Disclosure: I DID NOT STEAL THESE IDEAS OFF OF PINTEREST!
There is nothing worse than coming up with a cool idea and then someone says "did you get this off of pinterest". I do have a creative mind and I wouldn't blog about these cool things if I stole the ideas from someone else. Now I LOVE Pinterest, don't get me wrong, it's a great way to get lost in DreamLand and kill time when there is nothing else to do. But I can honestly say that I have pinned so many "DIY" projects and have never even tackled one of them....Ain't nobody got time for Dat!
However, I DID have time for junk shopping and painting a board
FIRST PROJECT:
Man I wish I had before pictures, but Holy Guacamole was it a mess. The worst part about living in a place that means "in the woods", is that there are leaves and sticks and pollen and pinecones and random woodlands sky falling crap all over the deck. The only reason that I let this natural pain get to me is because I do not have the proper tools to clean it up. I could just go to Lowes and get an outdoor broom, rake, trashbags and whatever else you need....but "Ain't nobody got time for dat!" But seriously, I would rather shop for other things....like patio furniture. SO, SOLUTION! I'll just get the kitchen broom and sweep everything into the "No Man's Land" below the deck. Nobody ever goes past the deck......nobody.......so that's what I did. Once the deck was clean I could place the following pieces into the proper deck locations
Then I decided to make an outdoor "coffee" table. I didn't want it to be boring or ugly, so I came up with a brilliant idea.....why not make a giant checkerboard table. Why you ask? Well for starters, who doesn't love checkers? Cracker Barrel was smart enough to put checker tables in their restaurants because they know people will play them.........and now it's an icon. Secondly, it's an easy game to play when not drinking coffee AND there are multiple ways to play it. You can play the traditional way (but instead of markers, we have Beer Tops) or you can make up your own game, which will probably be done here. So here is how I made my checkerboard "coffee" table
First I went to Lowes and made some new friends. There, we figured out what a regulation checkerboard table (64 squares-thank you smart phone) There, we cut the board into a square that's...wait do the math....32X32....perfect because my base is 24 diameter (Mrs Burger my geometry teacher would be so proud)
Then I began painting----I didn't have primer, so I just did multiple coats of the base color, whatever that is called.
2. Got my yard stick and measured 8 4X4 squares
(Say hi to Fin)
3. Next, did the same thing on the opposite side
4. Connecting the lines and trying to draw straight
5. Did it again across and then taped off--but this is tricky. I figured out that I had to do it twice, because you can only paint every other row at 1 time
6. Picked my awesome color
7. Painted every other box on every other row
8. Rinse and Repeat and BAM!
9. Took it into the Garage....let it dry....put some polyurethane on it and it was ready to go!
2nd Project: Pillows for the Living Room
Now all of my pillows are homemade....except the center one on the couch (good ole Marshalls)
Now I am done with the arts and Crafts for a while. I just looked at my calendar and every Saturday (starting yesterday) is booked until July 20th!!!!! However, next weekend is Charleston, April 13th is Ailsa's Wedding, and July 6th and 13th I will be in SE Asia! 5 are fun and the rest I will be working hard making that hard earned mula.....so crafts.......Ain't nobody got time for dat
