Remove stinky old smells from old furniture

The culprit is this guy below

Very nice piece of furniture I snatched for just $100

But boy, it came with an "old" odor! I tried painting the drawers

It smelled like fresh paint for a little while

A "little while" is right....It's back to smelling old again

So I researched different ways to get rid of that musty smells in furniture

And this is what I found

1. Clean the drawers out well with a damp cloth
2. Let it air out/dry in the sun for a while (maybe several days)
3. Sprinkle baking soda everywhere and let it sit for several days. Vacuum and repeat this step if necessary or maybe leave a small box of baking soda open in each drawer until the smell is all gone
4. Line each drawers with dryer sheets and let them work their magic for several days if the baking soda does not wrk
5. Pour coffee beans inside to absorbe the odor is another good alternative
6. Place a few small bowls of white vinegar in each drawer and let it absorb the smell. The vinegar smell won't linger
7. store scented candles or soaps in the drawers

You might have to repeat any of these tricks several times.

Let me know if you have tried any of these and if they worked.

Purl Soho Mountain Capelet

I just loved the simplicity of this capelet pattern so I gave it a try.

It only took me about 4 hours from start to finish and it really was a no brainer project! You can watch TV or do this with your eyes closed, I promise. I loved making this so much that I made two!

I absolutely adore all of Purl Soho's projects, from kitting, sewing to crocheting.... take a look
They are my to go to website for patterns.

Here is Purl Soho's capelet

Here is mine

I used 2 and a little more (maybe 1/4) skeins from Loops and Threads "cozy wool" in the granite color for this pattern and again in the mushroom color for the one pictured above.

Because my yarn has a different gauge (thinner) than the one described on their website, I increased the total number of stitches to 90 instead of 70.
When starting the decrease, I followed their instructions but instead of k29 as per their instructions I had to K39 since I have 20 extra stitches.
I also knitted two extra rows for the shoulder decrease so it feels tighter around the neck (I repeated the instructions for that section 8 times instead of 6) and I knitted the neck/cowl area until I almost ran out of yarn. This area (from the last decrease to the top) measures 4 inches only rather than 6 inches. If you have more yarn, go right ahead and continue knitting per their instructions. I just ran out and did not want to purchase another ball.

This piece is gorgeous! It falls right above my elbows, which gives my arms the room needed to move around without the capelet getting in the way. It covers a good portion of my upper body including the neck area which is where I usually tend to feel the coldest.

It is so comfy and cozy and really warms me enough without the bulkiness of a sweater. You should probably make it longer if you are tall and use all 3 skeins of the "cozy wool" or more and make the cowl longer if you want to cover your neck more. I have a small frame (5'2") and the measurements given on the website are perfect for me.

Note: If you plan on using Loops and threads "cozy wool" which is made of 50% wool and 50% acrylic, you can still use the spit splice method for joining your yarn pieces together rather than have to weave the ends into the project. I tried it even though felting requires working with 100% wool and it worked but know, that I did not use the wet method. Instead, I used my felting needles and a piece of foam to join my yarn.
If you want to learn more about the wet splice method, click  here for Purl Bee's tutorial.

The edges will curl a bit, so you should block this piece to give it a neater look. I did.

So what do you think?

Eat Sleep Ski wood sign

Decorate your home for winter with simple wood signs such as this one....

Perfect for a cabin in the mountains, or even your beach house!

Custom stencil

Hand painted

Aged

Distressed

Protective wax finish

just hang it up!

My Winter Decor

Handmade "snowball wreath"

Winter photos purchased on Etsy at VintageSportsPosters. 

Wood sign made by me

Ski signs made by me

Vintage skis and poles by the fire

Look what we found 2 months ago

So....we had a cat...for a little while!

We've never had a cat before.

This one showed up 2 weeks after our beloved Sam passed away and it felt like it came into our lives at the right time.

We needed love

We thought he was a girl

so we named him Millie.

Sweet cutie liked us a lot and didn't leave our back yard for a while. He kept bringing us gifts!!!! The kind that makes you cringe They meant so much to him and to us.

Than, we found out Millie was a boy after a visit to the vet!

Now what? No name :-(

He sleeps funny

He is a "snowshoe" cat. Very rare, very hard to breed. Extremely intelligent and docile. They think of themselves as "people" not "cats"! hahaha. Loves to cuddle and loves to play.

We searched for his owner and could not find him so we found the perfect cat lover friend who is thrilled to have him forever since we can't keep him. He gave us love and we loved him back and now he has a new home. 

Happy Ending

Faux Shiplap Wall How To

This project has been on my to do list for quite some time now and I don't know why it took me so long to get it done as this was an easy project.

The area to cover is a small garage entry way in the back of the house. The plank wall idea was to give this space a more beachy brighter feel since it is very small and dark.

After researching "faux plank walls/faux shiplap" etc... on the web, it seemed that everyone had their utility plywood sheets cut into 6 inches wide pieces so I did the same. The bottom plank closest to the baseboard would need to be ripped to fit the space but it seemed easier to do than have to figure out exact measurements.

Materials:

- Measuring tape and pencil
- 4'x8'x5mm utility plywood panels
- Corner trim
- Nail Gun (we used our cordless ryobi 18 gauge brad nailer) and nails
- Miter saw
- Other ripping saw (we used a band saw with a ripping arm but you could use a bladerunner saw, a jig saw or a circular saw)
- Putty
- Latex fast dry paintable caulk
- Primer (or not)
- Paint of choice (we used Sherwin Williams white gloss trim paint)

Instructions:

For this small space, we had to purchase 4 utility plywood panels measuring 4' x 8' x 5mm. Ours were primed a pink/orange color on one side.
The employee at lowes cut all four sheets at once every 6 inches length wise and so were left with 32 plank pieces to transport home.

1. Start by marking the studs on the walls so you know where to nail the planks. I have read of people adding glue to the back of the planks as well but I chose to opt out, in case I decide on another maker over for this space.

2. As every instructions on the internet says, start by nailing your planks from ceiling down as some ceilings aren't straight after the settling of the house.

3. To give the wall a shiplap look, place as many nickels as you need between the top/above plank and the one you will be nailing below. We used 4 nickels for the long planks and 1 or 2 for the short ones, in case you wonder.

We've had to cut a lot of planks to size for this space since we have 4 doors in that hallway. What a time consuming job! Thanks to the hubby and the miter saw.  I can't imagine cutting these by hand.

4. Putty the nail holes and caulk the edges and inner corners that need to be caulked and try to do a better job then me! 

5. Sand everything that needs to be sanded. Vacuum the gaps and wipe the wood clean of dust.

6. add the outer corner trims (I forgot to take a photo before painting)

7. Prime your wall(s)

8. Paint

9. Paint some more and voila! All done

10. We updated our builder grade light! We replaced it with a beautiful handmade light from the LampGoods on Etsy. This one was made by using a repurposed vintage fan cage. For more lights like this one check out the LampGoods shop here

We are very pleased with the way this hallway turned out.