Friday, May 27, 2011

Seems I Caught the DIY Bug Somethin' Fierce

Have you discovered Pinterest yet? It is a rather addicting way to (mostly) waste time and gain inspiration. Check out my boards if you are a fan of Pinterest, they are rather bare for now but will surely build. I keep looking through several home inspiration boards and the more I do, the more I want to be able to DIY a lot of the projects. I'm talking beds, book cases, built in cabinets, etc. I really want to build Little Dude a loft bed for when he is done with the crib, but that is definitely not a small project, especially for a complete beginner like me. I have a feeling that if I am able to really get into building things, that I won't be able to stop.

In case you missed it, last month I blogged about how I want these for my birthday:

Not to say that I don't still want them. . . but for now the #1 item on my wishlist is a compound miter saw. Something like this:
A slight departure from the shoes, I know. Unfortunately it is an even bigger departure in price; this puppy retails for around $600. . . go big or go home right? I figure with this I won't get an itch to upgrade after a few projects.

Stepping back from dreamland. . . that is not going to be a priority anytime soon. Not this year. Not with our aspirations of a new 4-piece sectional and finished basement. A girl can dream though, right?

This interest of mine may seem kind of random. I suppose my biggest motivation is that I keep finding projects I want done, and I figure I'll have the hubs make them for me. After some of these projects start building up in my mind, I get frustrated with having to depend on someone else to make my visions a reality. . . even if it is my amazing hubby.

Why can't I do it myself?

I guess being raised by parents that tackled (and still do) so many DIY projects rubbed off a little onto me. My mom knows how to work several power tools better than most men I know. I guess in the end I really can't run away from the fact that I am becoming my own mother *sigh*. . . who happens to be an avid reader of my blog (love you mom!) That is something everyone seems to run from, but I guess in this case, I can only be proud if I can figure out even half of what she does.

In the meantime I can borrow tools. . . though not the DeWalt DW718 12" Sliding Compound Miter Saw of my dreams *boo*. I can at least get my feet wet with some smaller projects.

One such project that hubs and I are hoping to tackle soon(ish) is this:
I found it through Pinterest of course.
It is from a blog called Learning to B Me, and here is the link for the tutorial.

This would be an awesome addition for our kitchen because space is pretty much always at a premium. It is a relatively simple project too. I don't think it will get done in the next month or two, but I'm hoping with any luck that it will get done this year. I know if I blog about it, that it is more likely to happen; so feel free to ask me about this come October or November if there has been no mention of it.

I am finding huge inspiration from Ana White; a blogger, "home-maker" and builder extraordinaire! She has an amazing website full of how-to's on building things and a lot of tips and tricks for beginners. I am as beginner as they get so I plan to use any and all resources I can find. I highly recommend checking out her site if you are into some bigger (and cooler) DIY projects.



Enough with the power tools and projects for now though. . . we have a long weekend to enjoy!



Have some over-indulgant cuteness to tide you over until next week:

2 comments:

  1. That is a sweet saw! A Makita cordless drill is on my wishlist, so I'm with ya on the powertool envy.

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  2. We have been looking at putting in a pull-out cupboard similar to that! Part of our kitchen is butted up against the back side of our stairs. It was a dead space until we put in a crawl space (a Harry Potter room as my SIL calls it). But we can still work around the stuff we put in there to put in the pull out cabinet. (I might be a little jealous if you get one before I do!) lol :)

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