Projects Revisited

Recently I've been out of town a lot (for fun and for work) plus with football season starting and a visit from my sister, I haven't had much chance to work on some new projects lately. Hopefully that will change this week, but for now I thought I would give a little rundown about how some of my projects are working out for me a few weeks or months down the line.

Fabric Organization
I used an Ikea Billy Bookcase with a CD insert for fabric storage in my craft room creating bolts out of foam core for the pieces that were at least half a yard long. The CD insert has the perfect sized cubbies for my fat quarters and my scraps are stored in baskets and jars I already had. I also used an antique Japanese soda crate to store my thread. I have really liked how this has turned out because it is really easy for my to see exactly what I have on hand and not have to go digging through things to find a fabric that I am looking for. My only problem is that I am starting to outgrow this solution, having acquired a few more fat quarters than will comfortably fit in my cubbies.  

Keeping Plants Watered During Vacation in the Bathtub
I tried a trick that I read online to keep my plants from dying while on vacation, namely putting them in the bathtub with a little water and then covering it with plastic wrap to effectively create a terrarium. I tried this while Frank and I were on vacation in Italy earlier this year. I have to say that it worked a little too well. The soil in the plants was very, very damp when I came home. Some of my plants, like the basil, did well with all the moisture but it was too much for my rosemary plant and it died. I think that I would try it again (it was definitely better than all of my plants dying while I was out of town!) but I would cut a lot more holes in the plastic wrap to let more of the water escape.

New Mailbox
The antique cast iron mailbox that I had been using was just too small and my mail was always overflowing and getting bent when it was delivered. After hunting on eBay for a while I found a larger orange vintage mailbox that I made over with some oil rubbed bronze spray paint and hung out front. I absolutely love that my mail doesn't get squished anymore but my problem is that I am too short for it. Because of the wood siding on my house I had to hang it between the angled slats such that there is space for the lid to swing open. One slat farther down would obstruct the door bell, but where it is currently placed makes it hard for me to reach the bottom of the mailbox since it is so deep. I need to get a thin piece of wood to mount on top of the siding and then mount my mailbox on top of that to fix it, but I haven't done it yet. Once I do that I think it will be perfect. Either that or I need to grow a few inches.

New Dining Room Chairs
After years of using some Ikea folding chairs that had seen better days in my dining room I scored a great deal on Craigslist on a set of eight dining room chairs from Crate and Barrel for only $500. I could not be happier with the chairs. Not only were they a super fabulous deal, but they are so comfortable and I love sitting in them. They are also in fabulous shape and you can't tell that they aren't new. I can't say enough about how happy I am with this purchase. I still need to do something about making or buying a bigger table so the chairs comfortably fit, but those things take time.

Front Porch Makeover
I did a few projects on my front porch this summer to spruce it up. First up was my self watering planter. I checked the water level once a week and it worked really well until I was an idiot and went to Japan and didn't check the water level before I left. Not surprisingly, if the water reservoir is empty the self watering doesn't work. It was working really well up until then so I would definitely do it again. I also joined two rugs together using duct tape to make a runner on my porch. It has held together really well and I have had no issues with it coming apart. My other little decor items on the porch, like the house silhouette art I made and my geisha vase, have stood up well being outside with no issues or damage. The teal spray paint on my table has also held up well with no fading of the fun, bright color so far.

I could keep going but I'll stop for now. If there are any of my other projects that you would like an update on, please let me know. I'd love to share. Also, how about your projects at home? What has worked out really well for you? Has anything gone not quite as well as planned?

Comments

[Rene]

I love maps and globes and have been slowly working on a small map project that I am hoping to finally pull together this next week. I just need to find some time to get it done. Life has been crazy since my move! I'll post a picture on my blog once I finish it.

[Lisa]

Rene- That sounds like a really fun project! I'll have to check it out when you post it. I hope all is going well with your move and with the new school year!