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Friday, January 27, 2012

bookcases



These bookcases, along with the quality time spent together building them, was my "big" Christmas present this year! I have been itching for some new bookcases for a long time now. We debated on just buying new bookcases, but none of them we looked at were full wood or worth the price tag that adorned them.

So, my wonderful, wood-working hubby suggested we build some custom made for our study over Christmas break. I was THRILLED! It was a project for the whole family to join in on. Just FYI this is a LONG blog post.....just sayin'.

Little Bit ready to help!

We started by cutting 4' x 8' pieces of cabinet grade plywood into strips.

They are 7 feet tall!

Then we cut the 15" deep tops and bottoms.

P nailed them together for the frame.

Then we cut the bead-board backing for each one.

We nailed the bead-board onto the back of each frame.

P standing back to admire the work done so far with his cup of coffee.

Shelby had to come down to the shop to monitor and make sure things were done properly. She directed everything from her bed (which is right in front of the fireplace!)

Now its starting to look like a bookcase!

The girls would steal our ear muffs every time we put them down. It was hard to get mad at them seeing as how they look so darn cute in them!


Next came the doors for the cabinets on the bottom of the cases. These were the most challenging pieces to make because they have to fit just right in order to work! I had no doubt P could pull it off. He really should be a carpenter.....maybe one day.

In order to get the cabinet doors perfectly squared, P used this cool old contraption called a framing vise he salvaged from his great grandfather's shop.
It lines the two pieces cut at 45* angles up and holds them there while you nail them together.

Now that the frames were nailed together, we had to figure out how to insert the bead-board into the center. P being the creative master he is, added a decorative piece that also added thickness to nail the bead-board to.

The frame is ready.


Next, insert the bead-board and nail it in.

Voila' - a door is made!


P used his new cool screw driver to attach the doors to the bookcases.


Last but not least came the oh-so-fun painting.



P brushed one while I rolled another....

And then we swapped for a final bookcase that looked like this!


Oh yeah, and we had to take small special brushes to paint around the hinges. (Oh and a little proof to show I helped! ;)

This picture doesn't quite to them justice, but I will add another picture late as it is now full of books!!
I <3 my new bookcases!!


Thursday, January 26, 2012

letters

I got this idea from a both we saw at Homestead Hollow once. All the letters are from random things around the house. I thought it was pretty cool.... I am still on the look out for better ones, but this is what I have for now. The S is my favorite.!







Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Christmas night at Pop and Nonna's

Last, but not least we end our Christmas party rounds on Christmas night at my mom and dad's for Christmas dinner and.....you guessed it more presents!


Santa brought our whole family a new tent for camping this year, so my parents got both girls a new sleeping bag. (Look very close...they are both wipping out their new knives to cut into those boxes!)


They both have better sleeping bags than Mommy and Daddy now! Its time for some camping!

The girls both got their first knives from Daddy for Christmas this year. Those were a HUGE hit. Here's Little Bit using that knife to open the box of her new sleeping bag. She was going around asking everyone if they needed her to open anything for them.

Again, I'm sure Pop is going to love me for this one, but it shows the true excitement on his face. He got a new 50mm prime lens for his camera! I think he liked it!

Miss Priss and another new set of legos! This girl loves to build.

Granny T found these two cute ballerina dolls that looked just like the girls. They even had the right color leotards! Miss Priss with her blonde her dressed in purple and Little Bit with her brown her dressed in pink. They were a perfect match.

Christmas Morning

Christmas morning came and went faster than ever. I still can't believe it's already passed. Santa left way too much as usual and the girls loved every minute of it as usual!

Before the girls tore into everything!

Little Bit excited about her new travel mug.

Miss Priss excited about her new I-pod. Still can't believe Santa on that one! I didn't get an I-pod until my late 20's. Something's wrong with that picture!

Mommy and the girls checking out all the new goodies. If you look really close you can see Shelby snuggled up in there too. You can't leave her out!

Shelby got some new bones in her stocking and she decided the best place to chew on them was right in the middle of everything!

P enjoying his Christmas morning too. He got enough fabric to make his Great Kilt. More to come on that later!

Christmas came and went so fast this year. I don't know why, maybe its because Daddy is back home and we were just all very excited. It was fun while it lasted.



Christmas eve at Mimi and D's

Our next two stops on Christmas Eve were right next to each other. First we go to Mimi's for dinner, gifts and company.

 
The girls at Mimi's. That's Cindy in the background and I can't imagine what she is laughing so hard about, but it must have been really funny!



Then we head over to D's for more presents!
The girls have been itching to open those gifts for weeks now!

Little Bit showing off her new horse set to go with her dollhouse.

Miss Priss and her AGD clothes.

The girls got smart and put the boys to work opening all their boxes!


Both of them playing with their new toys....like they need anymore! They sure do love getting new toys though!