This morning my bff made me a green smoothie for breakfast, bless him. I started rushing around doing what moms do, put it in the fridge and ended up having Tillamook Mud Slide ice cream for breakfast-- which by the way is the best darn ice cream on the planet, invest in a half gallon and you won't be sorry. Anywho, it was one of those mornings... until I found a few extra minutes and I checked out one of my favorite blogs, The Sawdust Diaries, and immediately fell into blog shock (yes, that's a … [Read more...]
Archives for August 2013
Last chance to vote!
Your last chance to vote! There is still time, phew! I know, you're so glad there are a few more days right!? I am holding steady in slot #4 and I need to break into #3 to be awarded those delicious power tools. So click the link and vote! If you wanted to leave a comment also that would be okay with me... Any big plans for the long weekend? I think of my great grandfather on Labor Day. He was a railroad machinist, born in 1891, a huge unionist and labor union organizer (no, this is so … [Read more...]
How to build a Play Table Stool
Holy Weekend! How was yours!? Do you ever have those weekends that are so busy you begin a new week more exhausted than you were on Friday night? Soccer Saturdays are right around the corner and this weekend we went into turbo mode getting stuff done before Saturdays are gobbled up with glorious soccer days. We cleaned the garage, I built some shelves for my son (will post soon), we swapped out a tv stand, two dressers, a desk and worked on the pool. And that was just the morning. On top of that … [Read more...]
Welcome Home Sign
I'm not a vinyl letter kind of girl, generally speaking. When we bought this house I took down a minimum two sets of vinyl letter sayings in each room (I won't tell you the quote in the bathroom, something about time and aim... oh my). It wasn't my favorite four hours of life. I however, have my own cheesy side. Take for example I am one of those moms that takes tons of pictures then cries on the first day of school. Every year. Last night overcome by missing-my-kids-back-to-school I actually … [Read more...]
Ten Dollar Ledges
The tree house idea began as a book nook and well, I spiraled a little out of control. I love the Ana White website, whose $10 ledges plan brought me full circle to the reading theme I began with. And yes, you guessed it, this project cost $10. Love that. The swing I posted on Monday is my favorite fun feature, the book shelf is my favorite overall feature. What's even better is that it really is used and there is ample reading up there. The plans are all on her site and it's really fun, make … [Read more...]
How to build an Indoor Swing (on the cheap!)
The swing is my personal favorite of the tree house project and I've got great news, it's easy. Like my-mom-is-so-amazing-in-an-hour easy. Buying a swing is around 50 buckaroos. This baby cost be less than $10! Follow the tutorial below. Materials needed: Strong board for the backside, I used left over floor board and cut it out to look leafy. Rope. Buy it by the foot at any hardware store. It is sold in varying sizes by weight capacity. My rope holds up to 200 pounds (you never … [Read more...]
How to build an indoor rock climbing wall
This part of the tree house was a special request from my six year old, because apparently, "ladders are boring mom." An indoor rock climbing wall is not only a possibility, it is so simple. Materials needed: Rock climbing wall holds (or rock pegs). I bought mine here. Bolts and lock nuts, size depends on the width of the board. Some holds are sold with the hardware. Board to attach it to, I used melamine board. This is what is used for shelves, it's heavy and sturdy. You can … [Read more...]
Tree House Enclosure
It might sound crazy but the hardest part of designing this thing was trying to enclose the thing. My bff hubby knows that one day we will need to sell this house and he would like it to stay absolutely vanilla until then. I get gasps when I announce a new accent wall, just imagine the exasperation he doled out when I was determined to build a indoor tree house, with a slide, and a swing, and paint, and.... well, perhaps you get those looks with your projects too (he's a pretty good sport … [Read more...]
How to build a loft (or tree house) 101
I will post on each of the numbers pictured above. This is dedicated to step 1, how to build the loft portion of our tree house. There are really two must-haves to building a loft, 1. supporting the weight and 2. making it level. I am not a structural engineer, although I know a few and I'm always hoping their gift rubs off to me. My secret weapon is Cody, my brother-in-law contractor. I call him now and then asking, "seriously am I going to die on this thing?" and he helps me advert disaster. … [Read more...]