Holy cow, it’s been three months since I’ve done a monthly recap! I cannot believe how quickly this year has flown by. This may be a long post so I won’t waste your time with an extended introduction. Let’s get to it!
MAY
If you all remember, May was my 7MD Curb Appeal month. The hustle was real that month. I shared numerous projects on my social media pages but I shared how to build and install custom shutters, build a decorative storage bench, and install a new mailbox post on the blog.
Despite all of the work going on around here in May, I was able to sneak off for a day and meet up with a new best friend (because you can have more than one best friend, right??) in Arkansas.
Lo of Rebel Heart Woodworks is an incredible builder and I’m in complete awe of her abilities. She flew in from California for an event and I showed her a bit around the south. We may not have ended up where we intended and cursed a roundabout a time or two but we had a blast. I’m currently trying to convince her to move here.
JUNE
I kicked off the month by announcing that custom orders have been suspended indefinitely. I just had no time to work on my own projects or even take a break. While I’m very thankful for every order, I had to take the time for myself and get some things checked off my list.
This month I got a project accomplished that I’ve been waiting many years to have done. Actually, I paid for someone else to do it but, you know, I got it done. I finally got the second addition to my deck built!
I have an incredibly slopped back yard and large portions were unusable as they were. Now that the second level of the deck is built, I’m excited to finally finish it out and enjoy the space as I’ve always dreamed. What’s left to do, you ask? I will be replacing the boards on the top level, adding a railing, and doing a fun treatment to add some color and protect the wood.
On the blog I shared how I installed peel and stick tile in my showers. It was a quick upgrade and really makes a difference in my bathrooms.
It’s been a month and they’re still holding up well!
I also shared with you one of my favorite shop upgrades (okay, they’re all pretty much my favorite). My spring clamp holder has been so nice to have. It doesn’t take up much space and I always put my clamps back because it’s so convenient.
At the end of the month, I took a little trip to Amarillo, TX for a short getaway and to see one of my favorite bands. I couldn’t go to Amarillo without dropping in on another woodworking friend, Jake of Northside Custom Crafts.
It was such a good time to “catch up” even though we’ve never met in person. He gifted me an awesome 7MD logo sign and we collaborated for a YouTube video on how he made it.
JULY
At the end of June/beginning of July, the Instagram Builder’s Challenge kicked off the second mini challenge to keep us all occupied until season 6 of the regular challenge rolls around this fall. The challenge was to make a cutting board. I had never made one and I had intended to make one to gift this month so it was perfect! I planned big. And felt a bit defeated when my plan didn’t quite work out. All is well, though. The first board is being repurposed as a photography prop and I completed a second board for the challenge.
I barely had enough wood leftover to get this board finished. I completed it using walnut, maple, and padauk. These are my favorite cutting board wood species. As a bonus, the board features a live edge. I couldn’t bear to part with it so I ended up making a third board to gift. It’s a good thing I’ve taken a liking to making cutting boards!
The third board I made was for my niece. She got married in a destination wedding this month and I surprised her and her new husband with the board the evening before the wedding. This board has a bit of symbolism for me in the woods chosen and the design when compared to a wedding and marriage. I also had the board engraved with their last initial and wedding date. If either of them ever forgets their anniversary (and they can read Roman numerals…), they can always reference this board.
July was a pretty productive month in the shop and I got to clear out quite a bit of scrap wood. Here’s a sampling of the items. To learn more about them, you can find the posts on my Instagram and Facebook pages.
And finally, I shared on the blog in July a shop upgrade that has made being in the shop bearable during the extreme summer heat we’ve been having. My double fan cart gives me double the air movement in an easy to move rolling cart. I’m actually thinking about making a second one to put on the opposite side of the garage.
Whew! That was a lot. And there was even more I skimmed over. I’ll work to better schedule my blog posts so I don’t have to skip another month. As always, if you’d like to keep up with what’s going on in my world, be sure to follow me on Instagram and Facebook!
