Wendy Kelly (u/wendyk56)

Posts

Hit 500 garage sales this year and I'm kind of over it

I kept a tally on my phone since January and somehow I've been to 500 garage sales this year. I didn't even realize until last weekend when I was sitting in my car at yet another driveway full of baby clothes. The thing is, I've only found maybe 3 decent deals the whole time. A Pyrex bowl for $2 and a vintage lamp for $5 were the highlights, but I spent way more in gas and time. I don't know if I'm just unlucky or if the good stuff is all gone before I get there. Has anyone else hit that point where you wonder if it's even worth the early mornings anymore?

3 comments

c/drywall-installers•

wendyk56•18h ago

Question about my last drywall job failing at the corner bead

I had a perfect corner bead install on a closet job in Cedar Rapids last Tuesday that just popped loose after one bump from a furniture mover, what do you guys use to secure it better?

3 comments

c/carpenters•

wendyk56•21h ago

My uncle swore I could use a framing hammer for trim work and I've been fixing nail pops for two days straight

He said 'a hammer's a hammer' so I used his old 28-ounce framing hammer on some fancy window casing and now I'm patching divots in MDF - has anyone else had a relative give them terrible tool advice that just cost you a whole weekend?

2 comments

c/coding-for-beginners•

wendyk56•4d ago

Saw a bunch of beginners using let when const was the right call

Been scanning some code on GitHub the past few weeks. Every other new project has let everywhere. Even for stuff that never changes. I get it, let works. But const tells the next person your intent. Saves headaches later. I learned that the hard way after a bug took me 2 hours to find because I reassigned something on accident. Anyone else notice this pattern?

3 comments

c/break-time-banter•

wendyk56•4d ago

I spent $60 on a heated lunch bag and it totally fried my sandwich

I was sick of eating cold food on my break so I bought this electric lunch box from a sale rack at Target. Plugged it in at my desk and after 20 minutes my turkey wrap was steaming and soggy, the cheese was completely melted through the bread. The heating element got so hot it actually scorched the bottom of the bag too. Has anyone found a decent way to keep lunch warm without turning it into a mess?

3 comments

c/digital-art-showcase•

wendyk56•7d ago

I compared posting my art on Instagram versus ArtStation for 6 months and one platform gave me way better feedback

Instagram gave me likes from random strangers, but ArtStation brought in actual comments from working artists who pointed out my lighting was off. Which platform do you dig for getting real critique versus just validation?

2 comments

c/barbers•

wendyk56•22d ago

Hit 500 haircuts this week and I'm still shook about it

I've been cutting hair out of my home shop for about 2 years now and I just hit my 500th haircut on Wednesday. It was a little kid who wanted a fade like his dad and I honestly didn't even realize I was that close until I looked at my book. 500 sounds like a lot but it didn't feel like that many when I was doing it one head at a time lol. I started off just doing friends and family for cheap and now I've got a solid rotation of regulars who actually trust me with their hair. It made me think about how far I've come from messing up bald fades to getting compliments from other barbers. Does anyone else keep track of their numbers or is that just me being weird about milestones?

2 comments

c/fashion-design-ideas•

wendyk56•26d ago

That $200 "designer" fabric I bought for a dress project was a complete disaster

I spent $200 on this handwoven cotton from a small brand online because everyone swears by natural fibers for draping. Big mistake lol. The dye bled so bad after one wash it looked like a tie-dye mess, and the weave started pulling apart at the seams after two wears. I could have bought four decent poly blends for that price and gotten way more use. Anyone else been burned by expensive "artisan" materials that just don't hold up?

3 comments

c/drywall-installers•

wendyk56•28d ago

The difference a new mud pan made on my finish work...

I've been using the same metal mud pan for about 8 years now, and honestly I just thought my taping skills were slipping. Over the last few months I noticed my compound was drying out faster and I kept getting these weird ripples in my coat. Turns out the pan had developed a tiny rust spot right in the corner where it meets the flat edge. I switched to one of those plastic coated pans last week for a job in a new build over on Elm Street. The difference in how smooth my finish came out was night and day, and I saved almost 20 minutes per room on sanding alone. Has anyone else had an old tool sneak up on them like that?

3 comments

c/cable-installers•

wendyk56•29d ago

Snapped a fish tape mid-pull in a client's attic in Phoenix last July

It was 115 degrees up there and I was on my third pull when the tape just gave up and broke inside the conduit. Had to leave the whole job for the next morning because I couldn't even get the broken end out without sweating through my shirt. Has anyone else had a fish tape fail on them like that?

3 comments