Easter Projects: Bookshelf

This project has so completely gotten on Doug's nerves. That's why I had to include it in the list of projects to do over Easter weekend with my sister. Didn't quite get finished that weekend, but whatever.

He built this nice little bookshelf for his books in our room.

Then I bought bookcases for our room, and it sat in the garage for a while. Then I primed it. And it sat in the garage for a longer time.

Then we moved it to the basement, where it sat again. And Doug reminded me every so often that it needed to get painted. I'm sure he wanted to add "NOW!", but he refrained like a good husband.

Since my sister wanted some projects to do over Easter weekend, and this was a small one that I could wrap my mind around, I pulled it upstairs and put it on a painting cloth. Amazingly, it even got a coat of white paint that day. And the next. Officially, this was Jack's project, so he started us out.

Then he got bored. But Sophia was always willing to get in the way.

Woot.

Then my sister went with me to buy paint for the back of the dresser - I want it red to go with the whole sunshine room theme. And I even got a coat of red paint on it while she was here.

And I continued with the painting after she left. Happy days - we finished painting entire dresser within a week (hey, I know we could have done it in one day, but nap time will intervene sometimes!).

I did make a mistake by using 1" painter's tape instead of my regular 3" tape. Hey, we had the 1" in the garage and I didn't want to go to the store! But anyway, red stripes ended up everywhere.

So then I had to prime and repaint that, which took an additional few days. Argh. But then it was done, and ready for shelves.

And it is now installed in Jack's room. I love how the red back really pops and makes all the additional colors on the shelves stand out.

It does look a little less "guest-room-esque," but Jack is here more often than guests. So...he gets to put his toys and books on it.

To be useful, I thought I'd also add some information about painting with red paint. It's a challenge, truly. First, use a gray primer. This will help the red color be darker, getting it closer to those lovely paint chips we fall in love with at the store. I didn't use gray primer in this case - why? Partially, because I didn't want to get any for such a small project. Mostly, though, I figured that I could do extra coats of red if I needed to.

Second, you will need extra coats of paint even if you do use a gray primer. Seriously. Probably three coats is standard for a red room.

Third, don't freak out if it isn't the color you originally expected - even after three coats of paint. The last step is to wait. Yes, up to three weeks. Then see if it's the right color. Curing, which is the process of being completely dry and adhered to your surface of choice, takes a while. Dry paint can happen in two hours. Completely cured paint takes 4-6 weeks, after which you can scrub it (only if it's not Flat paint). And color - especially red - takes at least half of that curing time to really come out.

So there you have it. Be persistent and patient if you want to use red. It takes a bit of work, but I think it is totally worth it!

What's Bloomin'

This weekend, we had rain.

Huge sigh of relief. Because Utah desperately needs rain. Most importantly, though, because I hate to water. And yet, I keep putting plants in the ground. Do I hear you saying, "Duh?" Yup, I keep hoping that my plants will just spontaneously find what they need without me...and since it hasn't happened yet in this desert of mine, I am trying to come to grips with watering.

So yay for rain. Yay also for flowers! This week we had...bleeding hearts, hiding behind the fern-like fronds...

They are a little shy

And the eastern redbud trees...

There are still a few of these trees (we put in seven, I think) that are not blooming, making me wonder if we have managed to kill them. I certainly hope that they are all alive and well.

We also saw our crabapple trees bloom:

And the apple tree. Hoping this one will bloom, since our other apple tree bit the dust. Boo.

Hope you have a good week - and get rain if you need it!

Easter Projects: Flower Potting

My sister came for Easter weekend and asked for projects to do. Then she decided what she really wanted was to relax and enjoy the family atmosphere.

In between the attitude shift there, I lined up a lot of projects. The first (and easiest) that was finished was the flower baskets for the front yard. I decided not to do hanging baskets this year, and just fill the barrels next to the garage and the pot next to the front door.

That way, maybe I can spend more time on the yard (which still needs so much work) and less time watering baskets. Or maybe, to be honest, I just know that I will forget to water those baskets...and Doug will eventually get tired of doing it for me...so I won't just throw good time and plants away by trying this year. Either way, one less thing, right?

Anyway, I did something a little different with those baskets/pots/barrels this year. For the barrels, I still used the typical formula:

• Something spiky: Macedonia (more of a grass) and Salvia (purple spikes - I can replant these at the end of the season)
• Something flowing: Vinca Minor (Periwinkle) that I dug out of my front garden bed, that I can also replant elsewhere at the end of the season
• Something as filler: Stock and Petunias

And it looks a little sparse at the moment, since the petunias haven't filled in yet.

Then I took a different tack on the pot next to the door. 

I still went with something spiky - this time a Strawberry & Cream Ribbon Grass (Phalaris arundinacea 'Feesey'). Then I used two different types of Coral Bells to add color and texture. This is definitely more of a foliage basket instead of a flower basket, since the flowers that eventually will come will be small and insignificant.

This basket doesn't get a whole lot of light, though. One of the problems I've seen in the past few years - as I have kept the composition of all my baskets pretty much the same - is that this pot dies from lack of sun. So, time to mix it up and see what happens.

If I remember, I'll post pictures of these baskets after they've had a bit of time to grow. There are people who just stuff their baskets so they look good from the moment they are planted - eventually that will be me. However, at this time, I want to spend my money on that large piece of land that needs filling instead of a basket that will look good in a few weeks even sparsely planted.

And now you have it, planted flowers. Hooray for sisters prodding me to action (even if they take a nap while I'm doing it)!