Furniture Building: Front Entrance Bench and Shoe Cubby

I recently got a table saw from my wonderful wife! I decided to build a shoe cubby first, since our front door is always cluttered with a variety of shoes and boots. I am making it out of birch plywood with pine trim on the face. 

Here I have the base assembly all put together. I have the top drying behind(not shown), after gluing the boards together. Everything has been sanded down and the nail holes are all filled. Just need a warmish day to apply the primer and start painting. 

I haven't ever done woodworking like this before. I am learning a ton and can't wait to start my next project.

It has Started

Spring FEVER!

Getting our seed stock sorted by start dates.

We went through our seed stock yesterday. Ordered what we needed from Baker Creek and bought some that we know worked well for us from Irish Eyes. All Organic or Heirloom or both. It's going to be a big year for our veggie starts business. 

We will be starting our first seeds in 19 days. 

Warming Mat For Seed Germination

We are getting ready for seed starting and after reflecting back to lasts years results, I remembered we had terrible germination rates for our peppers. 

This is what happened last year.

I was wondering if anyone has used a warming mat before and whether or not it worked?

They have this one here at our local seed store for 31.99. I am hesitant to buy it without knowing how well it works.

That's for reading! Hopefully someone has some input.