Creativity / Project Reports

Gardens, Preserving, Weddings and Paint

2011-09-23T19:20:00Z

Lately we've been busy with a bunch of different things. Dad planted over 200 tomato plants this spring, so I've been doing quite a bit of canning and freezing this summer. This is my first year with canning, and, thanks to instruction from a good friend, I've suceeded fairly well. I'd like to try making applesauce this fall as well. We're trying to grow a fall crop of greens this year, which we don't usually do. We'd like to be able to have lettuce, kale, spinach and chard in the fall. The recent rain has been a problem though, as it washed away a lot of the seeds we had just planted.

Joshua are Lisa are married! Yay! I am so thankful to the Lord for this godly couple and their families. It was a blessing to witness their wedding vows. I was privileged to be able to help with the wedding preparations; i.e., putting up tulle, ribbons and flowers, helping pick the flower girls' petals (I felt like a deer ), ironing, learning how to make punch and serve wedding cake, etc. It was good practice for when I'm going to help out with Joel and Sarah's wedding in November. It was also a blessing to have the Staddon family stay at our house during the weekend of the wedding. We were able to spend some quality time getting to know one another better, and look forward to having them over again.

A few weeks ago Mare and Suzi convinced me to paint my room. They moved most of my furniture from my room to theirs. Then I had to decide on a paint color. I had already consulted with Becky on colors, so we soon decided to go with Sage Tint. Due to dry walls, inexperience, garden picking, work on the deck, and a bunch of other things, it took us about 3 weeks to get my room finished. I put the finishing touches on the trim paint last week. Becky and I decided to go with a beach theme for our room, and I like how it turned out. Thanks for all the help, guys! Tim helped me pick out the paint, and paint the first coat on my walls. Mare and Suzi helped with cutting in, and I had lots of good tips on painting from Mom and Dad. Did you ever think of using a shower cap to cover your hair while painting the ceiling? That brilliant idea was Mom's.

Skylight Screens

2011-07-11T20:44:00Z

For a long time our family has had problems with our sunroom. Although it's a very nice room at certain times of the year, in the summer it's too hot and sunny, and in the winter it's too cool. Last year we bought some Coolaroo, a long-life knitted fabric that provides shade temperature reduction, and 90% UV blocking and privacy screening. But we couldn't figure out how to attatch the Coolaroo to the skylights; we tried using stick-on velcro on the skylight exterior, and that didn't work because all the sun up there melted the adhesive.

This year, though, I was determined to make it work. I searched high and low all over the house for the pieces of Coolaroo fabric that we'd used last summer, but could find neither hide nor hair of them. Somehow we had stored the pieces somewhere and then forgot where they were. Funny how that works. ; ) I finally ended up just cutting new pieces. Then I measured the skylight perimeter, and started making a wooden frame to tack the Coolaroo to. This would have been fairly easy, except that I forgot that what I had measured was the outside perimeter, and I needed to make the pieces bigger in order to fit over it. Oh well, time to try again! Fortunately, I didn't have to recut the short pieces of the rectangles, just the long ones. When I finally got one frame finished, I brought it onto the sunroom roof to try it out. Oops! just a bit too small. I hadn't left enough wiggle room. Back down to the workroom I went to make eight more long pieces for the frames. I guess you live and learn. When I finally got the frames to fit properly, I hammered brads into the corners, and one in the middle of each long piece. Then I stretched the Coolaroo on the frames, ran them back up to the sunroom roof, and...Voilà! They fit. Yay! The skylight screen project was finally a sucess!

So what did I learn through doing this project? Well, I learned that you have to think things through. You can't just go ahead and do them without forethought. If I had just made a plan on paper, or if I had made one frame and fitted it before doing the others, I could have saved myself a lot of time and trouble. I also could have asked Tim to help me think it through. And I might have gotten the project done before the beating rays of the sun came out over the sunroom. (That's one of the hard things about working up there...you get really hot from all the sun) Next time I do a project I will try to remember--not just to, "measure twice, cut once", but to stand back, take forethought, and make a plan before I begin.

"Without counsel purposes are disappointed: but in the multitude of counsellors they are established." Proverbs 15:22

"Every prudent man dealeth with knowledge: but a fool layeth open his folly." Proverbs 13:16

"The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness; but of every one that is hasty only to want." Proverbs 21:5

Basketmaking

2011-03-29T16:20:00Z

Lately I've had an itch for basketmaking. I don't know why, but I have. So, I started looking around for some natural resources that I could use to weave baskets. Some of the natural resources available to us in our neighborhood are: ~ honeysuckle vines ~ grape vines ~ corn husks ~ blackberry shoots ~ cattail stalks and leaves ~ grasses ~ iris and daffodil leaves, and ~ splints from maple, dogwood or other hardwoods. I decided the most readily available thing would be cattails, so I Suzi and I gathered some on Monday as we were walking the neighborhood. We soaked the brown leaves for 20 minutes, and then started making baskets. I wanted to try a square basket, so I made that, and Suzi started on a semi-circular one, but then opted for square as being easier. Maryanne made a cute little semi-circular basket, and then later I wove another basket made of wire and spun wool. It was a fun little project, and now we all know a little more about the difficulties and joys of basketmaking!

The Wonders of God's Creation

2011-03-22T12:42:00Z

We started some plants from seeds, and they're starting to sprout. It's so fascinating to watch the growth and wonder of God's creation.

"He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth;" Psalm 104:14

"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven...a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted." Ecclesiasties 3:1-2

Delicious Chocolate Covered Almonds

2010-07-30T19:41:00Z

I decided I wanted to make a little snack one day, so I got one tablespoon each of white chocolate and dark chocolate, and warmed the mixture in the microwave for about one minute. Then I dipped roasted almonds in the chocolate and put them on a baking sheet covered with wax paper.

Then I put the sheet in the freezer and left it there for about half an hour. After that I took the chocolate-covered almonds off the sheet of wax paper and put them on a plate.

~~One note about making this recipe--just make sure you don’t warm up the chocolate too much like I did! If you do, your Chocolate Covered Almonds might be burnt to a crisp and stink really badly.

Modeling Knights

2009-02-13T20:12:00Z

It all started when we were having family read-aloud time. Mom was reading us a book about some boys who decided to act like knights, and founded an order of knights, the O.W.K. Mare and Suzi were played with their plastic horses, pretending that they were talking horses. The horses were getting ready for battle by making armor and 'robot humans' out of clay to help them fight. Then I decided that I wanted to make a knight on a horse, too. A few days later, Tim and I remade the first knight and gave him better armor. Mare, Suzi, Tim, and I made some more knights and armor. And I decided that the knights needed to have something to fight, so I made a lizard. And we made some bad guys, too. That was a lot of fun!

Making a Toboggan - Concept art & intro

2009-01-31T00:48:00Z

I'm planning to build a 6 ft oak veneered toboggan. This is how far I've gotten so far.

Octagonal Pen/Pencil Box

2008-12-29T22:01:00Z

This is my latest woodworking project. It was, needless to say, lots of fun to make! :-) Here’s how I made the box:

I built a prototype with piece scrap and then decided I would try to make a more finished project. I cut my different types of wood to the right thickness and then glued them together, after that I planed one side flat. I cut off the other side to exact size on the table saw. I setup a stop block on the miter saw so that every piece is the same size and then cut eight pieces. I glued up the box by taping the all of the outside edges first and then gluing the whole thing together. I built the bottom using the same basic idea.

Note-
Set your saw to a 22.5°angle for octagons. On your saw usually 0° = 90° and thus 22.5° will actually be 67.5°. If you wanted to make a different sided box all you would have to do is divide 180 by the number of sides. For Example – 180°/6(six sides) = 30° or 180°/18(eighteen sides) = 10°

Great is Thy Faithfulness

2008-12-24T14:13:00Z

I was thinking of something that could be used as a parallel between the Christian life and my green house plants. A few times I had forgotten to water the plants and they started wilting. I praise God that He never forgets us, and always remembers His promises to us.

Matthew 11:28 "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Genesis 8:21-22 And the LORD smelled a soothing aroma. Then the LORD said in His heart, "I will never again curse the ground for man's sake, although the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done. (22) "While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, Cold and heat, Winter and summer, And day and night Shall not cease."

Luke 21:13-15 "But it will turn out for you as an occasion for testimony. (14) "Therefore settle it in your hearts not to meditate beforehand on what you will answer; (15) "for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist.

Hebrews 13:5b For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."

Matthew 28:19-20 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, (20) "teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.

Homegrown Lettuce In Winter?

2008-12-13T18:48:00Z

I'm doing a little experiment - trying to grow lettuce to maturity in a small greenhouse. Here is how big the plants are right now.

I'll keep you posted on the progress.

My First Cabinet Project

2008-08-28T01:53:00Z

I've been wanting to blog more, but I just haven't got around to doing it. This is my latest woodworking project - A 10 drawer oak raised panel cabinet. I have been working on it for about a week now, and the cabinet is nearing completion. We bought a router table system from Sommerfeld Tools which included plans for making this cabinet as a base for the router table top. We also got a few jigs from them which really sped up the process of putting together the cabinet. This is my first cabinet, so I still have lot's to learn, but I'm very pleased with how it's turning out. Everything except for the drawers is glued , sanded, and varnished.

I look at cabinets differently now that I know how everything fits together. I'm thinking of some other projects that I could use raised panels on, because they are quite easy to make, and look really good too. I'm actually considering being a professional woodworker sometime - maybe. In today's "throw away society" nearly everything is made out of pressed wood, and furniture lasts only a few years. I'm encouraged to try my hand at making quality furniture.

When you look at wood what does it make you think of? Wood should remind you of your Creator. How could such beauty evolve from nothing? Rom 1:20 "For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse."

Playing Go

2008-08-27T12:23:00Z

Simple board games are a great way to keep your hands busy during read-aloud, or just to spend some time with someone you care about. Recently I discovered a couple of new games I hadn't heard about before. One of them is called Go, or Weiqi. (wikipedia it here). Apparently it is a fairly popular game in China and other eastern countries like Japan. It's very simple and easy teach to someone, but hard to master the game. The Chinese consider this game one of the most important skills someone can learn.

You play by placing stones on a lined board, and try to surround the other player's stones. Once you do, they are captured and removed from the board. Whoever ends up with the most territory at the end of the game wins. You can play this game very easily with just some buttons or coins, and a lined piece of paper (materials: pen, straightedge, paper). I decided to build a wooden board for this game last week out of some ash wood from our backyard, and the pieces by spray painting stones. I didn't make the wooden bowls (not quite that advanced yet) - they came from the thrift store - a couple $'s value). Here's what it looks like:

I hadn't attempted a project quite like this before, and a few lessons learned are:

1. Don't use a ball-point pen to draw straight lines, unless you want an inky mess. The ink will form in a blob on the opposite side of the ball, and you have to remember to keep cleaning this off or it will get all over your hands, clothes, and the piece you are working on ;)

2. Some varnishes dissolve ink, and some don't. I tested both the ink (trying Sharpie and ballpoint pen) and the varnish on top, on a piece of scrap wood to begin with. The first varnish I tried caused the ink to run and seep into the wood - and generally look very ugly. It was just by happenstance that I tested the varnish beforehand, because I didn't anticipate any problems, but it saved me some grief...

3. When I tried a second coat on the stones, I used the same cardboard backdrop - a big mistake. Why? The fresh paint melted the old paint on the cardboard, causing the stones to stick. Then when they dried and I pulled them up - the paint peeled back off. Obviously, preparing the back-drop is just as important as preparing the piece itself.

Hopefully these tips will help you avoid some re-work if you ever try a similar project.

Here is a game in-progress (I'm playing with Suzy). She picked the game right up - and it's already a challenge to keep up with her

Names made with wood

2008-05-01T21:52:00Z

We've had a large bandsaw for a while now, but it hasn't gotten much use. We tried to re-saw lumber with it, but discovered that a bandsaw doesn't cut parallel to the table - it cuts at an angle. Since we couldn't figure out how to cut big boards along the fence, I thought I would try to cut some small and intricate work with the saw.

I switched blades to an 1/8inch blade, and started to cut some curves. I found that I could cut some fairly tight curves. I then decided to try to cut out a name out of wood. I printed out a the name in a fancy font and modified it so all the letters would be connected together and so that none of them would be too thin either. I taped the paper which I had already printed onto a piece of oak as a pattern. Cutting those tight curves didn't prove as easy as I thought but I finally finished. All I then needed to do was the sanding, and varnishing and I was done.

Here are two of the finished pieces.

An Amazing Lego Ship

2008-02-19T18:53:00Z

Do you know of something that you can create with Legos that will become nearly infinitely complex but is built with the base pieces of 4 Lego bricks? This is an amazing creation which is only limited by the number of Legos you have. I'll show you how to build it.

1. First you put 4 Lego pieces(which have 8 dots on top) together which looks like this.

2. You put 5 of those pieces together like this.

3. You put 5 of those pieces together like this.

This could go on practically infinitely(building a bigger and bigger ship) - like I said, only limited by the number of pieces you have.

I'm not sure who concieved of this idea, but it definitly is an amazing design. I only had enough pieces to get to level 3.

The number of pieces used goes like this:

4@ level 1
20@ level 2
100@ level 3
500@ level 4
2500@ level 5 and so on...