Friday, May 25, 2012

Fix It Friday - How To Fix A Broken Lamp


 I knocked over one of our bedroom lamps walking around in the dark several months ago and it looked like this:


The lamp socket broke (the plastic thing that holds in the light bulb) at it's base. Now I wouldn't know what to do, but it's great having a handy hubs.

 We picked up two new lamp sockets from Lowe's. Mr. F wanted a pull chain since he has a difficult time reaching up into the narrow lamp shade to turn on the light. He put new  sockets on both lamps in our bedroom so they would match.
lowes.com

Here are his instructions for fixing a broken lamp socket. First, UNPLUG the cord from the wall. Really. Then, unscrew the top half of the socket.

Gently pull the remaining socket out a bit to get some slack in the cord.

 Unscrew both terminals and take off both parts off.


Here you can see the bottom part that broke.



The wires are now ready for the new socket.
                                                    

Now, put the bottom half of the NEW socket on...


 ...and screw it in place.
 

 Notice that the new socket has a brass screw and a silver screw? The side of the wire with the ribs on it goes to the silver screw, and the smooth side of the wire goes on the brass screw. (this is Pam...all of you go look at your lamp cords right now...I never noticed that there were ribs on one side of the lamp cords, did you?)


Closeup of the ribbed wire hooked up to the silver screw. The exposed wire is wrapped around the screw and tightened.


Then, gently pull the cord at the base to pull the socket into the new base.


 Lastly, the top half simply twists back on the bottom half. Put in the bulb and shade, then
 Voila!

This is Pam again...I think I can  fix my own lamps now that I have the instructions on my blog. Hey, don't laugh...I changed the points in my car 27 years ago when I was stranded in downtown Los Angeles. I was able to do it because Mr. Fanatic showed me how a few days before because they had broken twice in the same week.
They never broke again after I fixed them...Maybe I will tell you the whole story someday. 

Hope you have a fantastic Memorial Day weekend!

Pam

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Fun Shopping Trip

Monday I met a new friend and neighbor who follows my blog and we went to a new antique mall near Charlotte. I hadn't ever been to the Depot before and it's always nice to visit new places.



The Depot is 85,000 square feet and it located in  Concord, North Carolina.


As you can imagine, there is a lot to see.



Guess who this reminded me of?


The Depot is fill with so many interesting booths where antiques as well as new items are sold.





I had to pause when I saw these beauties. They are vintage glasses made by Anchor Hocking called Bubble.

I would love to add these to my collection of vintage Boopie glasses.

We had a fun time shopping and would love to go back sometime. There was also a great little diner inside the Depot called TJ's Diner that had wonderful gourmet sandwiches. Makes me hungry just thinking about it.

Thanks Karen for a fun day of shopping!

Pam

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Raised Bed Update


The plants in our vegetable garden are filling in nicely...some with a little trial and tribulation!
raised beds, raised beds on a slope, vegetable garden, diyDesignFanatic.com


Shown here is what we call our South Garden. Mr. Fanatic gets a kick out of me calling it that because our garden really isn't that big.  Veggies in our terraced raised beds are doing pretty well, with a couple of exceptions. But, I'll get to that later.
I can't tell you how happy I am with the Romaine and Head lettuce we planted. The lettuce I planted last year was that fancy, high falutin stuff and I didn't like it.
Give me Romaine and Iceberg because I love the crunch!
raised beds, raised beds on a slope, vegetable garden, building project, diyDesignFanatic.com


Zucchini, Butternut squash and Cucumbers growing on the trellis in the second bed below the electrical meter. Broccoli and Snap Peas growing on the trellis in the 3rd bed from the top. Collards and Onions in the fourth box. I'll tell ya about the hoops later...
raised beds, raised beds on a slope, vegetable garden, building project, diyDesignFanatic.com



The Snap Peas have been producing wonderful pods for the last few weeks. We had them in stir fry last night and they were tasty.
raised beds, raised beds on a slope, vegetable garden, building project, diyDesignFanatic.com


Closeup of an itty bitty Cucumber. This is the first time I've grown them.
raised beds, raised beds on a slope, vegetable garden, building project, diyDesignFanatic.com

There are a couple of larger cucumbers growing on the vines, as well.
raised beds, raised beds on a slope, vegetable garden, building project, diyDesignFanatic.com
The Cucumber plants are growing nicely on the trellis.
raised beds, raised beds on a slope, vegetable garden, building project, diyDesignFanatic.com


I'm getting excited about the Zucchini. Little Zucchini are already starting to form. See the one just below the large flower?
raised beds, raised beds on a slope, vegetable garden, building project, diyDesignFanatic.com
Here's how the North Garden looks now. 
No, we don't have a covered wagon in our raised bed. lol. We had some trouble with those little white butterflies I thought were cute...
raised beds, raised beds on a slope, vegetable garden, building project, diyDesignFanatic.com


...until they laid caterpillar eggs, which became caterpillars, that ate holes in my Broccoli leaves. After uploading this photo I realized there was one of those nasty critters on one of the leaves. Do you see him?
raised beds, raised beds on a slope, vegetable garden, building project, diyDesignFanatic.com

I went right outside after seeing the photo to get him.
Got him!
raised beds, raised beds on a slope, vegetable garden, building project, diyDesignFanatic.com

This broccoli head is getting big.
raised beds, raised beds on a slope, vegetable garden, building project, diyDesignFanatic.com

Anyway, the hoops covered with the white fabric over the Broccoli and Cabbage keep the butterflies from laying eggs on the leaves. I feel like I'm playing hide and go seek when the cover is put on. My cat Buddy loves to sleep in the bed when the cover is on. He's too cute. Regarding getting rid of the infestation of caterpillars: I also sprayed them with BT, (bacillus thuringiensis) which is an organic caterpillar killer 
: ) Took care of most of them, but I still go out every day and check the leaves.
Mr. Fanatic made the cage for the tomatoes last week because last year some critter ate every single tomato off one of our tomato plants that was planted on this side of the yard.
 That's not happening this year!
raised beds, raised beds on a slope, vegetable garden, building project, diyDesignFanatic.com


Can anyone explain this to me???  
The big plant on the left and the little one on the right are both Summer Squash and were both planted from seed at the same time. Looks like a commercial for Miracle Grow, but that's not the case. Both plants were treated exactly the same. Can't figure this one out.
raised beds, raised beds on a slope, vegetable garden, building project, diyDesignFanatic.com


The first row of Potatoes  I planted are dying and falling over. 
This is a GOOD thing. 
That means the potatoes are almost ready to dig up. Don't tell anyone, but I've already stolen a few and they were tasty. Yukon Gold potatoes are our favorite.
raised beds, raised beds on a slope, vegetable garden, building project, diyDesignFanatic.com
raised beds, raised beds on a slope, vegetable garden, building project, diyDesignFanatic.com


Here's the view of our North Garden from our deck. Herbs are growing to the left of the raised beds. 
raised beds, raised beds on a slope, vegetable garden, building project, diyDesignFanatic.com

It's pretty amazing that only a few months ago our raised beds looked like this:
raised beds, raised beds on a slope, vegetable garden, building project, diyDesignFanatic.com

raised beds, raised beds on a slope, vegetable garden, building project, diyDesignFanatic.com

Hope you enjoyed the tour of our Vegetable Garden.


Pam



Monday, May 21, 2012

Wax Paper Transfer

Hope you all had a fantastic weekend!
I have a fun and fairly easy project to share with you today. 
My inspiration comes from a photo I saw on Pinterest from Pollyanna Reinvents .
I have a taller, but similar flower bucket that  definitely needed a makeover.


Awhile back I pinned this graphic on Pinterest, which led me to a post by the Graphics Fairy.
The Graphics Fairy, wax paper transfer, easy craft

Many transfer methods require a laser printer, which I don't have. Thankfully, one of the transfer methods required an inkjet printer and wax paper. I had both of these items, so I decided to give it a try.
I cut a sheet of wax paper 1/2" smaller (both directions) than a piece of cardstock. Then I taped the wax paper even with the top of the cardstock and printed out the bee/wreath design I found over at the Graphics Fairy.
 wax paper transfer, easy craft, diyDesignFanatic.com



 After painting my flower pot and printing the image on the wax paper, the image was transferred to the metal bucket. First the wax paper was removed from the cardstock, then  set on the bucket. Once it was in the right place, I used my fingernail to rub over the image.
 wax paper transfer, easy craft, diyDesignFanatic.com

After drying for a few hours, a clear glaze/fixative was sprayed over the front of the bucket. 
 wax paper transfer, easy craft, diyDesignFanatic.com



Here's the before:
 wax paper transfer, easy craft, diyDesignFanatic.com


...and here's the after:
 wax paper transfer, easy craft, diyDesignFanatic.com

My next door neighbor Tracy brought me some lovely hydrangeas from her yard and they look fantastic in my newly made over flower bucket. 
 wax paper transfer, easy craft, diyDesignFanatic.com



The wax paper method was super simple and didn't take much time. The Graphics Fairy said that she had seen the wax paper method  on Painted and Natural Wood and Painted Metal. Has anyone else used this method of transfer and on anything other than wood and metal?

Pam

spray paint used: Valspar Churchill Vanilla.

fixative: Krylon Spray Fixative