Working Container Doors & Light Fixtures

 I haven't felt like I made a ton of progress in the last couple weeks, but Sunday things finally came together and I got some things done.

My biggest accomplishment was getting a good start on the Container Doors which will serve as a sort of shutter for sliding glass doors next to the stairs on the lower level. 

I started out with the frame, and forgot to take pictures of it. Of course. Then built it up so I could have the sliding glass doors 'behind' the 'metal' container doors.

The doors I used a combination of matboard and plastic siding, rearranged a few times to see which look I liked.

Originally the plan was to use the wooden channel trim for the edges but I didn't like how it looked. So I tried it without the wood.

Better. But I still have some slight unevenness. So I added some very thin cardboard to level things out.

Somehow the layers shifted slightly when I glued them, but with a little judicious trimming to even things up, and a thin layer of paper on the sides to hide the gaps from the siding they fit the frame well.

I'm working on the hinges and corners now. And now that I've got the measurements down I'll cut the next set in with my Cricut.

My other big accomplishment in the past couple weeks has been baskets. I found a tutorial on Pinterest that shows how to make mini baskets out of rope. So I gave it a try.  Then got another hot glue gun and tried again.

I need to find very narrow nozzles for the hot glue gun, because too much comes out and then it doesn't look very nice. Any recommendations will be appreciated.

I also tried a more traditional basket with paper covered wire and I like it but again, it could look nicer. Need to practice more I guess.

My first effort.

A laundry basket. It needs a lid.

Second try, something for towels maybe?

And finally, the rest of them.

The dark one will be for outside I think, maybe to hold some wood for a firepit? We'll see.

I also got an order from Shapeways. Some of Marion's lights, some exterior lights and a couple of bowls. 

These are for the kitchen, over the peninsula and sink.

These will be for the exterior. They look like they take standard little screw in sockets.

I thought of using one of these bowls as a ceiling fixture in the bathroom.

This one has more of a basket weave look and I think I like it better.

But that's it for the last couple of weeks.

Hope you all are having a good May!

Slight Miscalculation

 This past weekend I got the Cricut out again and cut the countertop for the kitchen.  It came out really nice.  I was so pleased.  

So I did a dry fit of the cabinet lowers and tested it out.

Small problem.

Somewhere along the way I cut the overall width down to nine inches instead of ten.  My husband had a blast saying measure twice, cut once.  This was made even funnier by the fact that any hand tool (or power tool) he has held was only so he could pass it on to me so I could fix something.

But I went back to the drawing board (almost literally) and tried the whole shebang again on Sunday.

This time it worked out.

I tested it on top of the cabinets, holding my breath the entire time.

I think it came out pretty well. I wanted a thick looking counter, to give it a more substantial look.

I wanted to test out how the whole thing would come together and so far so good.

The other thing I did was prime the pieces I got from Shapeways so I could paint them eventually. I went outside every half hour and sprayed from a different angle.  A picnic umbrella screen kept dust and other stuff from getting on them.

I didn't have time to paint them. That'll be a next weekend project.

Kitchen cabinet hardware.

I did cover the countertop with the contact paper though. I went with white, to get a bit more of a contrast. I'll test the whole thing out next week.

I hope everyone else had a great weekend and got lots of stuff done!

Round Two

 I've heard about varied reactions to the second round of the Pfizer vaccine.  No big deal. Oh felt like I was dying. Fever, fatigue, flu like symptoms... It's better if you've had Covid. Oh no, it's worse if you've had Covid.

I was optimistic.  I thought we'd be able to get the shot, go home and drop my husband off and then go on to work. 

I thought wrong.

We hadn't even gotten all the way home before my head began to hurt. (Granted it's a bit of a trip but still) My arm was sore but not immediately. That took a while to get really bad.  Fatigue, headache, fever, and feeling like my hand and half my arm was falling asleep. Yeah, this was much worse than the first round.

I got lucky (relatively speaking) because the headache and arm pain (and numbness) went away by Saturday.  The fatigue...yeah that hung on though by Sunday it was a little better.  Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I got the vaccine but I'm also (very) glad I won't need to do this again.

So my progress was a little erratic this weekend. I added some supports to the big window in the kitchen.

It keeps the push out windows from sagging and it looks pretty good.  Then I started on the two sets of double windows for the living room on the other side of the first floor and the bedroom.

I like the trim for the inside but for the exterior I want something a little more streamlined so I'll make some different exterior window frames.

While the paint on the windows dried I started to put my refrigerator together. I bought several rolls of glitter contact paper in black, grey and white.  I wanted to do the appliances in black and the countertops in either white or grey.

I got my handles from Kristine's Shapeways shop.  I like the dark grey metallic handles for the appliances.  That way they match the stove top knobs as well.

I think it looks pretty good.  So while the glue dried on the handles I painted the front door.

And tested the fit of my 'drywall'.

I cut my siding for the front wall exterior.  And tested out some paint on a scrap. I love this blue but I might need to get more of it.  Or find a black spray primer so I don't need five coats of paint.

You can see where I'm also testing stain on pieces of wood.  I want a wood trim around the windows on the inside.  I want a shade of brown that works with the Weathered Grey cabinets.  So I put my two countertop options, and the tile for the backsplash against the peninsula back with the different stains I have.

First the two countertop options. So far I have one vote for the grey and two for the white. I'm leaning towards the white, just for the contrast.

It's not very easy to see the glitter of the white. Either one will work with the backsplash because I have tiles in pearly white and a silvery grey.

Now the wood stain options.

I like the Dark Walnut and the Cherry so far.  The Early American and Red Mahogany have too much red in them to me.  The big thing is that whatever I use for the window stain, I need to do something that coordinates on the floor.

I also put the lower cabinets together and tested the new sink.

Yay it fits!

And just for fun I put the stove front in it's spot.

We have one wall put together.

Only seven more to go. Plus a floor. And a roof. And another roof.  The interesting thing is going to be making the doors at the end of the cargo containers. I've got ideas...so this'll be interesting.

I've ordered some 'glass' so I can make some accordion doors. I want to make the back wall of the first floor sliding doors so I can fold them back and get in but keep the Building Inspector out.  The second floor I'm still working on but I want sliding or accordion doors up there to go out onto the roof deck.

Now I'm going to go and figure out how to make those container doors.  Or have a nap. We'll see which one wins.

Happy Easter! Oh, and Cabinets and Windows

 I hope everyone is having a Happy Easter!  I had fun with the WQRC garden and apple tree this morning.

Yesterday I worked on the stove first. I need to recut my chipboard for the front of it but I got the stovetop painted and glued.

I used a metallic scrapbook paper for the bottom. 

Since I had to use a regular black paint and then layer a metallic over it I worked on the burner and oven knobs while the paint was drying.  First the gesso.

Then a metallic silver over the gesso.

And then the jewelry findings to finish off the handles.

And while everything was drying I started on the kitchen cabinets.  I stained the veneer first and then glued everything to the chipboard. I had to weight it down to make sure it stayed flat with the moisture from the glue.

I made sure I used the stain on the edge of the chipboard so there wouldn't be any weird shadows.  Then I tested out the fit. And ran into a problem.

See the issue?

Yep. Cut the sink opening for the inside of the sink instead of the outer perimeter.  So... I looked for a two inch sink but no dice. Not one that would work with the cabinets and the countertop the way I want it. So...

You guessed it. If you can't buy it, make it.

Today I was a little less productive, I started working on the windows.

So now the glue is drying.  But so far so good.

Have a great weekend and a Happy Easter everyone!