Jun 28, 2013

{DIY Window Casings)…to match the doors

A while back, we posted about how to do {DIY Door Casings}…the easy way.  We never would have expected how awesome our entry way casings turned out, or the response we would get from DIYers out there!  Adding charm to our builder grade home was always the goal, and they certainly added that charm we were looking for!

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We knew we wanted to do the windows to match, but we just needed the time and money!  Well, we finally got time and the project only cost around $50, so it wasn’t a huge investment.  The investment will be when we finish all the windows in our house, but we’ll do them one-by-one.

Well, the windows are finally done!  Well, at least the dining room window is finished.  We still have six more window sets to do in our downstairs! 

We think they turned out great and we can’t believe how much bigger the addition of casings make the windows look and feel.

window

It was actually pretty easy, and only took a little chunk out of our day to complete. Priming and painting was done the second day after the putty and caulk were dry.

Here are the steps to make this BIG change with HUGE payoff…

Window before

We started with this pretty builder grade window casing, that wasn’t a casing at all, just a sill with a bottom piece of trim wood. 

before

We removed those two pieces by cutting the caulk perimeter with an exacto-knife and then using a hammer to pop off the top, first.  Then we just popped the bottom trim piece off with a hammer.  Our piece were just nailed with finish nails and were not glued, so it was pretty easy just to pry this off.  We didn’t worry too much about damaging the dry wall since we were covering it with new wood, but we didn’t want to wreck the wall or the vertical edges of the drywall surrounding the window.

Once all the old trim was removed, it was time to add the new wood.  We started with this diagram.

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What you’ll need…

For the sill and bottom piece:
1 (1x4) pine lumber – width of your window opening + 1 foot for waste
1 (1x3) mdf – pre-primed – width of your window opening + 1 foot for waste

For the casing around the window:
1 (1x6) mdf – pre-primed - width of your window opening + 1 foot for waste – for the top horizontal piece
2 (1x4) mdf – pre-primed – height of your window opening + 1 foot for waste – for the two vertical side pieces
1 (1x2) pine lumber – width of your window opening + 1 foot for waste
1 cove molding – width of your window opening + 1 foot for waste

Nail gun with finish nails
Saw or Miter box
Wood Putty
Sand Paper
Primer
Trim Paint

Then we added the sill.  This was a 1x4 piece of paint grade (unprimed) pine wood.  This was cut to fit and extended beyond the window opening on each side of the window by 3 1/2 inches + 2 centimeters.  Which means you will need to cut the width of your sill using the width measurement + 7 inches + 4 centimeters, total.  The 3 1/2 inch extension is for the vertical pieces of the wood (that will be going up the window and resting on the over hang), and then the 2 centimeters is for the sill to extend beyond the vertical casing.  Each piece was nailed with our nail gun.

The bottom trim piece is a pre-primed 1x3 piece of mdf and it is cut 4 centimeters shorter.  This will allow for this piece to line up with the vertical casing pieces on either side.

new sill

Then we measured the vertical opening and cut two pieces of 1x4 pre-primed mdf to length and attached them to each side of the window opening.

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Now, you’re ready to add the top pieces.  This is where the magic happens!  You’re going to follow the {DIY Door Casings} exactly.  Using a horizontal 1x6 mdf measured to the ends (outside) of each vertical casing piece (opening of window + 7 inches). Then lay a 1x2 on it’s side as a ledge – this was wood.  The 1x2 will be cut at a length that allows for the cove molding that will be wrapped around (about 3/4 of an inch on both sides).

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(This picture is from the door casings.)

Once all the pieces have been nailed in place, prime and paint with your trim color.  Our trim color is Sherwin Williams Extra White.  The paint color in this dining room is Restoration Hardware’s Silver Sage.  We will be updating and changing the color in the near future!  We will be adding a version of board and baton to the walls in this room, so we haven’t painted the walls our final color, yet.

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I love how they look with the door casings.  I can’t believe how BIG the casings have made our windows look.  We are so happy with the way it looks.

Jun 24, 2013

{So What Happened?}

Dear Readers,

A few months ago, my email account got hacked.  I thought it would be best to close down the account and start again.  When I did that, I did not receive the notification that my domain was expiring and that I needed to pay the fee to keep it active. 

On June 14, I checked the website and it said it was unavailable.  Not really knowing what had happened, I checked and called people (go daddy and blogger)...and they informed me that my domain was bought by a company since it was expired.  They bought it up quickly because they knew that I have traffic (readers) and thought this would be a good chance for them to make some money.  Every hit they get, they get money on the old address.  Have you been there?  They are now a parked page with search engines.  This will create revenue for them in the internet world.  They will not sell it back to me - I made an offer that they refused.

What does this mean for the blog?
I plan on starting again.  I thought I would change the blog to a .net, but I have concerns about keeping the same name and just changing it to a .net.  So, I am changing names to {The Charming Nest} instead of {A Charming Nest}.  Our new address will be www.thecharmingnest.com

Pinterest?
All of the thousands of Pinterest pins will no longer work.  I will try to comment on the highest referred pictures with the new address.  But other than that, I'm not sure if there is anything I can do!  So please...delete the old pins and pin again!  I will start a Pinterest board with all the new links and pins!  Follow and share!

What's in the future?
I will pick up and start again!  People will find me again; I just know it.  The new blog {The Charming Nest} blog will have all the old content that so many love, including the Rast hackmudroom, door casings, and Ikea built-ins.  Also, since it's summer, we are starting some new projects!  Here's our to-do list...

Summer To-Do!
Butterfly/Native Indiana Flower Garden (post coming soon!)
Veggie Garden (post coming soon!)
Paint Den
New Window Casings
Dining Room Paint/Moldings
Bedroom Paint/Moldings
The Kid's Bedroom Paint/Moldings
Basement Finishing - DIY

Be Well,

Jun 23, 2013

{Banana Ice Cream}

Kids love ice cream. Okay. Lets be honest, adults love it, too. I love ice cream. But I've been following a pretty strict diet of no dairy, no grains, and little sugar - most of the time, at least.

Banana ice cream was my answer.   Good for kids and me, plus tasty and cold for those hot summer days (or nights) when you're craving something sweet and need to cool down. 


Banana Ice Cream Recipe
3-4 bananas
1 cup frozen berries
3 tbsp homemade berry jam (optional)
1 cup coconut milk or dairy milk

Before you start, cut up 3-4 RIPE (and they must be ripe or it will not taste right) bananas into 1 inch cubes. Place in the freezer to freeze solid. 

Once the bananas are frozen you are ready to make ice cream. 

Add the frozen bananas to a blender or food processor.  Blend until creamy. 



Add your frozen berries and jam. Blend. 

Once everything is blended and creamy, it's ready to eat as soft serve. Or place in freezer to harden. 

I've had it without berries and it's still good.  I'm sure adding cocoa powder would be awesome, too. Lots of variations to try. Have you tried banana ice cream?  What flavorings have you used?



Enjoy!
Erin

Jun 20, 2013

{Happy Summer...things are a changing}

Hello!  Happy summer!

As you can tell, my blog has changed domains.  Sorry about that!  I know it will take some time for Pinterest pins to bounce back and for pictures to be linked here...

The content is still ALL here!  And I will start posting soon.  I've created a garden, native wildflower buttery sanctuary, and we are getting ready to do our dining room and basement!  I am so excited.