DIY "Stained-Glass" Windows (At least it looks like stained-glass)

It looks like Stained Glass
But It's Actually Window Film

When we moved into our home 3 years ago, I knew going into it that I wanted to redo every single room.  The home was built about 15 years ago and needed updates everywhere.  Our basement is unfinished so we no longer had the luxury of having a designated family room.  Our main room of our house needed to be able to accommodate watching football on the flat-screen tv.  The only problem with flat-screen televisions is the fact that a little bit of glare makes the viewing experience terrible.

My main focus was not on these windows because I knew they would be a huge undertaking so I decided to put a band-aid on the problem for the time being.  Three years have passed and the band-aid project is long past it's due.

Paper Blinds From Bed Bath and Beyond

I taped up paper blinds with double stick tape for a weekend fix, knowing full well this was very temporary.   The main reason this project took so long to come back to was my own indecision.  On the one hand, I wanted to be able to block out the bright sunlight, but yet I still wanted to be able to see out the windows.  Since the windows are so high up it would be impossible to open and close curtains without an electronic system, but the price of this made it out of the budget.

I kept thinking and pondering and finally came up with the perfect answer.  It's called the miracle of "Vinyl Clings."  I have used them in the past so I know they are not too expensive, they help with heating costs and they can hold out the glare.

I watched a few videos made by the vinyl companies that are posted on Home Depot's website and decided my beautiful picture windows were due for their time to shine.

I didn't have the patience to order the window film and then and wait for them to come into the store so I decided to see what they carried in their stock.  It turns out they don't carry a lot, so I drove around until I found the perfect combination.  I went to Lowes, Home Depot, and Menards until I found the vinyls I wanted.

Dated Trim

After removing the paper, I also realized there was one other thing bothering me about the windows.  I hate the dated trim. Oh, don't worry, this was the easiest fix of all. I still had half a can of stain leftover from my kitchen table project, so all the trim could match with only a little effort. Once again I went to work rubbing stain on the wood.



Rather than taping off I used a large sheet-rock putty knife to block the area I didn't want stain on next to the window or the wall. It is especially handy for the floor boards that bud up to carpet. Just push the knife into the carpet and hold it back while rubbing the stain on the floorboards. No stripping required. I did tape the tops of the floorboard because taping there was fast and easy. I just wanted everything done in five steps or less.  My rule of thumb is, if the taping takes too long then it's not worth the effort.  Every time I go to work I make a decision based on easiness.  If it is easier to just cut the paint or stain in with a brush I do it that way, but if taping is easy to do, then it is faster to tape.

I taped the top of the floorboards and used a sheet-rock knife to hold the carpet back and stained the entire room in about 10 minutes. This is so much easier than painting and I love how it turned out.

Look at the difference of the before and after.  The picture above of the trim is what the woodwork looked like throughout the house.  After I added my new stain it made my heart sing with joy.  This was even before I added my vinyl to the windows.  

I even added stain to the stair rail and the front door.  Ok, I promise I will get back to my windows, but sometimes in the middle of a project you realize you need to do additional things to make it all happy.

On the corners I used ARTSCAPE CITY LIGHTS WINDOW FILM which costs about $20.  I needed two of them for my large windows.  For the middle window I used GILA 36-in W x 15-ft L Bronze Heat-Control Adhesive Window Film.  This runs about $45.00.  As you can tell from the picture, you can still see out, but the glare is reduced tremendously.

The application process for the windows is not too hard, but it's not a piece of cake either, especially when you are on a ladder that high up, but remember, it has been 3 years of looking at a set of windows I hated, so the payoff was worth the extra effort.

I love how it all turned out!

Oh, And After All This Staining, I still have a Half a Can of Stain Left.
You Won't Believe What Else You Can Do With a Can Of Stain.
My Best Project of All is Still To Come!!!
You Won't Want to Miss It!

Sorry for shouting, I just get so excited when a plan comes together.

New Sew Drop Cloth Curtains

Design Your Own No-Sew Curtains

I have very large windows.  It would be very costly to try and make or purchase curtains for them.  I made these curtains out of drop cloths purchased from Home Depot.  You can buy drop clothes for as little as $10.  I had to get the $40 set because I have such a large area to cover.

Hang curtains from clips and you won't have to sew the top at all.

Just to add a little flair, paint a couple of stripes on the bottom of the curtain.  

To save money use your wall paint on the curtains as well.

Tape off the canvas.  I figured out after I was done, it would have been better to iron the canvas before hand to make it easier to tape in a straight line.  The canvas is heavier than the tape.  

Lay the fabric on some cardboard to paint.  Measure off the width of the stripes by laying a cake box or other similar object down to use for marking.  Mark the spots with a pencil.  Go all the way across.  Then run tape along the lines.  Paint right over the middle line and go to the edge of the outer pieces of tape.  A roller works best.  

Add the clips and iron the entire curtain

Iron the hem to the length you desire.  Add two folds if possible to help reduce fraying.
Apply "HeatnBond" Iron-on adhesive to secure the hem in place.

I absolutely love how it turned out.  This entire project cost me $40 although I used the paint, clips and iron-on's I already had.

Even an old barn looks better with a fresh coat of paint

Desk Make-Over

I had plenty of stain leftover after I completed my kitchen table project so I decided to see how many projects I could complete with the same can of stain.  I had this desk in my entrance way, but it had seen better days.  I spilled hot wax on it among other things.  I didn't feel up to stripping it so I just stained right over the existing paint.  The previous job I did was with spray paint.  Since it was not peeling at all I didn't need to sand it, so I just started applying stain.

This is the before picture. 

A close up reveals the trouble with this desk.
Lots of scratches.

The stain I have been using is Rust-oleum brand
I highly recommend using good gloves

I started out with cheap fragile gloves and they ended up breaking through.  It's a lot of work washing the stain off your hands so invest in some good kitchen gloves.  You will be glad you did.  Rub the stain in going with the grain of the wood.

When I originally painted this desk I took off the hardware prior to painting.  With stain you don't necessarily need to.  I rubbed right over the brass handles.  I wanted them to look a little aged and less brassy anyway, so the stain helped me to accomplish this look.   "Even an old barn looks better with a fresh coat of paint."  David O Mckay

Kitchen Table Remodel-DIY

Glaze Coat Table

I have been pinning kitchen table make-over pictures for over a year.  I really don't like my dated table so I always keep a table cloth on it.  All the different DIY projects seemed to be way too much work and cost too much money.  For Christmas this year we got a little money from grandparents so I decided to use the money on some DIY projects.  My table was top on my list.  The first thing I did was pick out the paint for the bottom half of the table and the chairs.  I picked the color based on what was on sale in the blooper paint section of Home Depot.  I found a can of great paint that retails for $35.00 a can on sale for $5.00.  It was an off white color.  I highly recommend a good paint that does not require priming or two coats because chairs and the table have so many grooves.

The next thing I did was purchased some sponge brushes, one good brush and a roller.  I solicited my husband and two sons.  We put cardboard all over the dining room floor and everyone started painting.  I went around with the roller and caught drips and took the grooves out of the paint while the others all painted with the sponge brushes.  We were able to paint the entire table, and 8 chairs in less than two hours.

I did not sand or strip the chairs or the bottom of the table, just painted right over the top.

My table is not 100 percent wood.  It has a pressed board on the top.  For this reason I could not sand it down to pretty wood.  It also had bubbles in the pressed wood and a few paint globs from other projects.  This was easy to fix.

Over the years I have not been very nice to the table, because I always knew I was going to refinish it.

My table has two leaves as well.  I put them all on and started sanding.  This was't a major sanding job, just enough to take out the worst of the grooves.  I couldn't sand down all the bubbles because it would have taken the pressed wood off the top, so I just gave it a quick once over.

As you can see from this picture that adding the stain didn't take away the problem with the bubbles.
Do not worry.  This will be taken care of in the last step.
Staining the table is very easy.  Just rub stain on with a cloth.
It takes a while to dry between coats.  Usually about 6 hours.  This is the part that is hard for me because I am not very patient but since the stain is not actually going into the wood, it needs time to dry along with re-application to get the dark wood look I was going for.  For those of you with real wood tabletops this step will be faster because the stain with seep into your luscious wood.

The first time around I put a shellac coating on my tabletop.  This looked good initially but I found that it didn't hold up, so I sanded it off and changed it to a glaze coat instead.

I let the shellac dry for an entire week and it never hardened up.  I also could still see the bubbles in the table.  This is the point I realized I was going to have to come up with a different finish. 

This one can of stain goes a long way.  I used it on this table, a desk, a large dresser, two end tables, an auto-man, and a sectional, stair rail, and all the wood trim in my living room.  

http://youtu.be/PPyZ5ffPEfk

Using a glaze coat has its pro's and cons.  The best part about it is it drys in 24 hours.  The worst part is it takes quite a bit of patience when it is being done.  The biggest key to success when using a glaze coat is to hold back at least a quarter of the product to drip off a stick into the holes or div-vets.  These will eventually level themselves out to a glass like look.

Bomb Threat - What would you do?

I just found out there is a bomb threat at my son's school.  Some parents are picking up their kids.  What would you do if this were you?  This is a copy of the article that was posted a few minutes ago.

Bomb Threat Tweets Put Police & School On Alert

Updated: Mon 1:08 PM, Dec 08, 2014

By: LeAnne Morman



Three tweets threatening sent Monday morning warning of a bomb at Papillion La Vista South High School are being investigated by school administration and police.

Papillion La Vista Schools spokesperson Annette Eyman says the tweets came in one after another on Monday, from an account that was newly created. That account has since been taken off Twitter.

Papillion police searched the school, finding nothing. There are extra law enforcement officers at the school today and the FBI has been contacted. Investigators are working to determine the individual who sent the tweets.

The tweets were from a twitter account and read, in part, "@PLSHSTitans I am serious, I will bomb the school during the day and shooters will be in the building this week, watch out here I come."

"I have bombs made. This week I will bomb the school and put lives in danger, watch out."

An email was sent to parents and an announcement was made to students of the threat, however, school remains in session. Eyman said, "If parents want to call their children out of school, it's certainly the parents' choice as always."

Another News Post

By Marjorie Sturgeon. CREATED 1:21 PM

PAPILLION, Neb. (KMTV) – School officials are investigating threatening Twitter posts directed at Papillion-La Vista South High School.

A spokesperson for the school district says authorities were notified about Twitter posts after they were discovered Sunday afternoon. The district also sent an email to parents Monday:

"We want to make you aware of a situation we are dealing with at Papillion-La Vista South. An anonymous bomb threat was made to our school on social media. Law enforcement was immediately contacted and they are aggressively investigating the situation. We do have additional police presence at the school today. We can assure you we are working with the police to do everything possible to identify the source of the threat. We want to assure you that we are taking all measures to make sure our students and staff are safe and continue to operate in a normal fashion. We ask for your cooperation to help keep this situation in perspective and if your child has any information, please contact a school principal. Thank you for your support and we will keep you informed as more information becomes available."

The posts made on a Twitter account that has been suspended made reference to bombs and a shooting at the school.

Police searched the school, but didn't find anything suspicious, according to school officials.

The FBI and local police are investigating.

Update.  At 9:00 p.m. the student was tracked down and caught.  It was a hoax.

Kansas City With Friends 2014

I Appreciate the Small and Simple Things In Life

When I was a young girl growing up on a small farm in Idaho, finances were tight. My parents had four children in four years and then one every other year until all nine children were born. I am the third of nine. As I think back on those years, I didn't know then how the struggles at such a young age were actually strengthening me and preparing me to appreciate the small things in life.

Saturday my sons Nathan, Grant and I watched the movie “Karate Kid.” As I was watching it with them, I started to think of the great principle taught. In the movie a young boy named Daniel wanted to learn karate. He asked an old man named Mr. Miyagi to teach him. Mr. Miyagi tells Daniel if he is going to train him, he needs to do whatever he tells him, no questions asked. First Mr. Miyagi has Daniel wash and wax a whole line of cars, all in a particularly unnatural motion using both hands. Wax on right hand, wax off, left hand.

Then he is told to sand a large walkway, paint a huge fence, and finally paint an entire house.  Each new task given, Daniel was told to do the chores in an unusual way.  Finally, when he was almost done with the house, Daniel gets angry.  He thinks he is being taken advantage of as slave labor.  Mr. Miyagi then proceeds to show Daniel all his hard work has actually strengthened him and trained him.  He instinctively is able to do karate because his muscles have been taught the correct movements.

I think growing up with very little has done the same for me.  I was taught, through lots of hard times, how to become stronger.  Even though I am stronger, I have still never forgotten what it felt like to want.  As a very young child, we rarely used the heat in our rented farm house because it cost too much money. We would cut down old trees in the woods or on the farm, haul the wood back to the house, stack it, chop it and heat the house with a wood burning stove.  Just getting the house warm was a lot of work.  

I remember on very rare occasions my mom would turn on the heat in the morning, just until a fire could be built.  We had one floor heat vent in the house.  To me, there was nothing better in the entire universe than standing on that heat vent in my night gown and letting the heat cover my entire body.  My nightgown would balloon out and dance around and the joy from this was immeasurable.  There was only one problem, I also had two other sisters and two brothers who wanted a turn on the same heat vent and the heat would only be on for about 10 minutes, so we would each get about 30 seconds and then it would be time to rotate.

This is the house I grew up in.  It has been renovated, updated and moved onto a new foundation, but it still brings back many memories.

I can remember thinking, when I grow up I want a house with lots of floor heat vents, and I want to sit on the heater until the inside of my soul is warmed up.  To me, that would be an example of pure joy.  Now, all these years later, I still remember the wish of my young childish desire.  I do have a house with a lot of floor heat vents, and I still do not take for granted the absolute joy of sitting on them on a cold brisk morning. Throwing a blanket over me to help direct the heat now takes the place of the nightgown, but the joy is still the same.  I don’t think there will ever come a time in my life that I will not appreciate simple basic things and heat in my house on a cold winters’ day is at the top of my list.

Who’s with me?  Is there anything in the world better than a blanket and a floor heat vent?

The weather outside is cold. 

This picture was taken today out my back window.  BURR!

Dear Santa

Get Wrinkles out of clothes in 5 Minutes- No Iron Required

Great Idea

Joke of the Day

Quote of the Day

No Soliciting Unless...

I have noticed that it is becoming popular to see signs outside of many doors with No Soliciting notices on them.  This has been a trend for many, many years, but more recently I have seen signs with an amendment to the no soliciting sign.  I have seen a lot of different versions of these, but most of them have something that indicates that if you are selling girls scout cookies, you can ring the bell but not if you want to talk about Christ.

In my church we talk a lot about Christ and if you want to come up to my door or write a post on my blog, and talk to me about the Savior, I welcome you with open arms day or night.  In the Book of Mormon there is a scripture that explains why.  It is in 2 Nephi 25:26, it says, 

“And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.”

I know a lot of my friends who are not of my faith often wonder why we spend so much time trying to share our beliefs with others.  There is an article that explains it so well, called “Come and See,”  If you read this article or watch the video, it will explain why my “No Soliciting Sign” has an exemption to anyone who wants to talk about the Savior. www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/10/come-and-see?lang=eng&media=video#watch=video.

I Have The Best Sister In The World - Humor

I Wonder If My Sister Would Say The Same About Me?

Joke of the Day

Doughnut Tire Swing!

How to Make a Doughnut Tire Swing

Get an old truck tire and scrub it with soapy water.Let Dry Completely

Drill some large holes all around one side of the tire.The hole side will be on the back side of the swing.
The holes will keep water from collecting inside the tire.

It also help keep mosquito's from nesting in your swing.

Paint the side of the tire that has the holes the color you want your doughnut to be.

We chose a golden yellow. Let Dry.

Flip tire over and paint the"glazed" frosting color.
We liked chocolate brown.
Paint it wavy to look like it's dripping down in the edges.
Once the"chocolate"color is dry, add sprinkles with a small sponge brush.
Use all different colors.
Once that is dry, spray with a clear coat of polyurethane spray paint.
This helps keep paint from peeling.

Now your tire swing is ready to hang.
We will give hanging instructions soon.

Guest Post by Christie Call

Joke of the Day

The thing I love most about children, is their absolute innocence. There are so many times when you misjudge, or get frustrated with a child, when really, they are not trying to be bad. A lot of our trials with children really stem from communication and understanding. At times it would do us all good to slow down and try to remember what life would be like if we didn't know everything we think we know.

I have a great friend who has a child that puts everything in her mouth. I'll call her Lizzy, (names have been changed). We were getting in an elevator and little two year old Lizzy saw some food on the ground and before you could blink an eye, she had it in her mouth. I'm not sure if it was a piece of chicken nugget, or dog food. Either way, to this little girl, it looked as good as anything else she might be asked to eat.

Later on in the evening, she was lucky enough to find some already chewed gum on the ground. In her mind, she figured it looked delicious and interesting so she popped it in her mouth. After her mom told her to spit it out, five minutes later she spotted a discarded cigarette. She felt the need to pick it up and taste it too. This is when my sweet friend recognized the need to stop everything, and get down and look into her sweet child's eyes and explain in detail, on a level she could understand without confusion, why we don't pick everything up and put it in our mouth. What a great teaching opportunity and parenting moment.

Had she punished this little girl at this time, she still would have missed a wonderful teaching opportunity. This same day I witnessed a parent on the complete opposite end of the spectrum. I was standing in line at a store when a father and son who appeared to be about the same age, around two years old, came in. As soon as they entered the store the oxygen in the room seemed to get sucked out. The father was yelling and screaming and calling the poor little guy names. At one point, his phone rang and he talked the same way to who ever was on the other end of the line. I looked at this little boy and he seemed to be mentally crushed and broken. I just wanted to scoop him up in my arms. From my perspective this little guy was expected to follow a set of instructions far beyond his capacity to understand. In the end both the child and the parent were left angry. Neither one was satisfied with the outcome.

I look to the bible for help whenever I wonder how to handle the raising of a child. “For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth” (Hebrews 12:6). I know at times we need to chasten our children.

President Boyd K. Packer has observed that when a person in a position to correct another fails to do so, he is thinking of himself. Remember that reproof should be timely, with sharpness or clarity... and then showing forth afterwards an increase of love toward him whom thou hast reproved, lest he esteem thee to be his enemy.

I love it when I see a parent who does this in such a wonderful manner.