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When Pins Collide

Published on May 6, 2013May 6, 2013 by Our Humble Abode16 Comments

I’ve had a major crush on this pendant, dreaming of having it, or something similar in our entry since we bought this house.

While lying in bed last week, I remembered the traditional Christmas Finnish Himmeli ornaments.

Eureka! Couldn’t I merge these two together? I ran my idea past Ben, but he worried a single bulb wouldn’t light the entry adequately. Determined to give this a try, I decided to scale down the size to make a pendant for our bedroom. Goodbye old fan.

I started with my supplies, 36 one foot pieces of 1/2 inch PVC pipe (under two bucks for 10 feet!), wire, and black spray paint.

Using the wire, I threaded three pieces on and twisted the wire ends together.

Then strung through one of those pieces, adding two more on, securing the ends with a few twists.

I made a group of four, brought it in the house and realized it would hang down too far. So, I took it apart and cut the pieces down to 8 inches.

Treating each triangle individually made easier and tighter connections.

After twisting the ends several times, I cut the wire and pushed it inside the pipe.

The easiest way to think about this design is a hexagon turned to a six-sided star, like this:

To make the three-dimensional shape, connect the outer points with another piece. I’d suggest hanging it to make work easier.

String on the last six pieces, connecting all to the center point. And time for spray paint. We had beautiful weather, so I strung it up between two trees and got my spray on.

I thought I had a pendant kit, but used it in the guest bedroom. So this guy hasn’t been installed, but is finished. Off to ReStore to snag a cheapie pendant to hang this dude.

Now that it’s assembled, I wish I had made the top and bottom six pieces a little longer than the rest. The points aren’t nearly as noticeable as the Restoration Hardware version.

Not perfect, but for $16 in materials I can’t really complain.

What do you think? Are you crushing on an expensive light?

Gimme a Giveaway: MT Photo Journal

Published on May 3, 2013June 17, 2013 by Our Humble Abode150 Comments

This giveaway is closed. Thanks for entering! See who won here.

You know that awesome print I recently added to our family room?

Well, Annie, photographer at MT Photo Journal, super sweetly offered one print to a lucky reader.

If you think landscape photos are fine as frog hair, you’ve got plenty of pretties to choose from. Like Heavenly, the print I chose:

Spring Meadow:

Or Fall Interrupted, just to share a few:

If nature and florals are your fave, check out Subtle Changes:

Bashful Pink:

And Here Today:

Heck, wildlife and rustic photos like Gentle Soul are beautiful:

The Goods: Any photo (winner’s choice, so poke around the shop!) as a 10 by 10 inch, 12 by 12 inch, 10 by 15 inch, or 12 by 18 inch print from MT Photo Journal.

To Enter: Leave a comment, which can (but doesn’t have to) include our Just for Fun question.

Just for Fun: Tell us your favorite family vacation destination. Maybe a place you traveled to as a child. Or a place you now go with your children.

For additional entries:

1. Like MT Photo Journal on Facebook.

2. Like Our Humble Abode on Facebook.

Contest Closes: Thursday, May 30th, 2013.

Number of Winners: One lucky duck.

Ships: Anywhere on planet earth!

Other Info: We will select the winners using random.org and announce on Friday, May 31st. You stay classy, San Diego!

Kitchen Chronicles

Published on May 1, 2013May 1, 2013 by Our Humble Abode8 Comments

Oh yes, the kitchen. We’re eagerly planning a full scale remodel complete with new cabinets, double wall ovens, moving the island out a foot for more work space, and a marble back splash. But that can’t happen right now. Fingers crossed it can happen within the next 365 days. But, there have been a few minor changes since we moved in. Remember the blue wallpaper?

Vincent and I tore it down, exposing the glue backing. Already a vast improvement in the light and bright department.

Then I sprayed the glue, scraping it off. And replaced the windows. I didn’t do that, Ben did. He’s far more skilled than I am.

For months, the kitchen looked like this:

Eeeesh, not good. Scratched walls, filled nail holes, and dingy primed walls. Last weekend I got so sick of looking at the ugly walls. That’s what happens when our weather isn’t nice and I’m stuck in the house a lot. I look for things to do. To flow with the family room, I painted the walls Sandstone Cove, using Glidden’s Duo eggshell.

Ahh, the glory of solid colored walls.

Too bad the rest of the kitchen isn’t as easy to change.

Because the kitchen wraps over to my office, I painted those walls, too.

Black hole of electronics be damned. Hmm, wonder if I could spray paint them… Haha, not going to do that!

If only the paint had been a bolder color to make the change more obvious. One small step for me, one giant leap for our kitchen. Do you get itchy when the weather doesn’t coöperate? Look for something, anything to do?

P.S. Our three-year blog anniversary is coming up in a few weeks. If you have questions for us, maybe we’ll do a Q and A? You can leave comments here or email at ourhumbleabodeblog@gmail.com.

I’m Bringing Drexel Back

Published on April 29, 2013April 29, 2013 by Our Humble Abode30 Comments

Admittedly not as catchy as bringing sexy back. On Thursday, the boys and I ran errands, then took advantage of the sunny weather by stopping in a garage sale and two thrift stores. We left Goodwill with three small planters for $1.50 each.

But we hit the jackpot at our second store, striking gold with this beat up Drexel dresser.

Listed at 90 dollars, I wasn’t going to buy it. I asked if I could get a discount for the scuffs and burns on it. The manager took off 25% making it $67. Not needing another dresser, I couldn’t decide. Yes, it would look great in the boys’ room. But they had a white one that worked just fine. So I asked you, and nearly everyone said, “YES!” Tipping point, I bought it. Over the weekend, I sanded it down, getting down to bare wood.

Originally I thought I’d stain it dark (to match their bookshelf), but seeing the pretty grain made me question that decision. Again, I asked you what to do. This time, votes were about 75/25, so I went with a clear finish and gold painted hardware.

Now, Drexel’s back and more handsome than ever.

He’s a far cry from the antique-y white dresser of yore, adding a warm wood tone and sleek lines.

Look at those legs! Slightly tapered, no cankles.

Perhaps the handles are the furniture equivalent of a gold chain?

A few burns and one stain are still slightly visible on the top because they went too deep to sand out.

Sixty seven dollars well spent. Because we already had sand paper, spray paint, and clear coat, $67 is all I spent on this guy.

Another change in the boys’ room that has me chomping at the bit to give this room some attention. Like paint covering the walls. All four. And a twin bed for Ev, once he’s unhappy sleeping in his crib.

Gimme a Giveaway Winner & Ice, Ice Bucket

Published on April 26, 2013April 26, 2013 by Our Humble Abode4 Comments

Hello and Happy Friday, friends! Can you believe we’ve almost finished April? Seems crazy, but bring on May, warmer weather, and flower planting. But for today, let’s share the Through the Doggy Door winner.

Random.org chose Janelle, a fellow Montanan waiting until June 1 to plant. Congrats, Janelle!

You already know I can’t get enough green lately. Well, I did it again. Oops. I found this chrome, wood, and wood print ice bucket at the thrift store for six bucks. Perfect for our little bar with just a bit of sprucing up.

That dark wood print had to go.

After a thorough cleaning, I sprayed it with a coat of flat white spray paint to act as a primer. Then dug out test paints to see what color I wanted. Five colors later, I loved Anjou Pear, the same color I plan to paint the boys’ bedroom.