Dirt Cheap Decor!

Old Door Turned Picnic Table

2011-06-20T19:14:00.000-07:00

When we moved into our home three years ago we found some old doors in the rafters of the garage. I used two of them for this project last year:

Well, I finally got around to using another one of the old doors! I have seen old doors made into tables on various different blogs like this one. I also found an article about making a picnic table out of an old door and two saw horses.
After my wonderful husband and father-in-law pulled the door out of the rafters I gave it a good cleaning. I liked the shabby-ness of the door so I decided not to paint it.

I swear sometimes the thrift store gods decide to smile on me and I find just the thing I'm looking for. I was at the Deseret Industries and found four brand new table legs for $8. I was giddy! Anyway, I attached the legs to the door with "L" brackets (which cost like twice as much as my thrifted table legs).

After flipping the table right-side-up I learned one bracket is not enough to make the table really sturdy so I'm going to have to go back to the hardware store for some additional reinforcements. I found these four lovely chairs at the Deseret Industries (over a few different shopping trips).

They are looking wonderful after a coat of paint and some recovered cushions. The fabric is from my favorite little quilt shop, Suppose. I then sprayed the chairs with a protective clear coat to hopefully protect them from the elements.

I am in love with my new picnic table and can hardly wait to have lunch under the trees this summer!

My curious little chickens wanted in on the action too.

So what do you all think I should do to protect the top of the table? I'm sure someone out there has a good idea...

JELLO White Chocolate/Orange Mousse Recipe

2011-05-19T11:56:00.000-07:00

Last night, I made this recipe off of the side of a Jello pudding box and I loved it!! It is so simple to make and tastes great!! So I thought you might love it too.

Here is the recipe:

*1 box white chocolate instant pudding (I used sugar free but you don't have to...also could use chocolate pudding instead of white chocolate)

*1 1/2 cup milk

*1 1/2 cup lite cool whip

*1 tsp. orange zest

Mix the pudding and milk together and wisk it for two minutes. Fold in the cool whip and orange zest. Refrigerate and Enjoy!

Alarm Clock + Spray Paint

2011-04-10T08:13:00.000-07:00

Well, I have certainly been neglectful with my posting lately! I have been working on projects but I haven't finished many. I will share them just as soon as I get my butt in gear.

I have been in desperate need of a new alarm clock so I can stop using my cell phone's alarm ( I love my friends and family, but unless their car is on fire or they're having a baby or something, I don't want to hear from them after bedtime). I went out looking for the perfect alarm clock and couldn't find it. Isn't that how it always goes? I did however find this little guy:

I liked the shape and size of it and I thought the digits were kind of cute, all made out of squares like that. I didn't particularly like the shiny chrome finish (it had finger prints galore after the first day) and I really didn't like the big black snooze button that actually says SNOOZE on it. So I popped off the metal case and went through my box of spray paints and found the perfect color:

They make spray paint specifically for plastics if you want to try this on a plastic clock. Now on to the SNOOZE button issue. I just painted the button with white acrylic paint:

Then I went scrounging through my jar of fabric scraps and found this darling bit:

I attached the fabric to the snooze button using 3M Super 77 spray adhesive. Then I just crammed the innards back in the case (it actually took a bit of finessing to get the clock put back together). And here it is, all pink and lovely:

Where I like to link:

We have a winner...

2011-03-03T15:32:00.000-08:00

Thanks to everyone who entered our giveaway! We used random.org to select a winner and the lucky winner is...

Comment #35 bluvs2shop who said : "I signed up to follow your blog! Love your ideas and I'm starting to work on the VW Bus Quilt!!" (You didn't leave an email, so please send me a message so I can get your coupon code to you. Another winner will be selected on March 7th if I haven't heard from you.)

Also, a big thanks to CSN for the fun giveaway!

CSN Stores Giveaway!!

2011-02-23T16:04:00.000-08:00

We are so happy to be hosting another CSN giveaway. One of our lovely readers will receive 30 dollars in credit to spend at one of CSN's many online stores!

What's so great about CSN is they have some of just about everything. Are you in the market for new bedding, shoes, a car seat for your little one? They have all that. They also have beautiful furniture like computer desks for home offices, upholstered headboards, and much more.

How to Enter:

1. The giveaway is open to US and Canadian residents.

2. Leave a comment telling me what you would like to spend the $30 on (you don't actually have to spend your winnings on that item).
3. Facebooking or blogging about this giveaway will give you an extra entry, but you must leave an extra comment for each, telling me you've done so in order for it to count as an extra entry.
4. It would be nice if you decided to follow us, but we won't make you...there is an extra entry in it for you though (please leave yet another comment telling us you already were a follower or that you are a new follower if that is the case).
5. One more chance to win, grab our button for your blog and leave another comment telling us you did so.

6. Leave me your e-mail address or make sure it is visible on your blog so in the event that you win this giveaway I can contact you.

Entries will be accepted until 11:59 pm MST on March 2, 2011. A winner will be chosen at random. I will notify the winner by March 3, 2011 via email (please respond within 48 hours). The winner will also be announced here on our blog. Good luck!!

Homemade Silver Polish

2011-02-12T16:40:00.000-08:00

If you read my Valentine banner post, you know I am having some friends over for a Valentine's dinner. We have lived in our house for three years now and have only used our dinning room twice, both times were Thanksgiving dinner. So, I'm trying to say I'm pretty excited to have a little get together and use the room.

I don't have a nice set of silverware. I have found several sets I wouldn't mind owning but I don't want to shell out the money for them. My solution was to buy silverware as I come across it at thrift and antique stores. I paid between ten cents to two dollars a piece for my silverware. The only problem now is that every piece is pretty tarnished.
I remember using a rag to polish my grandma's flatware and not really digging all that work. I came across this super easy and quick way to clean/polish silverware:

Homemade Silver Cleaner/Polish:

2 tablespoons baking soda
1 tablespoon salt
aluminum foil
glass dish
hot water

Line a glass dish with aluminum foil and add your silverware. Be sure it touches as much of the foil as possible because the reaction to the foil is what removes the tarnish. Sprinkle the salt and baking soda over the silverware.

Now, carefully pour boiling water over your silverware, being sure all items are completely submerged. This part is fun because it gets all bubbly and fizzy. Your kitchen should now smell a bit like a sulfur hot pot (my husband walked in and blamed the smell on the dog). Let your mixture sit for 30 minutes.

Then pour out the water, rinse off your flatware, rub it a little with a clean cloth and...

Aren't you impressed?! It looks amazing and I didn't have to rub it with a cloth all day long!

I had no idea this spoon was engraved until I cleaned off all the tarnish. So cool.

Now I'm all ready for my dinner guests!

Valentine Crayon Hearts

2011-02-05T10:31:00.000-08:00

My good friend Janette and her sweet little girls made these super cute crayon hearts with me.

We found the tutorial over at Martha Stewart's website and knew we had to make them.
This was a very inexpensive, yet time-consuming project. The girls seemed to love it though...they know their way around a box of crayolas! They got really creative with color combinations, adding a really pretty blue that I would have never thought to add to the mix. They also got creative with the shapes they cut out, making double and triple hearts. I played it safe and just cut out varying sizes of hearts.
We basically followed Martha's tutorial, except we used paper grocery bags rather than Kraft paper around the wax paper (mainly because I don't know what "kraft" paper is). I attached my hearts to baker's twine with a dab of super glue.
If you are looking for a fun project to do with your kids, this is a great one.

Button Napkin Ring

2011-01-31T19:27:00.000-08:00

This sweet little project is super cheap and easy (my favorite kind of project!)
All you need is:
12 inches of pretty ribbon
Button with a shank (hole on the back)
Lighter

First, thread the ribbon through the shank of the button. Next, tie the ribbon in a knot (try to pull the knot as tight as you can).

Then, cut the ends of the ribbon as close to the knot as you can and burn the raw edge with your lighter. Put your napkin ring around a rolled up cloth napkin.

Hook the loop of the ribbon around the button...and TA-DA:

A lovely and cheap napkin ring for your romantic Valentine's day dinner.

Valentine Banner

2011-01-23T17:50:00.001-08:00

I will be hosting a Valentine's dinner for a couple of friends so I wanted to make our dinning room look a little more festive. I found this adorable banner and decided I need one for my house. I mainly used K and Company products. Most of the papers I used were from this paper pack:

Those cute little Victorian cut-outs came from this:

These pleated flowers are really easy to make if you follow the directions over here...

I used baker's twine to string all of the elements together. I wanted them to stay put, so rather than hole-punching the items, I used a long sharp needle and just threaded them on like I was sewing.

I love the way my banner turned out and can't wait for my friends to see it.

Paper Bag Photo Album

2011-01-23T16:05:00.000-08:00

I love making paper bag photo albums, they're cheap and easy to make and I can use up left-overs from other scrap-booking projects. First, take a paper bag and fold it in half:

Then fold one-three more bags (I usually don't make make these mini albums out of more than four sacks because they become too fat once you add all of the embellishments and photos). Take the other bags and stack them alternating the ends like this:

At this point you can punch three holes on the spine of your book and tie them up with ribbon or you can decorate them first (that is the way I prefer to make them). Staple the opening of one of your sacks to make a sleeve for adding more photos (sorry for the crappy photo):

Staple other end of the bag to add more sleeves for photos and embellishments:

Decorate your bags just like you would a regular scrap book. Here is the cover of my bag:

This is the inside of my cover:

Here is the outside of bag #2:

And the inside:

Here are my inserts for secret, hidden photos!

Now all I have to do is print my photos and add them to my cute little album!

And the Winner is...

2010-12-30T07:29:00.000-08:00

Thanks to everyone who took the time to enter our giveaway. Random.org was used to select a winner, and the winner of our first CSN giveaway is:

Comment #30 - Jo! Congratulations!!

We'd also like to thank CSN for the chance to host this great giveaway!

VW Bus Quilt

2010-12-27T09:04:00.000-08:00

I finally got around to taking pictures of my VW bus quilt. I started this quilt (and thought I would finish it) my year off between undergrad and grad school. It turns out I overestimated my ability level and underestimated the difficulty of this quilt. Luckily I had my mom to help me along the way.

This was the view from my front yard as I was taking photos today, thought it was too pretty not to share.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

2010-12-23T09:20:00.001-08:00

I love decorating my house for Christmas. It makes our little old home even cozier. I'll start the tour in our living room:

Our Tree

These are our childhood stockings. I love how they're a little matchy!

Now on to our dining room:

I got these great trees at an antique store in Grace, Idaho. They were going out of business so I got them for $5!

Here is one of our advent calendars

Our Christmas village:

One year my family and I worked on this village together (since it was clear I was never going to get in done on my own!). We watched movies, ate snacks, and painted our fingers to the bone. I love the way it turned out though.

My husband painted this little cutie

This was my mom's handiwork

I painted this house, look at the car in the garage!

The hamburger shop and post office are from the Lemax Christmas village

My talented mom painted this beautiful church

I painted the little school

Christmas crept into the kitchen as well:

Hope your holidays are merry and bright!!

Our First CSN Giveaway!!

2010-12-21T20:27:00.000-08:00

I am very excited to announce that we are hosting our first giveaway for our readers!! One lucky winner will receive a $30 gift card to spend as they like at any of CSN's 200+ stores!

You would not believe the merchandise that CSN Stores carry. They carry some of everything, from modern decor to tea pots and much more.

Now seriously, I don't have a baby but if I did...

And try to tell me this isn't the coolest toaster you've ever seen, try...

How to Enter:

1. The giveaway is open to US and Canadian residents.

6. Leave me your e-mail address or make sure it is visible on your blog so in the event that you win this giveaway I can contact you.

Entries will be accepted until 11:59 pm MST on December 29, 2010. A winner will be chosen at random. I will notify the winner by December 30, 2010 via email (please respond within 48 hours). The winner will also be announced here on our blog. Good luck!!

Hand-made Christmas

2010-12-14T17:38:00.001-08:00

Here is my attempt at a creating a home-made Christmas.

Christmas Advent Calendar

Tea towels made from dollar store dish towels and scraps left over from my Christmas tree quilt.

Bracelet and bookmark made from my own hand-made beads and buttons from my glorious button box.

Christmas Ornaments

2010-12-14T16:18:00.000-08:00

I've decided to try making a hand-made Christmas this year. Luckily there are some great ideas out there in blog land. I thought I'd share my hand-made Christmas ornaments (which were inspired by this cute project):

These ornaments were actually really easy to make. Check out this great tutorial for the details on how to stamp the lettering on the washers. After I had stamped the washers I super glued them together, then added a festive ribbon and one of my hand-made beads. I think they turned out pretty cute and were a really fun Christmas project.

Monsters Inc.

2010-10-17T09:11:00.000-07:00

My mom made these cute wood monsters over 20 years ago and I think they are still so fun for Halloween. My mom was a master crafter! She made lots and lots of crafts and sold them to a few craft stores. She passed away this past July and so all of things she made have even greater meaning to me now.

Halloween Village Platform

2010-08-28T21:42:00.000-07:00

Don't you just love Halloween villages? This is my favorite time of year because Michael's craft store puts out all of their Lemax village pieces. I just drool over all the amazing houses with moving parts, sounds, and mini strobe lights. Well, I can't afford those houses unless I wait until after Halloween to get the discount prices (and then all the really cool houses are gone). And I can just forget about ever having a Department 56 village! My solution was to buy cheaper houses that don't have all the whistles and bells, but make a really cool platform to display them.

You will need to get several long pieces of styrofoam (I found mine at Michael's), aquarium gravel, sand, some cool rocks, plastic greenery, styrofoam glue (this glue is AMAZING), spray paint, resin, and a moss display mat.

I wanted my platform to have multiple levels. To do this I took several long pieces of styrofoam and layered them on top of each other, gluing each level with my incredible styro-glue. I also wanted a pond so I cut an irregular oval out of one piece of styrofoam and glued it on top of a solid piece. I feel like I'm not explaining this very clearly, so check out the picture below.

Once I had the different layers all glued together, I decided exactly where I wanted my houses to sit. I took a pen and traced around the bottom of the houses.

Then I mashed the styrofoam down with my thumb (about quarter of an inch) so the houses would sit a little lower on the platform. I also mashed the edges of the hills so they looked like mother nature made them. Next, I spray painted the crap out of the platform. Luckily I got two cans of spray paint because the styrofoam drinks it up and I had to put on a few coats. Now comes the fun part, decorating the platform with sand, rocks, and any other natural looking junk you like.

To make the path ways, just draw out the design you want and smoosh down the styrofoam with your thumb (or the cap of a pen if your hands are getting tired by now).

For the pond I mashed the styrofoam down a little deeper in some parts and dumped sand into the depressions. Look at those little cat tails! I made them out of florist wire that I painted gold and little strips of brown felt. Once I had the pond looking the way I wanted, I poured in the resin (do this outside on a trash bag because a bit of the resin will soak through the styrofoam). To create a waterfall I wadded up some Saran wrap and glued it in place.

Even though I can't afford Department 56 or Lemax houses full price, I can afford the accessories. Michael's puts the accessories on sale when Halloween is nearing. I also got some good deals on trees, head stones, and fences on ebay.

Here is the finished product and I must say, I really love the way it turned out!

Bedroom Before and After

2010-08-05T12:51:00.000-07:00

Two years ago my husband and I moved into an old Victorian style house built in 1910. Many of the rooms had already been updated when we bought the house, others still needed a little work. Here are a couple of photos we took as we made our first walk-through of the home.

We fell in love with the house on our very first visit, but we have slowly been making some changes that fit our style a little more. There are still some finishing touches we need to make on the bedroom so don't look at the photos too closely!

We found some old doors in the rafters of the garage. All they needed was a good scrubbing, a coat of paint, and some new door knobs.

I found this adorable two-tiered table at a thrift store. It had some serious water damage on the top tier, but it wasn't anything some sand paper, stain-blocking primer, and a coat of paint couldn't fix. Sorry I don't have any before pictures on that piece. The chairs were a cheap find at an antique store, visit this link for details.

Check out that amazing quilt, it was made by my great-great aunt. My grandma gave it to me the day we moved into our home.

This is a tea cup from my great-grandma's china and a couple of doilies given to me by my grandma.

Don't you just love this little jewelry box? I found it at an antique store for 3 dollars!

My mom painted this china for me because I fell in love with this china and couldn't afford it.

The new room makes me feel like a granny, and I LOVE it!

Easy Chair Re-Do

2010-08-05T12:42:00.001-07:00

I found these adorable little chairs at a local antique store for only 7 dollars a piece and fell in love.

This makeover was really simple. First I removed the seat from the chair. Then I cleaned off the chairs really well with mineral spirits and gave them a good sanding. For more on this process visit this link. Then I painted my chairs with an ultra white semigloss interior paint. Now for the seat, I decided to remove the yucky vinyl fabric and replace it with something that would match my room better (and not gross me out). Let me just tell you, things got a little worse before they got better:

Eww

I took my new fabric and laid it on top of the seat so I could line up the pattern the way I wanted it. Then I turned the seat over and stapled on the new fabric. I found it works best to shoot in one staple, pull the fabric tight on the other side of the chair, and then staple that side. Not that you guys couldn't figure that out on your own...

Then I screwed the seat back in place and Ta-Da!

Now my chairs look right at home in my bedroom.

Crafty Fisherman

2010-05-14T19:37:00.000-07:00

Check out my crafty husband at I Caught You a Delicious Bass.

Card Table Make-Over

2010-05-12T18:35:00.000-07:00

All you need to turn a boring, old black card table into a delightfully cheery craft table is:
a can of white spray paint
some bright, beautiful oil cloth
a staple gun
a screw driver

Remove the top of your card table and lay it on top of the oil cloth. Then, staple your oil cloth to the table top. Now, spray the table frame white (or any other pretty color you like). Once the table is dry, re-attach the table top to the frame and there you have it...

A cute little table, perfect for all your crafting needs.

Hutch Make-Over

2010-05-12T15:45:00.001-07:00

My parents gave me their lovely oak hutch when I got married. I have really enjoyed it just the way it is for the last four years, but I've decided it is time for a change. Here is the hutch before (I forgot to take a picture before we had taken the top portion off.)

Check out this link for information on how to prep your furniture for painting. With a lot of sanding, taping, painting, and patience, we ended up with a gorgeous black hutch.

Easter Egg Basket

2010-03-27T19:32:00.001-07:00

Eggstravaganza!

2010-03-27T19:19:00.001-07:00

For 10 dollars turn plastic easter eggs into eggsordinary decor for spring!
$4--craft and spray paint
$1--package of 48 plastic Easter eggs
$1--spanish moss
$4--jar, nests, and wire basket to display the eggs

Sofa Cushion Make-Over

2010-03-23T15:55:00.000-07:00

My cousin Jenny decided to add some spice to her boring old throw pillows. Check out her project on Just Another Day In Paradise.

Vintage Easter Decor

2010-03-16T20:05:00.001-07:00

I'm pretty sure spray paint is the best thing that ever happened to me... oh and spray adhesive is a close second. I found a tacky gold frame at my favorite thrift store for a dollar and spray painted it a glossy white. Then I used my wonderful spray adhesive to stick a bunch a pretty junk to my background scrapbook paper. I bought the most beautiful pad of K and Company paper and have been using it for EVERYTHING lately. This project is simple, cheap, and quick (just the way I like them!)

VW Bus Quilt Block

2010-03-15T19:35:00.000-07:00

My mom and I have been working on this quilt off-and-on for a few years now. I thought it would be fun to post pictures of the quilt blocks as we finish them. Here is our 4th of July block:

We used batting for the little quilt and tied it with embroidery floss.

Some of the patchwork pieces are from my great-grandma's collection. I LOVE the little mail man!

Ironing Board Cover

2010-03-10T18:42:00.000-08:00

I got this mini ironing board from a local thrift store for $2.00 (a steal) but it was in dire need of a new cover.

First, I took off the old cover and used it as a pattern for my new super cute cover. I just pinned the old cover on top of my fabric and cut around it leaving about a two and a half inch border.

I then folded over the fabric one inch all the way around and ironed the one inch fold. I clipped into the curves to make it easier to turn.

Next, I sewed the hem with a 1/4 of an inch seam, leaving a two inch gap so I could thread my elastic through.

I then tied my elastic around a safety pin, threaded my elastic all the way through to cover, and tied it in a knot.

Finally, I fit my cover onto the ironing board and tucked the elastic under the hem.

There you have it, a super easy way to spruce up your old ironing board.

Cupcake Tower

2010-03-06T20:44:00.000-08:00

I made this cute cupcake tower for my daughter's first birthday. It was a big hit!

More St. Patty's Day Fun!

2010-03-03T20:01:00.001-08:00

Lucky You

2010-03-03T19:04:00.000-08:00

Easy and festive, can you really say no to this St. Patty's Day project? I've had this cute frame lying around for a while (it's a 4x6 by the way), I found some pretty green paisley paper at Hobby Lobby, and seriously don't you love the cork board letters?

I really like St. Patrick's Day, in case you couldn't tell!

Don't forget to check out thrift shops for vintage treasures. This glass plate cost 50 cents and the candlestick was a dollar. Get a bottle of epoxy, glue them together, and ta-da!

I LOVE this sweet little doilie, $2.99 at a local thrift store.

St. Patty's Day Plate

2010-02-28T18:55:00.001-08:00

This may be the easiest project ever (and pretty cute if you ask me). All you need is a clear glass plate - I got mine at Shopko for $1.20, an adorable St. Patrick's Day image - I got my images from a CD I bought through ebay, a festive shamrock doilie, a piece of lace - I got my lace from Joann's Craft Store, and some spray adhesive - I used 3M Super 77 Spray Adhesive.

First: spray the adhesive on the front of your cute little St. Patrick's Day image and stick it to the back of your plate (do not try spraying the whole plate and just sticking the materials to the plate, it looks gross).

Step 2: spray the front of your shamrock and stick it to the back of your plate.

Step 3: spray your lace and stick it to the back of the plate.

Step 4: trim the lace around the plate.

Baby Booties

2010-02-24T20:38:00.000-08:00

I fell in love with this fabric a few months ago and had to buy it (even though I had no project in mind...happens a lot.) Then I found the pattern for these sweet little booties, I knew they were a match made in heaven. They are quick and easy to work up and are oh- so precious.

First, cut the sole out of a super soft minky or fleece and "jiffy grip fabric" (the pattern calls for batting in between the layers of fabric but I thought that made the shoe too bulky).

Then, cut the top out of your outer fabric and minky.

Next, put the minky and jiffy-grip wrong sides together and zig-zag around the outer edge.

Then, lay your outer fabric and minky right-sides together, pin the inner edge, and sew.

Next, pin the heel (right-sides together) and sew down the back.

Next, turn the shoe right-side out, pin the bottom all the way around, and sew.

Finally, pin the sole to the top of the shoe and sew.

And...

Viola! You have an adorable little bootie for some lucky little baby.

Delicious Jalapeno Jelly

2010-02-13T19:10:00.000-08:00

I love Jalapeno Jelly!! It is simply delicious! I first tried it at my favorite Mexican restaurant and that is where my love affair began. I love jalapeno jelly with Jalapeno Cheese Poppers, I love it with cream cheese and crackers, I love it on quesadillas, I love it with roast beef.......you get the picture. I LOVE IT!! Last Saturday, Leigh and I whipped up a batch and it turned out fabulously. The recipe is listed below for any who wish to dive into this tasty treat.

Jalapeno Jelly Recipe:

14 jalapeno peppers (seeded)

4 sweet red peppers

3 cups of vinegar

10 cups of sugar

2 pouches of pectin

Grind all of the peppers with the vinegar in a food processor or blender. Put in a big pot and bring to a boil. Add sugar. Boil for five minutes and remove from heat. Add pectin. Return to heat and hard boil for 1-2 minutes. Put into hot jars and process for 10 minutes. Makes approximately 8 pints. Enjoy!

Valentine's Day Goodies

2010-02-07T19:14:00.001-08:00

Here is a sweet little valentine decoration inspired by fewthingsfrommylife.blogspot.com. This is a super easy project which simply calls for a sheet of delightful valentine-y card stock, a shadow box, and a heart-shaped paper punch.

I used my typewriter to add some "personality" to one of the hearts and folded a few others to create some dimension.

I've also been busy embellishing these vintage valentines:

I was initially making them to give away, but they've ended up finding homes in my kitchen, living room, etc. I still have time to throw together more before Valentine's day right?

Hairbow Holder

2010-02-01T21:44:00.000-08:00

Take a ratty old frame, some ribbon, and fabric and what have you got....a cute hairbow holder for your little princess for under 3$.

Valentine's Day Craftiness

2010-02-01T21:31:00.000-08:00

My friends Joy, Leigh and I decided to make a cute Valentine's Day craft that we saw on www.tatertotsandjello.blogspot.com. We bought some frames at the Dollar Store and the D.I. and spray painted them all black. Then we added some scrapbook paper and some floral marbles and here is the super cute finished project. What do you think.....