For the past few days I have been involved in a major house project. We need to have repairs done to fix the ice dam damage to our house that occurred last winter. We are also having a few things done in addition to the repairs to redo the design of the area where we have had the most problems. It seems funny to talk about ice dams in June, then again - it was around 55 degrees today.
We had to empty out my husband's study and find new places for all of his furniture for the duration of the project. The laundry room next door to his study won't be directly impacted by the work, however, it seemed like a good idea to get in there and do some reorganizing. So I have been sorting and cleaning and finding things I forgot I had! The laundry room tends to be our "dumping ground" for the things that have no other home or the things that just need to be quickly cleared away from the main part of the house.
I am debating whether I have the courage to post a "before" photo of the laundry room - I will post an "after" view since one of the motivations to finally get things sorted out is the need to find a place to put the Yudu machine I bought recently. I'll definitely be trying some projects - maybe some things for the wedding - as soon as I have a clear area to work with this very large machine!
I was sorry to realize that I completely forgot about Flag Day on Tuesday - so I created a few patriotic rosettes - what do you think of them? I have been doing some experimenting with a new software program and trying out lots of different designs. I'll go into more detail soon but I wanted to share a few things that I have designed with this program that combines digital scrapping with the cutting of files.
I have been having fun adapting images to make new designs. I think I need to be two or three people so I might have a chance at making all of the things I have designed in my mind!
Thanks to everyone who left a comment or emailed with suggestions for the wedding ring pillow. I think I have a plan worked out in my mind - I hope it works! I haven't forgotten about the last two challenges - I hope to be able to finish my little projects and post them later this week. Thanks to those of you who gave them a try - there will be more coming soon...
link to Discussion Day #5 - Life is too Short...
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It was interesting to find out that many of you share my preference for scrapbook pages with more photos than embellishments. I do love some of the layouts I see that go "over the top," but to my mind those are pages that I would hang on the wall, not pages I would include in an album. I like my pages to be nearly flat and my albums to close neatly. I will try to do more posts with this type of pages and I encourage you to find the "happy medium" in your own albums.
Spring cleanup is upon us - if only the weather would get warmer. We had temperatures in the low 30s on Saturday - not the weather you want if you plan to work outside. I did a bit more organizing and thought some more about my latest ideas for making my crafting space work better. I predict a second trip to IKEA very soon... If everything works out according to plan I should be able to complete another project that I have been trying to do for over a year.
Here is a photo of the old door - very plain and rather boring. This photo is from January and the snow was not yet at the highest depth of the season.
It was amazing to see how quickly the old door could be dismantled - power tools are a great help. It makes me think of the difference between using scissors and using an electronic cutter - you can get the job done manually but it is so much more efficient to use the best tool for the job.
At this point it looked like we could open an ice cream stand. There are many garage type structures in the Northeast that turn into seasonal ice cream shops with half doors and counters (in case you didn't know what I meant by that).
In a very short time, Matt and his assistant had the new door in position. The windows still need their grids and the finishing touch - the handles to make the door look like two pairs of old style barn doors - still must be added.
The light in the garage now is amazing - the row of windows makes such a difference. This new door has three sections instead of four and is much quieter. Now my husband can help build my new project with lots of light and still stay relatively warm with the door shut.
Putting the handles on took about the longest of all of the segments of the installation process. Fortunately Matt is familiar with the "measure twice, cut once" rule and made sure he got the handles on straight and in the position we wanted on the first try.
So here is our new door - it will need painting to match the rest of the house and we are debating on whether it should match the trim, the door or the body of the house. I think it is a big improvement and the added insulation should be a bonus for the next heating season.
So do you see the name of the company? The owner is named Matt and he named his company "Mattadoor." I thought this was clever - and then I saw the horns on his truck and I just had to take a photo. I mean really - isn't that funny (and rather charming). I'll always remember the name so I think he has a good marketing plan - just drive that truck around town - people will talk.
I hope you are having a good weekend - I am finishing up the "Martha on Monday" post for Scrappy-Go-Lucky and working on a couple of other projects to share tomorrow. I also just received a package with a few new cartridges I ordered and I can't wait to try them out...
There are just a few days left for the current Deal and Kit of the Month at Creative Charms. If you want to stock up on lots of lovely green embellishments don't miss the chance!
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