libbyBUILDS Archives

On Landscaping

August 10, 2017 | 4 Comments Filed Under: libbyBUILDS, Uncategorized

We've been in our new house for almost two years now. This summer our goal was to (FINALLY!!) get landscaping in. Some of us are more patient than others.

Our venture began in June with a stamped concrete patio, followed by concrete edging, rock, trees and plants, patio furniture, and finally, by the start of August, steps to access all of the great outdoors. I have 323 pictures of the entire process taking up valuable space on my phone, so I'm going to share with you a handful of those accompanied by bits of entertaining commentary. Here goes…

Step 1: The Patio

The guys from Cash Concrete in Glyndon, MN did our patio and we could not have been happier with their work. They were always smiling, hard working, and even let the kids see just how heavy a wheelbarrow full of concrete is. They even saved said wheelbarrow from tipping over all in the yard!

We went a wood grain stamped, "bark" dyed concrete, stained and sealed. We've already gotten many compliments on the way it turned out. All the heart eyes for the patio!

Step 2: Edging and Rock

Haugen Landscaping did our concrete curb edging and rock. They did our grass and sprinkler system when we first moved in and we loved working with Darin and his crew so naturally we went back to him for this job. The concrete curbing was dyed bark to match the patio. He let the boys stick their hands in the concrete divider around the garden area which was gut wrenching for all involved parties. Apparently concrete guys don't like for you to touch their wet concrete. Wonder why?!

Since our house is gray and the stone on the front is a mix of gray and tan, we did a 50/50 mix of gray and natural river rock around most of the house, except the garden which he filled with black dirt for us.

Because we planned to put a tree in one of the landscaping areas in the front, we had to coordinate that between the curbing and rock installation. We started with 0 trees on our 1/3 acre lot and planted 11 this summer! Not everything went smoothly with the trees. When the second tree was being staked in the ground, the installer's hand slipped and…well, you can probably imagine. I did not take a picture of the aftermath but it did reassure me that the medical field has not ever been my calling.

Step 3: Plants

Here's the thing about spending hundreds of dollars on things that die. Some of them will die.

We purchased most of the 30 perennials that went in our yard from Bakers in Fargo, ND. They were great to work with. Since I'm a planner and have had two years to think about this, I pretty much knew what I wanted and where I wanted it. Hostas on the north side, hydrangeas along the east, hardy natives around the patio on the south and in the full sun landscaped circle in the front, and some lilac shrubs and peonies on the outer corner by the road that will someday provide us with a natural privacy screen.

We decided we could handle planting them ourselves. So together Hubs and I spent four long, hot, days moving rock and digging holes. It was quite the undertaking. And anxiety inducing. That whole thing about living things with the potential to die. We planted two dogwood shrubs after being gone over the fourth that had lost pretty much all of their leaves. Our four year old neighbor asked me why I planted those dead plants. From the mouths of babes. Then we spent the next 4 million hours worrying about whether they (and the trees) were getting enough water during the July draught. Ugh. I'm still praying most of them will sprout again next spring. But I'm not holding my breath.

Step 4: Furniture and Steps

After hours of searching patio furniture, I ended up purchasing everything online from Target. One single order. Nine individual packages. All delivered one at a time. At one point the FedEx guy was like "You and your packages. Every. Day." 😂 Then two of them were damaged during delivery and assembly so I had to order more parts. Fortunately Target's customer service is stellar and so was our FedEx guy who I hope gets a raise soon for putting up with me this summer.

Finally, we ordered Trex composite decking material from Lowe's and paid our wonderful neighbor to build the steps out to the patio. Picking out the color of decking was the hardest part of the entire landscaping project. I wanted light gray or dark brown. We ended up with dark gray. But they look great and I'm happy with finished product.

Step 5: Putting it all together.

We have so been enjoying our patio and landscaping here at the end of summer. We go out there every day at some point, to eat dinner, watch the kids play, chat with neighbors, or just soak up the sun. (I also threw a party out there one weekend when Hubs and the kids were gone. The steps weren't even finished yet so I'm just glad nobody was injured. And the house didn't burn down. 😉)

We accomplished everything within our budget and on a manageable timeline (for those of us who are impatient) and believe we will see the return on investment in the overall value of our home.

Now I just have to figure out where we'll store all this furniture in winter.

A shed, perhaps??

string art

July 7, 2016 | 1 Comment Filed Under: libbyBUILDS

Having summer off has me doing all kinds of crafty things around here. Inspired by a friend who posted a picture of some of her recent string art, I decided to give it a try. The idea was to add to the gallery wall of family photos in our living room. While we were back at the in-laws over the fourth I asked my father-in-law if he had any boards he would let me have. He pulled out a beautiful 4′ long piece of birch harvested from his 80 acre tree farm and roughly milled. And so the project began.

I started by using painters tape to form the letters and moved them around to make sure they were centered. Most projects start by using a paper template for fancier fonts or shapes like state outlines. This simple trick worked perfectly for my first time trying string art.

When the letters were in place, I began nailing the nails about a half inch apart around the perimeter of each. I used 1″ 16 gauge, #6 nails (whatever that means) with a bit of head to help keep the string on. I tried to keep them straight but as you can see, some of them leaned a little. I corrected as needed later. Now is when it’s easiest to remove your tape or template.

It’s hard to see but the nails are all in. This really didn’t take long, only 10 or 15 mins. Next I grabbed some crochet string I had on hand to start the fun part.

Until this point, I had done zero research on the art of string art. Ha! I did a quick Google search and discovered you can be as methodical or loose about it as you want so, after reading that I was using the “correct” type of string, I went back to winging it. Here’s what I did.

Start by tying the string around a nail. I double knotted it.

Then go around the perimeter of your design looping around each nail about half way down. This will give you room on the nail above later. I learned that it mattered a little which way I looped around the nail. For the perimeter, I thought it looked best to loop on the outer side.

When stringing the inner part, looping on the left side can give a slightly different line than looping from the right side, so you can manipulate the way the lines cross slightly. It’s hard to explain but try it and you’ll see. Or you’ll call me crazy.

As I was stringing, I did a random pattern trying to get both directions of diagonals and perpendicular lines. I tugged the line slightly, but not so much that it put too much tension on the nails as to make them lean (more). When I did notice a loose or leaning nail, I just hammered down a little more. It’s good to keep the hammer close so you don’t have to let go and have some of your stringing come undone. When it looked full, I went around the perimeter again and then cut and tied off the string.

I found it easier to make a loose knot and then loop it around the nail head and pull taught.

Then trim the string close and tuck it under so no bits are hanging out.

At this point I lightly pushed the string up on all the nails to make the overall pattern come together on mostly the same level.

And there you have it! First string art done in one evening, successfully, with little effort. I can’t wait to try it again. My neighbor and I are already planning a summer craft night to do another one.

Also, I ended up taking all the glass and pictures out of the frames and painting the frames white (previously espresso brown). One thing always leads to another around here. ☺️

guest room office {desk redo}

May 15, 2016 | 1 Comment Filed Under: libbyBUILDS

Like most of you, we have one of those rooms in our house that is the “guest-room-slash-office” space. I designed the room, on the main level, so that visitors, specifically our parents, would have a comfortable place to stay, with their own bathroom, and access to everything they may need without having to use stairs. But bevause guests are rarely here, it is also our catch all room, where I keep my craft supplies, our office odds and ends are stored, and a few miscellaneous items stay while not in use. It is also the home of a desk we were gifted from Hubs’ aunt and uncle. It’s a sturdy desk with lots of storage. Not too big, and not too small. Although we almost always sit with our laptops in our laps on the living room sofa, we are grateful for this desk that holds and organizes our paper stuff.

Unfortunately, it was not up to date, or very “pretty” by today’s standards.

We’ve been in our house for eight months now. I’ve had time to make the primary areas feel like home. It was time to attack this secondary space.

Thank goodness for chalk paint! I used two coats (plus an extra on the top) of Annie Sloan chalk paint in pure white. I did some light sanding on the edges and topped it all with a coat of clear wax sealant. It took two evenings to complete and I didn’t even have to move it to the garage. I just slipped some newspaper under the edges and painted right in the room.

Add some hardware from Target and we’re half way there.

I had some corbels that I’d originally purchased and painted (also pure white) for the mantle. But, for technical reasons, they didn’t work there. I decided to do a shelf above the desk and use the corbels there. I bought a 48″ piece of laminated shelving at the hardware store and sent Hubs in to find studs and make sure things were level and use fancy tools. (I cleaned the shower. Compromise).

Hubs and his helper hanging the corbels for the shelf.

Ta da! The shelf is securely in place and decorated. I love how it all turned out. I have lots of things that inspire me and carry meaning on that ledge: a picture of my boys, my dad, and Brittany, cards and gifts from friends and family, inspiring quotes, and…

…this! It’s called a hair receiver. Women used to save the hair from their brushes and collect it in this…thing, and then they would…make something out of it? I don’t remember exactly but my mom collects them and bought one when she was visiting once. I found a use for it as a holder for the push pins. Yay!

I moved the “Work hard and dream big” sign from the mantle here. It’s more fitting. I bought this and a few others from a local business called Otter and Fox. Look them up on etsy.

An old flour sifter from a friend holds colored pens and other writing utensils.

While redoing this space I decided the rest of the guest bedroom needed more attention.

Really all I did was buy a mint lamp, fold the quilt back to layer the bedding, and add some better matching pillow cases.

I’ve debated painting this room either a lighter gray than the main living areas or possibly a pale, buttery, yellow. But I really like all the light the white walls reflect, especially since this room is on the north side of the house. We’ll see if it stays that way.

And there you have it. Our guest bedroom slash office. I actually spent some time in this space while writing this post instead of on the couch. Ahh…

my house

March 7, 2016 | 6 Comments Filed Under: libbyBUILDS

(The above picture makes me sing that new Flo Rida song, My House.)

A client came to pick up a cake and cupcakes this weekend and said, as she walked in, “Oh, I love your house and I love the door color and…I feel like I just walked into Fixer Upper!” And with that she became my new favorite person.

Also, I was watching Fixer Upper at the time. Of course.

There’s a part of me that believes we’re not supposed to LOVE “things.” And honestly if this were all gone tomorrow and I had only the people I love, I’d still have everything I need. Except maybe a toothbrush.

But I do love this house and I’m proud of it. I dreamed of it and, with careful planning and thoughtfulness, it came true. There’s an Alice Walker quote that says, “Whenever you are creating beauty around you, you are restoring your own soul.” I took part in creating beauty around me and it has in ways restored my soul.

We reached the six month mark of living in our new home. I’ve purchased new furniture and rearranged what we had, hung things on the wall and then moved them, replaced new things with newer ones that fit better, and made lots of plans but achieved only a few. The entire six months has been a process of creating and I don’t foresee that ending. Ever.

(We added this new piece this weekend to one of the boys’ rooms. My friend Maria at Eco Chic Boutique knows what’s up with furniture and home décor.)

Anyway, it’s really fun to show you edited pictures of my just-cleaned house.

It makes me feel better about the laundry in the middle of the living room floor.

(I’ve since added another full basket and folded zero clothes.)

And the mud room…

And this…

Ugh. I was not ever gifted with the mental capacity to deal with papers. I can do hard things like sit in a room with my dying father and then speak at his funeral, but I cannot for the life of me sort through mail.

Honestly.

I’ll leave you with this cute picture of the Monster’s Inc. cupcakes and cake my most favorite client ever ordered. Now try to get that song out of your head…

“Welcome to my house. Baby, take control now. We can’t even slow down. We don’t have to go out. Welcome to my house, play that music too loud…”