Sunday, March 27, 2011

Work Space - a Brighter Garage


It was interesting to find out that many of you share my preference for scrapbook pages with more photos than embellishments.  I do love some of the layouts I see that go "over the top," but to my mind those are pages that I would hang on the wall, not pages I would include in an album.  I like my pages to be nearly flat and my albums to close neatly.  I will try to do more posts with this type of pages and I encourage you to find the "happy medium" in your own albums.

Spring cleanup is upon us - if only the weather would get warmer.  We had temperatures in the low 30s on Saturday - not the weather you want if you plan to work outside.  I did a bit more organizing and thought some more about my latest ideas for making my crafting space work better.  I predict a second trip to IKEA very soon...  If everything works out according to plan I should be able to complete another project that I have been trying to do for over a year.

 

I imagine you are wondering about the photo at the top of this post.  I decided to share one of our home improvement projects - partly so I could tell you about the clever name that Matt uses for his company.  We needed a new garage door - ours was original to the house and the springs had broken.  My husband thought it would be a good idea to upgrade the door to one that would work more smoothly and would have better insulation to keep the house warmer.  The door arrived the day before we left for the cruise.  Fortunately that was an unseasonably warm and sunny day so it could be installed right away.


 

Here is a photo of the old door - very plain and rather boring.  This photo is from January and the snow was not yet at the highest depth of the season.


 

It was amazing to see how quickly the old door could be dismantled - power tools are a great help.  It makes me think of the difference between using scissors and using an electronic cutter - you can get the job done manually but it is so much more efficient to use the best tool for the job.
 

At this point it looked like we could open an ice cream stand.  There are many garage type structures in the Northeast that turn into seasonal ice cream shops with half doors and counters (in case you didn't know what I meant by that).

 

In a very short time, Matt and his assistant had the new door in position.  The windows still need their grids and the finishing touch - the handles to make the door look like two pairs of old style barn doors - still must be added.

 

The light in the garage now is amazing - the row of windows makes such a difference.  This new door has three sections instead of four and is much quieter.  Now my husband can help build my new project with lots of light and still stay relatively warm with the door shut.


Putting the handles on took about the longest of all of the segments of the installation process.  Fortunately Matt is familiar with the "measure twice, cut once" rule and made sure he got the handles on straight and in the position we wanted on the first try.

 

So here is our new door - it will need painting to match the rest of the house and we are debating on whether it should match the trim, the door or the body of the house.  I think it is a big improvement and the added insulation should be a bonus for the next heating season.

 

So do you see the name of the company?  The owner is named Matt and he named his company "Mattadoor."  I thought this was clever - and then I saw the horns on his truck and I just had to take a photo.  I mean really - isn't that funny (and rather charming).  I'll always remember the name so I think he has a good marketing plan - just drive that truck around town  - people will talk. 

I hope you are having a good weekend - I am finishing up the "Martha on Monday" post for Scrappy-Go-Lucky and working on a couple of other projects to share tomorrow.  I also just received a package with a few new cartridges I ordered and I can't wait to try them out...

There are just a few days left for the current Deal and Kit of the Month at Creative Charms.  If you want to stock up on lots of lovely green embellishments don't miss the chance!

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17 comments:

  1. Beautiful door. I like that it is white and stands out from the house. Great name for your contractor.

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  2. I prefer a simpler style of scrapping as well. To me, it's all about the photos, and I usually have LOTS of them I want to include - especially from family vacations. I don't necessarily employ the grid style, but I do use several photos, a title,and little else. I do want my pages to lie flat. It seems like the single photo on a page idea has been around forever, and on the rare occasion when I do have a single photo, I really struggle with how to design the page.! AND - I also want to move thru my albums as quickly as possible, which isn't very quick!. All this is why I enjoy cardmaking so much - I get to play with so many different toys and techniques and complete a "project" relatively quickly. I'm no "make 20 at a time" cardmaker - I'm happy if I finish one card and call it a day!

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  3. LOVE the new door-- I would leave it white. I think it looks good. You could match the siding, but please don't paint it blue. That would be too much. Leave the small door blue -- it is a beautiful accent. Just my opinion. Be sure to post a picture when you deem it "complete" so we can see! LOVE the handles on the door, too!
    Wendy

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  4. The new door is gorgeous. I vote for matching the house color - you didn't ask but I just thought I would express my opinion! LOL!

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  5. I totally agree about having flat layouts. I have one page in all of my albums that has a dimensional sticker, and if it hadn't matched my layout so perfectly I probably wouldn't have used it.

    I love your new garage door. I love the look of the old style barn doors. Personally I wouldn't paint it the house color, let it stand out, it's a nice focal point of the house.

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  6. If you're taking a poll--I vote leave it white! It really lightens that side of the house.

    I also like to use as many photos as possible on my pages. I've been scrapbooking for 14 years, started with all CM products, and mostly still use theirs with a few embellishments. I found your website several months ago by googling "scrapbooking with Cricut" and going thru dozens of websites and blogs until I found yours to follow because you didn't only do what i call "crafty" pages--lots of flowers, layers and layers of paper and materials, and only 1 picture on a page--what a lot of work and what a waste of space! I want to leave a record of our life so that future members will see what we were like--not win an art class award!

    So, thanks for giving me good ideas and patterns to follow, and keep up the good work!!

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  7. I really have to agree with the previous posts - I have 4 children, and they have 32 aunts and uncles and over 40 first cousins, so there is never just one photo of an event around our house. My scrapbooks have tons of photos, crisp and clean layouts, and limited embellishments. And - that's why I like the card making so much - a chance to play with all those pretty things I would never put on a page...

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  8. I agree - the photos should be the focal point, embellishments to help "pop" the picture and flat pages.

    Also, my opinion on the door is to keep it white! It make the house look so bright and elegant.

    Jeannette B.
    jjbchef@juno.com

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  9. Oh Diane, you've made my day. I thought I had to be the only person who didn't like gaudy scrapbook pages with only one photo on them. I want to show off my family not how much I've spent putting the page together. Thank you, thank you for sharing your thoughts.
    As far as your garage door, I love it white. It makes your house just stand out. We replaced ours with one with windows and insulation and you can't believe the difference in the temperature in there. I just want to know how you keep it so clean and empty?! Love the company's name.
    Hugs,
    MizMaryAnn

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  10. Well, you didn't ask for our vote on the door but since others have given theirs I wanted to chime in too. I like the white with the little bit of blue to the side, but it is a gorgeous door and I'm sure whatever you decide it will look great.

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  11. Yep, I like the white door too! Really brightens things up! Just sayin'!
    As to my scrapbook style, you probably know that my DT pages are over the top .. one photo, lots of flowers etc. However, when I am scrapping a family event like a birthday party, I have one pretty page and the rest are simly photos on the page. That way I get a little bit of both. Scrapping for me is partly the creative process and therapy .. and partly keeping the photos handy .. otherwise I would just do Portfolio albums all the way. I store everything in my CM albums and they do bulge in places where my flowers are .. but I'm happy.

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  12. What a beautiful, beautiful looking home!

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  13. You have an amazing home! and the garage door is beautiful!

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  14. Diane,

    I love the color of your house. Here in Western PA, we don't see the sun much in the winter so I would love a yellow house for that reason. But ours is red brick, so I will have to enjoy others yellow houses! I think the new garage door looks colonial with the handles- very nice!

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  15. Hi Diane, I love your new garage door - the 3 panels, windows, and handles all look great. It's given me some ideas for when ours needs replacing. And the snow - living in such a sunny climate, I can't even imagine that much snow on the house and in the yard. I didn't even see snow until a holiday when I was 19.

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  16. I love your garage door. Our house is similar, no (people) entrance door into the garage in the front though and our front exterior is brick. I had to show my DH, because we'll need a new garage door sometime in the future and I thought one like yours would look great. Is your trim white or actually cream? If it's cream or off-white that would be a good color for the door. Love your door-guy!

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  17. What a beautiful home and a gorgeous new door! I say your door should be the same colour as your trim. It really pops! Oh, and the truck is great, too.

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