Kristi's Project

My sister Kristi has been telling me I need to help her with a couple projects for awhile now.

I am more than happy to help, but you have to put something on my calendar. (I blame the delay on you, Kristi.)

We finally made a date to get together this Saturday. Her dresser is sitting in my kitchen, primed and ready for paint (it probably took an hour to tape it off and five minutes to spray the primer on it). The other project she wanted to do involved my Silhouette machine.

This is a modern style coffee table. I really didn't help with this at all except show Kristi how to use my Silhouette software. The design is completely hers. And she did all the painting.

That is my kind of project...where someone else does the work and I can blog about it.

Here is the section she painted pink. The cut-out shapes are from my Silhouette machine. Then she painted the whole thing black.

Isn't it lovely?

The weather wasn't really cooperating. The day we actually get together to do a project is the day it rains in the desert. So we'll finish the dresser this coming weekend.

It was fun going to the paint store. The two guys there (TWO) were totally flirting with Kristi. One of them gave her a whole bunch of stir sticks and one of those can opener things....for free. Yeah, yeah, stir sticks are free, but I'm pretty sure those can opener things are like....two dollars.

Dirt Sifter

Last weekend we planted some more trees for J. They are just little trees, hardly more than twigs. I hope they make it through the frost, because J has informed me that if they die, he is planting more trees.

Heaven help my back.

We had to dig a hole (obviously), but then we had to put the dirt through our dirt sifter to get out the large rocks so we could use the sifted dirt to plant the tree.

Our dirt sifter held up well over the years, but alas, it has died.

The original sifter was just wood screwed together with chicken wire stapled to it. We wrapped the chicken wire around the wood and stapled the heck out of it, but there were a few times I had to go back and do some more stapling because it was pulling out.

So I did a little research and a little planning and created a new, improved dirt sifter.

We used wood glue and brackets in addition to the screws.

I wanted handles this time for easier lifting.

I was hoping to find longer metal pieces, but these will do the job.

We wrapped the chicken wire up the sides and stapled it.

I still want to cut out the handles so that it's easier to carry, but it's usable now.

J has wanted the rock removed from his garden area, and he has also created some large rock piles as he has moved rock around over the years. We got a couple quotes to have rock removed from certain areas, and hired a guy to come out. He took the first load to the dump and said it cost a lot more than he anticipated. He didn't finish the job, so I wasn't very happy, but we weren't going to make the guy work a job at a loss. Plus, J said he doesn't want to make a habit of making enemies with people who know where we live.

These areas used to be covered in rock. There is still rock in the back corner, but J said we'll just take care of it.

Do you see the tiny little stick trees? The one in the middle is one of the new ones. The other two were planted last year. The other new one is on the other side of the yard.

This area between the arbor and the shed was an area where J had been dumping rock, so it had been a huge pile. I can't complain with the amount of work that was completed, so I don't feel too cheated.

That black thing partially in the photo is J's composter. I can't remember if I mentioned that he got that for Christmas. He was really excited about it. I don't really get it, but it was nice to make him happy.

All Dressed Up and Places to Go

This week was pretty fun. My friend Deni got us tickets to a symphony. (I posted that conversation here.)

The pictures were not great because it was dark and the stage was kind of far away. Plus you were not supposed to be taking pictures, so I was trying to be stealth.

It feels so good to be so bad.

It's always fun to get dressed up and go out. I was not prepared for the large quantities of old people. There were a few young people there, but grey/white hair was in the majority.

On Saturday we had two birthday parties. Abby's little daughter Adilyn turned two, and Johnson's little girl Kherington turned one.

Next time I should probably get toys in a box...but the wrapping job will be just as bad.

Eh.

Before the parties, on Friday, I had offered to bring Abby dinner. She is pregnant and miserable, so we were trying to help out. J needed to go back home to work on a project with an approaching deadline, but I helped Abby with some of the party stuff.

I helped glue these cups. It is a Mickey Mouse themed party, can you tell?

I used my PhotoShop skills and created this sign for her. It doesn't really make sense because it was outside at a park, but I don't argue with stressed out pregnant mothers trying to get stuff done for a birthday party that's happening in just a couple hours.

J was the temporary balloon holder until Abby told us where to put them.

What a cute little family.

I feel kind of bad posting this...I haven't given the pictures to Abby yet. But obviously not bad enough to prevent me from doing it.

Baby Bunny Photo Prop

I found this on Pinterest:

http://www.sweetlovecreates.bigcartel.com/product/brown-bunny-set

Here's one of the photos if you don't feel like clicking the link:

This is $75. Woooooo. I thought to myself...I can make that.

My sister Megan who lives in TX is a photographer and sometimes takes pictures of babies. I thought it would be a fun little project.

So I set about looking for patterns. I haven't had to pay for a pattern yet, and I'm pretty proud of that. Patterns are usually pretty cheap online, but I don't mind hunting around or modifying something. It's more fun that way.

Here's my finished product:

I put wire in the ears so that they will stand up and you can twist them around different ways. The ears are the only thing I made up myself; the hat is an easy pattern, there are free diaper cover patterns online, there are free tutorials for how to make pom-poms (the tail). But I couldn't find any cute bunny ears. So I looked at the inspiration photo, and thought to myself that those ears actually look like the base of a slipper pattern. So I pulled up a slipper pattern and played around with it. I made two ears that I rejected, but got it right on the third try.

The only thing I did not like about this project is that I had to sew the ears, button, and tail. I stabbed myself four times. I am just not nimble with a needle.

I told J if we ever have a little baby, I'll make a little bear one for our little boy. I have been referring to the imaginary child as "jCub" since J is my jBear. Except it gets a little confusing because it just sounds like Jacob.

Kitchen Drawer

Remember when I fixed the kitchen drawer?

Joseph's family came to visit for Christmas.

Before they came the drawer was attached.

After they left the drawer was not attached.

I'm not pointing fingers (Carissa)....I'm just stating facts.

Although it was a very crappy particle board drawer.

So I found a place online where you can submit your measurements for a new drawer and ordered one. $27! Sheesh.

They wanted an extra $11 to put it together ($38 for a drawer!! no way did I pay that), but all that was needed was a mallet. It has dovetail joints so it went together nice and easy. And it shouldn't be falling apart again. I don't have a picture of that part because I was anxious to put it together. If it was even a hair off, it would be a problem for our drawer slides. I was really happy when the drawer was the same width.

So I took the drawer slides off the old drawer and put then on the new drawer.

And ran into a problem.

The drawer was too tall and wouldn't slide into the cabinet.

Ah, that's where the problem was hiding.

J asked if my measurements that I sent in had been wrong. I told him the problem was that for the height, you could choose either three or four inches. Our old drawer was three and three-quarter inches. I eyeballed it and thought it could make four inches. I didn't want a weird short drawer. I was off by a sixteenth of an inch.

A frigging sixteenth of an inch.

So we got out the saw.

And I no longer have a ghetto kitchen.

Haircut

I cut my hair.

I was going to completely chop it but I chickened out. But my sister Danielle definitely took off some length for me.

It was too long. It would get caught under my elbow, or it would get caught under J at night. It was a pain. It looks more cleaned up now. The ends were getting too scraggly.

 It's funny, because it's still pretty long but it feels so short. I had a coworker tell me it looks like I have more hair since the layers are closer together.

I like it.

Christmas Lights Lesson

This was a conversation I had awhile ago. I want it written down so I can remember it.

Deidre: We put our Christmas lights up this weekend.
Deni: Sean was putting our lights up and the neighbor who hates us came over and was hinting that she didn't have anyone to help her put up Christmas lights.
Deidre: That neighbor who yells at you and took you to the HOA for your weeds when you wouldn't pay her son to pull them?
Deni: Yeah.
Deidre: She wanted Sean to put up her Christmas lights after everything she's done to you guys? Seriously?
Deni: She said she couldn't do it because of her back and she didn't have anyone else.
Deidre: Did Sean tell her where she could stick the Christmas lights?
Deni: No, he's going to do it.
Deidre: WHAT?! He's going to do it? Why didn't he laugh in her face?
Deni: Because she's a mean old lady who has had a hard life and she needs some love.

I was really taken back when I heard that. Deni and Sean are two of the nicest, non-judgmental people you will ever meet. They go to church and believe in Christ, and do their best to really learn and grow. After I had this conversation with Deni, it kept coming back to me and I really thought about it. My first reaction was to return meanness with meanness, anger with anger. And that's not what Christ taught. I would like to be one of those people who leaves the world a better place, but I have my work cut out for me.