Bookends

More Christmas presents, these were for my nephews.  I just used 3/4" plywood (left over scraps from another project), cut them down to size and used wood glue and a nail gun to put them together.  Afterwards, I stained them in my favorite color from Minwax called Dark Walnut. The dinosaurs I got from dollar tree, you really can't beat $1 for a dinosaur.  I used a band saw to cut the dino's in half then  I used super glue and hot glue to attach the dinosaurs (I put a dab of hot glue at 12 and 6 o'clock on the inside of the dinosaur and filled the rest in with super glue)  I kept these sitting for about a day before wrapping them up (just make sure you press down pretty hard on the dinosaur while the hot glue cools down to make sure it stays).

Xmas Project - the Hall Tree

I decided to make a hall tree for a Christmas present this year.  There were plans that I used on Pinterest, which you can find at http://ana-white.com/2012/08/plans/fancy-hall-tree.  I am pretty pleased with how it turned out.

 Sanding and staining took forever of course.

 Finished product, I got the coat hooks from Hobby Lobby.  I didn't even know they sold those there and they are cast iron.  They completed the look!

 And of course my partner in crime in the workshop, my dad!

Desk Restoration

DAY 1

So I have been spending some time looking on the free section of Craigslist to find new projects.  I stumbled upon this desk.

I had every intention of trying something new.  I wasn't sure how to sand because it's not real wood.  So I ended up using Zinsser Cover Stain Primer...wow, didn't realize how sticky that stuff was.  WEAR GLOVES NEXT TIME CHANDA!

So back to me trying something new, I got Valspar (because I love their paint) Signature Weathered Crackle Glaze.  Tried it...couldn't stand it.  I'm not sure if I didn't let the glaze dry enough before putting on my paint of choice...but it just looked like....HORRIBLE.  So after another couple coats of paint here's where I'm at now.

Yeah I don't much care for the way it looks...so I think I'm going to stencil something on the doors of the desk.  To be continued...

DAY 2

Well, I finished painting the desk and all I can think about when I look at it is 'Dirty Easter Egg'.  Oh well, it serves it's purpose I suppose.  Maybe it was the size of the Chevron designs that make it appear that way.

And here is the before and after

Hair Appliance Holder (for Pook)

DAY 1

Well, I have been super busy lately...however, my sister had a birthday so I decided to make her a little somethin' somethin'.  I knew she was getting a new hair appliance so I thought I would test out this hair appliance organizer idea.  Here's how it came out.

 It was made out of pallets, so I had to glue the base together since it wasn't as wide as I wanted it to be.

 Nothing a little wood glue can't fix...

 Drew on the sizes of the holders, the back has rectangles for the appliance cords/plug-ins

 

Nailed it all together and sanded it so the edges weren't sharp.  Not too shabby and not too symmetrical haha.

DAY 2

My sister sent me some pictures of her things in her new appliance holder.

Shelves are finally up

Finally got my shelves on the wall!  Beach theme room is coming together at last!

Bird house #2

Well, I didn't get a thing done to the bathroom storage unit this weekend like I had hoped..but I did get a bird house made for a friend of mine at work, him and his daughter are going to paint it.  Can't wait to see how it turns out.

Painting Headboard (July project)

Here's the headboard my dad made for me.  Painted white, then used glaze and gray paint mix 2:1

Needing to start on my quilt project soon so this all matches.

Bathroom Storage Cabinet

DAY 1

Beginning of a bathroom storage unit (above the toilet)..still needs a bit more work, and doors.

DAY 2

Made some gains with dad tonight on this, we made the doors.  I think now all that's left is getting hinges, handles and magnets...then of course painting this masterpiece.

DAY 3

So I know I said I wasn't going to end up working on the bathroom storage....but I did.  Spent last night putting the primer and paint on, today I've been working on glazing with white.

*Note to self: do not think you can use older bottles of glaze without feeling like you are working with 5 year old chewing gum.

Also, I did pick up the door magnets and knobs...but the hinges apparently are still in question.  I visited Lowe's twice yesterday and still came out with the wrong kind.

DAY 4

Had to put reinforcements on the storage unit, then paint them.

It's funny how an idea looks on paper then translates to real life...I never would have expected it to turn out this way.

Now I'm not sure if I truly had all that much stuff to put in there in the first place.

Love how it turned out and happy it's done!

Bird House #1 Mother-son time

So my son, Benton wanted to create a little masterpiece too!  So we made our first birdhouse together out of pallets.

 Note to self: pallets are extremely difficult to take apart and not break

Corner Shelves & DIY Nightstands

DAY 1

My dad gave me a brief rundown on how to use some of the tools in his shop.  So while he was at work I got to play in the garage.  I started off small with a couple of corner shelves.

Then I began to get braver.  A friend of mine had a wooden backdrop she used for her photography shoots that she wasn't using anymore so I got up the courage to attempt to build myself a couple of nighstands

Not too bad for a days work...

DAY 2

So I'm trying to go with a sort of beach theme for my bedroom.

 First step was putting on primer

 Benton was helping paint

 Took gray paint (Valspar) with a satin top coat mixed, painted over top then wiped off.

 Step by step process