Bathtub Facelift

Yay for four day weekends! I had a great Thanksgiving and hope everyone else did too. It was so nice getting to have some time to relax and get some stuff done around the house. One project I'd been meaning to tackle since I moved in is re-caulking my bathtub. It's just not relaxing to take a nice hot bath with a grimy ring of mildew at eye level. No amount of scrubbing and cleaning products could get it clean so it was time to learn how to caulk! It's a super cheap and easy project and it makes your tub look so good! Here are some tips if you think you would like to try this project yourself....

Here is the before picture of my bathtub. It's actually kind of embarrassing but I swear this is how it looked when I moved in!

The first step is to get rid of the old caulking. Use a putty knife to gently scrape it off the grout, being careful not to scrape the tub or tile.

After all the old caulking is gone, spray the underlying grout with bleach and scrub with an old toothbrush. I gave it a second spray and let it sit overnight to make sure all the mildew was gone. When you are ready to caulk make sure all the bleach is gone and your surface is nice and dry.

The caulking I used is "Tub and Tile" from Ace Hardware. I think it was around $4. You can get it in several different shades and it is supposed to prevent mildew growth. Cut the tip off at a 45 degree angle and run a thin 'bead' where the tile meets the tub. You really don't need alot. Make sure to keep wiping the excess off the tip or it will start getting messy. When you are done run your finger lightly along the bead to flatten it out and take away the excess. Have a cup of warm water and dish soap handy to periodically dip your finger in and the caulking wont stick so much.

The end result!

I also started working on a quilted Christmas tree skirt inspired by this tutorial at Crazy Mom Quilts. It was so much fun picking out the holiday fabrics! There is a really cool fabric store in Morro Bay called The Cotton Ball where I can spend many hours (and many dollars). Hopefully this project will be done and under the X-mas tree before the end of the week!

New Chairs

I just picked up these chairs here in Los Osos for free! Thank you Craigslist. The cushions were extremely gross (they had thicker cushions for the back and seat) and immediately thrown away. I imagine these have been sitting in someone's "man cave" or garage for awhile. I don't love the oak wood grain or color BUT I do love the shape of these chairs. I plan on painting the wood and making new cushions with a cool graphic print. Designspongeonline.com has some awesome before and afters that have me inspired.

I've also been inspired to start making some different things to sell at local craft fairs around the holidays. So far I've made a bunch of 'coffee cuffs' and some christmas stockings. Next on the list are oven mitts and aprons. I'm trying to use fun, colorful, retro prints and stay away from the tackier side of crafting. It can be a fine line. It would be great to make some extra money around the holidays but either way it's fun.

... and if my craft business is a bust, I can always stick to gourd farming.

Projects in the Works....

So far I have six squares done and I am still not sure what its going to turn into. On good days: a queen size quilt. On bad days: a series of pot holders :)

Table update: this is not paint...it's furniture stripper. I HATE furniture stripper. The stripper is now gone (thank god) and I am getting ready to stain.
We are being run out of the house by rocks! Every trip to the beach results in pockets (and sometimes bags) full of rocks. This is our first batch into the tumbler and they turned out beautiful. I'm hoping that with a few more supplies I can start turning our piles of rocks into beautiful pieces of jewelry!