merdena, yes! I say this from my own experience. In other words, 'if I could do it, anyone can.' I had two advantages. I worked in a hardware store and I did 18 hours of "irrigation school". The most important thing I learned in school was to identify and name correctly the many and various fittings. My first investment was in a can each of cleaner and glue, some pipe and fittings and a hacksaw. My first successful project was extending the water supply to our washing machine. It had to be removable to leave the original fixture intact when we left the apartment. PVC is a particular joy to work with because if you make a mistake, you can use the hacksaw to get back to the drawing board. I practised aligning fittings (without glue) to make piping go where I wanted. Then I would glue the project, test it and cover it up. Two habits I formed were to always use colored glue so that I could spot a joint that was not glued and to always use teflon tape on threaded fittings. Hardware stores have these free booklets which will walk you through the project from beginning to end. You yurself will not be able to resist getting into the act; there are so many spinoffs! Like making PVC furniture, plant supports, lightweight shelving and (clothing) racks etc. etc.

I use those 4' orange electic fence stakes from home depot (about $1 a piece)for lots of things in the yard & gardens. Pound it in the ground and then slide the PVC pipe over it and into the soil a bit. Set out several of these with holes drilled in the PVC pipe and string wire through them to make a fairly sturdy, portable & cheap trellis. I use these stakes to build easy fencing. I use plastic cable ties to secure wire or plastic mesh fencing to them. Because I dislike the orange and it stands out like a sore thumb, I paint my stakes black. Pound 2 rows of these stakes in the ground about 4' apart and slide each end of a flexible PVC pipe over them, making an arch. Cover this with garden cloth or plastic to protect plants. I "sew" the fabric to the pvc with fishing line. If you are using plastic, cut some flaps in it, to keep it from blowing away in a big wind. I use them to brace non secured retaining walls. At my old house I built a raised bed using them to hold the lumber together. I drilled holes in the timbers and slid them over the stakes, then I lined the interior side with heavy plastic.

remodelfla- Have you considered painting the cabinets and adding in the wood tones in somethings else, like flooring, or butcherblock counters? This is what I am doing with my IKEA kitchen. Perhaps the Scherrs idea is worth checking out though, especially if they are now pre-drilling. I am intrigued to see you design when it is completed- I love the industrial/contemporary/vintage combination that both you and lisalists describe. I have been describing my look as English/Southern/farmhouse/scullery/industrial. grlwprls- I can't wait to see your design either! I love your idea of early American gorcery store industrial. In fact, last summer when I visited a museum in the Outer Banks, I took a picture of their General Store display (I think it was supposed to represent what it would have looked like in about 1910 or so), just for the molding and beadboard! Oh, how pitiful we are, the TKO.

yes, i used a tiny drop of glue for each seed :D and i didn't add any more glue to stick the 2 strips together, it's held using the glue holding the seeds to the newspaper. i figured it's water soluable, right? lol i didn't want to mix up a flour/water paste, or cook up a cornstarch "glue"....and i don't know if that would be better for growing, but the mice and bugs would sure run to those before they would school glue :D and it would get moldy,too......that's down here in the warm humid south.