A Concrete Catastrophe

We stained the concrete in the backyard this weekend.

Yeah... we don't like either. 

The plan was to stain the plain concrete a light, warm terra cotta color to warm up the space since it was pretty blah to begin with. We had read a few home blogs and discovered that people have stained the concrete with fantastic results. It seemed like an easy and cheap project. So we went to Home Depot and picked out a color of Behr Semi-Transparent Concrete Stain we liked. 

That was a few months ago. Jon actually forgot what color we had chosen since it had been so long. Why did we wait so long? The stain cannot be applied if its over 90 degrees. So we really couldn't apply it in the height of summer. We had already done a little bit of work back there we decided to focus on projects we could do in air conditioning. Now that its not crazy hot we decided to finally apply the stain. 

First Jon cleaned the space. The instructions said to work in 4' by 4' sections. Luckily our patio floor is already broken up into sections. That way we could move all of the furniture to one side and then do it again but on the other side we it was time to paint the other half.

Poseidon watched us work.

Then we got to staining. Jon used the roller to get majority of the space and I used a paintbrush around the edges. I know the photo is of Jon but I swear I helped. 

As we were doing it we noticed the color wasn't really what we thought we had originally picked out. And we noticed it was really orange. But not in a good way. This is coming from two people who actually embrace orange is all its bold glory. We both hoped that it would dry lighter but it didn't.

Apart from the color we don't like the uneven application. Its really dark in some places and very light in others. The instructions say that two coats help achieve an uniform color but we don't to intensive the orange. 

Now we really don't know what to do. Jon is leaning towards finishing it off just to see what it would look like but I think it would be overwhelmingly orange. I want to paint it a darker color. Jon mentioned a coworker of his painted his concrete patio with a product by Rust-Oleum that left it shiny and smooth. We're thinking that might be the new plan. Maybe a dark gray or a brown with a glossy finish. I think if we chose a dark brown it will match the new flooring we'll eventually put in and make the outdoor space look like a extension of our home. The gray would define the space more and be neutral enough to appeal to buyers down the road. 

Either way, the orange has got to go. After the shutter debacle this project is our biggest mistake. At least this is an easy fix!

Sew Over This

Sorry for the lack of photos but I was so frustrated grabbing my camera was the furthest thing from my mind.

When Jon and I were cleaning out our garage I found a box of his old football t shirts. I wanted to throw them out (when will he ever wear it again?) and he wanted to keep them (they're memories!). To compromise I asked Jonathan if he would let me turn them into a t shirt quilt. He was a little hesitant to allow me near his precious proof of football glory with scissors but after showing him a few photos he gave me the go ahead.

I found this really amazing tutorial and it looked manageable so I got started. It didn't look that hard.... Famous last words. Right?

To preface this, I don't know how to sew. I'm handy with a needle and thread so if I need to stitch a quick hem or mend a hole by hand I'm good. But I don't know how to use a sewing machine. I've never owned one but have always been interested to learn. I figure that's the next step in my crafting journey.

First I had to decide with shirts I was going to use. Jonathan really wanted me to use as much and as many of the shirts as possible. I cut them up so the front and back were separated and then snipped off the sleeves. Then it was time to adhere the interfacing to the shirts. Whenever you want to sew shirts (and probably other fabric that pulls) you have to attach some interfacing so that the fabric stays sturdy and it doesn't pull while you're running it through the sewing machine. All you have to do is iron it to the back of the shirt. The only tricky part here is not to use the iron directly on any screen printed shirts since it can make a melty mess. I gotta say at this point I was feeling pretty confident. Should have been another sign....

The next step was to cut the shirts into perfect square. Apparently that part is really important so you have straight edges to sew along. Quilters have an easy solution to help you achieve this: quilting squares. You just buy one that is the size you want, center it on top of the fabric and use a rotary cutter (sort of like tracing it) to cut a square. They even take into account the extra bit you'll need to sew a seam. I needed an extra pair of hands to hold the square in place (thanks Maddy!) but it went pretty smoothly.

I laid out the squares on the floor until I had an arrangement that I liked. I even snapped a couple of photos on my phone to remember the layout. Then I got to sewing and trouble began. Since I don't own a sewing machine my sister let me borrow the one she received for Christmas. Neither one of us really knew what we were doing and on our first attempt to use it we actually forgot the pedal and power strip. Fail.

Once I finally had all the parts I tried to get the sewing machine ready for use. First up is threading the bobbin. the bobbin took me awhile (okay an hour) to figure out. Jon came over to help me and between the two of us reading the instructions and trial and error we managed to figure it out. Next was threading the needle. That was actually pretty easy. I thought the worst part was over. WRONG. I had everything ready to go but could not get the machine to move the fabric. It would make one stitch and then get jammed. Over and over and over again. So. Frustrating. I can't even tell you how many times I had to stop my pitiful attempt at sewing, turn off the machine and unjam the bobbin and needle. All I kept getting was a clump of thread that I had to cut out. I finally quit when I broke the needle. It was three in the morning and I figured five hours of sewing torture was enough.

I should have known it wouldn't be easy.

Jon told his mom and she said the next time she's over she'll help me set it up. For now the squares are sitting in the guest room closet far far away from my eyes. But sadly its not out of sight, out of mind. I keep thinking that I should just start sewing by hand but I stop myself because I know I'll sew it in a crazy jagged line and probably go blind.

For now I'm declaring this project a temporary failure. At least I didn't butcher it beyond repair... its just on hold. Unless someone wants to sew it for me. That'd be super.

The Shutter Story: The Salvage

Finally! Our shutters are installed.

Remember how Jon and I completely screwed up our first attempt at installing shutters? No? Wish we could. 

Allow Jon to remind you where we left off.


The Shutter Story: Jon Screws Up from Berennisse Behr on Vimeo.

Yep, we accidentally cut one shutter too short and it was no longer useable for the bedroom window as planned. Day 1 was a total bust.

We woke up in a much better mood the next day. The pieces (you can see me discussing our plans here) we had cut were jagged and the two mounting bars that would sit flush together looked really bad together. Jonathan suggested buying a power sander to help us smooth out the cut pieces to make them fit better. After another trip to Home Depot (that would make it 4 trips to 2 different locations), we sanded all the cut pieces.

Jonathan was really happy because it looked so much better. Like maybe we could have the shutters look decent. 

Then we could finally install them! One and a half days later.... Jon measured where the mounting strips would go and I held them up while he predrilled the holes.

To install the middle pieces Jon used some L shaped brackets. He attached two L brackets next to each other in the center of the windowsill on the top and the bottom. Then he screwed the mounting strips to the brackets.

Then all we had to was slide the shutters on. That process only took about 40 minutes. Just like the instructions promised. 

We're not really happy with the final product. The fit is a little tight and the doors don't close exact but at least they're up. We've decided to just bite the bullet and purchase customized ones for the other windows. We might even pay someone else to install them. Everyone that has seen them says they look fine but naturally we are our own worst critics. 

The best part about this whole mess is that our dining room looks like its almost done. The worst part is that our bedroom still has some old drapes and is a freaking furnace. 

Here's what Jon had to say about the whole experience.


The Shutter Story: Jon Recaps from Berennisse Behr on Vimeo.

My favorite part is where he says "got your approval." :)

To summarize:

• 4 trips to 2 different Home Depots (not counting our visit to their online store)
• 2 new tools (circular saw & power sander)
• 2 days (instead of 40 minutes)
• 2 tired and frustrated homeowners  
• $400 spent (half on the shutters and half on new tools)

NEVER. AGAIN. (Most likely... you never know. Jon might want to give it another go.)

The Shutter Story: The Screw Up

We bought DIY shutters to install in our bedroom. The box and product reviews said it would take about 40 minutes to install... well they lied! It took us TWO DAYS.

99% of the time all of our projects come out mostly as planned. Every now and then we'll have a tiny hiccup (like Jon's victory over the sink) but normally it just requires an extra trip to Home Depot and we're good. Not the case with our shutters.

The previous owner had frilly lace valances on all the windows. That's it. No blinds. Not only could everyone see into our home there was also no way for us to block some light and heat out. No sleeping in. No way to help keep our house cool. The weekend we moved it we put up cheap drapes and have been using that ever since. Its not a big deal throughout the house except in our bedroom. Its the hottest room in the house and its visible by other units which means limited privacy. 

We had always planned to install shutters throughout the house but put it off because they're crazy expensive. Since spring is coming to an end and summer with its 100 degree heat is here we knew we had to get on it (that's why we did the cover patio). After lots of research and pricing out different sources we were sad to find that the best deal we could get was a little less than $400 for ONE window, not including installation! We only have 4 windows but would still be around $1600! Yeah... no.

So we turned to googling DIY Shutters and there was a whole lot of nothing. My BFF Home Depot saved the day. They sell shutters in a small variety of sizes that generally fit to standard sized windows. At $200 it was waaaay cheaper than the customized ones we had been looking at. AND you could buy it online! One less trip to Home Depot. Jon & Berennisse = SOLD. To be on the safe side we only ordered shutters for our bedroom window figuring if we liked it we'd order the rest.

On Saturday of Memorial Day weekend we decided to install it. We measured, bought a circular saw and made three Home Depot trips in preparation. And then we ran into our first problem. There wasn't a shutter big enough to fit our window so we ordered two thinking we would combine them to make a big one that opened like an accordion. A ton of people had left pictures when reviewing the shutters online and it looked like they had done it so why couldn't we? Apparently pictures lie.

Jonathan looked at me and said we couldn't do it. We could install them as two different ones using brackets but it would not open like an accordion. I sulked but ultimately decided to just do it. We go back upstairs and run into our second problem. The shutters were just a hair too wide. Seriously? This project had already failed before we had ever started to work.

The shutters are designed to allow you to cut a little off the top and a couple of inches off the bottom. The only place you're not supposed to cut is on the little bar used to mount the shutters. After another debate we decided to just go for it. It only required a small adjustment to shave off an 1/8 of inch in order to make it fit. We didn't think it would be that big of a deal and decided to just cut one set of shutters so we could return the second one

We donned some safety googles and finally got to cutting.

The first two panels went relatively smoothly. I held the shutter in place while Jon cut. That saw is not a joke. You have to hold it steady in order to cut and the chips come flying off in every direction which really hurts. Jon and I were covered in tons of tiny pieces. Because of the vibration and you having to hold it place it was hard to cut in a perfectly straight line. The pieces weren't cut perfectly but Jon tried to straighten it by sanding them smooth.

Then it got all screwed up. I really want to use another, stronger word but I'm trying to keep it classy. We started on the third shutter. Jon measured and I held the shutter in place. Then Jon got ready to cut. As soon as he started to cut I knew we had messed up.

Jon used the wrong the guide mark on the saw and cut it too short. 

Unfortunately it was too short to salvage. No shutters for the bedroom. And since we had already cut the second set of shutters we couldn't return them. Goodbye $200!

Imagine us tired, frustrated and full of choice words aimed at the saw and shutters. We were FURIOUS.

After we calmed down I measured the window in the dining room and realized it was a little bit smaller that our bedroom window. The shutter we had cut too short was still going to be a little small but it would be a lot less noticeable. 

So at 10 pm we started the whole process over again. Measuring and cutting all the shutters. We also had to cut two of the mounting devices since the dining room window is not as wide as our bedroom window. Jon was hesitant to do this but in the end we knew that we had to try to salvage this project. What was the worse thing that could happen at this point? See me explain below.


The Shutter Story: The Screw UP from Berennisse Behr on Vimeo.

After that we were fried. We finished cutting and went to bed. WORST PROJECT TO DATE. 

Stay tuned for part two. The Shutter Story: The Salvage.