Fix Curtain Rod, Fix Shelf and Some Planting

This post has a few small things that I've done lately.

1.  Fix the Curtain Rod

OK so I came home from work one day a few weeks ago to notice that my beautiful curtains had been pulled down.  Big sad face.  Of course my children both looked at me blankly like they had no idea that anything had happened.  Then they blamed the cat.

You can see in the pic below that the curtains are piled on the sofa. 

So it looks like the screws and wall anchors totally failed with the weight of the curtains over time (plus probably some pulling on by the kids cat).

I pulled out the bracket and still had one screw/anchor left in the wall.

So I searched in my toolbox and decided that these wirecutters could grab the anchor and pull it out.

Here it is.  Too flimsy for the big heavy curtains.

So, not sure what to do.  I looked at the holes to see if a larger anchor would work (like the ones below) but the holes were already too large.

Then it dawned on me to try and find a stud (duh!).  I love these moments of revelation.  Followed by, why the heck didn't I just use the stud to begin with.  Guess I like doing things twice. 

I found the stud by hammering in a small nail (had to do this a few times).  Then I used my level to redrill the screwholes.

And reinstalled the bracket (this picture makes it look like its not level, but it is).

I got this sample of 3M Patch at the Haven conference and filled in the old holes.

Waited a bit and sanded.  Since my walls are painted white and since the curtains cover these patches, I didn't actually do the touch up painting. 

And they are hanging again.

Hooray!!! 

2.  Fix the Shelf

This is one of those projects that I've needed to get to since Day 1.  This handy shelf/cabinet thing in the laundry room is wobbly and won't hold the middle shelf so its been basically unusable. 

This is a great storage space, in the laundry room right off the kitchen.  Since this is a small space and I need as much storage room as possible I wanted this shelf to sit real close to the wall, but the shoe molding was in the way (so was the baseboard but I could live with that.

So I used my jigsaw to just trim a little bit off the bottom. 

I cut the back corner off.  Also, the little feet on the bottom of the shelf unscrewed a bit to help lift the shelf over the shoe molding. 

Then I used a little L bracket to secure the shelf to the wall (I used my nail trick to find the stud again).

And now I can actually use this shelf. 

3.  Add Some Plants

So its nearing the end of summer and I'm finally getting around to doing some planting.  The planter on the right (below) was pretty sad.

Like I said...

I bought these pansies from HD and used some ORB spray paint on the planter.

Much happier.  :)

Also, we added another hydrangea.  Alex dug the hole.

And its all planted.  I just hope I don't kill it.  (crossing fingers)