The Vertical Garden I Built

I saw in a magazine an idea for a really cute vertical garden.  I thought to myself, "I can totally make that!"

And so I did.

Laundry Pedestal

Last week I was browsing around one of my favorite sites (ana-white.com) and came across the plans for a laundry pedestal.  I knew I had to make it.  So, I sat down with a blank sheet of paper and a pencil and drew up the plans.

Later that night after the kids went to bed I couldn't resist any longer and I made a trip to Home Depot to pick out my lumber.  The next day during quiet time and after the kids were in bed for the night I started building.

Within 48 hours of my trip to Home Depot I was ready to start painting.  We decided to paint it the same color blue that we used to paint our house.  In the morning when the paint was dry we installed it and it fit like a glove!

**With my new pedestal in the laundry room, my ironing board was in need of a new cover, so after a quick trip to Joann Fabrics my ironing board got the update it so desperately needed.**

These Are the Cabinets that Mindy Built

Way back in February, I went to a friend's house and instantly fell in love with the built-in cabinets she had surrounding her fireplace.

In March, when my visiting teachers came I mentioned to my friend, Quinae (who deserves a post all to herself about all of the amazing talents she has, one of which being woodworking)  that I wanted to build some cabinets to surround my fireplace.  From there the idea sprang to life.  We (well, mostly she) drew up the plans, calculated the amount of wood that we would need to purchase, figured out a budget, and then did the hard part...convincing Darren that a.) we could do it and b.) that it would be worth the time and money spent.

After a trip (or seven) to Home Depot we purchased supplies we got to work.  We would work at her house during the day while our children ran wild on her "farm" or late at night when the kiddos were sleeping.  It took us nearly 6 months to complete, but it was an empowering project that has given me the confidence to try other woodworking projects.  I have even added "table saw", "air compressor" and "nail gun" to my Christmas Wish List.  (Are you reading this Santa??)

Well.  Enough talking.  Here is what you have been waiting for: the pictures, intermingled with some quotes from my 2nd favorite talk by Dieter F. Uchtdorf.

Original color of the fireplace when we bought the house.  Yuck!

I painted the fireplace black and the wall a beautiful shade of yellow.

“Creation brings deep satisfaction and fulfillment. We develop ourselves and others when we take unorganized matter into our hands and mold it into something of beauty.”  -Dieter F. Uchtdorf

"What you create doesn’t have to be perfect…  Don’t let fear of failure discourage you. Don’t let the voice of critics paralyze you—whether that voice comes from the outside or the inside."  -Dieter F. Uchtdorf

“To me it appears that our splendid sisters sometimes undervalue their abilities—they focus on what is lacking or imperfect rather than what has been accomplished and who they really are.”  -Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Completed cabinets!

 Here is what I learned about myself throughout this project:

• Building and creating is uplifting to my spirit.
• Things hardly ever go as planned, but twhen they do it is a cause for celebration.
• There is always a solution to every problem.
• Things don't have to be perfect in order to be beautiful (myself included.)
• Doing things with friends is more fun.
• I really enjoy woodworking.

It might sounds silly, but each time I look at my cabinets I feel better about my ability to do hard things.