UrbanDecline

Project: Crafting Desk for $130 (USD)

Som — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 17:34:00 -0500

We bought our first house last August, and it's taken me this long to get most of the house (and the yard) in order. Now that my girls are both in school, I've given them my little old red desk - "Suzy," as I dubbed it - and set up the breakfast room as their own little "office." And since I've taken up gardening, I've been spending most of my "house money" on plants and the like, so I needed a new desk, and I needed it on the cheap.

My first inclination was to build a sawhorse desk - a door sitting on top of a couple of sawhorses - but I didn't like the lack of storage options such a desk would provide. Then I took another look at the cheap little metal filing cabinet I bought a couple of weeks ago, and lo and behold, and idea was born!

First of all, my desk requirements: I need something big so I can spread out crafting stuff to my heart's content - sewing machines and small desks aren't exactly compatible. I also want it to be a little lower than a standard desk for ergonomic reasons. I want the desk to have lots of storage for office supplies and filing. And finally, I want it to be passably attractive; my office room is separated from the living room by French doors, so it's a highly visible space. What I've come up with fulfills all of these requirements.

First, a word about the materials:

The filing cabinets: I got these at Target for about $30 each. They have casters on the bottom, which makes the desk mobile and easy to move around the room. It'd be a real pain to move the thing without wheels. Make sure you check out the height of the cabinets you buy, or you could end up with a desk that's far too short or far too tall. My cabinets measure 12" wide by 18" deep by 27" high with the casters on, which is perfect for my needs.

The door: The door is a wood interior slab door, which was $30 at Lowe's. It has no doorknobs, no hinges, no nothing - just a flat wood surface, 80" by 28" (they had widths ranging from 24" to 36".) I'd have used one of the many orphan doors cluttering up my garage, but they all had panels (e.g., weren't flat,) so they wouldn't make a very good desk top. You need to put some thought into the width of your door/desktop; sure, a 36" deep desk would be great, but would your filing cabinet drawers pull out far enough for you to get into them? Remember, there's going to be a lip on this desk, and the top drawers will be useless if you can't access them.

Paint: I used a semi-gloss paint, but high-gloss enamel will work too. The glossy paints will hide scratches and nicks better than a flat paint would, and it will wear better too.

I'd rate this project as super-easy for beginners. If you can use a screwdriver, sandpaper, ruler, and paintbrush, you're good to go!

All right, now the instructions! (Click below for extended content:)

Materials:

2 small 2-drawer filing cabinets, preferably with casters
1 plain wood interior door slab
non-adhesive rubber shelf liner
straight edge
sanding paper
quart of paint (semi- or high-gloss,) paintbrush, roller, dropcloth, etc.

Method:

1. Assemble your filing cabinets.

2. Cut the non-adhesive rubber shelf liner to fit the top of your filing cabinets (12"x18" in my case.) It doesn't have to be pretty - this isn't going to be visible once the desk is finished. The liner will keep the desk top from slipping and keep the filing cabinets in place. Now would be a good time to lay out your dropcloth and put the filing cabinets on top of it.

3. Bring in your door. If it has dents or other flaws, pick the best side for the top and lay it top-DOWN on your filing cabinets. Break out your medium-grit (I used 80) sandpaper and get to work! An orbital sander would be your friend here; you've got a lot of wood to cover. You want to sand the bottom of the desk because that will give you a little more traction to keep it from sliding on the rubber shelf liner.

4. Once you've sanded, get your straight edge and a pen and mark where you want the door to sit on the filing cabinets. Mine are sitting 12" in from the edge of the door.

5. Flip the door over, set it in place on the cabinets, and get to sanding the top and edges of the desk. Wipe down the sawdust off the desk, open some windows, turn on a fan, and get ready to-

6. Paint! Paint the top and sides of your desk, using the paintbrush for the edges and the roller for the center. If you need multiple coats, be sure to sand between coats. (Note: It'd probably be a good idea to put on a coat of primer before you paint. I'm kind of wishing I had.)

And you're done!

(Yes, I hate the yellow on the walls, too. No, I did not choose the color; it came with the house.)

There are a lot of options you could play with here. I'm sure you could find a couple of matching filing cabinets on the cheap by searching your local junk stores; same with the door, unless you happen to have just the right door sitting in your basement or garage. You can find discounted paint at some places, too - quarts that another customer rejected, leftover paint from other projects, a neglected gallon your friend's not using, etc. In fact, the doors look pretty nice plain, so paint's not absolutely necessary. You could also opt to stain the door instead of painting it. Point is, the $130 price is for brand-new materials at retail; I'm guessing it could be done for about a quarter of the price if you've got the time and inclination to shop around.

If you're worried about the desktop staying in place, you could use industrial Velcro to hold the pieces together, or attach the door to the cabinets with a bracket and screws, or bolt the cabinets directly to the door (from the underside of the top of the cabinets, obviously.) You could build a double-sided desk for two with a 36"-wide door and four 18"-deep cabinets; the front of the cabinets will line up with the edge of the desk and will sit flush back-to-back.

One of the best things about this desk is the mobility. If I ever need more floorspace in my office for some reason, I can pick up the desk top, lean it against the wall, and roll the cabinets into a closet - voila! No more desk! I can roll it into the center of the room for crafting parties (which I swear I'm going to start doing eventually) so that a lot of people can crowd around and use the desk. I'm even considering rolling it into the kitchen for use on baking days, because I don't have another surface that's a good height for kneading dough. Roll it into your dining room for an impromptu buffet dinner, or put it out in the yard for a garage sale table - the possibilities are endless. Just make sure you keep the leftover paint around, because as much as you're going to be using this table, it'll need touching up eventually!

Mama's got a brand new toy

Som — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 17:53:00 -0400

A kayak!

Last Sunday, we drove up to Springdale, Arkansas to pick up our two Native Ultimate 14.5 kayaks we had special ordered from Lewis & Clark Outfitters. We chose the Ultimate 14.5 for a few reasons:

Fly-fishing: These kayaks are designed with anglers in mind, so they're stable enough to stand up in, have plenty of cargo room for tackle and other necessities, and can be fitted with up to three Scotty rod holders.
Stability and maneuverability: Sit-on-top kayaks offer unmatched stability on the water (they're virtually unsinkable,) and they're far more maneuverable than canoes.
Seating versatility: The Ultimate 14.5 can be adjusted to one- or two-seating capacity, which will come in handy when we want to take our daughters or friends out on the water.
Comfort: There is no kayak or canoe more comfortable than the Native Ultimate. Their highly adjustable seating system is the ultimate (har har) in long-term comfort.
Sustainability: Virtually every component of the kayak, from the seats to the body of the kayak itself, is recycleable. The molded plastic that forms the body of the kayak is manufactured without any harmful off-gassing that could lead to long-term health problems for workers (who are, by the way, located in the US.)

The first major issue any kayak-owner faces is, of course, transportation. There are two options here: towing or top-loading. We chose to load our kayaks on top of our Subaru WRX wagon with a Yakima setup like so:

On the downside, it does take a couple of people to load each kayak on top of the car. On the plus side, the effect on our gas mileage was surprisingly small. It can be a little disconcerting, however, to drive at interstate speeds with a couple of boats overhead.

On Wednesday, we dropped the kids off at school and headed up to Arcadia Lake in Edmond for our kayaks' first time out on the water. Mr. Som had previously scouted a good place to put-in at some mud flats on the east side of the lake (where the carp like to hang out,) so we parked and took the kayaks down off of the car. Between us and the lake was a metal tube-type fence and about 100 meters of mud slope; we carried one kayak down at a time with very little difficulty. We stowed our gear, switched to wading sandals, put on our personal flotation devices (PFDs,) and were ready to launch.

Launching was easy, despite the shallow waters, and we both managed to shove off without getting our feet too muddy. It was a terribly windy day, with sustained winds around 30 mph and gusts around 40, but we started off with the wind at our backs and got the hang of paddling pretty quickly. I was amazed at how easily the kayak slid over the water. Steering took a little time and effort to learn, but the physics are pretty simple.

Mr. Som stopped and anchored to cast a few flies while I practiced paddling around the mud flats. Drift was a serious consideration in that water, what with the wind and all, so I set the grapple anchor that came with the Ultimate and enjoyed the sunshine for a while. Unfortunately, the anchor set a little too well, and I had to call Mr. Som over for some assistance. He managed to haul up both the anchor and a sizeable branch.

As I mentioned earlier, the Ultimate is designed so that you can stand up in it, so I practiced that for a little while. It's going to take more practice; I have yet to earn my sea-legs. Mr. Som stood up to cast for a bit, and he reports that he got the hang of it pretty quickly.

The wind started to pick up at this point, so we spent another 15 minutes paddling around before heading back to our put-in spot. This time, we were going straight into the wind, and that was another "good learning experience," as my mom would say. A few times, I found myself paddling and not getting anywhere, which is a strange sensation, but I soon figured out the trick to paddling into a headwind: Don't stop. Maintaining forward momentum isn't all that difficult, but getting started from a dead stop (read: backward drift) with 30 mph headwinds requires a heck of a lot of muscle power.

We took the kayaks out for a second time on Friday afternoon, this time at Lake Stanley Draper with the kids in tow. We'd outfitted the both of them with PFDs and assured them that everything was going to be safe, but I still had my doubts about how secure they'd feel on the water. Both girls had previously shown misgivings about being on a powered pontoon boat on Lake Tenkiller, and once again, the winds were kicking up some good whitecaps on the lake.

With one little girl in the front seat of each of our kayaks, Mr. Som and I set off, and I'm pleased to report that the girls took to kayaking like fish to water. Even when the water got choppy, they both leaned contentedly over the side with one hand trailing in the water. There was much complaining when it was time to head back to shore ("I wanna go back by the dock!") We're all looking forward to our next family kayaking adventure.

I heartily recommend the Ultimate 14.5 for family recreational kayaking. The design allows enough room for "kid necessities" like sunscreen, towels, water bottles, and snacks, and I had no qualms about putting my daughters into these incredibly stable kayaks. I can't recommend them for angling yet, since I haven't had a chance to cast, but I'll post my thoughts on that as soon as I get the chance.

Rabbity-Rabbit and Silky-Kay

Som — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 22:55:00 -0500

Hello, blog! Long time no see!

For Christmas this year, my beautiful and generous husband gave me some Amy Butler fat quarters and two new books: Aranzi Aronzo's Fun Dolls and Cute Dolls. As it turned out, they arrived just in time!

My younger sister gave birth to her second daughter a couple of weeks ago, and what better way to welcome the new addition to the family - and show some love for the three-year-old new big sister - than to make a couple of new dolls?

Rabbity-Rabbit is, of course, on the left there, with the letter "F" for Finley, the new baby. Silky-Kay, with all of her non-baby-safe red hair, is on the right, with "H" for Hayden, the proud new big sister. They both sport new dresses in fashionable white felt with pink embroidery detail around the seams. I hope that they - and my two nieces - grow to be the best of friends.

Hydrotherapy: Hayflour Pack

Som — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 23:47:00 -0400

I'm taking the hydrotherapy semester at school right now, and I am just adoring it. Even more than massage! I've learned some good, simple, basic stuff that almost anyone can do at home for regular health maintenance or to be more comfortable during illness. Right now, I'm using a hayflour sack.

Use of the hayflour (or hayflower) sack has been popularized by the Kneipp Institute in Germany. Consider it a pre-electricity heating pad with moisture and aromatherapy. Hayflour is what ends up on the barn floor after the hay (regular old hay, bailed up from a regular old field) has shed little bits and particles of itself all over the place. Traditionally, this is stuffed into a reusable cloth bag, steamed over boiling water, and placed either directly against the skin or over a dry cloth barrier. The advantage of the hayflour sack is that it can be heated to boiling temperature - 212 degrees Fahrenheit - without burning the skin, because it puffs up as it's steamed and creates an air barrier between the heat and the skin.

What I have is a commercially made hayflour sack from Kneipp in Germany. You can't get these in the US anymore, unless you're willing to pay shipping from Germany, because the US distributor no longer carries them, and I can't find another source. This is what the hayflour sack looks like:

Problem is, the only steamer I have is a bamboo one that fits inside my wok, and it's not nearly large enough to accomodate the hayflour sack, so I had to improvise. One canning pot + one round drying rack + four lengths of yarn =

Success! It worked out pretty well:

Theoretically, I could make these myself. All it would take would be a trip to my grandparents' haybarn, a little sewing, and some velcro. I'll definitely be posting instructions in the future if this works out. The smell of the hayflour sack is incredible - like a meadow on a hot summer day, or for me, like "home." The moist heat is intense, and it would be fantastic for cramps or sore muscles.

Yes, I really do need to figure out how to make these for myself. It's too awesome to do just once, and I'd really like to offer these to clients.

Kata Felicity Scarf v. 2.0

Som — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 23:35:00 -0400

I finally finished a second Kata Felicity Scarf from Mindful Knitting today:

For this one, I used Rowan Kid Classic in Shade #845 "Battle." It's not nearly as soft as the Knit Picks' Andean Silk, but I love it all the same. This one is staying with me. Finally.

First Day of School

Som — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 23:28:00 -0400

The girls (both of them!) had their first day of the school year this past Tuesday. Here they are that morning, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed:

My oldest is five now, and she's starting kindergarten. Youngest is three (turning four in October,) and she's started preschool. They both love their school, are doing well, and are making new friends. I'm just trying to get used to having extra time on my hands (which is why this will be followed with two more new posts.)

Ch-ch-changes

Som — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 23:46:00 -0500

I figure it's time for something of an update on what's been going on around here. I've been busy - I might have mentioned that a few dozen times? Having one kid in school - just one! - makes time fly like you wouldn't believe, unless you've been there.

On the tea front, I have a beautiful new setup for gongfu cha that I really need to get some photos of.

On the craft front, I've been happily folding away with my new origami papers and books. Yet another thing I need to get pictures of. The scarf is coming along more slowly now. I usually knit while watching TV, but we've been watching mostly subtitled foreign-language stuff lately, and I find it hard to split my attention between reading subtitles and knitting. Hopefully I'll finish this gosh-darn scarf before next winter. But don't hold your breath.

Icy Day Project: Tea Tray

Som — Sat, 20 Jan 2007 22:24:00 -0500

A few years ago, I picked up a couple of plain wood trays on sale at Michael's. The first ended up in the hands of my daughters, who plastered it with Hello Kitty stickers and drew crayon portraits of vegetables on the sides and bottom. The second sat, neglected, in the garage until this past week, when I decided I needed something else to paint.

This was a quick, simple project, but it's already been terribly useful. The tray keeps all of my tea-making supplies nice and tidy, and it's the perfect size for transporting a pitcher full of tea and two tiny cups from the kitchen to the living room.

The gaiwan in this photo - the little brown clay cup with a lid, decorated with orchids - met an untimely demise when it developed a hairline crack as I poured hot water into it a couple of days ago. I'd only had it since Christmas, so I e-mailed the company my husband bought it from - Imperial Tea Court in San Francisco. They responded quickly with an apology and an offer of a refund or store credit. I took the credit, of course, and ordered a new gaiwan, along with another pitcher, some new tasting cups, and a couple of their Pu-erhs.

So I have to say that Imperial Tea Court is a fantastic company offering delightful teas, teapots, and tea-making accessories you won't find anywhere else on the web, and they have wonderful customer service to boot! I'm particularly pleased with their Yunnan Pu-erh, which is affordably priced and brews up with the distinctive, calming smell of topsoil after a hard spring rain. Absolutely delicious.

Icy Day Project: Origami Bookmarks

Som — Fri, 19 Jan 2007 01:46:00 -0500

I like to keep a variety of origami papers around, just in case I'm suddenly in need of a nice, repetetive activity. Today was such a day, and I found a wonderful use for some stiff, patterned origami paper I've had lying around for ages: bookmarks!

I'm always in the middle of three or four books at once, but I hate spending lots of money on bookmarks that I'm going to lose anyway, so these are a great solution: plentiful, cute, and cheap! The design is very simple, but I think it showcases the ornamental papers nicely. I'm going to keep them in a pretty bowl on the bookshelf. The bookmarks fit over the corner of a page, like so:

I found the origami instructions on this googlecached now-defunct webpage. To make your folds nice and sharp, use a bone folder or the blunt edge of a butter knife. You can find origami papers at your local craft store; make sure you use paper that's 4" square or smaller.

Painted Dollhouse

Som — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 21:48:00 -0500

For the past week, I've been pretty much stuck in the house because of the ice storm that hit here in Oklahoma last weekend. Ariana's preschool has been out all week, and it's cancelled again tomorrow.

On the plus side, this gave me some much-needed crafting time. Nothing motivates me to dive wholeheartedly into a project like cabin fever! First project: Painting a wood dollhouse.

My parents bought the dollhouse for my daughters this Christmas. It's Plan Toys' "Victorian Dollhouse," pictured below:

And after a week of sanding, priming, taping, and painting, this is the finished result:

The primer and topcoat sealant is Sophisticated Finishes Primer and Clear Sealer. The paint is all FolkArt acrylic: door, "Hauser Green Light;" roof, "Slate Blue;" trim, "Wicker White;" and main body, "Cardinal Red."

I haven't painted the interior of the house, and right now I don't have any plans to do so. Painting around the staircases would be a special challenge requiring a brush with a right-angled handle and a dentist's mirror to see around the corners, and I can't say I'm feeling up to that right now.

But all in all, I'm very happy with how the house turned out. It looks much better now.