All posts for the month May, 2012

Fresh Radishes

…so fresh they still have bugs in them!

Ha, sorry to gross you out. How ugly is that thing? Luckily it left no damage after it slithered away, seems like it was just using a nook in the radish as hidey-hole. Don’t blame him.

But yeah, it’s radish season, y’all! (Don’t know why I said y’all…I don’t really say that in real life…it just felt right.)

And life is good. Aren’t they pretty?? I absolutely love the vivid colors of this mix, it’s called “Easter Egg II” from Territorial Seed Company. (They have great quality seeds; I get most of mine from there.)

After a taste test, I found the white ones taste a little earthier than the rest, and the reds and purples are very similar. They’re all good with a little salt and lime juice, though!

I like to push some radish seeds into the soil wherever there is space in March, and two months later when the ‘shoulders’ of the radish are above the soil, we have a mini bounty.

What have you harvested so far?

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by folksyhome on May 24, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Gardening
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Posted by folksyhome on May 24, 2012

http://folksyhome.com/2012/05/24/fresh-radishes/

Poison Ivy Killer

(Don’t worry, I’ll be back soon with a post on designing the desk and my own design tips, as promised (I’m sure you’ve been waiting with bated breath ;) ). We went camping/mountain biking this weekend so I didn’t have a chance to shore up the posts! Soon!)

Ugh, who likes poison ivy? Truly, I have a hard time hating a plant, but poison ivy? I could do without it, or at least, do without it anywhere I may see it in person. Unfortunately, we had a little poison ivy situation in our yard right where we usually set up the saw horses to do work outside.

Sanding wood and getting assaulted by ivy oil at the same time? DOUBLE BAD. We at least had to get rid of one of those evils, and well, you can’t avoid sanding during DIY, so the poison ivy had to go.

Thankfully,  in his vast wisdom, Mike knew of a home remedy poison ivy killer (or at least knew where to find it on google).

Three cups of white vinegar, a half cup of salt, and a teaspoon of laundry detergent poured into a spray bottle and spritzed over all visible poison ivy leaves, like so:

takes a viable, vicious plant from this:

to this:

We did two applications of the mixture a week apart. Four days after the first spray we had this:

See the burned edges and wilting nature of the ivy? We’re heading in the right direction! A week after the first spray, Mike went at it again, and, hello dead poison ivy! Victory is ours!

Buh-bye! See ya, wouldn’t wanna be ya! The important thing with this method is that you cover all of the leaves with the solution. The leaves you miss won’t be phased, and thus will still be a menace. No bueno. Once the leaves are dead, the plant kind of wilts and dies back. At that point, you can either let it self-compost or take it out of there. Be careful though, some oil will likely remain so use gloves! Anywho,  if you have poison ivy in your yard, I highly recommend this strategy to kill it. Quick, easy, and cheap. What’s better than that?

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by folksyhome on May 21, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Gardening
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Posted by folksyhome on May 21, 2012

http://folksyhome.com/2012/05/21/poison-ivy-killer/

Designing a Desk

You’ve probably heard that I’m attempting a simple, low-cost makeover of our multitasking-superstar-in-need office/closet. The piece de resistance, the crown jewel, if you will, of the makeover is going to be a brand new, DIY desk I have designed (and am currently building) myself. Fun, right? Yes, I do have a skewed view of a good time.

The current/soon to be old version of the office has a hulkin’ desk on loan from Mike’s company, and while it is super nice of them to let us use it, the piece isn’t exactly (what’s cookin’) good lookin’. The countless notebooks and binders shoved under there doesn’t help much, either.

Because we can’t alter (read: paint) it in any way, I figured, hey, why not build our own? Again with the skewed view of a good time. What can I say, I’m DIY crazy ;) .

I’ve never designed a piece from the ground up before, so this has been a new process filled with trial and error, and plenty of ‘oh yeah, I forgot!’ moments. I started by trying to figure out the general gist of what I wanted in the final product and whittled the requirements down to:

- Corner desk (for better use of space)

- Incorporates the small file cabinet and printer (to visually reduce clutter)

- Relatively easy to build with the tools we have (for obvious reasons)

- Relatively inexpensive (again, for obvious reasons)

I focused on deciding on a surface for the top first, since that would probably dictate what the cabinets should look like. After throwing around a few ideas, I settled on this $60 8′ butcher block counter top from Ikea. That’s a lot of block for not much buck! (har har) We’ll eventually cut it so it spans the corner.

Originally, I was going to go the cheaper route and use a few 2x10s attached in a plane kind of like this one from Young House Love, but Mike draws lots of maps for work (how cool is that?) so any less-than-perfectly-flat surface was a no go.

With the countertop decided, it was on to the cabinet design. And let me tell you, it included a whole lot of what can only be described as what my grandpa would call “figuring.” Figuring clearly goes better when snacking on Tostitos. You can thank Mike for thinking to capture this real moment with my calculator iPhone camera.

The sketching, calculating, considering board dimensions, the dimensions of what will fit inside, and available board sizes took a good while. There was a lot of scribbling and dramatic scrunching up and throwing of papers on the ground, but I eventually came to a design I was happy with.

There will be two cabinets, one holding up each end of the desk, and a table leg holding up the middle/corner. The main design element is the side panels of the cabinets, which are based on the panel construction seen in this sideboard.

From: The Friendly Home

I liked the style, and easy adaptability to meet our size needs. Statue of Liberty Bear says hi, by the way.

Supports are used to connect the two panels of each cabinet together,

and the backs and bottom shelves are just MDF (a cheaper plywood alternative). Oats also says hi.

The door design is still a work in progress. Again, a lot of trial and error involved in designing on your own, but for now I’m happy with the fact I took an idea swirling around my head and somehow translated it to a pretty good looking box. Crazy!

Details on the construction process and my own design tips coming up. Stay tuned!

3 Comments
by folksyhome on May 17, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Building, DIY, Furniture
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Posted by folksyhome on May 17, 2012

http://folksyhome.com/2012/05/17/designing-a-desk/

Chalk on the Walls

The invention of chalkboard paint has got to be up there with the invention of the remote control, slurpees and the interweb, right? I mean, how great is it? Cover any surface with it, and boom: instant messaging center. I may never have to verbally ask Mike to take out the recycling again, now that the chalk does the talkin’ for me. (And that is a good thing when it comes to undesirable chores. Less animosity. ;) )

The Folksy Home message center is simple (what’s new) and relies heavily on the wonders of chalk board paint. We painter’s taped off a rectangle on the wall that looked about big enough for grocery lists, notes to each other, and punny monthly titles then put brush directly to drywall and filled in the the quadrilateral. (How’s that for some Wednesday math vocabulary? You’re welcome.)

Mike measured the perimeter and made a 1×4 wood frame to fit, connecting the sides with the Kreg Jig’s help. A little pre-stain conditioner, English Chestnut stain and wipe-on satin poly later, and we had a frame.

Then, a few finishing nails to secure it in place and  BAM: kitchen chalkboard! However, our walls are, well, not exactly planar, so there is a little light peeking through between the frame and the painted surface, but no bigs, you really can’t tell unless you’re inspecting with fine-tooth comb, and no one better do that around our apartment or they’ll find way worse than a less-than-flush frame!

Around the chalkboard hangs a wall calendar, a P90X calendar, and a spray painted old cranberry scoop salvaged from Mike’s grandparent’s house, which serves as a chalk and post-it holder.

There’s a little false bottom in the scoop so we can reach for the chalk without totally cramming our hands.

And it’s easy as that! When we want to get rid of the chalkboard, a little primer and latex paint should make it all but disappear. What’s to lose?

The only hint I want to give is to ‘cure’ your chalkboard paint before using it. Sounds fancy, but all that means is when the paint is dry, use the side of a piece of chalk (holding it like you do a crayon when trying to make a gravestone rubbing) to cover the surface with a thin layer of chalk. This helps prepare the surface for writing and especially erasing so you can scribble and erase it without having to resort to the damp sponge every time.

Cool, right? So, tell me, are you as big a chalkboard paint fan as I am??

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by folksyhome on May 16, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in DIY, Repurposing, Small Projects
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Posted by folksyhome on May 16, 2012

http://folksyhome.com/2012/05/16/chalk-on-the-walls/

Card Hangin’

Necessity is the mother of invention, right? Never has this been truer than in making this embarrassingly simple greeting card display. I think I’ve said this before, but I LOVE getting mail. And Mike and I both love getting cards and written notes from friends/family/anyone who thinks we’re worthy of a stamp. Finding a card in the box is like a mini birthday gift! Clearly, I’m easily amused.

Needless to say, I can’t just chuck the cards right after they arrive. What’s a card-lovin’ girl to do? Grab two screw-in hooks, a piece of hemp cord, and a bunch of clothes pins, and make a super simple but effective card holder, that’s what.

I like that when I reach for an orange I may catch site of a cute handwritten card from our adorable niece or nephew or a mushy note one of us has left for the other. Guaranteed day brightener.

Hand screw in the hooks centered beneath/around/between wherever you want (done by eye if you’re impatient like me), and string some hemp cord between them. Hang some clothes pins and attach the cards du jour! Tres simple. (Sorry, the french integration got away from me there for a sec.)

Simple, sleek, and effective! And no anchors, toggle bolts or stud-finding required. My kind of project.

And added benefit: I’m still smiling at my new nephew’s birth announcement from January. Don’t think I’ll be able to part with that card for a while :) .

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by folksyhome on May 15, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Accessorizing, DIY, Small Projects
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Posted by folksyhome on May 15, 2012

http://folksyhome.com/2012/05/15/card-hangin/

The Miracle of Gardening

Put some tiny viola seedlings in a pot. Add sun, soil, water and carbon dioxide. Get a gorgeous display. All in a month! How are those colors made from the sun?? Still blows my mind.

Not all of my gardening ventures are successful, but I’m sure glad some of them are!

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by folksyhome on May 14, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Gardening
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Posted by folksyhome on May 14, 2012

http://folksyhome.com/2012/05/14/the-miracle-of-gardening/

Greeting Card Art

It’s no secret that I’m a lovey-dovey ball of mush that cries of happiness at every other heartwarming commercial that includes a couple, a baby and/or a dog. It’s a manufacturing default. Or happy accident, which is how I prefer to look at it ;) . So it comes as no surprise that I’m a Valentine’s Day fan.

Why am I talking about Valentine’s in May? Well, I’ve finally gotten off my duff and found a home for a sweet, simple card I gave to Mike this year. After it was displayed for the requisite month or so I still couldn’t bear to part with it (don’t fret, the irony of me not being able to part with a card I gave away is not lost on me), so it went on the list of things that need fixing/doing/tweaking, which is constantly at least 35 items long.

I was going to build a frame for it, but as I’ve recently found out from first-hand experience, DIY frames are not the easiest or most economical endeavor, so on a recent trip to the blue and yellow paradise that is Ikea, I picked up a Ribba shadowbox frame for a cool $9.99 as a showcase for the card.

The beloved card just got taped to the matte.

(See, it really was a Valentine’s day card!)

And hung above the bed as a sweet reminder of how important we are to each other.

I know, gag me. I can’t help it. Like I said, manufacturing default. But seriously, it’s cute, isn’t it? Ah, sometimes it’s the simple things.

(Btw, now you can Follow my blog with Bloglovin! Fun!)

1 Comment
by folksyhome on May 11, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in DIY, Small Projects
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Posted by folksyhome on May 11, 2012

http://folksyhome.com/2012/05/11/greeting-card-art/

A Direction for the Office/Closet/Greenhouse

As I’m sure you’ve gleaned from the title, this posty post is a little mood board preview of what I’m thinking of for the office. If you remember, our multipurpose office room is cluttered and DARK, so the main goals are to make it sleeker and lighter. A comfortable, easy place for office work and picking out something to wear. Here’s what I have so far:

Man, my mood board skills leave a lot to be desired. Practice makes perfect!

So, for the feel, we’re sticking with our design favorite and go-to of casual, relaxed, and ahem, folksy. Funny how that happens ;) . The main elements are:

1) The desk. In my last post I left you with a picture of a pile of wood. Surprise! That trunk full of pieces is currently making its glorious transformation into a butterfly (can’t help myself with the strikethrough humor) hopefully awesome corner desk for Mike! (btw, I have that desk picture pinned, but the link takes me to google reader so I don’t know the source. Sorry!)

2) Accent colors. The easy, country feeling of these three are striking a chord with me right now, so that’s where we’re headed.

3) Light. Um, the old office is dark, so what’s a better way to lighten it up than to add a light. I’m a genius I tell you. (light from http://www.lowes.com)

4) Closed storage/clutter wrangler. We have some doors like this salvaged from Mike’s grandparent’s house, so I was thinking of using them in a similar piece custom built for the office. It could hold all the office accoutrement and possibly a grow light in the spring. However, this guy is going to have to wait. It’d take a while to design/build, and I don’t have the patience to build it before we start moving stuff around in the office. Eventually! (pic clipped from http://style-files.com/)

5) Oh yeah! Almost forgot, the background is a tip of the cap to the drop cloth curtains that will be a cover for prying eyes. No creepers looking into my closet, thankyouverymuch.

As for wall color, I still can’t bring myself to be cool with white walls. I can’t get over the stark/institutional feeling of them, but maybe I’m just not envisioning it well. I figured I’m going to try to take this re-do slowly (new for me) so I can make informed decisions instead of ending up with an, ahem, DARK office again, so it isn’t imperative that the wall color be chosen now. I’ll wait to see how the desk turns out and go from there.

So, thoughts? opinions? Have a mood board tutorial for me…I could sure use it!

2 Comments
by folksyhome on May 9, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Building, DIY, Furniture, Room Before and After
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Posted by folksyhome on May 9, 2012

http://folksyhome.com/2012/05/09/a-direction-for-the-officeclosetgreenhouse/

April 2012: Study Hall

I just looked back through my pics from April and, well, there wasn’t much goin’ on except what you already knew:

studying! But hey, it’s over now, and on to better, and more fun things. No more full time school. Ever! Never ever! Even though my nose was firmly to the grindstone a lot of the time, we did manage to color eggs for easter. Here’s a particularly lovey-dovey one that I happen to fancy:

And I ran a local 5k, which was a nice change of pace from sitting in front of the computer screen. Here’s Mike and me after the race:

Of course, my nephew was busy being as cute as ever all month:

In other news, I also purchased some summer reading to act as a carrot motivating me towards the finish line:

Expected, I know. But I want to be in the loop, and I’ve heard they’re real page turners, so don’t spoil the endings for me! And finally, last but not least, I walked in the door one day to this:

Ha! The socks of someone who shall remain nameless knocked Oatsie out cold. I couldn’t stop laughing when I spotted that. Like ether for dogs! Whooo, busted myself right up.

So that’s April in a nutshell. May, so far, has been waaaay cooler. Less homework, more DIY. And, I’ll let you in on a little secret. I’ve been a busy elf designing (I know! SO many calculations…) and building a piece of furniture for the office this weekend, here are the cut components:

Any guess what it is??

1 Comment
by folksyhome on May 7, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Monthly Roundup
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Posted by folksyhome on May 7, 2012

http://folksyhome.com/2012/05/07/april-2012-study-hall/

That’s it, the Office is Getting a Makeover

It’s that time. School is over this week, and the urge to delve into a project has hit me. Hard. Our office/closet/dressing room/greenhouse is dark and starting to look a little too hoarder-ish for my liking, so it’s the natural outlet for my makeover mania. There’s just so much stuff in there. And did I mention it’s dark? We painted it a dark, dark grey when we first moved in because we just couldn’t take the crazy yellow walls and ceiling. Yep, both the walls and the ceiling were this color when we moved in:

I wonder who originally painted the room, stepped back, said to themselves, “Nailed it” and walked away with a self-satisfied smile on their face.

Needless to say, we painted the room ASAP and it was definitely a step up. But now I’m kind of over it. The room doesn’t get much natural light and because it has to serve so many functions, it’s filled to the brim and feels suffocating. Only one way to fix that: makeover! But first, want to see the offending room? (All images Instagrammed to make them less upsetting.) First up, the view from the door:

Hmm..from here you can see the ‘office’ portion of the room. Mike works from home a few days a week, so he needs a functional office set-up: desk, good chair, printer, filing cabinets etc. What we do not need, however, is the piles of grad school notebooks and a box of who-knows-what sitting under the desk. Also of note, the desk and the chair are on long-term loan from Mike’s company and thus cannot be painted/spruced/etc. Bummer.

Stepping to the right of the desk, we have more files and the laundry/backpack/garbage can area. I can’t stand how beautiful it is. Not. That white glow on the cabinets? Well, of course, that comes from our greenhouse area on the shelves opposite the desk:

Also on the book cases: textbooks, receipts, DVDs/CDs and a weak attempt at accessorizing. Needs big time help. To the left of the shelves is the scarf holder I made, which hints at the next section of the room:

The closet! And here it is with the curtains open:

Now, I absolutely love my closet. It’s essentially a quarter of the room blocked off by curtains, and is totally functional for my stuff. It could use some editing and re-folding, but overall that is the one thing about this room I love.

So there are the raw ingredients we’re working with for this makeover. I think the main goal with this project will be to lighten up the room, and get some better hidden storage so that it’s not so visually overwhelming. The layout will be tricky because we have a lot of large elements that can only fit in so many places. I think a little mood board and layout planning is in order. Any suggestions for our office/dressing room/closet/greenhouse room?

3 Comments
by folksyhome on May 1, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Accessorizing, Organizing, Room Before and After
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Posted by folksyhome on May 1, 2012

http://folksyhome.com/2012/05/01/thats-it-the-office-is-getting-a-makeover/

  • Maria @ FH

    Hi there! I'm a grad student, wife, and doting owner of the cutest dog you've ever seen. I love organizing, gardening, and taking on projects I only later find out I'm wildly too impatient for. Read along as I try to accept it's about the journey, not the destination, especially when it comes to DIY. Welcome!

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