CounterTOPs

Day 15:

We have finally took a step away from purchasing and decided to do some creating!  We got the measurements of our counters and purchased plywood from Home Depot.  Madison then took the measurements and the wood off to the TechShop where she used the CNC Router to cut the wood to size, and so that our sink would fit in it (check back a few posts to see the sink).  All this time she was working hard I was at home drinking umbrella margaritas watching Jimmy Fallon in my underwear.  We have to keep things balanced in order to maintain a healthy marriage!  So when Madison returned home with the cut wood counter, to find me tipsy in my Hulk undies, she fake cried which made me perk up and help her finish.  For extra support we glued a smaller portion of wood underneath the counter, hopefully to snuggly fit the sink in place.  Madison then picked up 3 colors to correspond with the sink color and I began to tape off the counter with painters tape.  I then painted in each taped off section with a different colored paint, even leaving some spaces as the plain wood to give off a special touch.  Then we purchased a resin coat, and poured over our counter, applying 2 coats.  We think a 3rd application might have to happen, since there are a few bumps here and there, or not!  So here it is in all its glory, one of the coolest things I have had the opportunity to make, a tiny house counter top!  Just picture the pink sink sitting inside of it!  

Counter Top cost us about $50 to make.  This includes the wood, the paint and tape, and the resin.

Windows to your soul.

Day 14:

Its been a while since the last post, but here we are again.  Our purchases and findings are getting slimmer, but the planning is continuing on, or actually is becoming more scattered!  We bought our plans, but with more and more research we keep finding other ideas we would like to incorporate into the home.  Thus our planning is ever expanding.  But today we found some windows, 3 to be exact. Two of these windows look like they were made specifically for the tiny house, measuring slightly smaller than the smallest measurement window.  We actually think they are showcase windows, or examples for people to base their actual size windows off of.  They even have suitcase handles on the side of them, thats how small they are.  But the third window was a craigslist's find, the other 2 being thrift store finds, and it is longer than wider, with hopes of being our bedroom loft window.  I only have one picture thus far, the windows are currently buried within a pile of other housing items, so one was all I could get out!   

Window's cost us $120, with the third window costing only $50.  They were hard to pass up, and I hope they work, seeing as I know zero about windows and installing them!  

Have a Seat.

Day 13:

Another Craigslist find.  Madison found this gem while doing a random search of folding chairs.  We just recently had a debacle with some Ikea purchased folding chairs.  The material started to give in on us, and although I can blame some of it on too many milkshakes,  I can certainly blame 99% of it on the cheap chair.  So we did some searching for folding chairs, and came across wooden folding chairs, it already sounded like a win, especially in comparison to the tin foil we were sitting on. I put the Iphone down for this one, and picked up our Canon T3i to snap these photos...sorry I am still no good at lighting.

Wooden Stakmore Folding Chair cost us a pretty penny at $65, but after some Ebay, Amazon, and other online searches, this was actually a fair price.  We only got the one, and are currently on the hunt for number 2, with 2 being our final chair (sorry dinner guest(s)).  We wanted folding chairs, so that when we are not sitting at the dinner table, we can fold them up and store them away, hang them up on the wall, or host a great WrestleMania party!

The Doors, minus the "s"

Day 12:

Story time.  We found a door on Craigslist for $50.  It is a solid wood, glass insert entry way door that we plan to use as our front door.  We message the seller, and he gives us the cross street of where he is located.  From our apartment, the distance is a 20 some minute drive, but no big deal since its a door we really want.  A few miles from the cross street we decide to message the seller and ask for his address, since we aren't to keen on making the purchase of a door in the middle of an intersection.  He does not reply.  So while I am driving, Madison calls him and he surprisingly answers (Craigslist has some people on there who like to play games).  He says his address is something something Marco Polo drive.  We put it in our smart phone gps and it tells us to drive an extra 8 miles away. Traffic has been bad, I am almost out of gas, and now we are driving way further away than the initial cross street.  We make it to the destination but the street is not Marco Polo and the numbers are in the thousandths off. We turn around and are about to head home, when Madison pauses and says "its a joke, Marco Polo? some random address and a gps that does not compute its location?  We are scammed"  She is right, I am tempted to text him "Marco?" and see if he responds, but he calls us!  He was legit and courteous to check and see if we were still alive.  For some reason the smart phone was not smart, or operator error (cough cough, Madison!).  6 u-turns, 1 empty gas tank, 2 bad tempers, and $10 off a purchased front door later, and we were back on our way home.  Point of the story is that there is no point, I just didn't know what else to say about the door. Also we weren't going to purchase such a large item until we made it to NC, but we are too excited, and can't say no. Enjoy.

Solid Wood Door cost us $40.  The seller said the name of the wood but we forgot, I think its Elijah?  We are thinking of custom making some stained glass inserts for the top and bottom, that will be a later post.  

Matthew and Madison are going to town on the wood.  That same night of purchasing the door we got to sanding and staining.  It was a beast to sand.

It's Windy

Day 11:

A few posts back we introduced to you our purpley-pink colored fan blades, today we gave them an upgrade!  I am not sure why I choose to take photos at night when the lighting is of poor quality, but imagine it a bit lighter in color, and awe inspiring in person!  

Ceiling Fan in total cost, cost us $18.  The fan/light fixture came as a complete set but we removed the fan blades and put our previously purchased ones on.  Complete fan was bought for $16 at Stardust Building Supplies. We then took our fan blades and screen printed some of Madison's bird wing prints on them and attached them on for these awesome photos!  

Pallet Clean Up

Day 10:

Madison has had the opportunity to become the artist in residence at the Chandler, AZ Tech Shop (free membership). She was able to use their equipment for her art work, thus when showcasing her work, Tech Shop would get some of the credit.  Her residency has recently expired, so now she pays $75 a month to use their equipment. This equipment ranges from a full wood shop, full metal shop, laser cutters, 3D printers, a CNC router, all to name a few!  She was making it rain in saw dust over there.  So with Tech Shops assistance, she has been able to plane our pallet wood. "Planes are used to flatten, reduce the thickness of, and impart a smooth surface to a rough piece of lumber or timber." Thanks Wikipedia!  Here are some before and after photos.  We have a lot more wood to plane, and still even more full intact pallets to cut down and then plane.  

Pallet Wood so far is at 1/2 inch thickness.  They will very in width, from 1-5 inches, and so far they are varying in length, some are a foot and some are closer to 2 feet.  We haven't got to that point yet. But from the photos above, all the planed wood is on the right, and the pallet wood that is just cut and nothing more, is on the left.  The difference is amazing.

Motopaper

Day 9:

This project has been something we have been working on for a few weeks now.  The image started out as a screen print design for a onesie,  then we had this idea to blow it up and turn into a wall panel piece, duplicate and send them out to a few motorcycle companies.  Thought we could get some commission work, or a free motorcycle!  We started on it, but then this tiny house idea came about and we said in quotes, "lets just keep it and use it as a wallpaper piece in our home, good idea, 'high five." I know this will not get me a free motorcycle, but thats ok, its just as cool!  I was going to give you the play-by-play on how we made it all come together, but good writing shouldn't put people into a coma. So a picture is the best way to enlighten!   Enjoy

Motorcycle Wallpaper stands at about 10 feet in length and about 2 feet wide.  The wallpaper comes off a 100ft roll at about $50. The only other cost is the blue ink which cost $7.  The orange and the yellow outlines on the bike are prisma color marker.