We now have insulation and drywall!!

And we have dust–holy cow do we have dust! My lungs can attest to that too cough, cough, cough!! Even with plastic up the dust is everywhere! They don’t show that on TV either!!

Ginger’s room (the diagonal flooring) really looks small with it opened up!

I love the wood we picked out for the ceiling! With all it’s grain and knots it looks even better than we thought!

Here is a bedroom shot.

The metal roof on the screen porch has also been installed. It’s hard to tell from the photos but it is a copper color and looks so pretty in the sun. That is, when the sun actually shines around here!

Slowly but surely we are moving along. Hopefully sometime this Spring we will be able to “move in”!!

© admin for Pepper Paints, 2012. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Building, ceiling, copper, copper color, drywall, flooring, Holmes, holmes on homes, insulation, metal roof, photo, screen porch, wood

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Today they finished framing the screen porch.

It’s got me dreaming of summer time!!!!!

The screen porch will eventually have screens(!) and french doors leading into the house (where the paper with the green writing is) and  double screen doors opening onto the deck . (the large opening on the left) The area to the right of the screen porch is the deck (minus the railing and decking at this point!)

From the back yard

From the driveway

This is coming in through the new garage into our new expansive and bright hall way! We picked out really awesome tile for this space. I am really excited about all the possibilities of this new entrance way! We mainly use our back door to enter and exit the house several times a day. I always hated walking into the house through that blue door into our tiny dank hall way. It was so depressing. So I wanted to make this new entrance like a front door. We ordered a really nice wood door with a full glass view. I might  paint this space orange or yellow or some other bright color!

Eventually we are going to have a really nice back yard too……I swear! In the mean time we might need to call for another dumpster!

© admin for Pepper Paints, 2011. | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: addition, back yard, driveway, dumpster, entrance, french doors, garage, house, screen, screen doors, screen porch, screens

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

There was a back porch removed

There was lots of digging and hauling of dirt!!! Jake told me he felt like Mike Mulligan!

They dug for days!

Then there was pouring of gravel and concrete and building the foundation with stone blocks. And then came the framing and sheeting.

And then the trusses (this was truly beautiful!) I have a new love of architecture and hardware stores.

From there it was more framing and sheeting

Here is Ginger standing on our new pantry. This will eventually have railings and be a loft above the kitchen.

We have windows now too! And heat as of today–thank goodness!

Daytime view and night time view:

Sorry for the blurry photos–my auto focus is broken and according to my eyes with out glasses this WAS in focus! This is a shot of Ginger’s old bedroom (the green walls and carpet) now open to the new part. That was a small bedroom but now it looks even smaller!

New steps-horray!! Anyone who ever came to my door and tried to enter while carrying anything or happened to be greeted by the dogs or kids (which is everyone, always!) knows how awkward our old steps were and how awesome these will be!

Here we are at the bottom of the stairs, standing in the new super wide hall way looking at my old back door. To the left is my bedroom and to the right is another bedroom.

This is our new bedroom and below is a lucky kids new bedroom (luck is in the eye of the beholder because there is a war going on for my current bedroom)

We have hard wood floors and tile picked out and new appliances purchased. All I have to say is thank god for Pinterest and google!! I love you both beyond words! And more empty promises to update more often! Sorry!

© admin for Pepper Paints, 2011. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: addition, architect, architecture, Building, demo, google, house, Kitchen, loft, lucky kids, mike mulligan, Mulligan, pantry, PepperPaints, Pinterest, trusses, window, Windows

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Unschooling Co Op is back in session so that means I will have something to post other than updates on our remodel! We talked about the paintings of Dale Chihuly for our first class.

Chihuly is well know for his glass works but his paintings and his painting style is also impressive. Here is a link to a few google images of his paintings

http://www.google.com/search?q=chihuly+paintings&hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=Xlq&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&prmd=imvns&source=lnms&tbm=isch&ei=QuZxTuPUCKffsQKKvOXICQ&sa=X&oi=mode_link&ct=mode&cd=2&ved=0CBMQ_AUoAQ&biw=1035&bih=465

To mimic Chihuly’s style of painting we layered paint on to canvas through several steps. We used sheets from a canvas pad. Be sure to paint on the correct side so the edges don’t roll. We used acrylic paint.

The first layer of paint when on with a brayer

The second layer went on with a broom-allowing the first layer to show through

Next layer was splatter painting

And then we used “puffy paint” for the final layer  DIY puffy paint recipe here

Each one ended up so different and the kids really enjoyed applying each different layer. I did choose specific colors for each layer so that the darker colors went on first and and then in small amounts last, hoping to keep the layers visually separate.

This collage is made up of all the kids paintings

I can see why Chihuly is also well known for his splatter painted shoes after this class!! I loved both the process as well as the product of this project!

© admin for Pepper Paints, 2011. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: acrylic paint, art, art class, brayer, broom, canvas, class, collage, dale chihuly, DIY, google images, Kids, layer, Paint, painted shoes, Painting, paintings, process, project, puffy, puffy paint, splatter, unschool, unschooling

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

One of the things I have been excited about is the possibility of finding treasures when we dug up the yard for the foundation. I have been told our house once held the original farm house for this area. Most of the existing house was built in the 4o’s so there could be old stuff as well as newer “trash.” I have found some broken dishes and marbles out back.

Over the weekend my husband found our first treasure! An Oneida lmtd Silversmiths  Triple cocktail or olive fork.

I think it is railway or cruise ship flatware. I can’t wait to see what we dig up next!!

Here is the video of our garage demo–in case the photos weren’t enough for you! You can view it in live action. I’m pretty sure Siskel and Ebert would give it 2 thumbs up!

© admin for Pepper Paints, 2011. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: brick patio, broken dishes, builder, concrete, concrete patio, demo, demolition, demolition project, Ebert, flatware, flickr, foundation, garage, Home, home demolition, home improvement project, house, husband, marbles, old stuff, oneida, photo, photos, project, railway, SilversmithsÂ, Siskel, trash, treasure, triple cocktail, video, yard

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

We invited neighbors over for coffee and donuts before the show .It’s the least we can do for them for putting up with our dust and wild homeschooled children and all their friends and barking dogs and loud stereos and a weedy garden…….I am confident donuts take care of everything!

First the boys tried the Amish way…

Hahahahaha They realized that wasn’t going to work and they needed to return to 2011 technology…The Jeep Wrangler.

How’s that donut Bryan?

Well, that didn’t budge it–maybe that should have been our first clue that the old girl was more sturdy than she looked. Much discussion ensued between boys er,  I mean the men. Let me tell you it was like they were all 10 years old again. Giddy with excitement of donuts and demolishing a building and big trucks! Yes, big trucks!!!

–EEk don’t hit the refreshment table! Wouldn’t want to upset the  neighbors!

They finally strapped her on to the Big Daddy truck.

Look at ‘em–boys and their toys!

The following photos need no commentary other than to say…this is not what the boys expected to happen!

Ready………….Go Joe……….

And there she sat

Now scroll through that series again quickly–it’s like a flip book!

Luckily she didn’t continue to tumble or the peanut gallery with bellies full of donuts weighing them down never would have gotten out of the way!

Now the boys were crapping their pants!

And everyone had an idea of what to do next. For me the excitement was really turning to anxiety. The longer the speculation of the next move went on the the more we were afraid the wall closest to the house would buckle and the structure would twist on it’s way down and hit the house or worse yet someone was going to get hurt.

The boys devised a plan to anchor one side and pull it towards the backyard. Well, just when you need your controls that run the bucket in the bucket truck to work-they fail. So we put caution tape around our entire yard  and my husband drove back  to work to get a different bucket truck. At this point the crowd dispersed and I was left stressed with all the donuts. sigh

My husband and I decided via cell phone that we should call a Demolition Specialist that his company has used in the past…. but of course the office was closed on a Sunday. So, we did what any desperate non Amish person would do-we googled the owners name and got his home phone number and called him on his day of rest.

When” The Specialist” showed up he was amazed at our ‘pickle’.  “Well, I’ve never seen this happen before”

But to the boys credit he agreed with their anchoring idea. Having him confirm that was the best plan of action allowed them to put down the donuts and get back to work.

The guy in the yellow is “the Specialist” the other guy is our neighbor and Boy Scout extraordinaire! ( Who never shook his head in disgust at our home disrepair.Thanks good neighbor! I bet it was the donuts!)

They ran a strap down the center and attached it to the jeep and hit the gas (in reverse).

Even “The Specialist” is getting excited!

That cookie crumbled just the way it was supposed to. Thank Buddah! No one was hurt and the drama was almost over.

We kissed “the Specialist” feet for driving 45 minutes and leaving his wife to wash all the windows by herself just to come to our rescue. If you ever need a demo company YOU SHOULD CALL PROCON!

The steps that led to the upper part of the garage were still standing and holding up a portion of the rubble. It took more work to get that little bit down than the rest of the whole garage!

And through it all, a strong old door that we had stored in the upper part of the garage made a graceful landing, unscathed.

We decided to keep that door and use it somewhere in our house. Something to remind us of the good luck the sun shinned on us during this demo gone wrong. Things really could have gone a different way. We are so lucky no one was hurt and the corner of our house wasn’t damaged.

Thank you neighbors and friends for all the help and support!! I owe you many more donuts…… because next week we are knocking off the side of our house!!! I can’t promise it will be as exciting as this weeks adventure!

© admin for Pepper Paints, 2011. | Permalink | 6 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Building, community, demo, demolition, donuts, friend, friends, garage, Home, homeschool, homeschooled children, house, husband, jeep, jeep wrangler, neighbors, photo, photos, structure, Wrangler, yard

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

I am in awe of my kid! She has abilities that seem to come to her so easily that I can’t hardly wrap my head around. This is her latest sewing creation.

It is a cosplay costume for an anime convention. She based her costume off of this Elizabeth ( Lizzie )Middleford  $400.00 costume.

Only she spent a mere  $5.00 on 2 sheets from the thrift store. Amazingly thrifty yes but the really amazing part of all of this is not only did she make this costume entirely by herself with no help from anyone but that she didn’t even use a stinkin’ pattern! She just looked at the picture and 2 bed sheets and created this amazing costume! Did I mention I am in awe??? Well let me say it again…I am in awe of this kid!

She and her friends have been waiting for months for this convention. They planned which characters from Black Butler they would be cosplaying so long ago. Everyone looked great!

I bet they are already planning for the next one!

© admin for Pepper Paints, 2011. | Permalink | 6 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: anime, anime convention, bed sheets, black, Butler, cosplay, costume, creation, friend, friends, Lizzie, MiddlefordÂ, photo, photos, sewing, thrift, thrift store, thrifty

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Jake and I went to Kmart and stocked up on some pretty color spray paint and cupcakes.

Then my kids proceeded to lose a few brain cells all in the name of art, graffiti art. Even in the wide open air there were some serious fumes! It was great to watch how each kid tackled their blank wall so differently. Molly just grab the paint and started spraying.

Jake looked for some inspiration from a book we just happened to have checked out from the library

He was really methodical in his approach. Stepping back thinking about it–all while Molly worked furiously.

Ginger knew exactly what she wanted…This is a picture of our friend Chloe and her new boyfriend kissing. Awwwwwww

Then after consulting with the book, she found her inspiration too!

Of course things got a little out of hand!

If my neighbors didn’t blink at what they saw or grimace at the smell I am guessing they cringed when they heard me yelling “You may NOT spray paint your sister!!”

This window looks cool when lit from the inside

So let me ask you would you rather look at this?

Or this??!!!

I am glad we get to enjoy it for a few days…..it’s all coming down this weekend.

© admin for Pepper Paints, 2011. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: addition, art, Artist, Artists, color, demo, demolition, garage, Graffiti, graffiti artists, Kids, kmart, neighbors, Paint, photo, photos, recycling, Spray, spray paint

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Over the last few months we have met with our architect many times until the drawings were just what we wanted. We met with our builder several times so he knows just what we want. And….Well…. after seven and 11/12 years in our house finally “the addition” is underway!!!

We have the most awesome labor! First Jake dug part of the 50 foot trench where the bobcat won’t be able to fit so that we can bury our electrical lines. Did you hear him mention that our soil is mostly clay and full of tree roots.

Next thing on the list was taking our stone patio wall down. This involved swinging a sledge hammer and and busting stuff up. A boys dream!!

The girls helped with the relocation of all of the rocks (so we can re use them). This was not a parent approved part of the process. I looked out the kitchen window to see  them filling up a cart with the rocks, attaching it to the back of my car with a chain and Molly (who was more than happy to help!!) driving my car into the back yard with Jake making sure the cart didn’t ram my car.  My 12 year old driving around my back yard made me a little nervous I must add!

Early Sunday morning to my neighbors dismay the jack hammer arrived.

Actually my neighbors didn’t care at all (not yet anyways!). Word spread that we had a jack hammer and teens and men needed to try their hands at  the ultra, manly power tool. They got to play and we got a little help-win -win!

Four to six inches of concrete is hard to bust up and heavy to move! Here is a flat on the trailer. But have no fear—more manly toys and tools!

This is just the start of the demo that we are doing before the real project starts. Which is scheduled to happen in just a few weeks. I am way overwhelmed with all of a sudden the need to pick out windows and siding and get everything out of the garage and order the dumpster……One would think in the almost 8 years that I have been thinking about this I would know what I want.  So many choices! That I will have to live with forever! Doh! No pressure there!

I will update frequently on the progress so stay tuned! If you have remodeled or put an addition on your house and have any need to know advice-please pass it on!

© admin for Pepper Paints, 2011. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: addition, architect, back yard, builder, concrete, demo, family, house, husband, Jake, project, remodel, stone patio, tool

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

It is a campground/beach that has been around for over 60 years. The “beautiful” emerald green lake is artesian well fed!

Most of the old school apparatuses seem barely safe which make them even more fun!

This place is definitely a hidden gem that warrants at least one visit a Summer!!

I haven’t been here in about 14 years….And nothing has changed!!

The girls really want to conquer those rings… so we will be definitely be seeing you next Summer White Sands!!

© admin for Pepper Paints, 2011. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Columbus, delaware ohio, Ohio, photo, photos, summer, white sands

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh