November Acronym

It’s December, so that means it’s acronym time.  Behold, November!

New York: a custom cut out for a special friend.  And needing to complain (and ask for advice) about bar stools.

Ornaments are being made, too.

Very huge kitchen cabinets: a giant refrigerator cabinet

and tall uppers.

Even added a plan:   A floor plan, that is.

And, we added a floor plan of the basement shortly after.

Made a few decisions:    We chose a KitchenAid dishwasher and light fixtures.

Brought in the appliances:  Our new backless range kicks serious arse.

Etsy overload:  More of our favorite Etsy finds.  Can’t get enough, can we?

Remodelaholic:   We joined Cassity and a band of talented bloggers to create a living room mood board.

In a nutshell, that’s how we spent our November.  Oh, and we gorged ourselves on food.  What about you?  Favorite highlight from your November?

Handmade Holidays: Snowflakes and Berries

We’ve made a few more Christmas ornaments, so we decided to share with you.  The first idea was inspired by this from Pinterest.  Basically, you print a template, place wax paper over, then trace with puff paints and put the design on a canvas.  We followed most of the steps, with the exception of the canvas.  I started by drawing snowflake designs in Photoshop.  Then, I printed the design and placed wax paper over.

Using a 99 cent tube of paint, I traced over each snowflake.

After letting the paint dry for 24 hours, I carefully peeled the designs off, leaving this:

Which hung nicely and held it’s shape well.

However, not all of the designs held their shape.  Womp, womp.

Turns out, the thicker designs worked better.  To hang on the tree, just add a ribbon or wire hanger and you’re done.  But, if your designs are too thin and floppy, don’t worry, we have a solution.  Carefully roll the design and place in a clear glass ball.  Use a pencil to flatten the design, then hang on the tree to enjoy.   I hate when I think I have a brilliant idea and it turns out to be a flop.  In this case, I think it worked out well.

And here’s a glimpse from the under side.

If you want to make your own puff paint snowflakes, here’s a printable template.  Oh, and you see those red berries?  Those were super simple.  Start with a floral pick from the craft store.  I got mine from HoLo for 75 cents.  You’ll also need scissors or wire cutters and extra wire.

Then, cut the berries off the main stem, as close to the base as possible.

Group two to five berries and wrap the ends together.  Cut a two-inch piece of wire and wrap that around the berries.

Attach to your tree by wrapping the added wire around a branch.

Then you’re done!  Oh, I tweaked a few of the Epsom salt filled balls, too.  While puttering around HoLo, I wandered into the doll house section.  That’s a bad thing for someone addicted to miniature things like I am.  But, I walked away with only one package of 12 birds for $1.50 (thanks to 50% off doll house supplies).  Everett also grabbed a package of birds and threw a fit when we I took them away at the check out counter.  No, we didn’t buy them.  When we got home, I plopped a few birds in the snow globes.

I think they’re cute, and still easily changed out next year.  I’ve got a few more decorations to share next week, too.

Anyone else inspired by ornament ideas from Pinterest?  What are your favorites?  Please share links, too.

Gimme a Giveaway Winner: Eloise Renouf

It’s Friday, so the boys and I will jam out and dance to Last Friday Night.  Vincent is seriously obsessed with Katy Perry.  Strange four-year old, that one.  The winner of one Eloise Renouf print, number 98, Audra can dance to celebrate her victory.

We asked your favorite thing about winter.  I hate the cold and the snow, but I loooove looking at Christmas lights.  And decorations.  Anything sparkly, twinkly, or shiny, really.

Now, it’s back to filling drawer fronts.  What are you up to this weekend?  Decorating for Christmas?  Wrapping gifts?  More shopping?  Don’t forget to check out our shop for gifts.  We’ve just released a Love Heart print that is a perfect gift.

For a more customized gift, might I suggest a custom cut out?

Buy now using the code OHA2011 to get 10% off!

On the Drawer Front

Yesterday, we shared some of our kitchen progress.  On Sunday, Ben the builder and Handy Sammy worked on drawer fronts.  We have a post in the works detailing how we made our own cabinets, drawers, drawer fronts, and cabinet doors, so I won’t get into too much detail right now.  Basically, Ben cut a sheet of 1/2 inch thick MDF to the drawer sizes.  Then he cut countless strips of 1/4 inch thick MDF into 2 1/2 inch wide strips.  Then, he glues…

and nails (using the same pin nails) the thin strips on the 1/2 inch MDF.

Wipe away the excess glue and you’ve got a drawer front.

Repeat these steps twenty or so times and you’re almost done.

Ben likes to run each edge through the table saw to get everything perfectly lined up.  Once that’s done, he passes the unfinished fronts on to me.  Montana winter is setting in, so I hauled all 20 drawer fronts to the large basement bedroom to get started on filling the holes and seams.

In a way, I’m happy Ben used pin nails.  The holes are tiny, which makes filling easier.  At the same time, it makes finding the nail holes much more difficult.  Can you spy all six nail holes in this picture?

The brown flecks in the MDF make it difficult to decide whether I see a nail hole or just a spot.  But, I just filled every hole and crack I saw.  I like to use my finger to fill nail holes and a small spatula to fill the seams.

Two episodes of Bones later, I finished.

With the fronts!  I still have to fill all four sides of the drawers.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to fill some seams.  I think I’m going to go crazy after that.  After that, tons of sanding, priming and painting.  Yep, I’ve got plenty to keep me busy.  And you thought our kitchen was chugging right along.  This is going to take a while.

Does filling holes, priming, and painting drive you batty?  How about waiting for paint to dry?  I’m so not looking forward to all that painting, but I want pretty drawers.  Wish me luck.  Hopefully we’ll have something to share in a week or two.