Book ledges, fun with Grandma and pooch's birthday

Don't you love this way of displaying books?

Image via here

Image via here

Luca's book collection is resembling a small village library, and they no longer fit in the Ikea baskets we bought a couple of years ago. Plus with Kian in his room every minute of the day, his books are getting trashed.

I came across this tutorial and got to work straight away. Well, alright, I got to work nagging he-who-works-with-the-wood. For those of you who'd like a bit more detail, I do know he had a 150mm x 19mm plank of wood and put it through his table saw to get two different widths, plus he had a 40mm x 19mm length to use as the lip.

We chose to glue and screw to make it stronger (and because I'm an instant gratification kind of gal, and I didn't want to wait around for glue to dry).

Whilst it may look like I know what I'm doing here, I really didn't. Graeme only let me do one or two.

After a quick sand...

I gave them an initial prime with a dollop of the pale blue colour I wanted, followed by a proper coat of paint.

(Really isn't fun to have the one table in the house used for Luca's craft, three meals a day, my little projects and household paperwork. It's driving me mad.)

Graeme wanted to fill the screws, but I was happy with them as they were.

Ta da!!!! What do you think?

I just love them. Course, two was hardly going to fix the problem. But it's a start. Two for Kian next.

Yes, yes, I know Ikea have very smart $10 picture ledges, but Ikea is quite a distance away. I hate driving, I hate traffic, and I'd much rather stay at home and clear the table umpteen times between licks of paint.

Speaking of Ikea, look what I picked up in a garage sale at the weekend for $5 each! They were initially meant for the boys. One each. But I'm not sure now. I think I like them too much. 

Mum is here for a month. It's already going so quickly. With family living overseas, there's usually a period of adjustment, getting used to each other again. But the boys behaved like Grandma lives just around the corner. Instant cuddles, kisses and conversation. For that I'm grateful. 

Cuddles with Kian...

And baking with Luca...

Luca making butterfly cakes for Sydney's 6th birthday. She enjoyed every last crumb. Plus the bone he bought for her. Plus the fish that Graeme caught that morning. One spoilt little doggie.

Happy birthday pooch.