target hack: DIY Rolling baskets

Let’s do a project today, shall we?

Awhile back, I started to notice a trend…a trend that I fear is here to stay (at least for awhile):   toys.  Toys, toys everywhere!  It honestly drives me nuts.

In about ten minutes Abby can stir a toddler tornado, which leaves every toy scattered across the room. 

A very very small and random sampling of said trend.

And while I acknowledge they are a necessary evil, I still want to feel like an adult who lives in a semi-nice, semi-clean, semi-uncluttered house once in awhile.  So I’m learning to be OK with toys as long as they can be contained.

Our house is such that our living room needs to house several toys – we don’t have a dedicated playroom and I don’t want all of Abby’s toys up in her room.   We spend most of our time on the first floor and reality is that toys need to be there if I want to get anything done so Abby can have fun.

I picked up a couple of these baskets from Target, but they weren’t quite doing it for me.

They just needed something.  I really wanted them to have a lid to completely keep things out of view, but that didn’t seem easy.  So I decided to prop them up and give ‘em some wheels.  It would give them just a little somethin’ somethin’ while at the same time giving me some added functionality.

This project was really very simple and doesn’t require any fancy tools.

Here’s all you need (quantities listed are for one basket):

• (1) Basket (wicker worked well, but a wire basket would be cute too)
• (1) Wood cut-to-size for a platform (it should be the same dimensions as the bottom of your basket).  Perhaps a 2″ thick piece to make it extra chunky?  That would be cute too!
• (4) Caster wheels of your liking (I used these)
• (4) 1.5” Screws (make sure you account for the width of your platform here) and a cordless drill

Now, because I’m cheap resourceful, I decided to make my own wooden platform out of scrap wood I had laying around.  This took some additional time because I had to kreg jig the pieces together to make a sturdy base.  You could just buy a piece at Home Depot and have them cut it to size for you.  Bada bing, bada boom.

Next, simply attach your castor wheels to the platform with the provided screws.  I used a small template to make sure I was placing them in the same spot all the way around, but that’s just the perfectionist talking.  It certainly isn’t necessary.

Lastly, all I did to attach the basket, was set it on top of the platform, place a screw through the bottom of the basket, and screw it directly on to the platform.  I did one in each corner….so four.

In all, this project took about an hour, and I have to say they’ve held up great.   And yes, I can say that because I made them way back in February.  Ha.  Let’s just say I wanted to provide adequate testing prior to sharing them with you, mmmkay?

Even with a toddler pulling them all over the house and occasionally sitting in them we really haven’t had any issues.  And I have to say, the wheels actually make it a heck of a lot easier to do a quick toy pickup…I just pull that basket around the room with me, fill it up, and push it right back under the table.   Much easier than lugging the whole basket around in your arms, in my opinion.  Fashion AND function….they’re a double-threat.

How do you contain the clutter at your house?  Or have you mastered the secret jedi skill of not caring?

diy play kitchen

Well I did it.  I built a play kitchen out nothing more than a (carefully selected)  pile of wood.   And I needed to wait to write about it because there would very likely be an expletive  between “diy” and “play kitchen” in the title otherwise.

Those of you who know me, know that this was the bane of my existence last December.  It owned me.   It tortured me.   It consumed me.

It had to.  I had proclaimed to the world that this was Abby’s “big” Christmas gift and therefore all other gifts were centered around it.  Seriously.  Grandparents were buying pots and pans.  Aunties were buying play food.  The kitchen had to be done by Christmas.

And that my friends,  is the last time I will ever put that sort of pressure on myself.   Every night after dinner I would go out to the garage and work.  Cutting, sawing, screwing, drilling, kreg jigging, gluing, sanding.  Sanding.  Sanding.  Sanding.  Sanding.  Priming.  Painting.  Caulking.  Painting.  Did I mention sanding?

Let’s just say it took a lot of time.

But do you know what took just as much time?  If not even more?

Stalking Home Resource for the perfect faucet (then cleaning said faucet), scouring the dollar store for a sink that would fit, searching on Amazon for cheap 10.5” handle bars to use for a towel rack and oven door.  Researching how to cut Plexiglas so it doesn’t break (hint, have the hardware store do it for you!  Duh).  Strolling the aisles of the hardware store for matching oven knobs.  Googling for cheap “stove burner” ideas.    Tracking lost orders from Amazon with my oh-so-special purchases (yes that happened.  And no it never arrived).  Oh.  And sewing.  Don’t forget the sewing….which requires picking out fabric.  Something I am notoriously and painstakingly indecisive about.

Looking back I would say this project wasn’t that difficult and I probably would have enjoyed it so much more without the added pressure of a deadline.  I mean build a couple of boxes and attach some hardware right?  But for some reason it was nearly the death of me.  I blame the perfectionist in me.  I blame the stress of the Holidays.  I blame Pinterest.  All of them tried to take me down.  Tried to make me think I couldn’t do it.

But I did.

And it’s kiiiiiiind of awesome.

This thing is solid.   I did a mighty fine job if I do say so myself.  And praise the baby Jesus:  Abby likes it too.

So let’s just get on with it eh?  Because I’m starting to think maybe I didn’t wait long enough to write about this.

Oh little kitchen.  How you look so unassuming.

The answer to your question, is “yes.”  Yes the oven has a light.  Yes those stove knobs turn.  Yes that’s stellar attention to detail with the charcoal colored oven inside.  Yes that’s a real faucet.

Because everyone needs a shelf for their tea set and baby bottles.

Oh, you don’t keep your baguette in the cupboard?  Weird.  Clearly you should.

I wish I could tell you that I documented this whole process for you.  But this was back when the last post I had written was in September.  And seriously, I had no extra time to document anything.  Both of these pictures were taken with my phone after I was so excited for “coming so far.”

HA!  Hindsight is 20/20.  And often hilarious.

Like here, when I’m sure I was thinking “well look at me! One down, one to go. Easy Peasy!”

 

Or here, when I was like “In the home stretch now!” hahahahaha! You wish.

 

Luckily….Abby seriously loves it.  She plays with it everyday.  When I’m at the (real) kitchen sink, she runs to her sink and does dishes.   She puts things in the oven, turns the knob, and bends down to check on them (I kind of die), she insists on using the drying towels on her kitchen after we wash her hands.  Her and dad “make stew” all the time.  She cooks an egg in the morning and brings it to me.

It was all worth it. 

Every cuss word.  Every late night.  Every stress-induces glass of wine.  Running my arse all over this damn town.  The violent illness that followed 3 hours after I deemed it “done.”

Yep.  Totally worth it (heart melting).

So, I know when I was building this I was searching high and low for ideas and helpful hints.  And if you’ve come here looking for detailed instructions I’m sorry.  However, here’s my source list.

• Kitchen Plans – Ana White
• Wood – Home Depot (they were pennies different from Lowe’s)  Total was probably around $80.
• Paint – Valspar Schoolboy Blue.  Oven paint was leftover test-pot grey I had on hand.
• Sink – freakishly small “brownie pan” from the Dollar Store
• Faucet – $3.00 local Home Resource find (score)
• Towel bar – Style Selections 12.5” Brushed Satin Nickel Bar Cabinet Pull,  Lowe’s  $7.53
• Tension rod for curtain – Room Essentials Tension Rod, Target  $3.99
• Curtain – handmade.  Sorry, not sure of the exact fabric, but I found it all at JoAnn.
• Hand Towel – handmade.  Used a cloth diaper (bought at Target) and just sewed some extra fabric on the end to spice it up.
• Oven knobs –  Lux Burner Knobs, Ace Hardware  $23.99
• Oven pull – Style Selections 7.5” Brushed Satin Nickel Bar Cabinet Pull , Lowe’s  $5.37
• Plexiglass – cut-to-size at Ace Hardware $1.70
• Hooks (for oven mitts) – Threshold Satin Nickel, Target  $5.99
• Oven rack – donated from my personal collection
• Stove burners – JoAnns.  They’re the painted backside of a wooden soccer ball disk thingy.

I hope that helps at least one person who is in the process of making their own #%)(@#% play kitchen.  I kid, I kid.

Kind of.

xoxo,

don’t-ask-me-to-make-a-fridge-janna

 

diy fall wreath

I’ve loved fall before the advent of pumpkin lattes, the tall-boot trend and the  desire to add pumpkin to everything I stuff in my face.

These things have just deepened my love for fall.

In addition to these fall must-haves, I’ve discovered that I need a new fall wreath every year.  Not want.  NEED.

You may remember last year when I fell in love with this guy:

 

My heart still skips a beat when I see this.  I love everything about it.

Problem was (and still is), is that it’s made out of cornstalk tops (yes, that’s the technical term).  And lots of them.  I don’t have access to cornstalk tops…so last year I settled for my second favorite wreath, the Nonna wreath from JDC:

 

I still love the Nonna, and she’s proudly hanging in our living room again.  But I couldn’t get ‘ol cornstalk-top out of my head, so in an effort to deter myself from poaching a farmer’s field after midnight, I went back to Pinterest  to find an alternative option.

I liked all of these options (especially the upper-right one)…but then I found this one:

And I knew it was The One.  I mean, it was big, crazy, and disheveled…just like the cornstalk-top one.  Plus, it’s made of raffia, which is easily-accessible.  Unlike cornstalk-tops.

I’m not doing a tutorial here because the one at Stone Gable is great.  I will say a couple of things though:

• I didn’t bother with hot glue.  Mostly because I bought the full-size sticks instead of the mini-sticks and I was too annoyed to wait until I had time to exchange them.
• It’s a very messy project.  Don’t do it on your couch while watching America’s Next Top Model.  At least….I hear that you shouldn’t do that….it’s not like I watch that show.
• The tutorial only instructed you to do 1 row of raffia around the wreath.  I did three.  I like it big.  But because of this, it took a little over 2 hours to do.  Not exactly a speedy process.
• I can’t find those damn bleached oak leaves for the life of me (ok, I went to one store).   So mine doesn’t have them.  I wish it did though…

So…here she is in all her big, crazy glory:

(oh, and yes.  I did paint my front door black.  Thanks for asking!)

It’s surprising to me that I like this unruly thing….but oh how I do.  The only thing that could make it better is the bleached oak leaves.  I suppose I could check out more than one a few more stores.  Or I could just strut around in my tall boots with a pumpkin latte eating pumpkin everything.

Yes.  That sounds like a better idea.

What about you?  Do you like clean-cut wreaths or crazy messy ones like this?  Have you made any this fall that I need to see?

P.S.  Did you know that if you subscribe to my blog, or “Like” twsst on Facebook, you’ll know there’s a new post up before everyone else?   You can do either from the right hand column!

let there be color

I’ve been in desperate need of a project.  Something quick and easy that could be worked on in the evenings.  Something that would scratch my project itch. 

Because, ya know…I haven’t really done anything DIY since a certain little pumpkin came around.   

Which was fine….

Until it wasn’t fine. 

Projects are an outlet for me.  They keep me busy, inspire me to want to do more, give me a creative outlet, and give me a sense of accomplishment.  And frankly I just like doing them.

It’d been over six months since I tackled something big.  Something more than just a burp cloth, ruffled flower, or quick roman shade. 

I looked around my house and my eyes landed on our rusty, scratched, dirty patio table.

Yep, this thing could use a little TLC.

I bought this table 6 or 7 years ago thinking it would be great for a summer or two.  You know, until I bought real, grown-up patio furniture. 

Yet here she sits. 

And since grown-up furntiture really isn’t in our budget anymore, the least I could do was give her a facelift.  AND, since I don’t have the luxury of  (aka, time) being indecisive about things anymore, I decided I wanted this table BOLD.  Something super fun, happy and springy.  

Surprising, right?  Given my neutral tendencies.

Brace yourself.  Things are about to get cuh-ray-zee up in here.

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building suspense….

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more suspense…

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…wait for it….

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BAM!

Eek!  Isn’t it awesome!?  I mean, it’s a little out there, but what the heck?  It’s just what I wanted:  bright, bold and fun. 

And bonus, I finally got to introduce some ikat into my repertoire.  Probably just in time for it to go out of style.  Sigh. 

In case you’re wondering, it’s Richloom Solarium Outdoor Sumter Ikat Sky.

It’s a breath of fresh air to get some color around here.  

As for the degree of difficulty – I’d give it a one on a scale of one to ten.   It just took me three nights to get ‘er done.  The first night I recovered the seat cushions by simply unscrewing the seat bottoms and covering the existing grey cushion.  Which was super easy and fun.  Who doesn’t love to use a staple gun?   The second night I disassembled the table, washed everything up and gave it a few good solid coats of spray paint.  Then I ran out of spray paint.   So the third day I bought two more cans and finished with a final coat that night.  Easy peasy.   I used the Valspar Outdoor paint which is awesome because you don’t have to do a primer or a top coat.    Score.

Here’s the cost breakdown.

• 2 yrds of Richloom Solarium Outdoor Sumter Ikat Sky ($8.98 ea):  $17.96 – which ended up only being $14.36 after googling around for a 20% off coupon.
• 5 cans of Valspar Outdoor spray paint in peacock blue ($4.98 ea) :  $24.90. 

TOTAL:  $39.26

Not too shabby for a complete update.   Honestly, it made me wonder why the heck didn’t I give this thing a facelift years ago.    We’ve still got a long way to go on our patio itself (I didn’t even put flowers back there this year….whoops), but our bright new table has given me renewed interest in working on a few things out there.

And to be honest again…I’m sliiiiiiightly worried I’ll be over the turquoise someday (like, maybe next spring??).   Luckily I know it’s not that big of a project to tackle and it’s easy to switch up.   So if I find myself longing for neutrals again (and who are we kidding; it’s just a matter of time), all it will take is 2 nights and 5 more cans of spray paint.

So for now, my project itch is satisfied.  But I do have quite a few others up my sleeve that hopefully I’ll be starting on soon!   I mean, it is nearly hunting season….I’ve got to come up with a few things to keep me occupied. 

What say you?  Do you like the bold choice of color?  Do you think I’ll be sick of it next summer?

cloth diaper update

It’s been almost three weeks since I started using cloth diapers so I thought I’d pop in with a quick update on how things are going!

I have to say that the switch was waaaaay less scary than I thought it would be.  In fact, it’s actually been quite simple and I couldn’t be happier about it.  

Remember I chose the BumGenius Freetime All-in-One’s.  All in one just means that the liners are sewn directly into the diaper cover (if they’re not sewn in, you have to stuff them into each diaper before use). 

Why don’t I just show you what I mean.   Here’s one of the diapers

The “flaps” on each side of the diaper are sewn on, so when I want to use it all I do is fold them in.  Like so:

I love the all-in-ones and glad I don’t have to stuff diapers after washing them. 

Anyhoo, here’s the scoop.

I’m still using disposables at night, so when we put on Abby’s PJ’s, we put on a disposable.  She sleeps until around 4:00 or 5:00 when I nurse her and change her into another disposable.   I could probably change her into a cloth diaper at this point, and should probably start doing so.  But worse case scenario I’m using two disposables at night (which means two disposables total per day…yay)! 

When she wakes back up around 8:00 or 9:00, we get her dressed for the day and put on a cloth diaper.   The biggest change for me has been getting used to proactively changing her instead of reactively changing her.  For example, I try to change her every 2-3 hours instead of waiting for her diaper to be full enough to change (disposables can last an amazingly long time!).  The exception of course is if she poops when I’ll change it right away obviously.    The reason I try to proactively change her is because cloth diapers don’t hold as much as a disposable, and if you let it go too long they can leak.  And let me tell you, that happened once and it’s a royal pain to change an outfit due to a leaky diaper.  I try to avoid it!

Changing her is just the same as it would be with a disposable.  I remove the dirty diaper, clean her up, and put on a new one.  But instead of tossing the diaper in the trash, I simply toss it in my wet bag which is kept right next to my laundry hamper. 

Lesson learned:  Thanks to some comments on my last post, I learned that you don’t need to rinse the poo off when it’s just breastfeeding poo.  So I’m not even rinsing anything at this point.  Just put the whole poopy diaper in the wet bag and forget about it.   Revolutionary!

Then, at the end of the day (after I’ve put on her PJ’s and disposable), I grab the wet bag off the hamper and empty it out into the washer.  The wet bag goes directly in the wash with the diapers too.  I do a cold cycle (with no soap) and then a hot cycle (with Charlie’s Soap) and an extra rinse.  

Sometimes I throw the diapers in the dryer right away, but often I let them sit in the washer overnight after the spin cycle  because they’ll dry a bunch on their own this way and save dryer time.  If I do that, I just throw them in the dryer first thing in the morning so they’re ready for the day.   

If I notice that any of the diapers have poop stains on them (and it does happen) I pull them out of the washer and let them dry outside.  This is called “sunning” and is frickin amazing.  Seriously.  Just letting them dry in the sun removes any sort of stain.  It makes me want to break out “HALLELUJHA” every time.

As for changing diapers on-the-go around town, I just keep two extra cloth diapers in my diaper bag and a smaller wet bag.   This takes up a lot of space so you need a gigantic diaper bag.  But I’m ok with that.   I also keep two disposable diapers in there just in case we need them.  You can never be too safe when it comes to poo.

What I like about cloth diapers:

• It’s easy.  Like really really easy.  I wouldn’t do it if it weren’t.
• I feel better about using them and reducing my waste
• I know they’re better for the environment and my bebe’s bum too
• There have been no blow outs since we switched.  There were several when we used disposables.  One that even required cutting an outfit off…but that’s a different story.

What I don’t like about cloth diapers:

• The poo (even though I’m not having to deal with it too much yet), is still a little gross at times.   I just figure that I’m a mom now and poo will be miniscule on the scale of gross things I need to deal with. 
• Having to do laundry in order to use them.  I can stretch my diaper supply out 1.5 days.  I’m not sick of doing laundry yet, but I wonder how I’ll feel 6 months down the line.    A lot of you recommended doubling my diaper supply so the laundry burden wasn’t quite so much.  I may consider this!
• Not being able to wad up the wipes in the diaper.  I need a separate contraption to put the wipes in now. 

What would I/will I change about using cloth diapers?

• I’m not sold on Charlie’s Soap.  I feel like it doesn’t do as well with the smell as I want it to.  Not that the diapers smell bad, it’s just that sometimes I think it could be better.  One of my friends recommended Rock in Green detergent and I think I’ll try that next time.
• Several people have mentioned cloth wipes to me.  I’m not there yet, but am seriously considering it.  In fact, I’m started to get as annoyed about buying wipes as I was about buying diapers.  It seems like they’re always on my list. 
• Eventually I’d like to start using cloth at night.  I’ve read about hemp inserts that you can use that are super absorbent and helpful for longer stretches.  I’m intrigued.  But not intrigued enough to try it yet. 

Also, we’re still using disposables when we travel.  For example, we went to Spokane for Bloomsday a few weekends ago and I brought disposables.  I just don’t have enough diapers to make it through 3 days without doing laundry.  Staying in a hotel is not conducive to doing laundry.  Plus, hauling around 15 cloth diapers takes up a lot of room!   We also used disposables when we went camping the other weekend (yes!  we went camping and it was great!).   

Now, if we were going somewhere (like to my parents house) where there was a washing machine available, I would totally do cloth.   I guess as long as they were ok with me washing poopy diapers there.  haha.

Overall?  Cloth has my seal of approval.  They are easy, functional and cute to boot.   If you’re thinking about switching, you should definitely give it some serious thought.  I think it’s been worth the investment so far, and these diapers are supposed to last until she’s potty-trained. 

Now, one last thing.  I’m not trying to make anyone feel bad for using disposables!  cough*ROB*cough.  Seriously.  Every parent chooses what is right for them and I would never judge them for that.  I really wanted to try cloth and it seems to work for me.  That doesn’t mean it works for everyone.  This is just my story and my experience.

I’m happy to answer any questions and am always open for suggestions and advice!  I’ll be back with an update in about 6 months and let you know how it’s going.  By then she’ll be on solid foods and it may change the game a little bit.

What do you think?  Are you intrigued about using cloth?  Anyone thinking about switching?   Do you think the laundry will drive me insane six months from now?