Building a Chicken Coop in an HOA

This spring has been busier than we expected, so while we originally planned to custom build a coop we ultimately decided to order one. Planning for chickens while living in an HOA has been a little tricky due to size restrictions, but I also know that we're lucky our HOA allows chickens at all!

We ended up ordering this coop from CCOnly.com:

By our calculations, our 3 girls should be fine in here, especially since we plan to get a portable run to use when we are outside with them. One of the things I like about this coop is that if we do end up deciding they need a larger run, we can add on an extension relatively easily.

Of course, since we back up to open space and we have seen coyotes, foxes, and hawks frequently, we will be predator-proofing. Our plan for that involves digging down and out about a foot, laying 1/4" hardware cloth (to prevent anything from digging up into the run, like rats, voles, etc), then building up a foundation of CMU blocks with hardware cloth along the sides. Then the coop base will sit on the CMUs, with the hardware cloth from the foundation coming up and connecting to the hardware cloth on the sides of the run. The trench will be filled back in, and I'm considering laying pavers along at least one side so that there's a solid place to stand in the winter when the yard can get muddy from snow melt. We also got solar powered predator deterrents that use little red lights to mimic eyes. I'll write more about those once we install them and I know if I like them or not!

The coop also must be painted to match the house (one of our HOA rules). The body of the coop will be the same gray-blue as our house, and the trim plus the framing around the run will be off-white.

So, that's the chicken coop plan right now. It's been a constantly evolving plan, since we originally planned to custom design, then the coop we originally planned to purchase from CCOnly went out of stock while we waited to get HOA approval, and now we're waiting for a weekend with no snow on the ground so that we can get the process started! I'm looking forward to learning from the whole process, and giving our little chickens a nice home in our backyard.

Newly Opened Etsy Shop!

I've been on a major crafting roll lately, so I decided to open up an Etsy shop. HERE Sean helped me come up with the name "To Boldly Craft" since I have also been inspired by Princess Awesome and other crafters who make fantastically nerdy things for girls, for all kids, and for adults.

I have both this sweater and this hat listed right now

I imagine it will be fairly eclectic as my listings grow, as I love trying out new techniques all the time. But right now it has a number of knitted baby projects, since that's been my main stress buster lately. I've also made up some pot holders using leftover fabric from Sean's Dalek Dice Bag, and those amazing rocket ship baby gifts from last summer. Because everyone needs a little space nerd in the kitchen, right?

I'll still post some of my crafts here, and I promise not to post links to the shop too often, since that isn't what this blog is about. But I'm excited to be able to (hopefully) continuously fund my crafty hobby!

Grey and Black Baby Hat

I've held off on sharing this little project because it was a gift, but now that it's been given to the new parents I can share this cute grey and black baby hat!

I had some odd amounts of grey and black yarn in my stash, and I've discovered that baby projects are the best way to use up those small leftovers! I borrowed the book 60 Quick Baby Knits from the library, and used one of the patterns to make this hat. It's made from yarn that I'm 90% sure is wool, though I lost the wrapper to it ages ago.

This is actually my first project doing circular knitting. My awesome in-laws got me a nice new set of knitting needles for Chanukah, so I've been experimenting with trying out new techniques. I'm a little hooked on circular knitting though, so there will likely be more little hats in my future!

Quick Knitted Ear Warmer

This winter has been rather snowy here! On one of our snowy afternoons, I whipped up this quick knitted ear warmer using some leftover chenille yarn. I found this pattern, which I mostly followed. Since my chenille yarn was thicker than the yarn used in the pattern, I cast on as if I was doing the kid size, but did the length about halfway between kid and adult size since my head runs on the small size. I think I actually could have made it even shorter. If you try the pattern, I recommend measuring often!

Since I have some leftover chenille in grey I may try the pattern again and make it smaller to see if that fits me better. I do like the ear warmer for days when I don't want a full hat but need something to keep the chill off my ears when I go for a walk!

Dalek Dice Bag

Yikes, a month since my last post! That's what theater does to me, but I wouldn't change it for the world! I have a few recent projects that I'll be sharing over the next couple of days. The first is this dice bag.

Sean recently started playing D&D with our friends, so of course he had to get his own set of dice. And when you have dice, you need a dice bag. One of our friends gave me this pattern that she adapted to make dice bags for both herself and her husband. The original pattern is for a travel jewelry bag, and it has 8 interior pockets. My friend eliminated the interior pockets completely, but when Sean saw the pockets he thought it might be nice to have a few so I changed the pattern to have 4 little pockets rather than the original 8.

Sean's very happy with the results!

 the completed dice bag

Daleks on the outside with navy thread

The pattern was very simple to follow. It tells you to print out 4 copies and tape them together, but I only printed 2 and then folded the fabric, placing the center line of the circle along the fold.

stars inside with yellow thread

For the pockets, I only had to make a half circle instead of the full circle in the original pattern.

I used a black satin cord, and knotted on some blue plastic beads that I had in my bead stash.

This was a really simple project that I was able to finish in only a couple of hours. Now that I have the pattern, I might make one for myself for jewelry travel like the pattern was designed for! The only problem is that I probably shouldn't use Daleks or I might end up with dice instead of earrings by accident -- or Sean could show up to D&D night with the wrong bag! Hmmm...I guess this calls for a trip to the fabric store to find some more awesome fabric!

2016 Home To-Do List Update

I didn't do an update of our giant to-do list when we hit our one year house anniversary in October, but with the new year I thought it was a good time to go over the list again.

Exterior

• reseal driveway
• repaint exterior -- planning this for next spring

Yard & Back Deck

• remove old satellite dish to give access to electrical panel
• door mat by sliding door
• repair/replace back deck steps
• weed front yard
• planters on back deck
• get bird feeders
• plan & plant veggie garden -- we had a decent veggie garden last summer, though I have some improvements in mind for this year
• plant fruit trees
• install compost bin
• build chicken coop & run

Front Porch

• new welcome mat
• potted plants on either side of entry

Entryway

• paint
• update light fixture
• turn coat closet back into coat closet (it currently has wire shelves, but we would like to hang coats in there)
• figure out some shoe storage near door
• get runner
• get coat rack/hat stand for corner in stairs -- something that is functional, but also provides visual interest

Living Room

• fix drywall patches
• paint
• repair windows with broken sashes: living room left
• hang art
• get rug

Dining Room

• fix drywall patches
• patch trim
• install beadboard wallpaper below chair rail
• paint beadboard wallpaper to match trim
• paint upper part of walls
• update light fixture
• get rug
• new dining room chairs

Office

• remove wallpaper
• patch & paint trim
• paint walls
• hang shelves
• remove closet doors, turn closet into filing/bookshelf area?

Kitchen

• new fridge
• caulk around kitchen sink
• paint 
• update knobs
• update light fixtures
• update appliances to stainless steel when needed
• eventually replace countertops & sink; change out range for gas

Family Room

• paint 
• get rug
• new larger couch, larger coffee table

Downstairs Bath

• paint
• update fixtures

Downstairs Hallway

• paint
• hang art
• get runner
• update thermostat?

Laundry Room

• paint
• buy washer & dryer
• update cabinet hardware
• install folding shelf over washer & dryer
• get wall hanger for iron & ironing board
• figure out closet organization

Garage

• fix garage door opener
• build work bench
• add storage for bikes, shovels, tools etc.

Stairs & Upstairs Hallway

• paint
• remove carpet on stairs, put in hardwood with runner
• refinish banister

Master Bedroom

• patch holes in drywall
• paint

Master Bath & Closet

• replace lightbulb in closet
• get plumber in to install new wax ring on master toilet
• fix grout in master shower
• paint
• new towel bars/hooks
• fix linen closet doors -- they currently rub each other
• update mirror & light fixtures
• update shower

Guest Room & Bath

• touch up enamel in upstairs guest bathroom sink
• repair windows with broken sashes: guest bathroom
• patch trim, remove half finished framing below chair rail
• paint wall above chair rail
• paint bathroom
• get furniture for our holiday guests!
• replace ceiling fan blades
• new window treatments
• update mirror & window treatments
• update vanity
• replace bathroom window with safety glass

Future Kid Room 1 (Currently Sean's Office)

• patch trim
• install beadboard wallpaper below chair rail
• paint beadboard wallpaper to match trim
• paint wall above chair rail
• replace ceiling fan blades

Future Kid Room 2 (Currently Cat/Sewing Room)

• patch trim
• install beadboard wallpaper below chair rail
• paint beadboard wallpaper to match trim
• paint wall above chair rail
• replace ceiling fan blades

Jack and Jill Bath

• replace knobs
• paint
• update mirror & light fixtures

Basement

• determine & label ethernet cables in basement junction
• replace water diffuser in humidifier prior to turning on heat
• new window well for basement window
• finish out basement

Knitted Baby Blanket

One of my BFFs from childhood (we can never remember exactly when we met, we've been like sisters for that long!) recently had an adorable baby boy. When she got pregnant, I started knitting this blanket, but as always I underestimated how long it would take me to finish the project and baby was born before I was done. BUT I finally had it done in time to meet him for the first time, so I think it's still a win! Here's the finished product:

The pattern is from Bernat, the "Knit Blanket" you'll find on their Baby Coordinates yarn. It was a fairly simple repeating pattern, and I made it a little different by using two colors of yarn in varying stripe widths rather than single color like it was in the pattern. It's a bigger baby blanket, so baby will be able to use it well into childhood.

Since this project was so big, I'm not doing as many handmade holiday gifts as I often do. What handmade gifts are you working on now?

The Dining Room -- Nearly Done!

I'm almost done with the dining room! Yippee!

What started as a slow project simply because I was already in paint clothes turned into a massive day of painting Sunday. We had found a buffet and dining chairs we loved on super sconto (Italian for massive sale, it's a term I still use from my year abroad) at Restoration Hardware. We were told we would get a call around the 18th to schedule delivery. Well, they called on the 11th and wanted to deliver on the 17th! So my timeline got sped up a little bit, and we busted this room out. It helped a lot that Sean had the time to help paint, so he rolled the ceilings and walls while I did the trim and cut-ins.

Here it is, the nearly finished dining room!

What do I still need to do?

I need to finish the painting around the window -- you can't see it here because the blinds are closed but I have to do the window surround in sections as I carefully pull back the blinds. The way that valance above it attached to the wall, neither it nor the blinds can easily come down without destroying some drywall. But I can be careful enough that it's not a huge problem, just slow going.

I also need to finish getting up that collage wall over the buffet. And put pictures in the frames! That's a picture from our wedding as the large center one, and the plan is to put black and white family photos radiating outwards. I have more frames, but they don't all have hanging hardware yet, so that's why it looks lopsided. I spaced out the arrangement on the table, started hanging, and had somehow grouped the frames without hardware. What can I say, it looked good!

So that's where we are with the dining room right now! I'm so excited to have to looking good, and to have a place to store everything that had been under the china cabinet. It makes me want to host a holiday gathering in here!

Work on the Dining Room Begins

This past week I've been spending most of the day painting for a play. And since I'm already wearing paint clothes when I get home, I've started working on the dining room in bits and pieces:

I'm using beadboard wallpaper below the chair rail to simulate actual wainscoting. (A product that has a bit of a learning curve, but is fairly forgiving when it comes to fixing seams.) I'll then paint it in the same semi-gloss white that I've used for the trim throughout the house. Above the chair rail I'm planning on a deep navy like some of these inspiration images:

dining room inspiration from HGTV

dining room inspiration from 58 Water Street

The dining room still has a ways to go before I'll call it "finished" -- I still need to find the perfect chairs and buffet, and after the painting is done I have plans for a wall of black and white family photos that I still need to collect from the parents. But it's great to finally be making some progress in here, slow though it may be!

Rocket Ship Baby Gifts

Last weekend I went to a friend's baby shower. Since both she and her husband are aerospace engineers, when I found this adorable rocket ship fabric I knew I had to make something special for their baby with it! Here are all of the baby items I made with it:

The trickiest was the bib, since I made that from scratch, while the other gifts were just embellished. I used the rocket ship fabric for the back, and some sturdy upcycled denim for the front -- with a rocket sunburst embellishment of course!

The onesies were fairly simple -- I just bought a pack of white onesies and used iron on paper to get the rocket ship and star on. Since my iron on paper is pretty old, I did have to do some stitching around the edges of each piece so that it will hold up. I like how it looks with the red stitching, but I'm glad I started with the iron on paper since that made it much easier than a million pins!

One of the easiest ways to personalize a baby present without going crazy is by adding a strip of fabric to a receiving blanket. I couldn't find plain white ones at Target, and wasn't willing to drive all over just for a simple receiving blanket, but I thought these light blue stripes would look nice with the space fabric. They also made it easy for me to make sure I was stitching in straight lines!

To add the strip of fabric, I measured a piece 3.5 inches wide, and 2 inches longer than the blanket. This gave me room to tuck the raw ends inside and have a clean look.

I pinned the strip, right side down, to the blanket following the lines that were already there. Then I sewed it on, and ironed it right side out. I then ironed the ends and the top hem in, so I could topstich those.

I went back over all of the edges with a decorative stitch to jazz it all up. In all, I'd say this blanket project only took about 20 minutes from start to finish.

And I still have some more rocket ship fabric left -- I wonder what the rest will become?

*****

Linked up to:

Creative Jewish Mom

An HOA Compliant Compost Bin

You might remember that at our condo, I made a small vermicompost bucket for the balcony. While we didn't have enough space there to take care of all of our compostable waste, those worms definitely made a good dent in our garbage and they gave us a decent amount of great worm castings in return.

In our HOA, compost bins are required to be approved. The idea is that they can be unsightly or smelly, but if you're doing it right they really shouldn't be! But, because so much of our yard is visible from the road or open space (great views of the mountains for us, great views into our yard for everyone else) we decided to play by the book and submit a plan for a compost bin.

The location that seemed the best for us, and our neighbors, unfortunately was also the most visible from the road. My solution: hid the bin with fencing, and then plant some shade perennials in front. Since this area was just mulch and weeds before, I knew that they wouldn't say "no" to something that would actually make the area MORE attractive from the street.

And I was right! The Architectural Committee approved my plans, so then Sean and I just had to wait for a non-rainy weekend to actually get out there and install the bin, fencing and perennials. We did just that this past weekend.

I wanted some taller, flowering perennials as well as some lower green. This area is in shade all day during the winter, and most of the day during the summer, so the plants couldn't require more than a couple hours of direct sunlight. At our local nursery we found one climbing hydrangea, two Camelot foxgloves, and a couple varieties of hosta. I filled in the front with some periwinkle ground cover.

A view that only people on our property will ever see: the actual compost bin. That window well isn't actually big enough to be a proper egress, so we weren't worried about putting the bin a couple feet away from it.

Pretty foxgloves helping to hide the compost!

We're definitely looking forward to being able to use this compost bin to reduce our waste, and in future years we will reduce the amount of money we need to spend on amending the soil. It's a win-win!

****

Linked up to:

Waste Not Want Not Wednesday

To-Do List Update

It's been six months since we moved in, so I thought I would do an update on our to-do list. Here's where we are so far (remember that some of these items are more long term, 5-10 years down the road).

Exterior

• reseal driveway
• repaint exterior next spring -- the colors are fine, but there are some places that are chipping and our inspector recommended taking care of it within the year

Yard & Back Deck

• remove old satellite dish to give access to electrical panel
• door mat by sliding door
• repair/replace back deck steps
• weed front yard
• planters on back deck
• get bird feeders
• plan & plant veggie garden -- in progress, but it's still a bit early
• plant fruit trees
• install compost bin -- we have the HOA approval now!
• build chicken coop & run

Front Porch

• new welcome mat
• potted plants on either side of entry/near bay window

Entryway

• paint
• update light fixture
• turn coat closet back into coat closet (it currently has wire shelves, but we would like to hang coats in there)
• figure out some shoe storage near door
• get runner
• get coat rack/hat stand for corner in stairs -- something that is functional, but also provides visual interest

Living Room

• fix drywall patches
• paint
• repair windows with broken sashes: living room left
• hang art
• get rug

Dining Room

• fix drywall patches
• patch trim
• install beadboard wallpaper below chair rail
• paint beadboard wallpaper to match trim
• paint upper part of walls
• update light fixture
• get rug
• new dining room chairs

Office

• remove wallpaper
• patch & paint trim
• paint walls
• new window treatments
• hang shelves
• remove closet doors, turn closet into filing/bookshelf area

Kitchen

• new fridge
• caulk around kitchen sink
• paint - in progress
• update knobs
• update light fixtures
• update appliances to stainless steel when needed
• eventually replace countertops & sink; change out range for gas

Family Room

• get fireplace gas adjusted correctly (currently burns too orange)
• change out surround sound for something less visually obtrusive -- speakers mounted flush into the wall? white?
• paint - in progress
• get rug
• new larger couch, larger coffee table

Downstairs Bath

• paint
• update vanity & fixtures

Downstairs Hallway

• paint
• hang art
• get runner
• update thermostat?

Laundry Room

• paint
• buy washer & dryer
• update cabinet hardware
• install folding shelf over washer & dryer
• get wall hanger for iron & ironing board
• figure out closet organization

Garage

• fix garage door opener
• build work bench
• add storage for bikes, shovels, tools etc.

Stairs & Upstairs Hallway

• paint
• remove carpet on stairs, put in hardwood with runner
• refinish banister

Master Bedroom

• patch holes in drywall
• paint

Master Bath & Closet

• replace lightbulb in closet
• get plumber in to install new wax ring on master toilet
• fix grout in master shower
• paint
• new towel bars/hooks
• fix linen closet doors -- they currently rub each other
• update mirror & light fixtures
• update shower

Guest Room & Bath

• touch up enamel in upstairs guest bathroom sink
• repair windows with broken sashes: guest bathroom
• patch trim, remove half finished framing below chair rail
• paint wall above chair rail - currently primed, awaiting paint
• paint bathroom
• get furniture for our holiday guests!
• replace ceiling fan blades
• new window treatments
• update mirror & window treatments
• update vanity
• replace bathroom window with safety glass

Future Kid Room 1 (Currently Sean's Office)

• patch trim
• install beadboard wallpaper below chair rail
• paint beadboard wallpaper to match trim
• paint wall above chair rail
• replace ceiling fan blades

Future Kid Room 2 (Currently Cat/Sewing Room)

• patch trim
• install beadboard wallpaper below chair rail
• paint beadboard wallpaper to match trim
• paint wall above chair rail
• replace ceiling fan blades

Jack and Jill Bath

• replace knobs
• paint
• update mirror & light fixtures

Basement

• determine & label ethernet cables in basement junction
• replace water diffuser in humidifier prior to turning on heat
• new window well for basement window
• finish out basement