DIYHerald

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Shopping for your DIY materials

A shopping cart is what you need now. You have a list of projects you want to try, and a month of free weekends to carry them out….

All this creativity and enthusiasm should not be dampened by the heart sinking feeling of having to go shopping for materials. You can take the back breaking work out of shopping for DIY materials by investing in a shopping cart.

A great design now on the market is for the 7 Way Shopping Cart. You can check out what the cart offers on their website: www.suvcoolcart.com

The cart works best with SUV’s and basically minimizes the amount of lifting you need to do.

If you have any project waiting to be started, then the last thing you want to do is hurt your back first. You want to be able to get on with the DIY without pain, or discomfort. After all why are you doing these things if not for enjoyment?

There is a simple pleasure of starting with raw materials and finishing with something made by your own hand. I love to hand make as much as I can including my clothes, decorating the house, even presents.

I use my shopping cart all the time popping down to the local hardware store for the materials for my next undertaking.

My next plan is to make a play “mat” for my son. He absolutely loves cars, trains, fire engines, anything with wheels and has these toys in plentiful supply. I want to make him a little town with roads, houses, a fire station, a train track and trees etc.

Wish me luck and until the next post…

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Window Painting

Many people will have a lovely but plain south facing window.A great way to add some interest to the room and window without much cost is to do some window painting. It does take some time, but I hope you would enjoy the time being creative.

This is much cheaper than buying a stained glass window and more personal than just buying a window sticker. You can easily make a beautiful pattern which will then shed the light of the different colours and shapes into the room, changing as the sun moves across the sky.

It is important to have an idea of what you will paint first, so you should spend some time settling on a design you can draw, and the colours you will use. You can look online for inspiration and at traditional stained glass window designs.

I like to make simple patterns with perhaps a tree or flowers depicted no more.

I think mainly about creating something which will generate beautiful light patterns and colours in the room when the sun shines through.

It is best to use a thin black outline around each colourblock; this adds contrast and gives the image/ pattern strength and structure. Beware of using too much black it should only be used in small amounts.

Colours that work particularly well are yellow, red, blue, and green. You can also leave some sections plain in place of white.

You can use acrylic paints and then the great thing is it can be removed if necessary. You could paint something different every month!

Happy painting and here’s to a creative weekend!

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Decorate your own Lamp shade

A great way to freshen up the décor of your home is to decorate the lampshades.

You will need to start with a plain colour like white or cream but the shape of the shade can be as individualistic and creative as you. I love the drum shape and the pagoda shape.

You will need acrylic paints as these should handle the heat from the bulb without too much problem.

Are you a bit stuck for inspiration for what to paint?

Well first things first, don’t rush into things. Do some online research and look at lampshades on the market that you love. You could print off lots of images and then stick them all onto a nice A3 poster for inspiration.

Keep it simple and don’t get too ambitious.

Once you have settled on your pattern you should firstly draw it lightly with pencil. Then when you are ready you can paint…

Some ideas:

-          I like bold combinations of black paint on a white lamp or for a brighter affect red, yellow and blue.

-          You could use fun characters or do the night sky on the children’s lamp shades.

-          A cute idea for the children’s room would be to put a couple of their hand prints on the lampshade. Hand painting and DIY in one what could be better? The child can choose the colour for the paint on their lampshade, do the hand print with some help from you and so be able to join in with the project. They then each have their own “signature” in their room and it will make a nice keepsake for when they grow up.

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Arrange a cut flower vase

If you and I have anything in common you may have a penchant for the second hand shop. I love to while away the hours looking for bargains.You name it, toys, clothes, items to decorate our home, kitchenware and so on. Anything goes!

One thing you are always sure to find are vases. People always seem to donate these items to charity shops.

The little project in this post firstly involves finding a nice beautiful vase for a cut flower arrangement. You should look for a nice big belly to the vase and a wide neck. I prefer plain vases so as not to fight for attention with the flowers but you should choose one to your own taste.

Once you have your vase you will need to choose your flowers.

Many different flowers can be dried to beautiful affect I like the combination of following:

African Marigold

Globe Thistle

Lavender

Roses

You may need to grow them first! To cut the flowers you need to cut them cleanly at an angle, leaving plenty of stem and trimming some leaves if you deem it necessary.

Then you tie the chosen flowers in bunches loosely and air dry upside down. They need darkness and dry air preferably.

Once the flowers have dried one weekend you can enjoy arranging them in the vase.

Fit some sponge into the vase – using some sand or gravel to put some weight in the base – then push the stems of the dried flowers into the sponge.

You now have a wonderful addition to your dining room table or for decoration elsewhere in the house.

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Children and Safety

Safety is always important to consider when children are around, but if you are decorating or doing a DIY project it is even more important. These are my top tips for keeping your babies (and you) safe:

#1: Don’t leave open paint tins/ glue etc

When you are working it is important to stay tidy. If you have opened a paint tin then make sure you close the lid again well once you have topped up your paint tray. The same goes for other chemicals or liquids like glue. Make sure the lid goes back on well immediately after use, and these items are stored well out of reach from the little ones.

#2: Don’t leave tools lying around

If you want a quick cup of tea, make sure the room where you work is empty of children and the door locked, or all the tools are put away out of reach, and unplugged from the electricity.

#3: Work when they are at school

When possible it is best to work when they are not at home. The last thing you need is children playing around your feet, walking in wet paint, getting tangled in electric cables. If you can’t avoid doing the job when you are home, see if hubby or a neighbor can babysit. Or do a simple job instead which they can join in and help without it being dangerous.

#4: Clear the work area of toys before starting

Before you start work clear the room you are working in from toys. The last thing you want is to go flying across the room on one of your sons favorite toy trains, getting injured to boot.

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Fire Door Floating Shelf

When I was doing a makeover for the house along the way I decided to recycle one of the old fire doors... but what could I make?

Well it turns out fire doors are excellent for making a beautiful floating shelf.

The result is really sturdy, can hold books, knick knacks or even in the kitchen you can use it for pots and pans.

First you need to cut the door. Each door can make two shelves. Measure a depth of about 0.5-0.6m as your requirement for the shelf.

This is not an easy job for a hand saw. You need proper tools.

If you don’t have your own cutter you could take it to the DIY store for them to cut for you.

Once you have your two halves you will notice that there is a cavity in the door. One side is whole, sealed and the side where the cut has been made has a cavity.

You need to choose from the store a strong length of wood which fits inside the cavity snugly. My door used a 4x4cm length of wood. Purchase two lengths of the appropriate thickness equal to the length of the door.

Once home you need to measure up your shelf position (making sure it is level), and then drill holes in the wall. You will fit wall plugs and then screw the long lengths of wood into the wall. Fixings should be in about 5-6 places to ensure strength.  

You can then slot the shelf onto the fixed wood. Then screwing the door to the wood fixed to the wall, importantly from the underside of the shelf so they are invisible.

The shelves can be painted any colour before fixing to fit the decor in the room.

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Heavy lifting and injury prevention

I am in good shape with all the work I do around the house and garden, but I am always aware of the risks of lifting.

Any injury could set me back months.

DIY inevitably involves a lot of lifting, doing the shopping for the materials, and again when you get home, not to mention when doing the work itself.

Anyone can injure their back when lifting incorrectly. Many people lift incorrectly all the time and have no idea about how they should do it properly.

When lifting, or putting something down it is important to keep your feet flat, back straight and bend from the knees not your waist.

Despite taking these precautions injury still does happen.

Imagine my delight then when I saw my neighbour with a wonderful new shopping cart. It is called the 7-Way Cart and it is a fantastic design for a whole range of tasks.

My neighbour had just got back from the hardware store with materials for a project we were going to work on together.

The great thing about her shopping cart was that once the items were lifted on she could simply transfer the items into the car without further lifting. The top tray sliding into the car trunk so items were transferred easily. Then when coming home again transferred back onto the shopping cart using the slide out tray and then brought into the house.

WOW I thought what a great way to minimise all the risky lifting. Of course I had to get one, and I am now happily using mine on a daily basis.

You can read more about this great product and get your own here: http://suvcoolcart.com/

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Broody Chickens

I love my chickens and their funny characters. Scratching and clucking around the yard. They can be silly and I never get tired of watching them.

One year I had a chicken get broody and I had decided to let her sit.

However, then her sister got broody too.

The problem was they wanted the same nest.

At first it wasn’t a big problem as they were laying and collecting up the eggs, but then when they started sitting some sisterly “pecking” ensued.

They were both equally determined and despite my efforts to put one of them off they both continued to sit on the nest. Generally one would be to one side and the other on the eggs but over the day they would bicker and swap around.

Hatching day eventually came (after 21 days), and the clutch of chicks began to emerge.

Two proud mothers clucked and crooned and 10 little chicks pecked their way into the world.

Now anyone who keeps chickens knows that it is normal to lose a few. Chicks are vulnerable to disaster and predators.

However, this particular clutch was very successful withall ten of them surviving into adulthood. After all they had two mothers watching over them with determination!

It was a blast to watch them rushing around the yard a mother at the front, and one at the back, the chicks pecking about between them!

Anyone who has some room in their garden I would thoroughly recommend keeping chickens.

Just 2-3 hens can give you 10 or more fresh, tasty and healthy eggs a week.

I never need to buy in food for my girls leaving them to roam in the garden, and giving them all our leftover food scraps.

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2 Weekend DIY projects

Not everyone has the luxury of one spouse working and the other at home. Most people only have the weekends in which to get home improvements done. Here are 2 easy DIY projects which can be completed in a weekend:

#1. Stencil the children’s rooms

Anyone can do this job in a weekend and it is a great way to give the children’s room a fresh fun look.

Most DIY stores have readymade stencils; just buy what your children are into.For example – dinosaurs, flowers, space themes, letters and numbers and Disney characters. Buy the paint, sponge or paint brushes, some masking tape and you are all set.

Tips:

-          Children love to check their heights you can paint a height chart on one wall.

-          Always carefully fix the stencils in place with good masking tape before painting. Moving stencils make smudges, drips etc.

-          I always use sponge squares to apply the paint. It gives an even tone and prevents the paint running.

-          Put plastic sheeting down to protect the room from spillages.

#2. Make DIY wall art

This is a great way to get creative, and add some simple but beautiful decoration to the house.

I usually go down to the fabric store and choose bright patterned fabric which compliments or contrasts with the colour theme in the room. 1.5 x 1.5m.

You also need two pieces of ply board (0.5 x 1m).

A staple gun. Picture hooks.

Cut the fabric in half, and then stretch it over and around the ply board, using the staple gun to fix the material in place (from the back). The front should be well stretched evenly.

Screw the picture hooks in place, and hang on the wall.

You now have two beautiful fabric paintings to brighten up the dullest room.

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The DIY enthusiast

Hello to you all out there! I am excitedly writing my first post to introduce myself to you. I am a home-maker and DIY enthusiast.

My husband is hopeless to be frank. He has a great job, and does that well, but DIY he does not. Banging a nail is just about his limit!

I grew up on a farm with 4 brothers and lots of practical tasks on our daily lists, so now I am all grown up, when our little house is in need of some loving care, or repair it falls on me.

I enjoy a peaceful life, taking care of our beautiful children, our mischievous dogs, and the house.

DIY is a great way to improve the place you live in but without spending a bomb. It is also a great way to be creative and practical at the same time. As a woman I feel empowered to know if I was ever left alone I could take care of myself.

We don’t have enough land to be considered a proper small holding but I also like to keep chickens, and of course built their little house myself.

DIY is not just about banging and building, there are also important factors such as safety to keep in mind. I will be sharing with you important safety tips – especially important with children and dogs around.

I hope to post about my projects, some things I have learned along the way and lots of tips to get you started or to help you along with your own DIY endeavors.

Watch this space and look out for more posts from me on DIY and all its wonders!