Posted in Projects

Trimming Windows – Girl’s Bedroom Makeover for 2 – ORC Week 2

On this week’s ORC To-Do list is to paint the Girl’s room light pink and trimming out the window.

Here’s a before pic, the walls are botany beige, which is through out my house. After 9 years, I’m definitely ready for a change.


This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

Painting Pink – Oh the fun!

I seem to excel at picking out the wrong paint color, or feeling bold until I get the paint, ha ha. I knew I wanted to try a super light pink, kind of like blush.  So I took the comforter pillow cover down to Home Depot and matched a pink to the light pink on the comforter.  Then I got the lightest color of pink on that card. I wanted to make sure the hue wouldn’t clash with the comforter. Excitedly I took the card to the paint counter and asked for 2 gallons in eggshell. When I came back for the paint, they dabbed a little pink on the tag and I thought to myself, oh boy what have I done!!!

The first coat of pink paint on the wall was a bit too much, think of your Pepto Bismol bottle in your cupboard. Yep that’s what I had on the wall. I knew I would need two coats of paint on the wall, so I was hoping to mute the color with the 2nd coat. I added 2 cups of white paint to the pink gallon, well that hardly made a difference. Now onto the 3rd coat…and maybe losing some patience for painting. I added 1 cup of pink to 2/3rds a gallon of white! Finally, a nice pale pink.

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Backpack Storage and Organizer

Backpack storage and organizer Plans and Tool Review is sponsored by The Home Depot. I have been compensated for my time and provided with product. All ideas and opinions are my own. This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy. During this build, I’ll be reviewing the Milwaukee hammer drill/impact combo, Diablo blades and Makita Subcompact circular saw and will share my thoughts on these tools.

We are a little over a month into the school year and I have got to do something to organize backpacks, homework, school papers and calendars. Ugh, they are going to take over my life… joking… sort of. 😉 One child has papers that we have to hold onto long-term (longer than a week) and weekly homework, so I made one version with 2 baskets for folders and another version with 1 basket. There’s a space at the bottom for 1 or more coat/backpack hooks. At the top I have a space for calendars. These can be attached with clips, or if you want an erasable calendar, an acrylic calendar will be great. Another idea for the top space is an acrylic To-Do checklist.

Need to organize the school work/papers and homework? Free plans to build a backpack storage & school work organizer. Build it for about $10 in wood.Backpack storage and school work organizer functions.

Need to organize the school work/papers and homework? Free plans to build a backpack storage & school work organizer. Build it for about $10 in wood.

How to Build a Backpack Storage and Organizer

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Girl Bedroom Makeover for 2 ORC week 1

I always feel like I have a million things to do, and wish that I checked items off my list quicker. Never seeming to get around to the projects that I ‘want’ to accomplish, when there isn’t an urgent need. (Anyone else have this problem too?) I’ve always watched the bloggers who participate in One Room Challenge thinking that I should join in, but where would I find the time??? Last spring while my good friend Mindi (My Love 2 Create) was working on her One Room Challenge bathroom, I thought alrighty if Mindi can fit this in her hectic schedule (full time working single mom of 6), then what is my excuse? So I am jumping in this year, woot!

I need to put my girls (almost 6 & 2) together in a bedroom until we finish the basement and big brother is old enough to sleep down there. My goal is to create a cute little girl room that they’ll both enjoy. However space is a big issue. The room is only about 10’x11′ and I need to fit 2 beds and somewhere to store their clothes and stuff.

A few years ago, I made my daughter this bed (free plans). It has served her well.

On the other side of the room is this behemoth 🙂 princess purple dresser (free plans).  We were really spoiled with the dresser, it fit so much stuff. (The color is off in this picture, it really is a pretty purple.)

The problem with the dresser is that there isn’t room for the dresser and two beds. I could have a trundle under the bed, but the 2 year old can’t pull that in and out, so that makes more work for me.

She also has this cute leaning crate shelf, I’ll have to see if it can fit in the room.

The Plan – Girl Bedroom Makeover for 2

  • Get rid of the princess purple dresser (we found it a new home with her cousin)
  • Paint the walls pale pink – I’m tired of the botany beige that’s throughout my whole house.
  • Trim out the windows and fix moldings
  • Build 2 beds with under bed storage
  • Change out the light fixture
  • Make a few signs for the room
  • Find coordinating accessories

I really don’t know what I’m doing when it comes to decorating, it’s a huge struggle for me.

A few years ago I made some house frame bed plans and have been wanting to build one. I have an idea of how to incorporate storage, and I’m in love with the canopy drapes that Restoration Hardware does on their house bed.  We’ll see if I can pull something like that off.

Wish me luck, and I’ll be checking in new week. See you then!

 

Super Chunky X Table Plans

Super Chunky X Table Plans and Tool Review is sponsored by The Home Depot. I have been compensated for my time and provided with product. All ideas and opinions are my own. This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy. During this build, I’ll be reviewing the Ridgid MegaMax, Diablo blades, Bosch drill bits and Makita Subcompact circular saw and will share my thoughts on these tools.

I have been planning a few projects for my outdoor space. I feel like I’ve been thinking about them forever, but extra time for building after my day job is limited. With the weather cooling down, it’s a great time to get outside and make time to build. Today’s project is for a Super Chunky X leg table that I’ll be using outdoors. Of course it can be used indoors too.  All of my wood for this chunky X leg table is reclaimed. The table top is reclaimed barnwood that I’ve been saving from Remo’s Barn that I took down a few years ago.  The super chunky 6″x6″ posts for the legs are the ones I had to remove from my deck and replace.  This table was almost free to build, since all the wood was reclaimed. However I decided to add a bunch of metal accents for fun, we’ll see if they are worth the $$$.

Super Chunky X Table free plans - reclaimed wood before.

This post might seem complicated because of all of the deviations I made for metal accents. The actual table build is pretty simple.

Super Chunky X Table free plans - build a table with some wow!

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Ryobi 18v Bolt Cutter Review

Ryobi Bolt Cutter Tool Review is sponsored by The Home Depot. I have been compensated for my time and provided with product. All ideas and opinions are my own. This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

Ryobi has a new tool added to their 18v one + line up, it’s a cordless bolt cutter.


Looks sweet right! Using the bolt cutter couldn’t be simpler or more convenient. It’s not a tool that I would use as much as a drill, but it sure is nice to have when you need it. The top button on the handle opens the jaws and the lower button closes the jaws. The unit weighs 5.2 lbs + battery and runs off a 18 v battery.

The Ryobi Bolt Cutters are advertised to cut:

  • up to 3/8″ medium to soft materials
  • up to 1/4″ hard materials

Let’s put it to the test and see how the bolt cutters perform.

Ryobi Bolt Cutter Review

Items tested

Chain

I tested out the bolt cutters on 5/16″ chain, and they worked great. The jaws press down on the chain until the metal fractures, they don’t technically ‘cut’ the metal. I did have to ‘cut’ the chain in two places to remove the link from the rest of the chain, but it worked great. I did have to press the down button multiple times to make the cut. One caution is that the little piece may go flying once it cuts through.

Wire Shelving

Cutting wire shelving for organization projects is a super practical use for this tool. The bolt cutter easily cuts through the wire shelving, but I did find it best to put the shelving into the jaws as far as possible.

All Thread/Bolts

The bolt cutters cut through the 3/8″ all thread with no problem at all. They didn’t even break a sweat.

Oversized Lock

This test is really testing the limits of the bolt cutter, the diameter of the lock is over 3/8″ and very hard material.  It did prove to be too big and hard of a piece of metal to cut, and I may have damaged the jaws. Hopefully they’ll sell replacement jaws :-). I’m sure the bolt cutters could handle smaller locks without an issue.

Pair your Ryobi brushless 18v power tools with the new Ryobi 18v 6ah battery with Lithium+ HP. HP technology communicates with Brushless tools to maximize performance, allows you to make faster cuts, drive larger screws, use bigger drill bits, etc. Even though the HP technology isn’t used on old Ryobi tools, the battery will still work in them.

Bolt Cutter Review Conclusion:

The Ryobi 18v Bolt Cutter works really well on advertised material sizes (up to 3/8″ medium/soft and up to 1/4″ hard material). It is really easy to use and takes minimal effort to cut difficult materials. I really like that it’s cordless, just makes the job that more convenient.  I don’t recommend trying the bolt cutters on materials bigger than the advertised capacity.

Ryobi cordless bolt cutter review. Great tool to cut chain, wire shelving, bolts, etc.

“I acknowledge that The Home Depot is partnering with me to participate in the Tool Review Program. As a part of the Program, I am receiving compensation in the form of products and services, for the purpose of promoting The Home Depot. All expressed opinions and experiences are my own words. My post complies with the Word Of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) Ethics Code and applicable Federal Trade Commission guidelines.”