Dremel Giveaway! Merry Early Christmas!

*This Giveaway is Now Closed. Check Back Soon to see who the Winner is!*


Woo Hoo! Dremel is at it again with another great Giveaway and HGTV DIY Expert Chip Wade Tackling America's To Do List Video! 

This time around Chip is showing us how to install Crown Molding (who wouldn't love to know how to do that right?) using the Dremel 8200 Rotary Tool.

You may think that Chip makes this look easy because he's an awesome handy man (which he is); but with your Dremel it is easy! 

And one lucky reader will win a new Dremel Trio! You know how much I love Dremel and the Trio is no execption to this.

Dremel® Trio

As the first tool of its kind, the new Dremel Trio allows do-it-yourselfers to perform the functions of many specialized tools with just one, versatile package. From the wall, to the table, to the floor, the Trio allows users to tackle multiple materials and planes without switching tools. With the Dremel Trio, it’s never been easier or more convenient to Cut. Sand. Rout.™ wherever your project demands.

Functions

• Cut: With powerful, 360-degree cutting technology and plunge-cut ability, the Trio makes quick and controlled cuts in wood, plastic, drywall, metal and wall tile
• Sand: The Trio allows users to go where they can’t with most other tools to manage intricate sanding and shaping details
• Rout: Add finishing touches, such as round or beveled edges, or cutout wording on a wooden surface without changing tools

Versatility

• The Dremel Trio is the first multi-functional tool of its kind: a spiral jigsaw, edge sander and detail router all in one
• The Trio’s unique, 90-degree pivoting handle lets users adjust between horizontal or vertical surfaces without switching tools
• The Dremel Trio Tool system is complete with a full line of accessories and attachments to tackle countless projects in a variety of materials
• Available attachments include a vacuum attachment, compact depth guide, circle/edge guide

Performance

• The Dremel Trio offers a speed range of 10,000 – 20,000 rpm with a variable speed dial for greater versatility and optimal control
• The Dremel Trio has a non-marring base that protects delicate work pieces
• A telescoping foot provides accurate depth control while cutting, sanding and routing
• With an on-board dust extraction attachment, the Trio maintains a clean workplace during use

Ergonomics

• At half the weight and one-third the size of a jigsaw, the Dremel Trio is a compact, light and approachable tool that’s easy to maneuver
• Lock-on button and multiple grip zones offer added comfort through extended use
• The Trio’s 90-degree pivoting handle helps users maintain a strong grip for added control and accuracy during any application

Ok, so how can you win one of these babies?


1. Leave a Comment telling me how you would use a Dremel Trio!


2. Become a Follower of Adventures In Creating (Leave a comment if you already are!)

Giveaway starts today and ends Tuesday December 6, 2011 at 11:00 PM EST.  Continental U.S. or Canada only; no P.O. boxes.  Please allow 4-6 weeks for your Trio to arrive. I will choose a winner using Random.org from all eligible entries (comments). I am not compensated for this giveaway.


Good Luck!

And Don't Forget to join the Dremel brand for a #DremelDIY Twitter chat this Thursday, December 1 from 6:30-7:30 p.m. HGTV star and home improvement expert Chip Wade will be talking winterizing a home and top holiday gifts for the home improver or DIY’er. Dremel will be giving away a variety of free tools, so be sure to check it out! I'll be there for sure!

Easy Update: Fancy Up a Boring Table Cloth

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We hit the road once again for Louisiana to visit family and see our Tigers Play. It was a great weekend overall. Not only did we get to see our family and eat some awesome food, our LSU Tigers are still #1!!


Ok before this post becomes all about football; the weekend before Thanksgiving I hosted a Wine Club Party at our house (Yes there are some good things about Altus, OK!). I thought it would be fun; along with wine drinking, to do some wine related crafts at the party. My problem was that there were going to be a lot of girls and I don't have a lot of table space.


This is what our dining room usually looks like:

Notice something missing? Like a table? I have a million chairs but no table. 

Solution- a temporary folding table!

Not perfect but much better. It certainly did the job at the party. The only table cloth I had was an old beige one from Walmart that I've had forever. Boring! I thought it would be fun to fancy it up with some paint and a stamp. 

Easy process- put some paint on your stamp and go for it! I just eyeballed the spacing of the stamp. And I didn't mind of the paint wasn't perfect, I liked that some of it didn't stamp all the way.

There you have it- a quick and easy way to fancy up a cheap boring Walmart Table Cloth!

If your curious what kind of wine crafts we made here are some of the products. A cute wine cork Rudolf. (I think my favorite part of Rudolf is his little pipe cleaner tail which you can't see to well in the pic).

And for those of us brave enough to wield an Exacto after a glass of wine, wine cork jewelry which I got the inspiration from here.

It was a fun party and all the girls enjoyed making the crafts. There were some cure reindeer and a lot of creative hair pieces. Some of the girls even made cork Christmas Tree ornaments. 

How was your Thanksgiving? Any crafting time?

Tips for Placing a Bed in Front of a Window

I saw this great article on Houzz the other day that I wanted to share with everyone. It had some great ideas on placing a bed in front a window- a common problem that I had in our old house. (All images from Houzz)

One idea that I thought was great was keeping everything on either side of the bed symmetrical. The height the large paintings and lamps give to the room take you eye away from the window and make them all work together.

This designer used curtains to help hide the window and soften it, almost gives the window a headboard feel. I thought it was an interesting treatment, how the curtain rod cuts across the middle of the top window. I'm always at a loss on how to treat a window like this I like this idea for any room of the home.

Another treatment I haven't seen- top down blinds. They help with privacy while letting light and the view in. I wonder how pricey those are??

Here all the furniture is kept below the window line, the window becomes the headboard. Simple and effective. I only wonder how early these people wake up with the sun shining in their face?

How about pretending you don't have a window at all? Here the curtains cover the window completely when not in use. 

There were some other good ideas in the article if you want to check them out. 

Have you dealt with your bed under a window? What was your solution?

Reclaimed Wood Coffee Table

Yes, I am back again with yet another coffee table. Just call me the Crazy Coffee Table Lady. I made this one to go in our main living area. We've had our existing Ikea coffee table since I was a single girl living the life in college- almost 10 years ago. The scale is small for our couch and current living room and it's starting to show it's age.

I will have to say in it's defense that even after all the college apartment moves, new house moves, Con-Man beating on it, and all the food and drink spills it's held up pretty well.

I was ready for a change- and BAM!

I now have this Little Beauty. (Well Big Beauty because it's almost 4' long and 2.5' wide!) 

This all started when I bought this funky coffee table at the Goodwill for $20. I since used the top of that table to repurpose an old sewing machine, but still needed to do something with the hairpin legs.

Enter this; an awesome wood beam I found at an architectural salvage shop.

The wood needed a lot of work. And after messing with it I found out it wasn't yellow pine like I had thought; it's actually a cedar beam. This could totally be my mistake, it was hard to tell what the beams looked like while I was picking through them in the dark shady warehouse.

Anyway, I took my beam over to the Altus AFB wood shop to get it cleaned up and cut to the exact size I needed. Like I've said before the guy working there is super helpful. He told me what steps I needed to do and in the order I needed to do them in. I planed the wood down smooth and cut the pieces down to size.

After we got the big stuff done I used hand planing tools to smooth out any rough spots. 

Then we used wood glue to join the three pieces together to make the top. Can you believe wood glue is all we used? I didn't think it would hold at first but it totally did! After that I finished it off with Minwax Provencal wood stain. I used a Purdy Paint Brush; I felt like it gave me a more even finish and it went quickly even though I had a large area to cover.

So, after all that wood working was done it was time to turn my attention to the base. The frame of the old coffee table was about 24" x 24". I decided that I would use my Dremel tool to cut the base down and weld a new, longer frame for my new table. I purchased steel flat bar and had them cut it to the length I needed, then just welded it to my existing legs.

Then all I had to do was screw my new top onto my new base. The hairpin legs already had screw holes from when they were attached to the old table- so this was the easy part! And it's always good to have a helping hand.

C'Est Fini!

I love my new table because it is super sturdy. Con-Man can bang on it all he wants- it already has lots of character so a few more dings will just add to the charm. And since it's cedar if liquid is spilled on it- no big deal. Cedar does well with water so that was a happy accident after all.

I have no doubt that our new table will last another 10 year +. Which is a good thing because I don't think I can convince The Hubs that I need to make another one any time soon. Now all I need is a rug! (Which is totally in the works!)

Linking Up To The DIY Club!

I am...

I am that person you see hauling junk off the curb and loading it in my car.

I am that person in your neighborhood sanding in their garage at 10:30 at night. (Sorry...)

I am that Mom you see picking up her son after daycare with paint still on her hands and saw dust in her hair.

What can I say? I'm obsessed with makin stuff. And I am knee deep in making my rustic coffee table for the living room. Hoping to finish it up tomorrow. Wish me luck!!

Do You Houzz??

Lately I've been hooked on the Pinterest craze along with everyone else. I love browsing around looking for ideas and cool projects. Another site I'm easily becoming obsessed with as well is Houzz. Have you heard of it?

If you're looking for ideas for you home or just like looking at beautiful homes this is the website for you. I can look at these photos all day long and dream (and drool). I want them all!

You can search by room or style. They have almost every style you can think if; modern, traditional, Spanish, ect. After browsing you can create "Ideabooks" and save the images you like in each one. You're able to put notes about what you like about the room.

What even better is that each photo contains information about the room provided by the person who uploaded it; usually the architect or designer of the home. Some of the photos have information and pricing on the furniture and lighting in the room; even what paint color is used on the walls. Pretty awesome!

And it's free!! So, do you think you'll Houzz??