Design by Ashley Whittaker
I think I can, I think I can, I think I can…
In the new year I reviewed my 30 before 30 list and axed a few goals off the list since I just didn’t think they were really important to me anymore. So, in the back of my mind I’ve been mulling what my replacement goals may be. Well… here’s one: goal #6 - Become proficient with power tools.
To be honest I get a little scared around power tools. It’s like they all have an invisible label on them that says “Justine, don’t touch this.” But, in fact, they do not have that label. Part of it is that I’m not familiar with them (so, fear of the unknown) and the other part is that I have a sort of “full steam ahead” attitude with projects that can sometimes result in less-than-careful actions and less-than-perfect results - not an attitude you want when you’re wielding something that could amputate a finger. But alas, it’s time to put that fear aside (cautiously).
By “proficient with power tools” I don’t mean I will become a female Norm Abrams (Yeeugh… that would not be pretty), I just mean I won’t have to wait on Sean to do a job for me - I can up and do it myownself.
One project I tackled the other day (don’t laugh at me, Oh Professional Tool People) was installing hooks in our bathroom. I’d asked Sean to do this, but it’s tax season, so time to do stuff like this isn’t readily available, (and I don’t blame him for wanting to spend his small amount of time at home with me and our children). So the other day I thought, “I’m gonna try this. I think I know how.”
Rewind to how I got my pretty hooks: I bought the cheapest brass hooks I could find at the hardware store:
And spray painted them in the accent colour for the bathroom:
Tip: when spray painting hooks, screw them into some hard ground or a piece of foam so that you can spray all around them (including the tops of the screws)
But that part was not new to me. I’m quite spray-paint-proficient. THEN it was time to bust out the plugs, screws, and power drill. (EEP!)
I began by putting a line of painters tape on the wall and using my cute level to make sure it was straight.
Then I measured out where to put the hooks so that they were equidistant.
(I just mentally gave myself 10 points for using the word “equidistant” in a sentence.)
I held each hook up and marked with a pencil where the screw holes were.
(And I gained another 10 points because this was extremely hard to do and take a picture of at the same time.)
So each spot looked like this:
Then I chose the appropriate size of drill bit and drilled a hole on each pencil mark:
And hammered a small plastic plug into each hole:
After I’d drilled six holes with six plugs, I stood back for a moment and freaked out. “This better work, or this will be quite the mess to fix!” And then I proceeded to drill each hook into the wall, putting the screws into the plugs.
And I did it! I had a little celebration dance as I had not completely screwed it up (ha. Pun INTENDED.), aaand my daughter kept napping the whole time. Yesss… 10 victory points.
And now we could all enjoy the luxury of having our towels on hooks right beside the shower!
Up next, a similar project… that curtain rod in our bedroom! Onward, Fearless Power Tool Wielder!!
Hanging Art in the Bathroom
I always feel stumped on what art to hang in the bathroom. Portraits are out. That’s just awkward. And lots of people seem to go for seascapes or water-themed art, but that feels too obvious for me. A while ago I posted about painting agate-inspired art, so for my bathroom I stuck with that geological idea and painted some malachite-inspired art. (Geologists, look away. Because these are not very technical. Because, you know, I have all those geologists who follow my blog.)
I told you I was obsessing over emerald green, and I’ve been adding it to my bathroom in accents. This was another way to repeat the colour.
I tend to hang my pictures differently all the time, but I thought I’d share with you one way to do it that requires no math (this is for a picture frame with two hooks on the back). This is what you’ll need (plus, nails and pictures. duh.):
Isn’t my level cute? (I got it in a Christmas gift exchange, which makes it extra special, since I never get anything good in those! Once I got a little black toad paperweight with red jewel eyes. Creepiest ever.) And painters tape is a marvellous thing for hanging picture frames. I use it all the time. And it’s especially great for spacing out groupings of art. But I don’t show you that today. So. Um… where was I?
Take your painters tape and stretch it over the little hooky-hanger-thingie and press down. (Sorry, is this getting to technical? I’ll slow down.)
Then poke your nail through the tape into the top of the hooky-hanger-thingy to make a hole.
Here’s a picture of a hole in some painters tape on the back of a picture frame. This is thrilling stuff, people.
Then transfer that tape strip to the wall and use a level to make sure it’s straight.
Hammer your nails into the wall through your pre-marked holes.
Hang your picture on the nails and use your level again to be sure it’s straight.
Then, because I was hanging an identical frame below the first one, I removed the top frame and created a guide with painters tape from the top nail downward, again using the level to make sure it’s straight.
After that I repeated the first steps with the second frame
I matched up the nail hole for the second frame with the side of the tape guide from the top. I hammered the nails and I hung the second picture. And then I went savage and ripped off all the tape like a mad woman. Not really. But you could.
Ta da! Some colourful, interesting, abstract art for the bathroom!
