My head is exploding with projects for the new house and the holidays coming up. I did manage to complete a few things, and I'm busy working on others.
Here is one I finished: a bath mat. The idea came from a book I picked up at Lowe's Home Improvement...my second home, it seems, whenever I move. The book is Handmade Home by Amanda Blake Soule. I altered the pattern to match my new shower curtain.
My other time consuming quest came with my new kitchen island from IKEA.
I have loved this piece since I first saw it, but it has been kind of a pain. First, I put it together in the dining room, only to realize that I couldn't fit it through any of the doors. It seems I should have realized that, but in the midst of a move, even simple things slip past you. It came with two booklets, assembly instructions and care instructions. I threw the assembly book away after getting it together in the kitchen and threw the other one on the dining room table. After two days of use, the top was covered in little marks from even the slightest of moisture. Finally, I read the care instructions which tell you that the oak top is dried out for shipping and you have to apply oil to finish it. Of course they recommend you use the IKEA brand of oil, and of course, I would, if IKEA were local, but it seemed a long way to go for a small can of oil. So I just got linseed oil and tried that. The top was so dry it soaked up a generous application of oil in just minutes. All the marks disappeared, but even a day later, the smell didn't. Now if you not aware, I have a keen sense of smell that debuted with my first pregnancy and never went away. I will be preparing food and eating at this table, so I had to find something else to use. After hours of researching the internet, I went to Lowe's, again, to browse. I was staring at the products available when a Lowe's worker asked me if she could help.
"Not unless you can tell me what this smells like," I said jokingly. To my absolute surprise, she said, "We'll see," and opened the can. It smelled worse than the linseed oil. We opened at least five cans. They all smelled too strong. She was the most helpful person I have come across in years. We discussed a recipe I found online...beeswax and mineral oil, and I decided to give that a try.
I bought beeswax from Michael's (in the candle making section) and mineral oil from Walgreen's (in the laxative section.) I had read instructions with ratios of 1:5 to 1:1, but being that one was liquid and one was solid, I just experimented. I started with 200mL of oil and 2 ounces (weight) of beeswax. Beeswax is very hard to chop up. I heated the oil in a double boiler and added the chopped beeswax. It took quite a while to melt. Once completely melted and combined, I let it cool and applied it with a soft cloth while still liquid.
First of all, it smelled divine, like honey. That problem solved! Second, the top absorbed it within a couple of hours and I buffed off what little was left very easily. It resulted in a beautiful finish! But most importantly, the next day, a three year old left a fast food drink cup on the island, you know, the kind that sweats like crazy and leaves a puddle around the bottom. When I picked up the cup, the water had barely penetrated the wood. You couldn't even see a ring. Problem SOLVED! Now I have a beautiful finish that still leaves me with the raw wood look and feel, but the finished wood protection. It's safe and it smells good. The leftover mixture was poured into a jar and I have since applied it in paste form to other wood pieces with just as much success.
I'm building open shelving for the kitchen. So more photos coming soon.
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