Daily Dose #16

Trying My Hand at Carpentry

Okay, so my first sewing project was a pair of shorts in Home Ec in 10th grade, I think (yes, it was still called Home Ec back then, lol). I completely botched the project and decided I didn’t like sewing.

Fifteen years later, after being married to my husband for a few years at this point, my mother-in-law told me she was teaching me to quilt by walking me through my first quilt. A huge project, but one I took on graciously. I completed that quilt and now 15 years later, I consider myself a pretty good quilter. It turns out I love it. But, I still don’t sew clothes!

My first run at carpentry was a 3-tiered plant stand in wood shop class when I was in 9th grade, I believe. The project turned out better than the sewing project, but the stand was a little crooked. Since that project, I’ve never made anything else. My dad is one of the best carpenter’s I know. He has created some beautiful furniture pieces in my life. He’s also built homes and roofed these homes. When I was younger, he used to let me go to worksites with him and ‘help.’ Mind you, helping was running after tools, lol. But, I watched a little, played a lot, and learned a few things. Not much, I might add, but a few from watching in between periods of play.

So now, almost 20 years after that wood shop class, I have decided to build an outdoor bathroom. When we moved to the country earlier this summer, my daughters had the idea of a little western theme town as our ‘home,’ much like the photos below. FYI, these are not my photos, I snagged them off of Pinterest.

The photos below (these are mine) show the start of our little town, the outdoor bathroom. Mind you, I am not a professional carpenter by any means, but I am doing most of the work myself and I am pretty happy with how its going. My sons and hubby have helped a little and my dad tried giving me pointers, but I am a hands-on learner. The whole process will take me awhile, but I am excited to bring my daughters’s idea to life!

Before the photos, though, I’d like to say that through some research, I found the idea of using pallets to make the frames for my walls so I tried it! It looks messy now, but I think the end result will turn out alright. Please don’t judge, it is a work in progress, after all.