Pinterest Challenge, the Fourth

It’s apparently Pinterest throw down time once again so let me briefly recap my previous projects before we get on to this one:

• Pinterest Round 3 (kitchen stool spraypainted and doggy crate covers)
• Oh Pinterest… (organizing the bathroom storage)
• Pinterest Throw Down (chalkboard paint and paint chip art)
• Challenge the Second (chalkboard place mats and book Christmas ornaments)
• Pinterest Cleaning (homemade soap and cleaners)
• Pinteresting (an introduction and first challenge: map platter & coffee can organization)

What to do, what to do

This time around I had little time and wanted to get something finished, you know, all those random ideas and then there just the one that you can’t wait to say is “done” – or is that just me?

When I looked at my board the same images came up again and again, many ways to do a jewelry holder for necklaces.

Sources here, here, here and here

I’d mentioned creating something like this when I finished up the master bedroom and finally I had a little incentive. Here’s the spot where my own jewelry holders would go, on this short wall between the bathroom door to the left and closet to the right:

So I took my warped wood from the bench project, marked off a few places and went to Home Depot. There I used their saw to make my cuts (since my Dad refuses to let me use his saw. Something about losing a finger or blood loss. Whatever.) and picked up the hardware I needed.

Here’s the brackets:

and the hooks:

Now, you know me. I’m not going to put something brassy gold in my beautiful black, white and red room. So out came the ORB spray paint and I classed those up right away. While they dried I sanded down the wood, wiped it clean and started mixing my paint.

Now, I didn’t want these perfectly glossy white (they’re still pretty rough around the edges) nor stained so I went with a simple whitewash. I accomplished this by mixing a tiny bit of ceiling paint leftover with equal parts water. Whatever, I eyeballed it.

The technique is easy. Brush on the watered down white paint. Wipe it off with a sock. Rotate. Continue. Let it dry.

Here’s the finished pieces:

Now I just had to screw in the hooks, align the brackets and attach it to the wall. Easy peasy. But not a single one of those links tells you how to do so. And I’m currently lacking one drill. So I picked up a batter powered screw driver  to get these in:

and it’s done! There will eventually be 2 or 3 but for now I’m back to tracking Hurricane news and prepping for NaNoWriMo.

Here’s the second one installed (with longer drywall screws) and lit up with candles for Christmas:

 

Saturday Snapshots – Oct 27th

Well it’s a good thing I never said this would be a weekly thing… lots going on in the last month but here’s my cell phone record of the past few weeks since the last Snapshots post.

Most of my easy snapshots come from the dogs looking cute. So here’s the first one:

Before they moved out of state we had one last puppy and kiddo play date with Ellie, Adria and Wilson. Adria wasn’t so sure.

Right before my birthday I flew to New York and while I hate flying I love this picture

here’s two of my favorite shots from Central Park:

  

“Petrick” and I had an awesome time.

I love NY architecture, it’s great to see the beautiful cathedrals next to the high rises:

While I often visit the same sights it’s fun to find little things that are different and new things. Check out these mums outside Rockefeller Center:

One of my favorite places is the Lego store and their version of 30 Rock:

The Empire State Building at night is one of my favorite sights. The view from the top was a little hard to capture since I was afraid of dropping my phone. Oh and I’d passed out.

While in NY we stayed in some great places, some not so plush places. It was always an adventure and what’s hostel travel without a rastafarian banana?

All my pictures from the Halloween party were dark and blurry so here’s a picture of my witches’ skirt:

Back at home it’s getting cold here in California and I’m completely cranky about turning on the heating (or AC during the summer) so a single space heater in the office is sufficient. Of course the dogs try to soak up all the warmth by crowding in on my heat:

I’m a big fan of this Tazo tea in Organic Apple Red. I’d been searching for it for 6 months when I finally located the flavor at Safeway. Score.

Also, as I shared last month we had a family tragedy when my 26 year old cousin died suddenly which I shared about here. One of the things the family requested was a video for the service, here’s a snapshot of the video:

The service was beautiful, especially the great memories shared. This flower arrangement was especially nice:

Final shot of Wilson, this time having dragged blankets all over the bed to make his little nest. At least he had the decency to look sheepish:

Stuff I Like

While this may eventually turn into a static page I’m doing this quick and dirty version for my Mom and anyone else who has yet to buy me a birthday present. Here we go… stuff I like:

First is a “stuff I need” because my cell phone’s blue tooth is dead. And I didn’t even run it over with my car but since it won’t hold a charge or connect I need to replace it so I don’t get a sore neck after hours on the phone doing business. Simple is good, my last one was $25 and lasted 4 years! Update – bought one!

Bones Season 7 is finally out on DVD and promises to keep me entertained for hours. Plus maybe it can be considered “research” for my novel?

I’ve been in a major downsizing mode lately but the one thing that I need, just a smaller version of, is a trash can for the kitchen. Large ones take too long to fill up and start to smell and the small one I was using had mesh sides. One leaky food experiment went awry and no more small mesh sided trash can.

I like this one but definitely don’t need anything high techy.

Also, Trader Joe’s is now in stock with the nectar of the gods, aka, spiced apple cider. I have 2 gallons which should last me another week, so if you’d like to feed my addiction obsession, you can pick these up for about $3.

I’m a tiny bit obsessed with these camera totes since my camera travels with me and I’m somewhat fearful it’ll break one day. These totes are awesome, bright and roomy enough for camera + ipad + wallet. Win. Find the whole line here. Update got this one for my birthday! Thanks Mom 🙂

I’ve pinned a whole bunch of stuff on this board which should really be called “things my friends should buy me” and if you window shop there you’ll know I like unique salt & pepper shakers, dorky book ends, and this little ducky that will play my ipod in the shower (aka my music studio):

It occurs to me now (right before I go to the cold Northeast) that gloves and scarves are always nice. But wool and cashmere makes me itch so I’d hate to associate your gift with something uncomfortable and painful.

Add this to the “practical gifts” side but after scanning another 250 pictures recently I realize that my scanner is on it’s last days. I’d like to replace it with a more portable model since I get asked to scan stuff all the time. This one is called a doxie… it’s short, black and hopefully not temperamental.

Of course gift cards are good, most used are 1) Amazon, 2) Target and 3) iTunes. On last count I had 64 books to read on my Amazon Wish List so that’s always a possibility!

Mostly I’m so very blessed that it’s hard to come up with a “list” – I do have many projects in the works so if anyone would like to make me soup, install baseboards or paint ceilings then I would gladly accept indentured servant hours!

Or just a card.