Project Shoeshine: Part 3

So...what have I been doing for the last 7 days? Thanks to the gorgeous weather (and one freaky thunderstorm/lightening experience) I was able to get tons done!

For starters, I went ahead and took all my cut and drilled plywood pieces and slapped on some wood filler. I used some really weird putty mix thing that my dad bought at Ollies last time we visited them. I hate that stuff and wouldn't use it again even in a tight pinch. It's very powdery once it dries and cakes. I had to use a LOT of it too since I was suuuper cheap and got the underlayment plywood for my project (BAD idea! Just spend the few extra dollars and get yourself some good quality wood! It will save you all the trouble). Anyways, I worked for a whole 8 hours on Monday with filling up all the holes with wood filler and then sanding. I also managed to squeeze in some primer on some of those guys. I used the Mighty Mouse sander from Black & Decker which really saved my life! I used 120/130 grit sandpaper before and after the putty to make sure I got all of the rough bits off.

Stupid knotholes

Why cheap wood sucks....

Wood Putty mix that totally sucked

All putty-ed up!

Don't forget the edges! They love to suck up paint.

Great workout! :) Especially if you go old school!

The next day I spent priming and sanding once again to get a really good smooth finish for the paint. Well, everything but the smooth, I still had really long striations in the plywood that I got too tired to fill with putty....so now my closet is going to have a really 'shabby chic' feel (haha!). I used 220 grit sandpaper after the primer which made it feel as smooth as it can get.

Coming up next is putting it all together! Ooh, so can't wait! I've come up with a really cute idea to finish the edges for my closet as well as the drawers. If all comes out as planned, get ready to see some bling! (hint hint, nudge nudge!)

Handbags Galore!

I'm a bag hoarder. It's a shame since I buy them and then I'm afraid to use them and have them wear out. So, here's my window shopping for the day to satisfy my handbag hunger.

Career Calling Satchel - ModCloth

Sommelier Sophistication Satchel - ModCloth

Project Shoeshine: Part 2

Thankfully the weather was beautiful today despite it being 94F outside, the shade was really cool and there was a nice refreshing breeze. Perfect day for working on my closet!

First thing I did was cut the wood to size....I already did this a couple weeks back and it was grueling work since that day was really hot! I used Otimize Nesting to figure out how to best cut out my parts from the plywood sheet. Here's an idea of what it looked like (only 1 of 3):

OptimizeNesting Cutting Layout

Cutting Layout (on my frist try on MDF which was a total fail)

Anyways, today we just added the holes needed for the shelves that will go on both Units A, B, and C. Unit A is for shoes, so that one had holes drilled into it all the way down both sides. Unit B and C have drawers so I just drilled the 1/4" in. holes about 1/2" deep or so. Since a shelf drilling jig is too expensive. I went ahead and used a pegboard for the job. I cut a 3" wide piece and using clamps, clamped it to the sides to drill my holes. My dad had a drilling press, so I just used that, but you can use a drill and a drill stop (or a piece of tape) for drilling your holes.

I used my CAD model for measurements and and such. For Units A and B, the shelving holes were made between 32 1/4" space.  I didn't drill holes about 6 inches from the top and bottom though since I didn't need my shelves to go that low.

3" wide strip of pegboard used as a shelving drill hole template

Pegboard in action!

You can use tape to let you know how far to drill

Holes for Unit C all done! (ignore the markings, they were big fails that were avoided!)

Well....that's all that was accomplished today. Next up is working on putting it all together.

Project Shoeshine: Part 1

My closet sucks. It's the one part of my room that I've never liked since day one and always dreaded opening my closet doors. First of all, it doesn't feel like a closet at all, but more like an upgraded dumpster with shelving and a clothing rod. So, over the summer, after perusing post after post of DIY's at Apartment Therapy, I some how came up with the thought that "Hey! I can so build my own closet! It's going to be easy!" Unfortunately, not so.....my first try was a disaster and a waste of money, but I've learned a few things.

1. Measure your closet. This is the very first thing you want to do in order for you to be able to plan correctly.  Below are my closet measurements. (It's a very, very tiny walk in closet!)

My Closet

2. Plan your closet layout. I went the easy route and used this website: EasyClosets.com. They have a great selection of closet basics to choose from for your design and it's so customizable to whatever size your closet may be. I was almost tempted to buy right there and then, but the price tag is a big ouch for your wallet. So I just used the design as a idea of where to design from since they give you 3D views  from all angles as well as dimensions and skeletal views. 

3. This is the important part if you're going to make your own closet system from scratch. You  absolutely need a plan....with diagrams! It's a tremendous help and means less mistakes. Thanks to ana-white.com, another blog I've become addicted to over the summer, I've sketched my closet plans in Google SketchUp modeled after the ones from EasyClosets.com. This is where I made my mistakes. I used the ones from EasyClosets as my diagrams and plans but I wouldn't recommend it since it is very general.

Wall B Design using Google SketchUp

I'm not going to show Wall A or C here since you'll see them later on in future posts anyway, but this is just to give you an example of what you want to do. This isn't going to be the final color either, mines will be painted all white in high-gloss paint. 

3. Materials and costs. Once you're done with your plans, SketchUp does a fantastic job of giving you the dimensions using the Dimensions tool. This will help you figure out your cut list. I'm very, very cheap/frugal and couldn't afford to lose anymore money (*cough*lastdisaster*cough*) so I found this site: Otimize Nesting which takes all your measurements and gives you the best cutting layout so you use the least amount of plywood (which saved me tons since I only needed 3 sheets of 4'x8' of plywood for the outer shells). Of course calculate for nails, wood glue, paint, and any other materials that need to be purchased.

4. Make! I'll show you guys this part as I go along. So be sure to check back and check out my closet DIY.

topshop

TOPSHOP, as of a few days ago, is having a GREAT sale and not to mention FREE shipping on ALL orders regardless of amount. So....if I were you, I'd head on over ASAP. Here are just a few items I saw some of which I snagged:

• Rust Horn Button Tapered Trousers
• Was $80.00
• Now $20.00

• Airtex Panel Vest
• Was $32.00
• Now $6.00

• Pink Floral Print Triangle Bra
• Was $36.00
• Now $16.00

• Solid Gel Eyeliner in Facet
• Was $16.00
• Now $1.00

CSS Layouts Tutorial - Great Links!

I've been coding since the age of 12 now and even though it's been more than 8 years, I am no where near the level of an expert. :(

So check out Smashing Magazine's and Noupes big huge list of CSS layout goodies. :)

Here's another one from Noupes on how to get super creative using CSS such as customizing your own search bars!

About Me

Over the years I've come to despise those "About Me" description boxes since I find it so hard to talk about myself. So I'll just give you a brief intro into who I am and all those good little details.

First and foremost, I am a child of God and a born-again Christian. So far it hasn't been easy, but I'm working on letting the Lord work in me. My name is Osirelis and it you're probably going to have a hard time saying it unless you have a gift for rolling your r's or you speak Spanish. My name doesn't mean anything since my mom just made it up, though I do wish it meant something cool. I was born January 2 which means I've lived all my life with people tending to give me an all-in-one holiday/birthday gift (bummer!) and really hard to plan birthday parties (everyone's out for the holidays).

I'm currently in college finishing my degree in Art Studio, but I plan to go to grad school for Education and get my Masters in the that while I simultaneously try to work on my Biology major (my real passion). I love all things in life and like my mom says, I was born with my "eyes wide open and full of curiosity." So naturally I try to do it all from sewing to crafting to woodworking and more. I'm definitely a jack of all trades, but I do try to master as much as I can in all I love to do. So this blog was made to follow my crazy adventures and attempts to create, accomplish, and conquer which has proven to be more of a disaster than anything else.

Here's a table of random info just to fill in the blanks :) :

Likes	Dislikes
Taro Bubble Tea Cheeseburgers Kittens Sleeping Anime Keifer/yogurt Sushi Shopping Sales Coming up with cool ideas Crafting (of course!) Swimming Running (sometimes) Music Painting Bubble Bars Crazy jewerly	Cardboard squeaks (shudders!) Grasshopers Having to change the oil in my car Washing my car Writing essays past 10 pages Skittles Smores Walking barefoot Sand in my shoes Humid weather Kitties meowing at 6am Laundry Dust Reading boring books for class Cutting onions Cutting fabric (tedious work!) Sound of forks squeaking on plates