gift it.  A dirty old blow dryer became my BFF to move the already fast drying chalk paint along a little faster.

I used my Silhouette for the letters.

I will be adding some rusty metal, probably in the form of barbed wire, but that part didn't happen before it needed to be gifted or photographed.

A little reminder for #1 son to hang in his office.

The real gift was from his father - the last name, not the sign.

Linking my son's sign gift too:
Make it pretty Monday @TheDedicatedHouse
Tweak it Tuesday @CozyLittleHouse 
The Scoop @CedarHillRanch
Time to Sparkle @TheGunnySack 
Creative Inspirations @EmbracingChange
Project Inspired @CupcakesandCrinoline 
Tutorials & Tips @HomeStoriesAtoZ 
Make the Scene @AlderberryHill 
Craft-o-Maniac Monday 
Budget Decorating Party @CreativeCainCabin 
Show & Share @SouthernLovely 
Wildly Original Party @IGottaCreate 
Thursdays are Your Days @52Mantels 
Made You Look @MadeInADay 
Party Time @36thAvenue 
Tutorials, Tips & Tidbits @StoneGable 
Under $100 Link Party @BeyondThePicketFence 
Open House Party @NoMinimalistHere

Our Old Building

In keeping with my apparent theme for April of avoiding my dining room redo, here is another 'Tour de Distraction'.  Our old building.

Some of you know that a few years ago I bought an old building to renovate.

Saying I bought it is accurate, saying I'm renovating it makes my nose grow.
Gotta give credit to Brawn and the boys for 90% of the manual labor.  Ok.... 95%.

Before & During

The building is in a great location on a main street and it has a view of a lake out the back.

It has a gutted top floor.  We did this, and enjoyed every minute of it...till clean up.

Many of you might covet this vintage wallpaper.  I am not one of those.
I repeat....
I AM NOT ONE OF THOSE.
YES I'M YELLING THAT.  Sorry.

I did however rescue the old Kelvinator stove.  It's in good shape, just dirty.

Doesn't the sight of that in black and white make you feel a bit Betty Crocker-ish?

Lights....
It came with old lights.  The dirt was a vintage bonus. 

These sconces hang on the main floor above the barber work station.

The upstairs living quarters had these lights and this ugly faux ceiling.  One of those two is gone.  

Put your money on the ceiling.

Three schoolhouse lights hang over where the barber chairs were.  We will reuse them. I am willing to bet that the dust on top of these lights is as old as the building.

There is a covered stoop where you enter the main floor or stairs to go to the living space above.  The outside entry floor is covered with these tiles.  I think with a good cleaning they will look nice.  I like the colors.

A very large, shallow cabinet, just big enough for hair care products, is along one wall.  It will either be repurposed and used in the upstairs apartment, or it will come home with me to replace where the barber shop sign I made hangs in our master bath.  

This barber sign IS going to the new bathroom in the old building.  

Eventually.

When we have a bathroom somewhere in the old building.

Also in the master bath is the antique ceramic scissor sterilizer.  Say that fast 3 times.

 And the old scissors.

The store front currently houses a photography display - it's a regular winter wonderland.  

Still.  

In April.  

I have to get up there and remove the melted snowman heads.  

Or maybe not, the weather man is predicting 6 - 12 inches of snow for us today.

The middle of April.  Yuck.

The front has come a long way since these guys helped dad hold windows in place.  Brawn came back two hours later to find them still holding the window.  

Just kidding!!!  

If you look at the reflection in the glass it looks like R is wearing a lampshade on his head and has a thick black mustache.  Neither are true.  #3 does however have a dark beard and is sporting a beanie on his noggin.  He sort of looks like he's from Duck Dynasty.  My other son is doing a pretty good mime imitation huh?

So this spring, in addition to hopefully getting the never ending dining room redo done, we will also be putting the upstairs of this building back together.

The main floor will have to wait, because there is lots of strumming going on in there.....

The main floor hosts the main attraction - #3's band.  (Check out that awesome original tile floor!).

So either #3 or me has to start making better use of the building so one or both of us can put some green backs in this.....

Giant Yardstick

So last week I posted the dining room table redo and the partial dining room chair redo's.

Then before that I didn't feel like working on the table or chairs so I posted a tour of a guest bathroom as a distraction.

That's sort of what is going on today.......... a distraction.  I see a pattern.

So I'mma-gonna post about something else I made to distract me from EVER completing the dining room.

Enter the giant yardstick project.  (Thank goodness the one my mom used to whack my hinder with wasn't this size!)

You've seen them on the internet, but I didn't follow a specific tutorial so no credit is given.  If you made one and posted a picture, thanks - that's where I got the idea.

I start crafts at night, so you'll have to deal with the photo lighting

Making lines is not rocket science for most people, but for me it is.

Because I had to measure on the measure.  Math.  Yuck.

Then after I made my marks and painted the numbers all pretty, I realized that I hadn't painted the whole thing yet, or stained it.  I didn't even know which I would do.

Einstein I'm not.

So I painted it and re-marked the marks. 

And ended up with this......

The measuring stick was such a novelty, a certain 5 year old even marked the height of his playmates on it!

Those two cuties in the pictures are worth all the number calculations my math challenged brain ever had to calculate.

 I did not take these photos, but I'm claiming them anyhow.

My next distraction from completing the dining room might be the impromptu photo tour I did of my son's house.

Wonder what my daughter in law thinks? Wouldn't you love me for a mother in law?  Sneak in and take photos unannounced and then put them on the internet? 

Linking up Mr. Jumbo to:
The Scoop @CraftyTexasGirls
Make it Pretty @TheDedicatedHouse
Friday Free For All @FiveDays5Ways
The Inspiration Gallery @CraftyScrappyHappy
Creative Inspirations Party @EmbracingChange
Open House Party @NoMinimalistHere
Tutorials Tips & Tidbits @StoneGable
Under $100 @BeyondThePicketFence
Wildly Original Party@IGottaCreate 
Show & Share @SouthernLovely
Thursdays are Your Days @52Mantels
Pinworthy Projects @JustUsFour 
That DIY Party @DIYShowoff

Coming Soon to a Table near Me....

Waiting for wax

Chairs have been painted.  Chalk paint.

Painted again.  Chalk paint.

And yet parts again.  Chalk paint.

They are getting ready to join the table.

Lonely table waiting for chairs

 
From the top of their carved chair backs to the bottom of their ribbed paws...
all six have been rubbed with a wash of oil stain over the chalk paint.

And every one of the lovely, but hated nooks and crannies has had the pleasure of my company.

Lonely chair waiting for others to be waxed

The seat cushions have been leather-ed. 

And one....

one brave chair has been waxed.

Yes blogging buddies, that can only mean one thing........

I STILL HAVE  5 MORE FREAKING CHAIRS TO WAX.  (If they ever let me out of the asylum).

The fabric for the backs is here. 

Purchased in the paint department.  Drop cloth - lying in wait to become one with the chairs.

Before

And you my friends.  I rely on you all to remind me that I never....

ever....

EVERRRRRRR......

 want to redo six chairs, EVER... ever... again.

I will die a happy woman to never paint or wax another chair.  EVERRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.

The Tabled Table, Gets Topped

Remember that dining room redo that started back in February?

No?  That's alright-ie you can click to read about it if you want.
Basically the room got painted and forgot about.

But that wasn't as long ago as the table was started.

The plain pine boards in their planning stage.

The dining room table got tabled back in November.
The new one to be bigger... badder than the pine one it was replacing.

I picked up some chairs on craigslist to redo.  Because a couple of those fabric ones had ripped seats.

The march of the chairs

Thanksgiving came and went.  Christmas came and went.
Then we painted the dining room walls in February.

Things were looking up in the redo area.

Then I lost my vision.

Back side of the new table top

The chairs sat, and we sat on them.
The new table top entered the room half done where it stayed.
It stayed long enough that people complimented us on the new table, believing that was the finished product.

The top got burned before the dark stain base went on

 It stayed long enough in it's dark way that when the new finish was done I myself had to get used to it.

Table just lying in wait

This table is Brawn's baby.  I can't take credit for it.
In a rare turn of events he described to me what he wanted and I painted.

And painted again because I got it wrong.  I didn't read his mind like I expect him to do when he is working on something for me.

The table ended up with a coat of ASCP in Pure White.

Brawn patiently scraping with a razor blade

 He and #2 daughter did the distressing with a razor blade.

Then I did some waxing and sanding till he was pleased.
Yes I waxed the top of the table in a high traffic area.  It's hard, and buffed, and turned out wonderful.

Nice-old-worn-barnboard-looking.
Just like Brawn had in mind.

The Dining Room Reveal..... it's coming.......soon.....

Latte Bottle turned Soap Dispenser

While on my month long quest to avoid manual labor in my dining room redo, I decided I needed my dish soap in a glass jar, or bottle or whatever besides what it was in. 

I didn't want the regular pump from a soap bottle, I wanted the big 'ol thing from my peeling metal soap dispenser.

So I assembled the parts: 
A yucky Gingerbread latte beverage from December
The old soap pump
Glass of mostly gone ice tea
Miscellaneous glass jars that were sitting there
And a sippy cup. 

Because when taking a picture, why on earth spend the extra second it takes to move all that junk out of the way?

Don't anyone get too excited over this project, or the tutorial I am about to give you.

Soap Dispenser from glass bottle - tutorial if you need it

Try to drink the Gingerbread latte because you don't want to waste it.  It has been there since December, someone might want it.

Take the metal bottle lid, get a screw driver and pound holes in it till it looks like the old soap pump top will fit in there firmly.  

Bonus!... the bottle lid fits right inside the neck of the pump, it doesn't show, it fits tight.

Cut the plastic straw part three different times before you get it right.  That took the longest and each time I thought I had it right I put it in the soap then had to take it out and drip dish soap all over.

Screw the metal lid with the old pump top on the jar.  I got lucky - it fits perfect.

Wash dishes.

While the rest of the blog world is talking about Spring and what project to start on and link up, or that your flowers are coming up, all that does is make me want to put snow down your pants.  

The below self explanatory photos tell you why I'm a bit bitter.

My view as I shower

View as I leave to go shopping before the blizzard comes tomorrow

I should keep driving west till I find sun and warmth

And just in case you can't figure this out.... the view while I use my soap dispenser looks about the same out the kitchen window. Same white stuff, different side of the house.