Thanks Dad

Since my dad knows what a scavenger I am, he could not pass up these two directors chairs when he saw them curb side.  Not a bad option for the new fire pit.

Before:

After:

 I sewed new backings and seats for them (pretty straight forward) with $5 worth of Ikea fabric.  I think they are a steal and we will keep them around for a few years yet.

Backyard in the City

So to update on the backyard work...we are now near completion.  Steve threw down a lot of muscle to get this done...we barely fought during the rigging of the gazebo either.  I've flooded a lot of pictures because we are filled with so much pride.

 I painted the old picnic bench and we tied up pallets to cover up where we keep the garbage bins

Pondering Garden Plots...

So some work has gone into our back garden plots.  With a 200ft. lot, we have some space.  My dad helped level out the edge of our property before the big drop to the park bellow.  We rejoiced with some coffee and deer spotting.  It's a work in progress, so I'll keep you posted.

A work in progress

I found this Ork poster and wanted to do something with it.  Maybe it's lame to have a Toronto poster when you live in Toronto but, well, whatever.

Before:

After:

It's still missing something, but I'll get there....I'm sure

Alright, I think we got it....

Doing triple duty

While I can't take credit for the idea...(Steve), I did still execute, including a trip to get the wood cut and figuring out measurements.  This bench functions as a window seat/additional seating besides the couch, dining room seating, and extra storage.

The table's home is up against the wall, so that it can also function as a desk.  But when you have guest you can pull it up to the bench to seat four.  When I put the table together, I made sure to inset the legs knowing that it would be pulled up to a bench (unlike a chair that you can easily tuck under a table.) so it needed the extra lip.  I cut up a mattress pad to make the top extra cushy, and used a micro fiber drape as the upholstery to cut cost.

Oldies but goodies

So I was digging through some old computer files recently and found a few photos a felt like sharing they are miscellaneous and not really DYI but I'm sharing anyway...

Little wood blocks

So I did this project a while ago.  In search of a way to casually showcase some photos I'm fond of I came up with this concept.  I printed a mini collection of photos wallet sized a cut some blocks from scrap wood to fit the photos.  I drilled a hole in the back of the block so it can be hung from a nail on the wall.  I like the idea of grouping them together or scattering them, as a little reminder of a tiny special memory...

Happy Bird Day!

It was baby girls first birthday so we threw her a Bird-day party!

alphabet from marthastewart.com

waiting for guests to arrive

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The scavengers quick fix

You know when you've been staring at something so long you've forgotten that you were never really satisfied with in the first place?  You just accepted your B-.  I think creative people do it all the time, we can almost always do better.  So I got it in my head that I would rework my record cabinet.  As you can see from the before...the space wasn't filled right over the amp, many of the plants in my container have long since died, leaving only one, records askew and dangling wires.

A few quick changes and I think it`s a lot more successful...slightly straightened out the records, found two storage boxes in my basement from years ago, a borrowed wicker footstool from my parents place and the only new thing was the $11 plant pot to replace the original from the florist.....just need a few more records to fill it in....

Wall Plants

I got this idea in bed.  I wanted to create an simple art piece to hang above a flat screen.  I new it needed to be modern looking but warm.  I remembered a had an old shoe rack sitting in my trunk that reminded me of a super modern Ikea headboard.  I thought this would be cool because you could hang stuff from the slats.

I've seen these cutlery holders used as plant pots, which I thought was a nice way to break it up.  All homes need something living in them, right?  Anyway this is the end result....

I think you could go back and add little shelves poking out the slats, like the headboard that insipred me.  or stick in a few photos... i like the clean lines though.  It's always satisfying when you discover a use for something that was likely to end up in the garbage.

Paint Chip Art

By no means did I invent this idea, I think I first saw versions of it on Apartmenttherapy.com

I like the simplicity and the fact that it's free.  You just need to look sly when selecting multiple paint chips from your local paint shop....try to look indecisive, this helps.

I started with 5 different paint cards with 5 colours on them,  I used about three of each.  I was originally going for rectangles, then cut them all into squares.  its nice because you can be specific about your colour palette.  I used two green cards, one purple, gray and orange.

when you just can't find what you want

I wanted a large front doormat, but these are sometimes hard to find, unless you want industrial style, or are will to shell out over $100 for something more fashionable.  I new I wanted durability, so I couldn't cheat it with an area rug.  I bought 4 door mats from Ikea and tapes them together from the underside.  it took a lot of hunting through stacks of $7 mats to find 4 approximately the same size.

I taped of a boarder with duct tape and protected the middle with taped down garbage bags and spray painted on the boarder.  The boarder also helped to mask that it was originally separate mats.  I like the end result, resilient, simple with a twist of colour....Just want I wanted.

Upholstered headboard...Ikea style...kind of.

I made this upholstered headboard with some As Is wood shelves from Ikea.  I'm sure you could just as easily use particleboard, which was my original idea.  But the shelves were $4 in total, which could not be beat.  I used a twin duvet from Ikea and one of their drapes.    I simply folded the duvet to the side of the wood and stapled the drape fabric over it, hiding the staples on the back.  I attached it to the wall with industrial velcro.  The total cost of this DIY headboard to $45....I think its perfect for the space.