Crafty Carolinagirl

Somebody deserves a time out!

Drusilla is just the sweetest and kindest cat. She is also very well behaved, most of the time! I don't know what strange obsession she has with cords, especially my iPod headphones, but this is the tenth pair she has eaten through.

Maybe she just wants to listen to some music. After all, she does love Fleetwood Mac, Duran Duran, and the Bee Gees. No joke! Her tail actually sways to the beat of their music.

So while I was counting my quarters for yet another pair of headphones, I got to thinking. What could I do to deter her from making my home cords her late night snack? Why not make some sort of cover so she won't be tempted to take a nibble on the cord. Brilliant! 

I thought I was the most clever person on this planet. Yeah, apparently I am not! There are cord covers all over the internet. Oh well. I guess I'll have to make my millions elsewhere.

Though the cord covers are everywhere, their tutorials are not. So, I improvised and came up with a crocheted version of my own:

I know it looks like a long, crocheted snake. Well, that is pretty much what it is. This one is for my living room lamp. Drusilla likes to wrap herself around the cord and nibble on it. 

I didn't keep track of exactly what I did, but I can give you an idea of how I made it:

Drusilla's Cord Cover

Materials Needed: 

Yarn to match room colors (I used Red Heart tan), hook size H

Directions: 

ch 14 loosely or enough to wrap around the plug (you will have to slip the cover over the end of the plug, so don't make it too tight) and join with a slip stitch.

Do Not join, work in a continuous round. You can mark with a stitch marker the end of each round, but it is not necessary.

round 1 - sc in each stitch (14 or however many you ch).

round 2+ - sc in each sc around until desired length and fasten off.

slip cord cover over cord and you are good to go!

As you can see Drusilla is still fascinated by the cord, but she no longer gets wrapped around it. FYI, I don't know if I would push the cover all the way up to the plug. I wouldn't want it to turn into a fire hazard :)

Crafty + No Air = Giving

Whew, I have been in the giving mood ever since my air went out last week. I realize that I will eventually get my air back on (yes, the air is still not working), and that I am thankful for. Even without my air I know that I have so much to be thankful for, so it is time that I put my crafty talent to good use and give something back.

Over the last few weeks, I have been asked by several organizations to donate some of my Crafts by Alice items for their yearly fundraisers. I have such a hard time saying no, especially to animal shelters, so they are all getting something. 

Half are getting a felt cookie platter 

and the other half a few puffy hearts.

Here are the organizations I am helping out:

Ceridian Silent Auction: Benefiting the Susan G Komen Foundation (June 12) shipped

The Tenth Life: a no kill cat shelter (June 25) 

It's Meow or Never Animal Rescue and Sanctuary (July 7) shipped

Cocker Spaniel Rescue of New England (July 25)

The dates next to them are for me! I have a hard time keeping track of when everything needs to be sent. 

And. . . I still haven't sent out my Pay It Forward gifts yet! If you signed up and are wondering where your gift is don't worry, I am working on them and will have them out by the end of the summer. I know what I'll be doing this weekend. . . crafting in front of the fan!!!

Deck Project - Step 5

So, it turns out that there is no Step 5 for my deck project, Yeah!!! I thought I would have to seal the deck after painting it, but the paint I bought had a sealer in it. It does pay to spend a little more money on good paint!

Instead of forgetting completely about Step 5, I thought I would give a recap and a break down of what it cost me to redo my deck. You can keep this in mind if you decide to work on your own deck.

 

Step 1 - Cleaning the Deck

• $16.00  (deck cleaner)
• $4.00  (Clorox bleach) 
• $13.00 (deck sprayer)

Total $33.00 

Step 2 - Spackling the Deck

• $5.00 (putty knife)  
• $11.00 (wood putty) 

Total $16.00 

 

Step 3 - Sanding the Deck

• $7.00 (sanding blocks)
• $33.00 (handheld sander) 
• $6.00 (sanding squares) 

Total $46.00

Step 4 - Painting the Deck

• $87.00 (Sherwin Williams paint)
• $13.00 (paint rollers and tray) 
• $15.00 (paint roller extender) 

Total $115.00 

Deck project total: $210.00

I can't tell you how happy I am to have this project finished, especially now that it is 105 degrees! I hope my project journal helped you, and if you decide to redo your deck please let me know. I'd love to hear how your deck turns out.

Burning Up

I think this Madonna song is going to be my anthem for the next several days. I too will be burning up, literally. My air conditioner is on the fritz again and I just found out it can't be fixed until Tuesday, TUESDAY!!! Of course, here in the Carolinas, we will be 99 degrees today, Saturday, and Sunday and 98 degrees on Monday. Why do air conditioners always break on the hottest days of the year?

Ugh! So, while Drusilla and I are trying to keep cool (poor little girl is sprawled out on her back with her legs apart strategically placed directly under the fan) here are a few "cool" recipes you might want to try this weekend.

Kraft Foods Southwest Chicken Salad

BHG Iced Tea

Kraft Food Lemon-Lime Layered Dessert

I know I'll be giving them a try. And who knows, maybe the last one will inspire me change my tune from "Burning Up" to "Frozen"!

Adopt a Shelter Cat Month

Summer is the season when shelters see an influx of cats come into their facilities. This is why June has been declared "Adopt a Shelter Cat Month". Many shelters offer discounts and free food/toys/litter when a cat is adopted during the month of June. This is a great incentive for adoption, but should not be the sole reason for adding a cat to your family.

Unfortunately, there are some cats that are very hard to adopt even during the month of June - black cats. I don't know if it is because people are superstitious or just afraid of a black cat, but whatever the reason many black cats are euthanized every year for the simple reason of their color.

ShimmerGreen from the "Black Cat Lovers" group on Ravelry has decided to try and change this. She has come up with a black cat pattern to be crocheted and embroidered on Snuggle Mats. These beds will be given to black cats and will travel with them to their new homes. Her hope is that each bed, "helps the potential pet owner to make the connection to the potential pet a little easier".

So, if you have some spare time and some left over yarn, stitch up a few of these. If you don't crochet, there are knitting and sewing instructions for Snuggle Beds as well. I know I'll be making some of these for my local shelters, and of course one for my own black shelter cat, Drusilla!

DIY Deck Project - Step 4

Over this Memorial Day holiday weekend I did the unthinkable, I finished Step 4 of my deck project! It was not fun, actually it was awful, but it is completely done! Boy am I relieved.

So to refresh your memory, here is how the deck looked last week after Step 3 (you can read about Step 3 here)

 

Now onto Step 4 - Painting the Deck!

1. Buy your supplies Can you believe it? I did not buy any supplies for Step 4 at Lowes. No worries though, I will be buying my Step 5 supplies there this weekend.

Here is what I bought: 2 gallons of Sherwin Williams Rookwood Red Porch and Floor Enamel paint, an 11 piece painting set (rollers, tray, paintbrush, etc.), and a paint roller extender (both bought at WalMart).

The amount of paint you will need will be determined by the size of your deck. My deck is actually larger than I thought (after painting the whole thing), and I used the entire 2 gallons of paint. I would buy more than less. You don't want to get halfway done and realize you don't have enough paint. I thought that was gong to happen to me, and believe me, it is not a good feeling.

2. Paint the deck Take all of your supplies outside, put on your radio, take a deep breath, and start to paint. The entire process took me 19 hours divided into three days. 

The first day, Saturday, I did all of the railings (8 hours). That was a big chunk of the deck, so I was feeling pretty good when I called it a day on Saturday. 

The second day, Sunday, I did the trellis (6 hours), floorboards (1 hour), and stairs (1 hour - total 8 hours). If you don't have a trellis, be very thankful. It was, by far, the worst part of the project. Not only did I have to paint with a paintbrush inside all of the holes, I was constantly attacked by wasps and yellow jackets. I am happy to report I did not get stung, but I did come to realize that there must be some sort of nest under the deck. I think the bug man will be making a trip to my newly painted deck very soon!

The last day, Monday, was the touch up day (3 hours). I repainted the spots that hadn't gotten enough paint, mostly the floorboards. I think I was getting too tired on Sunday after doing the stupid trellis that I didn't put enough force on the brush. 

So, after 19 hours of pain, sweat, and sunburn, here is my newly painted deck:

I took this picture this morning from inside the house, since the deck is still a little sticky. You can see my blue painter's tape on the steps. That is so no golfers or neighbors take a seat on the wet paint (my little next door neighbor likes to sit on my steps while she watches the birds in the tree).

Whew! We are down to the wire now. Only one step to go until this project is complete. I hope to be able to finish this up this weekend. We'll see if the weather will cooperate!

DIY Deck Project - Step 3

Okay, we are now moving onto Step 3. Can you tell how sick and tired I am of this deck? Pretty sick of it. The good news is it is now halfway done!

Again, to refresh your memory, here is what the deck looked like after the last step (you can read about Step 2).

Now onto Step 3 - Sanding the Deck!

1. Buy your supplies I am sure you are sick of me saying I got everything at Lowes, so I'm gonna change it up a little. I actually got my supplies at WalMart, okay and Lowes!

Here is what I bought: a hand sander with extra sand paper and two sanding blocks, medium coarse.



You will also need a hammer, but I already had that, a really cool Steelers hammer! It works really well, but it is pretty heavy.

Anyway, the amount of sandpaper and sanding blocks will again be determined by how big your deck is. I used all of my supplies, and probably could have used another sanding block, but I made due with only two.

2. Check nails Look over your entire deck and see if any nails are sticking up. I had several that were. Hammer them all the way down so they are flush with the boards. Keep an eye on the wood while you are hammering it in. If the wood looks like it is starting to split, stop hammering. I also noticed a piece of wood that was starting to pull up. I used a few long nails to set it back down.

3. Sand the deck I won't lie to you, this sucked! I will tell you that having an electric sander of any kind will help immensely. It will take the pressure off of your arm and hand. But even with the sander, it was pretty rough. Two words of advice: 1) Make sure the deck is completely dry. You don't want to electrocute yourself with the electric sander. 2) Wear sunblock! I got a pretty nasty sunburn on my neck. I think it was from bending my head down while sanding.

Just like Step 2, I started with the railings and then onto the floorboards and steps. Again, I did not do the trellis. I think it would be best if you spaced it out over several days. I did the railings and steps one day and the floorboards the other.

Here is the sanded deck!

Doesn't look too different from the spackled deck, except that it is missing more paint and is now a lighter color.

The next step requires no rain, at all, so we'll have to see how the weather wants to cooperate. I can only do Step 4 over the weekend, so hopefully I will be able to work on it over Memorial Day weekend. I'll post it as soon as I can.

DIY Deck Project - Step 2

We are now onto Step 2 of the dreaded deck project. Though this step sounded simple when I wrote down my 5 steps, it has actually turned into quite a chore.

To refresh your memory, here is what the deck looked like after the last step (you can read about Step 1 here):

Now, onto Step 2 - Spackling the Deck!

1. Buy your supplies Again I went to Lowes, but I am sure you can find these supplies anywhere.

Here is what I bought: Elmer's Carpenter's Wood Filler and a spackle tool, 1 1/2 in. I actually bought two large tubs of the wood filler, so I wouldn't have to go back and buy more. I only used one tub. I guess it all depends on how big your deck is and how badly split your wood is.



I would make sure you buy wood filler that you can paint and sand. That is very important for future steps. I also found out that you can buy wood filler in different colors of wood, who knew! I just bought mine in this color. You can see on the spackle tool that it is kind of a tan color. It looks really awful on my red deck, but it really doesn't matter since it will be painted over later on.

2. Spackle the deck Sounds easy enough, right? Think back to dorm living. It is just like spackling your picture holes before moving out, just on a bigger scale.

I looked for any splitting wood boards and stuck the wood filler in the holes. Since the wood is set horizontally, I applied the filler vertically and then scraped the tool horizontally to remove the excess filler. I hope that makes sense. You can do it any way you like, just as long as the wood filler fills the split wood.

I pretty much worked the same way as I did with the deck cleaner: railings, floor boards, and steps (I skipped the trellis). Some spots didn't need any filler, but others needed a lot. I figured it would take me an hour or two to do it, but it actually took me several days. It wasn't the job that was time consuming, it was the pain it caused my body. Back aches, hand cramps, and a stiff neck all occurred, so it is probably best if you divide your deck into sections, or better yet, invite your friends over to help!

Here is how my deck looks now with all of the spackle on it:

Pretty ugly, huh? I am sure my neighbors are loving the look too!

Next week we tackle Step 3.

Pretty, Pretty Flowers

I love the look of fresh flowers. I only wish I could keep some in my house. Unfortunately, I have pretty bad allergies, a black thumb instead of a green one, and a cat that likes to nibble on them (not good for kitty cats). So, Drusilla and I have to enjoy fake ones in the house and the real ones outside.

As far as the house is concerned, I am working on some crocheted flowers for the window ledge in my kitchen. I found this really cute pattern from PlanetJune for crocheted daffodils, and I am headed to the store this weekend to get my yarn so I can whip up a few.

I also have several flowers around the outside of my house. I am so glad the former owner planted them, because I have absolutely no idea about gardening, nor do I want to! And after several weeks of rain, they have finally begun to bloom.

They really are pretty.

I am pleasantly surprised that they are still alive. I tend to kill all plants that come within several feet of me.

Like these!

In my defense, I think these died because of the drought. . . at least that is my story, and I'm sticking to it!

I Can Has Cheezeburger!

Have you been on I Can Has Cheezeburger yet? This is such a cute website! You can post pictures of your animals and then write funny captions on them. I submitted one of Drusilla laying in her favorite spot, the sun!

   

If you'd like, you can vote for Drusilla here.

It actually took her several different tries to get herself completely comfortable. . .

Now she's comfortable!!!