Computer Armoire With a Twist

A good friend of mine from high school called me a few weeks ago. He told me that he had just bought an investment property in my neighborhood, and that it was full of stuff from the last resident. Then he made me an offer I couldn't refuse. He needed to clean out the house, I need to pack my garage full of junky old furniture. It was a win-win situation. 

One of the pieces I brought home was this solid oak computer armoire. I didn't want a computer armoire. No one buys a computer armoire anymore, but my good friend practically begged me to take it off his hands, and for a more than reasonable price. So, I obliged. Here's how she looked before.

And after several coats of black paint and pre-catalyzed lacquer, here she is. Man, black paint is so hard to photograph! I swear, it looks great in real life. 

Solid black furniture sells well, but is so boring! I decided to spice things up a little on the inside.

The whole interior was primed and sprayed with multiple coats of an aqua blue I had in the garage. Then, to give you something interesting to stare at while you use the desk portion, I added a chevron/arrow design.

I like the wear and patina old brass hardware gets, so I simply reattached the original pulls.

This armoire is simple, but is built like a tank and has some pretty details, like the dental moulding across the top.

What do you think? Is the blue too crazy? Or just crazy enough?

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World Market "Aiden" Coffee Table Knock-off

This may be my favorite piece I've built so far. It is actually something for my own home, so I may be a bit biased, but a lot of love went into this table. 

I've been drooling over the "Aiden" table from World Market for quite a while, and $289.99 for a coffee table isn't a bad price, but I could do better. There were just a couple things I didn't like about it.

First, although the top is "made from real mango wood" it is only a thin veneer. I would end up tweaking the color of the wood anyways (a bit too bright for me). Also, some of the reviews I read mentioned the casters falling off and I really wanted the look of over-sized casters.

World Market

I've been wanting to practice my welding since my first welding lessons, so I finally decided to give this coffee table a shot. 

The construction of it was actually pretty simple. I started by building two frames (42" x 28") from 1.25" wide, 1/8" thick angle iron. I used a chop saw (different from a miter saw) to miter the corners. I then used a MIG welder to run a bead of weld across the top and outside seams.

I cut four legs from the same angle iron at 10". I then flipped the first frame on it's face and welded a leg on the outside of each corner.

I flipped the second frame on it's face, lined up the legs, and welded the pieces together. I now pretty much had a rectangular box with the angle iron open to the center.

I picked up my steel from Industrial Metal Supply and found some awesome, heavy, 6" v-groove steel wheels. I've been looking on-line, through thrift shops and craigslist for large casters for a good price. I may as well have been looking for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Cheap, over-sized, steel casters do not exist.

 When I saw these wheels, I started to think about ways to mount them to my coffee table. I came up with a cheap and somewhat easy solution. I'll share a tutorial on them soon. This system would work as rigid (non-swivel) casters for a number of different projects.

To attach them, I drilled a 1/2" hole in the top of the caster bracket, as well as all four corners of the bottom rail of the frame. I then ran a 3/4" long, 1/2" bolt through the bracket and bottom rail, and secured it with a nut. 

With my frame done, it was time to address the top. I was really going for a "pallet-ish" look for the wood, but I've experienced pulling pallets apart (about as much fun as going to the dentist), and to try to find enough slats around the same size and thickness wouldn't be easy. 

A good substitution for pallet wood are fence pickets. The are rough-sawed, cheap, and come in a variety of widths. For my size of table, the design called for 8, 5.5" slats. I simply cut them all to length, and attached them to a scrap piece of OSB, cut to size, using wood glue and finish nails. 

I drilled 10 holes in the top rail of my metal frame, and secured the top with wood screws from the underside. The bottom shelf, I cut to fit inside the angle iron. Just make sure to notch out the corners of the OSB, underneath, so there is room to accommodate the caster bolts and nuts. 

The last step was to add the decorative gussets in the corners.

Finally, this is the World Market "Aiden" table...

And here is my version.

I did a few things differently. For starters, I didn't curve my corner gussets. In fact, they aren't real gussets at all. I have a tutorial on how to make those coming up soon too. 

Secondly, I chose to add a carriage bolt in each corner to give a little detail to the top. Probably my favorite detail.

The slats and finish of the wood are different too. The finish I used was the same as the wood crate tutorial. 

I REALLY love the 6" casters! To finish the metal frame, I selectively sanded areas with a fine grit flap disk. The wheels received lots of love from a wire brush. I then played around with a couple different patinas that I bought while at Industrial Metal Supply. I think I was able to achieve the tarnished, rusty look I was going for, without over doing it. 

The frame, wheels, and wood all received 2 coats of wax to seal everything.

Its exactly what I was hoping for.

I've asked this before, but I'll ask it again. Why don't you hear of women welding? You hear of women creating beautiful things from wood, but rarely do you meet a woman that welds. 

It's actually fun! And really not that hard. I would suggest keeping someone close by to help you set your speed and voltage until you get some experience. Also, practice makes perfect. I still have a ways to go with my welding, but I can do it well enough for my needs.

Please feel free to ask questions about this project! I would love for you to try it. Cutting metal is slow and tedious, but this table is really quite simple.

I was talking to the husband about it, and I think it may be possible to create a "no weld" version. Just lots of hole and bolts. If you are interested in trying, let me know! I would love to see it!

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Caramel Cashew Macaron Recipe

This is a not a food blog. I have no intention on turning it into a food blog, but...

I was recently reading a post from KariAnne from Thistlewood Farms about beginning blogging. Although I have been blogging for over a year, I'm always open to good advice. She suggested that treat the content of your blog like you would a lunch date with a good friend. What would you talk about?

Don't worry, I would likely spend most of lunch talking about furniture or what do to with my bathroom, but there is a side of me that I haven't shared with you all yet. I LOVE to bake! Seriously, I go through powdered sugar like nobody's business. I consider baking to be a considerable portion of who I am.

I have been urged by family and friends for years to go into the baking business. I don't see that path in my future, but I figured it was time to start sharing some of my favorites with you. 

Let me know what you think? Do you guys like the recipes? Or should I go back to the garage? Anyways, on with the sugar!

I am a french macaron fanatic. Yes, I enjoy coconut macaroons as well, but I have a soft spot in my heart for these crispy, chewy, sweet medallions. In my annual Christmas treat bags, I included a few chocolate hazelnut macs this last year. They were a huge hit! If you've never tried a french macaron, then you haven't lived. Here is your chance. 

They can be a bit tricky. I decided to post a simplified recipe. I've had good luck with it, but don't feel discouraged if you end up with a few air pockets or hollow tops. They will still be delicious. 

Walking through Trader Joes's last week, I discovered something amazing! They now sell cashew meal (sometimes called cashew flour), and for less than $5 a bag, I decided I needed to go buy some and experiment.

Traditionally, macarons are made from finely ground almond meal, so if you don't have a Trader Joe's close by, you can use almonds. You just won't have the rich, buttery flavor of the cashews.

 Either grind your own raw almonds in a food processor, or Bob's Red Mill sells bags of pre-made almond meal, found in the "gluten free" section of most grocery stores. 

In a medium sized bowl. Measure your cashew meal.

Measure and add your powdered sugar.

 Make sure to use exact measurements.

Blend together with a wire wisk.

In a stainless steel bowl, add egg whites and begin to beat with a wisk attachment.

Once the whites begin to foam, slowly pour in the granulated sugar. Continue to beat.

My personal preference is to beat the whites somewhere between soft peak and stiff peak stage.

Incorporate the dry ingredients and begin to fold in. This is the important part.

(This is the time I really need to focus, so sorry, no pics of this stage)

Fold approximately 40 times. You wan't the dry ingredients to be fully incorporated, but be careful not to over mix the batter. It will ruin your macarons! You are looking for the consistency of molten lava.

Insert an extra large, round tip into a pastry bag. Fold the top of the bag over a tall cup or vase for easier filling. 

Pipe 1 1/4" circles onto parchment lined cookie sheets. If your batter is the right consistency, any peaks will settle within 10 seconds. If you do have a few small peaks, use a damp finger tip to lightly smooth them out.

Firmly bang the pan on the counter 2-3 times to knock out air bubbles.

This is the next most important step: let the macarons rest before placing them in the oven! Longer is better. I usually aim for 40 mins to an hour. I have left them for over 2 hours before and they were almost perfect.

Bake at 290 degrees, on the lowest rack, for approximately 12 minutes. Keep and eye on them. You want them cooked through, but not browned. Actual time will depend on your oven.

Pipe room temperature caramel between 2 shells, place in the fridge, and let mature at least 24 hrs. 

The next day, allow to come to room temperature and enjoy the rich, buttery, chewy goodness.

Warning, they can be very addictive! I realize there is a lot more to mention about proper macaron procedure, but like I said in the beginning, this is a simplified recipe. If you have any questions, please ask and I'll do my best to help clarify.

Caramel Cashew French Macaron Recipe:

1 cup finely ground cashew meal
1 2/3 cup powdered sugar
3  egg whites (at room temperature)
1/4 cup granulated sugar

Caramel Filling:

5 Tablespoon butter
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup dark corn syrup
1/4 cup water

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Filling Directions:

1. Mix sugar, water, corn syrup, and salt in a saucepan. 
2. Bring mixture to boil.
3. Make sure to dissolve and lumps and brush crystals off the side of the pan.
4. In microwave, warm but do not boil cream and butter.
5. Cook sugar mixture to soft crack stage (270° F–290°).
6. Quickly whisk in warm cream and butter. (Mine separated a little bit, but I kept whisking and it came together.)
7. Allow to come to a boil again, and cook to firm ball stage (245° F–250°).
8. Remove from heat and still in vanilla.
9. Allow to cool and thicken to a good piping consistency. 

Macaron Directions:

1. Whisk cashew meal and powdered sugar together in medium sized bowl.
2. Beat egg whites in stainless steel bowl till foamy. Slowly pour in granulated sugar and beat past soft peak stage, but before stiff peak stage.
3. Incorporate dry ingredients into egg whites by gently folding. Approximately 40 strokes. Batter should be consistency of molten lava.
4. Pipe 1 1/4" circles onto parchment lines cookie sheets.
5. Firmly tap sheet on counter top 2-3 times to remove air bubbles.
6. Let rest 40-60 mins on counter.
7. Bake at 290 degrees for approx. 12 mins.
8. Pipe caramel filling between 2 shells.
9. Let mature in fridge at least 24 hours.
10. Bring to room temperature before enjoying.

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