A Day Of Fails
I had high hopes that I’d get the big studio wall completely finished yesterday, but I ended up having one of those frustrating days with one fail after another.
First, remember the big, colorful calendar that I hung on this wall at the beginning of the week?
As of this morning, all but one of the months had fallen off of the wall. Evidently, I got hold of a bad batch of 3M double sided sticky foam squares, and they failed. September is still hanging on, but that’s the only one.
I bought new picture hanging strips to try again, but I just didn’t have enough time to get it done yesterday. It’ll be an easy project to do again, but I was just a little bit frustrated that a project I had crossed off of my “to do” list has to be done again.
I had planned to make shelves just like the breakfast room picture ledges to go under the TV. These are so easy to make, and you can customize them to any size you need. Here’s a look at the breakfast room shelves…
You can see how I made those here: Simple DIY Picture Ledges (New Sitting Room Gallery Wall).
But when I was in Lowe’s the other day purchasing the things I needed for my new shoe closet, I saw these shelves on clearance for just over $12 each. They’re not quite as wide as I wanted them to be (these are 30 inches wide, and I wanted 36), but I was happy that they would save me so much time, and I don’t think I could make them for $12 each with the cost of lumber these days.
Two of them were very easy to install. But there always has to be a difficult one, right? And this middle one was the problem. For some reason, I couldn’t get the drywall anchor to go into the wall on this side. No problem. I decided to just use my nail gun with 2-inch 16-gauge nails and nail this side directly into the stud. But the very first nail didn’t go in. It just crumpled up on the face of the shelf board.
I don’t know why it did that. Maybe it hit a drywall screw. But it’s just one more minor inconvenience I have to fix.
Next up, I worked on building the frame for the TV. I wanted this frame to be much simpler in design than the other ones I’ve built. The one I made for the breakfast room is really thick. I love how it looks with the shelves. But for this wall in the studio, I wanted the face of the frame to be much thinner.
I had a very simple design in mind, and thought I could get the basic build done in about 40 minutes. And I was right! It took about 40 minutes to cut the four pieces for the sides and glue/nail those together, and then cut the four face pieces and nail those in place.
The problem? I got the measurements wrong. It looks way too big on the TV, so I need to take it apart, cut the pieces down, and put it together again.
By this time, my brain was pretty frazzled. I was very excited for the distraction when my new clock was delivered. But when I opened it up, I couldn’t figure out how it was supposed to hang on the wall. 😀 It was just my state of mind yesterday. I looked at it again this morning, and I very clearly saw a hole that goes over a nail or screw in the wall. I think my frustrated and frazzled brain yesterday just couldn’t focus on that little hole on the back of the clock mechanism.
But anyway, this is the clock I ended up buying for this wall (affiliate link). I really liked the price ($45) and the size (24 inches), but I also got this one because I thought it would be very easy to customize.
I’m not sure what I plan to do with it just yet, but I do know for sure that it won’t stay brown. 🙂 I may just paint it a fun color, or I may decide to do something more artistic. I’ll have to wait and see what inspiration hits me.
So that was my day yesterday. Not only did I not get the wall finished, but I feel like I went backwards.
Fortunately, I don’t have any plans for the next two days, so I plan to focus on this and hopefully get it done by the end of the day tomorrow. Then I can focus on the office/desk corner of the room and get those projects done.
Addicted 2 Decorating is where I share my DIY and decorating journey as I remodel and decorate the 1948 fixer upper that my husband, Matt, and I bought in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do physical work, so I do the majority of the work on the house by myself. You can learn more about me here.
For your shelf, is there a pipe or a box behind that wall? It would be resistant to nails. Maybe the universe is telling you to take a break, some time off and just read a book for a bit to regroup and start again fresh? Or use your gym for a day to fire up the neurons. Come at it again with fresh eyes. You have been working really hard for a while. Good luck.
On the TV frame…better to start too big than too small right!?
That’s true! I’d rather be able to cut down what I have than have to buy all new lumber and trim and start over again.
Just when you think you’re on a roll and BAM!! I hate days like that! One step forward, three steps back. But, you do meticulous work and it will all be beautiful when complete!
ARGH! Frustrating. But you’ve got this. With all you do and it all seems to go so smoothly, I guess some days will be like this (mama said).
Have a good weekend!
The good thing is that it’s all fixable. Little frustrations but it will look great once you get it re-done. Onward and Upward.
I feel your pain! I still love the shelves in your breakfast room and go to them when I need inspiration! I was trying to teach my daughter how to put things together on a shelf (rule of 3) and used that as a teaching tool!!
Good luck with everything, looks so so great!
Electrical wires, have metal cover plates over them so that you don’t accidentally drill into them. Given the height of the ledge, I bet that’s what you’re hitting. It’s a good thing your garage is up to code and the plates doing their job. Otherwise you might have been electrocuted.
https://th.bing.com/th/id/R.10116028642b31ac675afeb84dcc271a?rik=lEhm%2fBeTOxbMHg&pid=ImgRaw&r=0
Thank you Kristi for being so real in a world filled with phony! I love that you share successes and difficulties equally. Your attitude is an encouragement to feel comfortable being my imperfect self. At the same you don’t give up when there are hard days but instead you keep pressing on encouraging us to do the same. The studio is a girl’s dream! Can’t wait to see the finished product! Blessings from NC
Amazing that some days, one thing fails, and then another…sometimes I just put it all away and start again tomorrow…! Life is that way! But, it IS all coming together, and it’s the process that needs to feel fun, or forget about it! I’m sure today is better. Enjoy the success.
Murphy’s law, Kristi! It never fails. 😐 But I’m so sorry this happened to you now. You’ll get it and it’ll be beautiful, just like the rest of things you do. So cheer up girl. Today is a new day. 🦋
It was an opportunity day; you have the opportunity to do things over! I was afraid you would get a clock that I could not read. I am dyslectic. Roman numerals drive my little backwards mind crazy. I was in school long before dyslectics was a thing so I had to learn as best as I could. Graduated with a 96.4 grade average so I did pretty good. Anyway, the older I get, the worse it gets. I have to have what I call real numbers to be able to read…..dots, dashes, just don’t do it. Right and left is still a problem. “The” is almost always typed “hte”. Boy I got off the subject. The clock sent me on a tailspin.
Those shelves are cute for $12.00 even if you have to paint them. I know you screamed when you walked in the Studio to find 11 months on the floor. I would have probably reached for the nail gun and stuck those suckers to the wall with nails.
You are always in control or at least you sound like you are in your writing. Hoping today is a better day. Measure twice, cut once!
I hate the new shelves.
Well some gremlins seem to have moved in, but better than an invasion of mice! Onto the clock; I put it in my list for the future because I have one that keeps going on the fritz (not always the battery). But if you’re going to paint it anyway, isn’t 45$ a lot to pay for a circle with a clockworks in it? I may be wrong about the cost of a wood circle but still, why buy one and make it over when you can create your own? And if you do that, I see each number painted in a pie wedge such a different color—think color wheel!
You will figure it out and it will look stunning….although that calendar falling off the wall was something different.