Welcome to Grover Woodworks first weekly Link Party.  I hope that you will share your projects with us.
I know I really enjoy seeing what everyone is doing.

The Party is open until Sunday 4/4/2010 at 11:59pm.

From Grover Woodworks

Here is a Coffee Table that I made out of 2x4s.



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Here are the Rules:
1. Select any project that you created using any type of woodworking.  If you cut, beat, sanded or just did something with wood consider that woodworking.
2. Add a link of you post to the party – This is a link to the actual post not the main page of your blog.
3. Give a description of your project so everyone knows what you are featuring.
4. Grab the button above and add a link to this party so that your readers can join in on the fun.

The herb bed is springing to life thanks to the beautiful sunny and warmer weather. I am excited to see good initial growth since the herb bed was put in just last year. The herbs will be transfered to pots for the move. I posted a picture of the thyme that is looking quite good a few days ago. A few days ago I noticed good growth in the oregano and chives.OreganoOregano is one of my

Everything is happening so fast!    

Ever feel like this?


Or this?
Piles are looming.............landscape designs.............interior designs............phone calls..... a gazillion details.......time wasted searching for things;  keys, cell phone, files....... And I miss reading my favorite blogs and commenting.



I WILL get out there.............it will all come together................it always does



This week we are partnering with NEST candles in promoting Autism Speaks. And April is Autism Awarness month.
Laura Slatkin, creator of NEST candles has an autistic child and Laura has developed  the 'Blue Garden' fragrance, a refreshing burst of spring with scents of Blue Hydrangea, Hyacinth and Forget-me-nots with fresh green notes. BUT...........100% of the proceeds goes to Autism Speaks!

Join us in the launch April 1st and April 2nd at the shop. Refreshments, extended hours (until 7pm) and Scentimental Gardens will be donating 10% of our sales to Autism research.



Some of the aforementioned plate spinning is of my own doing.
But I am excited to share some news........we are opening our third shop in Chicago. Preparations are fast underway and there IS SO MUCH TO DO as we hope to open in May! But until further updates save June 18th for our grand opening party......and I cannot wait to reveal who our special guests are once all the details are finalized.

Opening at the same time, next door, will be my good friend Julia Edelmann of Buckingham I.D. and the Chicago blogger of Material Girls.................Oh do we have plans!


Then it is off next week on an antique buying jaunt, one of life's little pleasures. Birmingham, Knoxville, Atlanta and Louisville.


This time will be different...........the newly retired Steve will be the driver/co-shopper.
Some of our conversations;

Me;   "If I need a bathroom break will you stop?"
Him;  "Of course, I am retired now!"
Me;   sigh.........

Him  "I will help you buy"
Me:  "Ok, so....you will learn about antiques?"
Hin:  "No, I will watch what you are spending".
Me   SIGH..........



Sister used to join me on these trips, but as you can see she is busy. Busy with new friends, such as Art Smith. Sound familiar? That is the newly svelte Art of Oprah's personal chef fame. But if in town, his restaurant 'Table 52' is a must!


Happy Easter!
Debra

First RobinMarch 24, 2010A few days ago I spotted the first robin of 2010. That's a sure sign of nicer weather to come so now it's time to get excited. Spring is always a fun time of the year in the garden. This one will be just a little bittersweet with the upcoming move. I'm sure everything will work out well and I'll be able to report not only on this garden until we move but the new

Everywhere I turn I see nothing but men involved in the art/craft of woodworking.  This hobby/craft/profession seems to be a male dominated one.  I’m not sure I totally understand it especially after introducing my wife to a miter saw during one of our recent projects a Shutter Mirror.  For all you men out there if your wife even remotely expresses an interest in woodworking I HIGHLY, is that emphatic enough, recommend you taking her out to the shop and letting her try her hands at any of your hand or power tools.  When I showed my wife how to use a miter saw to cross cut some boards for the project I have not seen a bigger grin and sense of excitement.  I was amazed at how much she enjoyed using it.  In her words “It cuts like butta".  In talking with my wife one thing I want to really try and do is introduce women to the art/craft of woodworking.  I know there are women woodworkers out there I am going to highlight three that I have found in the blog world later in the post.  I just feel led to do something to not only help my wife become more comfortable with woodworking but all women.  This is where you ladies come in. 

I really need some ideas of what you might be interested in.  It can be anything.  Now you will have to forgive me but being a man and married man at that I have come to realize that sometimes men and women don’t speak the same language.  My wife and I are working on our translation book.  So in an effort to make sure I make things clear my wife has agreed to help me edit my postings to make them less Grover and more universal.  All this meaning if you have no experience with woodworking I want to make sure I can clearly express my thoughts. 
Please make sure to comment on some of the ideas, concepts, projects you would like to see get help with or even contribute to. 
Three Women Woodworkers – These are just Three of the Women I have found so far that have amazed me.
Kari Hultman @ The Village Carpenter
Kari primarily works with Hand tools and has an amazing video on YouTube on hand cutting dovetails.  I know I am going to use her technique to start teaching myself how to cut dovetails.  Kari has been a contributor in many of the Woodworking Magazines. 
Julie @ Follow Your Heart Woodworking
I have been watching Julie’s blog postings on building a Buffet Hutch.  She is a furniture maker and has a site dedicated to that as well.  The hutch she is building is going to be outstanding.  It doesn’t hurt that she builds furniture that is country/primitive which is what I really enjoy.
Carole Rothman @ Scroll Saw Bowls
Carole has written at least one book on making Scroll Saw Bowls.  Her bowls are truly works of art.  I have played with a scroll saw a few times and started to get pretty good at it but I can’t wait to give one of her patterns a try. 
These are three amazing woodworkers.  I highly recommend you take a look at their sites.  I can’t say enough about their abilities as woodworkers. 



Have a Great Day!

There are a number of great concoctions for using soapwort (Saponaria officinalis), and you can find many recipes on the web. When I was in college, my Godmother shared her recipe with me. She lived in California and kept lots of herbs on her property. She used her soapwort liquid soap solution to clean her lace tablecloths and lace curtains, much the way her mother had done before her.

Yesterday I wrote about the reasons why electronic bug zappers should not be used in the yard or garden for insect control. One of the biggest problems with these devices is the do not distinguish between harmful and beneficial insects. In one evening they can easily kill 10,000 insects effectively destroying the balance in your yard. Less insects mean less insect predators giving other more

I finally got back to the dresser I was restoring and refinishing.  I am a little spastic when it comes to projects.  I like to have too many going on at once.  In an effort to reduce the number of projects outstanding and make my wife happy by providing the furniture she has been asking for I am focusing on a few quick wins.  The Dresser being the first. 

I spent some time on and off today in the shop and was able to get the dresser in some color.  It is called Java Brown it’s an interior latex from Lowe’s. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here you can see the Java Brown color and the 3 Drawers that I have completed sanding and painting.  I have some final sanding that will need to be done after the final coat is put on, I will use 220 grit sand paper this is eliminate any orange peel that I get from using my sprayer. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My wife found some knobs at Hobby Lobby that she liked so I took a couple of minutes to put them on to see what she thought.  She likes them.  I don’t know if she is 100% on them.  One thing I should note here is, originally this dresser actually used two hole drawer pulls.  The other holes had been filled by the previous owner.  It’s hard to tell from the pictures but the current ones look slightly off since they are pushed so far to the outer edges.  They should actually be about an inch or two in if you are going to use single pulls.  She is  thinking she might have me drill out the holes and move to a wider drawer pull. 

Once I have the other two drawers sanded and painted we will move it to its new home in one of the guest bedrooms. 

 

 

 

ALERT ALERT FURNITURE REPAIR TIP ALERT ALERT

Okay here we go.  If you have an older piece of furniture or even a newer piece of furniture with drawers that ride on wooden rails then over time you will find that they become harder to open.  One thing that you can do to ease the friction of the wood to wood contact is to apply some petroleum jelly to both the bottom of the drawer and to the rails inside the piece.  I have also heard that you can use a bar of soap and accomplish the same thing.  I have not tried the bar of soap so I can not attest to it effectiveness.  I might have to give it a try on this dresser and compare the two methods.

If you would like to know which works better, comment at the bottom and I will take on this very scientific project and report my findings. 

Coming up……

I am excited that I am bringing this project to a close.  Once this project is complete I will be working on Four Custom made Ink Pens for a Wedding, as well as finishing up the Jelly Cupboard build.  I have decided to use two different colors of Milk Paint.  The exterior of the cupboard will be Sea Green and the interior is going to be Light Cream.  It should be interesting.

Have a Great Day!

Growing soapwort may be a very nice way for you to incorporate some eco-friendly cleaning practices into your household chores while inviting an attractive and low-maintenance plant to your herb patch. When you press this useful herb into service as a mild detergent to clean your lace tablecloths, wool and silk, it's an economical choice too.

Back before phosphates, people used this nifty

While the weather is still cool soon it will be time to consider insect control for those pesky insects like mosquitoes and the damaging insects in the garden. In many urban residential areas folks turn to using an electric bug zapper. The premise is the insects are drawn towards the light then are electrocuted effectively serving as insect control. However, bug zappers are one of the worst

I just found a great new site that you should check out if you don’t already know about it.  It’s called Remodelaholic.  They seem to have it all over there.  Remodeling, revamping, reusing.  As the header stats Reduce – Reuse – Recycle – Repurpose – Remodel.  It’s the 5 R’s.  I couldn’t agree more.  That’s probably why I have an every growing box of scrap wood.  I never know what I might be able to use it for.
I hope you will take time to jump over to Remodelaholic and peruse all that the site has to offer.  I know have been spending sometime over there. 
Make sure to especially check out her Link party, I try and join in on as many of these as I can as either viewer or contributor it is just amazing to see what people can come up with and I get inspired continually.
Have a Great Day!

TomatoesJuly 2006Just a little reminder of the upcoming growing season. Can you tell I'm gearing up for this summers's garden? Oh I am so ready! Even though we are moving I am still biting at the bit. The new garden promises to be a good one :)Happy Gardening!Garden Gnome©2006-2010

In a recent post I discussed briefly urban gardening. Urban gardening and landscaping has always been a popular except now the focus is turning towards growing edible plants. Growing urban edibles is now becoming quite popular as folks realize they can grow a variety of flower, herbs and small vegetables in small urban spaces. Why is growing urban edibles becoming more popular?The idea of

All gardens whether they are traditional row gardens, raised box, container or any combination thereof really need some type of water feature. Why? Water features attract beneficial pollinators, insect eating birds and bats. They extend your growing possibilities to beautiful aquatic plants, some of which are edible. They also add to the aesthetics of the garden. Water features do not need

Kreg Tool just announced a new tool/jig yesterday for the DIY’er.  It is called the Kreg Deck Jig.  It looks pretty interesting. 

It allows you to drill concealed screws into your deck board and also comes with spacers so that you get even spacing between your boards.  I think it might have some merit. 

To learn more about the jig check out Kreg’s Ning Site

Here is a video from Youtube on the site

The MSRP is $99.99 on this Jig which isn’t to bad.  If it is a time saver and secures the boards better then I know it would be worth the money.  I don’t have any decks planned in the next 12 months so don’t know that I will be purchasing this to review it.  If that changes you will know.  :)

Disclaimer:  I am in no way affiliated with Kreg Tool Company I am just a DIY’er who happens to use and enjoy their tools. 

Have a Great Day!

CrocusesMarch 19, 2010A few days ago the weather was so gorgeous I took a walk around the yards just simply enjoying the beautiful sunshine. Tucked into the corner of a rock bed we had intended removing I spotted this pretty clump of purple crocuses. They weren't there last year so the squirrels must have been busy moving a few of the bulbs around. Crocuses are one of spring's colourful

Keeping container plants sufficiently watered can be a problem especially on hot days or days you are away from home. I found this great video from a permaculture designer. The balcony garden plants water themselves, using 2,000 year old desert technology. The water travels from a rainwater collection tank through tubing to buried unglazed terra cotta wetpots via gravity then is distributed to

Yes!!  You read that correctly........he is now on the market!

Corporate by day...........master carpenter........ as time allowed.

BUT, I have been terribly selfish..........terribly


The vast majority of his craft has been for me and my ever expanding list




Why the sudden change of heart?       Corporate just said "Thank you for your decades of service."

Translate...................(we can get someone younger and cheaper)

My suggestions were not embraced.  He could learn to COOK


Take over the duty of DISH WASHING...........as you can read , MOST DO!


For long time readers, you know my love of bagpipes........he could become a PIPER!!


Well, since all my suggestions have been refuted, there must be something else..................



Something, he must do something before I run. Shades of "what is for breakfast?" and "where are you going?" are whispered.

So girls............here is your chance!!!!    Remember those past posts, the one's that showed his handy work and all of you that wrote saying "I sure wish I had a Steve in my life!"

Let's review his projects with minimum commentary and "impartial" enthusiasm



Remember this? He designed and built the stove surround


I love it, looks appropriately old...........this is an 1850's cottage


Another kitchen shot. Totally designed and built by Steve; cabinets, ceiling, opening you see to the foyer which was not there before.



Master Bedroom. Sure wish I had the "before". This entire wall was a fireplace with sheets of plywood on either side with finger holes to slide back and forth to enter the closet. Again the ceiling and he stripped the floors. Can you imagine that at one point someone glued linoleum to these floors?



Den;  Was previously a gut wrenching wallpaper of powder blue and peach (remember those days?). Steve removed the powder blue wall to wall cheap carpeting, the ceilings including rescued barn beams, he added the high shelf and I hired for the wallpaper; Brunschwig & Fils 'On Pointe'.

Having always heard "couples that hang wallpaper together go to court together." 



Then I NEEDED a barn...........no animals, yet...........but a place to house my landscape equipment, projects and antiques for the shop.              sorry.....ugly Illinois in March photo's.


All built by hand, Steve did everything including electrical and plumbing, everything....well almost......the concrete floor was contracted.

Cupolas are a favorite architectural element. Stand back and look at your home..........could a cupola enhance it? Give it presence? If you opt to go in that direction error on the side of larger than too small.



Of course a pass through was needed to get from the pool to the pond. This year he added lights up inside the peak that reflect down and sets off a warm glow. Oh, and take a peak at the double decker birdhouse.....who else?

Many of you have seen this photo here before, but in case you have not...........feast your eyes on the powder blue aluminum siding, dirty awning and negligent landscaping. This photo is from the day of purchase.


Siding and awning off. Overhangs built over the doors. Thick white molding around the windows and at the corners.................



The pool house had to match, here you can get a better view of the white molding trim earlier referenced. New door in high gloss black, three dimensional dog head sprayed in high gloss black.

Wait, I just remembered.........I need shutters on the house in high gloss black, the real kind that open and close, with shutter dogs!


A lamp post


And........once in a great while.........time to do a project for a client. This is one of our treasured landscape clients. For Sharon a contemporary pergola was designed and crafted by Steve


Go for it Steve! You have supported my passions, now it is your turn!
xxo
Debra

Every season I take an inventory of the herb plants I want to try cultivating. This usually involves a walk around the garden to see which plants managed to overwintered well, and also an inventory of indoor refugees from last year that managed to survive the change of venue over the winter months.

Again and again, some herbs seem worth the effort that don't get nearly enough praise or press .

March came in like a lamb this year which isn't much of a surprise given what a mild winter we had. I don't doubt that we are still in for a few days of nasty weather but those are getting less likely with March more than half over. The first day of spring was on March 20th. We've been experiencing above average temperatures with nice blue skies. The sun has been out doing it's magic so there

Well I am back on in Davidson now and am extremely pleased with the way the kitchen turned out.

I will keep things short here and just show pictures.  :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Okay so this needs a little explanation.  I ran out of glue literally with 2.25 boards left to put up.  Well I got those boards cut and tested this morning and we needed to get going so knowing I had some additional projects in the future I didn’t want the tube of glue to dry between now and then so I didn’t glue them or paint them.  You will notice I added a 45 degree miter on the end to match with the counter top. 

Well the Grand total for this quick weekend makeover was a whopping $50 you heard that correctly.  I used 25 boards at $1.32 a piece, two tubes of Liquid Nail, half a tube of caulk, paint and some plastic scrapers to smooth out the glue.

Have a Great Day!