Our Crazy Life: Basement Edition

Hello! I am glad to be back! The move is over and we are settling in well. And I have to say, I am so glad it is all over. As well as trying to pack with a one-year-old, we were also patching nail holes, painting, and finishing up our basement.

Before we put our house on the market, we had to do something about the basement floor. We had a tiny leak last spring which got the carpet wet enough that we had to rip it out. Since then, we have lived with a pretty junky basement (not quite the selling type, ya know?).

And then we decided to just go ahead and redo the entire basement floor. (Why we get these ideas, I'll never know- we love to make more work for ourselves.) Here is the laundry room as we were in the middle of pulling up vinyl tiles.

After it was all said and done, we learned a lot about refinishing and staining floors. Here are the DOs and DON'Ts that might make your life easier if you decide to take the same path.

• Do rent a diamond grinder to grind off old carpet glue, paint, and any other junk that is stuck to your floors. We rented ours from Home Depot but you could get yours from most tool rental stores. Some floors won't need such a heavy duty tool, so definitely research the best option for getting your floor back to the bare concrete. 
• Do use a hot iron to remove old vinyl tiles (place a steaming iron on a tile for about 15 seconds and then use a paint scraper to peel back the tiles; its amazing how easy this is!), don't attempt to chip away at the tiles with chisels...its AWFUL and doesn't work. And just so you know, this will ruin your iron; mine has been banished to the home improvement bucket for future projects.
• Do purchase a massive squeegee to use while grinding the floors down. You have to grind the floors while wet so there ends up being a lot of water on the floor that needs to be guided to a drain. Don't even try to grind the floors without water; you will go through the blades in no time and they aren't cheap! Hook up a garden hose to a tap to make the "wetting" process easier on yourself.
• Do clean your floors, re-clean, and clean them again. This is a must. If your floor isn't clean, the stain won't stick well. Mops (using a "wash" and "rinse" bucket for sure), sponges, and scrub brushes all work well. Don't use the cheapo twist mops for this; they disintegrate pretty fast when used on concrete floors. 
• Do make sure that the floor is completely dry. Also, a vacuum job right before you stain isn't a bad idea either. 
• Do grab a friend to help out with the staining process. We used a garden sprayer to apply the stain which worked okay but we were new to the whole thing so we had to figure it out as we went. If you are going to use the sprayer, make sure to use some masking paper (12" is wide enough) on the walls to protect them. Have one person spray the stain and the other use a roller to blend the stain on the floor. We used 3/8" nap microfiber roller, but would recommend something else. Work fast as the stain soaks in quickly. We ended up with a lot of roller lines in the first coat, which didn't look good at all. After a second coat, rolling in the opposite direction, and a second coat with two people rolling the stain, we had a finished floor. It ended up darker than expected, not quite as "semi-transparent" as we expected, but we like the finished product despite that. What do you think?

We also painted the paneling to update the walls a little.  

The variations in the floor color are from the reaction of the stain with the components of the concrete. There are also concrete patches that took the stain differently. If we did it again, we would try applying the stain with rags to try and get a more even finish with the first coat, however you could also apply the stain with paint brushes. It is recommended that you apply a sealer top coat for high traffic areas and for some extra shine; we didn't use it as we liked it as is. 

What home improvement projects have you worked on lately? 

Bring them Joy!

I love to sew things for my family and friends but I am also always on the lookout for ways that I can help others with my talents. So far, I have yet to decide upon a charity/organization that I want to commit to long term (there are so many out there that it makes it hard form me to choose!) However, I have come across a few that look promising, both of which focus on children.

Source

Project Linus is an organization that makes blankets for children. They don't have to be sick, just in need of some comfort. The organization focuses on giving children any type of  homemade blanket; crocheted, knitted, fleece tied, or quilted etc. This being the case, it opens the door for many talents which is awesome! If you are interested, there are chapters all over the U.S. that you can join- definitely check out their website! Listed below are a few simple tutorials for blankets that would definitely work for this organization if you are a beginner sewer but would like to help out.


Fleece Tie Blanket
Beginning Quilting
Simple Crochet Blanket

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Another organization geared toward cheering sick kids is Conkerr Cancer. This organization started when the founders son was in the hospital with cancer and she decided to make him a pillowcase to bring something fun into his hospital room. Last year they delivered 168,730 homemade pillowcases to sick children!! That's a lot! As with Project Linus, this organization has many chapters throughout the country that you can deliver pillowcases to. I've gathered a few more tutorials for ya to check out! :)  

Burrito Pillowcase

Simple Pillowcase

Hopefully our posts this week will inspire you to bring some smiles to a sick child by sending them a handcrafted blanket or pillowcase! Just knowing that someone cares enough to make them something will brighten their day :) 

~Ruth

His and Hers

Like I mentioned in my last post, I am very into anything DIY. My most recent projects include making “His” and “Hers” apron sets as wedding presents. The groom apron is made with his favorite sports team fabric and the bride apron is very girly; complete with lots of ruffles! (I love ruffles, I think I would put them all over our house if my husband would approve). Once I get a set done- I have 3 to complete!- I will definitely post some pictures J Once finished with the currents projects I am planning on adding them to my Etsy shop as a “made to order” item as well. Customers would pick the general color scheme of the bride apron and then the sports team fabric for the groom apron (or stripes etc if the groom is not into sports).  Sewing and crafts are my big hobby but I also love to be in the kitchen; a good apron is always something that comes in handy. For guys who are not into “kitchen cooking”, tailgating season is upon us which brings plenty of grill time. And what better way to grill out than to also support your favorite team?!

On the topic of “his” and “hers”, it is Ovarian/Prostate Cancer awareness week. Although I am a nurse, I do not work with cancer patients and so the statistics of the different types of cancer always stun me. Yes, there are many diseases that tear the body apart, but few are as deadly as cancer. It is a great accomplishment to overcome such a sickness- so to all you cancer survivor readers: WAY TO GO! You fought the fight and WON! In support of the victims of ovarian or prostate cancer (whether current or past), I would donate 10% of apron sales to ovarian and prostate cancer foundations, unless otherwise specified.

My maternal grandfather had prostate cancer which metastasized to his lungs (and other parts of his body) and sadly did not win his fight. I was only 8 so I don’t remember much, but he was living with us for the last few months and I do remember the day he died. It’s interesting how vividly you remember some events in your life and yet others pass by unnoticed. My mom sent us kids outside to play and a little while later I came inside to find out that he had passed. That was the day I also saw my dad cry for the first time. I said “Dad, you’re not REALLY crying are you?” He responded, “Yes, I am. I am sad.” “But you NEVER cry. You’re not really crying.” He looked taken aback and was silent after that; a very awkward kind of silent and I am pretty sure I hurt his feelings. I have always regretted that comment, but I was only 8 and I guess 8 year olds don’t know much about holding their tongues. While in nursing school I made a medical family tree for one of my classes and found out that my paternal grandfather also had prostate cancer but had gone into remission. As far as I know, he has not had any problems since (J). Knowing this fact, I am very aware that my father and two brothers are at high risk to also have prostate cancer. Scary thought, huh?!

Anyways, if you know someone who is/has been victim to ovarian or prostate cancer, be sure to say a word of encouragement to them this week. Cancer is a tough battle and those who survive do so with the help of their family and friends beside them. If the “right” words don’t come to mind, a smile or hug often speak more encouragement than words ever could.

~ Ruth