back to school project

It's almost back to school time (not for me though!), so my mom had CJ work on a little project for her classroom.  Each year she takes little wooden apples, writes her kids' names on them, and then decorates her tree.  A few years ago, her tree broke and she had to stop doing it.  Lucky for her, she has a pretty handy son-in-law.

The project wasn't difficult per se, but just a little intricate.  CJ said when he would close his eyes, he'd still see the outline of this tree because he'd been staring at it for so long.  Here's the final product:

the cats' new digs

I'm not sure what makes CJ want to do certain projects over others.  To the best I've been able to find out, he gravitates toward different or fun projects.

This tidbit is important because...

Months ago, I ran across a blog where someone took old wine crates and made it into a bed sort of thing for their cats.  (I couldn't find the tutorial today, so I'm sorry I can't credit the source.)  I happened to just send it to CJ just as a hey-this-is-kind-of-cool-deal, without any sort of urgency (i.e. "Run to Menard's now.").  I completely forgot about the project until one day when he just made it.  I think it took him a whole five minutes.  I completed the bed thing (what do we want to call it - a perch?) with some foam and leftover fabric.  Here's the final product:

A little different, yes.  I'm still not sure where to put it, so for now, it's in our multi-purpose room.

Sort of on the same topic, the funny thing about Stella is that while she and CJ don't exactly like each other, out of all the pets, she's always the most appreciative of the pet-related projects.  Funny cat.

thanks for the inspiration, martha.

CJ channeled his inner Martha Stewart using this tutorial and created a cool, more welcoming door mat for us:

You'll have to forgive us.  We're not the pros like Martha and her team and don't do staging quite so well.  We'll get there someday though.

new planter

Out of everything CJ has ever made, I think this planter is by far my favorite.  You'll have to overlook the crooked picture -- the sun was in my eyes -- but isn't this planter awesome?

Now I'll just have to remember to water the darn flowers so they actually bloom...

the 5 shelf

Instead of completing my projects that have been sitting in the garage for months now (grrr), CJ whipped up a few of these 5 shelves (free plans on ana-white.com) as a baby gift for one of his co-workers.

Here are the shelves hanging up in the baby's room (and the dinosaur is the one CJ made too):

dinosaur puzzle

Last December, CJ bought a scroll saw.  He's used it a few times, but this dinosaur puzzle is the only thing he's actually finished.  School kind of got in the way.

Cute, right?  He found a whole book on dinosaur puzzles, so I have a feeling I'll have more to show off in the future.

Oh, and I apologize for the poor setting.  He took these pictures on our kitchen cart.  Typically, the kitchen cart is covered with papers, which CJ removed to take the picture of his puzzle ... and then put right back.  Nice.  (And he wonders why I want to hire a cleaning lady.)

squared chair

For Valentine's Day, I thought I'd show off my new hot pink chair!

My staging stinks, I know, but we're in the middle of another project (who's surprised?) in my sewing room, so I couldn't put it in its proper setting.

Anyway.  CJ made this chair for me.  Knock-off plans can be found on Ana-White.com.

The original version of this chair retails for $149.99.  We made it for $3.00!

2x4 snowmen

I found this 2x4 snowman tutorial a few weeks back and thought they'd make for easy, cute Christmas presents.  CJ whipped up a batch of five -- one for each of our mothers, one for my sister-in-law, one for my grandma, and one for me.  Can you guess which one is mine?

cornhole factory

My jeep got booted out of the garage again, this time to set up a little cornhole board factory to fulfill two orders (exciting!).

Interested in a set?  Find more info here!

Now that I'm all set up sewing-wise, I'll be making cornhole bags too.  No prices yet for those, but that's an option too if you're interested.

sewing table

I've decided to take up sewing in my free time.  (HA!  Free time?!)  This is one reason why we decided to make the guest bedroom multi-functional.  We searched around for tables CJ could make for me, and although this wasn't our first pick, we ended up with one that definitely meets our other criteria -- that it's functional and space-saving.  Plus, I think CJ did a really good job with it.

Here's the finished product.  The bottom, larger box will hold my sewing machine, and the other will hold my supplies and whatever else I can fit in there.

And here it is, folded up:

And here it is, folded up against the wall, completely out of the way:



I only have about ten sewing projects lined up, so now I just need to get a sewing machine and find some free time, and I'll be good to go!

the pergola.

CJ has talked about building a pergola for ages now, but I maintain that our yard isn't that big and that a pergola will just take over what little space we do have.  One of my co-workers' husbands has always wanted a pergola too, so CJ got to working on it for him.  He started this back in August, and finally finished it a few days ago.  In the picture below, it's not entirely finished (the tops need to be cut off), but at least CJ's part is.  Can I just say how thankful I am that this project is complete?

Didn't he do a good job?

door into a chair

Awhile ago, my mom saw where someone had turned an old door into a chair.  Lucky for her, she had saved a door from our old house (the house my dad and I both grew up in), and she also has a son-in-law who is quite handy with woodworking.

This door had been in our old house for at least fifty years, if not longer.  It still had a section on it that my grandfather nailed tin to when mice started to chew their way through it.  (On one hand, gross.  On the other, it was an old farmhouse.  And I don't know of too many people who haven't had a mouse in their house anyway.)  At CJ's best guess, there were at least five coats of paint on it, including a coat of blue milk paint (again, showing how old the door was).  After he scraped off the paint (it took us a container and a half of paint stripper), he fashioned a chair out of it for my parents' porch.

ikea shelf knockoff

Here's one of CJ's latest projects:  a knockoff Ikea zig zag shelf!

Our friend, Julie, saw this online and wanted one for her baby's room.  Unfortunately, it only came in black and white, and not in any stained colors.  So, CJ built this shelf in no time flat and I bought some of my favorite childhood books to fill it.  It was probably one of the easiest shower gifts I've ever purchased -- no getting lost in Babies R Us!

I must admit, when I first saw it, I didn't really think it was my style.  The more I look at it though, the more I like it.  I just don't know where we'd put one!

cornhole boards

This summer, CJ got interested in making cornhole boards and has made a few sets already:

 

If anyone is looking for a cornhole board set, CJ would be happy to make one for you.  Here are our prices (all include a coat of resin):

• $55 - unpainted
• $65 - primed white
• $80 - painted with up to two colors of your choice
• $95 - painted with a design of your choice

At this time, I'm not making the bean bags, but that may be something I might venture into in the future.

If interested, you can email CJ at cwhitehead1982 @ gmail.com.  Feel free to pass this along!