Flashback

I've been slowly working on organizing and purging things in our basement & office (both of which have not been in great shape since we moved in). Last time I worked in the basement I stumbled across a bunch of my design boards from college. It was fun to see them again, but I had to admit to myself that it was not practical to keep them around! So I took some pictures in case I would ever need them as examples for a future job or anything, and kicked the originals to the curb! And just for fun, here is a peek at some of my favorite projects....

Office Space Design:

Contemporary Condo Design:

 Classical Boutique Hotel Design:

Post-War Modernism Living Room (one of my first designs!):

Local "Ugly Kitchen Contest" Design:

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 Living Room Design:

Lots of floor plans:

Curb Appeal Project:

Did I ever mention that I minored in Geology? I did. Just for funsies. I kept a few things from those classes too, just because they make me feel smart. :)

And that's just some of what I had down there. Hoarder much? :) But I have to say it was fun looking through that stuff again and reminiscing about the old college days. College was great. *sigh*

Even though I tossed my design boards, I pulled off all the original drawings to keep. I put these and a few other papers I kept in a couple binders in the office. Nice and tidy. And much more space efficient.

Tell me I'm not the only one who keeps college stuff around to make myself feel good. And also tell me what you studied! What was your favorite class or project?

First Trip to the Zoo!

Baby B has his first trip to the zoo over the weekend! We picked a nice, sweltering day for our excursion (hitting 103 degrees!) but between the indoor exhibits and light breeze, we still managed to have a great day!

 Happy to be at the zoo!

 My & my sissy, ready for some fun.

 We're not short. He's just tall.

 

 Okay, maybe we are a little short....

We didn't even plan to all wear blue! It just happened! It's called "destiny."

 Pointing at the tiger.

 Baby B's new friend, Mr. Snow Leopard.

 Checking out the sea lions with daddy.

 Watching the dolphins.

 Meerkats, maybe? He loved getting right up to the glass!

 "Why hello, Mr. Gorilla. I refuse to turn my back on you. Don't try any funny stuff."

 Not the best way to travel. But B is very enthusiastic about it.

 Zebras!

Too much zoo for such a small boy. Nap time!

It was a long day at the zoo, but Baby B LOVED it! He couldn't get enough of the animals. Except when he was sleeping, of course. :) He's just tons of fun!

$5.45

Baby B and I walked to a yard sale at the park last weekend! Then we had to lug our loot home. After lugging it around the nature trail and playground first. Ha ha. Not very well planned, but it was a very fun day! Here's what we came home with:

$1.00 - Pool floaty for Gramps & Grammy's pool!

 $4.00 - A high chair booster. I've started watching one of Baby B's little friends sometimes and I wanted them to be able to eat lunch together, but not have to store a big high chair. So this was perfect!

$0.30 - Two metal lanterns that I plan to spray paint and use on the patio

$0.05 - A small metal piggy bank

 $0.10 - a small bead toy that Baby B played with in the stroller on the way home. $0.10 well spent!

 Free - a bag to carry it home in!

I strapped the highchair on top of the stroller and carried the rest of it home in my new bag. :)

The One That Got Away: A whole box of mason jars for $10. I didn't have enough money or a way to transport them, so I walked away. Then I called my sweet husband who offered to come pick them up for me! So I ran back, and saw someone else walking away with them. Fail. And my phone battery died so I couldn't even call N and tell him not to come. Double fail. But overall, still not a bad day!

What was your best find this week? Did anything get away from you?

Play Tent Tutorial

This is (I think!) the last of my birthday related posts for this year! About time, right? :) I wanted to make Baby B a tent that we could use in the backyard or around the house that was easy to put up and easy to store. I needed it to be cheap to build, as well. And I think I pulled all of those things off pretty well! This is how I did it....

Supplies:

• 2 - 8' long 1x3 boards
• 1 - 3/4" diameter PVC pipe
• 2 - 3/4" PVC pipe caps
• 2 - 3/4" PVC pipe connector-type pieces
• 2 - 2" long screws with nuts
• fabric - a flat sheet, table cloth, or a few yards of lightweight fabric
• ribbon - I used about 60" total

Step 1: Cut each 1x3 in half. You will have four 4' long pieces. These will be the legs of your tent.

Step 2: (optional) Use a miter saw to cut one end of each leg at a 22 degree angle. This will make the top of your tent legs line up when the tent is open (you can see this in step 5). If you don't have a miter saw, you can skip this step and it will still turn out great!

 Step 3: Mark a spot 3" down from the highest point, centered on the board (1.25" in should be the middle).

 Step 4: Drill a hole centered on the marked spot. We found a 3/4" hole to be too snug and couldn't get the pole in, so we did a 1" hole instead and that turned out bigger than I would like. Ha ha, oops. So if you have something slightly bigger than 3/4" (like 7/8" maybe?) that would be ideal.

Step 5: Decide how long you want your tent to be, and cut your pipe to that length (a hack saw worked great for me!) I made my pole 5' long, but you can do whatever fits your space/taste. Although I probably wouldn't go any longer than 6' because I think the pipe would sag. Then slide your pipe through the holes in the legs, arranging them as shown below

 Step 6: Put the caps on the end to keep the legs from sliding off. I found that (because my holes were too big, I think) my legs also slid in toward the middle pretty badly so I searched the plumbing section of Lowe's until I found these snap-on connectors that I put on the inside of the legs to keep them in place. Problem solved.

This is your tent frame! It is good for outside like as-is, but I found that inside on the slippery floor the legs would slide open way too far. So....

Step 7: I used 2" screws with washers through each set of legs to lock them into place. That way they wouldn't move even on slippery surfaces.

Step 8: Make a cover for your tent! I used a tablecloth from the thrift store, but you could use any large piece of fabric like a sheet or curtain, or just new fabric from the bolt!

 Time-out to watch Baby B play in the dirt with a fork....

And streak by with a big stick....

Depending on your fabric, you may not need to do as much sewing as me. Basically you just need to get  all your edges finished so they won't unravel. To do that I draped my fabric over the frame to see how wide to make it. I marked the width then cut off the extra leaving 1" to finish my edge (I folded it over 1/2" then 1/2" again and sewed close to the folded edge). Then I draped it over again and marked where the bottom edges needed to end. I finished it the same as the sides (leave 1" extra on each end, fold it 1/2" then 1/2" again, sew along the folded edge).

 Step 9: Next attach some pieces of ribbon or string for tying on your tent cover. I put one on each corner and halfway up each side, as shown below. My ribbons were about 20" long.

 All done! Put on your tent cover and tie all the ribbons to attach it to the frame.

It's ready for all kinds of camping adventures!

 P.S. When you're not using it, it comes apart for easy storage! We just stash it in Baby B's closet until we need it again.

Then just wait for a certain little boy to stumble upon it....

 "Mom, what is this thing?"

 "Ooooo, it's neat!"

That campfire was Baby B's other Birthday gift. I hand-sewed the entire. thing. The things I do for Baby B! The pattern came from the book Big Little Felt Universe and I'm really happy with how it turned out (fyi, it has great projects for little boys!)! I want to make him more pieces for the camping set (and even bought the felt for it!) but this was all the hand-sewing I could take for now. :) The book recommends a wool blend felt, but to buy what I needed for the camping set it was going to cost at least $30. Yikes. So instead I went to Hobby Lobby and spent about $3 on plain old craft felt. I don't know how well it will hold up in the long run, but so far it's going strong. I just made sure not to sew to close to the edges. :)

Have you made any sweet birthday gifts lately? I'd love to hear any gift ideas, especially for little boys!