Handmade Dining Table

So the banquette is not done yet, but we needed a dining table for it.  Shopping on Craigslist is always a good thing, but finding the right size dining table just wasn't in the cards.  So I decided to make one.

The search was on for the right base.  Enter a Craigslist find for that...an antique Singer sewing machine base for $50.

So what to make the table out of.  I knew I needed something about 30 inches wide and 5 feet long and strong enough to withstand someone leaning on it without curving or bending over time.  Off to Stardust to find a solid core door.  I cut the door down to 60".  (lesson 1: I recommend 59 to 59.5" to accommodate the trim molding)

 

I centered the sewing machine base upside down on the door and marked and drilled holes to match those on the base.  In addition I drilled a 3/4" "sink" hole about 3/8' deep so that the mounting bolts would be flush with the door, then bolted the door to the base.

Next step...adding the re-purposed siding I picked up from a friend.  They were tearing down an old shed on their property and offered with wonderful chippy wood to anyone who wanted to pick it up.

 Because it was siding it was thicker on one side.  In glued and nailed small molding strips to the door so I could mount the thinner end of the siding and have level slats.

I glued and used black drywall screws to mount the siding to the door.  The screws served double duty because they also filled the holes for the old nails.  I centered the boards on the door to used the best part of the chippy wood.  When dry, I trimmed them down with a hand saw to the size of the door.

The last building step was to trim the door with casement molding that I painted white then distressed with the crackle medium and brown/black paint.

Here is why I recommend making the table slightly less than 60".  The glass topper was a little more expenses because the glass company had to order a larger size piece of glass to create at 60 3/4" x 32 3/4" piece.  Using a 60" piece would have been less expenses.  The glass made a huge different and I don't have to worry about any of the old paint chipping off during use.

A unique piece.  Since completing this project I have purchased an additional sewing machine base for another re-purposing adventure.  Have any suggestions??

Cute As A Button

I love my house.  It's old, it's tiny, it needs a lot of sprucing up, but I love my house.  Did I mention the fact that I love my house?

Our 1954 Ranch style home has a warm cottage feel.  At only 1300 square feet it's small.  When everyone still lived at home it was packed and felt packed.  The rooms are small and the bathrooms...don't even get me started.  I think my kids have the smallest bathroom on the planet. 

But I recently gave it a little pick me up and the charm has increased.

Yes, it was cheap.  I used recycled exterior faux shutters picked up at Stardust building supplies (there is a link below) for $4 a piece.  These originally black shutters were painted a horrendous olive green.  Two can's of extra coverage paint put them back to their original black color.  Ha!  Take that you ugly green people.

After a ridiculous attempt to drill a hole in the block wall with my regular drill, a trip to Home Depot was in order.  Let me just say this, the right tool makes the job so much easier.  With that big power driver I rented my son and I drilled out the remaining 23 holes in about 45 minutes.  Well worth the extra funds in my opinion.

The shutters were a piece of cake to hang.  I just tapped 6 plastic nail looking thingy's with little teeth in each shutter.  Perfect.  Next, I painted the window grids and surrounding sills in an antique white.  The shutter project took about 2 hours, including the trip to HD.  The painting touch up took the rest of the day.  It took an additional day to scrape all of the extra paint off of 41 window panes, but the ultimate result was achieved.  Charm, charm, charm, charm, charm.

Shutters...$16.  Paint...$22.  Tool rental...$40.  The charm that greets you went you come home...priceless. 

Oh, did I mention that I love my house....even more now?

P.S.  This is Arizona.  We do have tiny little pockets of quaint neighborhoods, and flood irrigation makes for some very affordable green grass.



Bryndal, your feet are all muddy!

Murder At Crooked House

I can't believe I haven't posted anything since January.  Holy Cow.

First and foremost let me follow up to my last post and show you the set.  I was really pleased with the way this one turned out.  Sheri and I think it's one of the best we have ever done.  Combine it with talented kids and a great performance and the whole experience was, again, truly enjoyable.  No wonder I love volunteering on it so much.

 The play was an audience participation murder mystery, and each evenings performance concluded with a different ending.

Back to the set itself.  The basic set with the walls and trim was constructed by "Willy" Williamson with Classic Home Improvements, in Chandler Arizona.  For the styling, the starting point was an inexpensive fabric which we used for the wallpaper of the set. I had original picked other colors from the fabric but ended up going with the sage green as the main color.  As part of the story line we had to age the set so after creating this beautiful set we stained the walls, the fabric, and the furniture and we distressed the doors and wood trim. 

The walls and the fountain in the garden were constructed of insulating styrofoam used in construction.  Carving and creating with this material can be a lot of fun.  If you can handle all the snow that is left lying around after you cut, trim and shape, you can spend many happy hours carving away while you let your imagination go to work. I also used fishing line to create a water effect coming out of the lions mouth.

 

Our faux library was created with very thing wood molding to create the look of shelving and book and trinket cut-outs were glued to a canvas wall framed on 1x2's. Each door swung open and gave the hint of part of the house, including a dining room and a solarium.

After 10 sets I'm still looking for a way to do something creative at home with this styrofoam.  There is always my husbands train set to work on.

Until next time, keep creating, keep smiling.  

God Bless.

Play Set - Day 1 Shopping for Materials

The Valley Christian High School play this spring is an audience participation murder mystery.  It will be set in the mid 19th century chronologically but the set is a turn of the century, aged manor.

Today I went to Stardust Building Supplies in Mesa, Arizona with VCHS custodian, Sean.  (yeah, yeah he happens to be my kid, but he is an official staff member)  Stardust sells all sorts of recycled building materials and other cool stuff.  Doors, appliances, cabinets, lighting, hardware, windows, fireplaces, paint, tile and more.  We even saw a nice set of truck rims there today.  You just never know.

They had a lot of blingy things there and my ADD was just going bonkers.  Sean had to get me to re-focus several times.  I'll have to go back when I can just spend some quality time digging through all the cool stuff

We found a set of french doors that are 5' wide and a single french door for the Solarium and Garden entrances to the set, as well as a brass sconce and a chandelier.  All together the items would have cost us $125.00  After speaking with Todd, the manager, they generously offered to lend us the said items, with the option for the school to buy them should Sheri decide to keep them.  Wow!  They were so willing to help us out I just had to give them a plug here. 

Thanks to Kenny and Gary who set everything aside for us so Sean can pick it up with his peek-up truck.

Thanks again Stardust.  We look forward to showing you how we have incorporated the supplies.

I'm so excited!!!

It's my favorite time of year.  No, not Christmas, not Easter, not my birthday.  It's something even better.

It's High-School performance time, and that means sets for the play.  It's one of, if not my most favorite creative thing to do.  Over the years of done little things here and there for various elementary and middle school Christmmas programs.  In 2003 I became the parent of a high-school freshman, who was very much at home on the stage.  As a matter of fact, he finally became his real self when he was playing a part and making the audience laugh.

My first foray into the world of make believe was a small bit of faux painting assistance, a black light door knocker, and a portrait of one of the students as Scrooge for Charles Dickens "A Christmas Carol".  I guess I made an impression because I was called upon again the following year for The Importance of being Earnest and Tales of the Kingdom.  It was here that I discovered the amazingly flexible set staple - styrofoam sheets used for insulating homes.

Each year, and with each play I had an opportunity to experiment and hone my styro-skills.  My most extravagant effort was a town square for Gossip Gone Wrong seen here...

This was all done with styrofoam sheets, clear plastic table clothes, cardboard pillar forms and miscellaneous wood trim. There was an extensive amount of math involved in this set to create the 3 dimensional street effect on a 2 dimensional flat panel.

Recently, I was called upon to do a simple decoration for a Christmas Program at my church.  Back to my favorite medium...styro.  I made 2 "pillars", 4 feet wide and 12" tall.  Each piece consisted of 2 separate sheets, a flat background piece and a carved 2nd piece attached with 3M spray glue.  This has been the best adhesive of everything I have tried.  The pieces were made from several thicknesses to provide a true three dimensional effect.  In addition, I used paint thinner to create textured icicles.  They were then sprayed with adhesive and sprinkled with a large-cut "snow" glitter.  The foam was finished with Glidden house paint.  Spray paint doesn't work as it has a tendency to eat the styrofoam.

So what's next, an audience participation, murder mystery.  I met with the drama teacher today and we went over sketches and ideas.  A living room with doors leading into a library, dining room, solarium, garden terrace, and curved stair case.  Sounds complicated, maybe?

Yes, I'm excited to have something fun and wonderful to blog about, in addition to my little craft ideas.   Keep checking back to see what ideas we come up with and how we overcome and difficulties that arise as we search for the desired effect.

So,, happy set building and happy crafting.