DIY Wrap Up: This Week’s Balancing Act

I always feel a bit so-so about the pictures I submit to the Family Handyman with my tool articles… shockingly I don’t actually like looking at my unbrushed hair that much. (Not enough for me to actually take a brush to it, mind you, just enough to make me squint at the monitor and sometimes close one eye when I’m editing them.) So I decided to let loose and have a little more fun with one of the options for the April article I just turned in, and I actually kind of love the way this one turned out. Mostly because my awesome photoshop balancing skills detract from the straggly hair. I submit three options each time so no telling if they’ll use this one, but I think there’s probably a moral here about sometimes just doing something for the fun of it.

Also, for the last couple of weeks I’ve been balancing more than my tools with the holiday and the big move and being in a new area, so it’s taking me a little bit of time to get back into the swing of things. Hopefully after this weekend I’ll have enough of my tools in one place to actually build some things– some quickie tool boxes are on my list for Sunday.

In the meantime, some other people are doing some pretty awesome projects…

I’m absolutely taken with this Victorian library that John from SanFranVic built. It’s given me scary ideas about putting one of those ladders on the built-ins in Hillside Cottage.

There’s a great article on this guy here on BobVila.com and in the spirit of full disclosure there’s also an article on the utter chaos of my “workshop” here — just in case you haven’t possibly heard enough about my tools yet.

Also, for those of you who liked my version of the Pottery Barn inspired pinboard, Brittany from Pretty Handy Girl has come up with another take on it, which is awesome. (Love the ruler.)

And let’s not count out Pinterest, which is the mecca of inspiration these days. I’m actually most thrilled about the plans I found for building this beehive…

Yes, I’m totally planning on having bees at Hillside cottage. Along with my donkeys. And possibly a really fluffy chicken or two.

That totally just made your day, did it not? I actually used to have pet chickens as a kid and they would roost on the screen door to the porch that was missing it’s screen. So you would actually have to open the door with three chickens sitting on it to get into the house. Seriously guys, you just can’t download that kind of entertainment from Netflix.

This means I’m going to need a beehive and a chicken house, and tell me it wouldn’t be awesome to go out and collect eggs from this.

I have no idea at what point this post turned a corner and headed straight into crazy-farm-animal-hoarding territory, but I’m pretty sure Pintrest is to blame. Also, you should really click here and see some of the other awesome structures the woman who owns the chicken castle has in her garden. I’m pretty sure I saw my future there for a second.

On that note, here’s to hoping everyone has a great weekend playing with power tools, or chickens, or whatever it is normal people do with their time.