Lasso The Moon

Home Team - Kelsey's House

One of the things I wanted when I first got the idea for our Home Team is to reach out to women outside of our immediate group.  We meet on Fridays and take turns working our tails off, but some women who might need some help around the house may not be able to take Fridays off of work.

So this week we painted at Kelsey's house.  Kelsey and her husband recently bought a fixer-upper which they have basically gutted, and until it becomes liveable, they are living with family.  Kelsey, you had us at "living with family".  Maybe we can help you get home a little sooner!

There really is not much to show from this day.  It was SO HOT, and the AC in the house was not functioning at its best.  By the end of the day we were a little silly from the fumes, and I may or may not have rolled a full paint roller down Sarah's face.  And she may or may not have returned the gesture.

But, for the sheer purpose of having some "before" shots of the house, here's what we got:

Today we got two rooms - ceilings and walls painted.  I think that's a pretty good day's work!  I'm sure it feels good to show a little progress, too.

I love the idea of women working together to help build their homes. 

As always, the kids were in the background, and sometimes the foreground.  They spent their time outside blowing bubbles, and inside drawing with sidewalk chalk on the bare floors.  They loved it!

 

Home Team - Emily's House

What's Home Team? It's a group of friends, taking turns GETTING STUFF DONE at each other's houses.  We paint, build, clean, organize, renovate, and generally help each other out where we need it most.  Find more of these HOME TEAM posts here.  And be inspired!

Today we were at Emily's house.  They've been working on their adorable picket fence, and we were going to make it even more adorable. 

Our job: to finish sanding the pickets and paint the fence white.

After months of rainy Home Team days, we finally had sun...but now it's June!  And the sun was sweltering.  Wide brimmed hats were a must, and we tried to remind each other to drink LOTS of water. 

I put down the sander to take a few progress pics.

Somehow Sarah always looks adorable, even in her grubbies!  (That's D'Ana in the hat.)

The kids stayed busy in the yard with a mini slide and blow-up pool.  We were so hot, we kept sneaking over and stepping into it ourselves.   (Or lying in it, if I'm being honest.)

When we couldn't take the sun any longer, we headed inside to add a coat of poly to Emily's salvaged piano.

And then did a few basic chores. We try to meet and work from 10am and 4pm.  With 3 or four women, we can get a lot done in that amount of time.  About an hour before we leave, we start picking up tools, washing paintbrushes, and putting the house back together.  Because it wouldn't really be all that helpful if we left it a giant mess.

Check out that cute shelf behind Sarah.  That's the one we made the last time we were here!

And I just want to show you this cute project Emily did for her hallway.

The fruit of the Spirit on pallet boards!

Here's Emily's "Honey Do" list at the end of the day.  We made a pretty good dent!

Until next time, friends!

XOXO, Anna

Some of our favorite DIY supplies:

              

 

 

 

Home Team - Week One - An Introduction

Do you ever look at your list of things to do around the house and feel overwhelmed?

I started keeping a huge list one day as I went from room to room cleaning.  (It seemed like something Martha would do.) It had tasks like "touch up front door paint" , "replaced outlet covers" , "paint the living room" , "paint built-ins" , "paint everything in the house", etc. I was sure that having a list like this would help me make a plan, cross things off, and get things done.

But by the time my list had reached the bottom of the second page, I didn't feel inspired at all.  I felt tired. And fed up.  I threw the list away.  It seemed like a huge mountain to climb, and I don't really even have time to take a shower some days...

I'm sure you've been there.

As it turns out, my sisters Emily and Abby, and my friend Sarah, are there right now--with me at the bottom of a home-improvement list that keeps getting longer instead of shorter.

And that's where this story changes.  Because sometimes tasks that are difficult for one person, might be a whole lot easier for four.

And so we formed...

The Home Team!

This idea has been bouncing around in my head for over a year, and I am so excited it has finally happened.

We decided to kick off the event at my house (because I'm the boss of everything apparently.) I didn't have much notice, but I had a handful of projects that were already in the works, and that really needed to be done before the new year.

So here's the list: 

>>Build a side table.

>>Finish painting the living room.

>>Spray paint the wicker front porch chairs.

>>Make new cushion covers for the wicker front porch chairs.

I was in charge of the table.  To be honest it was a bigger job than I expected, even though I do have a bit of building experience.  It turns out the salvaged wood I wanted to use for the legs is not going to work long term...they are crazy wobbly. But I slapped them on anyway, just for effect.

I made the top out of 2x4s and a 2x10 that we already had.  I put it together using pocket

holes.

Like I said, the legs aren't going to work after all,  but they look so cool with that print on them! I also need a shelf along the bottom to hold baskets of blankets or books.  I guess I'll have to show you the final product at a later time!

Abby was in charge of paint.  First she finished painting the last wall in the living room.  It's been flat flesh-brown since we moved in, and I have wanted to paint it white forever!  And now that it's done, I LOVE IT. It makes the room look twice as big.  I will admit that the paneling was really hard to paint.  I did each seam with a brush, and then rolled on THREE coats of the eggshell-finish white.

I ask you, is there anything more exciting than a photo of a woman painting a white wall?  You're welcome.

The last project was the wicker chair makeover for the front porch.  The morning of the Home Team, they looked like this.

Faded and sad.

Abby and Emily spray painted them with dark brown, and then Emily made the cushion covers.

And the after:

So much better!!!

We got all of that done in about 3 hours.  And Sarah wasn't even able to make it!

The plan for next time (Emily's house) is to work from 10-4 ish.  Plus we'll have Sarah!

See you next time, Home Team!