Reclaimed Pallet Wood Litter Box Bench

Okay, so it's been a REALLY long time since I've done any blogging.  I'm sure some people thought I fell off the face of the Earth or just ditched my blog.  That's okay.  I would have done the same thing.

I think I got too immersed in the bloggie world for a while there and forgot what it was like to actually live life.  After a very long break, I created some things, learned some new things, had a few adventures, and began getting the itch to share them again.  I'm probably not cut out to be an "every-single-day blogger," but I think I can handle at least once a week.  We'll see how it goes.

Anyhoo... I decided I was super excited about my latest project.  It's a piece of furniture that I'm calling a "litter box bench."  I decided to make it after adopting two of my bottle baby foster kittens.  (I know... In my absence you guys probably not have met them yet, but I'll save that story for another day, like maybe tomorrow...or the next...)

Now that I have two kitty cats (three at the moment because I'm still fostering their sister) in my house, I wanted to find a solution to a few problems.

1. Litter boxes are just ugly.  "Blue plastic in the corner of the room is so beautiful," said no one ever.
2. Little Murphy dog thinks that the kitties leave "delicious candy with pee flavored sprinkles" just for him.  (See this video, if you want a good laugh about dogs.)
3. Litter is insane.  That stuff goes EVERYWHERE.  I needed to contain it.

This was my solution.

It looks like a chest/bench thingy, right?

Well, that's not all it is...

The side has a nice little kitty cat size entrance.

As you can see, they seem to like going in and out...

And chilling out on top.

(That's Miss Mustache, by the way.  It's pretty obvious how she got her name.)

Now here's the cool part about this litter box bench.  The top comes off, so you can take care of your end of business inside.

I decided to make this one big enough for two "rooms."  The first area has one of those litter mats so it will catch litter before they track it outside.  It also made a nice little place for me to hang the pooper scooper.  I put the divider in so my little weasel of a dog, a.k.a. Murphy, couldn't get inside to his favorite treats.

So far it's working out very nicely, and it's not an eyesore like that stupid blue plastic box.

Now, you might be wondering how we did it.  Honestly, I just sort of came up with the concept of what I wanted, and the husband and I made it up as we went along.  We used pallet wood and scrap plywood my husband found, hardware that we had, and stain and polyurethane I had used for previous projects, so the only things I spent money on were the foam and fabric for the top.  All together, it cost about $20.  

Unfortunately, in my excitement I didn't take photos along the way, but I had drawn sketches in an attempt to organize my thoughts.  When my sister wanted the "plans," I decided I would just blog about it so anyone else who might be interested could see.  (The following images are of quick sketches I used to visually show my husband what I had in mind.  I later added the notes for you guys.  Note:  I am not an architect, nor do I claim to be.  This is just to show you the basic idea, so please don't be rude about my crooked lines or lack of proportion.  Thanks.)

Hopefully you guys like it. :) I'll be back soon with the story of how I ended up with kittens in the first place, and I hope to have more projects to share very soon, as well.

Granny Square Creation

I feel like I should apologize for being such a bad blogger lately.  I took a full month-long hiatus.  During that time, I spend more time with family, visited home in Georgia, and came back to Hawaii attempting to get back into the swing of things.  It was nice to not feel like I had to be on the computer at least once every day spending hours in a virtual world.  Face to face relationships were the priority, and blogs, tweets, editing photos, and the sort all faded into the background.  It was a nice little break, but I found myself missing my outlet to express my creativity and thoughts.  So.... here I am.  I hope you guys didn't completely forget about me.  :)

I thought I would kickstart my return to the blogosphere with a new project that I'm a wee bit excited about.  Last week, I finally decided on something I wanted to get with my Christmas money.  I had been debating back and forth on whether or not I wanted an iPad that bad.  I couldn't stop thinking about it though, and since it had been forever since I'd splurged on something I didn't really need, I decided to go for it.  I brought it home and LOVED it, so I decided it needed a cute, one-of-a-kind, home for safekeeping while it sat around the house.  And since my ongoing obsession with crochet has yet to dwindle, I thought I'd put it to use.

This is what I came up with.

Right now, I'm really loving old fashioned granny squares, but I had never made anything with them, so I decided to give it a whirl.  I Googled and looked at my handy-dandy crochet and knitting buddy Ravelry.com for patterns, but I had no luck.  I just had to make one up.

First, I decided my case, sleeve, or whatever you want to call it, should have a thick soft liner.  Since I had some extra tan fleece material laying around, I decided to use it.  I doubled the fleece over, and then folded it smoothly again, then I placed my iPad on top and cut about an inch around the three cut sides. (I left the folded side because it would be less work for sewing later.)

I didn't take photos of every step, so this is more or less a general guide.  If you've never sewn anything like my fleece sleeve, you could research making a pillowcase or pillow, and it would be the same concept. 

To me, the double thickness of the fleece felt perfect.  It will offer a bit more protection from slight bumps.

My next step was the artsy part of it.  I wanted to add a granny square cover to the fleece lining.  I had one failed attempt the first time, as it turned out too big, but I eventually figured it out.  Plus, you'll notice I changed my mind about the colors.) My first granny square photos are from that attempt. :)

I made twelve old American granny squares, six for each side.

For this particular yarn and my gauge, I found that four rounds would make it too large, but three was perfect.

I used the single crochet method to join them.

When I had the face of each side joined, I joined the two sides on one of the shorter ends (two squares).  It created a piece that was two squares by six squares.  When I folded it in half, it wasn't quite wide enough for my fleece sleeve. I added two extra rows on each long side following along with the three double crochet chain one pattern, followed by one row of half-double crochet.  Then I folded the long rectangle right sides together, and joined the edges with single crochet.

This created the "pocket," or sleeve.  I wanted to add a little extra length, so I added one row of single crochet and two rows of half-double crochet around the open edge.  It was then the perfect fit for my fleece sleeve, so I used embroidery thread to sew them together.  (Thanks to the double thickness of the fleece, I couldn't make it work with a yarn needle and yarn.  You could possible do it with a lot of patience and a thimble, though.)  

When the fleece liner and the crochet outside were assembled, I decided I wanted to add a mechanism to keep the iPad from sliding out, so I sewed a button to one side (through the fleece, not just the crochet), and added a crochet loop to the other side.  When it's buttoned, the iPad isn't going anywhere.

Now I'm happy knowing that I have a one-of-a-kind case for my new favorite toy. :)

What do you guys think?

If you would like a similar case, or if you would like one to give as a gift, shoot me an e-mail at TailstoTell [at] Live [dot] com.  I'd love to talk about it with you and make it happen. :)

No-Slip Slippers

Since I made the moccasins for my Mimi the other day, I decided to create a few more pairs for Christmas gifts.  This time I decided to add some flower embellishments instead of fringe and beads.

It was my first time creating crochet flowers and leaves, but I think they turned out quite well. :)

With these slippers I learned a few new things and went back to fix some things on the moccasins.  For one, I wanted to add an inner sole, so I bought some simple insoles and sewed them in.  It added a little extra cushioning, and made them look a little more professional.

I also decided to give the slippers a no-slip bottom for safety.  The last thing in the world I'd want is for my sweet little Mimi to be wearing these and slip and hurt herself, so I did some research online to find a good solution.  I read lots of suggestions and watched a few YouTube videos, and I ended up combining several things to create my own method.

I think what I did turned out well, so I decided to share it with you guys in case anyone wants to create no-slip or non-skid crochet or knit slippers.  

Lots of people online suggested a product called Plastidip.  It's original purpose was to make the handles of tools non-slip, but many people have begun to use it in the crafting world.  

However, no one gave a really successful step-by-step tutorial.  I watched one YouTube video in which the woman slopped the stuff on with a spatula and it looked like a big mess, but seemed functional in the end.  I thought it was worth a try, but I wanted to tweak her method a bit.

First I traced my foot on some foam board and cut it out.  When inserted into the slipper, it helped keep the surface stretched and flat so the surface was easy to coat.

Next, I made a template or stencil for the no-slip area on the bottom of the slippers out of cardstock paper.  I did a simple slender foot shape, but you could easily to hearts or dots or paw prints or anything else you could dream up as long as you have the patience to cut the shapes out.  

On a covered work space, I attached the stencils to the slipper bottoms with a few small circles of tape.  Then, I used an old paint brush (old or cheap paint brushes are essential because it will RUIN the brush)  to paint within the stencil.

I painted one coat, waited thirty minutes, and then painted another semi-thick coat.

Four hours later, the slippers were ready to use with their new no-slip bottoms.

Hope this helps someone to make some fabulous non-skid slippers. :)

Moccasins for Mimi

I just finished another Christmas gift, and this one I can share with you.  I made some crochet moccasins for my sweet Mimi (my mom's mom).  Since she doesn't have a computer or the internet, I thought it would be okay to show you guys her gift before Christmas... so don't tell her! :)

Mimi isn't able to get outside very much, so my normal crochet hats and scarves wouldn't be a very good gift for her.  She does enjoy watching TV in her comfy chair, though, and she's usually wearing cozy socks or slippers while doing so.  With that in mind, I decided to branch out a little and try something different.  I decided to make some booties/slippers.

I hopped on over to my favorite crochet resource Ravelry.com, and I found a great pattern.  I wasn't sure when I decided to try it, but now I'm thinking it turned out quite well. After completing the crochet pattern, I thought it needed a little something extra, so I added the beads as a final touch.  Pretty soon, I might experiment some more and make myself a pair to lounge around in. 

What do you guys think?  A good present for a grandmother?

New Project! Jewelry Holder from an Old Drawer

I'm so excited to show you guys me newest project!

It's a jewelry holder made out of an old drawer.

I had some drawers left from a coffee table I found on the side of the road and tried to save.  The table had been the target of little kid crayon attacks, and it was to the extent that I couldn't sand it all off, I couldn't prime it to cover it-- even with Kilz, and no matter what I did the paint seeped through.  I gave it to Kent so he could take some of the wood or do whatever with it, but I took the drawers.

The inside was already painted from when I attempted to save the coffee table.

I went to Home Depot and spent $7 on enough trim to go around the drawer, and then I asked Kent to pretty please cut it so that it made a sort of frame around drawer. (I didn't get a photo as soon as he finished. I was too excited to start painting it.)

Once the trim was in place, I painted the frame and the sides of the drawer.

I wanted the back drop of the jewelry holder to match my room, so I went to the craft store and picked up a few pieces of matching scrapbook paper for about $2.

I already had Mod Podge and paint brushes, so I got to work creating the back drop. 

I'm not ashamed to say that my first attempt turned out pretty terrible.  The paper bubbled and just didn't look right, so I turned to YouTube for hints on how to do it better.

I found this tutorial, and when I followed her directions, it turned out perfectly.

This is what it looked like when I was in the process.

When the Mod Podge was completely dry, it was time to add hooks and wires where I would be hanging my jewelry.  I already had these things laying around, so it was no extra cost. 

I used small hook screws on the inside of the drawer, and I attached twisted wire across from one screw to another as a place to hang earrings.

When I finished with the inside, I decided to add a few larger hooks on the outside of the drawer so I could hang necklaces and bracelets.  

With everything painted, the backdrop finished, and the hooks in place, it was time to hang my jewelry.

I think it turned out quite well.  :)  I'm super happy that I can now see my jewelry and remember what I have.  What do you guys think?  Have any old drawers that you might repurpose now?

New for Fall...

Okay guys... I know I've been mentioning my crochet work for a pretty long little while now.  I was busy trying to get somewhat "stocked" before I formally introduced them.  

Well, I finally decided that now is as good a time as any. :)

Take a look at some of the new hats in scarves you'll now find in my shop!  Christmas shopping anyone?

My sweet friend Sarah was sweet enough to be my model.  Thanks Sarah!

I've been so touched by so many animal stories lately. For example, a couple of weeks ago my family back home in Georgia saw a woman put out a tiny black puppy about 70 feet from the highway as it was beginning to get dark and drive away while the poor pup wondered what it did wrong (how can someone be so cruel?!?)... luckily, my sweet family took it in and found it a home.  I've also been catching quite a few episodes of Animal Cops when I'm stretching after I come in from my morning runs.  All of these things have been speaking to me, so I made a decision.  Ten percent of the profit from anything sold in my shop will be donated to an animal charity.  It may be the Humane Society, it may be the SPCA, or it may be a local shelter.  I'd like to help as many as possible.

With that being said, feel free to browse around my shop and find a special hat or scarf for yourself or one of your favorite people.  If you decide to purchase one, know that you will not only get a nice cozy piece for this fall  or winter, but you will also be doing a little something for some innocent animals. (Note:  This is in no way a guilt trip or something I'm doing just for sales.  I just want you guys to know what I've decided to do.)

If you see something you like, but you don't see the color you're looking for, shoot me an e-mail at TailsToTell [at] Live [dot] com so I can create a custom order just for you.  :)

"L" is for the way you look at me...

Happy Wednesday everyone!  

I thought I would pop in today and show you guys a new little piece I created for my entryway. :)

I was procrastinating seeking inspiration for new projects on Pinterest a while back and saw a photo of a similar piece.  I decided to put my own spin on it, and this is what I came up with. 

(Beware:  It's not hung perfectly.  I didn't have enough Command strips, which are my hanging method of choice, so I had to use nails, and it's hard to get those just right.)

It's a four piece mixed media piece, and I think I kinda like it for my house.  I haven't quite decided if I want to keep it in my entryway or if it will be re-homed to the lanai, but either way, it's sticking around.  

I used four 4x6 inch canvases, painted them in my colors, added some gold swirls, painted on some letters, glued on some tiny beads, and hung them up with a ribbon on top.  Viola!

I designed it to be hung as pictured, but I'm sort of debating on hanging all four letters side by side.  What do you guys think?

Hats, hats, and more hats...

So... I was MIA yesterday, and I haven't had a whole lot in the way of new things to show you lately.  

I have good reason, though. 

My fingers have been busy with an activity other than typing on a computer...  They've been crocheting the days away getting some things ready to put in my shop since Fall and Winter are just around the corner.

I've been cranking out some lovely feminine beanies, and some scarves are currently in the works.  Here's a little peek at what I'll be officially introducing into the shop very soon.

I've been trying to work in a variety of colors, so you'll be sure to find something you'd like for yourself or for a friend.   Oh, and for my Bulldog fans back home, I've already got some red and black for cold game days.  :)

Be on the lookout in the coming week(s) as I'll be adding them to my shop when I have a few more complete sets.  Hope you can find one you love!

Great Big Blanket

Well, I finally finished the crochet blanket (I guess it's technically an afghan, but that sounds like those ugly things on the backs of sofas in the 1970s, I prefer "blanket.").  I've been working on it for a month, and it took hours and hours of work, but now that it's finished, I think it's all worth it. I'm a little proud of myself. 

I used Caron Simply Soft yarn (which I would highly recommend) to make my 5'x6' creation.  The body of the blanket was done with a variety of the fan stitch called the "Peacock Stitch," and the edging was done with single crochet.  Everything came together quite well to make a nice, cuddly, soft blanket that you really want to snuggle up under.  I can't wait to give it to my family to let them enjoy it!  Anyhoo... just wanted to share one of the creations that I've been spending many many hours on lately. :)  

Hope you guys are having a fantastic Wednesday!  I'll be flying out tonight, so I'm crossing my fingers that the flights go well.  Forgive me if my posts are a bit sporadic over the next week, but I'll be soaking up lots of time with friends and family. :) 

I'm Hooked...

Happy Monday everyone!

I was wondering what I would post today when I realized I haven't said much about the arts and crafts front in a little while.  Last week was full of life updates and my overflowing excitement.  I thought I'd take today to say that I haven't stopped my creativity.  In fact, I'm in the throws of a creative obsession at the moment... and I've already told you about it a little while back.  It's crochet!  For some reason, it has me hooked-- yes, that pun was intended-- and won't let me go right now!  

I haven't had a whole lot to show for it lately because I've been working on a really BIG project... a blanket...

Duke was kind enough to pose for me for scale.  He's 80 some-odd pounds, so you can get an idea of the size of this thing.  (Yet again, today's photos are from Instagram on my iPhone... not the world's best quality.)

      I'm slowly but steadily making progress on that project.  It's just really time consuming, so I don't have much to show you guys just yet. 

    When Kent came home and saw me working on the blanket, he got a little intrigued by the whole crochet process.  He started asking me what all I could make, and I said if I practiced enough, I could make just about whatever.  

He wanted a beanie...which I've always called a sock cap (who came up with "beanie"?!?!)

I searched online until I found the general idea of how to do it, and I just jumped in.  This is what I made.

 

And he really liked it!

He liked it so much, that he wore it to a "get-together" that night... Yes, he is that crazy guy wearing a sock cap in Hawaii....

I told you last week that he's a clown.  These are the faces I get when a camera comes out.

You should see his ID photos.  It's like his personal goal is to make each one more ridiculous than the next, and it's always funny when people have to check his photo ID.  They either get a good chuckle out of it, or if they are a real "tool" and take things too seriously they get mad.  Either way, we get a good laugh. :)

Anyway, that's pretty much what I've been up to.  Oh... and I'm also working on a few paintings, but they are for gifts, so I can't show them just yet.  You'll see them all in good time. 

Hope this week is a good one for everyone!

A Patchwork of Projects

For the past week or so, I've had a crazy case of "creative ADD."  I want to do everything and nothing all at once.  When I stop to think about it, it's a bit amusing.  I've been flip-flopping from crocheting to knitting to painting with acrylics to revamping furniture to sewing curtains to working with soft pastels.  It seems like one project hasn't been able to hold my attention for very long, so I have about 10 different things going on at once.  It's kept me quite busy, but it's left me with little in the way of a finished product to show.  It's okay, though.  Things will be finished in their own good time.

I have, however, finished some sewing projects that I can share with you.  In the upcoming month or so, I have two different friends expecting sweet little babies-- one is expecting a boy, and the other a girl.  Since I will be attending showers for them soon, I thought it would be nice to make them something instead of simply going to the store.... so I made little quilts.

This is the one for the little boy...

And here's the one for the little girl...

I didn't do the traditional three layers (the top, the batting, and the back) for these little quilts.  I simply skipped the batting and attached the top to a soft fleece.  My goal was to make these as soft as possible, so the tops are a soft, thin flannel, the backs are fleece, and the bindings are satin.

I hope these little blankets will be used for snuggling many, many times.  :)

What do you guys think?  Anyone else do quilting? (I'm sure at least someone probably does, only much more sophisticated that this... I had a limited time frame to make these, so it was all done by machine)

Learning Something New

Last week I recovered a papasan chair cushion for a friend.  She went with me to pick out the fabric, but I went later to get yarn for the tied-off areas of the cushion.  I knew I would barely use a fraction of the yarn for the papasan cushion project, so while I was standing in the yarn aisle, I decided I wanted to learn something new and create something with the leftover yarn. 

Do you ever just feel like you need to learn something new?  I think we all do.  I know I feel that way a lot.  Sometimes I just find myself wanting to know how to do everything.  I know I can't know everything, but I sure want to learn lots and lots about being crafty, making things, and making art. 

That particular day I looked over at the crochet needles and knew what I wanted to learn next.  Now, I had tried to learn to crochet when I was younger, and I sort of picked it up.  (It was just hard for anyone to teach me since I'm a lefty.)  While trying to decide which needle to get, I happened to see one with a little how-to booklet... and that booklet had a whole section for lefties!  Bingo!

So home I went with yarn sure to have leftovers and a crochet needle.  When I sat down to teach myself, the booklet was helpful to a certain extent, but I needed more visuals, so I turned to YouTube.  It took some practice... okay, kind of a lot of practice, but I finally pretty much got the hang of it.  I'm still not sure if I'm really good at "turning the chain," and my edges sometimes shrink and grow when trying to make a scarf or something, but I do understand the general concept. 

I played around with it, experimented, did a scarf-like thingy or two, unraveled them because they looked wonky, and tried them again.  And I did this several times.  When I finally got something similar to a straight piece, I decided to turn it into a little bag.

 

It's certainly not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but it's functional and halfway cute.

Since I had finally made something, I thought I'd try something more complicated.  I didn't have a pattern (and even if I did, I wouldn't have known how the heck to read it), so I just started figuring it out as I went.  I wanted to make a sock cap.  I probably didn't go about it the "right" way, but I made a little hat.

Funny story about this little hat.  I started out trying to make a sock cap for myself or some other adult sized person.  I did the little chain stitch thing for the start, and it was big enough for me, but I didn't realize it shrinks up a little when you start the actual crochet stitch.  It ended up being baby sized.  Luckily, I have a super sweet friend who is having a baby boy in about a month, so I decided to give it to her.  :)

Then, I was bound and determined to figure out how to make an adult sized cap.... so I tried again.  This time, I had learned from some of my mistakes before, and I had more success.

I know, I know... I'm not going to get to use it much living here.  Sock caps look kinda silly with palm trees swaying in 80+ degree weather, and I think it might be a fashion faux pas with a bikini.  It's okay though, I'll just wear it on visits to colder places.  

I still need a lot more practice, but I think I've found yet one more hobby that I enjoy.  It's really relaxing. 

I've even got some ideas for things like this for my shop.  :)  Maybe I can  make some of them come to life soon.  We'll see.  In the mean time, there are still some Puppy Love paintings that need homes.  Go adopt one today.  If you don't see one that's just for you, just shoot me an e-mail, and I'll match you up with just the right one in your breed and your colors.  

Happy Monday!  Hope everyone learns at least one new thing this week!

P.S.  I'm sending great big birthday wishes to my awesome husband!  Wherever he is, I hope it's a good birthday.  :)  I'll make a cake when he returns!

A Little Help...

So, with the hubby away, I've got lots of free time to try to get my house just the way I want.  Right now, I'm trying to focus some attention on my guest bedroom.  Hopefully, I'll be getting some visitors by the end of the summer, and I want a nice, inviting, welcoming, and stylish room for them to use.  (Not to mention, I just get tired of walking by a dull and boring room every day.) That bedroom needs a little help, and so do I, so I'm going to show you my starting point and hope you have some suggestions and opinions.

I did have a queen sized bed in this room for a while because one of Kent's good buddies didn't want his in storage while he wasn't using it, so he asked if we could use it for a while.  I said sure, so it stayed in there for nearly a year.  When he decided he needed it, though, it disappeared, and I wasn't all that disappointed.  Lately, I've been sprawling out on the floor in there to do some of my acrylic paintings, so the thought of a huge bed taking up that much space again just didn't seem right.  Instead, I found this futon, which takes up just the right amount of space, and I really like it.

The pillow sitting on the futon is left over from the bedding had been on the queen sized bed.  I love the color scheme, and I want to stick with it.  Since I won't be using the matching orange queen sized sheets anymore, I've decided to turn them into curtains.  My only problem now is that I can't decide what kind to make-- valances or panels the length of the windows.  I'm totally open to suggestions.

The curtains will be this color.

The orange in the corner is part of one of the sheets.  

Just so you can get an idea of the few other things I have going on in this room, here are a few photos.

These are some paintings I did as a little experiment, 

adding some stitching in the canvas.

In addition to the curtains, I need to give a makeover to a couple small pieces of furniture.

This little TV stand has been through the ringer and been a little beat up, so I'm hoping to give it a paint makeover.

Yep, we still have a big "box" TV.  

This little end table I picked up for $10 from Goodwill has also been patiently awaiting a makeover.

I really want to make it two toned.  Each side has these neat little inset areas that would look cool as different colors.  My only problem is I can't decide which colors... for this or the tv stand.  (I would consider staining, but since the desk and hutch in the photo above these was given to Kent by his grandparents, I don't want to change it, and I don't want other stained pieces that don't match it.)

So.... any cool ideas or color suggestions?  Curtain suggestions?  Any other ideas for this room?  Throw them my way!  This room and I both need a little help!

New Painting!

I decided to do a little experiment... Something that I have never been fond of doing.  

What is that, you ask?

 It's doing artwork that includes homo sapiens... a.k.a.  people.

I've always shied away from doing any kind of artwork or portraits that include people because I never feel that my work is good enough.  People always seem way too complex and complicated, and as I've told you before, I hate failure. 

The other day, though, I decided it was time to man, er, woman up and begin conquering that fear. 

I decided on using a picture made by one of my friends here in Hawaii.  It was a photo of her two precious little girls on the beach, and I didn't think she would mind letting me use it since I was intending on giving it to her as a gift IF it turned out okay. 

Surprisingly, it didn't take me a super long time to do this piece.  It only took two days.  World record speed for Lindsay here...

Anyway, I know you're wanting to see it by now, so here it is.

Okay, so I still played it super safe by not showing faces (plus, the beauty of 

soft pastels is the "painterly" look with few details), but at least it's people!

 It may sound silly, but it has taken me quite a bit of courage to share this piece.  I constantly worry that "real" artists are going to think my work totally stinks, so it's hard to share it sometimes.  It's getting a little easier though.  

What do you guys think?

I'm looking into getting prints made of certain pieces for my shop.  Be on the lookout, and I'll let you know if it all works out.  :)