A Little Repurposing

As you can tell by my absence - we are really busy and working hard around the ranch.

In July our contractors come back to start a big project on the exterior of the house - we are getting a new roof for the porch, extending it and enclosing it - can't wait.

I'll fill you in on the details of that later Now I want to tell you about this project, that has something to do with the porch.

When we bought the house my mother in law gave us several boxes with stuff "that we might be able to use" but just never got around to looking at….On this trip I did and deemed that a lot of it was yard sale material and I almost put these in the yard sale pile when an idea hit me…

I could make something out of these….just had to see if I could get the other part I needed.

Went to several stores and finally found what I was looking for at the world market store.

Click photo for source

I picked the 30 light set and I'm thinking right about now you are getting an idea of what's going to happen here…

Right!

I'm going to use the jello molds as lampshades!

But I didn't have enough. I got really lucky at the thrift store and got a bunch for less than two dollars, but it still wasn't enough.

I checked eBay and there were a lot to be had there, just the prices were all over the place and I would still have to pay shipping.

Wound up getting the seven I needed at an antique store for 8.-, so so far we are at $40.- for the lights.

Once I got them home and looked at my drill bits I noticed that even my largest wasn't big enough for the task so I wound up getting this puppy (which cost another 40 bucks….any suggestion what I can make to get some use out of it???)

Oh my dad is so proud that his girl likes fancy tools.

I was able to use my new to me drill press that I bought at an estate sale when we first got here.

The only way that I could drill them was by cutting a piece of wood for the inside so it doesn't get all bent out of shape when I secured them with the vice.

After they were drilled I took the bulb out and put the "shade" between the bulb and the socket…some holes were a tad big, others I had to work a bit to make it fit, but over all everything worked out fine.

Now these are my "I'm so excited that they're done and look cool" pics, I'll share better ones when we have them hanging out on the porch

So that's my project - hope you like it! But stay tuned, another idea hit me,  to be continued!!

Aloha A Hui Hou!!

Driftwood Candle Holders

I've purchased a nice big clamp, pulled out the extension cord and went to work on a few pieces of driftwood in the backyard.

As promised - here are my results. From the first batch I drilled, I had six that turned out and one that split on me. Kind of bummed because of the one that split. it looked pretty interesting. But oh well....Here are the ones that did turn out:

One was even long enough for two candles.

In addition to drilling the holes I sanded them down a bit to give them a smoother finish. Some pieces, the wood is pretty solid, like regular wood. The others are light,  have lots of holes and chunks missing....lots of character, but a bit more fragile. But when it comes down to it, I can't say I have a favorite, as each one is unique - in its own very special way....ah the stories they could tell, about their life at sea...who knows where it came from, how long it drifted...ignored, till I found them, picked them up and took them home with me....

My lesson learned today are that:
     1)  I need a second clamp to make sure it stays put
     2) That there is a difference between it laying flat on the table and laying flat after I clamped it.
     3) That most of the wood I have it too small to do anything like this with.
     4)  I have to look for the bigger pieces.
     5) I have to think of things to do with the smaller pieces.
     6) That a drill press might be worth the investment.

All in all it was fun, to work with the wood, sit in the sun and "play" with my new tools.

I already have the pictures for Etsy!

Now to just come up with the fitting text to write them up on Etsy...

Aloha a Hui Hou!

Driftwood

I have developed a passion for driftwood, the texture, the feel, the look, the thought of what it's been thru...what's not to love!

On the mornings that I get to go to the beach I've been picking up a piece here and there, ranging from small to forearm large.  It's been fun!  

The wood is very water logged and full of sand. The first thing I do is spread it out in the sun to dry it out a bit. After it's air dried for a few days I knock off the sand, try and shake it out of the holes. Some times the sand just runs out, like an hour glass. Last step is to steam out the rest of the water and kill off any buggies that might be living in the wood - I leave in in the oven for a few hours at low temps and TA-DA!! The wood is light, dry and bug free!

By now, I'm sure you're asking what is she going to do with that driftwood? Here are a few ideas...

And by now I bet you're thinking - "Where can I get my hands on some driftwood!" yeah...I thought so!

I'll keep collecting and keep you posted about the things I've created for the house, using the drift wood I've collected.

Aloha a Hui Hou!