DIY: Staining Patio Furniture

This was our beautiful new patio set. Shortly after placing it outside, a few birds did a fly over and sprinkled some mulberry droppings on the wooden top. I had to furiously scrub it down with vinegar water to keep the stain from setting into the porous wood.

Patio set before

I'd had enough. It was time to stain and seal the wood for longevity.

Some things to know before staining with a tinted sealant...

1. Put the items to be stained in a temperature controlled environment and allow it to settle for a day or so. Our garage worked great for this as it is temperature controlled. If your garage isn't temperature controlled, look for a non-humid, cool day (fall is a great time of year for this).
2. Paint multiple, thin layers of stain. Allow each layer to dry (shouldn't be tacky) before applying the next. The stain will gradually become darker with each layer.
3. If you want minimal mess, tape off the wooden areas before beginning the staining.
4. Find stain and supplies while your patio set becomes cool and controlled.

Prepped patio chairs and table before staining and sealing.

Up close of the taped off chair arms.

Who even knows where to begin when selecting the necessary products for sealing and staining? We went to the Home Depot and got the scoop from the paint staff there. You can use my advice, or seek theirs. Either way, here's what we gathered:

• First, see the previously stated bullets above.
• When choosing a sealant, consider whether you want it to double as a stain. If so, match it to other wooden items in the same area.
• The tricky part is knowing how much you'll use. This project (a table and 12 chair arms) required less than 1/5 of the quart of stain. Thankfully I didn't listen to my husband and buy the whole gallon! :/
• Choose a brush that is suitable for ALL PAINTS to use with a stain and sealant.
• Stir the stain with the wooden mixing stick before use.

Staining and sealing products.

The top arm is original. The bottom arm has been stained with one coat.

To seal and stain the table, I started on the bottom. I only did one layer here and didn't bother taping since nobody can see the bottom. Afterwards I quickly flipped it over to look for runs from the sealant on the top of the table. I was sure to brush those out before applying three full coats.

Table in progress.

With nearly 4/5 of stain remaining, I decided to also seal and stain this bench that my friend made me years ago for my birthday. Since they are both in our back yard space, they now match and seem more cohesive.

Staining the wooden bench that will also be in the back yard.

Stay tuned for the final product when I do a tutorial this spring on creating and decorating a patio space!

Thanks for stopping by the Humble Hammock, do come back!

Baby Shower Fiesta Invitations

Have you ever planned a fiesta themed baby shower? No, but you want to? Okay, good, you're at the right place.

My friend decided not only did she want to hold her baby shower in a private room to a Mexican restaurant, but she wanted invitations, snacks, drinks and games to match. Here is my journey in creating the the mailed invitations.

This is the end product. If you don't like this, stop reading. No, I mean, why put yourself through the rest of this agonizingly detailed post if you're not going to make one similar to it? (Deep down you're saying thank you).... and if you are hoping to making one like this... proceed.

First, determine how many of these invites you're going to make. I settled on 40 so these supplies accommodated that number.

Step 1: Obtain envelopes and determine your invitation size. I wish I didn’t have my heart set on these envelopes with the stringed back from Michaels. They got me into trouble in the mail house so do yourself a favor and resist! For those of you who are handing out invitations this may still be an option. They were roughly $4.99 each and contained 20 envelopes. So, $10 later I had enough for my 40 guests. You can view similar envelopes in the Recollections collection at Michaels here.

Step 2: Choose paper for the backing of the printed invitations. You don't want flimsy white 80# copy paper coming out of your envelopes. The first impression isn't a memorable one and they feel cheap. Splurge on the $.10 per sheet and make your guests feel like this invite is to a party they won't want to miss! 

Step 3: acquire appropriate colored ribbon. These spools came from the Dollar Tree and set me back $1 each. Since I knew the length of the invitation I was able to determine how many yards of ribbon I would need. I recommend taking a few minutes to do the math so that you’re not stuck with an excess of supplies. The half spool or so extra that I had did come in handy for some finishing touches on the day of the shower so I was able to part with it pretty quickly.

Best advice for this entire project? Do NOT forget to include the registry information on the invitation! If you do, you’ll need to use these handy tags to stick in your envelopes. Be advised that the ribbon on the invitation acts like octopus tentacles when the invitation is removed during opening. This may send the important registry information flying into tiny crevices in the recipient’s home or car.    

Thanks for stopping by the Humble Hammock! Do come back!

DIY: Princess Peach Halloween Costume

My work crew decided to go as characters from Mario Kart last year. Being female and blonde automatically elected me to be Princess Peach. No matter, the costume was super easy to put together and cost about $12.

Here's how I would advise transforming into Princess Peach:

Start this project with a trip to a home improvement store. Pick-up a can of the cheapest pink spray paint you can find and procure a long empty box. 

Remove all flaps from the cardboard box with scissors and take it outside for a makeover. Spray paint the box by spraying a few inches from the cardboard to prevent running. For my box I used the entire can of paint and gave it a light layer all the way around.

                                                

This was my point of reference for Peach's car

                                                    

This Rustoleum paint was at Lowes and cost about $3

I painted wheels and head lights with craft paint and printed a quick decal for both sides. The tulle straps on the inside kept the car balanced from my shoulders so it looked as though I was sitting inside.

 Now for the princess skirt.

This roll of tulle was on sale at Hobby Lobby for $2.99. I bought a baby pink and hot pink to use for my costume. Both rolls had 25 yards. I used the tulle for my princess skirt as well as the bow on the car.

I simply used elastic, cut a strip as long as my waist, pinned it together in a circle and cut the baby pink tulle in one yard increments. To secure it I formed a loop (with the tulle even on both sides) and pulled the tulle around the elastic until it was secure. I then proceed to repeat 20 times.

Viola! Skirt!

My pink tank top body suit was actually my mom's from the 1980's. To add the poofy sleeves I simply cut the hot pink tulle and looped it around the tank top portion of the suit.

As for the crown, I started with some thick presentation board. I free handed the crown pattern, cut it out and bend it to shape. I then used clamps to secure the bend while hot gluing the seam. Once dry, I cut two tulle strips the length of the diameter of the inside of the crown and hot glued them in an 'X' fashion to the inside. This gave me something to put bobby pins through to secure the crown to my hair and keep it from falling off. 

                                            

For the jewelry, I used the same gems featured on the crown (the whole box was $3 at Hobby Lobby) and hot glued them to cardboard. I used tulle as the string, hot glued it to the cardboard cutout and slipped it on moments before the costume party.

Here is the final product!

Thanks for stopping by the Humble Hammock! What will you be going as for Halloween this year?

How to: Buy a Car

Meet Penelope the Cruise... or as I called her; Penelope.

Penelope and I go waaaay back. When I was 16, this was my first car. We made it through high school, college and into my twenties together. A tragic side swiping a mile from my house and a faulty oil change from Honda (which completely ruined her engine) really caused me to think about finding a replacement. After she got a complimentary used engine from Honda, I decided it was finally time for us to part ways.

My parents have always driven Honda. Our family car, the Piece, had 417,000 miles before the timing belt broke and bent the head on the engine. It was always an underlying goal for me to break that record with Penelope. That bad oil change stopped the odometer at 309,770 and the new engine reset to 180,000 miles. 

The good news is, I had been keeping my eye on the Nissan Murano for a few years so I knew EXACTLY what I wanted when the time came to make the replacement. I began looking for the right year, color, and interior package but much to my dismay, they were very difficult to come by. After a couple of months, and a handful of disappointing test drives, I stumbled upon this little gem...

I learned quite a bit during my first car buying purchase and thought that it would be helpful to share.

• If there's a list price online, it's likely not the same on the lot. Document the price with a screenshot and ask that they honor that price. If they don't, walk away from the deal.
• Don't buy a car at night! You need to have good lighting to assess the imperfections of the vehicle and bring those into your negotiations. For example, if there was a big scratch in the paint, you may want to have them fix it before you buy it. Bringing it in a week later when you notice it won't provide any accountability on their end.
• Decipher the mileage you'd like in a car. If you get a 3-5 year loan, you want to be sure that based on your driving habits, you won't owe more on the car than it's worth before it's paid off. If you drive 100 miles per day, you may want to buy a car that you can afford over three years, so that you don't owe more on it before the loan is due. 
• Imagine you're in a car wreck and at the time, you owe $5,000 on the car. Based on mileage, the insurance company will only give you $3,000. That means you have to come up with the difference of $2,000 to repay your loan on the car before you can buy something else.
• Read reviews of the car online! Search things like... "2013 Nissan Murano problems," or "2013 Nissan Murano issues." Know what other owners are saying are the pros and cons of the vehicle.
• Show me the CarFax! But seriously... you need to know if the vehicle has been in any kind of fender bender. From my experience, if you read anything about the car frame being bent - move on!
• Know what you want to spend. Set a number and stick to it! It's easy to get starry eyed in the car lot and forget what your budget is. It's better to be honest with yourself up front about what you can afford than to make the first car payment and realize you can't make ends meet.
• Get pre-approved for a loan BEFORE you look. If you get into a bid war with someone else, or want to make the seller act fast, have that pre-approved check handy to seal the deal. I recommend keeping this check secret until you're really ready to solidify a number and buy the car. Don't tell the seller what your top approval dollar is or they won't be as inclined to come off the list price.
• How do you get pre-approved? Call your bank and tell them you'd like to get pre-approved for a car loan. They'll run your credit score, check your finances, etc. Then a check is mailed to your house within a few days and you can keep it handy until you're ready to make a purchase. You cannot exceed the dollar amount of the check without another pre-approval from your bank. 
• Find out if your vehicle will be under any warranties and if there are any recalls. Ask for the recall record too incase parts have not been replaced that should have been.
• Haggle, Haggle, Haggle. Come prepared with comparable pricing on similar vehicles and specs. The more educated you are, the more leverage you have. I like to print a couple of copies of comparable cars, look up the value on AutoTrader, Kelley Blue Book, and more. 

Before & After

Happy car buying! 

Thanks for stopping by the Humble Hammock!

Cara

Travel: Roadtrip in Ireland

Many of you (my faithful readers) have asked about a road trip Andrew and I took this Spring within Ireland. In this blog I'll detail my planning, the results, and my advice so that you can plan your very own trip to the Emerald Isle.

My timeline backdater for a May trip:

• January - Determine your stay duration and buy airline tickets. 
• February - Plan road trip route and work with a travel agent to book rental car and bed and breakfasts.
• March - Plan excursions and book them.
• May - Freak out! You're visiting Ireland during the last week of the month!

Airline Tickets

If you can get tickets from the United States to Europe for < $1,000 you're shaping up pretty nicely. I used CheapOAir and got ours for $950. I bought them four months from our travel date on a Sunday evening. I hear that Tuesday/Wednesday is the best day to buy them, but the price was too good to wait two more days for here-say. We flew from Indianapolis to Chicago and then to Dublin and were gone from Saturday to Saturday (seven days). Leaving of an evening out of Chicago let us sleep on the flight and better prepare for the full day awaiting us across the pond. 

Our Road Trip Route 

I encourage you to do research of places you'd like to go. But, if you'd like a pre-made route to start with (knowing what's feasible in seven days), start with our route. You can even view my reviews on Trip Advisor to see what I thought, in thorough detail, of each location.

Route of Ireland Road Trip.

• Day 1 - Obtain rental car and drive from Dublin to Kilkenny. Visit Kilkenny Castle, Smithwicks, and explore the town. 
• Night 1 - Stay in Kilkenny at Carraig Rua (walking distance from Kilkenny sites).

Streets of Kilkenny

Kilkenny Castle

Smithwicks

• Day 2 - Drive from Kilkenny to Middleton (Jameson), Waterford (Waterford Crystal and Reginald's Viking Tower), Cobh (Titanic's last port of call), and Kinsale (after dinner, visit Old Head).
• Night 2 - Stay in Kinsale at the Friar Lodge.

Jameson

Waterford Crystal showroom 

Reginald's Tower in Waterford

Titanic Trail in Cobh

Kinsale

Old Head

• Day 3 - Travel just north of Cork to visit Blarney Castle. Consider visiting Blarney Woolen Mills and Old English Market in Cork if you like fresh meats, fruits and some crafts.
• Night 3 - Stay in Kinsale at the Friar Lodge and be sure to take a Ghost Tour (historical comedy, not creepy!) after dinner.

Blarney Castle

Blarney Castle Estate

Blarney Stone

Old English Market, Cork

Ghost Tours, Kinsale

• Day 4 - Drive from Kinsale to Doolin. Once in Doolin, visit Cliffs of Moher and take the 8km walking tour before taking a ferry tour of them.
• Night 4 - Stay in Doolin at the Doonmacfelim House.

Cliffs of Moher

Hiking

Hiking along the Cliffs to the boat tour in Doolin.

Hiking along the Cliffs to the boat tour in Doolin.

View from boat tour

• Day 5 - Tour The Burren around Doolin over the course of 3-4 hours. Stop at the Burren Perfumery and Poulnabrone Dolmen. Make time for the sheep herding show if possible.
• Night 5 - Listen to traditional (Trad) Irish music in McGanns or Fitzpatrick's in Doolin and be sure to try an Irish Coffee. Stay in Doolin at the Doonmacfelim House.

Burren Perfumery 

Paulnabrone Dlomen

Free styling along the Burren

Free styling along the Burren

• Day 6 - Drive from Doolin to Dublin and return the rental car at the airport. Check into Temple Bar Hotel and visit Guinness!
• Night 6 - Stay at the Temple Bar Hotel. **Disclaimer: Temple Bar is a district, so be wary of all things in this area being named "Temple Bar____."

Dublin

Dublin 

Dublin

As fresh as it gets! 

Guinness at the 360 bar

• Day 7 - Take a day tour north to Belfast via Wild Rover Day Tours. See the Titanic Museum and ship slip, Giant's Causeway and Carrick A Rede Rope Bridge.
• Night 7 - Stay at the Temple Bar Hotel one last time before heading home!

Titanic's slip (left)

Titanic Museum

Giant's Causeway (looking inland)

Giant's Causeway

Giant's Causeway

Carrick a Rede Rope Bridge

Car Rental
I used an incredible agency called Terry Flynn Tours who not only booked the car, but handled bed and breakfast reservations for us after I shared our desired route. I trusted their recommendations, and they worked with my budget. Email Michelle to get started and tell her that Cara sent you :)

Anticipate gasoline to be purchased by the liter. On average, it cost $30-$40 euro to fill our car; which we filled 2-3 times over the course of ~1,000km. We rented an automatic Class BA car with a GPS. Get the GPS, you'll thank me later. Also ask Michelle to explain CDW insurance to you. This is every important for Americans to understand because of the high accident risk that could occur while driving on the wrong side of the road and car.

Our rental car, Opal :)

Bed and Breakfasts
We preferred these to a hotel. They were cozy, served amazing breakfasts, and were like home. Be sure to check for parking at these locations so that you can make room for your rental car!

Excursion Bookings and Costs    *implies student discount

• Kilkenny Castle (FREE to explore grounds - fee to explore one of few furbished castle in the country).
• Smithwicks* - €9.50 or ~$12. Book before you go.
• Jameson Experience* - €12.00 or ~$15. Book before you go.
• Waterford - FREE to tour the showroom - fee to get the tour.
• Viking Tower - FREE to gaze upon the edifice - fee to climb the tower.
• Titanic Trail in Cobh - FREE
• Old Head - FREE
• Blarney Castle* - €12.50 or ~$15. Book before you go.
• Old English Market - FREE
• Kinsale Ghost Tours  - €15 or ~$20. Buy tickets at the Tap Tavern in Kinsale to attend.
• Cliffs of Moher - FREE to walk the grounds, __for walking tour, ___for boat tour
• Burren Perfumery - FREE to explore, products and cafe' available.
• Poulnabrone Dolmen - FREE
• Guinness* - €14.50 or ~$16. Book before you go.
• Wild Rover Day Tours* - includes Titanic Museum, Giant's Causeway and Carrick's Rope Bridge. Book before you go.

Random Tips

• Don't worry about exchanging dollars for euros and pounds (northern Ireland uses this currency) until you land in Dublin. Visit an ATM and use your debit card to withdraw the local currency. My bank changed $5 per withdraw which was much cheaper than the exchange rate commission. Talk to your bank to learn about the restrictions. My credit card tacked on an additional 3% charge to each transaction that I didn't want to pay. We took this trip primarily with cash, so do your homework before racking up unnecessary fees.
• If you aren't an Irish resident, you can be reimbursed for tax on purchases of objects while visiting. This is valid for textiles, souvenirs, etc. but does not include food or tourism fees. Visit this link to learn more.
• Freestyle! If you have down time... EXPLORE. We had the best time doing this. Including boarding a ferry in our car and traveling across the ocean for 10 minutes.
• Take your college ID for student discounts :)
• Pack lots of layers. A windbreaker (shell) is a brilliant idea. Bring at least two pair of comfortable shoes.
• Plan to use iMessage to talk to family/friends in the States. Just connect to wifi and it's no charge!
• Seriously, get the GPS.
• People don't really tip money in Ireland. Don't anticipate these costs.
• Take LOTS of pictures and expect everyone to say 'wow, it's really green there,' once you get home.
• Be sure to try Irish Coffee, Fish & Chips, Guinness Stew and Shepherd's Pie!

Total Expected Cost: $3,500-$5,000 (depending on your trip preferences and activities).

What did I forget to mention? Comment below with questions and I'll provide additional details!

Thanks for stopping by the Humble Hammock!
Cara