Dad's make a Difference

Hi everyone!

This post is dedicated to a few of the father's in our lives-- my husband's and mine.

They check in with us from time to time with love, and offer any assistance they can with all the projects we have going on at our home right now little did they probably expect us to take them up on those offers!

I'm excited to introduce to you Fred & Dave.

This is Fred, Fred is Mason's Dad

He has a big smile, and even a bigger heart. 

When I first met Fred, probably about 8 years ago now, I instantly saw the many similarities between my at-the-time-boyfriend, and his Dad, in great ways. 

They are both gangly and rather stiff-boned men

They both work very hard at what they do, and they don't give up

And they both are very dependable and loyal.

Family comes first for them.

So, when Mason asked me to marry him 4 years ago, I thought about the man he was becoming...and I thought about Fred, because I knew that if Mason turned out like Fred, I'd live in a happy marriage.

And now that we're pregnant with a son, I think about Fred- and the good father he's been to Mason, especially recently! 

He's  a "Mr. Handy man."

He's humble and leads a simple life.

Mason and I both admire him and love his company when he gets the chance to come visit us.

He makes time for us, often driving up to see us on weekends and going out to lunch with us.

It's pretty much a highlight for our week when he comes :)

Mason and Fred discuss the latest among our Home improvement To-Do Lists and we eagerly await Fred's advice...because he knows a little about a lot. :)

~~~~~~~

And This is Dave. Dave is my Dad

 (Above: the neck warmer I made for him last Christmas...he ski's and he got a kick out of it!)

(Below: This was taken just yesterday, when Dad helped mason demo the carpets and install new laminate flooring...THANKS DAD!)

(Below: yes, Dad's the one swinging from the tree rope by the waterfall in Kauai) lol

 (Below: Dad and me dancing at my wedding)

My Dad is emotional, and overall-- a happy go lucky guy.

My Dad is the kind of guy to be up for anything

For as cautious as he lead us to believe he was when we were children, he in fact is quite the opposite.

He isn't the man I thought he was a child...but I suspect that's because he wanted us to believe he was the 5-mile an hour slower than the speed limit, veggie loving Dad he wasn't when we weren't in the car with him or eating dinner with him. :)

He keeps his promises.

He's helpful and dependable. 

Mason and I admire him greatly for who he is.

And he's a hoot & a half to joke around with. :)  

~~~~~

This weekend, Mason and I were blessed with both of their company's. 

We've been re-doing our flooring, for the last few weeks...and if you've ever done a renovation, you've learned what we have:

NO ONE is available every weekend for hard labor.

Except Dad's. :)

So for that, and many other things, we say thank you.

I've gotten less and less useful in the Home Improvement process, because I've gotten more and more pregnant. Here....see what I mean. =)

 (Below: is at 28 weeks...taken yesterday) 

Dad's, we appreciate you.

Be Blessed! 

The DIY Wifey,

 

The Nursery Chronicles: Reupholstering

Hi all!

So, instead of using the chair I redid a long while ago in the nursery, I decided to reupholster a new chair. I just picked this chair up --a craigslist find--for only...

$25.00!

There wasn't any damage to it...but it did smell a bit like cats.

[BEFORE]

I like this chair for these reasons:

1. The shape is modern

2. The feet are not dinged-up

3. THERE IS NO SEWING REQUIRED!!!!!! YIPEE!!! 

4. This is a ONE hour job. easy peasy! 

[AFTER]

[DURING]

The Breakdown of Costs:

1. The Craigslist find chair $25.00 + a 30 min drive

2. The fabric $23/yard on sale for $11.00/yard plus 20% off (I got 4 and 1/2 yards) of the print and the back canvas is a remnant of 4 yards for $10.00 total!

TOTAL with tax = $80.00 project

Be Blessed! 

The DIY Wifey,

 

The Nursery Chronicles: Day One & Two - Woodwork & Painting

OK! So here's the goal! We used Valspar's "MAN CAVE" for the bottom wood color. Matches really well to this picture. (and the name makes it hard to pass up!) And we used Olympic's "Skyhigh" blue- for the top....again, matches perfectly to this picture! (And yes, I want this bedding! but it's pricey! we'll see.....)

My wonderful, dedicated, husband, and our baby's father... measuring out the walls for the wood molding we're putting in today!

A few weeks ago, I just got a "head start" and taped off the baseboards and such. Today we decided to paint the baseboards the same color as the molding, so I have to re-tape off the edges. The left side tape is the *NEW* placement for the tape. The left side is what I had to take off. 

Thank goodness this room is small!!!

There is probably a better way to paint baseboards...we're still unsure if we're replacing all our carpet, or just the stuff in the hallway...so I'm being careful just in case. 

This should be interesting.

We added tiny molding for the 3/4 inch 90 degree angle on top, so the panels we're adding that are just under an inch thick, won't stick out too much against the baseboards. 

We've owned this compressor/nail gun set from Lowes for about a year now, we loveeee it! (I think it was $99)...which is worth it if you plan on using it for more than one day. Rentals are expensive, and most of the time they're complicated to use.

Here's how the baseboards look. Remember, we are about to paint them, so the joints will look much better.

Here's what it looks like so far!

 (with orange wood putty in the corner,  of course)

More or less, this is what it will look like, just sanded, painted, and nailed in place.

Me & Tate (19 weeks pregnant)

The Jack & Jill bathroom, don't mind the laundry hamper :)

The lighting stinks, but it's a grey :)

We feel the blue really makes this a nursery :)

Here's how the money broke down for this project:

Woodwork COST: 

One 10 foot wood panel: 1"X 5 1/2" X 10'= $7.00 (We used 11)

+

One 8 foot wood panel: 1" X 5 1/2" X 8' = $5.00 (We used 2)

+

One 8 foot baseboard panel addition = $2.99 (we used 4)

+

Nail gun (Already had it.)

Nails (Already had it.)

Wood filler (Already had it.) 

Sander & Sand Paper (Already had it.)

=Wood total: $99.00

_____________________________________

Paint Cost:

Two gallons of paint (One grey Eggshell finish, One blue Eggshell finish) = Roughly $60.00

+

Two tray liners = $2.00

+

One Roller-edger = $3.00

+

Two extra wool rollers (We already had it.)

Blue Painter's Tape (We already had it.)

Plastic drape for carpet cover (We already had it.)

= Paint total: $65.00

So....

_____________________________________

Total for entire Project: 

$180 including tax! :)

Honestly, throughout this entire project, we kept saying things like "I can't believe how professional this is turing out....This is so easy!... I can't believe it was under $200 to do..."

 AH! We're so excited over here!

Be Blessed! 

The DIY Wifey,