Happy Halloween 2013

Happy Halloween . Well we did it , we carved pumpkins. Last year we didn't even get that far which is not like us at all, we love Halloween. I went to Pinterest to get some inspiration and this is what I came up with . What can I say I don't worry about being origional as much as having fun. The pumpkin with the big eyes and braces glows so nicely it's pretty cool. The owl is a cute design , mine is a more simplified version of what I saw on Pinterest and oh those scary teeth Sophie and her friend did, ouch.

Here's a look back at some Halloween cuties
http://chriskauffman.blogspot.ca/2007/10/happy-halloween.html
http://chriskauffman.blogspot.ca/2010/11/sweet-and-magical.html
http://chriskauffman.blogspot.ca/2007/09/jack-o-lanterns.html

enough was enough

 My youngest and I tried for the very first time to make caramel apples.....don't they look nice? Yes they do , But I cooked the caramel too long and it became so hard it wasn't really edible...live and learn I guess. Don't over cook your caramel.

 We finally started our pumpkin carving last night , I should say they started because just my girls carved pumpkins, it is very nice to let them go and do their thing with out me micro managing them. We picked up glow in the dark teeth from the dollar store and I painted wood balls with glow in the dark paint , many many coats of the paint. We are going to hide these little pumpkins in the garden , you should just see the eyes and teeth on Halloween night. Cute idea from Sophie.

 These are so silly and cute.

 That is a big dangerous box of candy to have in this house....it's calling me...

 The work shop island worked beautifully for the pumpkin carving disaster zone.

 So after heading to the eye Dr and the allergist yesterday with Sophie our youngest I came home to find some dog pee in the dining room AGAIN!!!! it's been going on for a long time now , I supervise them , I have diapered the dogs or the offending dog but since I have two males it is a never ending problem. First it was my drapes then the dining chairs , then the drapes... I wash the drapes iron them and rehang them then it all of the sudden starts again . These dogs are sneaky. I put them in the laundry room when we are out , I have tried to break them of this habit . Cleaning with Oxi clean , vinegar stuff I got at Petsmart , nothing makes a difference. {Sophie is still allergic to Peanuts and that's, OK}

 So yesterday I decided it was time to rip up that carpet. It was always temporary carpet. After caramel apples and pumpkin carving and dinner this happened. I feel so good about .

The family room carpet was supposed to go first...well it will go soon. I now plan to clean out this room and put up one of those plastic construction zippered doors. This room will become my flooring work room, I will cut in here , store the flooring in here also. Then when the family room flooring is complete I will start the ceiling in the dining room , coffered ceiling, lots of crown moulding then a built in and then the dining room flooring , hoping for all of this to be complete before Christmas. It is time to order the pine flooring I think.

Looks like I am going to be very busy...

Simple box drawers for the workbench island

 Sooner than later I tackled some drawers for the workbench island. Turns out that all the scraps from the plywood sheets were more than enough for me to make 5 drawers for this project. I don't have a how to because it is very simple. They are just butt joint boxes that I nailed and glued together.

When I headed off to the store to grab some hardware they did not have the hardware I had planned on getting , they only had three and I being impatient and this being a work space I kept looking until I found something that will work. I honestly don`t know what this is used for but I thought it would work as a pull and at .98 cents I gave it a try. I picked up washers and nuts for the back to make them work as a handle. 

I can use the money I saved to buy other things I need after all. 

I was short two of the card holders so I did order more for this drawer. 

I had 4 card holders or label holders laying around for years , why not use them here I thought.

 The drawers are 20``wide 17``deep and 7.5``tall. No slides at all they just sit on the shelf just simple pull out boxes really.

 I made one box drawer 12`` wide by 33`` long just for wrapping supplies.

We are off today for re-allergy testing for my daughters peanut allergy, it would be amazing if she were not allergic anymore but the chances of that are pretty slim and I don`t even really think about it happening. I want to rule out seafood allergy , we have been avoiding seafood her whole life as many people allergic to peanuts are allergic to seafood and penicillin, she is definitely allergic to penicillin. We will see...

Thanks for stopping by , have a great day !

DIY workbench/island for under $150

 So I have now solved my dirty little secret basement mess. I have spend three days purging and organizing the basement which lead me to build this "island" style work bench it is 40"x 67" by 36" high.
It is not totally complete but it could easily stay as is a be a great work space. I would like to add big "pot" style drawers to both side to hide away the clutter. That will come soon, I am sure...
I was thinking I may even include a long drawer to hold big rolls of wrapping paper , what a great spot for gift wrapping.
I thought just in case someone is still reading this blog and my posts I would include some details on how I built this project.

Here is how it all begins, I bought 6-2" x 4" x 8' studs, I cut each piece into 3' and 5' lengths. I connected them as shown with my Irwin corner clamps. 3' x 5'3" approx is this frame. Then I pre-drilled the butt joints and attached them with 2" wood screws.

These Irwin corner clamps are amazing for built-ins and drawers it keeps corners square and it acts like that third hand you can always use in carpentry. 

 When the frames are constructed set them aside for a little later. Oh dear you can see our gym, pretty fancy right?

 This is my new favorite tool my Ryobi impact driver. I wanted one for Christmas but I mistakenly asked for a Ryobi mini driver , it is nice but does not have the strength of the driver, it is what I have been looking for all along and it's even cute and a bright happy color. I got it and then picked up the Ryobi Combo kit with drill and circular saw as well as the battery pack and charger. Ryobi is my go to brand for tools since we have moved here almost 2 years ago , great tools at fair and affordable prices.

 I have been using this quick change bit holder by Dewalt which I like very much. Nice fast bit changes I can go from drilling to driving in a flash.

 After the 2x4 frames are completed I then moved onto the legs. I had 2" X 6" x 8' boards that I was trying to use for a workbench so I used them and cut them down into the legs. I cut each 8 foot length into two 36" pieces, leaving me with 2' lengths left. I set the 2' lengths aside and clamped the corner legs together with the Irwin clamps. I used 4 screws evenly spaced along the one side to join the boards , I did not use any glue , it was not needed and it was a good thing I didn't in the end.

 I then placed one of the 2x4 framed on the floor and placed the corner legs in place and attached them to the frame with three 2" screws.

 I then used the 2" scraps to use as spacers for the lower shelf. I screwed them into the legs so that I could easily slide in the next 2x4 frame. Then I removed the 2" scraps.

 Then my daughter and I flipped it over and I added the next 2x4 frame. I used clamps to help me hold up the frame to allow me to screw the next frame in.

 I then went off with my finished dimension for the shelves to Home Depot to have 1/2" pine plywood cut for me.
That's where I realized I could not just slip the plywood in because the frames were in the way, silly me. But luckily I didn't use glue so I could easily remove the one side of the corner legs allowing me to just slide in the plywood and re-attach the legs. Easy peasy. Although it wasn't a step I thought of ahead I would construct it differently. I then went back off to get the top cut just slightly larger than the frame. 40" x 67" , I attached each shelf to the frame with 2" screws 8 of them evenly spaced , at the half way point and the corners. You could use thicker plywood but I didn't see the point. It is as strong as a can be .
We will soon be carving pumpkins down there...it's a great space to spread out and get things fixed , created and repaired.

So there it is again for just about $130 before taxes I built this island workbench.
You could do it for less especially if you use chip board or OSB, knock off $60 . But like everything materials may be more or less where you are.
If you would like to make it with wheels just make the legs 3" shorter , you will loose a little shelf depth keep that in mind. I like I said before I will be adding drawers where the shelves are to keep things out of sight.
It is a pretty easy project and will allow for ease of creating lots of other projects in the future.


Materials
4- 2"x6"
6-2"x4"
3 sheets of plywood
2" wood screws medium size box 80 screws or so

I would love to hear your thoughts about my latest project....and thank you for stopping by.Just to be clear this post was NOT sponsored at all , this is just my project using the tools I have bought and the items I like to use.
Chris

I have a dirty little secret

 This is a little corner of my basement and it has been nothing more than a dumping ground in my "workshop" area.
  Because I didn't really spend enough time creating proper storage it became a complete disaster zone. So yesterday i went on a search to start the process of cleaning and organizing this space so that I can work indoors a little over the very cold months ahead.
  My garage is where I prefer to work because all my big tools are out there and there is a good amount of room for me to work. The garage is not insulated or heated so I can't do work out there during the cold months. I added a little heater to the ceiling but it only helps if I stand directly under it, so that doesn't work so well.
  I found these shelves at Home Depot for $37, they are light but sturdy and very easy to put together, 5 min and no tools needed. I will be heading back to get more of these.They fit all of our things, having a spot for our stuff will help get things off the floor and keep things better organized. I really love having a rough basement space for all the storage, we need a lot of it. We also Have a little workout space down there.
I have found I really need to donate a lot of items that have been collecting dust down there, like old brass hardware I removed and lots of cans of perfectly good paint that just didn't work out for me.

 When I was organizing my bits and pieces I realized my current storage solutions were pretty much useless, I needed a whole lot of little bins. I bit the bullet and bought this amazing bin solution. When I opened the box I heard heavenly music.....Ahhhhh!!!!! I get so excited by this , is this normal.

My next project I have for the basement is to build a rolling work bench with storage. I will show you all that project, coming soon.

I am also going to get it together and do a post on all my favorite tools and must have gadgets. Soon.

ok now it's really complete

Would it be wrong to leave this built-in empty, it just looks so pretty empty. I hadn't planned to add bead board but it was definitely the right decision, it finished off the built-in so beautifully as well.

I am going to take a little break and catch up on some cleaning and organizing around the house, this place can use some real attention.
So long for now , I will be back soon to hi light some of the moulding I used on these built-ins.

Deep grey for the living room

 I am finally going to paint the living room, I have settled on a rich deep grey color by Martha Stewart called Zinc.
Actually Zinc is a lot deeper because I asked for a sample at 50% strength and it was perfect.

 I was inspired by these two images I found on Pinterest the one on the right really with that dark ceiling and beautiful mouldings, I am thinking I may also do some major trim as well, eventually. I am going to tackle crown moulding in there, I have never done a whole room before, that should be fun!!!
This living room is a night time room so I thought it could be really cozy with a deep color. So not my normal choice. I should also start painting the master bedroom and I need to rip out the family room carpet already and install more pine flooring , all before Christmas. Don't hold me to it...

Finished !

I am happy to say I have completed this desk and built-in project , after installing the door .Why is installing doors so challenging? It can be the hardest part of the job.
Time to move on.

Carpentry projects, updates

 Hi again. I have been busy working on some built-ins, it's my thang...

 I get very excited by pretty trim details like this, it really is quite simple to take something from nice to special with the right trim.

 The window bench in place...it will look great with a cushion , its a tricky spot , lots of windows and a bathroom entrance to the right.

 I installed the bookcase and built a desk to fit this space. I am currently working on painting the door for the base.

 Clean & simple custom storage and desk makes great use of this space.

The other built-ins are getting broken in as you can see. The doors were installed to hide away some of the items, I just need to install the knobs. Turning a blank wall into usable storage and display as well as adding a desk was a great idea.

Well there you have it....more built-ins, up next floating side tables.

Back to building benches

 I have been working a on a new project, an almost 8 foot long window bench as well as a bookcase and desk. So far things are going well. The bench is built with exception of a little trim. I will be moving onto priming and painting soon.
The photo below was my inspiration for this window bench I am building. I needed to allow adequate air flow for this rooms heating vent.

Vanilla Ice Goes Amish on DIY network Canada

 I got an invitation last week to go to a screening of Vanilla Ice Goes Amish , how could I not go ? I mean I was a teen in the 90's, enough said....
My lovely and beautiful cousin came with me as my date , how sweet was she? We made our way into the city and after my map app sent us on a ridiculous wild goose chase of sorts we finally made it to the intimate event just in time. We enjoyed a little wine and snacks until the screening of this Sunday's premiere episode 7:00 pm and 10:00 pm October 13th 2013 on the DIY network Canada.
I thought the episode was great and fun , I will definitely be watching this series.

 Rob Van winkle came in and said a few words and then we watched the episode you will see this Sunday. Who isn't fascinated by the Amish right? We got a quick pic with him and in case you wondered he smelled so good and is so cute!

 You know you are at an event with bloggers when the trays of cookies come out and no one is taking them but everyone wants to get a photo, it was pretty funny.

So that's what I did last night, thanks for the invite guys...
Make sure you tune in to the DIY network and watch the new series Vanilla Ice Goes Amish this Sunday at 7:00 pm , like the DIY network isn't already one of your go to channels when you have a little time to relax ! I know it is one of my go to channels....not a surprise right!