Category: DIY

Troll Brothers

Just to make sure you guys understand how talented the CC is…I present to you….the Troll Brothers.

Meet Pogo and He Who Must Still Be Named.

The leftover fabric from the chair project (more on that soon) was not to be wasted….there were trolls to make! He whipped these up in one afternoon given he is actually better on the sewing machine than I am. His scientific mind and patience trumps my arty impatience every time.

 

I really love them. You can’t even see their stubby little arms underneath all that hair!  Pogo is Thing 2’s friend, with the black eyes, and the red eyed He Who Must Still Be Named is Thing 1’s. Even though he says he’s too old for this stuff, I know he secretly likes him.

Treehouse Update (Planning)

Not exactly an update, as much as an update on plans.  We had a family “meeting” in the treehouse this weekend to discuss next steps with the interior painting etc.. and some fun and interesting requests emerged.

1) Zip line access – We have a zip line in the front yard that we can move…this will be tricky to keep it safe, but we think it’s possible…

2) A chalkboard inside -  Easy Peasy! We can paint a few of the panels in the chalkboard paint.

3) A refrigerator – Um, no…this is a treehouse, not your college dorm room….next?

4) A TV – See #3….DUH.

5) The bottom bunker built – This is actually top of their wish list. We really wanted our big outdoor project to involve a deer proof vegetable garden this year, but we’re feeling some pressure here. Our answer was: “We’ll think about it.” Still thinking.

6) A poster/collage depicting Godzilla destroying a Minecraft city – COOL!!!! We are a family who geeks out over old 50’s-60’s Godzilla movies…we love them. The boys are also completely obsessed with Minecraft, so this marries their passions on what should be a super fun art project for us…

We’ll be looking to create a combination of these two.

 

via koyaanisqatsi degauss

PLUS

image via godzilla2012

= CHAOS!

While looking for images, I can across these great vintage Polish and Czech Godzilla movie posters from the 70’s, I love these and I can’t wait to show the boys and see what they think of them.

 

images via Monsterbrains

 

We concluded our planning session up there with snacks and a round of Life, and I’m so happy that it is only in this game that I would have 3 weddings and both a set of twins AND a set of triplets…phew!

 

 

Oh, I almost forgot! I made a mini-tour of the treehouse so far so that new readers don’t have to slog through all those treehouse posts to see the progress of the building.

 

Sneak Peek

Things are really boring around here since all our projects are mid-stream. On the upholstery front, I haven’t started my new chairs, although I’m dying to, until I can finish these chairs to sell. This is what all that mess was from.

We forgot to take pics of the chairs before taking them down to the frames, so I tried to dig up a few snaps of them from days of yore.

 

 

They had button tufting on the back. Yikes… my dining room when we first moved in! Ew!

 

 

Terrible shots, but you get the idea…a pair of upholstered tufted klismos style chairs from the 40’s-50’s I’d guess. The only ones I found like them online are attributed to Parzinger, here.

So, the Things were a little rough with them, and the frame snapped on one, so up to the attic they went to await repair. I had planned to reupholster them anyway, but knew we’d have to fix the frame first. Once we got them stripped down, both frames actually needed some structural repair.

 

The CC likes the woodworking repair aspect…*yawn* and now that he’s almost done, it’s time for me to get to work and sand down the legs, paint them and start upholstering them. I’ve decided to go a little crazy, OK a LOT crazy with these chairs.

Behold what I plan to cover them with….

 

Scary, huh? That’s several yards of faux grey and white Mongolian fur, and if it ends up looking like a pair of ugly trolls, I can just redo it. THIS is the fun part of trying to tackle this on my own-the risks aren’t so risky. Would I do this if I were paying someone else to do it? Probably not, I’d go with something “safer”.

So that’s one of the many unfinished things happening around the house…I’m hoping for a full reveal sooner rather than later.

Mascarpone

If the weather keeps up this wacked out pattern, it will be berry season in two weeks.  So, in order to prepare you for the possible early bounty of climate change, let’s make some mascarpone to go with those early season berries!

We are not experts, this is just what we did and we liked the result. It’s one of the easiest cheeses to make as long as you get the right ingredients.

1 Quart of half and half or other light cream…Pasteurized is fine, but NOT ultra-pasteurized.  If it’s UP, it will say so on the bottle/carton.  I found some at Fresh Market, I’m sure Whole Foods has it, and if you have a raw milk source…I’m sure that would be amazing..haven’t tried it yet. For the record, we did make a batch with half ultra-pasteurized whipping cream and half regular pasteurized milk, and it worked, but didn’t perform as well.

1/4 teaspoon of Tartaric Acid…NOT Cream of Tartar.  Locally, I’ve been told All Seasons Gardening and Brewing carries it.  We got ours from a cheesemaking kit we had forgotten about!  Some people like to make it with lemon juice, but we decided to stick with what our cheesemaking book told us.

So don’t you like how both of the ingredients involve me getting all bossy about what NOT to get? Do you know how easy it is to typo MasCRAPone? Yeah, I thought so. Moving on…..

Get a double boiler going and heat the cream until the temperature reaches 185°.  Add your Tartaric Acid, whisk, remove from the heat and pour into a sieve topped with moistened layers of fine cheesecloth or butter muslin. Let cool, and refrigerate covered for about 12 hours.  Best used within a week…Enjoy!!

Yum.  I added fresh mint to one batch and it was nice, but not as minty as I was expecting. The cheese overwhelmed it a bit. (Yes, I actually have mint right now..crazy).  Experiment with flavors you like and have fun.

2/10/12 UPDATE:  I had a batch recently that wasn’t as smooth in texture as I wanted, and by putting it in a small food processor (a stick blender might work too) the texture smoothed out and fixed it!

Not a Bathmat

Well, I was in Target to pick up a basic boring bathmat when I saw this hot little number in the new arrivals section for the same price. Why not? It’s cotton, can be thrown in the wash…it’s just missing a non skid bottom.

I can fix this without even leaving the house. I loathe rug mats/pads. I know they are a necessary evil with fine rugs, but for a $14 Target rug…Hell NO.

I can’t take credit for this idea…I saw it somewhere years ago…maybe Martha?

Whip out some silicone caulk (you can get squeeze tubes if you don’t want to mess with a gun.) This is the waterproof stuff used in bathrooms etc…I chose clear because, well, it’s clear and less noticeable. Even though it’s on the under side, I’ll know it’s there. Call me Stevie Jobs. I digress.

I used a spreader because I buy them in 10 for a dollar packs, but a piece of cardboard or even your finger will work too.

Hit that baby with a bead of caulk that zigs and zags like Heather Locklear’s drive home and then smooth the bead with your tool of choice.

The point in spreading it is to keep it smoother underfoot and to adhere better to the fabric.  Just don’t smoosh it in too deep.

I go to put it in the bathroom and it’s too damn wide.  Figures.  The kids and puppy have been trashing my rug at the front door, so how about there?

 

OK, so not a total waste.  I still need a bathmat though.

Year Three

As promised, I’ll try and summarize what happened around the ranch this past year and see where we’re headed for 2012.

Recaps for previous years here:  Year One, Year Two

Around the house:

We got rid of the dining room chair rail.

I built a temporary patio/firepit.

I made an ass for myself.

Hosted a huge Halloween Party.

We’re always switching things around in the furniture department.

I seemed to cook a lot of food this year.

We contemplated chickens, but opted instead for a puppy.

I talked about my bedroom wishes (NOT THOSE) but didn’t follow up. I did indeed buy that Home Depot drop cloth after all, so now my mattress on the floor issue is gone.  Yay for $30 solutions! I also got new night tables off Craigslist I never showed you.

Otto has decided he must be the supermodel of all my interior shots….every time I’d try and take a photo, he’d settle himself right into the shot.

Yes, that is the Monopoly Man trophy you see. I NEVER win, but managed to pull one out over the holidays so it’s finally my turn to proudly house the trophy…until I lose the next game.

 

Elsewhere:

We had a big travel year, and while in New England, I had my heart broken at Brimfield. I seem to have better luck within my budget on my local flea excursions.

We hit up the local Rennaisance Fayre.

Had a big sale.

Doesn’t look like we got a whole lot done compared to past years.  But it felt like a busy year…oh yeah, WE BUILT A TREEHOUSE!!!!  And it took a long time.

We still haven’t painted the interior, and are beginning to wonder if we really need to. I realized after the leaves fell that I could finally get some decent shots of it so you can see how it relates to the house a bit better.

In summer, the treehouse is almost completely obscured by foliage….but now, it’s quite naked!

The sleeping bunker/level two building plans are on hold to address some more pressing needs around the ranch.  Namely a pantry, to keep the dog out of the foodstuffs, and if all goes well, a real bathtub.  I always thought we’d do the half bath first, but the lack of proper bathtub in the house is starting to become more and more important to both of us.  The CC has been playing soccer on weekends and as he limps home stiff and sore…he’s starting to want a good soak as badly as I do.  Time and money will tell.  I’ve been pinning ideas for it here.

As for which outlet I should choose to sell my finds? There’s pros and cons to all of them and if I can manage it, a hybrid of the options might be best.  Maybe an Etsy shop for smalls and E-bay for big pieces? We’ll see…I’ve actually been pretty busy this winter redoing some dining chair sets for other people.  Once I get my last set finished and out the door..it’s time to start selling again.  Hope everyone is looking forward to a good 2012…I love the optimism January’s clean slate can bring.