DIY Swing Part One

Our first backyard swing

Have you ever surfed Pinterest? If you haven't, all you need to know is that it is the perfect place for ADD. What starts out as a search for pretty soap-making ideas ends up with beautiful porch swings. Of course, there is no way to determine how it happens. It just does.
It may be a little like Chicken Math where some denial is involved. The mind drifts. Beautiful pictures pop up everywhere, and they yearn to be seen. So, click, click, click and the next thing you know, you've forgotten where you started and what you were looking for. 

Sally Sue is disinterested

This isn't always a bad thing. The worst part is not being able to cram it all into my brain and remember what I loved so much. The best part is after having had something in mind for a while, it's easy to compile the pictures into something that is fit, just for me.

They all knew that something fabulous was in the works

Kevin came home from work last Saturday to find my mind exploding with ideas. I knew what I wanted, but didn't know how to get it. He is so creative, and loves to work around the house. He's always giving me what I want, so I need to be careful about what I'm asking for! Anyway, he listened to me describe the swing I want, and looked at pictures on-line. Then he said, "Let's go look". 

We hopped into his truck (a few times that day), and headed to Goodwill. We were off to find a king-sized headboard. We found a queen-sized headboard, but it wasn't workable. $19.00, I really wanted it to work. Even a good price doesn't make it workable. 

Off to another Goodwill on the other side of town. Way in the back, and through doors that looked like they should have been marked "Employees Only", were bicycles and bed frames. Again, no king-sized anything. 

What we did find was a three-piece twin frame. Headboard, footboard, and whatever that piece is called where the mattress goes. 

If we used the headboard and footboard for the sides, we (I say like I'm actually going to do any of the work) could fashion something for the backboard. This could work. And the price? $34.99. Yes, I wrote that right. It was mine. 

Now I haven't been to a Goodwill in probably thirty years. A lot has changed in that time. They look like department stores now. If you don't know what they used to look like, well let me say that it was nothing compared to what they're presenting now. Shout out to Goodwill!

Apparently, we were supposed to tear half of a tag that was taped to the frame. There was only half of a tag there. That meant that someone else most likely had the other half and was still shopping. They paged it overhead, and nobody claimed it, so it was ours. As if $34.99 wasn't a good enough deal, we happened to get a "green tag". That meant another 30% off. So we left Goodwill having spent a whopping $26.50. Perfect.

Adorable, right??

We stopped at Ace on the way home and spent $30- on paint. This is the look on Kevin's face when he saw the color I chose. Bwahaha. I couldn't help but laugh. I warned him that I was going to take his picture. 

I truly thought this color was more like a dark eggplant.

Another trip to Ace, and a different color later, we checkout. It just so happened that the new (and more appropriate) color cost $13- less. The stars are aligning. This new color will blend with the landscape better.

Dorothy wants to help

Kevin contemplates the build. He has lumber stored from past projects. Even a 2x4 that had to be replaced in our fence from the last snow will come in handy. I won't pretend to know how he puts it all together, but I'm happy he does. In case you haven't noticed, all of our animals feel the need to contribute in everything we do outside (sometimes they want to come inside and help, too).

The first part of this mission is complete. We had the idea, found the parts, agreed on an appropriate place to place it in the yard, and found the right color for it. Stay tuned for the build.