tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86826862696211259942024-03-13T07:45:42.601-07:00The Tech GrandmaRemembering and inspired by Aunt Dottie, choosing to live my life as a Maker. A mom and grandma loving the arts, technology, and human nature.theTechGrandmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01441740195353013057noreply@blogger.comBlogger146125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8682686269621125994.post-69552858859013934102021-01-29T07:58:00.001-08:002021-01-29T07:58:55.762-08:00Urban Farm, Homestead, or Farmstead? Wonderful Tiny Farm (WTF)<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">We have such a great opportunity to start our little farm from scratch and build it out just how we want - but what do we want? I'm really thinking a lot about garden design, irrigation, greenhouses, soil health (no till and cover crops) and lastly - how can I leverage technology to assist and scale those solutions within my community. </span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I work for Microsoft and I'm particularly interested in how I leverage Azure and AI technologies to my advantage? </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">There's plenty of corporations pledged to reduce carbon footprint and they are doing an amazing job. I see it everyday at Microsoft and also the customers I work with. I can't help think about the little guy? What about you and me? How can each one of us contribute in our own way? <i>What can we do to reduce our carbon footprint?</i></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMQbzkuWFDbzH0rDXzoiDoATAQGSC8wpspZ7KoTuc7vtC-3NYIC8ihHSGurWT1vUfWSFghLYhW0Yidg7ANrjnnWWttkpXxd5t_2liv57EoxJ380XXi0lfE3yeUv8YdAEneSeLwtSHp0VHJ/s2048/McClellan-6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="wonderful tiny farm, urban farm, homestead, farmstead" border="0" data-original-height="1554" data-original-width="2048" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMQbzkuWFDbzH0rDXzoiDoATAQGSC8wpspZ7KoTuc7vtC-3NYIC8ihHSGurWT1vUfWSFghLYhW0Yidg7ANrjnnWWttkpXxd5t_2liv57EoxJ380XXi0lfE3yeUv8YdAEneSeLwtSHp0VHJ/w320-h243/McClellan-6.jpg" title="Burke and Tammy and the Wonderful Tiny Farm" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Let's define some terms shall we? </span></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>Homestead</b>: The term used to reference a free government land program but today it means a home that is self sufficient.</span></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>Urban Farm</b>: Farm or garden within a city or urban setting.</span></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>Farmstead</b>: Usually refers to a farm (making a living at growing food) and it's buildings.</span></p></blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I mean .... any one of these terms could refer to our plans for our little part of the world and you will probably see or hear me do that.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">We finally agreed on a name for our farm - <span style="color: #3d85c6;">Wonderful Tiny Farm</span> or WTF. Pretty catchy yea?</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><i>So what does a farm of the future look like that you can do at a small scale?</i> We have 10 acres on our little homestead which is more than your average land size. Can you make money doing this? What is the business model that works? Do you sell meat like chickens, goats, cows, etc? Can I eat an animal I grew? What about eggs, market garden vegetables and microgreens?</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">This is our next adventure and new journey with my awesome husband of 25 years, Burke - to answer these questions. Then to share with you our lessons learned and findings. Burke and I inevitably will disagree on most everything but at the end of the day, we made this decision to do this together AND with a little effort, we'll come out on top. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">We've talked about YouTube and video recording our journeys and what that might look like, so we will take a stab at that as well - so look forward to more content.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I'm looking forward to this content, excited about the journey, expecting a lot of disagreements from my husband, failing and hopefully - ultimately succeeding.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/12720963/?claim=z54bxxursnf">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a></div>theTechGrandmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01441740195353013057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8682686269621125994.post-89042749655579109122021-01-05T10:58:00.005-08:002021-01-05T10:58:54.256-08:00DIY kids animal face masks<p>Every year for Christmas my Mom comes to visit and together we make something for the kids in our family - both Burke's and mine. This year was no different, although there was a lot different about this year - but we still wanted to do something for the kids. I traveled down and picked Mom who lives in Dayton and we got busy. </p><p>I started thinking about Christmas masks - maybe a Santa face or reindeer, but settled on fun animal masks that the kids could continue to wear after Christmas.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAfVVJ1mY-o7X0dI762RRBmgBw8-Dyjug9RbL_oNcVHu0IsXSR-IPhsv2B0r8oDUaht8H1lrlLr9IqzKPa2hukehqM0lDuMo1RhQdDd8x1D6m9ACJufV6mbXiHJ9IF_3pqB7Bcm0-nAQy/s2048/KidsMasks.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1378" data-original-width="2048" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYAfVVJ1mY-o7X0dI762RRBmgBw8-Dyjug9RbL_oNcVHu0IsXSR-IPhsv2B0r8oDUaht8H1lrlLr9IqzKPa2hukehqM0lDuMo1RhQdDd8x1D6m9ACJufV6mbXiHJ9IF_3pqB7Bcm0-nAQy/w400-h269/KidsMasks.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p>Walking around outside as winter is nearing in Michigan, I noticed how nice my mask actually helped to keep my face warm, so I prototyped a couple different mask fabric and settled on a fleece front with a cotton back. Nice winter - heading to the car from the house type of mask, not good for all day use.</p><p>I looked at what some other's were doing with regards to mask construction and really settled on a 3D Mask because it gave me a flat service to put the embroidered animal face on it.</p><p>I'm not going to focus on the pattern and construction, you can find all that here with <a href="https://sweetredpoppy.com/3d-face-mask/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Red Poppy - How to sew a 3D mask. She did an amazing job and the instructions and pattern were easy to follow</a>.</p><p>This post will focus on the embroidery. I've included the embroidery files here for you to download - free of choice. I have a Brother embroidery machine - so the file format is .pes.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhluNl34RhAuRJeqzINS_D0wfMcQxbj8LY8Wnjqm3An8QsHj2GqWNA86qV0tX_T1JKUJR-thYz5IXvkumHWIhHcGb7XZMH1PXfLpRVGrg8F6RZzNx1cFmMUNoPYOocrjlkYni7Dpr94pNZ_/s4032/PXL_20201230_194026486.PORTRAIT.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhluNl34RhAuRJeqzINS_D0wfMcQxbj8LY8Wnjqm3An8QsHj2GqWNA86qV0tX_T1JKUJR-thYz5IXvkumHWIhHcGb7XZMH1PXfLpRVGrg8F6RZzNx1cFmMUNoPYOocrjlkYni7Dpr94pNZ_/w300-h400/PXL_20201230_194026486.PORTRAIT.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The masks consist of a 5x7 rectangle that fit my stabilizer, cotton cut with the pattern, 12" pieces of elastic, couple of adjustable beads, cotton lining for the carbon and a nose piece.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifOZ6xQgTBAPVWO8v4OpGitb9AUsT8xNGaFROI_Unwgs8kmUlmAE-_1FqXlfjQEJfJ08lFKp4qX_P6NH4WJX3Z1-yIWC8RaRdXPFfqh5LKTnU6HJn6yy2Qg4g0H6r9p5imOhXFixFFL6Ps/s4032/PXL_20201230_194635618.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifOZ6xQgTBAPVWO8v4OpGitb9AUsT8xNGaFROI_Unwgs8kmUlmAE-_1FqXlfjQEJfJ08lFKp4qX_P6NH4WJX3Z1-yIWC8RaRdXPFfqh5LKTnU6HJn6yy2Qg4g0H6r9p5imOhXFixFFL6Ps/w400-h300/PXL_20201230_194635618.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I got the hoop and file loaded ready to go. The first stitching outline has occurred.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIpl_-MD2STwgJayMpMe1TxM7tb6_MyuUWrTZw2zPSsqrVgWKm6GheU-1RHwrGJDQxE44bMXZvGAk_puVjdsa95D83ffWv6AOGdfQnAEtCtQVJphlNDxJnDh7e5WgTgPQFnYPMrgo9OhAq/s4032/PXL_20201230_194824879.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIpl_-MD2STwgJayMpMe1TxM7tb6_MyuUWrTZw2zPSsqrVgWKm6GheU-1RHwrGJDQxE44bMXZvGAk_puVjdsa95D83ffWv6AOGdfQnAEtCtQVJphlNDxJnDh7e5WgTgPQFnYPMrgo9OhAq/w300-h400/PXL_20201230_194824879.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Now time to add the tongue. I cut the tongue out of pink felt in this shape and folded it with an overlap. Hopefully you see it - it's pretty much a pleat.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHMB33yV0PS6N5DkaiIfiO4gDR62nU-Ct4c3M3q6XlzylAWV209DqUh7d2fvg38xQXKfVAjoeArNIWoHBBafHE6AD2-9-OrvG07igyfnh6s5M0Pzh5zhBJLfwdxhyc9b9bZoekAJ-NblkZ/s4032/PXL_20201230_194853473.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHMB33yV0PS6N5DkaiIfiO4gDR62nU-Ct4c3M3q6XlzylAWV209DqUh7d2fvg38xQXKfVAjoeArNIWoHBBafHE6AD2-9-OrvG07igyfnh6s5M0Pzh5zhBJLfwdxhyc9b9bZoekAJ-NblkZ/w300-h400/PXL_20201230_194853473.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I pinned it here but that was only for the demonstration.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif_3GISmTDXajW_xZfTcyg5VeZMMY8oCNm-Chsi5H07SDiIDuX9_nch2OxwDG0SNdjrX0gsfnKYt-mj5ZyOLff02NGxUzopUnUJR9ViOgV4KI7di8jFygbHGPFxR7nsrFPf9VBEbnyS7lW/s4032/PXL_20201230_195007302.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif_3GISmTDXajW_xZfTcyg5VeZMMY8oCNm-Chsi5H07SDiIDuX9_nch2OxwDG0SNdjrX0gsfnKYt-mj5ZyOLff02NGxUzopUnUJR9ViOgV4KI7di8jFygbHGPFxR7nsrFPf9VBEbnyS7lW/w400-h300/PXL_20201230_195007302.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">You could pin it to the outline stitch, but I just used a little dab of tape to hold it in place.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI5wt2pAz1L9WeAdH66NUYUl-uFzOcR3fxTamsjMznn2wpZ9ArExutqMU4ECyAlhBM5PAP-DDI5BWqx8EQjTFb-eCY1A8kHIHRKB2x5IPs8Ig0AWApdC2JjuGSFV7bYagwGOeOGfaT0rg1/s4032/PXL_20201230_195041383.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI5wt2pAz1L9WeAdH66NUYUl-uFzOcR3fxTamsjMznn2wpZ9ArExutqMU4ECyAlhBM5PAP-DDI5BWqx8EQjTFb-eCY1A8kHIHRKB2x5IPs8Ig0AWApdC2JjuGSFV7bYagwGOeOGfaT0rg1/w400-h300/PXL_20201230_195041383.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">While the second outline is stitched.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM9-Gbvb4qftoi1e3l-TqSwj69-6rXOfqVBeew7ppE7doi9Fn4NzFp7kq1MvM4SOLevQ8ofcJZBobVf2rprLyJW0GPbszFM2wl14bcGAYmnbvR91ScGo1mZuWRG4oU3mmCWEmgcyEvrToy/s4032/PXL_20201230_195118952.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM9-Gbvb4qftoi1e3l-TqSwj69-6rXOfqVBeew7ppE7doi9Fn4NzFp7kq1MvM4SOLevQ8ofcJZBobVf2rprLyJW0GPbszFM2wl14bcGAYmnbvR91ScGo1mZuWRG4oU3mmCWEmgcyEvrToy/w400-h300/PXL_20201230_195118952.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Because I put the tape back further, you can't see it.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG-fS0RVGAh160kK9wOSRn9uUX0deceL358zl_aHbTPKs-GvD_edWv34yfJBJ0r5UZZk_yHLMRSGpUVB3tN8mULGGR3kBhTL0yitr7Fl7Eim6MM85TkRejstKMX71oeYIMlBKyyE2zwJqP/s4032/PXL_20201230_195348204.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG-fS0RVGAh160kK9wOSRn9uUX0deceL358zl_aHbTPKs-GvD_edWv34yfJBJ0r5UZZk_yHLMRSGpUVB3tN8mULGGR3kBhTL0yitr7Fl7Eim6MM85TkRejstKMX71oeYIMlBKyyE2zwJqP/w400-h300/PXL_20201230_195348204.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I took out the hoop and cut it down to the stitching line.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWpnhkaIHGscHJg90z7RD1rFk5tEaw4AGmFj0eSG72FEksMygPsDABvysPg2jZP-XxDWP-B10XhJbClrNiFMePIena4rxKNxr41MOW_i1UKxHH9bkAoZG43G6Gvf0VfYflUCghZFDN0pkf/s4032/PXL_20201230_200013072.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWpnhkaIHGscHJg90z7RD1rFk5tEaw4AGmFj0eSG72FEksMygPsDABvysPg2jZP-XxDWP-B10XhJbClrNiFMePIena4rxKNxr41MOW_i1UKxHH9bkAoZG43G6Gvf0VfYflUCghZFDN0pkf/w300-h400/PXL_20201230_200013072.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And then ran the finishing satin stitches.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuhzr-XYTd9kEYjB_IW5rsjf_3HRmOVAtcrAgq3ovFUDfa0IEZ4eu2xQwG1Y2UwCqIhyphenhyphen4HYla3givY11IeoUVSG8DSppJoNw0k2B3gGOr16ss9nCTgeQLncT6szk0cuaQx8nOX5G0kNPQW/s4032/PXL_20201230_200533863.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuhzr-XYTd9kEYjB_IW5rsjf_3HRmOVAtcrAgq3ovFUDfa0IEZ4eu2xQwG1Y2UwCqIhyphenhyphen4HYla3givY11IeoUVSG8DSppJoNw0k2B3gGOr16ss9nCTgeQLncT6szk0cuaQx8nOX5G0kNPQW/w300-h400/PXL_20201230_200533863.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This one is the cute little doggy face.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2HaTQDhmK2UCCnoQ-79bnn-twcZ3K9h-DJXdllpyw38La1Kv_Aazf3Q2rG7C5JVGXhZqVYbXNk1etH9YGG_7aMr3ymQDrRYlTOCHKQXJ5LGZBDH2jIB8H8OHCikHbkfsUSsCcC3sjVEv-/s4032/PXL_20201230_200737082.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2HaTQDhmK2UCCnoQ-79bnn-twcZ3K9h-DJXdllpyw38La1Kv_Aazf3Q2rG7C5JVGXhZqVYbXNk1etH9YGG_7aMr3ymQDrRYlTOCHKQXJ5LGZBDH2jIB8H8OHCikHbkfsUSsCcC3sjVEv-/w300-h400/PXL_20201230_200737082.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I positioned the pattern over the doggy face and cut. I found it helpful to fold the pattern in half so I could better position it over the embroidery.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiguoxhM2Wvz5zKF_KKebYJJkBr6_YJIgk4bnp-2mh4mj0LolG1J0edcyxNkmctsOzBtcEXKiZeSoUAFn0gX8hh8g9JjksH09WAYAlzGSujZaDRqmmejkdvbeF8J5B7n3VHbz9jPfM1U0Lh/s4032/PXL_20201230_200952047.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiguoxhM2Wvz5zKF_KKebYJJkBr6_YJIgk4bnp-2mh4mj0LolG1J0edcyxNkmctsOzBtcEXKiZeSoUAFn0gX8hh8g9JjksH09WAYAlzGSujZaDRqmmejkdvbeF8J5B7n3VHbz9jPfM1U0Lh/w300-h400/PXL_20201230_200952047.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Then I constructed the mask according to Red Poppy.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmdZqcaDP2a_qlHvrHRQwd2tCaEWzMYZrfaWHP6Rr3SCEdHjvVou2m40rN1mSjbC3dhAOuA_tb6UGAsjfE2jIlRgfjjf14-INXE5q4nmXaoSscrcPFd_DywnuX4QsQ7ses5FS_7PDS_rR2/s4032/PXL_20201231_213714371.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmdZqcaDP2a_qlHvrHRQwd2tCaEWzMYZrfaWHP6Rr3SCEdHjvVou2m40rN1mSjbC3dhAOuA_tb6UGAsjfE2jIlRgfjjf14-INXE5q4nmXaoSscrcPFd_DywnuX4QsQ7ses5FS_7PDS_rR2/w300-h400/PXL_20201231_213714371.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><p>I think they turned out pretty cute and I hope the kids really enjoy wearing them - keeping their little faces warm and safe.</p><p><br /></p><p>As promised here are the pes files that I created.</p><p><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/19V_kUP4Gdc-H5XTmlNHhPKqvt-ia-NOt/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Piggie face</a></p><p><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CjQJ7KlA0IXL2QGVh84CHEvLuyTseC99/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Dog face (freckles)</a></p><p><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jgpRefAERM0ZKJ466kHjsIg1bTRhOPrN/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Kitty face (whiskers)</a></p><p><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1w1dX97fj_T4xifT2v1dj03yEa9_0eaMu/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Snowman face</a></p><p>Merry Christmas everyone!</p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/12720963/?claim=z54bxxursnf">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a></div>theTechGrandmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01441740195353013057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8682686269621125994.post-50075170656140648302020-11-02T17:01:00.002-08:002021-07-20T17:12:41.489-07:00Would I recommend Josh Doyle Homes?<p> So the real question is at the end of the day, would I recommend Josh Doyle Homes out of WhiteHead, Ohio? Not in a million years. And here's why:</p><p>Let's back up a moment and talk about the whole process from beginning to end. We made an appointment with sales and by the time we walked through the gorgeous model home, we were hooked. We had built a home before and the builder had completed it within 5 months - it was such a smooth process, so what could go wrong? Our existing home search had turned up empty with every single home having something not quite right about it.</p><p>Building again it was! The time was June, 2019 and the big question I had was, "will we be in our new home for our 25th wedding anniversary?" Absolutely! was the resounding answer - you'll be in WAY before then! Although ..... the verbal agreement was spoken, nothing was in writing. My very first mistake.</p><p>The sales process went smoothly and our estimator Jill worked closely with us to estimate everything our hearts desired and we thought we had a pretty decent budget with lots of fluff to be comfortable. Afterwards was the production meeting with our field coordinator, Scott - where we went through the prints and identified where the utilities would go and house print items. Nothing eventful.</p><p>I had already written our how our timeline had been devastated with our driveway permit and the removal of some strategic black walnut trees. It was January 13, 2020 before one hole was dug.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidGkZtwlJinB0tWr9qiZ2HVQB1tguI2I_0MgbMcSvvw_dSj81dud2C07Y-ZazMBXFJFArb8Ac9U3PklRslafhOG1fcaohstUxs3zdg-htjLmUQrCAZc5u2ZgfxibLbYWG5cOq_Rgsb4JFu/s4032/IMG_20200113_092148.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidGkZtwlJinB0tWr9qiZ2HVQB1tguI2I_0MgbMcSvvw_dSj81dud2C07Y-ZazMBXFJFArb8Ac9U3PklRslafhOG1fcaohstUxs3zdg-htjLmUQrCAZc5u2ZgfxibLbYWG5cOq_Rgsb4JFu/s320/IMG_20200113_092148.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p>It was a unusually warm winter and things were cruising away until March when everything again screeched to a halt. COVID-19 had hit. They had just moved in the drywall supplies when everything stopped.</p><p>Our lease had run out on our apartment and we found ourselves moving into a temporary location closer to our new home. We spent the days driving to the house and wiring it for home network and coax cables.</p><p>After the ban for construction was lifted, progress was slow - very slow. There were times the house sat for over a week without anyone doing anything to it. Subcontractors were in no hurry to return to work, especially when they were driving from Ohio.</p><p>Our rental agreement had expired and the house still wasn't done. The landlord had given us an additional month but he had found a full year rental and was anxious to have her move in. We were homeless. At least we had options, we move into a hotel for almost 2 weeks while we wanted for our house to finally be done.</p><p>Time was ticking away and no one seemed to care that we were living day to day in an hotel which was not cheap. The guys building our barn said someone would show up for a couple hours and then leave. The amount of waste was staggering and time was passing by. In the meantime, installations were done incorrectly and had to be redone. Questions were left unanswered and cries for help went unnoticed.</p><p>And then the bills started coming in. 1 week before move in suddenly we were short almost $10,000. I had budgeted everything down to pennies and now .... our budget was shot, our timeline was past, and we were on the verge of being homeless. And no one cared.</p><p>We lived some time in our cars outside our beautiful home until we finally got our certificate of occupancy. No one seemed to know the entire process of anything - it was fill out an application, wait. Have someone review it and tell you that something else is needed, and wait. Do that, and find another issue. I really thought I would lose my mind.</p><p>We finally moved in officially, August 19, 2020, after 14 months with 2 temporary moves, a lot of frustration and a pandemic.</p><p>So, would I recommend Josh Doyle Homes? Nope - not in a million years. I could never get them to disclose any costs to me. I made multiple attempts to reconcile costs with the account coordinator to figure out exactly how I would land at closing. My expectations were clear and I tried very hard to get costs defined. I had costs to cover for the outside of the home and we had a very tight budget. There was ALOT of sleepless worried nights. They were constantly blowing smoke up my ass and they really didn't care one way or another. </p><p>I managed everything outside the home. The septic, gas, electric, driveway, and water. Not only did I do that - but I managed most issues with selections. We finally moved in and my house was STILL ISN'T DONE!! I moved in with finishing that still needed to be done. </p><p>The basement bathroom was fun. It was framed wrong and they found out when they came to install the shower. So they ended up ripping out the bathroom framing and redoing it. And this happened, I shot this video on September 2, 2020.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1nb6ca1vDk0" width="320" youtube-src-id="1nb6ca1vDk0"></iframe></div><br /><p>They did figure out they could replace the toilet instead of an oval to a round one and the door just clears it. But not even a year after the build, the seal on the toilet has come apart and it leaks.</p><p>Not only would I not recommend Josh Doyle Homes, I would never build again. Take my advice, if you do want to build make sure:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>You get in writing some deadline or consequence of missing their deadline. Josh Doyle Homes missed every verbal date given - nothing was in writing and they really didn't have any consequence. I was the only one suffered. Talk to your builder about due dates. Now granted, we built a house during a pandemic - but there was no sense of urgency nor did they care one bit about it.</li><li>Also, make sure the money is disclosed. I asked over and over for a breakdown of costs and I got nothing. Not only that, but they ended up taking an additional monies for their mistakes and waste which had been budgeted for other areas.</li></ul><p></p><p>Not a happy camper at all. Of course, it doesn't help to build a house during a pandemic and believe it or not, I'm giving them leeway for that - but there were so many problems, unanswered questions, missed verbal deadlines and at the end of the day, I'm left holding the bill. </p><p><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/12720963/?claim=z54bxxursnf">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a></div>theTechGrandmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01441740195353013057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8682686269621125994.post-22455378446604260312020-09-27T17:18:00.003-07:002021-07-20T17:16:44.404-07:00New Construction - the nightmare begins.<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">We pick up the story from the previous post, filled with hope and looking forward to building our dream home. Josh Doyle Homes had become our builder and we had even met the infamous Josh Doyle - which was not a good move on the sales agent's part.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCcabKFQ_P3giNhwBOvuyGAPeaNQu_QSyc1r_FCE6b8O8E4uFT27M9EKysJ3eWJWmWHUACyT00IEJmR8tPMTJ49h4g7JJuMmxxN9jtyQ40lxDK9Mu-Q6mVzBJSILibwCwPBZZvkoQLBs6i/s5472/SAM_2907.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCcabKFQ_P3giNhwBOvuyGAPeaNQu_QSyc1r_FCE6b8O8E4uFT27M9EKysJ3eWJWmWHUACyT00IEJmR8tPMTJ49h4g7JJuMmxxN9jtyQ40lxDK9Mu-Q6mVzBJSILibwCwPBZZvkoQLBs6i/s320/SAM_2907.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">We had sold our house in Saline and made a very nice profit, so we were ahead and things were looking good. The agreement was made to be out of the house by the end of July so we got busy packing.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEialJehywtyFsMQ7DcA9wzTUQFfiuqyVQf8gQVLmRdeoAEoPq0iKDja_JA26lpuM0nfPRheTchxh6LpYPcXQGQ-GFk3WTziXcAACAJdbZwVgtpskfGTQCM-mEBm49xpZdDTg0Vg4ubQKdxB/s5472/2019Graduation-12.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEialJehywtyFsMQ7DcA9wzTUQFfiuqyVQf8gQVLmRdeoAEoPq0iKDja_JA26lpuM0nfPRheTchxh6LpYPcXQGQ-GFk3WTziXcAACAJdbZwVgtpskfGTQCM-mEBm49xpZdDTg0Vg4ubQKdxB/s320/2019Graduation-12.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This big thing happened - Holly graduated high school with honors. Burke and I were so proud of all her hard work, she made honor roll all 4 years of high school. We pulled off graduation and a graduation party, while packing and cleaning. I was also into my second month of recovery from hip replacement, so things were moving slowly.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">We made a quick decision to move into Orion Mainstreet, Luxury apartments in Ann Arbor next to the football stadium. We signed a 9 month agreement at an exorbitant price and starting moving right around the fourth of July. We would come to laugh every time we saw Luxury apartments, cause - well that was a joke. More about them later - and there greed during a pandemic.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The verbal timeline was roughly April time frame to be in our new home - so we settled on the 9 month lease and waited. The sales agent assured us we would be in before our 25th wedding anniversary. "Oh no problem - you'll be in WAY before May!" We wanted to have a party in our new house and barn for our anniversary. And thus, it all began.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I should have turned around and ran when we had our meeting with Josh Doyle. It was late in the evening and we had drove an hour one way to meet him. He was less than enthusiastic and even offered up that this was the last place he would rather be. He was condescending and quite full of himself. It was as if he was doing us a favor by allowing us to buy one of his plans and having him build the home. At one point I even asked him how we could make his life easier during this process? (**Sigh)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The plans were lovely and we were able to find one that suited us. A few changes and we were good. Working with the coordinator on estimating and pricing was fairly straight forward and painless. We added lots of fluff to the contract to accommodate changes and allow us some wiggle room.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitWbWkXtI7LEMxpYLlmb9EYOQt5STSMRl5tfXwLeMA0AkNQCidnwRyG3LVLRyuMQeUQPKq69CDnrd_db9k11TKga09xh0Fq8LX9V3FhU8pOh7jJKEXAh-yBhyrKJewY-l1MLa8-xIClVdg/s4032/IMG_20190914_163830.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitWbWkXtI7LEMxpYLlmb9EYOQt5STSMRl5tfXwLeMA0AkNQCidnwRyG3LVLRyuMQeUQPKq69CDnrd_db9k11TKga09xh0Fq8LX9V3FhU8pOh7jJKEXAh-yBhyrKJewY-l1MLa8-xIClVdg/s320/IMG_20190914_163830.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>We closed on the house and the construction loan and started the permit process. This was July and so far we were behind $50,000 in realtor and mortgage fees. We would spend the next 6 MONTHs getting permits, address assignment and such. The biggest obstacle was our driveway permit. This involved an application, and securing someone to cut down some trees. All of this was the homeowners responsibility. I really felt that we were left in the dark here, stumbling to find our way out. Once the loan was secured and the contract was signed - it was as if we didn't exist. No one checked on our progress, no one held out a helping hand to see where we were at, no one offered assistance. So know this going in - you need to become an expert in permits and site work.<p></p><p>We did not anticipate this and then it was January 2020. Six of our 9 months had already gone by and we hadn't even broken ground. We amused ourselves by laying out stakes and figuring out where the house and barn would be.</p><p>Our dream home had started down the path of a full blown nightmare.</p><p><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/12720963/?claim=z54bxxursnf">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a></div>theTechGrandmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01441740195353013057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8682686269621125994.post-41487124513969635802020-08-31T17:19:00.008-07:002020-09-27T16:32:27.568-07:00Becoming an urban farmer - a new adventure!<p> Harwood Farms had it's annual HOA meeting and Burke and I as responsible owners in the neighborhood attended. What we heard was bickering and complaining about how tacky the bird feeders were in the berm. Seriously? At that moment I was really glad I didn't live near the berm - because I'm not sure how bird feeders can be considered "tacky". I left feeling very disappointed and sad.</p><p>And when we were planting our flower and vegetable gardens and left our our wheelbarrow overnight to be met with a notice that a fee would incur if not put away, it was the last straw. We have divorced ourselves from the HOA and the neighborhood.</p><p>My daughter was graduating high school and I had been selling the idea of moving out to the country - getting 10 acres or so with room to breathe to my husband, Burke. Turns out after all that - the sell wasn't hard. Saline has great schools and along with that came great amounts of property taxes. Plus since we were about to become empty nesters - the great school district was no longer the priority.</p><p>We called my niece Amanda who put the house on the market. It sold in 12 days (yea I loved that part).</p><p>The search began for the new homestead and we combed all the nearby areas. The requirements were:</p><p></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><i>Fast internet</i> - I work from home and that was imperative.</li><li><i>Paved road</i> - Somehow driving down dirt roads and never having a clean car again was not very appealing to me.</li><li><i>Natural gas</i> - I often see the white fat belly pigs as I called them and having lived in the country with propane, I wanted to avoid that as well.</li><li><i>10 acres</i> - Somehow we fixated on 10, not 5 or 6 - but 10.</li></ol><div>We started looking for an existing home but always found something we didn't like about it. It was too old, wrong layout - and often slow internet. The hunt took a few months and we came up empty.</div><div><br /></div><div>We had built our house in Saline and our builder was amazing and within 5 months we were in a new home. They took care of everything and the cost was reasonable - little or no effort. Should we build again?</div><div><br /></div><div>Browsing through Facebook one day, I came across a builder name in which my niece had "liked" and now it appears in my feed. Josh Doyle Homes - I contacted them. I also contacted my nephew but learned the news that they would be moving to Montana so he wouldn't be available. I really wish the timing could have been better as I would find out in the days ahead with my new builder - things were about be become dire. More about that later.</div><div><br /></div><div>We had chosen Josh Doyle homes for our next build and set out to find some vacant land. We looked in nearby townships and counties and often found our #1 priority to fall short. Slow or no internet. There has to be something I'm missing.</div><div><br /></div><div>I sat down at the computer and did some search for rural internet options (cellular or satellite) and found the options were not appealing with data caps or slow speeds. You can't do video conferencing with cellular - or rather you could for about a week, then data caps would apply.</div><div><br /></div><div>Finally I came across a township that recently approved a mileage to fund a high speed internet infrastructure. Fiber optic usually runs along the street, and cable companies consider it not cost effective to run the cable to the homes - rural = sparse customers. So with the mileage, crews brought the fiber up to the houses - and viola! High speed internet! Lyndon Township in Michigan - here we come! We found one of the few 10 acre parcels that met all the requirements, fast internet, paved road, and natural gas.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFk6_2mDLR76muXABOLnu1n9xg7u_yxVHRVMBYtDfX6Fl0q4patuUWM4rrkS9YA_VS-BNjSn4ONnLqpKOfHMVQj5Y5iVjcUL7BvbkL_gk6ZLkkC1iTBdQkEFo5AbFLt9U60j_4bkSE3JjI/s2048/MVIMG_20190813_173323+%25281%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFk6_2mDLR76muXABOLnu1n9xg7u_yxVHRVMBYtDfX6Fl0q4patuUWM4rrkS9YA_VS-BNjSn4ONnLqpKOfHMVQj5Y5iVjcUL7BvbkL_gk6ZLkkC1iTBdQkEFo5AbFLt9U60j_4bkSE3JjI/w410-h307/MVIMG_20190813_173323+%25281%2529.jpg" width="410" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div>Look how happy we are! In June of 2019, we bought the land from Maryann Noah, which had been in her family since Andrew Jackson. She had the original deed from the homestead from Mr. Jackson himself. Kind of love that story.</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyways - my blog will be about our journey for room to grow, becoming urban farmers, using technology to enhance our lives, and beginning the next chapter of our lives.</div><div><br /></div><div>And on this day - we were so optimistic about the future and excited to get going.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Mt9uGV6ZO_8" width="320" youtube-src-id="Mt9uGV6ZO_8"></iframe></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><p></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/12720963/?claim=z54bxxursnf">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a></div>theTechGrandmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01441740195353013057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8682686269621125994.post-56920290976198514432020-01-02T11:54:00.002-08:002020-01-14T08:11:32.198-08:00Misty and Azure<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In June of 2018, I purchased Misty from Misty Robotics as a part of a Kickstarter. I'm backer #277 and got the t-shirt to prove it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I got my Misty on December 4, 2019 and it was like Christmas. It was truly like being a kid again with a shiny reflective toy. I was so excited, I skipped everywhere I went. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitdFNcVMgVyXmyAJ3-g3YIHboKJeb17yq54TNqwJyllwyIoh3Ox7aLYZzKbV7ZEH_DrCo4rSPo6L9jRY-lwzY8PnopBYZBndjRZQsHpMA3gJdz9101a1-kBCUVQMiEl_pnh57_n0z44B9O/s1600/IMG_20200102_162118.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitdFNcVMgVyXmyAJ3-g3YIHboKJeb17yq54TNqwJyllwyIoh3Ox7aLYZzKbV7ZEH_DrCo4rSPo6L9jRY-lwzY8PnopBYZBndjRZQsHpMA3gJdz9101a1-kBCUVQMiEl_pnh57_n0z44B9O/s320/IMG_20200102_162118.jpg" width="240" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Unfortunately, being a grown up - I had to put her on the back burner with minimal play time until the holiday break.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">During the holiday break, Misty and I spent all my free time together - trying things out and getting a feel for each other. I really like her - but I think the jury is still out on whether she likes me. :)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My dog has been getting up there in age. <i>Butters turned 12 last September </i>and lately he's been showing his age. He has more grey now, sleeps more, goes through coughing spells, and his stomach has become very sensitive.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Misty has several QUALCOMM processors and one of them is using Windows IoT. As a Azure Dev, naturally I wanted to experiment.</span><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Isn't he so stinking cute!?</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Since I'm spending more time worried about Butters,</span> <span style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I would like Misty to look after my dog while I'm away for more than a few hours. Here are my ultimate first goals:</span></span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Have Misty roam the house looking for butters.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Upon recognition, take picture.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Text to me.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Sigh of relief that he's okay.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Here's what I've got so far. I went off the beaten path just a tad - but making my way around again.</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Misty recognizes me, my daughter and my grandson through her built in facial recognition.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I purposely did not train her to know my husband to test stranger identification.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Upon recognition, she sends a http request with a message (i.e., Hi Tammy) param to an Azure Function using a HTTP trigger.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The Azure function calls to Text to Speech api service with the message where it's converted to speech.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The response is stored in Azure storage container as a blob with content-type 'audio/x-wav'.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Misty calls the storage api where the blob is stored.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">She downloads the wav file and plays it.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">So really, there is very minimal processing going on in Misty - everything is done in the cloud.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">What happens if she doesn't recognize you? Well .... she displays an angry face, growls and says "Stranger Danger!".</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Just in case you're lost and would like to be more lost - here is a list of the SDK's/Extensions that I used.</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Azure Storage SDK</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Azure Tools Extension</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">NodeJS</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Azure Function App - HTTP Trigger</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Text to Speech APIs</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Visual Studio Code/Azure Functions for VSC - great for debugging issues.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Once I got this working, I tried to train Misty to learn my dog's face using her pre-built facial recognition software. <i>But alias, she can only recognize humans through her existing facial recognition software.</i> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">So .... this will be one of the next problems to solve. I'll need to use Azure Cognitive Services computer vision to take a picture of him and send for recognition and analysis.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I also just started playing with the her built in navigation capabilities, so she can travel around my apartment in the search of Butters.</span></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/50SbIHxMbIc/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/50SbIHxMbIc?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Here's a video of her recognizing me (cause I'm sitting in front of her), responding visually and saying my name. Kind of lame in itself, unless you understand what's behind it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">But ... baby steps. Here's some code sources to get you started.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.mistyrobotics.com/blog/setting-up-and-running-misty-reads-skill-with-microsoft-azure/" target="_blank">I started with this great tutorial written by Chris Meyer.</a> Chris goes on to do some computer vision stuff which is next for me. He also does a great job in the actual walk through of setting the Azure Function up.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://github.com/theTechGrandma/MistyFacialRec" target="_blank">And here's mine so far.</a> Here you'll find all the files you need for Misty and Azure. Most of what I changed was using the BlobService to store the speech files instead of converting to base64 string and streaming back.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I'm really thinking maybe Misty needs a tutu or something. I feel a fashion design coming in her near future.</span></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/12720963/?claim=z54bxxursnf">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a></div>theTechGrandmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01441740195353013057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8682686269621125994.post-13052731936286313912020-01-01T08:52:00.003-08:002020-01-01T08:52:45.255-08:00Happy New Year!It's been almost 2 years of sabbatical from my blob and I figured it was time to start it back up again.<br />
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There's been lots of changes during that time personally and professionally. So, if you don't mind, I thought I would walk a little down memory lane.<br />
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I started 2017 out with a new job as <i>Director of Software Development for Dynics Corp</i>. The job was a dream job for me. Dynics began a software startup within the company and I got to lead. So much to do .... building a team, processes and customer relationships. I had 2 really great bosses, Ed Gatts and Jeffrey.Smith who believed in me and helped me to grow. I got to do amazing things which included mentoring.<br />
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They are a great family owned business and have some pretty great hardware and software solutions. <a href="https://www.dynics.com/" target="_blank">You can check Dynics out here</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCCKplYNO6vY4aqSDCfsMpkD674Z9fcMphteIR5ruWa8PJ3c1Fl824qIqllFH1BrlXAl9_AfFtROpxPPZ5VOjAFK-7IOVwkBIiU8joxY4pHKU6aYVETy_TqcDxXZTwT-VkmW7cHR5HMVm-/s1600/Dynics.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="812" data-original-width="1600" height="162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCCKplYNO6vY4aqSDCfsMpkD674Z9fcMphteIR5ruWa8PJ3c1Fl824qIqllFH1BrlXAl9_AfFtROpxPPZ5VOjAFK-7IOVwkBIiU8joxY4pHKU6aYVETy_TqcDxXZTwT-VkmW7cHR5HMVm-/s320/Dynics.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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In October, 2018 I lost my Dad suddenly and my daughter Jacqueline got married to her soulmate, Jade. All within 2 days of each other. <i>It was an extremely difficult time in my life and I wouldn't wish the struggle on anyone.</i><br />
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May of 2019, I underwent a total hip replacement in my right hip. I had been suffering for years with osteoarthritis pain and it finally got to a breaking point. The surgery was a relief and it's been a good recovery.<br />
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We sold our home and starting the journey of building a new home on 10 acres. I'm very excited for this and can't wait to finally move out of this apartment.<br />
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Our youngest daughter went off to University and is beginning her new journey as well. Burke and I .... have a empty nest.<br />
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June of the same year brought an opportunistic knock at the door. <i>Microsoft was at the door and I opened it.</i> With that came amazing pay and benefits. Finally my pay was corrected and I was making what the male counterparts were.<br />
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It's been an amazing career start with the culture shift of Diversity and Inclusion at Microsoft and the daily conversations about understanding our differences - not just cultural or gender, but thought process and that we all process information differently. I feel like I'm not invisible anymore and I know that IF I feel that I'm being perceived as invisible - that it's OK to lean in and be me.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTCDP_YiBMv3xAXVjKivrchtE6Ffqd8syTMnh9BPyeUySMqPH1URILRRtkXVPYA3GfA1XO1_j6IpRK3U239uXWreKXCXbFNfIR996Aa8-tOGjoUZXQsGlXQ2CSvC5QADWou1nlhBlEMp5C/s1600/microsoft.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTCDP_YiBMv3xAXVjKivrchtE6Ffqd8syTMnh9BPyeUySMqPH1URILRRtkXVPYA3GfA1XO1_j6IpRK3U239uXWreKXCXbFNfIR996Aa8-tOGjoUZXQsGlXQ2CSvC5QADWou1nlhBlEMp5C/s1600/microsoft.png" /></a></div>
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Not only am I adjusting to the cultural shift, but learning new technology. Out of the gate, I studied for and received my AZ-203 - Developer certification for Azure. I'm very proud of that badge - it took a lot of hard work to go from on-premise technology to cloud, and I'm very excited about it all. Next is the AZ-400 - DevOps.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOxj_lMWbjAgFnyaqNLVO4pp0ChfdyrRmUaZ855VNHDG9XdaMbufDnzNRkANRyJPg0316LAN_dQRB8PWo988bFJjfkRmPcQqQ64ZZae77HqRFy8tHXSlbm5nagvYyDjpx4r7ayNIJzs-ir/s1600/azure-developer-associate-600x600.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="340" data-original-width="340" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOxj_lMWbjAgFnyaqNLVO4pp0ChfdyrRmUaZ855VNHDG9XdaMbufDnzNRkANRyJPg0316LAN_dQRB8PWo988bFJjfkRmPcQqQ64ZZae77HqRFy8tHXSlbm5nagvYyDjpx4r7ayNIJzs-ir/s200/azure-developer-associate-600x600.png" width="200" /></a></div>
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I love working with new technology and my new customers, participating in learning events and providing learning opportunities for customers. I'm going to my first "Ready" conference in February and I'm looking forward to it. I have a great boss and teammates, every one is ready to offer a hand and a smile.</div>
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I'll sum up my first article of 2020 with the addition of <i>Misty</i> to our family. I ordered Misty as a part of a kick-starter back in June, 2018 and I finally received her December, 2019. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCz0BnPgHU_MgsELHS9e7U7eUm_hIedfJp5ZYB0q6Q7LFb9Z_dSYDJBz46J5DxUchyphenhyphenln6flxwLztHkNywRFpISTL23LZ6Hi2RDJyr0as9fGbvkmbnjzSa6JBmmCAXqNQor1Zj-lLRzFh_i/s1600/MVIMG_20191216_144300.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCz0BnPgHU_MgsELHS9e7U7eUm_hIedfJp5ZYB0q6Q7LFb9Z_dSYDJBz46J5DxUchyphenhyphenln6flxwLztHkNywRFpISTL23LZ6Hi2RDJyr0as9fGbvkmbnjzSa6JBmmCAXqNQor1Zj-lLRzFh_i/s320/MVIMG_20191216_144300.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.mistyrobotics.com/" target="_blank">You can read more about Misty here.</a> So the journey begins with Misty. Over the next few blogs, I'll be writing about this technology and playing with AI and Cognitive Services with Azure.<br />
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I'm looking forward to 2020 and what it brings. Excited and hopeful for the New Year - a little apprehensive for our country, but looking forward to life with my friends and family.<br />
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<i><b>Happy New Years! Hope everyone achieves their goals and gets to live their best lives.</b></i><br />
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/12720963/?claim=z54bxxursnf">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a></div>theTechGrandmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01441740195353013057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8682686269621125994.post-72123271275150784222018-01-14T17:21:00.000-08:002018-01-17T18:57:31.045-08:00diy roman shades<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
I've always been a fan of roman shades, and I've even made one previously, but I was looking for a different way. Something simpler.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcLifBT7hcikvc9ufZQZB23pxrj4I0iW78PaNB_xuzCKTZM0mNfvSoOpAGxIYaS9SOg2zr0XE4kQ8v1MuvojRrAS-nYD4B9o1q62TxZdSY4UGZ9OY4kWDp8eHYvYwhM2jkakx0EFvVDg2u/s1600/RomanShades-13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcLifBT7hcikvc9ufZQZB23pxrj4I0iW78PaNB_xuzCKTZM0mNfvSoOpAGxIYaS9SOg2zr0XE4kQ8v1MuvojRrAS-nYD4B9o1q62TxZdSY4UGZ9OY4kWDp8eHYvYwhM2jkakx0EFvVDg2u/s400/RomanShades-13.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.pinterest.com/pin/484418503653054729/" target="_blank">I jumped on Pinterest and did a little research and came across this blog post.</a> I've tried fabric shades, and roman shades, but so far - this is my favorite method. <a href="http://www.thetechgrandma.com/2015/08/more-fabric-rolled-shades.html" target="_blank">If you want to check out the fabric shades post, you can see it here.</a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUxruj8FPXeFPKIlt70pA_VJBDbvBZSu-L6V2gGMBCJXqQ23VqduQw2U_TY0blyx4gf74GE_SyztmT87r1VcoLTYKbiZKWWg4ot-p6yQhzqY95O1zBXCnT_BETfkp7-fNjHVe8t3E27Pi-/s1600/RomanShades-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUxruj8FPXeFPKIlt70pA_VJBDbvBZSu-L6V2gGMBCJXqQ23VqduQw2U_TY0blyx4gf74GE_SyztmT87r1VcoLTYKbiZKWWg4ot-p6yQhzqY95O1zBXCnT_BETfkp7-fNjHVe8t3E27Pi-/s400/RomanShades-1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I ordered this cool fabric from <a href="http://www.fabric.com/" target="_blank">www.fabric.com </a>for the front fabric and got 2 yards per window. The cost per yard was $10.00. As it turned out, I had about the same amount of fabric in a white fleece already in my fabric pantry. With the cold winter months upon us, having a fleece lining would help insulate the windows.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg8XuDrjza2kZSTmvhU84ND7NCsFiQot8LWHabQrVClcY8eUVciGQb7Tug-MYIx4FITxLIqrS5OUduzOTxhndVEEmfpv9rmVXGLTkq8rDlYKYripbo6-1x8wmQ284kksIxO1PeOvcW4gUO/s1600/RomanShades-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg8XuDrjza2kZSTmvhU84ND7NCsFiQot8LWHabQrVClcY8eUVciGQb7Tug-MYIx4FITxLIqrS5OUduzOTxhndVEEmfpv9rmVXGLTkq8rDlYKYripbo6-1x8wmQ284kksIxO1PeOvcW4gUO/s400/RomanShades-3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I measured out the width of the windows and purchased some really cheap blinds. I paid $2.99 per blind and the hubby hung them for me.</div>
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I measured the same width of the blinds for the fabric plus 2 inches. The back fabric I measured the width of the windows minus 1.5 inches. Right sides together, I sewed them - just the right and left sides. I left the top and bottom open.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSafmnmqzPPBGtAhas7nsdqqQ1t86QcyOCXzOu0rJlsEOqD4l0UQqmSyFyPdeNbrBRu0aywpB_nypMqezeqMU6DymUZeERMjW5oro4CSEZAEoYp67it8Q5vL3DVyG1Ww4LaYUM-lGg-qKM/s1600/RomanShades-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSafmnmqzPPBGtAhas7nsdqqQ1t86QcyOCXzOu0rJlsEOqD4l0UQqmSyFyPdeNbrBRu0aywpB_nypMqezeqMU6DymUZeERMjW5oro4CSEZAEoYp67it8Q5vL3DVyG1Ww4LaYUM-lGg-qKM/s400/RomanShades-4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I ran my serger down both sides.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcAe5MRXuizgXMir91yq9LrX55kV8qNl0YVoL5N-ySWnpm6rdKqRZBaZopAkSvZXlmppvvOMdQ_hksYoz8GiGgocjjq6ZBwNxh05C8nbXufJwKTQVvb83r4eRB3WGknkx4hHabTlIRm7FB/s1600/RomanShades-20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcAe5MRXuizgXMir91yq9LrX55kV8qNl0YVoL5N-ySWnpm6rdKqRZBaZopAkSvZXlmppvvOMdQ_hksYoz8GiGgocjjq6ZBwNxh05C8nbXufJwKTQVvb83r4eRB3WGknkx4hHabTlIRm7FB/s400/RomanShades-20.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Then I turned them inside out and ran the serger over the top and bottom edges. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz1VZADw9SubFjBX2GaW2qg1yq91_A-APPusWoNGrhyphenhyphenvXr10OLHcytiRXkw0HRM2QALCaHK3jj1EIIjxyC-6ORs3HWS6rpIa285u8PyN9Vmo9OnMX9-A9Nqe_zNrbP0FADeLRkI9fiTevz/s1600/RomanShades-7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz1VZADw9SubFjBX2GaW2qg1yq91_A-APPusWoNGrhyphenhyphenvXr10OLHcytiRXkw0HRM2QALCaHK3jj1EIIjxyC-6ORs3HWS6rpIa285u8PyN9Vmo9OnMX9-A9Nqe_zNrbP0FADeLRkI9fiTevz/s400/RomanShades-7.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I laid it out on the kitchen table and put the blinds on top.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2l5YIIiI5MQnQ04S5aaO5ZSlMBSLE1guo-psB03VTPmLjxafJbhtIedRYxIpgEn3e2vxFsdrQs7uxAElZFuuy9yvoqXbaUEtSFAtm9RgiCSKuaIgB2C22X85k7JUdKoVwxqrL5N8533Vq/s1600/RomanShades-6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2l5YIIiI5MQnQ04S5aaO5ZSlMBSLE1guo-psB03VTPmLjxafJbhtIedRYxIpgEn3e2vxFsdrQs7uxAElZFuuy9yvoqXbaUEtSFAtm9RgiCSKuaIgB2C22X85k7JUdKoVwxqrL5N8533Vq/s400/RomanShades-6.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I started cutting out the cord that keeps all the blinds together and removed it completely. Make sure you keep the cord that run through the blind slats untouched - this is what makes it move up and down.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG82Nl-f5diI2_27-7_rhfg9eQOQbsFWYMMVEzpLxmEa2bPTn6LJrL2rq_qGRKUFUpbGFw0fK1GFYZen1O_F0V3p_ghKSAa7awZrdLrDL3bqsrWG6xgoS6UfHeP3tgNlqi5xbgOup_10Ps/s1600/RomanShades-8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG82Nl-f5diI2_27-7_rhfg9eQOQbsFWYMMVEzpLxmEa2bPTn6LJrL2rq_qGRKUFUpbGFw0fK1GFYZen1O_F0V3p_ghKSAa7awZrdLrDL3bqsrWG6xgoS6UfHeP3tgNlqi5xbgOup_10Ps/s400/RomanShades-8.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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There were 3 sections of string.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfpGLdNDsstTTvRQbcqxejy7rCaGMW2e56bwm1Bo-MZkJokf_KiTAjzqUR-fUMT9JBYJUGnUh0tNoHnr-37ZPcspQeoKFcDWSS-4WvumXpLei2YBQiXwPQdHPVgrG5X8fkFgsknEGnhMas/s1600/RomanShades-9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfpGLdNDsstTTvRQbcqxejy7rCaGMW2e56bwm1Bo-MZkJokf_KiTAjzqUR-fUMT9JBYJUGnUh0tNoHnr-37ZPcspQeoKFcDWSS-4WvumXpLei2YBQiXwPQdHPVgrG5X8fkFgsknEGnhMas/s400/RomanShades-9.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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What was left was the string for pulling up the blinds. Then I started taking out most of the blinds, except for roughly 15.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8ZDxmBUi3p8tG66lWWzmS40AuqS7WrdztzV_nvUJU7mTIWOB0rZvlSSK_Esbpqm9njNRWIQmaMhb3o2hODpfhFMAS85N7g0wbxR648TKeaoyiZM4zyomt_exhkg3Cw8p9v18NRRVdGm_T/s1600/RomanShades-19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8ZDxmBUi3p8tG66lWWzmS40AuqS7WrdztzV_nvUJU7mTIWOB0rZvlSSK_Esbpqm9njNRWIQmaMhb3o2hODpfhFMAS85N7g0wbxR648TKeaoyiZM4zyomt_exhkg3Cw8p9v18NRRVdGm_T/s400/RomanShades-19.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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A tip was to have the cord pull pointing towards you so it doesn't look bumpy under the fabric. You'll just pull the blinds up or down from behind the fabric.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg260nufQNXHjjs8aPqUX9pk69liWwz49hzgTfEudMNbVny7CppV-hye3zBCNmmKiQ6TzDfaBaB1PG-lcx9t-2X6Y3syzbTrh_AHp2p4pv0nwE3NyXD1OGWboKt8IEZQzhPd-2BAaGjCjQ_/s1600/RomanShades-10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg260nufQNXHjjs8aPqUX9pk69liWwz49hzgTfEudMNbVny7CppV-hye3zBCNmmKiQ6TzDfaBaB1PG-lcx9t-2X6Y3syzbTrh_AHp2p4pv0nwE3NyXD1OGWboKt8IEZQzhPd-2BAaGjCjQ_/s400/RomanShades-10.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I used up my fabric glue, but the Tacky glue worked just as well.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid8vDFRCAA7NOT-aD7Wlmoqx4P0EeRkuRXKDMcUL0JnG8_HiRXf-KLHhwc_XaPOuAReM0aHdCVjTZHDNtny1hNVW6KS0o8M-yQ3ThjyNqih-9xRgX_D_XeOrGda_v_Uby0ifpMajaZSF0I/s1600/RomanShades-11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid8vDFRCAA7NOT-aD7Wlmoqx4P0EeRkuRXKDMcUL0JnG8_HiRXf-KLHhwc_XaPOuAReM0aHdCVjTZHDNtny1hNVW6KS0o8M-yQ3ThjyNqih-9xRgX_D_XeOrGda_v_Uby0ifpMajaZSF0I/s400/RomanShades-11.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I really thought about gluing the blinds down onto the fabric. What if I wanted to wash them? How would I do that? Honestly, I can't remember a time where I've taken the fabric shades or other roman shades for washing. When the day comes, I may just take my steamer to them.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9-neXy9mb11Y1C9g2zCYxkvcbUR18bqweZxuc5oNyRl7Y36bBMZypNqfEtRGmbvGqJa5mmlSWqJBlIQcnhAIxy0j99UiECr0uBdekEtguUIblyW_MM1fNFwZ73SYbXAdEWdxKyqj7zGbs/s1600/RomanShades-12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9-neXy9mb11Y1C9g2zCYxkvcbUR18bqweZxuc5oNyRl7Y36bBMZypNqfEtRGmbvGqJa5mmlSWqJBlIQcnhAIxy0j99UiECr0uBdekEtguUIblyW_MM1fNFwZ73SYbXAdEWdxKyqj7zGbs/s400/RomanShades-12.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I measured about 4 inches per blind slot, then I glued the top and bottom over the shades. The glue attached itself to the fleece very nicely and I didn't even have to weight parts down.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5zH63bVKS9XBXUXkdssjYAXdio2elWfdtuUpzkOl-5RZ97Xzm8hx98ylI1D5uf5lscDciQBHW-aEyM1Yag7xLsmOcWVvwpobVto3GgNun5EQdHqK3i-Zu3KsIHyomoDGxSlV0pOVJ1LNL/s1600/RomanShades-16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5zH63bVKS9XBXUXkdssjYAXdio2elWfdtuUpzkOl-5RZ97Xzm8hx98ylI1D5uf5lscDciQBHW-aEyM1Yag7xLsmOcWVvwpobVto3GgNun5EQdHqK3i-Zu3KsIHyomoDGxSlV0pOVJ1LNL/s400/RomanShades-16.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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After about an hour or two of drying, I hung them up.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUhsHR1WZKEIKAY-2uC7Uc6OD9DXIRteAE2bz6v3DaIKUyqxUjW0RgwwFpr9vgjlw0wRYYDFal3B2hGOeAYr-Q6JnrboGcZWF8PsRMX41BIET7rpV0bLmoNdlntVNB_ayhRZVc5PkmdOIk/s1600/RomanShades-17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUhsHR1WZKEIKAY-2uC7Uc6OD9DXIRteAE2bz6v3DaIKUyqxUjW0RgwwFpr9vgjlw0wRYYDFal3B2hGOeAYr-Q6JnrboGcZWF8PsRMX41BIET7rpV0bLmoNdlntVNB_ayhRZVc5PkmdOIk/s400/RomanShades-17.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I really like them!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgkhH6sX-7aYaq-viJuepI_D-1QLG-nO8rPEjiwohjRvFXoHm4fNPtW8EUphdLHeYefraaNP9zW9gbApxOV4xKH9SbHXm33z5kac9rSK0EXlZapEnFn01_W3R5-vzmpQGaoIMBro3SwzK9/s1600/RomanShades-14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgkhH6sX-7aYaq-viJuepI_D-1QLG-nO8rPEjiwohjRvFXoHm4fNPtW8EUphdLHeYefraaNP9zW9gbApxOV4xKH9SbHXm33z5kac9rSK0EXlZapEnFn01_W3R5-vzmpQGaoIMBro3SwzK9/s400/RomanShades-14.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The were very easy to put together, and they slide up and down nicely. I spent roughly $16.00 per window in materials and it took me about 6 hours to make 4 of them.</div>
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I love them and I think .... I may start on the bedroom.</div>
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/12720963/?claim=z54bxxursnf">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a></div>theTechGrandmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01441740195353013057noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8682686269621125994.post-35416435402489536182018-01-01T17:42:00.003-08:002018-01-02T03:54:06.086-08:00diy oversized chart - part 3<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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My 2018 New Years resolution this year has a theme of "finish what you start." I'm going back through things I've started in the past year, both home and work with the intent of finishing.</div>
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This blog series I started last November, 2016 - the DIY Oversized Chair.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR_LoLJ83Bdch6SR8dZSxxYBuCxLEkYR3xJ80D-qwL_TzuLBoVF7zjSJ0_VjRAvguvLAqN-JbmFSVAm1tsmZzhrxYSNRA03ZJw1DnzIr268fwxLD35UIR08DfZDLL2IIaLmPDh5cfkORj5/s1600/Chair-19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1175" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR_LoLJ83Bdch6SR8dZSxxYBuCxLEkYR3xJ80D-qwL_TzuLBoVF7zjSJ0_VjRAvguvLAqN-JbmFSVAm1tsmZzhrxYSNRA03ZJw1DnzIr268fwxLD35UIR08DfZDLL2IIaLmPDh5cfkORj5/s400/Chair-19.jpg" width="292" /></a></div>
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We rearranged some things in the house today, and we pulled the slipcover off the chair and washed it. I do love this canvas material, it washes up fabulously. </div>
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Good time as any to take some finishing pictures and put this one to bed. I rifled through my camera and found some photos.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtLHg__KNIq3i9MoL-1ugIrEyd9HmQ05AJvmw43P0qvkRxAfsR16_RIaIpEJMCGAbzqP-MQD2qw38uro20hnUZobQ2e3pJjVoNTul6NDX__t7HqhcLVrqY9dUmyW4_2h29zXMrJClTrHo4/s1600/Chair-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1265" data-original-width="1600" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtLHg__KNIq3i9MoL-1ugIrEyd9HmQ05AJvmw43P0qvkRxAfsR16_RIaIpEJMCGAbzqP-MQD2qw38uro20hnUZobQ2e3pJjVoNTul6NDX__t7HqhcLVrqY9dUmyW4_2h29zXMrJClTrHo4/s400/Chair-1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The biggest mistake I made with this chair was going expensive on the foam. Form for the seat and back cushion ran me a good $500. Don't do it - start with inexpensive stuff.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI06AdtCQvrQxzjHfRWwlHGPEfmXfNR22_1DDG_dH20qAoc2-8DkiwJXkNnIqq4CSgnzchBEayl5IvWZwJvO5vuqR_NaHVSr7peqcMfQhhjF2caJMKeiG8cDqBltrIdUHmdHhKgrPhRbW6/s1600/Chair-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI06AdtCQvrQxzjHfRWwlHGPEfmXfNR22_1DDG_dH20qAoc2-8DkiwJXkNnIqq4CSgnzchBEayl5IvWZwJvO5vuqR_NaHVSr7peqcMfQhhjF2caJMKeiG8cDqBltrIdUHmdHhKgrPhRbW6/s400/Chair-2.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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I thought the back cushion would be like a wedge, an angular cushion for the back. I bought this form way too thick for that I needed. In hindsight, I would have gone with really big pillows for the cushions.</div>
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The frame was done and I began stapling down some foam over the arms. Cotton went down over the seat and I used last years curtains for the under upholstery. The polka dots were really bright, so I just turned the fabric to the wrong size.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6kBcy5rUVPsYjBs8nbXEqoq4K6B2A9z1dacnDoRaWfYz38mPMrAnneFiCcmUfValbBGyp8je-FqiHIib4ocB8j-1i1pvumNrnLnMD1EQHCgyy2bnWqYNFlkWe0HEfVEp-7Kiid4Z2nf71/s1600/Chair-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6kBcy5rUVPsYjBs8nbXEqoq4K6B2A9z1dacnDoRaWfYz38mPMrAnneFiCcmUfValbBGyp8je-FqiHIib4ocB8j-1i1pvumNrnLnMD1EQHCgyy2bnWqYNFlkWe0HEfVEp-7Kiid4Z2nf71/s400/Chair-4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Cotton over the arms making them nice and soft.</div>
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Cutting and draping the upholstery fabric over the frame.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFRXQ_8kssjAlUGI7NNgEf_5kZVYrC6mrDmJtewVfBKJ10qYWieBhxVMEPJ378BMUmMu8UVY4SNWGJBBRCB0rv4T_Dn3nY57hlApWgFLrGtnd2opkvG-ffleQ4Bz3RdD6-vo-e-v2S0vno/s1600/Chair-9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFRXQ_8kssjAlUGI7NNgEf_5kZVYrC6mrDmJtewVfBKJ10qYWieBhxVMEPJ378BMUmMu8UVY4SNWGJBBRCB0rv4T_Dn3nY57hlApWgFLrGtnd2opkvG-ffleQ4Bz3RdD6-vo-e-v2S0vno/s400/Chair-9.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Until it was done.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv_9uRl8Tf0kWYN_rnqiqkntkTH8uNOTwYuFattzx29Yesqsa7tbCzPwyo6qJneMtHGFHB_88c8zO6m3uF2HdShUmWj5GCXntQ9yIu7nKEF9dLLqI3bVTuLXOt3iyE89_BDFNesjn02tK-/s1600/Chair-8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv_9uRl8Tf0kWYN_rnqiqkntkTH8uNOTwYuFattzx29Yesqsa7tbCzPwyo6qJneMtHGFHB_88c8zO6m3uF2HdShUmWj5GCXntQ9yIu7nKEF9dLLqI3bVTuLXOt3iyE89_BDFNesjn02tK-/s400/Chair-8.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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If you done any upholstery before, it's the same. Drape, cut, and staple down. <a href="http://www.thetechgrandma.com/2016/06/the-upholstery-adventure.html" target="_blank">Here's an article I did on upholstery if you're having trouble visualizing.</a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0QdvmX-kDkN0PmdkSvvN_tVou8mvCh8-NGxiHhN5tJ-JAqdaDUt7BgGCMouJhgeGI_XCgx96RleORfGKaAT_FwqIu_BEvZbxNWFHQYkAlq3Ty9zskLpTea_i8VXCghQkO3jzgWw8pXZmj/s1600/Chair-7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0QdvmX-kDkN0PmdkSvvN_tVou8mvCh8-NGxiHhN5tJ-JAqdaDUt7BgGCMouJhgeGI_XCgx96RleORfGKaAT_FwqIu_BEvZbxNWFHQYkAlq3Ty9zskLpTea_i8VXCghQkO3jzgWw8pXZmj/s400/Chair-7.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Stapled down the spider guard. Keeps those little critters from rooting inside the furniture.</div>
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Little peak from the back.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSOnm3SeiwEhqSqHaZ5vscoZWXc-rpzlIXC_3cQfTAaBrBXNtEE8hYPs3pKEesk43yC5BTEPpUFvlZgQL87uZZws8xnDDuncdJpW9ki7T6NOx5YZuSEXHsZG8im4kckRghD68CvReX43PU/s1600/Chair-12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSOnm3SeiwEhqSqHaZ5vscoZWXc-rpzlIXC_3cQfTAaBrBXNtEE8hYPs3pKEesk43yC5BTEPpUFvlZgQL87uZZws8xnDDuncdJpW9ki7T6NOx5YZuSEXHsZG8im4kckRghD68CvReX43PU/s400/Chair-12.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I then started making the slipcover, and looking through my pictures I couldn't find any of my progress. <a href="http://www.thetechgrandma.com/2017/09/slipcovers.html" target="_blank">But .... I did a blog of slipcovers here - the same techniques apply.</a> Another mistake ... getting white canvas fabric, but thank goodness it's washable.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifHpewIywKexDZLmTgG70UryNywHRCZgtGuJoqD7MAw5CqKVIJigzvyeDJZT2odftBhskM945M0Tq1dx1S4uBDC37baPE_xIEGD6HksjDYnIZaNemSrmO5xdPQqp6mKSstD0LAVymlAdcr/s1600/Chair-18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifHpewIywKexDZLmTgG70UryNywHRCZgtGuJoqD7MAw5CqKVIJigzvyeDJZT2odftBhskM945M0Tq1dx1S4uBDC37baPE_xIEGD6HksjDYnIZaNemSrmO5xdPQqp6mKSstD0LAVymlAdcr/s400/Chair-18.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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It only took me a year to post the end result, but here it is.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2PM0AvmnFuz3iq7EbtCd4wFZNsIdr0Fdrn3leKAM0JQCwv6MVY-9RNdM1N2nbQUJ-WQ1zH6lFEEficHsR7keusLAl90KmXmV-Fi-qz0UdGfaBd4knvP9cEHslYDhFY8NX8TgFdilYGzis/s1600/Chair-17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2PM0AvmnFuz3iq7EbtCd4wFZNsIdr0Fdrn3leKAM0JQCwv6MVY-9RNdM1N2nbQUJ-WQ1zH6lFEEficHsR7keusLAl90KmXmV-Fi-qz0UdGfaBd4knvP9cEHslYDhFY8NX8TgFdilYGzis/s400/Chair-17.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I think by the time I was done buying all the materials and putting in the labor, I probably should have just bought a chair. The pro to this is that I know the frame is solid - poplar is not going to break anytime soon. The cotton under lament is the best you can get - and the foam is guaranteed for 15 years. So, yea, I could buy one, but the life expectancy of this one is far longer.</div>
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Burke has been using the chair for over a year now, and it's big enough for him plus an occasional visit of the dog and daughter.</div>
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Would I do it all over again? </div>
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Yep, probably. With one under my belt and the lessons I learned, the next one should be a cinch!</div>
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/12720963/?claim=z54bxxursnf">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a></div>theTechGrandmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01441740195353013057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8682686269621125994.post-3000538367589688512017-12-26T18:01:00.002-08:002017-12-26T18:01:59.318-08:00how to make a christmas elf<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
I saw the cutest elf on social media and thought ..... what a great idea for Christmas for the little ones in our family.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNd7LIUad82Dc5Q5au4RjQdgdH6o0L_5lxozLI8ILxDWIUHDrAgg6481RFj6daeo6HTkT9_EJ461iWhqBLljuUa1bZeXedAZCmhWCem-e30vMgBusiv_keOJ6fdXoySiN2ysjM-Y-Skk19/s1600/Elf-29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNd7LIUad82Dc5Q5au4RjQdgdH6o0L_5lxozLI8ILxDWIUHDrAgg6481RFj6daeo6HTkT9_EJ461iWhqBLljuUa1bZeXedAZCmhWCem-e30vMgBusiv_keOJ6fdXoySiN2ysjM-Y-Skk19/s400/Elf-29.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I'll make one for each kid (happy excited face). Then I counted .... the total - 27. Still with my excited voice in my head, but less enthusiastic .... let's only make 1 per family. That brought my count down to 10.</div>
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I've attached the pattern and embroidery file (for Brother) below.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk-6usCw8_TUKjg5OLE-KDZDHjHspfNBxZY4y9wwKebi-SJXNa8R2TpIWOzcQ7kFuEOiGZGfic9SeMTRbd0XNhnVmBQR2qHiGzR1okxdr2MRbcdkbqvHNc0Kr1xxoakJRLd3akR_VaoxWK/s1600/IMG_20171117_224934588.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1281" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk-6usCw8_TUKjg5OLE-KDZDHjHspfNBxZY4y9wwKebi-SJXNa8R2TpIWOzcQ7kFuEOiGZGfic9SeMTRbd0XNhnVmBQR2qHiGzR1okxdr2MRbcdkbqvHNc0Kr1xxoakJRLd3akR_VaoxWK/s400/IMG_20171117_224934588.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I thought a lot about the gender part of the elf. Do I put dresses on the girls and pants on the boys? Can I make just one elf in a gender neutral way? I made a couple different faces and showed them to my 3 year old grandson. When I asked him to pick the one he liked the best, he pointed to the one I purposely made more feminine. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6MSk0FSLVSdhCvvNfTMHqstX8DcPsk1-vCVwc1_Z0atfgL3lRnnRXAouBF3ci4Ljyhj10LAuj6QGd9t2HK0T2yVF_9LZXtaGc0OA9-moR82AL5Wgdp1jG8bspyBlUekQtr2v1ayKuVJn4/s1600/Elf-20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1290" data-original-width="1600" height="322" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6MSk0FSLVSdhCvvNfTMHqstX8DcPsk1-vCVwc1_Z0atfgL3lRnnRXAouBF3ci4Ljyhj10LAuj6QGd9t2HK0T2yVF_9LZXtaGc0OA9-moR82AL5Wgdp1jG8bspyBlUekQtr2v1ayKuVJn4/s400/Elf-20.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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My mom came to visit for a week during Thanksgiving and she helped cut all the fabric. Thank goodness for mom cause cutting is the WORST!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3YKfAUXruLTWTfhjmMIOMt0DlYkqBHD0k5SxQeP_5nP2G2koh_sEPDgolGujB_9slZ5iL0xoTzwpYcCDIRaYjS4dJqMZ4pl_24kHknY5axDrQP9MiI_WHf8H9UP3DxkpfACzgVptfcl-H/s1600/Elf-21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1051" data-original-width="1600" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3YKfAUXruLTWTfhjmMIOMt0DlYkqBHD0k5SxQeP_5nP2G2koh_sEPDgolGujB_9slZ5iL0xoTzwpYcCDIRaYjS4dJqMZ4pl_24kHknY5axDrQP9MiI_WHf8H9UP3DxkpfACzgVptfcl-H/s400/Elf-21.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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While she was cutting, I embroidered the faces, shirts, and boots.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5OiP0ys_XZtEwPWKJnSAYSB8aMOyvQLiw1SisVLgo67Sx7avUntW39hY5XGlJqVmWoGFwnq7Uk0dtIb4wA_M-5zTKB-BINfB5gJVtLDemdweySCFxfacvNRYWUauPQHt0F6zdnDciGc00/s1600/Elf-19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5OiP0ys_XZtEwPWKJnSAYSB8aMOyvQLiw1SisVLgo67Sx7avUntW39hY5XGlJqVmWoGFwnq7Uk0dtIb4wA_M-5zTKB-BINfB5gJVtLDemdweySCFxfacvNRYWUauPQHt0F6zdnDciGc00/s400/Elf-19.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I sewed, then lightly stuffed the ears, attaching them to the neck and head back.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm4s0w0qJRLjFPNNnc9UDbcoIsMUFiTcKGafhI0SvvNuUeIuISt6cqCTP-hQ42DsYC6HJokOEIRnJUpn29pkjvamMtSpRmVweZRxB-NFUYctTrABaN0U2XulqXYDb88uv2OjVfJyiLOoMz/s1600/Elf-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1405" data-original-width="1600" height="351" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm4s0w0qJRLjFPNNnc9UDbcoIsMUFiTcKGafhI0SvvNuUeIuISt6cqCTP-hQ42DsYC6HJokOEIRnJUpn29pkjvamMtSpRmVweZRxB-NFUYctTrABaN0U2XulqXYDb88uv2OjVfJyiLOoMz/s400/Elf-4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Then came the neck piece.</div>
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Legs were next. Sew together the legs, white shoe trim, and big elf shoes.</div>
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Fold in half and sew. For each arm and leg, leave a small spot between the notches for stuffing.</div>
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Turn them right side out.</div>
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Sew the little pleats in the arms.</div>
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Add the hands.</div>
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Sew together and turn right side out. Again, leave little openings between the notches for stuffing.</div>
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Next the body front. Sew the body top to the bottom, matching up notches.</div>
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Sew the legs to the body bottom.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEzWuhbwZKxv1yxXVGgWwAQA_bmUkIHt_aOWdgm5h0ibl4oSBNpa3vGIyyW8eMFmPAgkDvsFgR29Lxc8aIenx2M1O8bkiuZtOFw4on94MEolooSpGPX1AyJmb6grzOYgixTnkEY2ylDDAj/s1600/Elf-8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEzWuhbwZKxv1yxXVGgWwAQA_bmUkIHt_aOWdgm5h0ibl4oSBNpa3vGIyyW8eMFmPAgkDvsFgR29Lxc8aIenx2M1O8bkiuZtOFw4on94MEolooSpGPX1AyJmb6grzOYgixTnkEY2ylDDAj/s400/Elf-8.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Make sure the feet go the way you want.</div>
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Sew down the arms.</div>
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Here's the back bottom and top. There is one photo with 3 different phases of the construction. </div>
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Sew the back and bottom to the front, matching up the notches.</div>
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Shove everything inside the body.</div>
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Turn the head right side out and shove inside the body too, matching up the notches. Sew. This is the toughest part of the whole thing. Double stitch to make sure everything stays together.</div>
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Pull everything right side out and stuff. I stuffed the head and body VERY firm. The arms and legs were stuffed lightly to make them more bendable.</div>
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Hand sew up all the little openings that you used for stuffing and add the hat. I sewed the hats to the head. Then I used a little fabric glue over the back and where the bell was connected to the hat.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKRyPn_ymuJABOlvTjhflM3ipngUazqyIXMboUOCD3RiY0a81KtUYnfCtu7r9vf2UpNGtp8BAk8HNOcszwM9TtS9CF9QLwQEStxqAC4l8WT1qZLfiS-fZUgSsXyyiXIWrf7NSLK3hyphenhyphenpL-6/s1600/Elf-27.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKRyPn_ymuJABOlvTjhflM3ipngUazqyIXMboUOCD3RiY0a81KtUYnfCtu7r9vf2UpNGtp8BAk8HNOcszwM9TtS9CF9QLwQEStxqAC4l8WT1qZLfiS-fZUgSsXyyiXIWrf7NSLK3hyphenhyphenpL-6/s400/Elf-27.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I could not be happier to put these guys into their boxes and send them on their way to their kid house. While I realize that not all the kids will be crazy about their elf, I do hope they know that each one was made with love and with them in mind.</div>
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<a href="https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/17Qp-8d0Tp585kr402mYk_THQgo5Qel6K?usp=sharing" target="_blank">The files are here in my Google drive for you to create your very own elf.</a></div>
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/12720963/?claim=z54bxxursnf">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a></div>theTechGrandmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01441740195353013057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8682686269621125994.post-86945748138907663422017-10-15T17:54:00.003-07:002017-10-15T18:01:57.453-07:00holly's diy storage bed - the build<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's finally done! Weeks and weeks of work on the design and build is finally done, and I can't believe it actually looks pretty darn good!<br />
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<a href="http://www.thetechgrandma.com/2017/10/hollys-bed-design.html" target="_blank">If you missed the design, you can see it here.</a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2UlKQwLhRF9cO_iWuvun-HkcrEhVB8trx9rhqUEpYjTNvSKUk_lUOqLsU8VapJKoWenJby4R2mfV1oh0cOfoRNcwcAGLCcEN65MU-fuWQyUKB-HwMLjYdvuSgJ6Qh5L1-EHDNKKJWvgHX/s1600/HollysBedTitle.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="742" data-original-width="743" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2UlKQwLhRF9cO_iWuvun-HkcrEhVB8trx9rhqUEpYjTNvSKUk_lUOqLsU8VapJKoWenJby4R2mfV1oh0cOfoRNcwcAGLCcEN65MU-fuWQyUKB-HwMLjYdvuSgJ6Qh5L1-EHDNKKJWvgHX/s320/HollysBedTitle.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The bed is in place, clothes put away and the books are the shelves. A sigh of relief and the garage is finally back to holding cars and not bed parts. Here's some pictures of the build.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD3rZcJUxqQVUIbu7Enk-y6-T7EH7RgF72u-vBMRDIo5jyiG1LhC20He3BMxsyp-mWyFjnQfZhhh7xCHoRmFMmrQYuGyZWcJljCiOgYUh3g7WL3D8_-wzs5UR3RTBRkvMPUXBBvI4QATe6/s1600/HollysBed-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1294" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD3rZcJUxqQVUIbu7Enk-y6-T7EH7RgF72u-vBMRDIo5jyiG1LhC20He3BMxsyp-mWyFjnQfZhhh7xCHoRmFMmrQYuGyZWcJljCiOgYUh3g7WL3D8_-wzs5UR3RTBRkvMPUXBBvI4QATe6/s320/HollysBed-1.jpg" width="258" /></a></div>
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We started with the bookcase since it was the easiest to do.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiWRuMqnzF5pMN-qDEBskuymA0R1hJPNEcWQaKKWMqYhq1NE0sPFr3YalELrMXhN3RntJwu_wyaZCZ5n6k9IEvuozjoN0diu-lzNbN2BdkfEQtVJ9ufCjBUcej-WL4aOQHV3vNiZfzxd8D/s1600/HollysBed-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiWRuMqnzF5pMN-qDEBskuymA0R1hJPNEcWQaKKWMqYhq1NE0sPFr3YalELrMXhN3RntJwu_wyaZCZ5n6k9IEvuozjoN0diu-lzNbN2BdkfEQtVJ9ufCjBUcej-WL4aOQHV3vNiZfzxd8D/s320/HollysBed-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The deal struck with Holly was since the veto was made on every bed we tried to purchase, that she would help sand and paint each piece.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoS84-1ZJH2E6_691Mi4jMQR3hT2l4UB_vmPFFNe7nw9ZKnUf2vSrjgXh8Grcf_wkt9csZP2hykKfxMjXzkaHAYphAvJD4XWGkMgk03swoy1nlEJRPMY0fuHDpdEesWgvYcQohdM7KONqD/s1600/HollysBed-14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="756" data-original-width="1600" height="151" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoS84-1ZJH2E6_691Mi4jMQR3hT2l4UB_vmPFFNe7nw9ZKnUf2vSrjgXh8Grcf_wkt9csZP2hykKfxMjXzkaHAYphAvJD4XWGkMgk03swoy1nlEJRPMY0fuHDpdEesWgvYcQohdM7KONqD/s320/HollysBed-14.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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She lived up to her end and what a fine job she did!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf6e5aRRywIGfpEb139r5Vt0iSXyW157TkJ8JI0BgILa1vE8w0zM_wQju8b8UCTyN_rchMwNVBOqffAqiNZxyJ4SRAGMB9jYEVTTGjctI37uKoxaOSIhz1h1eVTImUfyhMP6ybwO1HUy0u/s1600/HollysBed-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1126" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf6e5aRRywIGfpEb139r5Vt0iSXyW157TkJ8JI0BgILa1vE8w0zM_wQju8b8UCTyN_rchMwNVBOqffAqiNZxyJ4SRAGMB9jYEVTTGjctI37uKoxaOSIhz1h1eVTImUfyhMP6ybwO1HUy0u/s320/HollysBed-3.jpg" width="225" /></a></div>
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The back cabinets were easy also as they were only there to support the mattress. These cabinets would face the wall and not be seen.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC5zcQRCA1y8yTBa2LDuqbz9pUMCdE0WaNoN2YrhUHS9x4mH08MtvZ_POi3FA89VjZ4cbu1i07XVMz6QOakbrZqD2UXOHPYMVVwOnm-AEcdZ2Mkk7no4f_P3IJVcqGnxb-yxZQhIf2xOuh/s1600/HollysBed-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="946" data-original-width="1600" height="189" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC5zcQRCA1y8yTBa2LDuqbz9pUMCdE0WaNoN2YrhUHS9x4mH08MtvZ_POi3FA89VjZ4cbu1i07XVMz6QOakbrZqD2UXOHPYMVVwOnm-AEcdZ2Mkk7no4f_P3IJVcqGnxb-yxZQhIf2xOuh/s320/HollysBed-4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Each piece was painted whether they were back or front cabinets.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguPskKC8YuY4AVzLV03W9D1dqDULaWBBg0nXh8vMlBz84jGkMM2-OVPzEWZqH9-jrY34Vv6bywpUwb6qBCfoWqZj62F9OF0hE49MzYWd56KKqCK-N-GMMJU4GMV2R-cRFq2KnyjZtC6Y3m/s1600/HollysBed-8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1220" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguPskKC8YuY4AVzLV03W9D1dqDULaWBBg0nXh8vMlBz84jGkMM2-OVPzEWZqH9-jrY34Vv6bywpUwb6qBCfoWqZj62F9OF0hE49MzYWd56KKqCK-N-GMMJU4GMV2R-cRFq2KnyjZtC6Y3m/s320/HollysBed-8.jpg" width="243" /></a></div>
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Front cabinets were made which held the drawers. This was the hardest part for me, but they turned out fine.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_Ex28bXZYTVZWmSGvR_pcvTjEo5IGNoVQPP9rWNoKDDLEyhyz2e7tk7oTygY3dpiW6CaqKYFa3IoAycY4XRhAicGsBYYpOB-hbfYWsZg6CqmPj2qS9G80QJM-byR2TssRMCx3hS_SOvbq/s1600/HollysBed-9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1286" data-original-width="1600" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_Ex28bXZYTVZWmSGvR_pcvTjEo5IGNoVQPP9rWNoKDDLEyhyz2e7tk7oTygY3dpiW6CaqKYFa3IoAycY4XRhAicGsBYYpOB-hbfYWsZg6CqmPj2qS9G80QJM-byR2TssRMCx3hS_SOvbq/s320/HollysBed-9.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The white paint made everything look bright and clean.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHpDNiSO8zgXUucla8KWMZxii0B3xmifdEm6w06wnc_1coM6sAfd2ZgaVub2GlWw3N2Drz2dNP9FLDkwFWTEtQf5FDmlf1xGz2tkb3UvbYiXyJqIX7lfRwcdBqgN3hx-whTjPYVGxnJnec/s1600/HollysBed-5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="828" data-original-width="1600" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHpDNiSO8zgXUucla8KWMZxii0B3xmifdEm6w06wnc_1coM6sAfd2ZgaVub2GlWw3N2Drz2dNP9FLDkwFWTEtQf5FDmlf1xGz2tkb3UvbYiXyJqIX7lfRwcdBqgN3hx-whTjPYVGxnJnec/s320/HollysBed-5.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The drawer build wasn't as bad as I expected. We cut all the sides.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_QAXlwf_CiOnHYQ5iVIdtMH6ib8vGl4EFipulo4S6ONaf1Wg2I6KTgSaPh0uBGSxdfoM84pamMp8W8_KrFWlvATItcPob94UOaAHi11romMU97-J_-vW3ibhZuCrBMdRDUfz5L0D7WVOP/s1600/HollysBed-6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_QAXlwf_CiOnHYQ5iVIdtMH6ib8vGl4EFipulo4S6ONaf1Wg2I6KTgSaPh0uBGSxdfoM84pamMp8W8_KrFWlvATItcPob94UOaAHi11romMU97-J_-vW3ibhZuCrBMdRDUfz5L0D7WVOP/s320/HollysBed-6.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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Dado cuts were made to help keep everything nice and square. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-iwDYKUHB_nSpMC0-7nEswG6_UKDb2yho8KS_1YC58I-R5HBkhb70zYRyb4duIwo9pUORacffo-y4bP_sXYE0lN9eoX5S2TmGjQKCVSdTfqNGO2WLpklNrqACz25489NSQvR2_21HExPc/s1600/HollysBed-7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="829" data-original-width="1600" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-iwDYKUHB_nSpMC0-7nEswG6_UKDb2yho8KS_1YC58I-R5HBkhb70zYRyb4duIwo9pUORacffo-y4bP_sXYE0lN9eoX5S2TmGjQKCVSdTfqNGO2WLpklNrqACz25489NSQvR2_21HExPc/s320/HollysBed-7.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Quarter inch plywood was cut and side into place.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ4zepsCfjTqzjp0q7FPpxuZkT8Q0rIoRAeTcHRao9Vc_0o7Ap2vuCGaFn0mhdRUYSdMpakJOOWnN_AVsry2y2wpdYL40wHShFWSd39nV4_f3NseL-MQMAq4iBXdiOnkyCLvJG-AlCCH6N/s1600/HollysBed-11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ4zepsCfjTqzjp0q7FPpxuZkT8Q0rIoRAeTcHRao9Vc_0o7Ap2vuCGaFn0mhdRUYSdMpakJOOWnN_AVsry2y2wpdYL40wHShFWSd39nV4_f3NseL-MQMAq4iBXdiOnkyCLvJG-AlCCH6N/s320/HollysBed-11.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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Burke and Holly were absolutely fascinated that they could stand the broom up all by itself.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhLsR8mwTtnMlwEDIGPdAUh5Pte8lEIWkIhLd3_Y-PGpBMZFtATlziRcXfstaEJjm_bhNz-sRH8fNz_WQevVlvaD5MM32Z0iOwbYNV9-p8FD0aZpikjrGiCsYndo4UjEfpyCx-ixuf8VUE/s1600/HollysBed-12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="891" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhLsR8mwTtnMlwEDIGPdAUh5Pte8lEIWkIhLd3_Y-PGpBMZFtATlziRcXfstaEJjm_bhNz-sRH8fNz_WQevVlvaD5MM32Z0iOwbYNV9-p8FD0aZpikjrGiCsYndo4UjEfpyCx-ixuf8VUE/s320/HollysBed-12.jpg" width="178" /></a></div>
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Work on the headboard began.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqimsGJXpr38yHyCEPJyvYhgRmDwd3pEkJZRBlvWkyD2a4lFnq1mIwJN1s_fM4g1-AMC3a35dDgm60jazlmyPnfUormyfwVJHVR7PvTsEFk2vFKbfea1BPed1a7GlDVtcZOEaZueDD2CPE/s1600/HollysBed-13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqimsGJXpr38yHyCEPJyvYhgRmDwd3pEkJZRBlvWkyD2a4lFnq1mIwJN1s_fM4g1-AMC3a35dDgm60jazlmyPnfUormyfwVJHVR7PvTsEFk2vFKbfea1BPed1a7GlDVtcZOEaZueDD2CPE/s320/HollysBed-13.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Wiring was done for the power center in the headboard.</div>
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Then we added some fancy trim at the top and leftover bead board from the basement ceiling was used as the back.</div>
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Special trim needs a bit of a pop of color - not too much.</div>
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Finally the bed is assembled.</div>
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Drawers were filled.</div>
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Items plugged into the power center.</div>
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Books put away.</div>
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Even a nightlight.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhWspAD519LdVC0DlUoqVfM2YYLWlC7vsy0YKnuYQ3oRniG6jfdjNXrD4La3difL325t3OMgpd19oP1PF-XcFMyj0mZJx1eFY17S5KmmsHjOKt-3N2cW4J-aWxj0Vo5HrCN2EoQiCewPR1/s1600/HollysBed-24.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="924" data-original-width="1600" height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhWspAD519LdVC0DlUoqVfM2YYLWlC7vsy0YKnuYQ3oRniG6jfdjNXrD4La3difL325t3OMgpd19oP1PF-XcFMyj0mZJx1eFY17S5KmmsHjOKt-3N2cW4J-aWxj0Vo5HrCN2EoQiCewPR1/s320/HollysBed-24.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Snug as a bug in a rug. It was a lot of work - but she loves it, and so do we. </div>
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<a href="http://www.ana-white.com/" target="_blank">Thank goodness for Ana White's website. </a> Parts and pieces were taken from this and that piece and together we created my daughters vision. Thanks Ana for the plans and the confidence to believe I could do it!</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/12720963/?claim=z54bxxursnf">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a></div>theTechGrandmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01441740195353013057noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8682686269621125994.post-80688826389759037292017-10-07T09:09:00.000-07:002017-10-07T09:15:57.627-07:00holly's bed - the designThere's been some shake up to the household lately, which led to some rearranging of beds. First our grandson came to live with us and he took the room which was already set up for incoming exchange students. It was all ready to be occupied - no effort needed.<br />
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Next, we took in a very lovely Chinese exchange student, Ivy, who was in need of a host family.<br />
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Our guest room was equipped with a queen size bed and it had to go. It was meant for out of town family. It is lovely in the room, but there was no room for a desk and other things a teenager needs. So, out it came - and we turned my photography room into the new guest room.<br />
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So what to do about a bed then for our Ivy? I've been promising Holly a new bed for some time. So we moved Holly's full size bed into the Ivy's room complete with some fix up, a new mattress topper and desk. Room.Done.<br />
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Then the search for Holly's bed got under way. She picked out a new mattress, a very nice memory foam type that we got .... and who'd a thunk it - Menards all of places. They had the best price by far.<br />
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We began our exhaustive search for a new bed. Anyone who knows my Boo, knows that once she made up her mind, nothing changes it. The bed that even came close to what she wanted was well over $2000 - which was NOT going to happen.</div>
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So we settled into designing and building a bed for her. I spent quite a bit of time at <a href="http://www.ana-white.com/" target="_blank">Ana White's website</a>, browsing designs and looking at what others have done. We've been going at it for a few weeks now, which has kept me from writing, but I believe we are ready for a semi reveal. </div>
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TA-DA!! </div>
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<i>The new full size storage bed with 4 (not 2) drawers, a bookcase in the head board and foot board, a built in charging station for her widgets and gizmos, and a motion sensor night light.</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgioQot8TUmeFWT89nqx2F_mMidcDtfLbvAFEgy98-VmnpbWlN47bvciPJW4ZEUSzdLPLXGd5mxq2zAXa6pSXzCjIiVWTOl8qKDypLVJDTT7eN2bkJPjqjZoGvTM_MB55zU4WxSh5DMnUwT/s1600/FinalBed.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1044" data-original-width="1103" height="603" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgioQot8TUmeFWT89nqx2F_mMidcDtfLbvAFEgy98-VmnpbWlN47bvciPJW4ZEUSzdLPLXGd5mxq2zAXa6pSXzCjIiVWTOl8qKDypLVJDTT7eN2bkJPjqjZoGvTM_MB55zU4WxSh5DMnUwT/s640/FinalBed.PNG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Honestly, the hardest part of this whole thing was the design. Getting the math right AND figuring out Sketchup is not for the faint heart.</div>
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It was an absolute requirement that the bed had 4 drawers and not the 2 you see on many storage beds. She veto'd many beds because of the 4 drawer rule.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDpqO7SGggssRYWSpogmztvYa6PZ-MtH_jQKVJCuLbVqiWtGlpGUXDqmoe17uXWRVShVCp6jabs8RPRmImbpgwnBOkY8ZJneLEuoskyED-OuEReMJ7dmgYd67QiQtqNDHUwiMNXTszGZw1/s1600/Headboard.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1018" data-original-width="859" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDpqO7SGggssRYWSpogmztvYa6PZ-MtH_jQKVJCuLbVqiWtGlpGUXDqmoe17uXWRVShVCp6jabs8RPRmImbpgwnBOkY8ZJneLEuoskyED-OuEReMJ7dmgYd67QiQtqNDHUwiMNXTszGZw1/s640/Headboard.PNG" width="539" /></a></div>
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Burke and I had the idea to add the USB charging station and night light. We also built in a normal plug outlet for her alarm clock. It's always to hard to reach the power behind these beds, so this time - we built it in.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtcTRsZZ6heMCfrFlTQ2OWl2VcYDuanm9tKQTtAYEzPgceD0We3OMnd6Fq0xyjZjsuVfIVJ8zW633zU5cZOQZqibnxh_9hw6vJTXGAAQOCwG5srmO3MK2pS1HSLeVdzfsMfbrY5PiwrScE/s1600/FrontCabinets.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1028" data-original-width="1042" height="630" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtcTRsZZ6heMCfrFlTQ2OWl2VcYDuanm9tKQTtAYEzPgceD0We3OMnd6Fq0xyjZjsuVfIVJ8zW633zU5cZOQZqibnxh_9hw6vJTXGAAQOCwG5srmO3MK2pS1HSLeVdzfsMfbrY5PiwrScE/s640/FrontCabinets.PNG" width="640" /></a></div>
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The drawer cabinet design did take some time as well, calculating efficient use of wood and measurements. We went with 15 3/4 wide because we got the most out of our plywood.</div>
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I did look to see if I could buy these cabinets at IKEA or a second hand store, but we found nothing that wow'd us. Not to mention, I wanted the entire bed to be the same material and color. Drawers are not the easiest to build, but we'll manage.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWRDUvGxjjdRCWpu9Syryd77-U97DkxqkvTpoOOFV78I51UY7ekAXH_smP8o2jMDMnla16Mwvv_w_V5hR_DOmwnUQvKV-ST1yquYp1-o1bEtiko9_c8Ud6ypateTkUvDubFi5hYgzGIhC4/s1600/BackCabinets.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="761" height="484" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWRDUvGxjjdRCWpu9Syryd77-U97DkxqkvTpoOOFV78I51UY7ekAXH_smP8o2jMDMnla16Mwvv_w_V5hR_DOmwnUQvKV-ST1yquYp1-o1bEtiko9_c8Ud6ypateTkUvDubFi5hYgzGIhC4/s640/BackCabinets.PNG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Since her bed pushes up against a wall, the back cabinets really are just holders for the mattress. I took care to make each piece modular so we could easily move them about.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxQV-0u_NLpp-6XjR4YsN9iJIUTMxAp9nGVK5uOX_6uswnjjpkm1755MnTkW_MPGkcNE1-RxwbTrL_9C4IENhG11w08CcZoY2Ij4c4ctLHDlBo7oAO3idLceQTsjYve5MMyIVJ0gzmS7nX/s1600/Bookcase.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="593" data-original-width="1164" height="326" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxQV-0u_NLpp-6XjR4YsN9iJIUTMxAp9nGVK5uOX_6uswnjjpkm1755MnTkW_MPGkcNE1-RxwbTrL_9C4IENhG11w08CcZoY2Ij4c4ctLHDlBo7oAO3idLceQTsjYve5MMyIVJ0gzmS7nX/s640/Bookcase.PNG" width="640" /></a></div>
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The bookcase was the easiest and gives her plenty of room to store her books and do hickies.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN992U7Rp9eslrHnG-dch4RNBU7LheDJM9qIDrMpoV6KrtfpYS7spirZL03eTVSVVwLpRdR3IeDErrrpaAuZXCTSTdLqRojLAz2XYK5B3sEurbOQEC31OSVw5uYh5SE_8Squl269Iz_NU6/s1600/Drawers.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="668" data-original-width="1045" height="408" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN992U7Rp9eslrHnG-dch4RNBU7LheDJM9qIDrMpoV6KrtfpYS7spirZL03eTVSVVwLpRdR3IeDErrrpaAuZXCTSTdLqRojLAz2XYK5B3sEurbOQEC31OSVw5uYh5SE_8Squl269Iz_NU6/s640/Drawers.PNG" width="640" /></a></div>
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The drawers are never fun for me. We contemplated many different way to give her drawers including bins or just shelves. The girl just wanted some drawers - so that's what she'll have.</div>
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I problem is that they just have to be perfect when dealing with drawer slides and that's super hard.</div>
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Next week, come back to see the building of the bed. So far, we're done with the foot board, cabinets, and almost all the drawers. I'm hoping we can finish those today and begin work on the head board tomorrow.</div>
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<i>The cost you ask? </i>I would say $300-$350. The wood costs were right around $200-$250, but the USB outlet and motion censored light were about $50/piece. Still the cheapest in cost - but when you add in time, it was almost worth buying the $2000 bed and be done with it.</div>
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<i>How long is it taking? </i>We get about 1 day and 1/2 a week to work on it, and this will be our 3rd week. I have big dreams of finishing this weekend. Keep your fingers crossed!</div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/12720963/?claim=z54bxxursnf">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a></div>theTechGrandmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01441740195353013057noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8682686269621125994.post-26980956309790118202017-09-04T18:14:00.003-07:002017-09-04T18:14:46.258-07:00slipcovers!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
I began looking through my photos for something to write about this week and I can't believe I didn't write this one up last year. Slipcovers! The couch has been done for a year now and I still love it.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidAyCQMexDlQOb27cm9Gy5kPv_YGeWjiAeeNyfhf686KgpiU_ufoH4oS7qJN-ZRFkBce6X59OVxbDqjar-tAFCYpgpRw8hKc6gm3KRPCaQkn4IyFGnbPGq4IakrR-5BbkAgZi0tNZ24Srl/s1600/SlipCoverCover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1404" data-original-width="1600" height="350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidAyCQMexDlQOb27cm9Gy5kPv_YGeWjiAeeNyfhf686KgpiU_ufoH4oS7qJN-ZRFkBce6X59OVxbDqjar-tAFCYpgpRw8hKc6gm3KRPCaQkn4IyFGnbPGq4IakrR-5BbkAgZi0tNZ24Srl/s400/SlipCoverCover.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Last year we vacationed in lovely Frankfort, MI. We rented a condo on Lake Michigan and I was very inspired by the furnishings of the condo. Everything was lake blue, fluffy cloud white, and sand brown. My favorites.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2M2BnmVbEv8eGb-JMCymxB7K9oPCe23nFdLOYzcVaeANCuGDWqES75Tic5p5NPZ-HF1kRj1VoS4teTCBWKODcKJnzWjcX7V3_BuUq7sCklNED5_d9LRR-vL7ZW69XLTFzTQYR01vIKsUM/s1600/SlipCover-8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="702" data-original-width="1600" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2M2BnmVbEv8eGb-JMCymxB7K9oPCe23nFdLOYzcVaeANCuGDWqES75Tic5p5NPZ-HF1kRj1VoS4teTCBWKODcKJnzWjcX7V3_BuUq7sCklNED5_d9LRR-vL7ZW69XLTFzTQYR01vIKsUM/s400/SlipCover-8.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I donated our existing couch to our son and began looking around. As we all know, a good couch is very expensive. My idea was to find a very good quality couch and make a slipcover for it. We found this one online and took it home for a good steam cleaning. The brand was Ethan Allen. I pulled the cushion covers off, ripped one apart to use as a pattern, and even took out the zippers to reuse.</div>
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Then I ordered fabric. I got a great canvas blend online which is a medium weight fabric and washable.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqx8CDCC0uWy3iowlh1NZ0KBfQ2-cWGYuqT3fIxQBqYTj7m160hpCVeswOkoSRI2siJizOE7g-zdIdNrEGXvVVtfTvOomyWGHyJaVTo9KZ8kxA3iTlqmVXXTubaUlOHrPw1zC8TuwsKHzO/s1600/SlipCover-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqx8CDCC0uWy3iowlh1NZ0KBfQ2-cWGYuqT3fIxQBqYTj7m160hpCVeswOkoSRI2siJizOE7g-zdIdNrEGXvVVtfTvOomyWGHyJaVTo9KZ8kxA3iTlqmVXXTubaUlOHrPw1zC8TuwsKHzO/s400/SlipCover-1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I settled for a ocean blue - OR Detroit Lions blue. </div>
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I found some upholstery there to match, and got my bobbins ready. I started with 4 but in the end, I probably used about 8 minimal.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDTZulJb65xdulvBAMS-npO1AHYkGwenPjsH9H0qC5tSnP4xYXbPmfqhvqsfhA7sb80CCknNxBd_uSdGiu6-HWjwSx75cyU7_GlCtyF5PN9F15rh6ScarHuaxyMB1e7hlvYHGsxoExuvwY/s1600/SlipCover-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDTZulJb65xdulvBAMS-npO1AHYkGwenPjsH9H0qC5tSnP4xYXbPmfqhvqsfhA7sb80CCknNxBd_uSdGiu6-HWjwSx75cyU7_GlCtyF5PN9F15rh6ScarHuaxyMB1e7hlvYHGsxoExuvwY/s400/SlipCover-2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I grabbed my favorite piping foot - which makes quick work of sewing piping. It came in very handy as there was A LOT of piping involved.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik0oYTd5YnxfgfORVMu3YzdxA9LhFbukTiMJsKn3E-K5MBc1U0X3nbF7w3aJs3OZFVaYoG8g6QjpGaMsvwIJEK72FNSRPQFkxjETEUpyGjkSSPaxPzBwmJRTC3Ya8zx1kt8mH9DsNJtDv6/s1600/SlipCover-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik0oYTd5YnxfgfORVMu3YzdxA9LhFbukTiMJsKn3E-K5MBc1U0X3nbF7w3aJs3OZFVaYoG8g6QjpGaMsvwIJEK72FNSRPQFkxjETEUpyGjkSSPaxPzBwmJRTC3Ya8zx1kt8mH9DsNJtDv6/s400/SlipCover-3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I then cut all my pieces for the piping. I believe these were 1 1/2 inch wide.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibNrwen-TapCTJdx5k7Mtcavez4ypEF0s4TfIxiuVQkpxCQ0RkaLlEn5wO2EGlakntlytjtHVm1So88ye20eu3z-1r6jXZtcSln34P4dY8tJboptXce5BNpn7vqDuxTTEIOyc3WhV-7X65/s1600/SlipCover-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibNrwen-TapCTJdx5k7Mtcavez4ypEF0s4TfIxiuVQkpxCQ0RkaLlEn5wO2EGlakntlytjtHVm1So88ye20eu3z-1r6jXZtcSln34P4dY8tJboptXce5BNpn7vqDuxTTEIOyc3WhV-7X65/s400/SlipCover-4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I sewed them together.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF4Sv3euvZaM2IbKQbkU2S8ewRqNZUsmvVLTtOcdI5ILTXODAjoefgEaI_R2LQk6NXiYcefD5_M_i_JCjPRgv2b4pQxXupC6axyTEtvltMitIaOqQjYsyP9uK7fOY_kpFSCIBpgDEZ4vo1/s1600/SlipCover-5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1413" data-original-width="1600" height="352" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF4Sv3euvZaM2IbKQbkU2S8ewRqNZUsmvVLTtOcdI5ILTXODAjoefgEaI_R2LQk6NXiYcefD5_M_i_JCjPRgv2b4pQxXupC6axyTEtvltMitIaOqQjYsyP9uK7fOY_kpFSCIBpgDEZ4vo1/s400/SlipCover-5.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Cutting off the little triangle.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxKHzbLroOuyATr1hSL90c8GE4pBcDCpKv2BXtbY7j6sexvxoX8-NDHcpeV4OOmjl_UzNxF1Nsi3IrN31-PPJqe9Jriki97u6133EJhi_9jFKkDwdrS5aych4Iyg_2oBCAjQ92MGQqgd7Q/s1600/SlipCover-6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxKHzbLroOuyATr1hSL90c8GE4pBcDCpKv2BXtbY7j6sexvxoX8-NDHcpeV4OOmjl_UzNxF1Nsi3IrN31-PPJqe9Jriki97u6133EJhi_9jFKkDwdrS5aych4Iyg_2oBCAjQ92MGQqgd7Q/s400/SlipCover-6.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Good quality piping cord is essential. I ordered 10 yards online.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVVRrTaOrztJ_Q3zH-bPLDRtoMBRjsY9eoS9nHUo3MKhqSlLPuWmJvYrgEHScRnDud4IhvDOsqXhuiBaq9n-WxiVUPxKvejKyjPvb0flTwIb98YxAZE6xRULFNgZ2kiPo3NuxnMWoC60G4/s1600/SlipCover-7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVVRrTaOrztJ_Q3zH-bPLDRtoMBRjsY9eoS9nHUo3MKhqSlLPuWmJvYrgEHScRnDud4IhvDOsqXhuiBaq9n-WxiVUPxKvejKyjPvb0flTwIb98YxAZE6xRULFNgZ2kiPo3NuxnMWoC60G4/s400/SlipCover-7.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Then I sewed miles and miles of piping, okay only 10 yards.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ7w86gK2mqT0KqU24MRcHdWw76eToh0W8dsG-fu5v3VijNDYEQZLqAz3mPqruydM-ccjoltuLoexcAPMViEbx1XZRSQ_FCtIVgueRyrwXDTP5QccGX3j0FQJHu5bfdUpaMSRz30RoNobK/s1600/SlipCover-11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ7w86gK2mqT0KqU24MRcHdWw76eToh0W8dsG-fu5v3VijNDYEQZLqAz3mPqruydM-ccjoltuLoexcAPMViEbx1XZRSQ_FCtIVgueRyrwXDTP5QccGX3j0FQJHu5bfdUpaMSRz30RoNobK/s400/SlipCover-11.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I started by cutting a piece for the seat area. Using chalk, I drew out my cutting lines.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWDh4BoIPg0fWcInBJEEkRsHXjgaA5HYmVhZqoiq6UAXrJph5-Qs4KyyhPXCSO8hzmm0yeJjQ4nuqI2-ZHq9Lni90L1CehqlcvA6NU6w_uXX7VFtlWlbNbwc0t7-eo8Mxzn_k8MYM6kNI4/s1600/SlipCover-12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1207" data-original-width="1600" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWDh4BoIPg0fWcInBJEEkRsHXjgaA5HYmVhZqoiq6UAXrJph5-Qs4KyyhPXCSO8hzmm0yeJjQ4nuqI2-ZHq9Lni90L1CehqlcvA6NU6w_uXX7VFtlWlbNbwc0t7-eo8Mxzn_k8MYM6kNI4/s400/SlipCover-12.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I just started cutting and pinning fabric. Make sure to get some good upholstery pins for a good sturdy hold.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmgR2AwAr8Fh3lTkFIN_nfK8uAd1aGNUBcCu_GJd2wjGaksLy4w6qIn0Jq_yzF47rHASq2N-krugHvcojOiuw6hHqsvuMF5_YtcOK0RHnunav47DS7vv-6aGFE0DzgvLyHdpboRv-9rzRv/s1600/SlipCover-14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1092" data-original-width="1600" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmgR2AwAr8Fh3lTkFIN_nfK8uAd1aGNUBcCu_GJd2wjGaksLy4w6qIn0Jq_yzF47rHASq2N-krugHvcojOiuw6hHqsvuMF5_YtcOK0RHnunav47DS7vv-6aGFE0DzgvLyHdpboRv-9rzRv/s400/SlipCover-14.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Basically, pin fabric together so everything is wrong side out.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEize-xrIXJspEUBqFgU-BvjWODPwXqs-nLCSrPNpeM22-rIE5K4TXkNO9FxDKAh6Y6WGoUPywSJFVe0zg1bCcX17m78qnkRSwGncMO9JzesaqsslW-W2T7kJYzQ_Pk1vQBQ66WixcSGQC7S/s1600/SlipCover-10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEize-xrIXJspEUBqFgU-BvjWODPwXqs-nLCSrPNpeM22-rIE5K4TXkNO9FxDKAh6Y6WGoUPywSJFVe0zg1bCcX17m78qnkRSwGncMO9JzesaqsslW-W2T7kJYzQ_Pk1vQBQ66WixcSGQC7S/s400/SlipCover-10.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Cutting notches for the corners.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRlHn_OG4BAMhkMkZGbKEmDUeA0oMvyvPRzEbGxLIQfQxuItgV1Zw5zYX28EGrMv4ZkMTQ1R0vese3ZewtrhBpDwSCtYq4rI-zkLDCfT2sF-PVEIMmH77StffIt6QFShbprV9vzao2AQvj/s1600/SlipCover-15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1168" data-original-width="1600" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRlHn_OG4BAMhkMkZGbKEmDUeA0oMvyvPRzEbGxLIQfQxuItgV1Zw5zYX28EGrMv4ZkMTQ1R0vese3ZewtrhBpDwSCtYq4rI-zkLDCfT2sF-PVEIMmH77StffIt6QFShbprV9vzao2AQvj/s400/SlipCover-15.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Pin together fabric with the piping in the middle. Every stitched area has piping.</div>
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Sew sections together as you go. Make cuts to release tension in the corners.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSo3KBP942zqr_YPRdkwc6tiOut4bNOyH_8OGWfBytgLTrDgcEHpq27OPH1Tl-_kT0nCA31V5PQ7mVneth4ep2fsUaPN0O7pV81DKeY-PnawmYy3NG5m_Aqtn4faWVHDvCyaQZ3PSYl3SN/s1600/SlipCover-16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSo3KBP942zqr_YPRdkwc6tiOut4bNOyH_8OGWfBytgLTrDgcEHpq27OPH1Tl-_kT0nCA31V5PQ7mVneth4ep2fsUaPN0O7pV81DKeY-PnawmYy3NG5m_Aqtn4faWVHDvCyaQZ3PSYl3SN/s400/SlipCover-16.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Turn it right side out and try it on for size.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCbluBtmeQ4PAiDt08LZutS0zoInFqfagrIOrNePGZIiMpiMmhkpLDlb3XIPo6SKbTABsDThAg8JII_z9hp-gHJDk9CEh1negjH92LIGFLkjs_B2jpdBCVr-NqxVmWUNfL0Ize6vYgxmV7/s1600/SlipCover-17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCbluBtmeQ4PAiDt08LZutS0zoInFqfagrIOrNePGZIiMpiMmhkpLDlb3XIPo6SKbTABsDThAg8JII_z9hp-gHJDk9CEh1negjH92LIGFLkjs_B2jpdBCVr-NqxVmWUNfL0Ize6vYgxmV7/s400/SlipCover-17.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I used Velcro for the corners to create a pocket.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1QBAexPqvYWO2RAjbmcSR0mLkbJ4M4WTGclrjl9cMM45bQg3d6uSz6-tdwjNoeXxesL4xdTosWWK_G5jcL8N0D9v3AMd-qxYAxavt_EKcuIUfQUByul0-iWX5Vi71lrC0XHSQAgX7pftV/s1600/SlipCover-18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1257" data-original-width="1600" height="313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1QBAexPqvYWO2RAjbmcSR0mLkbJ4M4WTGclrjl9cMM45bQg3d6uSz6-tdwjNoeXxesL4xdTosWWK_G5jcL8N0D9v3AMd-qxYAxavt_EKcuIUfQUByul0-iWX5Vi71lrC0XHSQAgX7pftV/s400/SlipCover-18.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Getting the sticky back tape was very helpful for placement. Then I sewed the Velcro to keep it in place.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYC0j8bx9FqLz7A5K9d-KxdaLU1Mgw-J6ye5DUXCEyaloei-kXeU9gcDdGM3iiiOyPKJiEYLSG6WX2D_HNwGmUFSdhI0JpjLtlpz5oLQ4RQmZmnZf9yLATSdbArelh1qrxFYVTQU7QM_uA/s1600/SlipCover-19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1260" data-original-width="1600" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYC0j8bx9FqLz7A5K9d-KxdaLU1Mgw-J6ye5DUXCEyaloei-kXeU9gcDdGM3iiiOyPKJiEYLSG6WX2D_HNwGmUFSdhI0JpjLtlpz5oLQ4RQmZmnZf9yLATSdbArelh1qrxFYVTQU7QM_uA/s400/SlipCover-19.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Here's the solution for the bottom. I actually need to go back and redo this area as it did not turn out like I hoped. I think in the future, I will just do a skirt around the bottom. I was going for clean lines here. My solution was to put sticky Velcro on the bottom and to remove it when I wanted to clean the slipcover.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi_jqI7YudB9vYlMBreHEHXTnpBEQ6FhcY4IuM4xg54y2-y6Gtc_zwyPHQvxr0yhJia2jvauvg537tZfl0K6jecjctbhZb4mWT3DMEIpqpWs94_fKO3VEfhBCEGLAoXSQlmBQwZYtbxBdO/s1600/SlipCover-21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi_jqI7YudB9vYlMBreHEHXTnpBEQ6FhcY4IuM4xg54y2-y6Gtc_zwyPHQvxr0yhJia2jvauvg537tZfl0K6jecjctbhZb4mWT3DMEIpqpWs94_fKO3VEfhBCEGLAoXSQlmBQwZYtbxBdO/s400/SlipCover-21.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The cushions were easy. </div>
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I simply used the old seat cushion that I ripped apart as my pattern and even reused the zippers.</div>
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Honestly .... when I was looking through my photos, I couldn't believe I didn't take final pictures. So today, I grabbed a few pictures. The slipcovers have been in place and do a great job of protecting it against dog crude. He rubs up against the bottom of the couch all the time.</div>
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Which is what I planned for. I can simply take it off and throw it in the washer. </div>
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It's a good solution when you don't want to spend thousands and you want a new look.</div>
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/12720963/?claim=z54bxxursnf">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a></div>theTechGrandmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01441740195353013057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8682686269621125994.post-16647665693578934512017-08-27T08:38:00.000-07:002017-08-27T08:38:26.732-07:00canning season! italian stewed tomatoes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Aunt Dottie and my grandmother were both avid gardeners. Although I had no interest in learning how to can from them when I was young, I found myself following in their footsteps.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIQZr3Fi855mGglMzKDdYUdXykdZCrwWUc5zW7boOb0ykF1K9AnlbGdhnKoMRi6j_giymg_nDt4lrhbYfMl9HZk_E3ysbY-LXjE6VRLwGuzJgyny032SqjhmQsRRpWy5fjHvutqeUBvRX1/s1600/Canning-47.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIQZr3Fi855mGglMzKDdYUdXykdZCrwWUc5zW7boOb0ykF1K9AnlbGdhnKoMRi6j_giymg_nDt4lrhbYfMl9HZk_E3ysbY-LXjE6VRLwGuzJgyny032SqjhmQsRRpWy5fjHvutqeUBvRX1/s400/Canning-47.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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This year I'm super excited about my garden. Last year, everything sucked. My soil was in a terrible state and nothing grew right. All my tomatoes had serious rot. I tried to correct the ship last year, but alias - it was in vain.</div>
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But THIS year! Oh my gosh!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-8N-Vhj1rCCg5j-YCtnLQmBfc8-U3fwaHv-NJXxUxUoR0ucfeZssBZvPwi5FkeAzBCX56ZgBzoaaf0wEmEpzbPjfm8hANm52T1M-p8u5_QssuBI47DblEXBlduaCtkUA0lX0BFZNrMXUH/s1600/Canning-5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-8N-Vhj1rCCg5j-YCtnLQmBfc8-U3fwaHv-NJXxUxUoR0ucfeZssBZvPwi5FkeAzBCX56ZgBzoaaf0wEmEpzbPjfm8hANm52T1M-p8u5_QssuBI47DblEXBlduaCtkUA0lX0BFZNrMXUH/s400/Canning-5.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I added a bag of manure to each bed and organic fertilizer. Plus I added some organic tomato food to each tomato plant. I planted 4 roma tomato plants and waited. I also have various pepper plants, broccoli, cucumbers and green beans.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBiNz8gPDqf5TIeHkenBa0GCp9mtJg2kiUkY1AeCnpY1RXVP5PBD3iLcxbL6WJi4QKOiC-trxWVl0NO6cYX8BPlKHmN96N_-7lfblo27qHRuqJjVDrjd4XC1Iowtc6t5tNJGf4zz144dIW/s1600/Canning-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBiNz8gPDqf5TIeHkenBa0GCp9mtJg2kiUkY1AeCnpY1RXVP5PBD3iLcxbL6WJi4QKOiC-trxWVl0NO6cYX8BPlKHmN96N_-7lfblo27qHRuqJjVDrjd4XC1Iowtc6t5tNJGf4zz144dIW/s400/Canning-4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I was SOOO relieved to see my lovely tomatoes come in with NO rot.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihNzmqEXHJZA3j315CT69OAUPXM33lY28rKEjT1Cx1pyN1VzW_bojvlWdQ97f7qHQdaCnUrCR5VpYbcExLhHCzpZ-hL6w4egBsruZLsVA8JAr-Yv41ZV2LCd6op_gl8L_1DEb2hAPYcftu/s1600/Canning-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihNzmqEXHJZA3j315CT69OAUPXM33lY28rKEjT1Cx1pyN1VzW_bojvlWdQ97f7qHQdaCnUrCR5VpYbcExLhHCzpZ-hL6w4egBsruZLsVA8JAr-Yv41ZV2LCd6op_gl8L_1DEb2hAPYcftu/s400/Canning-1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I broke out the canning jars and put them in the dishwasher to sterilize them. You can also stick them in the oven at 180 for about 10 minutes. Or..... if your water bath is nice and hot, stick them in the water for a few minutes.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXmEn-SzwFYLF2ct1_VWxK-N8uS8Y3PWen4EnOxjmU3n1sqxPc9OPNsjqK6g113B7L2E0rHUeyKkYuO9pUe1j11cbZEB6sjSqcIl8scJvbn8Fo7vIgYPBrieWNEwRVPrtwalbVZ6nV9fRC/s1600/Canning-8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXmEn-SzwFYLF2ct1_VWxK-N8uS8Y3PWen4EnOxjmU3n1sqxPc9OPNsjqK6g113B7L2E0rHUeyKkYuO9pUe1j11cbZEB6sjSqcIl8scJvbn8Fo7vIgYPBrieWNEwRVPrtwalbVZ6nV9fRC/s400/Canning-8.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Then I started my pots. </div>
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One for the water bath, one for blanching the tomatoes, one for cooking the tomatoes, and the little one for sterling the jar lids.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwGhK0SXfKRJ-m6EoimeSuITCP4uQDRNQXyojk32M0904PNEPsp_9s8YSOdo5Hq64pNkH8n7XSwYCjE6Odje1dCmoxoaqbXNjOcrl42LfheE8huPsmO4b-NOohlrrL7DADb-unk3JGlfwt/s1600/Canning-7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwGhK0SXfKRJ-m6EoimeSuITCP4uQDRNQXyojk32M0904PNEPsp_9s8YSOdo5Hq64pNkH8n7XSwYCjE6Odje1dCmoxoaqbXNjOcrl42LfheE8huPsmO4b-NOohlrrL7DADb-unk3JGlfwt/s400/Canning-7.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I blanched the tomatoes for about a minute.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAPQUs9YamP0HisDk5Vzqe8LeRr7bF1v5gmuty3iwAVzc8zLxqBWbBePyU36qpRaQLlB-r9luyjc6YtP8VF2TT9JNBN_KbeAwSeFNA7m03FZQ3QKxE0FqpK6Rd0EQujAipp9ie-9oNqFOR/s1600/Canning-19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAPQUs9YamP0HisDk5Vzqe8LeRr7bF1v5gmuty3iwAVzc8zLxqBWbBePyU36qpRaQLlB-r9luyjc6YtP8VF2TT9JNBN_KbeAwSeFNA7m03FZQ3QKxE0FqpK6Rd0EQujAipp9ie-9oNqFOR/s400/Canning-19.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Then stop the cooking with a cold water shock.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqoOMp2nB1j2GUNmyBgCJNIh3cAx_9lNpZwYVhUfI6XS87C8E3DBc0lTfUqddB-uCeehRgU-an8Hu0TVooomzrJ8vfxknfClYOSXvUyG0q-hinx6VgctCZzO-93aA6wpSJHaqi94uF0Bct/s1600/Canning-10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqoOMp2nB1j2GUNmyBgCJNIh3cAx_9lNpZwYVhUfI6XS87C8E3DBc0lTfUqddB-uCeehRgU-an8Hu0TVooomzrJ8vfxknfClYOSXvUyG0q-hinx6VgctCZzO-93aA6wpSJHaqi94uF0Bct/s400/Canning-10.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The skins came right off.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH2YEjHYDeaKZ98MJrQRYnWu3JU1VR1v3ZIhKws4RxQkcm4PPXO7NBqDEMdoh2nhxpGyGglizQ6934_m61CUtVBgLKAw_qD89c7bjLyqBcyWH0z0fgFqQJR0hoHRPjYpAv14U3VZN5AnBr/s1600/Canning-11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH2YEjHYDeaKZ98MJrQRYnWu3JU1VR1v3ZIhKws4RxQkcm4PPXO7NBqDEMdoh2nhxpGyGglizQ6934_m61CUtVBgLKAw_qD89c7bjLyqBcyWH0z0fgFqQJR0hoHRPjYpAv14U3VZN5AnBr/s400/Canning-11.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I quartered them and added the ingredients, garlic, green peppers, onion, and oregano. <a href="http://www.food.com/recipe/italian-style-stewed-tomatoes-good-for-canning-100510?ftab=reviews" target="_blank">I followed this recipe, the exact measurements are here.</a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfj0CWKWjmMlCAxQ5KYsrgIscOGeMrlX5eXaX5-BfjsOmNOsPOU411AAzqodIPxXOUz-YG2bSD6-0qNVvFxELHXpJiTiKRrEY93XyzyHwecF4HqgRpVhnvxNsRwTKfxWbhkRCmWg8l5iAc/s1600/Canning-12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfj0CWKWjmMlCAxQ5KYsrgIscOGeMrlX5eXaX5-BfjsOmNOsPOU411AAzqodIPxXOUz-YG2bSD6-0qNVvFxELHXpJiTiKRrEY93XyzyHwecF4HqgRpVhnvxNsRwTKfxWbhkRCmWg8l5iAc/s400/Canning-12.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The longer you cook them the thicker they will become. I let mine cook for about 60 mins to reduce the water from the tomatoes in the sauce.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK-OCZm1IwM8GrnIjzFDzGPm91H27StQtfGqq3Lh0gZsCn0KxO7YuSvxVzOBuoTN6cp2bk34CtzKl3kschTXzpnifN9qkXENhe2-ASkLRfta7hlkB8FidZ38xwrs6LL-Rh-DBP3xpFXT_6/s1600/Canning-14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1545" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK-OCZm1IwM8GrnIjzFDzGPm91H27StQtfGqq3Lh0gZsCn0KxO7YuSvxVzOBuoTN6cp2bk34CtzKl3kschTXzpnifN9qkXENhe2-ASkLRfta7hlkB8FidZ38xwrs6LL-Rh-DBP3xpFXT_6/s400/Canning-14.jpg" width="386" /></a></div>
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Fill them up leaving about a 1/2 inch. I also added 1/4 teaspoon of Ball Citric Acid additive which replaces the lemon juice. This increases the acidic level of the tomatoes. <a href="https://foodscienceinstitute.com/2016/08/16/why-add-lemon-juice-when-canning-tomato-sauce/" target="_blank">If you want to read more about that, here is an interesting article.</a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj13_d6H6zXF9TN8wEp9P3HMPTugz1YyEgyDxcZG9J5bTlIDHnXU3Th5nNQfN7TTKmp1GE9ij6vtU5tkI_1ZxPj45Xao94Ti7Us9mZtlYW9XLUXgoPN2Wh4-iK-GOGSyGCsfUlfwBQUPidV/s1600/Canning-15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj13_d6H6zXF9TN8wEp9P3HMPTugz1YyEgyDxcZG9J5bTlIDHnXU3Th5nNQfN7TTKmp1GE9ij6vtU5tkI_1ZxPj45Xao94Ti7Us9mZtlYW9XLUXgoPN2Wh4-iK-GOGSyGCsfUlfwBQUPidV/s400/Canning-15.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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By now your pot of water should be ready, near boiling point. The water should be about an inch higher than the jars. Put the lid on and let boil for 20 minutes.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtTKi-7pl1TXFhc2EHswyqGLUBDwnBjq1RXqSiLvubKqOmTK-p7f6uw_hvkjKIyUIxEvi1AShN_Da2VQF_5VWXSQfuOwKew0vytef-jg9PkQ2ABRH9gG6xPco-ibk6uEwb6MPdagPFEiLD/s1600/Canning-17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="702" data-original-width="1600" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtTKi-7pl1TXFhc2EHswyqGLUBDwnBjq1RXqSiLvubKqOmTK-p7f6uw_hvkjKIyUIxEvi1AShN_Da2VQF_5VWXSQfuOwKew0vytef-jg9PkQ2ABRH9gG6xPco-ibk6uEwb6MPdagPFEiLD/s400/Canning-17.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I ended up with 8 jars of delicious Italian stewed tomatoes. I've already used them in a few recipes. Sauce tastes so much better when it is home made.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb4WHk1qtac3tFRKkXR01voWJsQtGmTEdrYK8TKQqIHRHkcitxiDInrCXYbZbnyMb3Jd0Aw0q-plOIq1oY1NTTNPkEtx69D0KH4k6MBbxd0Kjri5qF4MJ5LPIpM0NLskCr1TBVnbpB_Yma/s1600/masonJars-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb4WHk1qtac3tFRKkXR01voWJsQtGmTEdrYK8TKQqIHRHkcitxiDInrCXYbZbnyMb3Jd0Aw0q-plOIq1oY1NTTNPkEtx69D0KH4k6MBbxd0Kjri5qF4MJ5LPIpM0NLskCr1TBVnbpB_Yma/s320/masonJars-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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And .... <a href="http://www.thetechgrandma.com/2015/07/blackboard-mason-jars.html" target="_blank">if you're way cool - you'll add these labels to your jars.</a> I have already used up the jars with labels, but it's a nice way to label the date and type of tomatoes. I have washed these jars with the labels in the dishwasher over and over and they still remain awesome.</div>
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/12720963/?claim=z54bxxursnf">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a></div>theTechGrandmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01441740195353013057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8682686269621125994.post-21344109840721671232017-08-19T14:23:00.002-07:002017-08-20T06:32:17.939-07:00mssql, express, and node - working with imagesI'm pretty sure no one else has had the experience of sales over selling, over promising the delivery of a product.😅 Am I right?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAynqV4F9ORgswe8B8Y0mzIEOZ_ixKPZ0u_u2xBNvkeNWuKPLCASlIzR_EdtZENGl8Y3eFQyLwCNUKkZ-bgEME-kabeVT7QwiYEIi0r0RawfnO4yzbPt7fd2R6tWv2KUEeO6qP6z50gtwR/s1600/MSSQLExpressAndNode.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="500" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAynqV4F9ORgswe8B8Y0mzIEOZ_ixKPZ0u_u2xBNvkeNWuKPLCASlIzR_EdtZENGl8Y3eFQyLwCNUKkZ-bgEME-kabeVT7QwiYEIi0r0RawfnO4yzbPt7fd2R6tWv2KUEeO6qP6z50gtwR/s320/MSSQLExpressAndNode.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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When the boss came to me with this little project, knowing I couldn't squeeze it into the schedule, I decided it would become my weekend project. After looking at the requirements, I thought it would be cool to stretch my MEAN legs. Except in this case, it would be (MSSQL, Express, Angular, and Node).</div>
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There's a few cool aspects of this project, but for this article, I'll just focus on getting the server component running and connecting with Node's MSSQL to the SQL Server.<br />
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The requirements were:<br />
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<li>Must be a HTML5 app</li>
<li>Retrieves an image stored in a SQL Server database.</li>
<li>Returns images (multiple) based on ID parameter</li>
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So here's the snippet.</div>
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And the table design was like this:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6EE8ymcJ9BaGEkR1fzc3pZqj20jYx8th2ZZ9F2H1GROFH2zLN7yryW1JOedKKVS95frdH2bKxoFSi2NPnXE-m00da6smDqNOvte2klw8LgwmU8swjwah7DOMMHVkGjGLcRjljGDuWJVGP/s1600/FiddlerResponse1.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="110" data-original-width="594" height="72" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6EE8ymcJ9BaGEkR1fzc3pZqj20jYx8th2ZZ9F2H1GROFH2zLN7yryW1JOedKKVS95frdH2bKxoFSi2NPnXE-m00da6smDqNOvte2klw8LgwmU8swjwah7DOMMHVkGjGLcRjljGDuWJVGP/s400/FiddlerResponse1.PNG" width="400" /></a></div>
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I figured I would create the Rest APIs, so the product could pull the images from anywhere with Express.<br />
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The biggest obstacle I ran into was managing the connection pool. Once, I figured out how to wire it up properly, it was a piece of cake.<br />
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To call the API, I used http://localhost:8080/api/images/1.<br />
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If I look at the response data in Fiddler, I get something like this back.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc6ATdntE1JpqYvateKTptuGV1-OPchteztRmBJCWH8P89_Uhv-pWeA-XCIwEFsdyIBVCSQCaqM1UFgWEYpvttCr2hlLjrYRx4bl_VXMV9EWMuO3XQJK5vl61LctMnIyk0qdnucU1HREZt/s1600/FiddlerResponse.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="22" data-original-width="720" height="18" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc6ATdntE1JpqYvateKTptuGV1-OPchteztRmBJCWH8P89_Uhv-pWeA-XCIwEFsdyIBVCSQCaqM1UFgWEYpvttCr2hlLjrYRx4bl_VXMV9EWMuO3XQJK5vl61LctMnIyk0qdnucU1HREZt/s640/FiddlerResponse.PNG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJtuzR1jCZ8zWw93nrM0pGKjKiu3inkEJNRyNP_OuV6d6Gmiq78tj7SOMbAWIXCu4FaUovoH7-ii7hcecJi7jgopDyLU5kgI19CGK-68l4JAcwx9wD5kfKXRoTKnPmOs_ysAVe5kFMKmTH/s1600/JsonObject1.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="327" data-original-width="672" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJtuzR1jCZ8zWw93nrM0pGKjKiu3inkEJNRyNP_OuV6d6Gmiq78tj7SOMbAWIXCu4FaUovoH7-ii7hcecJi7jgopDyLU5kgI19CGK-68l4JAcwx9wD5kfKXRoTKnPmOs_ysAVe5kFMKmTH/s640/JsonObject1.PNG" width="640" /></a></div>
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So this is an array of 6 images, and the response object is 11043515 bytes which equal roughly 10M - SUPER large for a response object.<br />
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So ideally you wouldn't have SQL images stored in your database but rather store the metadata about the image along with the path of the image on a file system.<br />
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In the particular instance, it was the customer requirement. I simulated the database with some of my own images and I didn't resize them before storing them. So, in this small sample size - it worked fine and I saw no performance issues, but I definitely wouldn't do this in a production environment.<br />
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There were some challenges and a bit of a learning curve, but overall ..... I kind of love this stuff.<br />
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<div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/12720963/?claim=z54bxxursnf">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a></div>theTechGrandmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01441740195353013057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8682686269621125994.post-72876205846842429352017-08-13T15:53:00.000-07:002018-01-06T18:18:26.641-08:00dress hack<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Imagine that moment when you realize the dress doesn't fit and the wedding is in 2 weeks.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My daughter is standing up in her friends wedding in August. When the dress came in after waiting 3 months, it did not fit. It fit in the waist, but was about 3 inches of space between the zipper. It was not going to zip up.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXpyvaVttlLmOV47D7HlmZUQ_mnjo_5EtNJliInFSJzI7xTk2WBtYPdOiyD-gj5Suw-kL42ZMhgfftU6wJF2YlrJb6HURJSJo_HCV7nVwvm71sEa0EPPGr09hhFyiX1u_aTNtnhuIYgmLu/s1600/BridesMaidDress-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3TSjCj3PmJ6Z8AuW5_HxRJNHunePAOKdlsRgMzGW6WDxPiH17eluiZH9MpD5S7dkDQrBoV-rXZqduQ5LpVidY27a_OWzubxLgXx8gi8_L2pUWGvpaOJSCVM2OMDOFkCJ7WDU59VpDAILO/s1600/BridesMaidDress-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1270" data-original-width="1600" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3TSjCj3PmJ6Z8AuW5_HxRJNHunePAOKdlsRgMzGW6WDxPiH17eluiZH9MpD5S7dkDQrBoV-rXZqduQ5LpVidY27a_OWzubxLgXx8gi8_L2pUWGvpaOJSCVM2OMDOFkCJ7WDU59VpDAILO/s400/BridesMaidDress-2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The dress shop would not take fault and there was not another 3 months to wait for another.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFgvC_XSIY4QFpuwVPucWdTXU-y6RGX4SbPb7u_0slWJOs4s_uy6zBUbVhu4jrrxByyGlh39HHVB7i9Vh3n418TtzfwxCW2Epn0ObaFL2tbnchcAlBE9EgwG9pzQ7iOOZgH4i_zZ77exhU/s1600/BridesMaidDress-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFgvC_XSIY4QFpuwVPucWdTXU-y6RGX4SbPb7u_0slWJOs4s_uy6zBUbVhu4jrrxByyGlh39HHVB7i9Vh3n418TtzfwxCW2Epn0ObaFL2tbnchcAlBE9EgwG9pzQ7iOOZgH4i_zZ77exhU/s400/BridesMaidDress-1.jpg" width="266" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The dress shop said, "There's some room in the zipper - just let it out." She called me frantic, and asked me to take a look. Once I figured out there was not 3 inches anywhere in the dress to be let out, we started reviewing our options.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>A. Throw major hissy fit and cause a scene.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>B. Look online for the exact same dress out of another dress shop.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>C. Come up with creative solution.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It's really upsetting when you pay so much money for a dress and it doesn't even fit. The dress shop were idiots and made her feel bad, like it was her fault. That seriously pissed me off. They took her measurements and they ordered the dress.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj64_qBH4q7tyHl20fp9FdbKeFBWFeDfcYYZgfzRDlq7L6jC9d_t4MHON5ADly9ZC1TtJkWtxt1jxZdRVx8bGR4gf_P5bIvp157C5RxLNVa_zU6LQ2RvwFSVDoOpevzevH4__rIA80qRE6z/s1600/BridesMaidDress-5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj64_qBH4q7tyHl20fp9FdbKeFBWFeDfcYYZgfzRDlq7L6jC9d_t4MHON5ADly9ZC1TtJkWtxt1jxZdRVx8bGR4gf_P5bIvp157C5RxLNVa_zU6LQ2RvwFSVDoOpevzevH4__rIA80qRE6z/s400/BridesMaidDress-5.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">After weighing our options, we decided to modify the dress converting the back into a corset style. We set out for our local Joann's and found some material to match. The picture lighting makes this look like a lighter color - but the fabric matched pretty well.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja4Oj5zajEiJXVekxS_76iubKoUuNcxb8b3FWoobDL4QQiIqIZ3Ux5YeoTPNKKQjsnBOTKIukreI-8-UivVq_XCJCs5W8-XNxFYxkL96hsFnzKTBigtbt9trazttX28KwZDkDQH-6w8J0b/s1600/BridesMaidDress-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja4Oj5zajEiJXVekxS_76iubKoUuNcxb8b3FWoobDL4QQiIqIZ3Ux5YeoTPNKKQjsnBOTKIukreI-8-UivVq_XCJCs5W8-XNxFYxkL96hsFnzKTBigtbt9trazttX28KwZDkDQH-6w8J0b/s400/BridesMaidDress-3.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">We didn't want the eyelets to stand out, so we found some nail polish and coated the eyelets so they were the same color as the dress.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Our shopping list was:</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>- 1/2 yard of fabric. This ended up being too much, 1/4 yard would have worked with plenty leftover.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>- 3 yards of ribbon. We bought this ribbon because it was the only kind that matched. Again, this was way too much. We ended up cutting it in half.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>- Eyelets</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>- Matching thread</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Her total bill was $10.00, but we could have gotten away with just $5.00 of materials. Live and learn.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigVrxFxctvlGMlVNcZwt3hDX9yEtjplKWD0KWV_C29nEaQYisoh7Cq0jwSmLSrxpBqUlO2YACS_XEpfPfJ_okmrMIXHTGtB8cAyPkWKANYSYU6xh_5mZ0jmkTJYuchmLdqYomMQoL1mQmd/s1600/BridesMaidDress-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigVrxFxctvlGMlVNcZwt3hDX9yEtjplKWD0KWV_C29nEaQYisoh7Cq0jwSmLSrxpBqUlO2YACS_XEpfPfJ_okmrMIXHTGtB8cAyPkWKANYSYU6xh_5mZ0jmkTJYuchmLdqYomMQoL1mQmd/s400/BridesMaidDress-4.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I started out by ripping the zipper out to the waist. Since the dress fit her to the waist, we kept the zipper and just shortened it.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_drwa1VeYSA5S-KAftoI7kKEJ7Rssqliyp_DNocqCr-3B1oQzvmkhS8ULbdTVzSdLh66au6Q2HUFZaX6yLiFaA2tGOdEW5qR3qpXvlZjXmrJAw9h_QVKNfo-zC7M2CGbm_7wvwORvudqQ/s1600/BridesMaidDress-7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_drwa1VeYSA5S-KAftoI7kKEJ7Rssqliyp_DNocqCr-3B1oQzvmkhS8ULbdTVzSdLh66au6Q2HUFZaX6yLiFaA2tGOdEW5qR3qpXvlZjXmrJAw9h_QVKNfo-zC7M2CGbm_7wvwORvudqQ/s400/BridesMaidDress-7.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I was even able to save the metal clip that keeps the zipper from coming off the teeth and reapplied it the top of the shortened zipper. Next, we put in a hem to secure the area where the zipper was.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPYdcIKBRFureh8W2TXVACXuNSVJwioL4H7-6RFvnXo6OKQO5TFiZa2lBhtk3Wy7Gt6JqznOxErcrQM961EBupPSppkVnbrKJizoqb9p8zBCCVgDFx-RyGI095I9Lm4nI8A57vJloIIk0M/s1600/BridesMaidDress-6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPYdcIKBRFureh8W2TXVACXuNSVJwioL4H7-6RFvnXo6OKQO5TFiZa2lBhtk3Wy7Gt6JqznOxErcrQM961EBupPSppkVnbrKJizoqb9p8zBCCVgDFx-RyGI095I9Lm4nI8A57vJloIIk0M/s400/BridesMaidDress-6.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I measured a square about 6x6 of the extra fabric. I sewed the hem all the way around, leaving a small area to be able to turn the fabric inside out. The corners were clipped to lose some of the bulk.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnBIJduqSpy46tEXGDzm8JceTQiSlko7TS0c3pNfMdqMOVkakJLnloegxg-MgmrmdQFCH02nBvEk8eL5POLo43TU2RDPiCIJg8Iqjt7B7971rT0BWMnbMpWv9szuSbnb9uVn-iYEkcIT8E/s1600/BridesMaidDress-8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnBIJduqSpy46tEXGDzm8JceTQiSlko7TS0c3pNfMdqMOVkakJLnloegxg-MgmrmdQFCH02nBvEk8eL5POLo43TU2RDPiCIJg8Iqjt7B7971rT0BWMnbMpWv9szuSbnb9uVn-iYEkcIT8E/s400/BridesMaidDress-8.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">We test fit it into the area we needed to cover.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEite3tzLN0s4vmaBVKMbt_KaVyC84ahAuHTpGpbx0wMr5ZxeqoLnZcO0PIZhp31xrs7gtpq-Rj9g-IWNLHXcC-DQz6lpaD_2n7rTbYoEEfWHH_E56j_MNWOPuD2jR2iPoCGLnEJ6ZauTDb9/s1600/BridesMaidDress-10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEite3tzLN0s4vmaBVKMbt_KaVyC84ahAuHTpGpbx0wMr5ZxeqoLnZcO0PIZhp31xrs7gtpq-Rj9g-IWNLHXcC-DQz6lpaD_2n7rTbYoEEfWHH_E56j_MNWOPuD2jR2iPoCGLnEJ6ZauTDb9/s400/BridesMaidDress-10.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Using my handy eyelet tool, I added the eyelets to each side. Then I sewed the insert making sure the eyelets were free on both side. You can see the thread line on the left outside the eyelets. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Using the tool, scrapped some of the nail polish off, so we need to repair the color. I also screwed up one of the colored eyelets, and ended up putting in a silver one. All can be touched up before wearing.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzCCH6Ge3DIwoBhuTN42aXT0lHv6fXMmWAv26giu5IaI40v-XylYmmcMucsZ0nUqlrMDfUY9_l8aJNfOpEm9bzEGfK29ZjnwYjttXyf3KNjp4WTMjzvKoHPuQSPp1yk_GshRnSvFSZFA7_/s1600/BridesMaidDress-12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzCCH6Ge3DIwoBhuTN42aXT0lHv6fXMmWAv26giu5IaI40v-XylYmmcMucsZ0nUqlrMDfUY9_l8aJNfOpEm9bzEGfK29ZjnwYjttXyf3KNjp4WTMjzvKoHPuQSPp1yk_GshRnSvFSZFA7_/s400/BridesMaidDress-12.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">And ta-da! A wearable dress that actually fits her body exactly for about $10.00 in materials.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqYU2N_hRlptSPnuJwgP3dmKZku-_xxGHT3mIbXA5KXw8EPxP-1CajODzx40ieD75vwUTar6493P23iquY5t3X5FWhtgdQRI45t7eYMfaPm_19pJ10KDCK7FNzNWmXScuoxhqK1OPAM7Qa/s1600/BridesMaidDress-13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqYU2N_hRlptSPnuJwgP3dmKZku-_xxGHT3mIbXA5KXw8EPxP-1CajODzx40ieD75vwUTar6493P23iquY5t3X5FWhtgdQRI45t7eYMfaPm_19pJ10KDCK7FNzNWmXScuoxhqK1OPAM7Qa/s400/BridesMaidDress-13.jpg" width="266" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I think it turned out nice.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixqt2RKC5Nh0rcjZg-tKf0mfy0oBLfiwWeT88RNpvDoWO4kv2w1jJo0W_yqP4SBdfrDj14e75XBFg6S3BcAiJ05sT63LYhwBhlZ3ILdIWzobAO5zKUJR-eKTC4Y8HslwbjpHdONz8statF/s1600/BridesMaidDress-14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixqt2RKC5Nh0rcjZg-tKf0mfy0oBLfiwWeT88RNpvDoWO4kv2w1jJo0W_yqP4SBdfrDj14e75XBFg6S3BcAiJ05sT63LYhwBhlZ3ILdIWzobAO5zKUJR-eKTC4Y8HslwbjpHdONz8statF/s400/BridesMaidDress-14.jpg" width="266" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Happy bridesmaid ... happy bride too. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It was the best solution, it allowed her to keep the same dress as everyone else and now she can breathe.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">That girl ... never keeps a straight face for a picture. :)</span></div>
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/12720963/?claim=z54bxxursnf">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a></div>theTechGrandmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01441740195353013057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8682686269621125994.post-77058791336226392882017-08-05T07:18:00.000-07:002017-08-05T07:18:01.436-07:00detroit maker's faireThis year I had the pleasure of going to the Detroit Maker's Faire at the Henry Ford Museum with Saline Singularity - <span style="text-align: center;">Team 5066, Ann Arbor District winners. </span>This was my first time at a Makers Faire, and I think this one was the place to be.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR22JacGyilWgiH4_jNQMA1AYtXRlCtC_J_CtbRHRdGiSA4zlQq-die2g3wZ_rTH6rY6LRHB3oHnS9jOHgApSbiKjdRsFc6OiNDBplD6y4k-f18eRdwEz2WWmbilEWIpmvkOc-U6c6y4L0/s1600/MakersFaire-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1347" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR22JacGyilWgiH4_jNQMA1AYtXRlCtC_J_CtbRHRdGiSA4zlQq-die2g3wZ_rTH6rY6LRHB3oHnS9jOHgApSbiKjdRsFc6OiNDBplD6y4k-f18eRdwEz2WWmbilEWIpmvkOc-U6c6y4L0/s400/MakersFaire-3.jpg" width="336" /></a></div>
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FIRST Robotics arranged for local teams to do mock competitions all day for the visitors. The playing field was set up. This years theme was "SteamWorks".</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4ESzsbnVTsOg-9U-QfjLLLar21g2ioWd5AtlAi38nVP4UWvYgnn9UZaq0kelxXnUXq42iaAHb4aqJLn0NhqFSzbd6d4hTZV7sk1MqFom63f7NCAjS9R6TEVtDPumMs56WfotVft-Qh1Ec/s1600/IMG_20170729_092718974.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4ESzsbnVTsOg-9U-QfjLLLar21g2ioWd5AtlAi38nVP4UWvYgnn9UZaq0kelxXnUXq42iaAHb4aqJLn0NhqFSzbd6d4hTZV7sk1MqFom63f7NCAjS9R6TEVtDPumMs56WfotVft-Qh1Ec/s400/IMG_20170729_092718974.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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We originally set up on the outside of the big tent. They made us take down our shade tent so the spectators could get a better view of the field.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKEwyobZodkNRTmOmfW7R0j5u5LLO54_xuREvkU6TYW4qLDP6yUL-HbJJN_RQsq0t3Sc1oYbsC1oyAt8LGN3OYUzfE4lC07UJzSd7yL97CvVi0vmf3hp0h8zeI4aW_Hidxrx0JkLshaehf/s1600/MakersFaire-5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKEwyobZodkNRTmOmfW7R0j5u5LLO54_xuREvkU6TYW4qLDP6yUL-HbJJN_RQsq0t3Sc1oYbsC1oyAt8LGN3OYUzfE4lC07UJzSd7yL97CvVi0vmf3hp0h8zeI4aW_Hidxrx0JkLshaehf/s400/MakersFaire-5.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The object of the game was to collect gears and fuel for your steam powered ship. The 2 ships are pictured here. Once you collect enough steam, you fly away with the ship by having your robot climb the attached rope.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiMeYduWfD2IKvv3bmaMI6WJb_Ccvd7NC7OeGBtOTmDHSZNXkEc-zyO1WEDWpTaM34vVFYvofZYXIWQtV4jL8qBbSK5Ka86IYbCH2xpPiZnGIjePdpJJk6s6cyFddlB7NFAIK9hXE-ieG2/s1600/MakersFaire-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiMeYduWfD2IKvv3bmaMI6WJb_Ccvd7NC7OeGBtOTmDHSZNXkEc-zyO1WEDWpTaM34vVFYvofZYXIWQtV4jL8qBbSK5Ka86IYbCH2xpPiZnGIjePdpJJk6s6cyFddlB7NFAIK9hXE-ieG2/s400/MakersFaire-4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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We made the wise decision to move inside the tent so we were out of the sun for the rest of the day. The Saline Singularity club members attended to the robots every need and got it ready for a day of mock competitions.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYBcrXU_7OVwp1NF4uwZwBsOZbsav2EdnMXM7bLObVjAobJwI5D7paw59xwqw-0uRlz7LGzFsMkNxR607seJylKbHpE8FRSMa36bkfVoQE9WckeiaSuPVNkPgkFVwVNMnX9-sFHebTlQll/s1600/MakersFaire-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1213" data-original-width="1600" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYBcrXU_7OVwp1NF4uwZwBsOZbsav2EdnMXM7bLObVjAobJwI5D7paw59xwqw-0uRlz7LGzFsMkNxR607seJylKbHpE8FRSMa36bkfVoQE9WckeiaSuPVNkPgkFVwVNMnX9-sFHebTlQll/s400/MakersFaire-2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The team next to us rallied for a group photo and I grabbed a shot. I wish I had also got a shot of their team number. I have no idea what team this is, but the kids were very nice. Professional graciousness.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj959YGU9Kf0hnWMmjGIclieBf6VJf2LozH_R1Wm77OnnVyCgRaz3RKXoTIn8bPPH-hbRfMbpo3zsdFKbnYRVv2DtwUfTpREXjwQiu1Fxbdiji0_E-tmdNV7zlFbIiognDQ4elIpcX-bq_4/s1600/MakersFaire-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1211" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj959YGU9Kf0hnWMmjGIclieBf6VJf2LozH_R1Wm77OnnVyCgRaz3RKXoTIn8bPPH-hbRfMbpo3zsdFKbnYRVv2DtwUfTpREXjwQiu1Fxbdiji0_E-tmdNV7zlFbIiognDQ4elIpcX-bq_4/s400/MakersFaire-1.jpg" width="302" /></a></div>
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Burke and Holly showed up so we wondered around a bit. I grabbed some photos. This guy was very cool!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKMu-lsMeQ0OPFxYMTqTsrzWGtPBYbn2tvKaI7XROoiFhefSM5-AYjmnpZAIbEtdGF4UnPSrr83kWAX6sSaHfE52H9u3xb1P3tSmm0OPDso0gGJ2etde1mn_TCIwEqtg8zHhnvgMNR1hFv/s1600/MakersFaire-7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKMu-lsMeQ0OPFxYMTqTsrzWGtPBYbn2tvKaI7XROoiFhefSM5-AYjmnpZAIbEtdGF4UnPSrr83kWAX6sSaHfE52H9u3xb1P3tSmm0OPDso0gGJ2etde1mn_TCIwEqtg8zHhnvgMNR1hFv/s400/MakersFaire-7.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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There was a driving one man band.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKTE941i2k0Weu3AJ748JJrYDwVIMeNmDi-45XK64sjzrpFY9KDcmz0UheemfjW7VvIRyCLIYJjVi5oiJkzCMyXAQb6ehRg9cf-Ir1hseaExU_zZ8Sfv0FwqCllOHoM4PYV0rMFEjLYc9i/s1600/MakersFaire-8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1471" data-original-width="1600" height="367" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKTE941i2k0Weu3AJ748JJrYDwVIMeNmDi-45XK64sjzrpFY9KDcmz0UheemfjW7VvIRyCLIYJjVi5oiJkzCMyXAQb6ehRg9cf-Ir1hseaExU_zZ8Sfv0FwqCllOHoM4PYV0rMFEjLYc9i/s400/MakersFaire-8.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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A lot of pedal driven spectacles.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5G0AOOIuh7ef5VoybwBk-rLs9FLUJy2ntkOUxqGZWFNgESJfdb9LSBd6FjZ3Spu6fi6hHXfo9bb2FAUV7Rg92GJkaNRhYQRk2yN95aSG6D0fRF9tyB3BBhv9cYV4TeUJ7zaG7QmQE80J4/s1600/MakersFaire-9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1592" data-original-width="1600" height="397" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5G0AOOIuh7ef5VoybwBk-rLs9FLUJy2ntkOUxqGZWFNgESJfdb9LSBd6FjZ3Spu6fi6hHXfo9bb2FAUV7Rg92GJkaNRhYQRk2yN95aSG6D0fRF9tyB3BBhv9cYV4TeUJ7zaG7QmQE80J4/s400/MakersFaire-9.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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A remote controlled fake dude in a wheel car who spun around and around.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxUpEtamyJGZBq6rVZKO6FeGyZ0hbWyf9Pf_nWuV6IA8qSIBtS-eCLuFZ4SysR5FiZZEgiTBCJlivCIqoYJCfqf7fvx3XJTMgUr-nZuoQWhlwbVI0x87O6KE8E1mKDa3rUrojtuRdIjLje/s1600/MakersFaire-11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxUpEtamyJGZBq6rVZKO6FeGyZ0hbWyf9Pf_nWuV6IA8qSIBtS-eCLuFZ4SysR5FiZZEgiTBCJlivCIqoYJCfqf7fvx3XJTMgUr-nZuoQWhlwbVI0x87O6KE8E1mKDa3rUrojtuRdIjLje/s400/MakersFaire-11.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Teeny tiny bikes</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOMu_S_3CdV6muDMHYwcwWai8yeVkfOH5WxSQrDd19G5Y8w9X7dA499alKvfuCBnLEBlDnQTb0xTWHGSjhrQBM64JWa5BGLHlW_Zall9eJLZ9EniGva2ktCRtzmd-UD93W3CgJjiC6f6Hq/s1600/MakersFaire-12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOMu_S_3CdV6muDMHYwcwWai8yeVkfOH5WxSQrDd19G5Y8w9X7dA499alKvfuCBnLEBlDnQTb0xTWHGSjhrQBM64JWa5BGLHlW_Zall9eJLZ9EniGva2ktCRtzmd-UD93W3CgJjiC6f6Hq/s400/MakersFaire-12.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Big bikes</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQgpCGpP330qiYwq5c-aqSnjs75-ap9Iwljr49b0rs7NQvXqTl4NIDjYVkQue3LW6JZzPAHUNglEVPeGNwnIgbQCiPyw62iPH_Dml_qs4Aujr1v9gh3bhjO-Nom5lfwfQtGwcmFPSLvEdd/s1600/MakersFaire-14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQgpCGpP330qiYwq5c-aqSnjs75-ap9Iwljr49b0rs7NQvXqTl4NIDjYVkQue3LW6JZzPAHUNglEVPeGNwnIgbQCiPyw62iPH_Dml_qs4Aujr1v9gh3bhjO-Nom5lfwfQtGwcmFPSLvEdd/s400/MakersFaire-14.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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And specialty bikes.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3E-8uh5li1Zv-Xcg00H4fQqJpxZMCObG5oeO4i3-Z5TRP_LLHsdIGqSZqUB-H13GnsPIfjE6aa_PUraKObriFY0Hlb0m-VL2OvMz7HI21ZeGvNhcoGX_ByJ2ndbbL9A6rrwG7XVXv5WLS/s1600/MakersFaire-17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3E-8uh5li1Zv-Xcg00H4fQqJpxZMCObG5oeO4i3-Z5TRP_LLHsdIGqSZqUB-H13GnsPIfjE6aa_PUraKObriFY0Hlb0m-VL2OvMz7HI21ZeGvNhcoGX_ByJ2ndbbL9A6rrwG7XVXv5WLS/s400/MakersFaire-17.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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Tons of exhibits and fun things to do.</div>
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Makers and designers of all types. Some of the coolest fabric art.</div>
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This was a part of a sound contest they were having. Lots of different exhibits doing some cool things with sound. Thought this was cool - breakfast sounds. Loved the display. Breakfast of champions!</div>
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Lots of people walking through the vendor craft booths.</div>
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A robotic horse. Quite possibly nothing cooler.</div>
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Even saw a UFO who was very friendly.</div>
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One of the FIRST teams brought this, which was awesome. A robotic garage can - took the garage out for you. lol!</div>
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It was a perfect day for the Maker's Faire and a great way to expose the FIRST Robotic program to many, many spectators. The crowds were lined up outside the tent all day. Our kids had fun doing mock competitions all day and really got the crowd going.</div>
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I'm super proud of our club and I'm glad to be one of the mentors.</div>
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/12720963/?claim=z54bxxursnf">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a></div>theTechGrandmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01441740195353013057noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8682686269621125994.post-63551796196763807982017-07-09T15:59:00.001-07:002017-07-09T15:59:21.413-07:00this.woman in techI remember when the first Apple PC entered into my workplace. I really don't remember which model it was, but there it sat on Julie's desk in all it's glory. "When are you going to use it, Julie?", I asked. "I'm too busy to play with that thing." she replied. She didn't mind that I tinkered with it, but she soon was forced to begin using it - and I slowly relinquished the metal piece of beauty.<br />
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A few years later, I finally received a computer of my own in the workplace. The IBM PC was set up for me and I couldn't be happier. It was so easy, bending the software into my bidding. The excitement was unsurpassed when I received my first IBM 386 with actual hard drives.<br />
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I've been through almost 30 years in tech. From the personal computers, to networks, to building amazing software.<br />
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The tech world has changed so much in the last 30 years. I'm not sure what happened to the women over the years - I can't say for sure. I do remember a time when other women joined me on the technical teams I played a part in. Now they are few.<br />
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I do chuckle when I walk into a big box store with my husband, looking for a new hardware gadget, and have the young men walk up and address my husband about our technical needs. He just points his finger at me. "She's the one you need to address", he'll say. How I love seeing the confusion in their eyes. Women don't do tech, right?<br />
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One thing is for sure - the tech world is a man's world. I do hope not for long. Things move fast, and you have to keep up. It's not for the faint of heart. It's a constant battle to stay ahead of the new evolving technology.<br />
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I've spent so long being overlooked, the single female at conferences, tech meetups, companies - it almost doesn't faze me. Almost. I have to admit - it still stings when they reach across you to talk tech to the men on opposite sides of me.<br />
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I've always loved the challenge - both with tech and the men in it. Some men have been very supportive and some have not. One thing is for sure - I had to work twice as hard for less money and respect, but I became fierce. I'm thankful to those who made me second guess my competence - I only stepped up my game.<br />
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Now, this.woman, with no college degree and almost 30 years of technical fierceness has recently become Director of Software Development for a small start up company. The potential is huge and the challenge has been accepted.<br />
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I love mentoring young software developers. I love creating cutting edge software and networks. I love that my fight has not been for nothing. I love there is more fight in me even now as a woman of grandchildren.<br />
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I am a maker. I love my life.<br />
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/12720963/?claim=z54bxxursnf">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a></div>theTechGrandmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01441740195353013057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8682686269621125994.post-24402215006254878502017-06-17T09:09:00.000-07:002017-06-17T13:23:23.732-07:00grandson rant - laney turns 14!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
The fourth in a long line of Robert Lane Mucke's, I've always called him Laney. His parents call him Boo or Pie or sometimes even Bobby. I actually think he might prefer Robert.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2rznJM99REvLU5h0QZalNXtbmNGyGR0DmgsCmI_Q7BEaO0ViHp7QK7LZhWWBcifzOyRe-9XtRQMwYxMUZ4-SDDE9QBgjQl-Fqw-SwF4dqwZYcVRYFpRo4Vcx-NvzDF6Ouk9GfzFym7YKQ/s1600/1146657_10152301086609866_1781350458_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="590" data-original-width="878" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2rznJM99REvLU5h0QZalNXtbmNGyGR0DmgsCmI_Q7BEaO0ViHp7QK7LZhWWBcifzOyRe-9XtRQMwYxMUZ4-SDDE9QBgjQl-Fqw-SwF4dqwZYcVRYFpRo4Vcx-NvzDF6Ouk9GfzFym7YKQ/s400/1146657_10152301086609866_1781350458_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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His dad and grand dad are Bobby, so I stick with Laney.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd5LfWOhCm6oD-bvtSMEdugF6_DYgpeIL_zertiio2spY4nZroBMYGQmscwAyHZdgPn4gl5VMjfArZm0UImoWegGQZvxdMKGMvXnQH9GpG-Agtsb_GG67fwrcA4rKF2P3PWt8qsH2MUNSg/s1600/227668_10150173222944866_7774555_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="567" data-original-width="720" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd5LfWOhCm6oD-bvtSMEdugF6_DYgpeIL_zertiio2spY4nZroBMYGQmscwAyHZdgPn4gl5VMjfArZm0UImoWegGQZvxdMKGMvXnQH9GpG-Agtsb_GG67fwrcA4rKF2P3PWt8qsH2MUNSg/s400/227668_10150173222944866_7774555_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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When he was little I called him Laney Bug. His father was never happy about that and when the kids started calling him Lady Bug .... I figured it was time to phase that nickname out. Look how beautiful they are.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5-C1NBaujqvtFKKVXMEzhlGmEALz3BICCFUWA5GoNIhkbPjNhP3lMWTjTjyvN1-_SWe5KJMl_lz0L4LWluPcK8_Hfte4OOQKGCMR4L-Q6YYdjHCT2YrilRWPg7wUE1ybBx0mLokM6MsqO/s1600/131811_483076399865_7793527_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5-C1NBaujqvtFKKVXMEzhlGmEALz3BICCFUWA5GoNIhkbPjNhP3lMWTjTjyvN1-_SWe5KJMl_lz0L4LWluPcK8_Hfte4OOQKGCMR4L-Q6YYdjHCT2YrilRWPg7wUE1ybBx0mLokM6MsqO/s400/131811_483076399865_7793527_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Sweet, smart, mischievous, rambunctious, and sports minded.</div>
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Now he's 14. Always a momma and daddy's boy. Never far from home.</div>
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Although never a hugger. Even gave his mom a fat lip while struggling to be released from her hug when he was young.</div>
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Loves his grand dad extra special and the feeling is mutual. They love hunting and spend a lot of time together. </div>
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Loves baseball, basketball, bowling, video games, and all forms of technology.</div>
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Was never a picky eater, always tried new things.</div>
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Forever wanted a little brother or sister - finally after 11 years, he got his wish.</div>
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For his birthday this year, he wanted to spend it with us.</div>
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Both him and William came over and set up the basement for playing video games.</div>
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We went to the mall, did some shopping, had dinner and went to the driving range for a bucket of balls.</div>
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And when I asked him to pose for some pictures, he did without argument. He's even sporting the shirt he and I made together during one of his weekends here. I love that he still likes coming over and doing projects with me. I love that we share the appreciation of technology together. I love this guy and I love the man he's starting to become.</div>
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Happy birthday Laney! I'm so blessed to have you in my life.</div>
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/12720963/?claim=z54bxxursnf">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a></div>theTechGrandmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01441740195353013057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8682686269621125994.post-56647726368860060452017-05-28T05:53:00.001-07:002017-05-28T05:58:37.919-07:00wpf, prism, inotifydataerrorinfo and fluent validation<div class="tr_bq">
Time for a technical post. Recently my team began work on a new product and the architecture that was selected was WPF, Prism with Unity. Yea I know ..... but we went with WPF because of the intensiveness of the graphics we need to use. The design patterns we choose was Prism with Unity and MVVM. The following samples were taken from efforts to collect data needed to create a connection string for a Maria DB.
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As we began looking at a validation implementation, we looked at Fluent Validation. After tinkering around, it seemed very well like by the community and seemed like a great way to manage validation rules.
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We started constructing our base class. We created our own ValidatableBindableBase class which which inherits from Prism's BindableBase and INotifyDataErrorInfo. With the INotifyDataErrorInfo, we're implementing the interface with a dictionary, adding and removing items to the dictionary when the DataErrorsChangedEventArgs fires.
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So this is the model in which our classes will be built upon. Nothing special, just defining our properties in our model. Notice the model also inherits from our base class - ValidatableBindableBase.
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Using Fluent Validation, we created our validation rules based on our model. Fluent Validation makes it incredibly easy to construct rulesets using lambda expressions. Just pass in the entity type to the AbstractValidator base class.
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Here I'm showing the view (a partial view of our view) which demonstrates the controls. We are using DevExpress controls here. The controls bind to the viewmodel properties and uses the ValidatesOnNotifyDataErrors attribute set to True. Now the control subscribes to the error raised in the changed DataErrorsChangedEventArgs.
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Lastly, the viewmodel. During the construction of the viewmodel, the Save delegate is registered. When the user clicks the save button, the validation is fired. What a joy it was to see the validation fields light up.
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It took a little while to get it constructed just right, but I really like this implementation.
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<div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/12720963/?claim=z54bxxursnf">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a></div>theTechGrandmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01441740195353013057noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8682686269621125994.post-51357028022057122922017-05-14T08:20:00.001-07:002017-05-14T08:20:33.899-07:00rain barrel 2.0<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
This year I was ready to begin my rain barrels 2.0. My goal is to have full pressure spray from my rain barrels, powered by solar. Well .... let's start by cleaning them up. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVGmFGOHXRW9HymW03EiLmAtCkkmppvbhNMYXgJPEFtidJVo8mIOOOJZWveM5daW3665APg68I3k2e4-fYIyTR0D_QRxr2oBxtT0kaycB4TFo-vIky0UzWCqpc_dTcUO5TpSQP4TuEWQXr/s1600/RainBarrel-9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVGmFGOHXRW9HymW03EiLmAtCkkmppvbhNMYXgJPEFtidJVo8mIOOOJZWveM5daW3665APg68I3k2e4-fYIyTR0D_QRxr2oBxtT0kaycB4TFo-vIky0UzWCqpc_dTcUO5TpSQP4TuEWQXr/s640/RainBarrel-9.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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I pulled them from under the deck (where they are stored for the winter) and cleaned them out really good.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQSyqREXv5_NncLxgXSltHicPUMkPEMr_Mgk57uB7IAbWGRQQV263DzbYFN3C9rwGh02ZEsk9cDbMKypi7Gc8ddcLLEOuRx-2Lmz2Qwm5hOze84VnntKc8bxeWi2zTn6xhDlD9RfNKOQwu/s1600/RainBarrel-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQSyqREXv5_NncLxgXSltHicPUMkPEMr_Mgk57uB7IAbWGRQQV263DzbYFN3C9rwGh02ZEsk9cDbMKypi7Gc8ddcLLEOuRx-2Lmz2Qwm5hOze84VnntKc8bxeWi2zTn6xhDlD9RfNKOQwu/s640/RainBarrel-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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I got them for $45 from my local water treatment plan several years ago. They work great, except the pressure is not enough to get water through them. I ended up using water pails to move water to my garden. Not much fun or efficient.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8HpPEHw2CKShppZy_L-mcFqDOhusmRLO6ivLDd27CFp0m75JVpjoGJETrlwGqwN1mUlTzBPQvt1oflT074rmfeDOmWOOdjXNbZK7c9XnTWyonaXfQtClURvegIvb0sYyFsaLWvWMNLmBj/s1600/RainBarrel-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8HpPEHw2CKShppZy_L-mcFqDOhusmRLO6ivLDd27CFp0m75JVpjoGJETrlwGqwN1mUlTzBPQvt1oflT074rmfeDOmWOOdjXNbZK7c9XnTWyonaXfQtClURvegIvb0sYyFsaLWvWMNLmBj/s640/RainBarrel-3.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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I didn't use them last year and of course, no rain most of the summer. Not jinxing this summer, bring them out.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikbNGyz-0cBKYfMyl78iLFkfRE0YIERGot50nTVXxrRac9JwkFHrGGfbY5uDry0a6ltB0CPL3a_vYCFRuEu5Iu-FyDz1pr0MUC6r8XNXZf-1Ytf5LWX1XXymUszkHhUD_3FvGiMzAObYm7/s1600/34704.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikbNGyz-0cBKYfMyl78iLFkfRE0YIERGot50nTVXxrRac9JwkFHrGGfbY5uDry0a6ltB0CPL3a_vYCFRuEu5Iu-FyDz1pr0MUC6r8XNXZf-1Ytf5LWX1XXymUszkHhUD_3FvGiMzAObYm7/s640/34704.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div>
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I went off to the nearest big box store and purchased about 3 of these.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1IWV65KnGjQo-8et0tKLeBRj62OE5eNOD9hIq5LLFqQ6I5XYBXKiuZbMoafVkq1qAkLRrQa2U1g4ihXB1Im4oQyMdnoO7qgjnFmgAmoQwLVihEJpvkRpypHp2qPhnJAEW8zB0p9qO6QRp/s1600/RainBarrel-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1IWV65KnGjQo-8et0tKLeBRj62OE5eNOD9hIq5LLFqQ6I5XYBXKiuZbMoafVkq1qAkLRrQa2U1g4ihXB1Im4oQyMdnoO7qgjnFmgAmoQwLVihEJpvkRpypHp2qPhnJAEW8zB0p9qO6QRp/s640/RainBarrel-4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Couple of coats and a few days later .... all done.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnfMp6imHOzZqHlNgVFqWD4eGaosj0pqoWtlZ2pLPDCwg-j2VcUXdwrc0_UyzpHsyN-B34nAIyZODEAnoj_3jUHmpTD8gfzHzRKZH3A0m07DY6DxZXE0-Ew4IWXPesxmw4Q1z6HbNO7yoa/s1600/RainBarrel-8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnfMp6imHOzZqHlNgVFqWD4eGaosj0pqoWtlZ2pLPDCwg-j2VcUXdwrc0_UyzpHsyN-B34nAIyZODEAnoj_3jUHmpTD8gfzHzRKZH3A0m07DY6DxZXE0-Ew4IWXPesxmw4Q1z6HbNO7yoa/s640/RainBarrel-8.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://a.co/52WqY5t" target="_blank">Next, I purchased a highly recommended water pump from Amazon. </a>It is the cutest, little portable guy. It is electric .... so this year, I'll plug it in. Next year though ...... solar power!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMCcwf9grP0xrqjKpiZDZxRn62Sp6og8D_BsRVKSIh6Fxw6A-NGKnSKVIX6UcC4Hxnhc501U2jEjdouOTtr6Z6BDhWspAOgt9C5TAScQVgGJvxXoKj16zK5k_EHN3iIR3UyFL0TB5wAehr/s1600/RainBarrel-5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMCcwf9grP0xrqjKpiZDZxRn62Sp6og8D_BsRVKSIh6Fxw6A-NGKnSKVIX6UcC4Hxnhc501U2jEjdouOTtr6Z6BDhWspAOgt9C5TAScQVgGJvxXoKj16zK5k_EHN3iIR3UyFL0TB5wAehr/s640/RainBarrel-5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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We plugged in the hose and turned on the pump. And TA-DA, pull pressure!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY7X04n_7XkAmXaDSMvV6JPJ6vjg7HLcAvqnL_aOWV6mg4VzpCzsW_rrFEN7s_-rDrlceIl9N1jnToyGkjzm6VtCifIxiqD40Fy5Xt806dr1zgfw9mcGqYLw6vRfCv58acPUfFaD7rPKTz/s1600/RainBarrel-6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY7X04n_7XkAmXaDSMvV6JPJ6vjg7HLcAvqnL_aOWV6mg4VzpCzsW_rrFEN7s_-rDrlceIl9N1jnToyGkjzm6VtCifIxiqD40Fy5Xt806dr1zgfw9mcGqYLw6vRfCv58acPUfFaD7rPKTz/s640/RainBarrel-6.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Nice solid pressure directly from the rain barrels.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMrrnBGrBBvCFiWHHbzLvaeIMF85Ua8V27uQKTYXRejLhhxk4onssNVMZAStGXUhzQNJ2uiNd7S4heiqkGSEY7V_R7He97AThR4mRGFUmhbbvVI9vbY3Aj-Epyx8NRQL9XI1xgVM_vnbRd/s1600/RainBarrel-7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMrrnBGrBBvCFiWHHbzLvaeIMF85Ua8V27uQKTYXRejLhhxk4onssNVMZAStGXUhzQNJ2uiNd7S4heiqkGSEY7V_R7He97AThR4mRGFUmhbbvVI9vbY3Aj-Epyx8NRQL9XI1xgVM_vnbRd/s640/RainBarrel-7.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Now ... I have the coolest rain barrels that provide full pressure to a garden hose. Look out garden, full organic rain water - all for you.</div>
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/12720963/?claim=z54bxxursnf">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a></div>theTechGrandmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01441740195353013057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8682686269621125994.post-15367646118524863412017-04-16T09:27:00.000-07:002017-04-16T09:38:18.072-07:00papa's hat<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Between our vacation to Frankfort last year and the recent trip to Myrtle Beach, I've been very inspired by the beach. When we returned from Frankfort, I added white linen window treatments and made new slip covers for the furniture .... the color of the ocean.</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-p6DlM3ohpcw/WPOS3TB3oKI/AAAAAAAAV6g/mhaaiWp-Uf8Hx9cKD8_YrpTqxcS_IFKMQCPcB/s1600/PapasHat-10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-p6DlM3ohpcw/WPOS3TB3oKI/AAAAAAAAV6g/mhaaiWp-Uf8Hx9cKD8_YrpTqxcS_IFKMQCPcB/s640/PapasHat-10.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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Now it was time to think about new art. </div>
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This was a picture I took of Matthew at Myrtle Beach in South Carolina. He was intimidated by the ocean waves and wouldn't go near the water, but he had fun with the sun, sand and water from the bucket.</div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jW7SXL2hGA0/WOo6ON9vp6I/AAAAAAAAV3Y/XsjX5PaYIoUCv3W-9RaqIfRBRTjgxlZ7QCPcB/s1600/IMG_20170409_091722810.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jW7SXL2hGA0/WOo6ON9vp6I/AAAAAAAAV3Y/XsjX5PaYIoUCv3W-9RaqIfRBRTjgxlZ7QCPcB/s640/IMG_20170409_091722810.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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After I got back from the Myrtle Beach trip, I finished this almost done painting for the art portion of my beach theme for the living room.</div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NfspJcQ8yZ0/WOo6OObCq4I/AAAAAAAAV3Y/ktlyPC2LI9kknrwg9v_-0hJL1jmyWWnOACPcB/s1600/IMG_20170404_122557272.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NfspJcQ8yZ0/WOo6OObCq4I/AAAAAAAAV3Y/ktlyPC2LI9kknrwg9v_-0hJL1jmyWWnOACPcB/s640/IMG_20170404_122557272.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
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Then I began my second painting, inspired by this picture of Matthew.</div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Loc_UrWqSyY/WPOS3bh7T2I/AAAAAAAAV6g/F8wGDciEgx0Qg-G_wworkPtr3FQ4Ct32wCPcB/s1600/PapasHat-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Loc_UrWqSyY/WPOS3bh7T2I/AAAAAAAAV6g/F8wGDciEgx0Qg-G_wworkPtr3FQ4Ct32wCPcB/s640/PapasHat-4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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I printed off the picture on this great little photo printer.</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZUNceeItETM/WPOS3WFYy0I/AAAAAAAAV6g/Ma5OKVckCfQwEHexs8c7moLQpCxEGQ6IACPcB/s1600/PapasHat-5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZUNceeItETM/WPOS3WFYy0I/AAAAAAAAV6g/Ma5OKVckCfQwEHexs8c7moLQpCxEGQ6IACPcB/s640/PapasHat-5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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OK, it's a little blurry, but it's a Canon Selphy CP900. I absolutely love this thing! It's wireless and uses a heat to transfer the ink to the paper, so no more ink drying out before you can use it. The color is amazing and the photos turn out spectacular. I printed out the photo so I can use it as reference during the painting process.</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PnmWg6LcDRk/WPOS3X2RL4I/AAAAAAAAV6g/2Ukdse6QX_oIiIw0by0h5lOg1Zxn-68YwCPcB/s1600/PapasHat-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PnmWg6LcDRk/WPOS3X2RL4I/AAAAAAAAV6g/2Ukdse6QX_oIiIw0by0h5lOg1Zxn-68YwCPcB/s640/PapasHat-3.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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I transferred the photo to this little projector I bought Holly a few years ago for her birthday. She never uses it and I snatched it up for painting. It's great for projecting photos onto my canvases. <a href="http://www.thetechgrandma.com/2015/01/transfer-images-to-canvas.html" target="_blank">There's more about this product during my blog post here.</a></div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OOoupOtADWs/WPOS3aHsE2I/AAAAAAAAV6g/cmVlNv6eZJExHsfTdiKHiFroDOYNuP8zgCPcB/s1600/PapasHat-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OOoupOtADWs/WPOS3aHsE2I/AAAAAAAAV6g/cmVlNv6eZJExHsfTdiKHiFroDOYNuP8zgCPcB/s640/PapasHat-2.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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I wait until night so the picture is very clear without the sunlight washing parts of it out. I adjust the projector so it fills the canvas. Using my pencil, I draw the outline.</div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4ae9RF8Hubc/WPOS3ZwtChI/AAAAAAAAV6g/mlZYu0ZUbHIseobW2o3NFUgBKHLOR0lQACPcB/s1600/PapasHat-7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4ae9RF8Hubc/WPOS3ZwtChI/AAAAAAAAV6g/mlZYu0ZUbHIseobW2o3NFUgBKHLOR0lQACPcB/s640/PapasHat-7.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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The next morning I got set on blocking in the canvas with mostly neutral colors. I used a piece of masking tape to paint the distinction between the water and sand and then blended it a bit.</div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6BzhEtn1vS8/WPOS3bQ2I6I/AAAAAAAAV6g/TW0rMKrN0wA3Ht_l_E1jlbcW9HKMqvCGwCPcB/s1600/PapasHat-8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6BzhEtn1vS8/WPOS3bQ2I6I/AAAAAAAAV6g/TW0rMKrN0wA3Ht_l_E1jlbcW9HKMqvCGwCPcB/s640/PapasHat-8.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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The sand and water, I went ahead and used the right color values.</div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XDOXFi04Fc4/WPOS3cFiNII/AAAAAAAAV6g/V7KLSHpKk_EgvbM4Gx0nPF9GSMhNNKU1QCPcB/s1600/PapasHat-9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XDOXFi04Fc4/WPOS3cFiNII/AAAAAAAAV6g/V7KLSHpKk_EgvbM4Gx0nPF9GSMhNNKU1QCPcB/s640/PapasHat-9.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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The body and buckets I used light, medium and dark neutral tones just to get the color values in place. I let it set for about a week before I could find time to return to it.</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ci2I0aAspGY/WPOS3XOBT7I/AAAAAAAAV6g/Cn_dHhQ2wU4t4U5fkhmig3i5e8srS3WVACPcB/s1600/PapasHat-12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ci2I0aAspGY/WPOS3XOBT7I/AAAAAAAAV6g/Cn_dHhQ2wU4t4U5fkhmig3i5e8srS3WVACPcB/s640/PapasHat-12.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Bringing out my arsenal of supplies, I got to work.</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DSlH1su3oIg/WPOS3Z8NuAI/AAAAAAAAV6g/RfD-dQHvk0M6pK4vcBTqOAePKDMECPtHQCPcB/s1600/PapasHat-13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DSlH1su3oIg/WPOS3Z8NuAI/AAAAAAAAV6g/RfD-dQHvk0M6pK4vcBTqOAePKDMECPtHQCPcB/s640/PapasHat-13.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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And finished up with the right color values.</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-p6DlM3ohpcw/WPOS3TB3oKI/AAAAAAAAV6g/mhaaiWp-Uf8Hx9cKD8_YrpTqxcS_IFKMQCPcB/s1600/PapasHat-10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-p6DlM3ohpcw/WPOS3TB3oKI/AAAAAAAAV6g/mhaaiWp-Uf8Hx9cKD8_YrpTqxcS_IFKMQCPcB/s640/PapasHat-10.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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I really love how well it came out. It'll have a prime spot in my living room. What I really appreciated about this painting is just how well it came together. Quick too. There was less time thinking about values and composition. Within a week, and I'm done. Sometimes when I paint, I'm not always sure when I'm done. I agonize and criticize over the composition and my skills. This time .... I knew I was done.</div>
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The memory of this moment brings me happiness.</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/12720963/?claim=z54bxxursnf">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a></div>theTechGrandmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01441740195353013057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8682686269621125994.post-13381407598480357612017-04-09T07:48:00.000-07:002017-04-09T07:51:17.266-07:00myrtle beach, south carolina<div style="text-align: center;">
This year for Christmas instead of buying gifts that will be lost, damaged, or just irrelevant over time - I offered the kids an opportunity to join us on vacation in Myrtle Beach. All but one took us up on the offer, so I booked us a three bedroom condo on the north end of Myrtle Beach and some airline tickets. It was one of my favorite vacations, and here are some of my favorite moments.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihgW3WKw465uVevjKUSvSMtFKqHGl_k6o4OFsf_ahkVsJAeVPg_O854pb9j72nmSXp-gW9obgiXZ2kWIrS_sBPLxsuBD3oCQ-9OsvvAdAosQJjKThDyJ9zgv44OuAwIYyNCLB_xXt0lial/s1600/Day4-5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihgW3WKw465uVevjKUSvSMtFKqHGl_k6o4OFsf_ahkVsJAeVPg_O854pb9j72nmSXp-gW9obgiXZ2kWIrS_sBPLxsuBD3oCQ-9OsvvAdAosQJjKThDyJ9zgv44OuAwIYyNCLB_xXt0lial/s640/Day4-5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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We'll start with my favorite sunrise photo during the week.</div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ki9N7x_7CwA/WOo9DX8OvpI/AAAAAAAAV4M/FewsydWMgy0yPGRb5IkdMEKIK9fVQr-3ACPcB/s1600/SAM_7104.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ki9N7x_7CwA/WOo9DX8OvpI/AAAAAAAAV4M/FewsydWMgy0yPGRb5IkdMEKIK9fVQr-3ACPcB/s640/SAM_7104.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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We left Detroit on this guy's 16th birthday. I'm not exactly sure how he got to be 16 already. Who allowed that? Happy birthday to an awesome grandson!</div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8NpSwG2Kpn8/WOo6OBqxiDI/AAAAAAAAV3Q/wMT1RQ_crXIxUGLxnrYEBuHJBt9wSrPWgCPcB/s1600/SAM_7105.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8NpSwG2Kpn8/WOo6OBqxiDI/AAAAAAAAV3Q/wMT1RQ_crXIxUGLxnrYEBuHJBt9wSrPWgCPcB/s640/SAM_7105.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Our hotel room faced the east, so we got the beautiful sunrises coming through our condo windows.</div>
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I actually slept through this one, but Burke grabbed my camera and took some amazing shots.</div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6VFfbMu8--g/WOo6OAEzotI/AAAAAAAAV3Q/Sydp0iuEbHog-k9y54YK9TPNWvIV7zehwCPcB/s1600/Day2-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="572" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6VFfbMu8--g/WOo6OAEzotI/AAAAAAAAV3Q/Sydp0iuEbHog-k9y54YK9TPNWvIV7zehwCPcB/s640/Day2-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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I booked us on a ocean tour, dolphin watching boat ride through <a href="https://www.expresswatersports.com/" target="_blank">Express Watersports</a>. We were all super excited to go.</div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UuSf36e8ik4/WOo6OPTLgkI/AAAAAAAAV3Q/hGupyIIPP2oFnHyqCzfjXb7EcJwQ7UvggCPcB/s1600/Day2-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="466" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UuSf36e8ik4/WOo6OPTLgkI/AAAAAAAAV3Q/hGupyIIPP2oFnHyqCzfjXb7EcJwQ7UvggCPcB/s640/Day2-2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The waves were a little rough and motion sickness set in pretty quickly.</div>
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It became hard to enjoy the ride - but we did see some dolphins. The crew was very nice and really tried to help with our motion sickness. The boat was very nice too - plenty of room to move around.</div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XSK89bhVu7I/WOo6OLpdefI/AAAAAAAAV3Q/omF9_eII0cQ98c4cb9_KFMRtmsO77gqVACPcB/s1600/Day2-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="522" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XSK89bhVu7I/WOo6OLpdefI/AAAAAAAAV3Q/omF9_eII0cQ98c4cb9_KFMRtmsO77gqVACPcB/s640/Day2-4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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This picture was taken right before he went out like a light. Slept through most of the trip, which was probably to combat his motion sickness.</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NfspJcQ8yZ0/WOo6OObCq4I/AAAAAAAAV3Q/_01pKJIAvWkvbm3hrwkVkG37j35CHMC7ACPcB/s1600/IMG_20170404_122557272.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NfspJcQ8yZ0/WOo6OObCq4I/AAAAAAAAV3Q/_01pKJIAvWkvbm3hrwkVkG37j35CHMC7ACPcB/s640/IMG_20170404_122557272.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
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The next day was much nicer and we spent the day at the beach, collecting shells and enjoying the sun.</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EtaBH88UPac/WOo6OM5BwxI/AAAAAAAAV3Q/x0YBlExyu9UfYxNOOl30IDdmchb7BUkQwCPcB/s1600/Day3-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EtaBH88UPac/WOo6OM5BwxI/AAAAAAAAV3Q/x0YBlExyu9UfYxNOOl30IDdmchb7BUkQwCPcB/s640/Day3-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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I got my camera out and started shooting some pictures.</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pB0ZPlHswNw/WOo6OA7n17I/AAAAAAAAV3Q/Zl_gYj8BhvQbVWosVGGeniWc1S3fymV7gCPcB/s1600/Day3-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pB0ZPlHswNw/WOo6OA7n17I/AAAAAAAAV3Q/Zl_gYj8BhvQbVWosVGGeniWc1S3fymV7gCPcB/s640/Day3-2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Looking for inspiration for my next painting.</div>
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This guy walked up and down the beach for miles.</div>
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Looking specifically at the shape and flow water makes for my painting research.</div>
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This was the condo where we stayed. It was very lovely, 3 bedrooms and 3 baths. Every room had a perfect view of the ocean. The owners, Diane and Jim made our trip really comfortable and we enjoyed staying here. <a href="https://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p737408vb" target="_blank">If you're interested, you can find the rental info here.</a> Matthew kept calling this place, "The Tower", so ..... forever named.</div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_FnUdhpLt78/WOo6OMjbExI/AAAAAAAAV3Q/DWuCif64jWML6Jq7vipdA6COCoyJ5exrACPcB/s1600/Day3-7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_FnUdhpLt78/WOo6OMjbExI/AAAAAAAAV3Q/DWuCif64jWML6Jq7vipdA6COCoyJ5exrACPcB/s640/Day3-7.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Burke found a dead jelly fish on the beach. All the tentacles were torn off, but the body was so interesting.</div>
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I got out my macro lens and took some close ups. </div>
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This really was just a clump on sand along the shoreline. Cool right?</div>
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I booked the kids to go to an Escape Room where you find clues to get out of the room. They had a great time. While they were gone, me and this guy went on our own adventure. We set out for a walk along the beach and boardwalk with my camera.</div>
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We came across this singing bird.</div>
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And some sandcastles.</div>
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There were wind advisories out and the wind kept trying to take his hat. He kept yelling, "my hat Nana!"</div>
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I finally got up in time one morning for the sunrise and I wasn't disappointed. This was taken from the balcony off the condo. The weather was rainy and stormy most of the week. We saw several severe storms and even had a tornado warning.</div>
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On our last day, we checked out of the condo and had several hours to kill before heading to the airport. We ended up going to <a href="https://www.facebook.com/HCPR-Vereen-Memorial-Gardens-CB-Berry-Recreation-Center-353774794672168/" target="_blank">Vereen Memorial Historical Gardens</a>, <a href="http://myrtlebeachartmuseum.org/" target="_blank">Franklin G Burroughs</a>, we played putt putt golf, and walked around <a href="http://www.marketcommonmb.com/" target="_blank">the Market Common.</a> Laney insisted I take his photo here at Putt Putt even though the sign clearly said to not stick your hands inside the sharks mouth. But ... it didn't say anything about heads, soooo.....</div>
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Then we headed back home to more wind, snow, sleet, and cold.</div>
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Relaxing at home, I was able to finish my painting adding the little research touches I found during my trip.</div>
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Time to start my next beach painting.</div>
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/12720963/?claim=z54bxxursnf">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a></div>theTechGrandmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01441740195353013057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8682686269621125994.post-17198349002331707752017-02-25T08:32:00.002-08:002017-02-25T08:32:09.174-08:00robotics<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
I been distracted lately from writing new articles, so today I'll do a little catching up. I started a new job AND began mentoring for the Saline Singularity Robotics Programming team for Saline High School, all about the same time. Our six week build cycle ended last Tuesday and now it's time to take a breath.</div>
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The last Saturday of the build, I brought my camera in for some fun pictures. It didn't take too much coaxing to get these guys out doors on a beautiful sunny day for some team photos. Michael (on the end, left) is the Team Lead.</div>
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This is the programming team, minus 2 guys. And this .... is their best robot pose. Haha!</div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SzfjzAqs9hc/WLGkgIsEtkI/AAAAAAAAVxo/Z7CAjHGg2L83YFstKwzYKEighV5xF7CqQCPcB/s1600/IMG_20170221_183105712.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SzfjzAqs9hc/WLGkgIsEtkI/AAAAAAAAVxo/Z7CAjHGg2L83YFstKwzYKEighV5xF7CqQCPcB/s640/IMG_20170221_183105712.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
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And finally, the robot. The game released from FRC was themed "SteamPunk" and the game was all about powering and flying an airship. Cool. You have to fill a airship with balls (steam) and put together a rotor. Lastly, the robot has to "fly" by grabbing on to a rope and pulling itself up.</div>
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Let's rewind a little. Kickoff began like this. Everyone gathered in the Hornet Hub to socialize and watch the kickoff video from FRC (First Robotics Competition). The room was filled and the excitement was contagious. Then ... the plan was created. Represented here is 4 of the 5 leads for each area.... Business, Electronics, Programming, and Cad. Where the heck is mechanical?</div>
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Ah, there he is. The guy standing up on the right.</div>
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It's nice being in a school district that has it's own metals lab. The whole thing was designed and built at Saline High School. So the mentors and students got busy designing and making the robot. </div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-y0o0UVXeJFM/WLGjNa738mI/AAAAAAAAVxE/ZeGy1Bbv4MsiAGlTXzxK7CHKYyBFnzU2QCPcB/s1600/IMG_20170208_191018265_TOP.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-y0o0UVXeJFM/WLGjNa738mI/AAAAAAAAVxE/ZeGy1Bbv4MsiAGlTXzxK7CHKYyBFnzU2QCPcB/s640/IMG_20170208_191018265_TOP.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
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And testing it.</div>
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And fixing it.</div>
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And testing it some more.</div>
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Initially when I was asked to mentor, I thought, "Great!" Sounds like fun!</div>
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I said, "I've never built a robot, but it would be fun to try."</div>
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I know a little something about coding, and I was excited.</div>
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Basically every tool and language was different than what I've used in the past. Some similarities - but new. Great .... (hangs head). Eclipse, Java and Git. Even the scouting app was done with Android studio for the client and a Raspberry Pi web server running Python. Does no one use Microsoft stuff anymore?</div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Hv2KhNT1f3c/WLGdNJV_c_I/AAAAAAAAVuo/22OZP1OB02w31q-i-MitUj7mfr-wvruDwCPcB/s1600/SAM_7077.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Hv2KhNT1f3c/WLGdNJV_c_I/AAAAAAAAVuo/22OZP1OB02w31q-i-MitUj7mfr-wvruDwCPcB/s640/SAM_7077.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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So we all learned a lot this past six weeks. Not only did we program motors and controllers, but we learned about setting up and coding autonomous mode using a vision system and mouse odometry. We put together systems for making the robot sense where it is and where it needs to go using USB cameras and 6 wired optic mice.</div>
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It certainly was the most exhausting and exhilarating time. We met everyday from 5:30-8:30pm, and every Saturday from 10am to 4pm. </div>
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The technology was so interesting and these nerds ..... well they are the best group of guys to work with. Their parents should be so proud of each and every one of them. I know I am - and so is our school district.</div>
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Now on to competition! </div>
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<b>Go Saline Singularity 5066!</b></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/12720963/?claim=z54bxxursnf">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a></div>theTechGrandmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01441740195353013057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8682686269621125994.post-1367992077030305032017-01-05T13:44:00.000-08:002017-01-05T13:44:53.422-08:00heat transfer vinyl<div style="text-align: center;">
I asked for and got a heat transfer press for Christmas, which was an awesome gift from Burke. I had to think real hard about what design I wanted my first shirt to be. I unboxed my new 5 in 1 Zeny Heat Press and got to work. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Zeny-Multifunctional-Digital-Transfer-Sublimation/dp/B012ETUWAW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1483651931&sr=8-1&keywords=zeny+heat+press" target="_blank">See it here on Amazon.</a></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0OYdTXCfHY4/WG6RrYCauzI/AAAAAAAAVn8/ku4TI8EW-AIGgJJKB0mJv9piNjfPAUjJACPcB/s1600/HeatPress-4a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0OYdTXCfHY4/WG6RrYCauzI/AAAAAAAAVn8/ku4TI8EW-AIGgJJKB0mJv9piNjfPAUjJACPcB/s640/HeatPress-4a.jpg" width="624" /></a></div>
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Burke and I had just finished our first IoT (Internet of Things) project and I was really geeked about that, so my first shirt was all about the <a href="http://www.thetechgrandma.com/2017/01/alexa-and-garage-door.html" target="_blank">Alexa and the Garage Door </a>project.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk4Lr0qoYryIIwXtBRWpkTlAq5Bpi-tsicmTo6WyC3xrGOew10dRzXZjorwUIyzmYk4xj8w4nCQ05Sko-o01Dv2IJqwawi9R7lUf60Ut9BoREDrFnVnfnv7ElXKd3QZNH7-SVwDI_CPPC4/s1600/scanNcut.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="96" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk4Lr0qoYryIIwXtBRWpkTlAq5Bpi-tsicmTo6WyC3xrGOew10dRzXZjorwUIyzmYk4xj8w4nCQ05Sko-o01Dv2IJqwawi9R7lUf60Ut9BoREDrFnVnfnv7ElXKd3QZNH7-SVwDI_CPPC4/s320/scanNcut.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Once I finally made up my mind what the design should be, I went to Brother's Scan N Cut Canvas. </div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0RZaR6Ynb48/WG6RYQLb_8I/AAAAAAAAVoI/1-pT8kzfI04VK4y_eSJenRRJqNyJVgxlwCPcB/s1600/cloud.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0RZaR6Ynb48/WG6RYQLb_8I/AAAAAAAAVoI/1-pT8kzfI04VK4y_eSJenRRJqNyJVgxlwCPcB/s640/cloud.jpg" width="529" /></a></div>
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Then I created my design.</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oYTqud3gBaQ/WG6Rpi0wxjI/AAAAAAAAVn0/yLqWWGn9tB8VXGLWgvcP5dpP9_PDHyzoACPcB/s1600/HeatPress-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oYTqud3gBaQ/WG6Rpi0wxjI/AAAAAAAAVn0/yLqWWGn9tB8VXGLWgvcP5dpP9_PDHyzoACPcB/s640/HeatPress-3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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I cut the vinyl using my Brother Scan N Cut. Any vinyl cutter will work just fine, Cricket or Silhouette. I did test the cut on vinyl, but it ended up not being perfect. You can see my little circle test cut in the picture.</div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-63s1okwyr-E/WG6Rjv6xu2I/AAAAAAAAVns/pId_0iPQZ2cj9lBnOUpJltgLuRiSHHJygCPcB/s1600/HeatPress-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-63s1okwyr-E/WG6Rjv6xu2I/AAAAAAAAVns/pId_0iPQZ2cj9lBnOUpJltgLuRiSHHJygCPcB/s640/HeatPress-1.jpg" width="604" /></a></div>
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My knife settings were incorrect because I ended up cutting the vinyl and the carrier sheet. I looked everywhere to see how big a deal that was. Should I recut the vinyl? I didn't want to waste what I had done and I really couldn't find any information - so I went for it. I figured my first one would be a throw away anyway.</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wuAtUbjyDUk/WG6RlmCHaYI/AAAAAAAAVnw/gN9y2NJBnY8IEy6JIeefpQj6_Zul_jx2QCPcB/s1600/HeatPress-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wuAtUbjyDUk/WG6RlmCHaYI/AAAAAAAAVnw/gN9y2NJBnY8IEy6JIeefpQj6_Zul_jx2QCPcB/s640/HeatPress-2.jpg" width="508" /></a></div>
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I heated up my press to 305 degrees fahrenheit and set my timer for 12 seconds. I positioned my design (shiny side up or carrier sheet side up) on my shirt.</div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fHTGlrVkCwg/WG6RvrDp3GI/AAAAAAAAVoA/jjB7OZo_9skUEHho3-yeRgrp4zN8S8ixACPcB/s1600/HeatPress-5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fHTGlrVkCwg/WG6RvrDp3GI/AAAAAAAAVoA/jjB7OZo_9skUEHho3-yeRgrp4zN8S8ixACPcB/s640/HeatPress-5.jpg" width="624" /></a></div>
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I pressed the vinyl for 12 seconds and let it cool down for a minute or two. Then I took my tweezers and peeled off the carrier sheet from each piece. It worked! And .... I didn't have to throw away my first shirt or waste any vinyl!</div>
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So far, I really like my new heat press and my cool shirt ..... I'm wearing it to the kick off meeting for First Robotics this weekend. </div>
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<b>Nerds unite!</b></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/12720963/?claim=z54bxxursnf">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a></div>theTechGrandmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01441740195353013057noreply@blogger.com0