Building a Lego house

Hey all! Can you believe it’s July? This is one of my favorite weeks of the year! It’s even better than years past because our temps are unseasonably cool and we’ve had tons of rain – two things I like very much. Last year we had drought conditions and couldn’t set off fireworks, so we’ve already made up for that this year. ;)

Oh by the way, I wrote this whole post and then realized it’s the first Monday of the month so I should be doing the Before and After Party today. I totally forgot. We’ll do it next Monday, hope that works!

This weekend I finished up a DIY in the basement that I’ve been planning for a while. Since we had the built in cubbies installed I’ve been hoping to get this done, just to take advantage of some odd wall space down there.

I have never built true floating shelves – I have built shelves (here in the dining room built ins, here in the pantry, here in the basement bathroom) but all of those had supports on the sides for me to attach supports to.

True floating shelves with no side support are another thing – but I think I did pretty OK at it for a first try!

I didn’t follow any specific tutorial, just used what I’ve seen here and there and winged it myself. This is a relatively simple project if you work with tools. And sometimes I make relatively easy projects total pains in the butt, so yeah. This was one of those. :)

I started out with some 1x2’s from the hardware store – I cut them down to the length I wanted the shelves to be and then cut supports (same exact length) and glued them on with wood glue:

Then when I thought I had let them dry well enough, I flipped them over to secure them even more with screws. That’s when I realized I didn’t let them dry enough and every. single. support. fell off.

Sometimes I look like I know what I’m doing. This was not one of those times. I’m sure my neighbors were all, awww, look at her, trying to DIY! So cute!

ANYWAY…I always go way overkill with nails/screws/glue and this was no different – I used two (long) screws in each support:

Before I put the front of this support on, I installed them on the wall. This way I could get the screws into the wall straight on (if the front support was on I’d have to work around it, make sense)?:

After both supports were up I went to grab the wood I had bought to make the actual shelves I was going to build to slip over them. And I realized I had totally made the supports the wrong size. DOH!

So…back to the store I went. I ended up getting a big sheet of stain grade particle board cut down instead, which in the long run ended up being better anyway (a lot more light weight and less bulky):

That photo is why I have an SUV. That photo is also why I don’t have a nice SUV. ;)

So instead of making a shelf that slips on over the support, I ended up just securing all the wood to it instead. Which is fine, I just won’t be able to take these down…like, ever. Good thing I like them.

Here’s the process as I started covering the supports with the wood:

I hope that makes sense! The trim on the right is just the start of what I wrapped around the whole shelf to make it look finished off.

Here they are all done – I taped off the walls with FrogTape so I could get them stained with little mess:

So sometimes I recommend you paint before you do a project because I think sometimes it would make the project easier. I NEVER do this and many of you ask why. It’s mostly because of projects like this – they are rarely perfection. So I fudge with stuff, have to recut many times, sometimes make additional trips to the store – and if I had painted the wood I originally wanted to use for this I wouldn’t have been able to return it.

So…sometimes it’s easier to paint/stain before – I just work better doing it all after all is done. That usually ends up being quicker for me.

I used the beautiful Kona (Rustoleum) stain I’ve used elsewhere in the basement – love it!! When that was dry I did a coat of semi gloss polyurethane and called it done. Then I loaded them up with the little Lego sets that have been all over the countertop for months:

I’ve been planning these shelves forever now – their purpose is two-fold. Obviously as a place to display all the little Lego sets our boy makes, but to keep them up off the countertop as well. I just want to use the storage space as best we can.

The basement is such a fun space for us and my goal all along has been to make the art down there be very personal to our family. So the Lego sets, although not styled to perfection, are just us. :)

Here you can see how the trim looks and how the bottom piece of particle board hides the supports inside:

I just started grabbing the Lego sets and putting them on the shelves – there’s not much hope that this is ever going to look “perfect” but I kind of LOVE it:

Although the Bub did say later that it’s a “little messy” so he’s going to rearrange it. Gah. (He did NOT get this from me.)

Of course these are all sets he plays with, so he needs help getting them from the top shelf, but he can reach the bottom shelf easily. They are both fairly low because of the bulkhead in that spot.

I had to include a pic of us on a roller coaster in Legoland -- we had it made into a Lego set:

It’s hard to see but it makes me laugh out loud every time I look at it. You can’t even see the Bub because he’s ducking down, totally freaking out. My husband has his eyes tightly shut, probably praying for his life. And I’m in the front laughing my butt off – it’s pretty obvious who loves roller coasters in this family.

Now this little spot is dedicated to what the kiddo loves – I’ve mentioned a few times that he’s a Lego freak and we encourage it (within reason). I like that this part of the room really speaks to what he loves:

Like I mentioned, this was my first try at the true floating shelves – and I think they turned out pretty well! Just don’t look too close. :) The bottom one is secured to the wall on one side so it’s super secure. The top one is definitely staying put but I wouldn’t do any pull ups on it. Good thing I can’t do a pull up.

Have you tried this DIY project? Did you do them any differently? Do you have a Lego house that you try to organize too?

DIY (hideaway) Lego tray

Hey all! Whooee, that was a jam-packed weekend! I shopped (at the vintage mart, twice!) and met up some awesome readers and fellow bloggers, went to a party, attended a school event for the kiddo, had a girl’s night with one of the BFFS, went to a Lego event at the fairgrounds and hung with my stepdaughter and her boyfriend who were home on spring break. It was a whirlwind but fun!!

We surprised the Bub with a trip to the Lego event yesterday – to say he’s a a fan would be a huge understatement. He got started on Legos when he was only four (he could never be bothered with the bigger, toddler ones – he only wanted the smaller, big boy sets), and from that very young age was putting together sets with 600+ pieces by himself. It blew our minds but he’s been hooked ever since.

Which for use means a LOT of Legos. I mean…people. They are everywhere. I’m working on getting them corralled to the basement and succeeding…it’s slow but sure. And I think I finally found a storage method that works for us – I’ll show you soon. (It’s not what you think either.) ;)

Anyhoo, a couple years ago I got this Pottery Barn table off of Craigslist for the playroom:

My goal for two years now was to paint it and then cover the top with Lego sheets so it would be a big huge table for him to play on. Well, it moved downstairs about a year ago, into the almost-finished basement, and I swear to you I haven’t seen the top of it since.

We (he and I) were always throwing stuff on it and even when it was kinda cleared off he rarely sat at it and used it. He’d much rather be on the floor doing Legos (or games/toys), or at a higher table, like in the kitchen.

What’s funny is we gained all this additional square footage with the basement, but all I’ve done is get rid of stuff that was down there. I want the basement family room to be open and non-cluttered but when that’s the goal there’s less room down there than we thought there would be.

So a few weeks ago I came up with a plan. First part was to get rid of the table – it was a clutter-catcher and a beast. Huge. To set things up the way we wanted there was just not a spot for it so thankfully a friend took it off my hands.

The second part of the plan is this tray I came up with. I’ve made wood trays before – you just start with a base:

I got a piece of wood from the hardware store and had them cut it down to 30 inches – I wanted it that size for a number of reasons. First, I wanted it HUGE so the Bub had a ton of room to play on it. I also needed the Lego tiles to fit just right and they were ten inches wide.

I didn’t take pics of putting it together, but you can see how I made the tray in our family room here:

It was the same exact process for this one.

Initially I was just going to stain the sides of this one because I knew the bottom would be covered with Lego sheets. But at the last second I had an idea and stained the whole thing. I used the dark Kona stain I used for the top of the basement cubbies and then added hardware:

I got these from Lowe’s – they were inexpensive and simple but I wanted the handle to be really easy to grab.

We laid out the Lego mats and immediately the kiddo was playing:

He loved it! When this idea came to me I planned on gluing the tiles down, but later decided not to (more on that in second). They stay in there just fine. And at one point the width was just slightly under 30 inches so I had to cut down a couple of the Lego mats just a tad – but I just did it with regular scissors, so easy!

My boy was in heaven – the first set up was a basketball game because he’s absolutely obsessed with it right now (thanks to Daddy and the Big Ten Champs IU! Whoot!):

Legos are not cheap but we are happy to encourage his love for them (well, I’m not happy when I step on pointy ones in the dark, but whatever) – I love how his creativity comes out – he found pieces to make basketball “hoops”:

 

Did you know Harry Potter was a basketball player? Me neither.

So here’s the thing – I made this tray so it did something extra special:

 

Awww yeah bay-bee! It hides perfectly away under the sectional. Ours is really low to the ground and it still clears it just fine (I was prepared to raise up the sectional ever so slightly if I needed to). That is why I wanted the handles to be easy to grab.

It’s accessible from both sides of the sofa but he likes to pull it out in the open space behind. WE LOVE IT.

Another reason I made this so big was so we could use it for other reasons too – we can easily carry it over to the top of the ottoman down there so he can put sets together up higher. But we also use it to play games:

At first I thought we would remove the mats but there’s no need at all. They are a great surface for the game boards:

And I’m so glad at the last second I decided to stain the bottom too – because now we use it for movie nights, pizza dinners, snacks:

Again, we could just leave the mats on (it takes 30 seconds to take them off or put them back on) and most of the time we probably will. (With them removable that means I can wash them too!)

I love how big it is because it fits over the ottoman perfectly – it’s like it was made for it. ;) And it’s sturdy enough we can put our feet up on it and it’s not going anywhere.

So I was able to get rid of a big table that was taking up tons of space and not being used and replace it with a multi-functional one that we can hide away when we’re done:

Love!!

The cost to make the tray itself wasn’t too bad – I think about $20 for the base and $4 for the handles (I had the trim pieces for the sides), which I didn’t think was too bad for that size. The Lego mats were the cost here – but we will use this and the mats for years to come so it was a worthwhile investment for me.

I love figuring out a way to make things work better for everyone in the family, but I’m most thrilled that the Bub loves it so much. He uses it every day.

So do you have a Lego-obsessed kiddo (or adult??) in your house? I gotta admit, even though they drive me bonkers some days they are fun to do – almost cathartic in a way. And I love seeing what my son comes up with!

Linking up at Traci’s Best of March party!

House Happy

Heya! Happy weekend, whoooo! I’m ready for some rest, hanging with the family, a little shopping and some DIY, of course!

I’ve decided to do a “House Happy” post maybe a couple times a month – just sharing pictures from around the house or from out and about that make me smile. Some will be from Instagram or Facebook, some just from stuff I snap with my phone.

I found these CAUUUTE mason jar soaps at Bath and Body Works earlier this week:

They are plastic and I may have gasped when I saw them, too darn cute. They come in a few different scents.

I passed up the first fiddle leaf tree I’ve seen ANYWHERE around here because I can’t find a definitive answer on if they are toxic to cats:

I’ve read they are toxic on some sites but I’ve also found numerous people online saying their cats don’t even try to nibble (the leaves are really thick) or they do and are fine. Anyone with cats have one?

Speaking of cats, we got our latest kitty almost a year ago now and she is a HANDFUL. I’ve had a cat pretty much every day of my life and she is by far the feistiest one ever. But she makes us laugh pretty much every day, and she loves her Bub:

They fell asleep like that the other night. :)

I found this quote on FB and shared it this week:

I consider it one of the greatest blessings of my life that this has happened to me. :)

If you are looking for fun books to read with the kiddos we highly recommend the pigeon books:

They are SO funny. We all end up cracking up by the end, they are a joy to read!

I’ve been working on some storage for the laundry room – I had to come up with a way to make the cabinet taller so this is it:

It looks horrible there but I swear it will make more sense soon. ;)

I was browsing one of my favorite antique spots last weekend and laughed out loud at this:

This is so not me by the way, but it’s dang funny.

My kid is pretty much the most awesome kid ever, for so many reasons -- but one is that he likes going through model homes with me. He will see one while in the car and ask if we can walk through it – love him. And then when we drive by a regular house and I say how pretty it is, he’s like, “Can we go inside??” I wish my boy, I wish.

Anyway, I saw this in one of the model homes and thought it was cute – the faceless ballerina kind of weirds me out, but I LOVE the tulle tutu idea for a girls room:

Precious!

I saw this one on Facebook the other day too and could not stop giggling about it:

We had a sunny day here today for the first time in all of March!! It is melting away the snow and I can just taste spring!

And finally, best news in a long time for NKOTB fans – they’re baaaaack!! I’ve already got my concert tickets for this summer, aww yeah! The video for their newest song was released yesterday and I know I’m a little biased but it is the most entertaining video I’ve seen in a really long time. (OK, it’s been a really long time since I’ve seen any videos, but for real.)

I love how it’s shot, I love the idea behind it, the music, the guys (HELLO) – so fun. Check it out here Blockheads:

 

Have a GREAT weekend! Chat with ya Monday!!

Taking care of business

Hey all! It’s been a crazy week around here – both with the blog and with house stuff. SO much progress has been made on the basement bathroom, I’m so excited! Still much to do, but I’m thrilled with how it’s turning out so far. There’s also new flooring going in the powder room, so two of our bathrooms are under construction right now. And I’m SO HAPPY about it. :)

There are two big events I wanted to remind you about, both for locals and those all over! The first is the upcoming Indie Arts Vintage Marketplace that I blogged about here:

The date for the next one is Saturday, March 9 and I’m hoping a few of us can go together! My tentative plan at this point is to meet at Panera Bread in Carmel, off 116th Street around 9 a.m. so we can hang for awhile before it starts. The marketplace is right across the street at the Fountains Conference Center (502 E. Carmel Drive, Carmel) and that starts at 10 a.m.

It was packed last time so I figure the earlier we go the better. If you think you can make it, shoot me an email with your name to thriftydecorchick (at) gmail (dot) com with the subject line “Vintage Marketplace.” I just want to try to keep track of how many we’ll have. I’m so excited to go again, I hope you can make it if you are nearby!

I told you earlier this month how I’m working with Home Depot this month and the Do-It-Herself workshop is coming up next Thursday, February 21. I’ll be co-leading the session at the Castleton HD on Corporation Drive in Indy, but every Home Depot across the country will be offering the same Pinterest-inspired tiled mirror workshop:

So if you’d like to attend one near you, give them a call to let them know you’re coming! For the Indy folks, you can attend anywhere near you, but if you’d like to hang at my session, call the Castleton Home Depot at 317-915-8534 to sign up.

There is no cost to attend and learn, but there is a fee to purchase a kit if you’d like to make one along with the group. The workshop goes from 6:30 to 8 p.m.

I’ll be a busy bee the next few days promoting this workshop on local news stations. If you’re in the Indy area you can catch me on Thursday morning on WXIN at 8:45, this Monday on Indy Style on WISH and then I’ll be visiting WTHR on Tuesday the 19th at 12:20! Whew. Wish me luck!!

I am so excited to meet and hang out with some readers and fellow bloggers at both events! :)

OH! I almost forgot! I was SO EXCITED today to pick up the latest Cottages and Bungalows magazine (the April issue) and see some of my pics and quotes inside!:

I knew something was going to be in there, I just thought it would be one little photo. What a nice surprise – my first time being published! So stinkin’ exciting! :)

Well, I think that’s it for now. Have a great one, and remember to email me if you think you’ll attend the marketplace with us! :)

Cuckoo for my clock

Hello there! I hope you’ll indulge me today while I show you something new to our home. It probably isn’t too exciting to most, but it is a piece that makes me so happy I can’t even explain it. :)

It’s actually a kind of weird how it came about. Without going into too much detail, let’s just say I have very little from my childhood. I have no toys, no Christmas ornaments – only pictures (that I treasure) and a small box of papers/trinkets from my entire childhood. All of it was lost along the way, (I touched on why a bit here), so everything that I do have means the world to me.

For some reason, a couple months ago, I started thinking about one item from when I was a kid in particular. It was a small cuckoo clock my parents got when I was very young – I don’t think there was a time when I didn’t remember it in our homes.

I have no idea why all the sudden I couldn’t stop thinking about this clock. I hadn’t though of it in about 20 years – it was the oddest thing. I had this deep ache for it though – it was just something that reminded my of my childhood. It was quirky and fun and symbolized good memories for me.

I thought about it for weeks and then dropped it. Until one day a couple weeks before Christmas when my Dad came by for a bit. We were sitting at the kitchen table and he starts telling me how he had a clock that he was going to have refurbished. My ears perked up and I asked him which one, and what do you know…he had that cuckoo clock I had been thinking about for weeks!! I thought it was long gone since the last time I’d seen it was in my Mom’s storage. All of that was lost a long time ago.

Could NOT believe it.

I had no idea he had “saved” it at one point years ago, and he had had it for about ten years – but it didn’t work and it was broken and dirty.

Seriously, freaky. I pretty much begged him for it, and I think he was surprised at how badly I wanted it. I just couldn’t believe that the one thing I had been reminiscing about for weeks was actually still around.

So for part of my Christmas Dad had it refurbished. He brought it down last week and I tell you what…I was just plain giddy:

I seriously could have cried. We hung it up and messed with it a bit (everything has to be just so for this to work properly).

I love all the detail in the wood (but not too much – it’s actually simple compared to some) and it was JUST as I remembered it. The roman numeral face:

And that little door for the bird to come out of course. :)

I anxiously waited for us to get it just right, and then Dad turned the hands of the clock to set it and that bird came out and did his “cuckoo”:

It filled me with JOY.

You know how when there’s a song from a certain time in your life, and you hear it years later and you almost feel like your in a time tunnel and you can close your eyes and there you are again?

Well, when I heard that cuckoo it took me back to a very happy time in my life and it was emotional, I have to admit. I spent that whole afternoon and evening hanging around the clock, waiting for that little bird to pop out. When it did I was JUST STUPID with happiness. I would do a little dance and would yell out to my son and husband, “DID YOU HEAR IT?? ISN’T THAT AWESOME???”

Of course they did…I just had to make sure.

Now when the Bub hears it and I’m not there, he makes sure to tell me how many times I missed the cuckoo. I love that he’s already in love with it and it will become a memory from his childhood as well.

Dad told me that my grandparents actually bought this overseas for him and Mom, so I talked to my grandma to find out more. She said they got it in 1977 (I was two), in Lucerne Switzerland. They bought one for each of their four kids, and as far as she knows, this is the only one left. Can you believe they traveled home with four of these in their suitcases?

My grandparents traveled often and to some truly amazing places, so I love that this symbolizes their adventures too. I’ve done a little bit of research on it and I believe it’s a Bucherer cuckoo clock. Like I said, it was a mess, so things like the chain and some of the woodwork were replaced and are no longer original. 

But it works and I feel like a kid when I get pull down those chains with the heavy pinecones on them every day, just like I remember my parents doing 30-(something) years ago.

It hangs on a skinny wall between our black doors in the basement – we have it down there so it doesn’t wake us up all night, and I just because I think it fits in perfectly:

I can’t tell you how thrilled I am to have this in my home – I’m so excited about it. I guess you could say I’m “cuckoo” for it. Ahhh yes…I went there. Did you have any doubt? ;)

Do you have lots of things from your childhood? Is there one item in particular that you miss and wish you had? Do you have a cuckoo clock that makes you dance around when you hear it every hour? :)

Bloggers revealed!

Well we have a winner of the epic Before they were DIY bloggers contest!

There were so many of you who were SO close to guessing all of us correctly, but finally one person...one blogger...rose to claim victory!

Please meet our lovely winner:

Sara from Mom Endeavors

This girl knows her DIY blogs because she's a blogger herself. Sara spent a lot of time holding a sick little baby and clicking back and forth to the different blogs to match all 29 faces with their blogs (she's quite the multi-tasker isn't she?).

And now...the moment you've been waiting for – who are the bloggers behind these adolescent faces?:

A. Pretty Handy Girl

B. Decor Chick

C. All Things Thrifty

D. Tatertots and Jello

E. The Lettered Cottage

F. Infarrantly Creative

G. Sawdust Girl

H. Funky Junk Interiors

I. The Idea Room

J. DIY Showoff

K. The Shabby Nest

L. Not Just a Housewife

M. Vintage Revivals

N. Southern Hospitality

O. Young House Love

P. Home Stories A to Z

Q. Beneath My Heart

R. Thrifty Decor Chick

S. House of Smiths

T. The Nester

U. The Inspired Room

V. Songbird Blog

W. My Blessed Life

X. The Shabby Creek Cottage

Y. 320 Sycamore

Z. Just a Girl

# Makely School for Girls

@ Remodelaholic

? Miss Mustard Seed

Ohhh, how I wish you could have seen the cat Layla (E) was holding in her pic. It MADE it.

I was R – here’s me then (probably about 13) and the most recent pic I could find: 

Yes, I had red rimmed glasses in junior high. YES, my nicknames were Becca and Sally:

 

So how did you do? Reading your guesses had me rolling – this was FUN. Now maybe you should share one of YOURS?? ;)

Before they were DIY bloggers…

**We have a winner! The contest is now closed, but if you still want to try your hand at figuring us out, go ahead! ;)

Ohhh, have I got a doozy for you today! First of all, I missed getting a post up yesterday because we had a sick little boy who was up ALL night long. I thoroughly enjoyed cuddling with him all day yesterday though. He’s on the mend and feeling much better, thankfully. :)

OK, onto the goodness that is this awesome post. I still can’t believe we’re doing this. Like, for real.

Let's take a ride in that DeLorean parked outside and go back in time…back to a time before there was Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter. Before chevrons, mercury glass and ombré were hot. And most importantly, before there were blogs!

Back then, these bloggers were a bunch of prepubescent teens trying to find their own personal style -- some of them trying harder than others. ;) We've all gone through that "awkward stage" of adolescence, (and if you didn’t, I’m not sure I can talk to you anymore) and we thought it would be fun to play a game of sorts.

Luckily, that game just happens to be at our expense:

Do you recognize any of these DIY bloggers? Do you think you could recognize them in high school, middle school or elementary school? For sure! Like, yeah! No duh!

These awkward youngsters became the ladies behind a few DIY blogs you may know. And we are giving a $300 Lowe's gift card to the first person who can guess which faces match with which DIY blogs.

It's pretty straight-forward. Match as many as you can, get more than other people, win $300 to Lowe's. Should be easy…but it’s not. I still get stuck on some, and I’ve been looking at them for days now. I may have laughed so hard I cried at some of them, including mine. Ah yes…adolescence.

So glad it’s over.

Here are the blogs to match:

• 320 Sycamore
• All Things Thrifty
• Beneath My Heart
• Decor Chick
• DIY Showoff
• Funky Junk Interiors
• Home Stories A to Z
• House of Smiths
• The Idea Room
• The Inspired Room
• Infarrantly Creative
• Just a Girl
• The Lettered Cottage
• Makely School for Girls
• Miss Mustard Seed
• My Blessed Life
• The Nester
• Not Just a Housewife
• Pretty Handy Girl
• Remodelaholic
• Sawdust Girl
• The Shabby Creek Cottage
• The Shabby Nest
• Songbird Blog
• Southern Hospitality
• Tatertots and Jello
• Thrifty Decor Chick
• Vintage Revivals
• Young House Love

Here are the details (you must be 18 yrs or older to win):

• Visit the link below where you will be able to enter your guess for each blogger pictured above. (All information will be kept private.)
• The first person to correctly match all the faces with their blog will win a $300 Lowe's gift card!
• If you win, you will be emailed to collect your mailing address. (Then your prize will be mailed to you.)
• Of course, you will get bragging rights for being the biggest DIY blog fan ever or for having face recognition skills like no other.

Enter Your Answers

Of course, this is just for fun -- we thought it would be hilarious. And it is. :) Just be kind when you figure out which one is me.

** You can enter more than once if you don’t think you got them right the first time! And we’ll keep this open till we get a winner, I’ll let you know when it’s closed.

*Special thanks to Mandi of Vintage Revivals who bared her soul about blog puberty, (which seeded the idea to share our awkward photos with you!)