Harper House Rules

Here is another project I did a while back, thought I would share it also. I decided I would build Dane some toy boxes. I could just buy them, but where is the fun in that??:) So, it all started with some cabinet doors I found at a flea market. I bought them with no purpose in mind at the time, just liked them, and at $1 piece, I couldn't resist. Here they are:  When I decided to build the toy boxes, I thought these would work great as lids. Now I just needed the sides. I lucked out and found this old shelf made of solid wood for $5 at a yard sale. I tore it apart and started measuring and cutting. I also ended up going to my grandparent's house and rummaging through the barn for some other wood and sound several solid boards to help me out.  Here is the assembled box. I put on hinges and lift bars that I bought from Lowes- which was honestly the most expensive part of this whole thing. About $20 on that stuff.  Here is the first phase.....I could have left them wood-...

Well...I will just go ahead and admit it, I am CHEAP. Painfully cheap. As in- "there is no way I would ever pay full price or buy a new anything" kind of cheap. Besides, it is hard to get creative with new and expensive stuff. But, on the other hand, if you buy it used and cheap, then it frees you up to turn it into a one-of-a-kind piece that you can be proud of, without much fear of messing up. Having said that, I do not want to sacrifice style or beauty just because I don't have a botomless bank account. Where I might have to skimp on money, I try to make up for in creativity.So, for this project, I bought a $40 dresser at a used furniture store (solid maple, with dovetailed drawers!) and a $20 desk from craigslist here are the before and afters. All it took was a couple of cans of good spray paint, modge podge, some scrapbook paper, and rub on polyurethane. Voila! I am pretty happy with the result.  I probably could have changed the drawer pulls, but I kind of likes...

  It is a saying I use often. I was thinking yesterday about a conversation I had with my Dad recently, and wanted to share it with you. We were talking about the move to Illinois and how hard it was. We were talking about what it is like to uproot your life and start over somewhere new. Then the subject of my moving around alot as a kid came up, and my dad apologized for about the zillionth time about the fact my home life as a child wasn't very stable. Bless his heart- I know he has genuine regrets for some of the decisions that were made. I have know that for a long time. I have known for the greater part of my life that all of the things that weren't so great about my childhood were not intentionally done by my parents. They made mistakes. I was affected by those mistakes. None of us is a perfect parent, myself included.   As he apologized (again), I heard myself interrupt him to say "No, Dad. Really. I don't hold a grudge about it. I know that it wasn't the l...