Bathroom

Remember the closet?

It looks like this after the birch contact paper was applied. We got it from designyourwall.com and was very happy with the quality. It made the closet look just like the birch furniture I have from IKEA.

Scott really did take the bathroom out.

The toilet pieces and the shower pan got two coats of POR15.

It was a little tricky to apply an even coat to it. The paint is very thin and it runs if there is any excess applied. The side of the toilet kept getting streaky marks. We are hoping the third coat will smooth the bumps out, but Scott is going to call the customer support in the meantime to see if we should sand it down and then rent a sprayer to apply the next coat.

The counter top guy isn't finished with the samples. No progress there. We are leaning more and more towards the poured concrete look, and can't wait to see what he comes up with. We will put the kitchen back in and make progress on the bathroom during the weekend, before the cork floor tiles come on Monday.

upholstry fabric

We got many fabric samples from KOVI fabrics. There is a couch we love in CB2 here and we ordered a lot of grey tones hoping to copy that.

The top three picks in the trailer against birch, and aluminum.

We think the middle one is the winner, but the left one does look closer to the CB2 couch.

The middle fabric looks like this up close.

Scott ended up taking the bathroom apart as well. He is planning to paint most of the surfaces with POR15 epoxy paint.

Next up... The counter top guy is coming with samples tonight. We asked him to make a poured concrete look and a glossy white look because we couldn't decide. We can't wait!

In the meantime, Scott has covered all the faux wood surfaces with birch contact paper, and they are ready to be installed.

Stay tuned!

windows and dinette

It was a beautiful Saturday, and we made some progress on the trailer.

First off, all the windows got new screens.

The old paint got scrubbed off of the screen frame with Premium Paint & Epoxy Remover. We first applied the paint remover, let it sit for a few minutes, and then wiped the paint off with paper towel. It took a few tries to get the paint completely off. But then Scott tried scrubbing with the steel wool and the paint removal together, and it went quicker. Once all the paint was off, we polished it with steel wool. Here is how it looks against the newly painted wall.

Then we worked on the dinette. The tambour doors and frame got spray painted with Rust-Olium's Clean Metal Primer, Rust-Oleum's Ultra Cover Metallic Aluminum, and a coat of polyurethane.

Here is what it looks like assembled.

Scott cut ply wood to fit the curvature of the front, attached it to the frame, and now we have a dinette base.

We are now waiting for the shipment of the cork floor, sample fabric for the dinette, and birch contact paper for the cabinets. Randle, our counter top guy, is working on samples for the kitchen counter top and dinette table.

Introducing Argosy

Camping has never been our thing, but we are hoping to change that. Being in the great outdoors in Yellowstone this summer has left us wanting to do more. Watching our kids enjoy themselves in the nature was priceless. We decided getting a travel trailer would make things easier and help us get out.

Brother-in-law, Bryan, found an ebay listing in Sacramento for a 1978 20 foot Argosy. We knew we could trust him when he said it looks to be in good shape. He owns the exact same model himself and is very knowledgeable about vintage trailers. Scott finalized the purchase on ebay after he talked to the owner on the phone, and he and Bryan set off to go get it that weekend. 17 hours each way, but they came back in two and a half days. Bryan kindly drove his car because ours doesn't have a towing package yet (Totota said they are releasing their 2011 towing package in a few weeks). The trailer is in great condition, and all the appliances work. The dinette and sofa bed are missing because it was used as an office at one point, but the sale price reflected that and we got a good deal. The previous owner had big plans for restoring it, but he got tired and bought a RV instead.

We drove over to Seattle last weekend to purchase some furniture from a guy who is restoring a 34 foot Airstream. He was getting rid of everything inside since he is going to put in all new furniture. We got the dinette and couch bed that we will refinish and reupholster. We also bought three over head bins that we will use the tambour door mechanism of. Ours is missing that completely. We are excited that we don't have to have those pieces made from scratch. The guy's oven was deeper and newer, so we got that as well.

This is the state of our garage right now. What you see closest to you is the kitchen cabinet. We bought birch contact paper to cover it. The two pieces on the right and the pillows in the back make the dinette. We spray painted the frame and tambour doors last night, and it is looking nice and fresh. The upholstery fabric samples have been ordered, and we will have the dinette and bed reupholstered as soon as we finalize the fabric choice.

Here is Scott painting late into the night. Two coats of primer and two coats of Benjamin Moore "Old Prairie". Scott is facing the kitchen where there will be a sink, fridge, stove, oven, and over head storage. Behind him will be a sofa bed. The camera is standing where there will be a dinette that converts to more sleeping area. There is a three piece bathroom in the back with a shower, toilet, and sink. The tall wood paneling you see on the right is a wardrobe, which will also be covered in birch contact paper.

T-shirt resizing - tie dye

before: size 6-8 and boxy

after: size 5 slim

before: size 12 and boxy

after: size 8 and girly

I traced the shape of Kai's Old Navy size 5 shirt for his, and used Milimili's cap sleeve pattern for Asha's.

T-shirt resizing - boxy to girly

At the end of the school year, Jerome brought home a men's size small t-shirt from the D.A.R.E. graduation, that he had no interest in wearing. Asha said she wanted it, so it got dropped in the resize pile. Fast forward to this week, and I realized that Jerome and Asha could use some t-shirts. I dug in the resize pile and came up with a few things.

This one came out the best because the sleeves were wide enough for some puffy details. I used a Milimili pattern in size 140. More shirts using this pattern here and here.

Kai's first day of kindergarten

We can't believe this day has finally come. It was a long wait for Kai.

I hope he is having as much fun as he anticipated. I can't wait to have him back and hear all about it.