Summer Projects

Now that traveling has ended for a bit I'm able to release the creative juices from my right brain and let the power tools exceed their limits!

I painted and sanded a bunch of frames.  Then I organized and assembled 7 different assortments of family photos according to the family tree.

Stained my back deck.

Made a DIY cherry picker to get the cherries from my really tall cherry tree.

My niece helped me paint one door, to get it ready for sanding.  I love painting things different colors and then sanding the object so the different colors come through.

The finished product.  I wish there was a way to get paint to chip off in a short amount of time....instead of waiting 50-70 years.  Next I put frames and hooks on it to place scarfs and jewelry on it.
Working on another one...soon to be finished before I head back to work.

Had help cutting a fire door to fit the door frame.

They had to chisel out spaces for the hinges...old school.

And dad made my own door knob hole.

Friends helped me put up a storm door.   Could not have done this by myself....actually, I hardly did anything except pay for all the supplies and lunch.

So, I wanted to do something special with all the wood I tore out of the wall I took down a few month ago.  I decided I wanted a porch swing.  I cut and sanded all the boards I would need for this project.

 Had my niece help me.

 We put the seat and the back pieces together.

 Then I attached the two pieces together.

 And added some arm rests.

Now, my frame wasn't strong enough to hold my bench.  So I enlisted the creative support from my dad.

We came up with finding some drop leaf ends of a table and turning the porch swing to a rocking bench.

 Out and about during a city rummage sale.  Found a table for $20 that had side drop leafs!  And a couple of chairs for another project.

 The cat whisperer getting distracted.

 We cut the ends off the drop leafs and framed them in with some left over boards.

 Love these clamps!  Attached the rockers onto the bench with screws and carriage bolts.

 Added support beams.

And dat-dat-da-da-DAA!!!!!  My rocking bench!

 I love it!!!!

But my niece and nephew needed something to swing on as well!  So we took some old chairs and left over boards.  They sanded the boards.

 Knocked off the chair legs.

 My niece wanted to paint hers chair swing.

 And hung them up on some trees in the front.  They each have their tree and their chair swing.  Great inexpensive project for kids!

And then there is the story of the fantastic find of a box spring for $20.

Another project.....had to cut, rebuild the frame, and re-staple the fabric to the frame.  It works now but $20 bucks was not worth the mistake of not checking measurements.  UUUGGG!!!!  This project was full of frustration, sparks, eye rolling, and sweat.  So glad the dust ruffle hides the ugliness.

 My wall of doors!

And dad helped me put in my stair railing I had painted and sanded almost a year ago....  Now that relatives have gone it is safe to walk up and down my stairs.  Murphy's Law....