New Skill: Welding!

I've always wanted to try welding. I see metal furniture and think- "Hey I could make that!" If only I knew how to weld...

Well, I found out that my husband's grandfather has a welding machine that he rarely uses anymore. He offered to show me how its done. After a few practice rounds and some reading up on the subject I was ready to try it for real.

I needed some side tables for my living room and thought this would be a good way to get some. I had some old burgalar bars off a window of an old house that I needed to do something with. So I thought those could be used as the top with a piece of glass on the top.

I measured existing tables to get a good size and drew up a plan for all the pieces to be cut. I got the steel at a metal shop in town (I got some weird looks but they were very helpful. I don't think they are used to seeing young women coming in looking for steel!). Once I purchased all the materials I got to work. And work it was! Welding isn't physically demanding as in - lifting heavy objects hard, but tiring because it's hot, dirty work. You have to be precise while you are doing it and that can be hard sometimes with a giant welders mask over your face.

I really respect the people who do this for a living. Its both a utilitarian skill and an art form. Though it was hard it was fun. I would love to try it again now that I know how to fit things together and have a better understanding of what materials are available. For example; I purchased all flat bars, had them cut, welded them into angles and then fit them together to make the table. In the future I would purchase angled bars and save a lot of extra work.

I'm so glad that I got to try welding. I've always wanted to do it and hope that I will be able to do it again. I'd live to make a bar for my dining room, end tables for other parts of the house, ect. I'm not sure when I'll have the time though!

Detail shot

Me with finished product

In our living room!

Is there anything you have always wanted to try or learn more about? If so go for it!

In the meantime-

Here's some stuff I have been working on; (I promise this blog will not be all baby stuff but it's all I've been able to do lately...)

So ever since I found out I was pregnant I wanted to give my baby the coolest stuff around. None of that Baby's R Us everyone's got one junk.

I had seen these cool wall hangings on Design Public and loved them! But a) they weren't the right color and b) they are way expensive! Here's the website incase you want some of your own: http://www.designpublic.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=spot+on+dog

So I tried thinking of ways I could make them myself and make them my own. I started by borrowing my mom's scroll saw thinking I could become a master scroll saw-er. Well turns out its not the right kind of saw for this purpose and I can't buy any attachments for it since its so old. Massive Fail as my friend Shelby would say.

Here's the scroll saw wasting away in our shed

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So I needed another approach. I thought- hey why don't I just paint them? Hello!! So I saved the images I wanted from the website and sized them to the size I needed. I found some ready made frames from Walmart and covered them with a white sheet.

I painted the backgrounds the color I wanted them, cut out the images and traced them onto the squares. Then carefully filled in a cat, dog, pig, and cow. Now sweet little Con-man has animal friends to look at all the time!

I found the frames at Walmart for about $11 each. I used an old white sheet I had gotten from the thrift store for $1 and used paint I had left over from painting our house. So for about $45 I have custom made artwork that I won't mind having to get rid of when Con-man wants a change of scenery.

Much better than $260+ I would have spent on the wooden ones online!

First Post Ever!

Hello! My name is Rachelle Falcon. I am young, married, a new mom, an Interior Designer, runner, the list goes on.

I've decided to join the blog world (a little late maybe but better late than never!) to get some creativity back into my life. Before I had my son; sweet little Con-man, I used to make all kinds of stuff- furniture, paint, sew, wood work - you name it I've tried it. My favorite thing to do was to go to antique shops, garage sales, or even pick things up off the street in an attempt to find things I could bring new life to.

I would see a dilapidated old table or chair (preferably on sale or free!) and think of how I could make it usable again. Or I might see something on TV or in a magazine and try to figure out how I could make it on my own. I loved trying new techniques and skills, but after I got married, started working, and especially after having a child that creative part of me has faded away.

So I thought I needed a project, a cause you might say to get my creative juices flowing again. This blog will be about me trying new things, finding inspiration all around me, and having some fun along the way. Hopefully I will inspire you to start making your own creations as well.

I hope you enjoy!