Mistress Maker

Engineer by day, Maker by night! Anything DIY, just ask me, Mistress Maker. Full Blog | Buy Me a Coffee

[mistressmaker]

Hello Fellow Makers~

Sorry for the lack of new posts in the past two weeks! It'll all make sense here soon though. Stayed tuned for an update!

In the meantime, please make sure you're opting into notifications for my new posts so you don't miss out! Just go to my Tumblr, hit the follow button in the upper right corner, then select get notifications ☺️ I only post original content a few times a week!

[mistressmaker]

Ever Need to Transcript Your Audio?

I know there are services out there for this but some of them are very specific to captioning your video, and most of the good ones aren't free or have limitations if they are free. I just wanted something simple to make my video audio into a text document. Ya know?

This is a great tool for content creators to cut down on media creation between different social media platforms. I've recently created a Patreon so I wanted a way to create video content, then take the audio from that video as text so I could use it as a rough draft for Tumblr text posts. I wanted to share it here because this isn't just a DIY blog, it's a Maker blog, which really encompasses everything STEM (science technology engineering mathematics).

Introducing Video/Audio to Transcript! A quick and dirty Python script I wrote that takes any video or audio file you have, translates your audio into english text, then puts the output in a file for your editing pleasure.

You can get my code here.

It's probably not the only script that exists for this purpose but I did it. 🤷‍♀️

If this is something you would benefit from, but you're not a developer/have no idea how to do code things let me know! I'd be happy to give some more instruction or potentially make a nicer interface for it for you non-developer people.

Please reblog, follow, and opt into notifications for my posts!

I post original content a few times a week! I appreciate any and all supported 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

[mistressmaker]

Master Bath Remodel In-Progress

This room has been completely overhauled. Originally an under utilized 10'x10' laundry room, now an enormous master bath for a 1300 square foot house.

When I bought this house, it was only 1.5 bath but when I'm done it will be 2.5! A lot had to happen to fully utilize this space as a bathroom. The highlights:

Structurally supporting the joists correctly in the basement to support a tiled in showed and stackable laundry.

Brand new plumbing to accommodate all the new fixtures.

Moving the doorway to the center of the room so I could fit laundry in comfortably.

Ripping down ceiling tile and replacing it with drywall.

All new electrical wiring for each sink vanity including GFCI outlets and individual vanity lighting.

All new ceiling light electrical for recessed lighting, ceiling fan, and a nightlight.

If you read my last post for my half-bath remodel, you'll know I'm sampling from Victorian, French, and old country colonial styles for my house. For my master bath, I wanted to keep the ornate designs you would expect in victorian and french styles, but leaned a little bit more toward french country/colonial since this is a private room and not an entertaining space.

Budget breakdown for this room:

Master Bathroom Total - $3,937.00

Toilet - $42.51

Vanities - $1064.21

Sinks HD 6/15/21 - $173.06

Shower & Misc Menards 6/16/21 - $1508.51

Tile & Electric HD 6/20/21 - $315.15

Mirror & Lights Overstock - $182.45

Wallpaper - $136.28

Menards 9/9/21 - $38.36

HD 9/24/21 Vent - $5.28

HD 9/20/21 Cement Board - $59.24

HD 9/21/21 Marble Pencil - $178.71

HD 10/12/21 Shower Head - $233.24

This list doesn't include plumbing which I'm counting separately since I'm replumbing my whole house! That said, typical remodels run $10,000 to $20,000 and mine doesn't even come close to the $10,000 mark, even with plumbing.

[mistressmaker]

Half-Bath Remodel Reveal

Okay so it's an early reveal because I still have chair rails to put up, flooring to install, a door to paint, and I need to seal the trim, but like pretty much done???

Keep reading for more pictures, details on how I cut costs, and my inspiration for this bathroom!

The 'original' half-bath last remodeled in the 70s

My house being 120+ years old, I'm trying to keep to that vibe while still making it feel fresh/modern. Stylistically, I've been sampling from french decor, victorian, and old country colonial.

My style of house (Upright and Wing) was mostly built by tradesmen and didn't have flashy things typical of other houses from the time period. I'm trying to incorporate some of that flashier stuff in appropriately just to give it a bit more character. Typically, Victorian homes had parlor rooms with the best finishes in the entire household. To keep to that trend, my living spaces meant for guests have the more elegant victorian/french finishes while the other rooms will have more of a rustic french country/old country colonial vibe.

Floral wallpaper has almost always been popular, but early 1900s trended toward tiny floral prints. This house was built in 1900 so the floral wallpaper felt appropriate, but I opted for a more modern, bold print.

Victorian and even colonial homes had wide trim, wide plank floors, and wainscoting/bead-board commonly in the home. (In fact my house has all those things, but in very, very bad condition with cheap soft pine). I covered the bottom half of my walls with thick 5" trim and bead-board. Chair rails will be coming soon!

Mostly finish trim work in the half-bath

How I Saved Money with this Renovation

The vanity was found on Facebook Marketplace for $50 and repainted to go in the bath.

The vessel sink and faucet cost around ~$130 altogether. (Trying to buy a sink the size I made using this vanity and vessel sink combo would have been well over $200 new)

The chandelier was found on Facebook Marketplace for $50. The couple I bought it off of said it belonged to their parents who obtained it in the 50s/60s (french provincial was popular for a while)

The mirror I antiqued myself and got it off Facebook Marketplace for $20. Find out more here.

Breakdown of costs (minus plumbing which I budget separately because I'm replumbing the entire house):

Half-bath Total- $482.37

Toilet - $87.42

HD 10/20/21 Sink - $56.41

HD 10/20/21 Faucet - $80.03

Wallpaper - $49.08

HD bead-board - $52.98

HD Supplies - $48.27

Amazon Ceiling Medallion - $10.16

More Wallpaper - $33.08

Hardware Amazon Barn Door- $48.95

Hardware Amazon Shelving - $15.96

Keep in mind my bath was completely gutted when I started! I saved a lot of money doing this myself and thrifting items.

[mistressmaker]

Updating

Antiquing a Vintage Mirror

I picked this beauty up on facebook marketplace for $20. I had a really hard time finding an antique mirror of this style cheap. So I decided to recreate the look myself after giving this mirror a little TLC.

The first few pictures shows some repairs I made. Part of the framing had chipped off. I fixed it by using some miscellaneous stuff I had laying around which was hot glue and wood filler. Then I just sanded down the wood filler a bit.

I then gave the wood filler a base coat of somme orangey gold acrylic I had. The color of this didn't matter too much because I covered the entire mirror with Rub'n Buff Gregorian Gold after.

Please reblog, follow, and opt into notifications for my posts!

I post original content a few times a week! I appreciate any and all supported 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

[mistressmaker]

-Mochi-

Our stray kitty 🐱

Mochi showed up halfway through the summer and we've been feeding them since! It's really cold and snowy out now but we have a heated kitty house available for Mochi to stay warm. They're still really feral and scared, but slowly warming up to us. Eventually I will goad Mochi inside 😈

Mochi does look to have been captured at least once already. We have local catch and release programs for strays so they can be neutered/spayed. Mochi's ear looks to be clipped so they've participated in that program!

Bonus video below ⬇

[mistressmaker]

Going Zero-Waste/Recycling Only

Since 2019, I've been replacing products that come with lots of plastic with more environmentally friendly versions. I've replaced my shampoo, conditioner, toothbrushes, and more! Now I'm switching my cleaning products to clean cult!

Clean Cult has soap bars, liquid soap, dishwasher tablets, all-purpose cleaner, laundry detergent, and dishwasher soap. All the packaging is recyclable or plant based! All the liquid soap comes in cartons vs plastic bottles which are much easier to recycle than plastic bottles. The dishwasher tablets come wrapped in a plant based plastic that falls apart with water!

When I've used these products thoroughly I'll come back with a full review of my thoughts and how well they work!

Please reblog, follow, and opt into notifications for my posts!

I post original content a few times a week! I appreciate any and all supported 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

[mistressmaker]

Installing a Shower Pan

I opted for a pan over a tile base mostly because I don't have the experience to do a waterproofed, well-done tile base and also because my floors are unlevel as heck. I was able to shim and put extra mortar down for the pan base to level out the pan.

If you're looking to put in a shower, I recommend watching videos from Home RenoVision! I referenced this video for putting in my base.

How to Install a Shower Pan

Time to replace that old nasty shower? Then you'll need a new shower pan. Where do you start? What do you do? Easy, by brewing up a nice hot

Please reblog, follow, and opt into notifications for new posts!

I post original content a few times a week! I appreciate any and all support 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

[mistressmaker]

I spray painted this ceiling medallion from Home Depot to match my chandelier

I picked up this vintage/antique (not quite sure the age) chandelier from some guy on Facebook marketplace. He told me it was taken from an older home outside of Cleveland that was being demolished. I love giving old items new life so it will be hanging over my bed in the master suite! Sorry for the lack of good pictures of the chandelier. It's currently still in storage!

I wanted to dress up this colonial chandelier with a ceiling medallion to make it feel a tad bit ornate. My design style is a mix of Victorian/French Country(not modern though)/Colonial since it goes with the era of my house so I really think this chandelier will fit right in!

How I Painted the Ceiling Medallion

I started with a base coat of oil-rubbed bronze metallic spray paint from rustoleum. I also have this one hand because it's one of my preferred finishes so I repaint things all the time with it!

After getting a solid base coat of oil-rubbed bronze (especially in the crevices) I sprayed with antiqued brass spray paint from rustoleum. I sprayed about 3 layers over the entire piece just enough for the oil-rubbed bronze coat to show through a bit.

I continued to spray with the antiqued brass but only in places that would be easy to clean. It makes sense that this piece would be darker in areas that are hard to clean and lighter in areas that are easy to polish.

There ya have it! If you want more depth to your piece, there are techniques out there for getting some really dark colors into the crevices. One technique I think is using watered down black paint with a small paint brush painted over the crevices so it can settle in them. But I'm lazy and that sounds difficult! I'm happy with my results!

Please reblog, follow, and opt into notifications.

I post original content a few times a week so I appreciate your support 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

[mistressmaker]

It's Sort of a Kitchen Now 🤪

I had so many people come over to help me make sure my kitchen got done in time for the cabinets to get installed!

The whole kitchen was gutted. It was only like 5 cabinets before shoved in a corner. I opted to utilize the entire 12x15 foot space! I had to make sure everything in the basement was structurally sound before adding all that weight because this house has never had a modern kitchen with stone countertops.

Things that just had to happen to make this kitchen work:

Putting blocking between the joists in the basement.

Adding joist hangers to all the joists below (previously notches and splitting)

Heading off two different joists that were just hanging there in the void or need moved for utilities

Fixing the damaged subfloor with floor patching

Rewiring the entire kitchen to update old wiring, remove bad can lights, and adding gfci outlets.

Made a window smaller to put the sink beneath it.

Lots and lots of drywall patching...

Obviously a lot of finishing touches need to be added, but it's usable!

The countertops are quartz with an extra fancy edge. Cabinets are dovetailed plywood with maple doors. Breakdown of cost:

Sink & Faucet - $424.65

CREDIT FOR SINK HD 6/14/21 - (-$32.99)

Cabinets - $6,476.76

Cabinet Install - $1,800

countertops - $4,054

Fan - $141.57

Labor 6/7/21 - $104

Labor 6/6/21 - $150.00

Labor 6/10/21 - $200

Kitchen Liners - $54.47

Kitchen Metal Pullout - $95.84
 HD 10/12/21 - 50.65

That puts the total for the kitchen renovation at $13,518.95. Holy crap that's a lot of money. Yea it is. But this is a $25,000 dollar kitchen when it's all said and done. If I would have paid an electrician, a plumber, and a drywaller to come out and do all the stuff I did, my bill would be a lot bigger.

P.S. there is no island in the middle because the kitchen acts as a hallway between the front and back of the house. It would just get in the way with guests over and day to day traffic. Kitchen islands are not made for every kitchen!

[mistressmaker]

Things they Don't Tell You How to Fix on House Flipping Shows

Most people don't know how or just completely avoid structural house maintenance. When you go to renovate you need to try and fix it to the best of your ability. Some things I've come across and have had to fix:

Termite damage

Poorly built 'structural walls'

2x4s cut down to 2x2s holding up joists which caused floors to sag

Joists just completely cut off and left unsupported

Giant holes cut through the sill plate

Joists improperly supported across long spans (no blocking or bridging)

Notched joists splitting

Sinking posts

Now I'm not a carpenter, or a structural engineer for that matter, but I've been referencing Renovating Old Houses by George Nash. It's got a lot of really great DIY information for fixing common issues in old houses. I definitely recommend picking up a copy if you plan on doing any structural work on your house new or old! There were things in there I could not find through searching the web.

Another great reference is the This Old House YouTube channel and Home RenoVision. I have really gotten a lot of great information from these resources and fully recommend them!

If anyone is interested in how I solved any of the above listed problems in details leave a note! Otherwise, those references have all the information you need!

I'm trying to get caught up on posting so that I can start going more in detail with current projects. Please follow and opt into notifications for new posts! Most of my posts get lost in your feed. When I post consistently, it's usually only twice per week. So if you like my content please opt into notifications 🙏🏻

[mistressmaker]

⚒️DEMOLITION DAY⚒️

It's pretty easy to convince all your friends to come out to destroy shit 🤪

The house has come a long way since I took this video but I'm trying to catch you all up! My post will start getting more detailed once I can start posting current stuff so bear with me!

In the mean time, please follow, reblog, or like my stuff. I really appreciate it ❤️❤️❤️

[mistressmaker]

I didn't know a new roof could make such a difference until I saw this 😍

[mistressmaker]

My Creepy Farmhouse Basement

Comes with its very own ecosystem of spiders, centipede, silver fish, moldy spiders, and more!

No I'm not happy about it but I've become immune to spiders being in unexpected places unless they're wolf spiders...

Follow for more house posts!

[mistressmaker]

Making the golden throne a bit more classy.

I just picked up this chandelier for $50 on Facebook Marketplace! 😍 It's going into my half bath and I'm soooo excited to put it up!

[mistressmaker]

I just recently posted about my new old looking electromechanical chime hooked up to the ring doorbell, but I still have this super nifty old mechanical one on my door which is 110% staying.

[mistressmaker]

I'm putting a lot of smart technology in my house, but who says you cant mix new with the old? I bought a vintage look electromechanical chime to hook up with the Ring doorbell. It's a super easy Diy project!