Another Project

There's been another project of sorts underway at the 12 West household.
This one moves on four legs and has all the manipulative panache of a professional.

It came to us on a wintry day a couple weeks back, mewling pathetically and acting cute and generally sending me into fits of distress about its well being. Alex decided "Scruff" was a prudent nickname for the problem based on its generally mangy, flea-bitten, and ill-kept appearance.

Well, I finally broke down and let it in the house.

I'm a sucker.

Hey, if you could have seen his skinny, bald, sore-covered, fully testiculated butt...you would have too!

Oh wait, you can.

After some much needed worm/flea/ear mite medication, Scruff the cat has started a new chapter of his life after being given all his shots and a clean bill of health from the lovely staff at Hillcrest Vet Clinic. Definitely my most expensive project so far. But he's even (surprisingly) FIV/FeLK negative! Next month he will be getting those large tumors between his legs removed, and he'll be right as rain.

Working his magic on Alex.

He uses the litter-box flawlessly, despite being only a year old and a notorious vagabond. He's also insatiable when it comes to cuddling and play. Despite a bit of worm-related flatulence, he's the perfect tuxedo-ed gentleman.

He enjoys large rubber bands, catnip, and playing in the bathtub. He even likes belly-rubs, which is unusual for a cat!

Alex and I are prepared to foster him for a while, but we really (aren't supposed to have pets). If you know anyone who's just desperate for a tender-yet-dashing little rogue in their life, please feel free to contact us.

Fasnacht

Last weekend, Alex and I took our friend Yozo down to Helvetia, WV for Fasnacht. It's a sort of Swiss Mardi-Gras party in the woods, and it was a heck of a time.

We decided we wanted to do a "forest creature" theme. I was a colorful owl, Yozo a dapper fox, and Alex not simply a deer but the creepy forest-god deer from the movie Princess Mononoke. 

I used plaster wrap that I found at Michaels for the base of Alex's mask, which I later painted and glued.

"If I open my eyes, the plaster catalyst will burn them out!"

Scary Plasterface man

For the fox, I razor-trimmed and painted some white craft fur and glued it to felt.

Rather furry.

What a weird person. 

 For my costume, I made a simple painted mask and some fabulous wings:

Glitter is the herpes of craft supplies

Just before sewing the feathers in.

Finished products looked a bit like this:

Alex and I complete!

Some sketchy characters

The whole night was a lot of old-time music and fun. At midnight, they cut down the effigy of Old Man Winter and tossed him on the fire! Here are some more pictures of the evening:

The masks in the dance

Handsome gents at the dance.

Yozo and I try to figure out wtf we're supposed to be doing.

Old man Winter being cut down.

Re-finishing a Table

My Dad scored us an awesome free table back in Columbus that followed me to West Virgina. When Alex and I decided to move and discovered we had a real kitchen, we decided to use it as the kitchen table. It was a pretty sturdy old thing, but not very glamorous to look at. So we decided to give it a little rehab!

First, Alex sanded out the old finish/stains/scratches as best he could, focusing on the top and visible parts of the legs; he'll probably post something about sanding theory soon. After about 7 hours in the basement with it, he came up looking like this:

Dusty XD

 We carried the table up to the kitchen where the light is better and put the legs back on. We also put down an old shower liner for a drop cloth.

Giving the sanded table a final wipe down with micro-fiber to remove dust.

 Color was marked "Cedar".

I applied a liberal coat of some cheap stain we found at the Habitat for Humanity Restore.











We let it dry for about 24 hours. That was the hardest part!  I finished it with some Tung Oil and Shellac for good measure.

A close up of the finish.

I decorated it with some cute mushroom place mats and affordable chairs we found at the local junk shop.

Alex is pleased with the result, although he insists the wings are to be left up ALL THE TIME.

There you have it! Total project cost was about $20 for the sandpaper, brushes, stain and shellac. Everything else involved was salvaged or free. :)

Cranberry Bliss

I'm feeling pretty sickly tonight, so I'm probably going to make these and watch Beauty and the Beast on my laptop. Pictures upcoming :)

^_^

Move-In

I think there's something kismet about moving in to a new place on the first day of the year.

The space is as empty and full of promise and possibility as the days to come (or toil, waste and strife if you're the optimistic type). This house is probably going to be a little bit of all of the above, plus some swearing and sheepish laughter.

This blog will be about it's transformation, and probably our transformation along with it.

We hope you'll find reading it to be as pleasant, uncomplicated, and smooth-sailing as our projects will be. :)

And now pictures of the place as we found it:

Here she is, in all her wintry glory.

The living room/sunroom/stairs up

kitchen 1

kitchen 2

A pretty uneventful bathroom

I'm pretty excited about this though.

The backyard as viewed from the attic room

A backyard tree that I'm fond of.

Obligatory move-in Chinese.

fortuitous :D

back to WV today

In the meantime I will watch far too much DIY network on my parent's TV.

greetings! =^_^=

Hello internetz! Welcome to our blog.

Please read the "about" section for more information about what the heck is going on here.

Then stay posted for fun crafts, projects, recipes, and other DIY goodies! :D