So last spring, I set out to do a project--bar stools. I have 2 barstools that I picked up at a yard sale a few years ago, but they are looking pretty shabby, especially the one that has the end of the seat actually broken off! So I found some barstools that I like on Ana White's website, and went and bought my supplies. When I got home and ready to start, I pulled out the boards (21 boards per stool x 4 stools) that the kid at Home Depot had pre-cut for me. As I lined them up, I quickly realized that the stack of boards that should have all been the same size were actually not so much the same. In fact, there was about a 1/2 inch difference from smallest to largest for each set of boards! AAHHH! And most of them were smaller than what they were supposed to be, so I couldn't just trim them down to size, either. So, I redrew the plans to adjust everything to fit with the smallest board, which really took some problem-solving math skills, and then re-cut all the boards to go with my new plans. By that time, I had little motivation to move forward with the project. And so the boards just sat in my basement . . .
. . . until a couple weeks ago, when I got the feeling that it was time for a project! I decided, thankfully, to just attempt one stool first and see how it went. And then if I liked it, I would go ahead and build the other three. So I did the tedious job of painting all 21 boards for the first stool, letting them dry, then adding a second coat, and then went at the building phase. I put the top together with no problems and was getting pretty excited about how it was turning out. But then came the legs. Well, without a long explanation, after over 4 hours of work, on the second to last step of the process, this happened:
That spindly little 1x2 board that was supposed to be a support for the legs split. It happened first on one end, and I was upset but thought that maybe I could salvage it if the rest of it held together, and then as I put the screw into the other end, it split too! I actually cried. In front of my 3-year-old, who didn't know quite what to think of that. And so it sits. Just like this, in the basement. I'm not proud of it. And I really have no motivation right now to come up with a solution, or spend another 4 hours trying again, wondering what will happen when I get to this step again.
Common blogger sense would tell me to not share this particular project, as it will recieve NO praise whatsoever! But I'd rather be honest. We're all human. We all fail from time to time. Sometimes in this world of FB, Blogger, Twitter, and Pinterest, we begin to think that everybody else does everything perfectly, but my guess is that they are actually more like me, and they sometimes screw stuff up. So that's why I share this.
(Now please, somebody let me know that I'm not the only one who has totally ruined something?!? Please?)
3 comments:
Ha! You crack me up. I ALWAYS plan on many things going wrong when I do something for the first time. It's part of the entertainment. My last project, the quilt, I folded one too many times when cutting some of the fabric and cut twice what i needed. So much for doing something cool with the extra fabric! The first box I made isn't perfectly square. The first newborn hat I made I undid probably six times until I got it sized right. My first attempt might have fit a barbie doll. Live and learn, that's what it's all about right? I learned the annoying way too that when picking boards for projects you should thoroughly inspect them for splits or warping. I've returned more wood then I care to admit.
I remember when you came and had the wood cut at home depot, dang them for cutting it wrong!
I re-finished the crib. Took it apart, sanded it, spray painted it, put it back together just to decide that it was a little rough and the paint was already chipping off! So I took it all back apart again, re-sanded many areas, re-painted and then painted with a sealer and then put it all back together again. It was all a huge pain and reminded me why I don't really like to do these kind of things.
I'm not a big project kind of lady. I think it has something to do with the fact that I am really a perfectionist when it comes to things I make and it just frustrates the spit out of me, or that I just have to pick the projects that fit me, not the projects that everyone else is doing. I loved what you said here. I get a little down on myself when I compare what I like to do or can do to the perfect projects, etc. that are seen everywhere on the internet. So I appreciate you being real and honest.
Post a Comment