Saved From the Flood: Operation Dine Together

I feel like there is a fine line between sentimental trinkets and hoarding semi-precious crap, and its my job as a parent to help my kids learn the difference.   I just had to talk the 6 year old out of a candy wrapper because she thought it would be a perfect blanket for her fairy house.  She also has a collection of assorted sticked outside...again for the fairies.  I can't tell her that I'm the fairy, and as I am also her mother I don't want random pieces of trash and janky sticks hanging around.  If I were a betting woman I would guess the crack team of "creek turtles" will make off with her things outside...again.  We've been trying to catch them for months.  I digress

In our Texas house we had a massive kitchen island.  An 8 seater that we could have easily sat 12.  We had a smaller formal dining area, but didn't really need an actual large table for all of us since we usually all just ate at the island.  When we moved here to Louisiana our rental was beyond tiny for our 7 person family, but we just made do with our table (and it dwarfed the tiny eating area there...a feat for sure).  In this house we had planned on upgrading to a bigger table, but then put that off until our house sold.  Who wants to buy a new table just to have to move it out of state.  Now that we have decided to stay, our search for a table to fit us all, was back on.

As many of you are aware I am allergic to paying full price for anything.  Even on the rare occasions that I buy brand-new I wait until there is a sale, coupon, clearance, or its being discontinued.  I prefer finding awesome things at thrift shops, craigslist, Facebook groups, or literally picking it out of someones garbage pile.  It saves me a ton of money, gives my home a cool eclectic look, and gives me a reason to dig into a project.

I don't know if you've seen the extensive flooding in southern Louisiana here lately.  The devastation has been unbelievable.  In the spring, northern Louisiana had some serious flooding as well.  The property damage was also huge.  We were so lucky that our house didn't have any flooding, but I know people in the Monroe and Shreveport areas weren't so lucky.  This table came from a house in Monroe that had 3 feet of standing water in it during the spring floods.  I was able to get it for super cheap.  Which was great since it was from a house that had been under 3 feet of standing water.  Did I mention 3 feet of standing water?  

The previous owners had invested thousands of dollars on this table set.  It was a very high quality piece, but like most mass production pieces of furniture there is always areas where they cut costs.  On this piece it was the actual table top.  Absolutely every piece of this table was solid wood except for the table top (veneer and MDF) and some of the mounting pieces under the table.  In short the table top was complete garbage, but the rest of the frame was awesome, sturdy, high quality wood.

As always The Babe is down with posing for a photo opportunity.

It was only where the edge of the MDF was exposed, and there was no veneer, that it was vulnerable to water.  As you can see that was fairly devastating for the integrity of it.

The leaf was the worse piece.

Oh did I mention is came with 8 chippendale style chairs that are 100% solid wood, and absolutely beautiful?

The detail on the bottom portions of the table were gorgeous, and I wanted to save as much of that as I possibly could.  Spoiler alert...we save it all.  Because we are awesome, and humble.  We are humble, awesome people...clearly.

The table came from a doggy home, and this was the only piece that showed any kind of pet damage. Thankfully I was about to match the stain to at least camouflage the damage done by the pooch.  I've had experience doing that before.

With all the damage to the tabletop we knew when we bought it that it would need to be replaced with something new.  We had planned on doing a plywood top.  Ultimately we will be doing a super cool finish so the plywood is just a base.  I did really like the curves of the original top though.   So after we detached the top we flipped it on top of our plywood, and traced it to cut with our jig saw.

I absolutely loved the under edging of this table, and was super hopeful that I (and by I, I mean Señor Hotness) could remove it undamaged so that we could put it back on the new top.  Thank fully it all came right off, and was completely mold free.

And who said that a cute witch couldn't ride a push broom.

The Babe was eager to do her part to help out. 

I just want to address the elephant in the room.  Señor Hotness and I are twinning it with the project flip flops.  I'm not sure that that is the safest footwear to be wearing, but thats what I always wear during a project unless I straight up go barefoot.

The Babe wasn't loving the sound of the jig saw.

When we finished, we primed the bottom of the plywood to create a barrier for moisture to help prevent warping in the future.  While I'm not anticipating being impacted by a flood (who ever is) we do still live in Louisiana which means it is beyond humid here...pretty much year round (the mosquitos are horrid).  So better safe than sorry.

Ok so remember how this table sat in three feet of standing water?  Keeping that in mind I thought it best that I take the base pieces apart to fully clean everything.  That's when I came across this lovely bit of fuzz.  (Disclaimer: I was wearing a respirator mask, and plastic gloves at this point.  Don't play around with mold.)

So I mixed up mold cleanser in my pressure pump sprayer.   As per the instructions I used a bristle brush to really scrub it into the wood, and then let the cleanser dry on.  All the stained areas of the table cleaned off completely.  The only areas that had any remaining mold were in the unfinished areas of wood which were the parts that fit together, and aren't seen.

Luckily I had a special mold killing primer.  I only used this after I had thoroughly cleaned, and sanded the area.  The areas with the mold were hard to get to, and therefore hard to fully sand out the affected area.  Make sure that any primer you use to seal mold is MADE for mold, and contains a fungicide.

I was really wanting to preserve the original finish so I was super careful when I painted on the primer.  I only painted it on the raw unsealed areas which, luckily enough, was also the only remaining moldy areas.

All properly cleaned, sanded and sealed you can't even tell that I had that completely disassembled.

The underside pieces weren't all solid wood.  The parts that were, were made to slide to accommodate the leaf which we weren't going to be using anymore.  So instead of trying to make them work we opted to go with new parts.  Señor Hotness engineered a thick wood piece to make it all the proper height.

It fits wonderfully, and now we have a new sturdy piece to support our new top.  While Señor Hotness was getting this put together I was staining pooch scratches on the legs.  I took one of the legs with us on a Lowe's run, and was able to stain match this pretty closely.  Which turned out to be Red Chestnut from Minwax.  It blends so seamlessly you can't find the scratches unless looking.  

TA-DA!  Isn't it beautiful?  We also stained all the new undercounting pieces that are slightly visible from certain angles.  This is an 8 foot long table now, and will easily accommodate the 8 chairs.  The new top is top secret for now, but stay tuned for details on how we are going to finish out, not only the top but also chairs.

And lest you think we neglect our children when in the throws of project completion.  This is how we did homework that day.  

Here is a run down on the cost of this little project.

Table and 8 chairs--$100

High Quality 4x8 sheet of plywood--$32

Minwax Red Chestnut Stain (8 oz)--$5

Lumber used for new under supports--$51

Grand Total--$188

So because I was willing to take a chance on what most would view as garbage I will have a fantastically awesome, and quality piece of furniture to add to our home for less than $200.  I will be honest and say it took a ton of sweat equity, but for something of this caliber it will be completely worth it in the end.  So don't be worried to take a change on something dicey, and get out there and make something pretty.

linked up at: www.thededicatedhouse.com, www.savvysouthernstyle.net, jannolson.blogspot.com, lifewithlorelai.com

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So It Begins...Again

I'm talking about a new school year of course.  We were among the lucky few to have started almost two weeks before all of our comrades on Facebook.  Right at the moment it kind of stunk, but likewise we get out much earlier than all of those same Facebook peeps.  I just thought I'd catch up on what's happening with our family.



I present to you the Snarky Teen.  She recently gained a more firm footing in teenageness (if that's a word), when she turned 14, and started high school.  Then I decided to compound everything in her life by putting that kid in braces.  She is feeling her way out in the world, and you guys this kid is a hoot!  Which of course she gets from me.



Then there is the Tween.  She is a newly minted member of the local Jr. High.  She is beyond crazy for sketching, and is super happy to be part of the young women group now that she's 12.  I'm pretty sure she's also secretly jealous of the Snarky Teen's newly acquired braces.



Ah, the Moody Eight Year Old.  Don't let that freckled nose, and smiling face fool you.  This kid is drama!  She's also absolutely fabulous.  Since she turned 8 she has officially become one of the BIG girls.  She loves the perks of being a big girl, but sort of hates the new improved 'big girl' chore load.

My Destructo Girl isn't so little anymore, and isn't bent on the very destruction of any and everything in her path.  I think she may be coming out of her destructive streak.  I may have to give this kid a new nickname.  She is sassy, and deceptively cute.  She is in love with her new teacher, but was so sad that her kinder teacher wasn't moving up with her.  She is developing nose freckles.  They're kind of the best.

Then there is The Babe.  She isn't such a babe anymore, and no matter what the sign says she isn't 7th grade material just yet.  She turned 4 this summer, and this is her last year at home.  She has become the bossiest kid EVER.  She makes a lunch with the sisters every morning, and enjoys her boxed juice as if it was the finest beverage on the planet.  She also regularly tries to lie to me about her age hoping that I'll get her enrolled in school sooner.  Sorry, no can do babydoll.  I enjoy our morning snuggles to much to give them up before I have to.

So beware. Madness is rampant here.

But that's not all...

Last but certainly not least is Señor Hotness himself.  He's the newest member of the University of Louisiana Monroe's online degree program.  So yeah.  I'm dating a college kid.

Learning to Blossom

We've had our house up on the market all summer long.  We have had some really good traffic, some so-so traffic, and then nonexistent traffic.  Our purpose of moving was to sneak extra days with Señor Hotness, and to get moved and settled before the school year started.  If the sale of our house didn't fit into those perimeters then we were determined to take it off the market, and settle in for the long haul since our oldest is going to high school this year (not that I'm even remotely old enough for that).

I've also heard tell that you can always bloom where you are planted.

The silver lining here is that our house is pretty much the bomb!  I put any and all projects off for months while our house was listed because no-one can come look at it mid-paint job.

Our church family rocks, and this is a great community that we have landed in.

So this is me, chosing to blossom bigger and brighter than ever.  This is going to be interesting...

Spray-Painted a Dated Electrical Outlet

When you buy an older home you inherit the sins of the previous owners.  Usually those aren't so bad, and honestly our home here was pretty kicking.  The only truly awful monstrosity that this house had to offer was the dreaded Monkey Bathroom.  Not only had the entire room been wallpapered with a really obnoxious pattern, but even the outlets had been wallpapered.  Yuck!

So naturally in true fashion I gave the entire room a overhaul, and then looked at that discolored, outdated plug mocking me.  

So there was a blue dyed spot on the plug from being wallpapered.  I thought it was a scorch mark, and freaked out all over Señor Hotness.  He talked me down from the ledge, and told me it was just a discolored spot and not a sign of impending fire.

First, cut the power at the breaker.  Then I used a spray primer from Krylon especially made for use on plastic.  WARNING: This is a very thin product.  So make sure you use short spurts instead of heavy-handed spraying.  Otherwise it will just run right off of whatever your are spraying.  After the appropriate dry time I hit it with a white Krylon Fusion spray paint also for use on plastic.

Then my next step was to use a spray clear coat.  Also from Krylon.  I used this to protect my painted surface from the wear and tear of use.

Then try and I might I managed to overspray the tape just a smidge.  I also noticed that the sink surround needed to be re-caulked.  So after re-caulking the surround, I then touched up with the blue using a small fine tipped brush (the kind you use on hobby projects since I was dealing with touching up a really tight area).

You might ask why the heck would I do this instead of just replacing it.  While all the supplies will run you about $12 up front it could be used to transform many, many outlets.  In all honesty I would have normally just replaced this with a new outlet, but it was in a tricky place with the sink surround. So I would have had to modify the cover plate, and honestly I wasn't confident that I could do it without breaking it.  So I looked in my paint stash, and found all I needed for this frugal DIY project.

Its ok to continue to use something old if its still functioning.  Its better than it junking up a landfill somewhere, but there is no reason not to give it a little love and a new lease on life.

linked up at:  www.thededicatedhouse.com, www.savvysouthernstyle.net, jannolson.blogspot.com, mythirftstoreaddiction.blogspot.com

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Tricking Out The Trash: Baby Bed Springs

So I changed my blog name.  Backwoods Babies just didn't really describe me anymore (I will be leaving it up so the old links will still work).  If there is one thing that does describe us it is the gypsy lifestyle that we have always led (with the exception of that first 18 years of my life).  We have never lived anywhere longer than 5 years, and most places haven't even made it that long.  Someday I'm sure our roots will take hold.  Until then we will just enjoy the people and places we get to experience, and indulge our wandering spirits. 

Ok so in this house I've had a bit of a problem with garbage.  Do you guys know how many people throw away awesome trash around here, and what kind of crazy person passes up a curbside freebie?  I mean why scour craft booths and thrift shops for something you can do yourself.  I have gotten so many awesome freebies that you couldn't get in the garage it was so full. 

So one day I was bringing a giggly drugged up teen back from a dental appointment when I saw this totally awesome baby bedsprings just chilling on the curb.  Now if you are asking what the heck you can do with a baby bedspring you obviously haven't procrastinated on Pinterest before.  I mean I've seen it all from a laundry hanger (like over at A Diamond in the Stuff) to an awesome photo display (like over at Kammy's Korner).  The possibilities were practically endless.

So I wasted little time pulling a u-turn to nab this thing from its perch before someone else came across my treasure.  This thing had a fun rusty patina to it that gave it just the right about of shabby.  As I was putting this thing in the back of Stella (my trusty suburban) I was intending to give it the common treatment of photo display.  However, it just didn't feel right.  I was going to be hanging this on the wall at the foot of the playroom stairs.  That's a dark area as it get absolutely zero natural light.  So the rusty springs with pictures just kind of added to the darkness of the area.

Then I remembered I had a bucket full of drippy crystals that had been taken down from my confused dining room chandelier.  So I thought maybe I could use those to add a bit of sparkle to the dark space.  Something for the light to reflect off of.

I really liked the look, but wanted a more textured feel to it.

So I pulled out a roll of gardening burlap I had on hand, and then hot glued it to the back of springs.  Now gardening burlap has a much looser weave than the crafting burlap that is so common.

WARNING: Make sure you use a wire brush to clean off as much of that rust as you can where you are gluing, or the hot glue will just peel right off.

While the crib springs aren't overly heavy they are to heavy to simply nail up.  So I spend $2.49 on some large cup hooks from Walmart.  Using a stud finder I pre-drilled and then screwed these straight into the stud.  I had visions of one Destructo Girl trying to free hang from this sucker so I wanted it to be sturdily mounted.

After I installed the hooks I ran into a little snag.  The hooks curved up too much toward the wall, and I wasn't able to get the spring hooked onto it.  So I had trim a portion of the hooks off with tin shears to allow the springs to be hung.

I really liked the end result.  Is it still dark?   Yup, but it lends a classy turn on what has become a traditional remake.  

So lets do a rundown of how much this cost me.

Crib Bed Spring: Free@ Curbside Special

Cup Hooks: $2.49 @ Walmart

Crystals: Free @ salvaged from chandelier

Burlap: I'm putting this one in the free category because I've had this forever, but a new roll (3' by 24') at Lowe's will run you $9.98

So for less than $5 you can have a super cool conversation piece to add little sparkle to a dark spot in your home.  All it took was a willingness to handle garbage to give new life and purpose to an old tired piece that had been heading to the landfill.  So here's to making something old new again.

linked up at: http://jannolson.blogspot.com/, http://mythriftstoreaddiction.blogspot.com, www.funkyjunkinteriors.com, http://lifewithlorelai.com, www.the-chicken-chick.com, create-with-joy.com, confessionsofaplateaddict.blogspot.com, www.thededicatedhouse.com

A Slob's Guide to Home Staging

Okay so I've alluded to the fact that I'm lazy in the past, and, of course, by "allude" I mean I have been brutally honest about it.  I'm sure this will come as a surprise to...someone out there, that laziness is probably the number one contributing factor of sloppiness.  Probably.  I'm basing that purely on logic, but I'm not really great at logic so let's just say I made that up (but it sounds legit right?)

So to most of the population all of these will just make a ton of sense, but to a sloppy girl such as myself (or my children) sometimes we need things spelled out for us.  The number two contributing factor to overall sloppiness is...wait for it...the suspense is killing me...CHILDREN! Boom!  That my friends was the sound of a huge truth bomb!  My kids are the worse...at cleaning.  They are pretty much the finest and brightest in every other respect, and I love them dearly which is why I'm still harboring their filthy selves up under my roof.  That and because I'm required to, by law, but mostly the love thing.

So, anybody else find half eaten bowls of mac and cheese hidden under the couch because when I told them to take care of their dish that was what made sense.  Don't even get me started with what I find in the couch.  This Studio C skit is what I think of every time I have to put my hand into the cushions.  That is a scary, gross territory and I am afraid to venture into it.  The couch stuff is just the tip of the grossness iceberg that is my children.  They seem baffled that I would flip over trash on the floor...let me be clear here, ITS ON THE FLOOR!  They can't imagine why potential buyers wouldn't be ok with them leaving panties on the floor, and don't even get me started on the bathroom.   They also can't imagine WHY  I would demand that all the dishes are washed before we go to bed.

Long story short my kids aren't loving my new pro-active keeping the house near a constant state of readiness.  I love it.  I mean holy beautiful house batman!  Why were we living like slobs before?  I want for our house to be ready to be shown at any given time with-in an hour.  Although, my awesome realtor wrote it into my listing that we need 24 hours notice because we flipping live here.  So here it is ladies and gents my guide to be a sloppy housekeeper selling a house.

1. Take out the trash.  One of the last things I do before I walk out of our house about to show is take ALL the trash out.  Nobody wants to smell your funky junk, or see what kind of garbage you have.  So take care of it prior to a showing.  I'm usually an advocate of leaving it until the trash can is full so as not to waste a perfectly good bag, but for this I take a large lawn and garden bag and just dump all the trash can contents into one bag.   Bam, waste problem solved!

2. Turn on the lights, and I mean ALL of them.  You only get one chance at a first impression.  You need to wow them from the time they walk in the door, and keep them interested the whole way through.  I always thought lighting wasn't that big of a deal.  Which is sad since Señor Hotness has worked in the world of lighting for most of our marriage.  When we redid our Texas house we really put a ton of attention into our lighting.  That was the upside to living with a lighting professional.  He knew what we needed, and where we needed it.  It was heavenly.  It was then that I became a fan or proper lighting.  Your home will never look as good as it does when it is well lit.  Light bright spaces are far more appealing than dark areas.  So deal with the energy impact and turn on those lights.

3.  Make sure your window coverings are open.  I know that those window coverings are really wonderful for privacy, but if you've got views use them.  Show them what they have the potential of looking at if they decide to buy your pad.  This is also one of the last things I do before I have a viewing.  Natural light is also an incredible plus.  It brings some of the outdoors, indoors, and helps all the rooms with windows feel bigger.

4.  Give everything a last minute shine.  I have begun to utilize the full power of the horde in home staging.  It is my tween's job to clean all three bathrooms, and it is the moody seven year olds job to get out the furniture spray and give all the tables in the house a good wipe down.  I personally like the Pledge multi-surface for this.  Remember you aren't trying to do a deep cleaning.  Ideally that would have already taken place, and you are just maintaining the cleanliness.  The multi-surface spray is awesome because it also works with leather, and I have her give the family room sofa and love seat a quick wipe down as well.  The teen or I usually give the kitchen that last bit of sparkle.

5.  Make your beds when you wake up.  If you are making your bed when you roll out of it then that is one thing you aren't having to address when you get the call that someone wants to come take a look.  Its easier to straighten up an already made bed then it is having to feverishly make 5 beds.

6.  Make sure your house smells good.  Here is where things get tricky.  What you think smells good maybe super gross smelling to someone else.  So I have a scentsy warmer in the kitchen with a mild smelling wax in it.  The rest of the house gets spritzed with Febreeze fabric refresher.  I have the teen or the tween go through the house after we have finished.  Starting at the top, and coming down and give the sofa's, curtains, rugs, beds and closets a quick spritz.  I'm not talking about them drenching them down.  That would hit potential buyers with a wall of smell so strong their toes would curl.  It takes a practiced hand, but a gentle few spritzes to each room makes a room smell fresh and not at all over powering.  Make sure that you pick a more neutral scent.  For example I personally prefer a fruitier tropical scent, but I know that doesn't appeal to everyone so my Febreeze scent is fresh linen.  It is a gentle scent that smells of fresh laundry which as everyone one can attest is pretty much the best smell on the planet earth.  For the closets that tend to smell like a nasty foot I did get odor eaters because nobody wants to smell someone else's gross foot smell.

I'm pretty sure any and all of these can be found in the Fly Lady manifesto of home cleanliness, but for us mere mortals these are learned behaviors.  I will say I am in love with our clean house, and much to my children's horror have declared that this will be a new way a living for our family going forward whether we're selling our house or not.  These are all great ideas that will help elevate your home when it is shown to buyers.  You want to grab, and keep their attention from the first time they walk in the door.  You want potential buyers thinking about how great their furniture would look in your home, and how they would use all the spaces themselves.  You want them to be thinking about living happily ever after in their home so that you can move on, and create your own happily ever after in your new home.