My New Desk

Let me start by saying Ana White ROCKS! I have so many of her plans just waiting to be built. So much to do. So little time.

This project just couldn't wait any longer. See, my "office" which consisted of a constantly cluttered too small desk was in my dining room and that just wasn't working for me. It was part of my new craft studio that we built to create a space for my computer and office stuff to live happily ever after. So, I took my perfect little plans and headed to the big blue store to get my lumber cut and we were off building. I could have went to Pottery Barn if I won the lottery and bought 2 of these for $450.00 plus the top for another $200.00. And get this... Theirs is made of MDF! Not knocking MDF or anything but mine of made from birch plywood and it's not going anywhere for a loooooooong time. 2 points for my version!


Since Ana has the most awesome plans ever, I skipped the photo tutorial stuff and we'll just get right down to the good stuff.

We started by building 2 of the bases but altering them just a bit to accommodate the big honkin' PC tower. Ugly, yes! Necessary, unfortunately so! In hindsight I wish I had made them just a tad wider so that the even uglier big honkin' printer would have fit inside a cubbie, but apparently that thought crossed my mind about 6 cuts and 20 screws too late. It really works out well though. My hot off the press papers are at my fingertips with this arrangement.



After we built the 2 bases, I bought a gorgeous wood panel for the top. Is it sad that I love a piece of wood so much? It really is gorgeous. The warmth of the color, the grain of the wood, the smooth and shiny surface--be still my heart.


Hey look! There is the memo board I made last week. It is perfect for the empty space over there!


I still have to figure out how to conceal all these wires. They get on my nerves something serious!


So there you have it! My new desk/office space. It cost me less than $80.00 to build. If you have a drill and a saw, don't be afraid to try something yourself. It really is easy to build furniture. You just have to take it one step at a time.

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Hello Kitty

On one of my recent thrift store visits, I found this framed canvas hidden behind a bunch of ugly frames.

Since we aren't cat people and the hubs is allergic, a painted kitty is the only kind I can bring into the house but unfortunately I can't say I have a place to hang a portrait of the Queen of Sheba. For $0.99, I couldn't pass it up though.




I decided I was going to make a chunky frame cork board with it. After a little push, the canvas popped right out of the frame just like I had hoped. Yay! I gave the frame a coat of Robin's Egg Blue acrylic and let her dry.



While the frame was drying, I cut a piece of cork to fit the canvas and glued it down. Then I was ready to reframe the canvas and hand it up! But first, I decided to add a little foam monogram that I had lying around.



Now I have a place for all the eleventy billion notes, reminders and schedules that we get each week.



*No kitties were harmed in the making of this project*

Be sure to check out all the parties I am sharing at this week!

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This post is brought to you by the number 1

Number 1 for first grade. Most people grumble at the thoughts of first grade "projects." Not me! I love doing helping with the projects. The latest project should have been easy peasy for a creative person who may or may not have a blog about all things creative. I was stumped though. The note that was sent home said something along the lines of "invent or improve on an existing invention." Parental help was requested (Thank God!) I know Mrs. Short totally knows I do all his projects so having her blessing to "help" on this one made me feel a little less guilty. I have been putting it off for a few days because I couldn't really think of anything. Well, being due Thursday, the pressure was on. It was hard. You try to invent something. I mean, I'm not Milton Bradley. So I get to thinking and decide that I we are going to make a home for these.



The lonely lost sock whose mate has either been abducted by the washing machine black hole or gotten fed up with being stuffed into a dark, smelly place and decided to make a run for it (pun intended)! Maybe there is some alternate universe where there are thousands of unmatched socks celebrating their escape. I dunno. I can't blame them. I wouldn't want to be a sock either.


Anyway, back to the point. I made a holder for all the missing socks that will hang in the laundry room so that hopefully they will one day be reunited with their mate. If they hang around too long, I guess they will eventually go to the trash but at least I'll be able to find the other one before it gets lost too if the other one decides to resurface.

It was simple to make and I had everything I needed on hand. I used a pizza pan from Dollar Tree since it was magnetic. I cut out the "Missing Socks" using my Cricut, SCAL and my Expressions Vinyl then mod podged some cute scrapbook paper to the fronts of clothes pins with magnetic strips on the back. Then I drilled 2 holes in the pizza pan to hang a ribbon through. It seriously took me longer to find my magnets than it did to make this.



Of course these 3 socks have their matches since I bought them especially for demonstration purposed for this project so now I'm off to raid our drawers for the 57 actual unmatched socks we have stashed away!

Visit the link parties above where I'll be sharing this week!

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I'm still alive!

I can't believe how long it's been since I've blogged. Life has gotten a bit out of control lately with baseball 6 days a week, an exploding photography business and everything else that has seemed to slow me down the last 2 weeks. I'm still alive and well though and going to be blogging soon about a few big projects I've squeezed in lately. We have built a desk for my new craft studio. We built a media center from one of Ana White's fabulous plans. I started sewing for my niece too and have finished 2 dresses and started another. I can't wait to share them with you in the next few days. Hope all of you are enjoying Spring!

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