Week 12 Assignment - Results

What a week!!!  I'm sore from head to toe but I feel like a million bucks!  The sanding and staining took forever...but thankfully I had Tracy to help.  It's a tedious task, so if you can have a friend along for the ride it definitely makes it more tolerable!!  :)  Man, do I owe Tracy!!!!

Here are some additional things you may want to keep in mind if you want to give it a try...

1. Safety glasses and masks are a definite MUST while you are sanding.  You never know where your pallets have been and the last thing you want is getting their secrets in your lungs and eyes!!  :)
2. If you aren't super limber, you may want to consider sanding before you but your daybed and/or table together...that goes for staining too.
3. Speaking of staining, if you use the Behr Waterproofing Stain I should warn you...it's super runny and drippy!!  If you can, I highly suggest staining over a surface like grass or dirt that won't be ruined by any stain that drips down.  
4. And don't use your "favorite" paint brush...whatever brush you use will be ruined by the time you're done...not by the stain but by the pallets.

So...want a peek at the (almost) finished product??

Once the sanding and staining were complete, it was time to assemble the outdoor dining room.  I found my globe lights at Party City for $14.99/each...they were the only ones I could find with white cords instead of green.  I ended up using 5 strands.  My HD boyfriend suggested attaching eye hooks to the fence and house and using zip ties to attach the light strands to them.  It's a perfect solution because it's easy to do, and if I ever need to change the strands out all I need are a few new zip ties!  

I love how the space turned out!  We ended up taking the center extensions out of the table because it was just too big for the four of us...which gave us a bunch of extra room for a fire pit at the far side of the space.  I've been dying to find a safe place to have our fire pit but don't like the idea of having it in the middle of everything with two small kids, and I finally found it!!  

The only thing I didn't get done is scrubbing the heck out of the tables and chairs...I ran out of sunny days.  But I plan on tackling that in the next couple weeks in my "spare time".  Definitely before summer!!  That and a little decorating (I have some ideas for the wall of the house and Tracy wants to turn the pallet remnants we have into wall planters on the fence) and we'll be set for summer!!

The one positive thing that came with the rainy days is it gave me time to make my bolsters for the daybed.  I just have to say BOLSTERS ARE THE COOLEST THINGS EVER!!!  They are super easy and look much harder than they actually are!  I did have to do some re-engineering since my bolster inserts were 30" and the pattern I found  was for shorter inserts, but once you start sewing it's pretty easy to visualize what you want the final result to be and make the necessary adjustments.  After making the first one I was so jazzed I decided I should try and make my very first tutorial to show you how easy they are to make...but unfortunately I was distracted by a non-napping 4-year old and cut the fabric wrong for the second bolster.  I was able to do some more re-engineering and the second one turned out just fine, but I thought I shouldn't base my first ever tutorial on an OOPS!!  Guess I'll just have to make another for my bed when I do my Master Bedroom Makeover and show you then.  

So here is the finished daybed...bolsters and all!!

The only "downside" to this project is it has made me feel invincible!!  I find myself pinning all these projects on Pinterest that involve major construction with little to no hesitation!!  I now have a bee up by butt to build a whole storage/bench unit for our entryway thanks to Ana White...but unfortunately it will have to wait a bit.  First I have to head back to the bathroom...

See you next week!!