PVC Sprinkler

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I really wanted to get one of these, but at $200, I just couldn't justify the cost. So I started looking at other options to keep cool in the heat and humidity.

I found this one, but you really need a sidewalk to ride your trike under the sprinkler, and we don't have a sidewalk. I wanted something a bit simpler than this one, but it gave me a good starting point.

A quick trip to Lowe's, some PVC pipe, connectors, and a ratcheting pipe cutter (definitely worth the $23!) later we were loaded in the car and heading home. I followed the tutorial here, but changed some of the pieces since I wasn't putting a gate on it. 15 minutes after I started, the PVC pipe was cut and I was ready to drill some holes.

 The pipes and connectors.

The ratcheting PVC cutter.

I put it all together in the house, then took off the cross pieces and hauled it outside. I then put it back together and hooked up the hose.

The unfortunate thing is that we don't have great water pressure- we have a well and I guess the pump isn't a super charged one. As a result, the water wasn't coming out all the holes.

I adjusted it several times, moved pieces around, and even removed some pieces.  

The water pressure through the sprinkler improved, but still wasn't what I was looking for.

After removing a few more pieces, this is what it looks like:

The side the hose is connected to does have more pressure, but the water is at least coming out all the holes.

Little Miss Sunshine liked it and couldn't wait to have friends over to play with it.

I'm glad I didn't glue any of the joints in place- it was easy to adjust everything to get the best water flow, and it'll be easy to take apart and store in the winter.

Rehabbed Buffet

 This another of my craigslist finds. $40 or $50 I think? I bought it last winter but never got around to refinishing it before we moved.

I'm pretty sure it had been refinished at some point in the past- the gold paint was on top of some other bubbled finish, and the whole thing had definitely seen better days.

But I thought it had potential, so I sanded it down, sprayed it with Krylon spray primer (which is bumpy, so be prepared to do more sanding- not something I was expecting), then painted it white. I finished with a light gray wash and some distressing, and it looks so much better!

The trim looks so much nicer without the gold paint.

I have a place to put some decor,

we have a piece of furniture on a previously empty wall,

and LMS has a place to store the toys that she insists on hauling upstairs instead of leaving downstairs in the toy room. I think it's time to clean it out already...

I'm glad I finally got it finished! 

It does kind of blend into the gray wall, but we'll be repainting the walls to a light gray-blue, which will contrast nicely with the buffet.

Ch-ch-ch-changes

I finally got around to updating my blog template and header, which I hadn't touched for almost a year. I kind of got on a roll and added pages and moved things around to fit within those pages. I then moved some posts over from my other blog, which I'm shutting down. It was just too much of a hassle to keep two up and running, so I'm consolidating. It's still a work in progress, so things will continue to change for the next little while, but already I'm loving the new look!

Below are links to the projects I moved over from the other blog. I've shown a picture or two of most of them here in the past, but now the whole post has been moved over here.

Quick and easy kid's bathrobe

Bicycle shed platform

Awesome toy storage

My awesome new desk

My Goodwill lamp

Coffee table re-do

Inside the craft cabinet

My new craft cabinet is finally finished

Coffee table sneak peak

Cabinet sneak peak

Purple ruffled wall

Embroidery hoop wall art

Name banner in LMS' room

LMS' room: Decorated on a budget

Refurbished ottoman

Red chair re-do

Toy drawers

Homemade Travelmate

I was going to include a thumbnail with each link, but I haven't quite figured out how to do that yet. Once I do I'll update this post with them.

Bandana skirt

Back in June I made LMS this cute skirt and shirt that I saw here. The tutorial was easy to follow and the whole outfit was done quickly. I did add a lining to the handkerchief skirt since the pink was a bit see-through, but other than that I followed the tutorial.

Little Miss Sunshine likes how twirly the skirt is :)

Cute, huh?