re*sled

I picked up an old runner sled at a garage sale this summer and had great plans for it...it was pretty beat up, with a broken rail and broken bracket.
After some deconstruction and some sanding, I started putting it back together with a fresh coat of red paint on the rails.
I repainted the wings on the front and customized the sled with an "N"
...added lighting bolts on the side rails and painted them black (the old rail and the new rail)
...added a coat of poly and it's a new sled!

re*dresser

I had this old dresser that I wanted to re-purpose, so I ran with it. This is what I started with. Gave it a quick sanding so the wood would hold paint.
I then painted the main part red and then gave it an over coat of white.
I then had the idea of making the drawers pop out by painting an inset square and then adding some numbers.
...and here is the final product.
I think it turned out fairly well. Kind of fun and different.

Wall Art

Heather had some ideas about some fun projects that we could hang on our wall. I took on the task of making them myself! The first one is for the guest bedroom. The thought was hang 9 squares, 3x3 and use fun scrapbook paper to add some color to the wall.
I started off making the frames using some 1x2 boards that I ripped down to 1x1 and some thin mdf board for the top.
Gave them a couple coats of paint, yellow base with a dry brush khaki finish over the top.
Added the paper squares. Here is the layout on the floor before I hung them on the wall.
The finished product hanging on the wall (don't mind the empty base cabinets, that is a bathroom project in the making). I think they turned out great!
The next project was to hang up pictures. I started off making two empty frames, one square one and another rectangle. Painted them brown...
I then used some of the leftover fabric from the kitchen as the backing.
Using upholstery tacks, I strung some wire across the frame. We found these great clips at Ikea, and now we have a photo board! This is the tall rectangle frame.
Here is the square frame. Heather then cropped the Christmas cards that we received and they got hung up!
What a fun way to display our Christmas cards year round!

*free music monday


One of many things I love about Amazon mp3 is their free music samples they release. Right now you can head to Amazon and get the Anti Fall Sampler 2009. It's a really good mix of alternative rock music for you to enjoy this week. For the most part you may not recognize many artist on it, except Neko Case, The Swell Season and Islands. But if you're like me, that's what I enjoy, new music from new artists.

One highlight from this free CD are the first track, The Swell Season - In These Arms, a rendition of Hey Ya by Booker T. As well as the final song on the CD by Jason Lyte - Rollin' Home Alone.

Download it now!

*tis the season

So we got this new machine, a Cricut, it is a cutting machine. You program in what you want it to cut, push a button and like magic it cuts. Heather came up with a fun Christmas craft. We started with some plain frames.
Added some red vinly and cut out some letters.
Removed the backs of the frames and super glued the glass to the frames.
Drilled a couple holes and added ribbon.
Stuck on the red vinyl letters and...tis the season!
I also found out the the Cricut can cut out snowflakes!
The hardest part was sticking the letters on the glass straight.

*my trip to space and back w/ U2

I had the privileged of seeing the USA launch of U2's 360 tour in Chicago at Soldier Field. If you haven't seen any of the images or video from this tour you will be blown away. It's an amazing spectacle to say the least. I found appreciation in its production value, lighting, stage design, etc. Plus it was one of my bucket list items to see U2 live. And it was awesome! It was definitely the best concert I have ever and will ever see when you consider all the elements. I like to be amazed by an awe inspiring spectacle.

Check out image of U2 360 at Soldier Field: