Kitchen Shelves

                                            Clutter-free kitchen countertops!

We added a little half-round shelf at the end of the cabinets. It is secured with long screws coming from inside the cabinet, and - unfortunately a bracket that is sunken into the tile. But the bracket is tiny; the shelf won't need to support heavy weight. We are considering adding one more half-round shelf, just below this one.

I've seen similar shelves in Houzz, displaying pretty dishes or art. We're a bit more utilitarian around here, just needed a place to charge phones, store electronics, etc.

My Hammer Man doesn't know this yet, but he's planning another project. We NEED an appliance garage, for the toaster oven.
One project always produces another, doesn't it?

Window Valances - Before & After

 The "before" - boring plastic valances, the ones that were packaged with the blinds.

 And the "Afters" - simple crown molding, cut and glued and nailed into the drywall.

We think they give a nice dressed-up look to the windows.
We weren't sure how to make the cuts, found helpful instructions on uTube.
Also found a website of someone who makes and sells them, if you don't have a Hammer Man handy.

The Platform!

Our older grandchildren love to climb trees, so for Christmas this year, our Hammer Man (with the help of his Jr assistant) built a platform around one of the trees in their back yard.


You can see Hammer Man signing his creation, under the platform



At first, the children struggled with the final step-and-hoist action, but after a bit of practice, they mastered it. In this photo, Mike is filling the bird feeder, which hangs from the side.
Merry Christmas, Aiden and Anna!

 

Christmas Trees

Last year, Anna and I were looking through a catalog of Christmas items. She saw some wooden trees, and declared, without hesitation, "I could make that." (She was 6 at the time.)
And so she did. Her older brother made one, too - with Papa's pre-drilled holes, some pegs and glue. The larger pegs go all the way through the "trunk" and the smaller ones are inserted into little openings.

Here is another photo of the finished trees. As you can see, we had to make the bases larger, to prevent toppling. The one in the back is perched upon a step stool:

We used one of the trees for our family party this year, as a "Stocking Tree"
My sister makes and stuffs stockings for all of her great nieces and nephews, and my husband makes trees. Here, one of the little ones is trying to find her stocking:

And here is a final photo, of our Great Aunt with two excited little girls:

Finished Photos of The Loft

Final pics of The Loft! I'm so proud of my man for pulling this off. The ladder is a work of art!

My Turn!

Now it's my turn to post something that I made.

The idea came from one of my favorite blogs

http://www.intuitionphysician.com/inspiration-wednesdays-diy-inspirational-art/

Mine isn't quite as tidy and neat as hers, but it's ok. We like the wabi sabi.

Loft Ladder

The loft project installation is underway. We are seriously proud of this ladder that we designed. And by "we," I mean "he." I just found a photo of a similar one and made the request.

One more photo, for perspective