My Wintery Livingroom

Just a few pictures to share with you of my livingroom.  I wanted to keep the living room somewhat neutral as most of our time is spent in our family room which is decorated with "the spirit of Christmas" in mind!

 

With the exception of the Christmas ornaments hanging in the birch trees and a few tucked away in the garland, I might be able to keep the decorations up throughout the month of January.  However, by the end of the holidays I may be ready for a clean slate.  

Thank you for stopping by.   

Lesa

Giant Snowflakes

I'd like to share with you my version of two large wooden snowflakes.   

I built them using a scrap piece of plywood so it cost me nothing to build them. 

The large snowflake measures 36" ...

and the smaller version measures 24"...

They were very simple to do...first I cut my piece of plywood into 3" wide strips using the table saw.  You need three pieces 3" x 36" (for the large) and three pieces 3" x 24" (for the small).  The ends of the snowflakes were cut on a mitre saw at a 37 degree angle.  Each end piece was cut to a length of

4 1/2" and you will need 12 pieces for each snowflake.  The rectangular pieces at the ends were cut from the leftover scraps at a length of approximately 4".  

My husband helped me assemble each snowflake and he likes things precise so he did some mathematical calculations to find centre and then divided the circle circumference by six to get the degrees between each end...bla bla bla.  I was going to just "eyeball" it!  Anyway, it's nice and evenly spaced.  We just used an air nailer to secure everything in place.  

I stained everything with Espresso Minwax stain and let it dry overnight.  I the dry brushed on a coat of cream colored paint and then went over that layer with a color called Peppery by Behr.  It's a dark grey color.  That's it.  

My idea is to use these snowflakes outside on my front porch but I kinda like the my entryway as well!  I hope I've inspired you to try building a few of your own.  

Thanks for stopping by...

Lesa

Painting Roses

Just stopping in, quickly, to share my painted roses.  My husband and I spend a lot of time at our seasonal lot during the summer so I decided to take a few paints and brushes with me and to introduce myself to painting flowers again.  I still need a lot of practice but it's fun and very relaxing.  Here are a few attempts at rose painting...

And, here is the spot where I paint...

Hopefully, the next time I share,  my skills will improve.  I hope you are enjoying you summer and thanks for stopping by.

Lesa

Knit 4...Purl 4

I just finished this afghan last night and I wanted to share it with you.  I've knit several different afghans but always ended up giving them away as gifts, but this one is mine!  Love the color and it's very cozy.

There was no pattern...just a simple ribbing stitch.  I used Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick yarn  and a pair of #15 knitting needles.  

I cast on 92 stitches and simply knit 4, purled 4 to the end of the row and then repeated those stitches creating a ribbing pattern.  Just remember you need to knit the knit stitches and purl the purled stitches.

I decided to make pompoms for the edging instead of fringe...24 pompoms to be exact.  The pompoms took approximately 2 skeins of yarn.  I used 8 skeins for the afghan, but you can use as many as you prefer to get the size of afghan you desire.

It was quick and easy to knit and it was a great project to do while watching tv or a movie.  No rows or pattern to count.

I hope this inspires you to knit one for yourself!  Thank you for stopping by!

Lesa

Barn Quilt

I love quilts.  I don't sew quilts but I have a lot of quilting books...love the pictures!  However, I came across a site about barn quilts and their history AND they are made from wood!  So, I thought I would do my own version of a barn quilt and incorporate the colors from my living room.  My kitchen, eating area and living room are all one space and the area is quite small so all the colors have to work together.  I have very neutral colors...cream, black and tan.  I wanted to use those colors in my quilt together with a dark walnut stained frame as I thought it would "pop" on my cream colored planked wall.  Here is my finished barn quilt...

And, here it is in the entire space...

The total measurement of the quilt is 24 5/8" x 24 5/8".  Much smaller than a true barn quilt!  I first found a quilt block pattern that I could convert into wood.   I used 1 x 8 pine which is actually 7 1/4" wide.  Following the pattern, I cut nine squares 7 1/4" x 7 1/4".  I then used my mitre saw to cut four of the squares into triangles.  I could have painted the pattern onto one solid piece of plywood but I wanted it to look like it had been pieced together...similar to what you would do with fabric.

Hopefully, the above picture shows that each triangle is individual.  

Once my pieces were cut, I marked each one with the color I was going to paint it and then started the painting process.   After the pieces dried I cut a piece of MDF 1/4" in thickness to the finished size of the quilt which included the frame as well.  I made the frame from 2x2 strapping which I glued and used screws to secure.  I then stained it with Minwax dark walnut stain.  I then secured it to my MDF board with more wood glue.  I used wood screws to secure it from the back.  

The next step was basically like putting a jigsaw puzzle together...more glue to secure the wood quilt pieces to the MDF.  I let it dry overnight, attached a hanger to the back and hung it on the wall.  Easy and fun to do!  

I actually made two quilts but one was enough for this tiny space.  The other quilt I hung as you open the door to go into my unfinished basement...here it is...

Here are some pictures of the whole space so you can see what I mean about keeping all the colors similar...

Thank you for stopping by!  Have a great week.

Lesa

Just Asking and hoping for Feedback

I have gone from 798 followers down to 724 followers in less than one week.  I've lost over 70 followers in 5 days.  Can you give me some feedback as to why I've lost soooo many in such a short amount of time?  Have I done something wrong?  I hope to get your thoughts...

Lesa

Kitchen Table Now Coffee Table

Last weekend I found an oak kitchen table on Kijiji for $25.00.  This is it disassembled.  

It even has beautiful rope detail.

My plan was not to use it as a kitchen table, but to transform it into a coffee table.  I already have a round coffee table but it wasn't what I really wanted for my tiny living room.  It served its purpose but I wanted something more substantial.  You can see the old table below...

First thing I needed to do was to remove the screws that attach the table to the base from the pedestal.  

I then measured the height of my seat cushions on the couch and decided to make my coffee table the same height.  Using a hand saw, I cut the pedestal to the appropriate height. Don't judge me...I know that I'm doing a messy job in my livingroom! 

I used masking tape to make the cutting line so I kept it level and straight.  It worked very well!

I replaced the screws at the top of the pedestal making sure to measure and line up the holes at the bottom of the tabletop.

I sanded the table top and stained it using Minwax Dark Walnut stain.  When dry, I lightly sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper to remove any roughness.  I then waxed it with Minwax Paste Wax to protect the surface.  The edge of the tabletop together with the legs and pedestal received a coat of primer before I added two coats of Behr paint called Totally Black.  

Here is the finished table...

I love it and am very happy with the results.  And,  it only cost me $25.00 and a few hours of labour!  

Thank you for stopping by.  Have a great week!

Lesa

Rustic Crate Trunk

Today, I decided to do a little project that would be somewhat functional and that would fill a void in one corner of my living room.  It started with two old crates that I've had sitting in the basement.

I went to Home Depot and bought all of this...

First, I painted all the black with the exception of the castor wheels.  Next, I attached the wheels to the bottom of one of the crates.

Then I attached the hinges to the inside of the crates using one of the crates as a lid.  I secured the corner brackets to the top and bottom crate, added the handles to the sides and the latch/lock to the front of the crates.  This is it finished...

Thanks for stopping by...

Lesa