Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Barn Doors Completely Finished!

It took awhile, but we finally finished the barn doors....

completely.
barn doors, diy barn doors, how to make barn doors, cottage, farmhouse, farmhouse style, basement, barn door hardware, diyDesignFanatic.com

I showed you the barn doors back in December.  There will be a link to how we made the barn doors at the bottom of this post. 
The barn doors looked great just the way they were,
barn doors, diy barn doors, how to make barn doors, cottage, farmhouse, farmhouse style, basement, barn door hardware, diyDesignFanatic.com
but there was something missing. 

Actually, there were a couple of things missing. 
I hemmed and hawed (as my mama used to say) as to which handles to pick and we finally decided on one style. 

barn doors, diy barn doors, how to make barn doors, cottage, farmhouse, farmhouse style, basement, barn door hardware, diyDesignFanatic.com

We also needed a some latches. These attach at the bottom of the door and bolt the doors into the floor.
barn doors, diy barn doors, how to make barn doors, cottage, farmhouse, farmhouse style, basement, barn door hardware, diyDesignFanatic.com




Two extra pieces of 1 x 6's needed to be stained so the latches could be attached to the doors. 
barn doors, diy barn doors, how to make barn doors, cottage, farmhouse, farmhouse style, basement, barn door hardware, diyDesignFanatic.com

Here's a quick little tip for you...if you are waiting a couple of days between the stained coats, but want to use the same staining rag or pad, just store it inside one of the gloves you used while staining. The rag or pad won't dry out this way.
barn doors, diy barn doors, how to make barn doors, cottage, farmhouse, farmhouse style, basement, barn door hardware, diyDesignFanatic.com


Here's the bottom of the door without the new piece. 
barn doors, diy barn doors, how to make barn doors, cottage, farmhouse, farmhouse style, basement, barn door hardware, diyDesignFanatic.com


Mr. DIY screwed it on.
barn doors, diy barn doors, how to make barn doors, cottage, farmhouse, farmhouse style, basement, barn door hardware, diyDesignFanatic.com


I need to use a marker to touch up the nail heads so they won't stand out so much.
barn doors, diy barn doors, how to make barn doors, cottage, farmhouse, farmhouse style, basement, barn door hardware, diyDesignFanatic.com

Here are the latches installed. A couple of holes were drilled in the concrete floor with a hammer drill.
Boy is that noisy!

The cover plates cover up the not so pretty holes.
The latches give us extra security on the basement door and they add to the rustic look of the doors.
barn doors, diy barn doors, how to make barn doors, cottage, farmhouse, farmhouse style, basement, barn door hardware, diyDesignFanatic.com

Mr. DIY also installed the handles. 
barn doors, diy barn doors, how to make barn doors, cottage, farmhouse, farmhouse style, basement, barn door hardware, diyDesignFanatic.com


Here are the doors without the hardware:
barn doors, diy barn doors, how to make barn doors, cottage, farmhouse, farmhouse style, basement, barn door hardware, diyDesignFanatic.com

Here are the doors with the door handles and latches installed. (Mr. DIY also installed door stops on the baseboards behind the furniture)
barn doors, diy barn doors, how to make barn doors, cottage, farmhouse, farmhouse style, basement, barn door hardware, diyDesignFanatic.com

Here are the doors open. I took off the blinds they aren't needed since the doors are shaded by the deck above and the barn doors if privacy is needed. 
barn doors, diy barn doors, how to make barn doors, cottage, farmhouse, farmhouse style, basement, barn door hardware, diyDesignFanatic.com

Hope your week is off to a great start!
Doesn't it feel great to check another project off the list?

Pam
PS: if you'd like to see how we made the barn doors, just click HERE



ps: several people have asked, so I'm including a link to the hardware. For disclosure purposes, I have not been compensated in any way. 
The hardware is  from Signature hardware. You can find them here: https://www.signaturehardware.com/hardware/barn-door-gate-hardware/heron-iron-square-twisted-pull.html
The iron surface bolt can be found here: https://www.signaturehardware.com/iron-surface-bolt.html

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Cute and Easy Clay Hearts

Don't you just love a fun little craft?

I had no idea what craft I wanted to make for Valentine's Day until I saw some cute homemade clay hearts that Vanessa from At The Picket Fence created. She made her clay and I tried, but somehow my clay didn't harden and was brittle. 
I think I may have added  too much baking soda. (That's what happens when you rush things)
I was still determined to make some cute little clay hearts, so I headed on over to Michael's and I bought some Sculpey baking clay. 


I bought one package each of pink and white clay and just rolled it out to about a little less than 1/4", then used some heart shaped cookie cutters and an ice pick to poke a hole for a piece of ribbon.

I pressed one of the edges from an antique lace doily that my grandmother made many years ago.


Then I baked the clay hearts at 275 degrees for 15 -18 minutes. 

I tied a few of the clay hearts on the packages sent to our oldest daughter in Southern California.
Super easy and it didn't cost me anything since I had a gift card. 
Hope you're putting the final touches on your Valentine's Day plans.

Pam

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Valentine's Past

Been feeling a little nostalgic lately & thinking about past Valentine's day.
Waxed Paper Crayon Hearts
One Valentine's Day in particular stands out in my mind.
Not because I received some big fancy gift,
but because it was sweet.
 Mr. Fanatic really outdid himself that year.

Can't remember exactly what year it was, but I bet our youngest daughter can because she remembers everything.

I was sitting in a kitchen design class at The Home Depot in Charlotte, learning about how to design kitchens, when some men dressed all alike in bow ties and straw hats came into our class and asked for Pam.

"Uh, that would be me", I said.

A chair was quickly pulled up front and center, 
in front of the whole class
 and the barbershop quartet proceeded to sing to me as they handed me a single red rose.
So embarrassing. 
I'm absolutely sure that my face was beet red

By this time, other Home Depot employees found out what was going on and came into the class and some stood in the doorway.
The barbershop quartet sang three songs, including "I Love You Truly"  and "Let Me You Sweetheart".

Valentine's Day Dessert Table

I watched the quartet singing the whole time and after the last song was over, I looked back at the class and all the ladies were crying.

Not a dry eye in the whole place. 

In the middle of the class...
at Home Depot...
in the middle of the afternoon.
 
But that's not the sweetest part of that particular Valentine's day

...because I don't like to be the center of attention.

After my class was over at three,  I walked out to my minivan...
opened the sliding side door and saw the sweetest little things sitting in the middle seat...

two pair of cute little kissing bears with a card in front of each pair with my girls names on them. The bears have magnets in them, so that when they get near each other, they kiss. 

So cute...
Mr. Fanatic had driven all the way over from wherever he was that day (he is in sales and doesn't work in an office) and dropped the bears and cards off so that the bears would be a surprise when  I picked up my girls.

 So sweet

Now how do you top that?


 Can't.

I just remember that special day and it brings a smile to my face.

Every time. 

Here's a little peek at a little something I made for my sweet girls this year.
Will show you tomorrow.

I hope you have some sweet Valentine's Day memories that make you smile.

Would love to hear about them.

Pam
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Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Hydrangea Update and Starting Seeds

Remember these beauties from my neighbor's garden? 

Oh, how I love hydrangeas...

aren't they just the most gorgeous flowers?

My neighbor has 3 large hydrangea bushes that she graciously allows me to pick blooms from.
In return I share fresh veggies from my garden. She happens to be a vegetarian, so it works out well.

I have about 5 hydrangea plants that I've been trying to grow for years, but they've never taken off. After so many years, they are still as small as the day we put them in the ground and, of course, don't produce gorgeous blooms like these and that's why I don't just go out and buy more plants.

So, I planted a few of the leaves from my neighbor's shrubs last June and hoped for the best. You can read about it here.  Over the months, I did the best I could and didn't let the soil dry out and kept them in a sunny window in the breakfast room.  
Hoping....
...and waiting patiently
that they would grow.

Growing things takes patience...uh, just like raising children. 
Sometimes you think your work is all for naught...

Then, one day they surprise you  and you see that things are "taking".

See the new growth?
  I think they'll be ready to plant in the ground come Spring...which is only just a few short weeks away.

Which brings me to the seed starting...
I haven't had much luck starting seeds indoors. I tried it with tomatoes, peppers and some herbs and just found it easier to go buy the plants.

But the stubborn part of me just wants to try again...
So, a few weeks ago I saw some inexpensive galvanized metal shelves at Ikea for $14.99.

Since Mr. Fanatic LOVES putting things together, I let him do it for me ; )

Not sure I needed 2 for this project, but I'm sure I can use them somewhere else later.

I already had a couple of large covered starting trays, so all I needed was to pick up some seed starting mix at Lowe's.

I mixed the dirt with water in a large stainless steel bowl, then filled the tray with dirt. Then I planted 18 broccoli seeds, 9 onion and 9 collards. Will plant more broccoli in another week. I've had a tough time with broccoli, but there's always hope.

I know it's kind of strange, but I put the shelves up in front of the office window. It's the only large, southern facing window in the house, so hopefully they will do well there.

The cover will help keep the little seeds warm.


I'm already looking forward to fresh broccoli ...

 and hoping for a successful garden.


Are you  ready for Spring?

It will be here before you know it!

Pam

Friday, February 1, 2013

Valentine Vignette

The Vintage Valentine Hearts have a new home this year and have found themselves in good company among some of my favorite pieces on the dresser in our Foyer. 
The cut lace linen runner is my absolute favorite Goodwill find. You can read more about it HERE, but the short version is that I scored several incredible pieces, including a large tablecloth, for less than $6.

Don't hate me, but I have two of the same silver champagne buckets. One was a gift(from my mom) and the other was my mom's.

The footed milk glass candy dish was found on a trip with our youngest daughter to a nearby antique mall.The pitchers were HomeGood finds and the silver footed tray was won on an auction on Ebay.


The branches were collected from the trees in my yard. The latest storm we had blew a bunch of branches from  our birch tree onto our front lawn. I was complaining about having to pick up a  huge pile of them, then realized I could make a nice wreath out of them after visiting a blog at a link party.
Always look for the silver lining.

Pam