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Cats♥

Hey there, I had a big post planned about how my walls look since I painted them, but I just saw the cutest thing ever and had to post about it instead. this is my cat, Kat all snuggled up taking over the couch as usual, I ♥ this kitty so so much :)

 

Goodnight everyone!

Thrifty finds

Happy Monday everyone! I hope everyone enjoyed their weekends and monday hasnt been to tough on ya :)
I went thrifting and hit a couple garage sales this weekend and I got very very lucky. I scored all kinds of fun stuff! I've been redecorating out house with a grey forest motif and found a bunch of stuff to match.
A new owl to add to my owl family:

 

This really awesome 42 piece dinnerware set for $15 for the whole thing! I just loovvee the colors...

 

 

 

An outdoor guide from l.l. Bean from the early eighties

 

This original signed owl print by Michael Allender with a certificate of originality.. I got it for a $1, how cool is that!

All of these and a few others are going to come together to change the look of our living room. I bought a bunch of light snowy grey paint for the living room and kitchen. I got some of my color inspiration from this painting I found at the thrift store also for a $1 a few weeks ago.

 

 

 So this week, I'm taking some time away from my shops and working to get the house transformed. I also got a super awesome deal on 3 almost new (actually one was it still had the tags on it) chandeliers. the have a beautiful wrought iron finish. One is a double stacked chandelier that stands over 2ft tall. the other two are a single stack and are going in the living room and bathroom. I'm going to save the pics and details on them for my final reveal so check back soon :)

Tools of the trade

I get asked all the time which tools are the best and what is used for what....
That got me thinking. I guess growing up as a carpenter's daughter those things kind of came as second nature for me, but not everyone is born into toolbox full of tools. So here's what I'd say are the basics that anyone would need to tackle most of their DIY home projects.

1. Hammer- A good one, don't go out and buy that little pink tool kit that comes with a 6" hammer and tiny measuring tape. Those things won't get you anywhere and your projects will take you twice as long. I suggest a standard size hammer with a FLAT face. That is the part of the hammer that you use to hammer in the nail. Think your a lousy shot when is comes to hammering... it just might be that rounded hammer you've got. Trust me, this make a HUGE difference :)

2.Tape measure- Again don't bother with that tiny thing from one of those tool kits if your planning on doing some serious DIYing. Those kind are extremely flimsy and aren't worth a darn people! I would suggest a FATMAX from Stanley that has a 25ft measure. They are extremely sturdy which is great if your trying to measure from floor to ceiling or wall to wall, it wont flop out on ya.

www.amazon.com

3.Chalk line- This is a little tool that comes in so handy if you need to draw out a really long straight line. It's a little utensil with a string that pulls out and is covered in red chalk. You measure out both ends of your material your cutting, for instance a long piece of sheetrock. Pull out your chalk line, hold it across both ends of your measurement, pull it really tight and snap it. It'll give you a perfect red line to cut along. It really is a time saver!

www.fdsons.com

4. Speed square- This is a little metal tool shaped like a triangle. It has tons of angle measurements on it including 90 and 45. It also has a little lip on the 90 degree side so if you need to draw a straight line on a 2x4 it will hold the perfect angle while you draw.

5. Skil saw- Don't be afraid of power tools! They are your friend, they are going to save you so much time and energy. A skil saw is your basic circular handsaw. It's perfect for cutting things like 2x4 and the like. I use for all sorts of things though. The more comfortable you become with your saw, The more uses you will find for it.

www.trosworld.com

6. Drill- Have you ever tried installing a shelving unit with a little hand screw driver? Yea it can really suck! I suggest a good power drill with multiple speeds so you don't over drill and strip out your screws. A little advice, the cheap ones usually only have one setting.. really really fast and it gets really annoying! Try to find one with an adjustable speed if you can. I have both a cordless and a plug-in. The reason for this is I'm really kind of fond of my plug in because I don't have to stop what I'm doing to change out those rechargeable battery packs or worse completely run out and have to wait for it to charge. this leads me to my next thing...

7. Extension cord- I would say 50ft is a good length. That'll get you up and down ladders and around corners without having to stop and move your plug. You're gonna use this thing for everything. Remember that circular saw?

Well those are just a few of the basic of course you also need things like nails and screws and such... If anyone has any questions I'd be happy to help ya out.I come from several generations of builders so if I don;t have an answer for you, I'm sure I know someone who can help.
 Just remember to be careful with those power tools and practice makes perfect! And don't forget to have fun!

P.S. I am not promoting any of the brands pictured above. Always use tools with caution, the raven's nest blog warns that these tools can be dangerous and I cannot be held responsible for accidents:)

grey decor and reusing old pallets

This week I'm going to be painting several rooms in my house, and since I have fallen in love with the color grey, all the rooms are going to be some shade of grey. In that spirit here are a few rooms from bloodandchampagne.com that inspire my decor. hope you enjoy :)

All photos belong to bloodandchampagne.com

 

 I'll be sure to post pics of my new grey walls just as soon as I get finished, I also love the look of natural grey barnwood mixed with the painted walls, so I have taken apart some old pallets and cut the wood to fit the trim in our living room. I think it's gonna look pretty cool :)

 

♥Ann

 

The changing season



http://www.polyvore.com/falling_leaves/set?id=35271425

 I'm so looking forward to fall this year! I'm not sure if it because of the terribly dry weather we've had this summer or just the idea of finally being able to wear all my favorite sweaters again. Either way I heard there is a "cool" front headed our way and I'm looking forward to it as if it was christmas morning! I'm loving the grey and brown tones for fall this year. I scored 3 grey sweaters while I was thrifting the other day, so I've been trying them on with all my stuff. Yea I've been a little bored the past few days, it's just too damn hot out there to do anything lol!

Fun.: Some Nights [OFFICIAL VIDEO]

I just adore this woman

Audrey Hepburn

source

I have always admired her class and beauty, not to mention all the work she did for unicef. She is a truly amazing person and I look up to her more than anyone else. It is amazing the way she was able to overcome all the obstacles she did and still find it in her heart to give back the way she did. For those of you who may want to learn more about her life, there is a documentary on her on you tube. I have uploaded the first vid as a second post or you can link to it here

Audrey Hepburn Biography [Part One]

Shipping boxes = new couches!

So a few posts back I mentioned I was working on turning some shipping boxes into small couches for each corner of out tiny living room. Well I finally finished them, and I'm so so so happy with the results. I'm working on some cushions to go around the back of them right now. Here's a pic of what I've done so far.

P.S. yes I know i'm missing an outlet plate, I just took it off b/c i'm getting ready to paint that wall :) I hope this inspires some of you to reuse some wooden boxes you may have around the house. The only thing I actually purchased for this project was 5 yards of grey heavy duty fabric that I got from the thrift store for $4. The best part of my new cozy couches? Tons of storage space!

iron and vinegar update

As some of you know, I've been experimenting with the iron and vinegar stain mixture. I wanted to let you guys know, I've found that the less time the vinegar and steel wool or other iron sit together, the lighter your results will be. I recently mixed some up and let it sit for about an hour and it came out much lighter and had more of that barn wood grey color I was looking for. It will go on the wood completely clear, but after it sits for about 10 min or so it will start to turn grey. I'm even happier with these results!

lighter grey stain

Besides working on perfecting stain colors, I've also been adding on to our barn; adding a new section and tiding up here and there. I've seen a lot of people using the old garden rake for holding various kitchen supplies, in fact that's where I previously had mine. I took it out after I changed the decor up. It was just sitting in the barn, so I hung it up making sure it was secure and now I use it so hang hammers and such on. they fit in the grooves perfectly, and I can fit quite a few on there. Well there ya go one more way to use the old garden rake :) Hope you all are enjoying every minute your summer!

My "hammer hanger" idea

The only working light in my barn right now...  and yes that's an old metal funnel :)

     ♥Raven

iron and vinegar stain results

Well it's official... I'm in love!

 In love with a stain! Yesterday I mentioned that I was working on my first batch of homemade woodstain called iron and vinegar. Well I used it on one of my smaller shipping boxes that im making into a bookshelf, and I love the color! I wanted a distressed barnwood color, almost like the wooden box had been sitting in a warehouse for years. Now that I know the color looks so great i'm walking around looking fo more things to stain!


before staining




after applying stain,still in the drying process it started out clear, but as it dried it got darker and more grey. I wish my camera would have picked up the color better, it is much more grey than it looks in the pic.

♥ Raven

iron and vinegar

I've really been inspired by the look of the iron and vinegar wood stain here lately. Have you see it yet? It's kind of a distressed cedar color. Think old barnwood. I love the way it looks paired with earth tones. Look at the photo below it's gotta alot of the colors im talking about.

Source

So.. I was thinking, I've got tons of these huge shipping boxes that Albert brings home from work, I just might stain a couple of them this wonderful shade of grey awesomness. I think I'll put a cushion on the lids to these gia-normus boxes and make them into a new couch for our living room, complete with storage. In this tiny house I can use all the storage I can make!

First I had to brew me up so stain. All you need to make it is a reclosable jar like a spagetti sauce jar, one peice of steel wool and some vinegar.
All I did was place the steel wool in the jar and fill the jar up with vinegar.,and put the lid back on. I've been lettting it sit for about 24 hrs now, and I shake the jar every few hours or so just to encourage chemical reaction. My boxes are sanded and ready to go, so wish me luck, I'm really hoping I like the color! I'll be back later with some results.
One tip I do have for anyone wanting to try the iron and vinegar stain is, your results will depend on the type of wood you are using. If the wood has a bit of a yellow tint when you begin, your stain will look slightly more tan, and the more pure white your woodgrain is, the more of a grey color you will end up with.

♥ Raven

Loving these long summer days

So how's every one's summer so far? Gone on any wild adventures lately? Mine has been suprisingly calm... I've mostly been taking advantage of these long summer days and working on some projects around the house. One weekend I built a grape pergola with some fencing and old cedar posts we had laying around. Then it was on to my big project! I have been working on a greenhouse from completely upcycled materials. So far I haven't spent a dime on it! The materials have come from shipping crates my husband gets from his job along with some pallets. I took the crates apart and used the 2x4's and plywood for the roof and parts of the walls. The rest of the walls are made from pallets and old windows that I got from different people. I covered the outside with white durable plastic siding my mom had left over at her house. I also added a large garden tub because lets face it, what's more relaxing than soaking in a bubble bath surrounded by plants out away from all the noise of the house. It's going to be heaven... Here's a few pics I took over the past week or so. Some are of my work and some are just random stuff I thought looked pretty. If you would like to pin any of them, that's totally fine with me, just make sure the link comes back here. I own all rights to the pics on my blog :) I hope everyone is enjoying their summer as much as I am!
                                                                                     
                                                          ♥ Raven



front door of my new greenhouse :)



greenhouse in progress...



This is the grape arbor I made a few weeks ago and a table made from a pallet. I added a gutter to the middle for ice and drinks.




abstract picture of a cardinal climber vine





have you ever had just one of those weeks....

Hey there! It's been a while! I have to confess, I've been writing on another blog lately and have seriously neglected my nest! Have you ever been at that crossroads in your life, where you cant decide on one direction. My work pulls me in one direction, and I find myself so wrapped up in the image that I sometimes forget what it is that I really like. Raven's Nest will always be my home, my one true place to talk about whatever I love at the moment and I dont have to care whether or not it fits into a certain image. I have to admit I've had a really crazy week. I lost my puppy who was only 4 months old today, he got hit by a car... It's just been one of those weird weeks where everything has gone backwards it seems. Things like that always leave me in a funk. Well, hopefully my next post will be a bit more cheery... I think I just need time to resituate my brain a bit, and get back to the norm.

♥Raven

Good Morning

Well it's saturday and I've got so much on my to do list I better get to it. One thing I plan to do today is make my own hammock from stuff I have laying around the house. I need one for our little camp area in the back yard and if it comes out pretty cool I might make another for my garden. So we'll see how that goes, wish me luck ;) On another note, I had planned on hitting the trails today, but with the house addition were working on, it's pretty much taking up all our weekend right now. It's okay though, it'll be sooo worth it in the long run. Maybe I can at least fit in a bike ride around the neighborhood by this evening, I know my bike is feeling a lil left out these days, haha! Hope everyone enjoys their weekend and I'll be back monday hopefully with a successful DIY on hammock making and maybe a few new recipes.. we'll see :)

                                                                                                             ♥Raven

Thrifty Thurday

Hey there! Just thought I'd post a quick thrifty thursday. I've been super busy in my shop this week and didnt have much time to plan my out fit. I thought I'd post this cute skirt I found a while back. I'm thinking of color blocking it with a hot pink top. I just love black and white, since it's considered a neutral you can wear just about any color with it. My favorite part about this skirt besides the fact that its houndstooth (one of my favorite patterns) its got this beautiful lace detailing. Let me know if you have any other ideas on what I might pair this skirt with. :)

♥ Raven

Happy Tuesday!

So How was everyone's holiday? Did you enjoy your time soaking up the sun and eating waaay too much like I did? :P  Albert BBQ'd every day this weekend complete with fresh veggie sides and cocktails. I feel so blessed to have a BBQ chef in the making as my husband! We kinda just hung around the rest of the weekend, went to a parade and walked around at the town craft fair. I'd say a pretty great weekend! My oldest Jordan wanted to have s'mores so we lit a campfire and hungout there just about every night. We had so much fun just camping out in the back yard.




Here's the low-down on the beer we tried this weekend: Moose drool was awesome, a little dark for me but still smooth. Lucky buddha was a lighter smoother beer. I would buy it again. Fox Barrel was fair. If you like a sweeter/fruitier beer, you'll probably like this one. It's made from 100% pear juice. the Bootlegger was a bit too stout for my taste. It's more for those who prefer the darkest of dark beer. That was the only ones I personally tried. I'll try to get the husband to leave his opinion on the rest. :)



Hey there! Just wanted to let everyone know I have moved all my wooden pendant jewelry to it's own etsy shop. I feel like certain things in my other shop were clashing so I figured I'd change things up a bit. You can find all the wooden jewelry here! http://www.etsy.com/shop/campfirecreations01?ref=si_shop

DIY Ombre shorts

Hi just thought I'd share a little DIY on how to make your own ombre shorts.

 Here's what you need:

1 pair of old jeans cuttoff to your liking or old pair of shorts

1 large bottle of pure bleach (i just used the $1 stuff from the store)

a large bowl that you can throw away when your done

gloves to protect your skin from the bleach

hankercheif or painters mask to cover your nose and mouth if you are sensitve to the fumes of bleach.

 Make sure you do this project outside! Bleach is extremely strong and wear a protective mask such as a painters mask if you have sensitive lungs. Bleach can cause chemical burns! Please be careful!

That's it! Now just pour enough bleach in the bottom of your bowl to cover the bottom of your shorts, about 1/3 of the bowl or so. Now dip the bottom 1/3 or so of your shorts evenly into the bleach and lie them against the side of the bowl so that they will stay put for about 2 hours. Check every 30 minutes or so to make sure they are bleaching in an even pattern, move them around a little if you need to. Once you get the bright white you want, very carefully remove them from the bowl and wash them out outside first if you can with a waterhose or something. After you get most of the bleach out, wash them by themselves in your washing machine on regular cycle.

old jeans