Davida has finally arrived home from camp!

Her birthday was last Sunday.  Originally, the project was supposed to be a surprise for her birthday.  Instead, Davida surprised me by arriving home for her day off as I was in the throes of this messy project (A Bench Fit for Kate Spade (and Davida)). Davida arrived home to find her childhood pink and white furniture on the curb, her juvenile gymnast border half steamed off the walls and everything in the middle of  her bedroom. True to Davida, she took it all in stride.

After all, as the youngest child, Davida has learned the value of patience and resourcefulness.  She was the child who wrote her own yearbook ad when her delinquent parents kept forgetting to submit one for her.  She is the one who cooks, organizes and plans while I take all the credit (right, Davida?)

I have spent the past few weeks redecorating her room .  This project was truly a labor of love with much shlepping, (Yiddish for lugging things around) sanding, stapling and painting.

The centerpiece of the project is her new Kate Spade inspired armoire.  In its former life, it was a gorgeous antique walnut armoire owned by a lovely family in nearby Fair Lawn. I found it on CraigsList and fell in love with the vintage dovetailed drawers and lovely carving.  It had such good bones and was perfect for her new room.

I sprayed the interior a hot pink color.  I then closed the doors and sprayed all the exterior surfaces in a metallic gold paint.  The finished product seemed a bit too gilded for the look that I was trying to achieve.  I left some gold accents around the edges of the doors, but sprayed the exterior black, instead.  That was a more perfect fit for the Kate Spade inspiration.

Best, of all, Davida came home and admired it.  She promptly showered and took a nap in her new Kate Spade inspired bedroom.  I’m so glad that even with all the changes, it still feels like home to her.

SUPPLIES and TOOLS

one solid-wood armoire

screwdriver
knobs and drawer pulls (optional)
hand sander
damp rag

metallic spray paint
hot pink spray paint

INSTRUCTIONS

Using a damp rag, clean the armoire. Make sure to clean all the nooks and crannies and insides and backs of the doors and drawers. Turn the unit over and clean the bottom and all sides.

Using a screwdriver, remove all hardware.   Using a hand sander, sand the nightstand and the wood until all the surfaces are smooth, paying special attention to the corners and edges of the armoire.

Remove the drawer(s) and sand separately. Using a damp rag, wipe the entire unit clean and allow to dry.

Using painters tape, tape all metal surfaces, hinges and hardware that could not be removed.    Wrap edges of hardware very carefully so that paint does not bleed onto hardware.

Wrap exterior corners and edges so that interior paint does not affect the exterior.  Spray all interior surfaces with hot pink spray paint and allow to dry completely .  Remove the drawers from the armoire before spraying the interior of the drawers.

Wrap interior exterior corners and edges so that exterior paint does not affect the interior.   Spray all exterior surfaces of the nightstand with metallic spray paint.  Spray the exterior of the drawers separately and allow to dry completely before placing drawers back into the armoire.

I walk most mornings again with my friend, Linda.  The hour walk goes by quickly as we share ideas, inspirations and tidbits of each other’s lives.   Linda offers me lots of recipe and shopping tips and shortcuts and I cherish her sage advice.  I find the walks healthy for my body and inspiring for my mind.

My kids think that the daily walks have nothing to do with exercise or friendship.

They often tell me that the early morning walks are really about scouring the neighborhood for cast-off furniture and other treasures to be recycled and upcycled.

They may just be right.

I had been thinking of designing a workbench for two-year old Ju-Ju.   Two weeks ago, I came across the perfect solid wood nightstand on the curb while walking with Linda.  The white nightstand was covered in dust and cobwebs, but was solidly constructed.  The one drawer featured intact hardware and dovetail construction.  It was perfect for my project.

I was delighted!  After the walk, I drove back to where I had seen the nightstand and loaded into my car.  I placed it right next to my front door and I just couldn’t wait to begin my newest project.

Leah arrived home that evening and wasn’t too happy to see another dusty, worn castoff adorning our front porch.  She reminded me once again that my morning walks are really all about the hunt to find garbage.

I couldn’t have agreed more.

I cleaned the piece with a damp rag and turned it upside down.  I cleaned all the nooks and corners of the nightstand until it was perfectly clean.  I looked around until I found a square-ish piece of plywood that was the same width as the nightstand to use as a backsplash for the nightstand.

Using my inexpensive hand sander, I sanded the nightstand and the plywood down until all the surfaces were smooth, then sprayed the surfaces with blue spray paint.  I removed the drawer and sprayed that with silver metallic spray paint.

I then ordered a square 16″ plastic pegboard and assorted pegboard accessories.   Don screwed the finished backsplash into the nightstand workbench and installed the pegboard.  I added a few good hooks on the sides to hang additional workbench accessories.

I checked the toy boxes and scoured the dollar store for some play tools, safe real tools and tool boxes.  I ordered some kid-friendly power-tools and even personalized a hardhat for Ju-Ju.

Ju-Ju and Avigail loved the workbench and Leah even quizzed me on what I was thinking for the next upcycled project would be.

I just smiled mysteriously.  Let the morning walks continue…

SUPPLIES and TOOLS

one solid-wood nightstand

1 square-ish piece of plywood the same width as the nightstand

hand sander

blue spray paint

silver metallic spray paint.

square 16″ plastic pegboard

assorted pegboard accessories

1 1/4″ round screws with nuts

small adhesive hooks

INSTRUCTIONS

Using a damp rag, clean the nightstand.  Make sure to clean all the nooks and crannies and insides and backs of the doors and drawers.  Turn the unit over and clean the bottom and all sides.

Find or purchase a square-ish piece of wood that is the same width as the nightstand for a backsplash.

Using a hand sander, sand the nightstand and the wood down until all the surfaces are smooth, paying special attention to the corners and edges of the nightstand and backsplash.

Remove the drawer(s) and sand separately.  Using a damp rag, wipe the entire unit clean and allow to dry.

Spray all surfaces of the nightstand and backsplash with blue spray paint.   Spray the drawer with silver metallic spray paint.

Screw the backspash into the back of the nightstand and then screw the  square 16″ plastic pegboard into the backsplash.  For the pegboard, we used 1 1/4″ round screws with nuts screwed from the back to the front.

Adhere small adhesive hooks to the sides of he nightstand workbench to hang additional hardware accessories like measuring tape, goggles and helmet.

Place assorted pegboard accessories into the pegboard and hang toy tools and safe real tools.  Fill small toolboxes with additional toy hardware and store in the workbench.

Get to work!

I woke up earlier this week with a stiff neck that just seems to get achier.  Today, the pain radiated to my shoulder and down my arm. It seems like I may have pinched a nerve.

The pain and stiffness really needs some warm relief.  My husband, Don, suggested that I design a microwavable compress to ease the pain.

I did some internet research and found that it is quite simple to fashion a compress filled with uncooked rice, beans, oatmeal, barley or flaxseed.   The filler is placed into a cotton (non-synthetic) sack and tied, velcroed or sewn closed.

I looked around the house and found that I had plenty of raw beans, a brand new oven mitt and a variety of cotton socks.

With just a few moments of prep time, I was sitting at my desk writing this blog post with a warm compress soothing my neck and shoulder.

SUPPLIES

Cotton sock or oven mitt

Beans, uncooked rice or barley

Naturally dried herbs, essential oils, contents of an aromatic tea bags or spices for fragrance (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Fill a sock or oven mitt at least halfway with beans, rice or barley.  I found that it was easiest to use a stack of coffee filters to move the beans into my compress.

For a pleasant aroma, you can add a bit of dried herbs, fragrant powder or oils to your compress.

Seal the compress by tying a knot, placing a resealable velcro strip or sewing the ends shut.  For a firm compress, seal it with very little empty space.  For a looser compress, leave empty space before closing your compress.  A looser compress will allow for draping it around your neck and moving the beans to conform to your painful area.

Heat compress in microwave for about one minute, keeping an eye on the microwave during heating just in case the filler or compress starts to smoke.

Before applying compress, check that it is not too hot.  If it feels too hot, shake it and wait until it is just the right temperature for your aches and pains.

NOTES

Be careful!  Check that the compress is not too hot before applying it.  It is hard to tell how hot the microwaved compress will get, so please check before applying to your skin.

For extra safety against burns, place a layer of cloth (like a towel or t-shirt) between your skin and the compress.

Do not use heat therapy for acute injuries or if you are pregnant or have diabetes, poor circulation, high blood pressure or heart disease.   If you are not sure, consult with a doctor before using a warm compress to ease muscle or joint pain.

Avigail and Juju are attending “Bobby Camp” and one of the favorite morning activities is playing with the water table on my front porch.  After breakfast and our morning walk, when the two of them are still in pajamas, we fill up the water table and have a good and messy time playing with all the water toys.  Best of all, when we are finished, everyone gets bathed and then changed and dressed for the day.

While we were outside playing, the kids asked Davida to blow bubbles or as seventeen month old Juju likes to say, “Bubboos”.  I did not have any bubbles or bubble wands, so we decided to make our own.  Davida fashioned some bubble wands out of pipe cleaners, straws and string.  Avigail was delighted that one of them was purple, her favorite color. We mixed water, dish detergent and pancake syrup, stirred gently…and voila.  The magic of bubbles was added to our messy water activities.

This was one of those simple things that created a wow of a time at the water table.

We sang as we blew and popped bubbles…”Avigail is a bubble blower, bubble blower, bubble blower!”  “JuJu is a bubble popper, bubble popper, bubble popper…”

SUPPLIES

container with a flat bottom

3 cup water

1/2 cup dish soap

drizzle of pancake or corn syrup (about 2-3 tablespoons)

scissors

straws

string

Pipe cleaners

DIRECTIONS

Place water in a bowl or container.  Carefully add soap and syrup, stirring gently, being careful not to foam up the bubble mixture.

Create bubble wands using pipe cleaners that are looped.  You can create different size loops to form differ size bubbles.

Create large bubble wands by cutting straws in half and tying string around each of the straws, top and bottom.  To secure the string, cut a small slit near the end of each straw for the knotted string to rest.  This will keep the string from coming off the end of the straw.