A New Chapter

01 Saturday Sep 2012

Posted by in Random Stuff

≈ 4 Comments

Wow, it’s been a while since I posted–a lot has been going on, though.  August has been somewhat of a whirlwind month.

In the first week of August, I left a job that I had held for the past eight years.  In the process of looking for new employment–in the same field–I came to the decision that I just could not do it.  I’ve been in accounting for 20+ years and I’m tired…I’m burned out, and the thought of returning to an unknown office environment did not bode well.  It was time for a change.

After discussing the financial situation over with my husband, I decided to try to make a real business of my wood working/cnc hobby.  I thought I would be met with resistance, but he was, and is, very supportive of my decision.  Going out on your own is such a huge step, not to mention risky.  We initially decided to put the house on the market and start looking for a smaller house.

In between packing, painting, and all the other crap that goes with putting a house up for sale, I managed to make some new items for my shop and get them up on my Etsy site.  I took out a couple of ads on my favorite blogs, contacted a consultant about my website–which I’m still working on, and I’m happy to say that business is actually good!  It’s not where it needs to be, but it is growing, and I am now starting think this just might work!  Each week has brought new sales, new contacts, and new learning experiences.

But the best part of this decision is that I am able to be home with my son, which is something I have not done since he was born.  I am loving it, and believe it or not, I think he is too!

I am grateful for the experiences I have had in the 20 odd years of my accounting career, but right now, this is where I need to be.  Who knows where it will lead.  That is what is so wonderful and exciting!

Eco-friendly notebooks from fellow Etsy Seller Happy Dappy Bits–I love this quote…and the notebook!

Pantry…

11 Saturday Aug 2012

Posted by in Kitchen

≈ 9 Comments

Well, I’m finally moving on to the doors of this pantry.  I think I have conquered my dread of inset doors.

I found this excellent tutorial on YouTube, which is extremely helpful in making shaker-style doors.  You will need a router table, and tongue & groove router bits.

I use a Craftsman router table which came from Sears.

(Disclaimer: Routers, like most other wood working equipment, are DANGEROUS, so be sure you read up on all safety precautions.  YouTube has some great tutorials, if you are a beginner).

The one thing you have to remember is to mark all of your wood so the same side is facing up when you run them through the router table.  In other words, after I cut all of my pieces to length, I wrote “back” on all of them, and made sure that side was facing up when I ran it through the router table. This ensures that the pieces fit together perfectly.

I’m afraid I did not get too many photos of this process.  I got so focused on trying to think through everything, that I found it difficult to stop and pick up the camera.

Here are what the rails and stiles looked like after they had been routed:

 Once that was done, it was time to cut my panels to size and assemble the doors.  I used mdf for the panel inserts, and pine for the rails and stiles.

Oh, I almost forgot… I marked the center edge of the sides of the door, and then put a mark in the center of the middle rail so they would line up.  Like this:

The arrows were to show me which sides to router out.   I did not need to router both sides of the top and bottom rails, so I drew arrows on every piece. I’m telling ya, it’s easy to get confused.  That is why you always need to lay all of your cut pieces out in the order they are going to be assembled, and mark everything up before you start cutting.  You’ll be glad you did!

Tomorrow, I break out the paint sprayer.  I’m sure the neighbors will be pleased.