Cartwheels and Pearls

Well make that a success!

My parents some how ended up with this trunk from my grandpa. It's an absolutely gorgeous piece in great condition. But the top of it was horrible. I mean that fabric... those stains! She always used to set two brown pillows on top of it to cover up the fabric.

We just lifted the top part up and the cushion actually unscrewed fairly easy.

It was so simple and took me practically ten minutes to just stretch the fabric over it and staple! We were originally going to use the fabric to make a head board but my mom found this one at Salvation Army for around $20. It's not something I would have originally picked but it's definitely grown on me.

I mean just look at it! It goes great with her new bedspread which only comes out when the dogs are gone.

              
Next cut it out using an exacto knife or scissors. It doesn't have to be perfect.

                   Find some sort of thin wood that the scroll saw can handle that is big enough for the letter. I used some old shelf pieces that I was going to throw out.

Pick which side you want the top to be. I picked the more porus side which I thought wouldn't require as many coats of paint. Trace your letter onto it.


Using the scroll saw cut out the outline of it. If you're doing a letter that has inside parts to it, wait. If it's a simple letter like H, T, or I then you can just do it all now.



Thread the drill bit through the hole and then work your way to the outside edge and cut out the area.

My saw kept jumping so I ended up with some jagged edges that I was too lazy to fix. Sand all the edges.

Drill holes to hang it up if you'd like. Don't wait until after you paint it like I did!


I decided to paint my letter white since I'm giving it as a gift. This way the recipient can paint it whatever color they choose.

The dark back required around 3 coats of paint.

Just kidding. Someone didn't give me a hammer...

I got it myself! Last night one of our eating chickens got ate himself. An animal beat us to it. But they also left a HUGE hole which had to be patched up before the remaining 4 were killed.

Since my dad is away on a fishing trip, it was up to my sister and I to fix the hole.
Well the wire was completely torn and I wasn't in the mood to find some more wire and a nail gun, I had to find a better solution. I enlisted a helper to get the job done.

 Well actually she enlisted her self. The hammering would have gone SO much quicker if she hadn't helped.... and she is reading this over my shoulder.

 Anyway, we put a bunch of nails facing out in a board I found in the garage. Hopefully we don't need it anymore.

Then I climbed into the cage with the beasts and had my sister hold the board while I put a few nails into it.


I also managed to hit my thumb with the hammer. And that's why I prefer screw drivers.

This fix was messy but did the job. Hopefully it keeps the chickens safe until Monday when we tote them off to the butcher. Um what? The baby turkeys will be in here next as soon as they're fully grown!

 Here it is in it's new home!