Instagram Builder’s Challenge

Recently, I started following Wood Grain Girls on Instagram and saw that they were doing an Instagram Builder’s Challenge.  I signed up determined to actually build something “normal” for a change and to follow the plans exactly without throwing in a bunch of Make-Dos.

They sent out the plans, and it turned out to be the Shanty2Chic Farmhouse Table. I had been toying with the idea of rebuilding my kitchen table, anyway, as it was very unstable.

First lesson of these types of builds, “$50 in wood” means in their geographic region, and you should expect to double that if you have to buy screws, wood glue, stain, poly, etc.  Factor all that in when planning your budget, or you will be shocked.  Don’t get me wrong, building a nice wood table like this is still WAY cheaper than buying one from Pier 1, World Market or RH.  It just isn’t only $50.

First I went over to dad’s and used his table saw to cut down the 2x6s.  I was intending to do 5” boards, but….well, I’m still learning, so they turned out to be 4.75”.  Great, now I will HAVE to make-do things.  Speaking of make-do, what do you think of my out-feed table?

Then I took everything home and started cutting to length. I really tried to follow the plans, but after some measuring, realized that the length would be too long and the width too small, since I had made the cutting mistake.  I opted to add another 2x6 (2x4.75) to the width of the table top, and forego the breadboards across the end to save myself that 10 (9.5) inches.

The plans called for drilling pocket holes in all the boards, and then glue and screw it all together.  I really should have done a dry fit of the boards, first, to see which way they all fit together in the smoothest way without gapping.  But, I didn’t. So I started gluing and screwing and realized that a) I was on my patio and it wasn’t a smooth level surface and b) Some of the boards weren’t actually square so there were gaps in between them and the screws wouldn’t hold them tight.  BUMMER!!

I also realized that I hadn’t bought enough screws. 

I wrestled with everything for about 30 min, and finally got it all screwed together, then realized that it was TOO HEAVY for me to carry back to my shed by myself! :o That was my first clue of how sturdy this table was going to be.  It is a HUGE difference from the flimsy one I have used for 15 years. 

Once D2 helped me wrangle the top back into the shed, I started working on the legs.  The plans called for me to glue together two 2x6s for each leg. Except I got to cutting and made a mistake, so….

I happened to have a 4x4 that I was planning to use for something else, but, hey, it would save a bunch of gluing, so cut it down for the legs. I then did the measuring and cutting for the rest of the base, testing it all out by laying it out on top of the drying table top.

By that time, it was getting late, and I knew I was out of screws, so spent the rest of my day drilling all of the pocket holes in the base so that I could glue and screw those after doing a HD run the next day.

SO MANY POCKET HOLES!!

The next day, I came back to assemble the base and realized that I had measured the apron as all flush with the legs when I was cutting/drilling and the plans called for the aprons to be inset on the legs. Another mistake!!  But I persevered, glued and screwed everything else except for those and then went to work sanding the top.  Time for another HD run.  This time, I needed another 2x4, and some wood filler. YIKES!! 

I did a test patch of the stain I had picked out on the wood and decided it was just too dark. I wanted a lighter color table top, but I had spent $20 on it, so I was going to use it!

After the HD run, I finished putting the base together, and then I opted to use the black stain for just the base. I learned why people wear gloves when staining.  OH MY!  That stuff doesn’t come out. A week later and I still have it around my cuticles. 

While waiting for the base to dry, I filled in the cracks in the top with wood filler, then called it a night. The next morning, I sanded down the top, added some more wood filler, where needed, then moved the base outside.  After putting on gloves (see I learn!), I went over the base with one coat of poly. In the Texas sun, it dried really quickly! 

Gave the top one more thorough sanding to get the wood filler blended, then wiped it down with a wet towel and let that dry for a bit.  I was afraid to start staining the top.  What if I didn’t like the color?  What if I messed it all up?  GLAAAARRRGH!!!!!!

But, since time was wasting and I was on a deadline, I just went for it.  Only put on one coat of stain, wiping it off almost immediately after applying it, working in sections.  I’m so very glad that I actually did like the color.  Let that dry overnight, then sanded it in spots to give it that distressed look, wiped it all down again, then applied a coat of poly. 

In all, I put two coats of poly on the base and 3 coats on the top.  After the 2nd coat on the top, I let it sit for 24-hours, then hand sanded with 220 grit sandpaper to make sure there were no drip spots and put on one more coat of poly. 

After that dried, we moved the base into the house, then set the top on it, measure to get it all square and centered on the base, and screw everything in.  WHAT A RELIEF!!!!

And I love it.  It’s just the right size for us, and I know it will last for 30 years.

That said, go check out some of the other contest entries, and see the winners, over on the www.woodgraingirls.com site. There are some really amazing and creative people out there!

Total Cost: Stain/Poly - $45
           Wood - $55.42
            Screws - $16.43
           Wood Filler/Brushes/Sandpaper/Misc - $30.01
All told, and including tax, I spent about $180.  However, I have enough leftovers to make at least one more project.
Total time: Two solid weekends, mostly drilling pocket holes and waiting for stuff to dry.
Outcome: HUGE SUCCESS!!!!!!

Now go Make-Do a success of your own.

**************UPDATE!!!!*************

I have now built my scraps from this project. With the additional purchase of 2 4x4s, and one 2x4, I also have two benches and 10 office gifts. Not bad for $200.

Pallet pumpkin

It look so easy on Pinterest, doesn't it? You just take a pallet, use a jigsaw to cut it apart, and turn it into a pumpkin for your front porch. "It's so easy," they say. "Anyone can do it." If so, then I should be able to do it. And I certainly have pallets. 

So I pulled out my Reciprocating saw, and started cutting. I realized very quickly that it made good work of the wood, but whoever said it would cut right through nails must of had a different brand of saw.

I finally gave up on cutting through the nose, and just cut around the nails. Then I had a much more manageable section of pallet with which to work. So I took it over to my sawhorse.

I sketched out a pumpkin shaped using a pencil on the wood, then got out my jigsaw and began to try and cut out that outline. It works really well, except for when it got to the hall thicker cross pieces. For that, I had to get out my circular saw. By then, I had every saw I owned sitting on my sawhorse table for use.

Once you get it cut out, you really are pretty much done. That is the hard part. From there it was just spraying it with several coats of orange spray paint.

Oh, after gluing up the piece that did not have an anchor because I cut the nails in the wrong place.

When I first painted it, the kid said it needed a longer stem, so I went back and cut more off the top so that it would have a more pronounced stem.

Then I went back over the stem section with some green paint, let everything dry, and voilà! A reusable pumpkin for my front porch.

Oh! Somewhere during all of this, I did sand everything thoroughly. At any rate, it's done and it was basically free, and I'm very happy with it. 

I will probably try and make larger versions or smaller versions for subsequent years so that I can have a grouping. But this year I'm calling it good enough.

Cost: free, materials on hand. 

Time: one afternoon

Outcome: SUCCESS!!

Now go make-do something of your own! 

A Video Post

Normally, I post written info with pictures about something I've created.  Today, I'm posting a link to a video I did about creating this.

Several weeks ago, I came upon the Summer's Woodworking 2x4 Challenge and it looked way too fun to not try.  The challenge is to see what you can build out of a regular 2x4.  Those things are cheap, so I figured it would be a relatively inexpensive way to challenge myself to do something new.
I gotta tell you. It was WORK!  Between struggles with the Table Saw from dullsville, and learning how NOT to use a planer or camera phone, I learned a great deal.  The video max length was 10 minutes, and I realized that cutting it down to that was almost as hard as making the thing.  I really like to document stuff!

At any rate, here's the video.  Hope you enjoy!

If I were doing it over again (and I may), I would shorten the post and lengthen the paddles.  I think I'm also going to do a cross beam base that will just sit over the top of the rain barrel (trash cans) when the lid is off.  I certainly have plenty of 2x4 scraps.

Cost: 2 planers, 1 mini jar of tinted weatherproofing, and 1 2x4 - $25
Time: 3 full days
Outcome: Success! I learned something.

Not a DYI post

It's been just too cold to spend time out in my shed or yard. We had our annual ice storm this week, which was a bummer. 

My shed is calling me, and I am really hoping we only have about 3-more weeks of this. YUCK! 

I tried a really tacky art project that I'm never going to post. But it got me thinking about when I first started to let out my passion for reusing or repurposing things. 

That summer I used a bunch of pallets and reclaimed wood to customize my backyard, and I made my dad a birthday present.  It's really pieces of trees that he have me for firewood, hangars, and painted yogurt cups. I thought the shapes were too interesting to burn, so....Dad still doesn't understand it, but I like it, so I'm sharing pics.

When I took it to him, mom saw it and added bells to the painted yogurt cups. I got my crazy from her. ;)

Stay warm and safe! 

Another Pinterest success

You see things all the time on Pinterest, and you think to yourself, "I could make that". So you pin it. And three months later you go back and look at all your pins, and wonder if you're ever going to actually do any of them, or just keep pinning. Ha!

When I was putting up the Christmas lights, I came across a tree branch that was broken, and needed to be trimmed. Pulled out my saw, and trimmed it, thinking "here is some wood for that stuff I see on Pinterest". 

It sat in my shed for about a month, and then I decided to give it a whirl. Turns out, the hard part was getting a straight cut using my worn-out saw blade.

First I cut it into 4-5 inch sections. I realized pretty quickly that the bark on the cypress wood was just going to continue to flake off, so I sanded the outsides pretty thoroughly. Then used a drill bit to create a hole in the top for the tea lights. 

The 1 1/2 inch bit was the right size. Sawdust just went everywhere! You have to drill down pretty far, and I wish I had some clamps to hold the wood while I drilled. As it was, I wore gloves, because it kept trying to flip out of my hands.

I did try painting the bottom half of some of them, like Pinterest shows, but I did not like the effect.

The part of the branch that had split, and caused me to trim it, to begin with, was pretty interesting looking so I drilled some holes in it also.

After I had them all cut and drilled, I sprayed them thoroughly with some spray sealer. The sealer really helped to pull out the natural beauty of the wood.

Then I put them in bundles of three, and gave them as Christmas gifts... Except for the arch. The arch I kept for my mantle.

Total cost: $7.00 for the 1.5" drill bit.

Total time: 3-4 hours, mostly to allow for sealer drying. 

Verdict: SUCCESS!! 

Work desk Christmas Tree

So, I know Christmas was a month ago, but I really need an updated post, so I'm showing one thing I did back in December. Ha!

I have a new job and the decoration requirements are different than my last one. Add to that the fact that I'm in a cube, now, instead of the office to which I've been accustomed. So I had to really pare down what I usually do for decorations. It was kind of sad for me, actually. I have a thing for trees and suddenly couldn't put one up. :(( 

Then I remembered seeing various wooden trees on Pinterest made from pallets and old wood and such. :D WELL!! You all know how much I love building things and using up old wood and leftover items. 😁😁😁

So I went out to my shed to take a look at my stash, and joy of joys, I had exactly what I thought I would need. After a little measuring and cutting of some old fence picket leftovers, and the leg off of a TV tray I disassembled last year for shelves in my cabinets, I started painting. 

Then I drilled holes where I thought I could place some battery-operated lights I found at Dollar Tree, and then screwed everything together. 

When I got it assembled, I realized an error with my hole drilling. :( I can't very well put lights through the tree trunk. So then I had to drill more holes, which weren't as neat, and improvise on what to do with the holes drilled in error. 

Fortunately, I had an old Christmas lights necklace that had stopped working, that I was able to cut apart and use to decorate the tree. 

As with so many of my projects, it's not perfect, but it certainly works, and that's why I call myself the Make-Do Queen. 😉

Cost: $1.00 for the lights. 

Time: 2 hours (mostly due to paint drying)

Result: Success

Belated Fall Decoration

Several weeks ago, I had an idea for a small project. Between my birthday and a bunch of stuff going on at work and with the kids, I only just now got around to working on it this past weekend.

At this point, it's about seeing if I could actually do it, not using it for decorations. But now I will have it for next year. So, YEAH! Go me! Ha!

I started off by cutting and sanding some scrap 2x4, then spray painting them. 

Sadly, the color I absolutely love, espresso (Wonder why), I ran out of on the first block. But since I had recently purchased some orange, I figured it would work to do the other three blocks.

Then I pulled out my stencils, and trusty sponge brush, and stenciled the letters onto the blocks. In my head, it seemed like a good idea to have the letters actually "falling"...so. I don't hate it. I just wish I had measured better. 

Then I put a clear coat of glow-in-the-dark paint over it all. 

I tied some ribbon around one block, in an attempt to make it look like it had a stem, and voilà!

Now I'm ready for Fall...just in time for Christmas. Ha!

Cost: materials on hand

Time: 1 hour

Outcome: Success

Update to the previous post

A friend decorates for EVERY holiday, and liked the patriotic centerpiece that I made, so I gave it to her.  Then, I realized that I wanted one for myself. lol

So I grabbed dad's drill bit again, and threw this together in less than an hour! 

As a bonus, my sister moved last weekend, and was cleaning out her stuff and had some wooden slats that she had used to support a bed.  They had nice rounded edges, so I used one and cut it up to create the box and coffee-themed centerpiece that can stay in my kitchen, year-round.

Those ladies at Shanty2Chic really know how to inspire!

My repurposed coffee bar

And finally the project I teased almost a month ago!

I have this space in my kitchen.

As you can see, it's almost wasted space, and the dog is able to knock over the trash can whenever she gets mad about something and spread it all over the house. (Another reason I pulled up the carpet back in November and put in the paper floors.  Check out that blog here.)

I've toyed with putting in a pantry for almost the entire time I've owned the house, but could never decide HOW to do that, on my ultra-cheap budget, and still have it look good.  Then I considered knocking down the top of the wall and opening it up into my living room, so that the two rooms had more connection.  One of my friends did that in her house, and it was SUCH a headache for her, that I decided to not try to take that on, myself.

At some point this spring, I decided to just put a shelf in, at bar height, to allow for more counter space and to better conceal the trash, recycling and dog food canisters.  When I started talking about it to my kids, D2 insisted that I put some real effort into making it look good, not just be functional.  She didn't mind the shabby chic of my back yard, but insisted that the inside of the house look good for her friends.  TEENS!

So, that slowed me down.  I had to figure out how I could build something, on almost no budget, and have it look like it was semi-professional.  I built the box out of that reclaimed plywood, and some old fence materials, but then it just sat in my shed for a month or so while I tried to figure out how to dress it....and how to mount it.

I had bought some shelf brackets at Dollar Tree, but when the kiddo insisted it look GOOD, I had to re-think the support.  I did some research on YouTube and saw that several people advised the kind of wall anchors that would go through the wood, into the sheetrock, and then pivot to provide stability.  So I went to Home Depot and bought a package of the sturdiest looking 3" wall anchors I could see.

When I was out in the shed, last week, looking for something else, I spotted some baseboards that had been left with the house/shed, and started looking at them.  They are actually the right height, and would affix to the box I built easily, and give it a more "finished" look.

Then I realized that I would have to miter cut the ends to fit together.  I have never miter cut anything in my life and was seriously afraid to try. I remembered a friend telling me that my circular saw had little levers and knobs that would allow it to do angle cuts and so I pulled it out and started trying to figure out how to do that.  Knowing that I would do it wrong the first time, I left the baseboard sections about 6" longer than I actually needed them, and then cut.  Yep!  Did it wrong the first time.  Corrected the cut by flipping the board onto it's back, then re-drawing a straight line, then cutting again.

SUCCESS!  Repeat on the next section.

Using wood glue and nails, I attached both pieces to the box....and noticed that my cutting skills hadn't been that precise when cutting the top out of the plywood.  There were little gaps between the baseboard and the plywood and I just stared at it and wondered what in the world I was going to do NOW?

As is my habit, I left it alone and gave it a day or two to let my brain try to resolve the issue while I focused on other tasks.

I was applying for a job at a local home improvement store and they asked about my knowledge of caulk...and I thought, "I can use caulk to fill in those gaps, then paint over it all, and no one will know!"  EUREKA!!

When I got to the caulk isle, I saw that right behind me was wood filler.  Well, if caulk will work, I bet wood filler will work BETTER, so I bought some of that, and saw the poly right next to it, and remembered that my poly at home was rubbish, so purchased a small can of that, too.

RABBIT TRAIL:
Feeling like I might actually be able to pull this off, I started thinking about what I could move to sit on that shelf, freeing up cabinet space or counter space.  As I was sitting in my kitchen, pondering, drinking my coffee, I thought, "Wouldn't it be nice to have my coffee stuff moved over there where I could spread it out and not have it be such a clutter that everyone sees the second they step into the kitchen?"

See, I'm a little bit of a coffee addict.  I have the Keurig, a regular drip coffee maker, and a french press, in case the electricity goes out.  Yes, I would boil water in the fire place in a kettle and use it to make coffee.  Yes, I'm THAT bad of an addict.

So, I'm dreaming about making it my own personal coffee bar, and realize there are no plugs on that wall.  HOWEVER, my dad and uncle are 3 streets over and both are relatively competent DIY electricians. :D  Oh, yes, I immediately began talking them into coming over and dropping me a plug right where I want it. HA!

In the process, they also figured out why a particular switch wasn't working and fixed it.  Yeah!!

So, back to the wood filler.  I read the instructions carefully, and squeezed a bunch into the gaps, trying to use the putty knife to get it even.  It was so hot that the stuff was hardening quickly, and I wound up just using my fingers to get it where it needed to be.  Wait 2 hours, sand, add more to fill in the deep spaces, wait 2 hours, sand, repeat.  After it was built up to a satisfactory level, I started painting with...yep, the RED. Ha!

It took multiple coats, again.  Paint.  Wait an hour, reapply, wait, paint, wait, paint, etc.  About the 4th coat had the wood filler completely covered and blended, and the place where the miter cuts met looked really good thanks to the wood filler.

I REALLY wanted to stencil something on it, but my stencil skills are SERIOUSLY lacking.  I was almost resigned to installing it with no decoration, when I figured out that I could do a reverse stencil on it.  So, I used some peel and stick letters, some painter's tape, and an odd piece of flooring to keep a straight upper line and painted over it in black, the same color as the legs.

After waiting an hour or so, I did another coat of black, let dry, then removed the letters, tape and flooring.  I borrowed a small paintbrush from my artist of a daughter and went back over the edges with some touch-up paint to get the lettering as clean as possible.

Let it all sit and dry for an hour or two, then applied the first coat of poly.  Wait 2 hours, reapply. 

Here's the thing I'm learning in all of these projects. My push to get things DONE, isn't always the best way to do them.  I really should have allowed for more time to let it all sit and dry and harden before trying to install it.  Just because it's horribly hot outside, and the paint and poly is smooth and dry to the touch, doesn't mean its HARD and ready to move around.

Called Dad and Uncle to help me get it installed, and as I was trying to communicate with them the way I envisioned it being affixed to the wall, we managed to bump it a couple times, and there are now a few little nicks on it.  It's not huge stuff, but I'll always know its there if I don't go back and fix it.

I let it sit for several days, after I saw that, and then moved in.  I was just given a sign from an old church coffee shop, and I mounted that on the wall to cover the old telephone jack.

Voila!

I'm going to go back and sand, touch up and re-poly the couple of spots that bother me, and realized that when I measured and built the box, I didn't allow for the extra 3/4" of the width of the baseboard, so that needs to be painted/hid.

But I like it.

Total cost = $28 (wood filler, wall anchors, poly, new switch & faceplate)
Total time = TOO long  (weeks?)
Outcome = The kid doesn't hate it, so I call that a SUCCESS!

Hope Chest Hutch

As I mentioned in the previous post, I recently created a space in my bedroom for a home office.  As a result of the transition, I realized a drastic need for more shelving. 

I knew I would have to build something, as I simply can't afford to go buy stuff, but I knew that I wanted it to look good and be sturdy.  Not sure if I've mentioned this, but my skills are almost zero. I learn on every single project and make mistakes on every single project.

I decided on attempting to build a hutch that could sit on my hope chest.

Several months ago, I came across some old cabinets that someone had disassembled and put by the dumpster.  I talked to the building guy and he gave me permission to take anything around their dumpster that I thought was of value.  Since the cabinets were built out of 3/4" plywood, something I desperately needed, I had grabbed the 3 best looking sections, loaded them in my mom-mobile, and brought them home.

In order to use them, I had to cut off the bad spots, and pull out all the previously existing nails and hardware, then sand them down, THOROUGHLY.

I measured the width of my hope chest and decided on the total height, then cut the plywood into 4 sections, 6" wide.

Two sections for the vertical and 2 sections for the horizontal.  Sanded every section, again, then used screws to assemble into a simple shelf.  When I got it put together, I was a little nervous about the true stability of the middle shelf, so cut another piece to act as a brace in the middle.  Then realized it might tip over easily if I didn't offset some balance, so added a small 2" cross bar along the back bottom to provide additional support.

That seemed pretty stable, so I started painting it.  Because it was already blue, and I was using the red I've grown fond of, it took MULTIPLE coats to cover.  I would paint it, then let it sit for 4-6 hours in the heat of my shed, in the back yard, in the middle of May, in Texas, then go back and put another coat. 

When I was comfortable with the coverage of the red, then I decided to seal it, for good measure.  I had some old polyurethane that came with the house and shed, so opened it and applied it.  Evidently, sitting for over 4 years in the extreme heat and cold, reduced the efficacy because it never hardened, just stayed tacky to the touch.

So I pulled out the spray sealer that I used for all the glass bottle projects back in the spring, and put a couple of coats of that on the shelves.

After letting it dry/harden for 24 hours, I moved it inside. 

It's not something you'd find at a fine furniture store, but for the cost of my time, I'm actually pleased with it.  And it is certainly sturdy enough to hold everything I've stacked on it.  At some point, I've seen cute little folding baskets from Dollar Tree that I'll buy to put the files and junk in, but until I know what my job situation is going to be, I'm hesitant to spend much on non-functional stuff.

Total cost = materials on hand
Total time = 3-4 days, allowing for drying times
Outcome = Success