Adding a hutch to a desk {post 2}
Boy was I ever rusty in my woodworking skills for this build!! I’m glad I am here to show you that multiple mistakes during a build can still result in a usable piece of furniture… 
First off, my plan. Wherever did I think that I could fit the amount of shelves I had planned for is beyond me! I had an extra cut out that the plan called for. You know how I have warned you that using my plan “as is” is probably not advisable? I had a good laugh at myself as I was laying out the pieces on the garage floor for a dry fit!
Which reminds me–I really, really need to get a workbench made so I can quit using the floor.
Where would one more shelf fit??!!
And then I realized that I was going to have to figure out how high I wanted to make the first shelf, because it was going to be permanent and not moveable. I had not figured that in–I wanted it to all be adjustable. BUT this will not be attached to the actual desk because the desktop is formica. In order to keep it square I need to have it fastened in the middle. This ended up being a monumental decision–I went back and forth on it. Right now she doesn’t need a ton of head room for that first shelf, but I want this to work for her as long as she is at home. I went with the shelf being at 17.5″ (16.75″ once I added the face frame) so that she can fit a bigger monitor under there if need be someday. (I was really irritated with myself for making that such a big decision because it ate up precious time! Sometimes I can be so indecisive.)
Then I got to use another of my birthday presents–my brand new Kreg Shelf Pin Jig. Love it.
Build some under the sink storage
Happy Valentine’s Day!
This post was originally a guest post for Brittany over at Pretty Handy Girl a little over two weeks ago. I so appreciate that she featured me over there! If you didn’t catch it then, here is the Pink Toe version
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Based on today’s post, I’m going to predict that 2012 is going to involve some embarrassing photos. Embarrassing to me specifically. But the “after” results are so worth the embarrassment that I’m going to show you some of the messy areas of our my house. That cannot read “our” because no part of My Man is messy. Been with him 18 years and the man hasn’t made a mess yet. Me? I’m the fertility goddess for messes—they breed all around me. So I decided to tackle one mess at a time in 2012 and my latest project is organizing under the sink in the master bath.
I mean look at this (if you are male and uncomfortable looking at feminine products, you can just skip on ahead here…if you can even find it in this mess. This photo could be a page in an I Spy book).
Ack! I swear it looks worse in the picture! You can now understand that when I saw this on Pinterest I got pretty excited.
source: Pregnant…with power tools
Actually I got a LOT excited…dollar store bins! Scrap wood! Cheap and easy DIY—what’s not to love??
So I went off and I built some stuff and now it looks like so:
AAAHHH! I love it so much now!
First thing you need to do is go get yourself some bins. This project cost me $4 because all I had to buy were the bins and I got 2 for $1 at Dollar Tree. You need to know also that bins vary in quality and usability for this project. Look for rigid bins with side edges that are uniform with no obstructions like these: Read More…
Scrap lumber project for small animal friends
First I want to apologize for this post being sent prematurely several days ago. I have no idea what happened–I started writing up the post, left the computer for a bit, came back to finish it, and discovered it was published. So sorry about that–and it was blank at the time it was published as well!
I had some time recently and I needed to solve a little problem…the little problem is a Netherland dwarf rabbit named Annie. She recently moved from the basement to the dining-room-we-never-eat-in-that-is-scheduled-to-become-an-office-in-the-near-future. Her cage needed prettied up. A lot.
So today I added a new house. All scraps, so it was totally free!
I actually started out just wanting a box to contain the corn cob litter we use. It started out like this:
I even fancied it up with the small strips of 1/4″ plywood.
I didn’t have a tall enough piece of 3/4″ plywood, so I had to piece some together.
But then I got the idea of putting a roof on, and it took off from there. Read More…
Crates
A little while ago I saw these crates on a blog post by Kit at DIY Diva and I loved them. She made hers from pallets. I did not for a few reasons.
- 1. I’d have to find some pallets
- 2. I’d have to take apart said pallets.
- 3. Pallets scare me. I’m pretty sure that most of them are saturated in all sorts of things to keep the wood from rotting, none of which I want inside or to breathe while I’m cutting, sanding,etc. Read the comments in the DIY Diva post for safety measures you can take.
So I went to Lowes to the furring strip department and searched for really-beat-up-but-straight-as-I-could-find boards. Really beat up? Easy. Straight as I could find? Not so much. I could find furring strips for the 1x3s and 1x4s, but the 1x2s were impossible, so I used Top Choice for those.
6—1x3x8 furring strips
3—1x4x8 furring strips
1—1x2x8 and 1—1x2x6 Top Choice boards (they only had a few at 8’—there was enough wood for 3 with these figures)
For a grand total of $21.24. Much, much, much cheaper than the large baskets I was eyeballing at Target 2 weeks ago. I could have spent $50-$60 dollars on 3 baskets! Sheesh. Here’s my version:
For the ends cut: Read More…
Pretty in Pink: Post 4 {Built-In Bookcase Reveal}
Built-in bookcases. Check. Still got quite a few projects before this room can be called done! But one thing can be crossed off the list now. Remember before:
Laundry Room {shelf behind washer and dryer}
Remember this mess?
This has driven me nuts since we moved in and I discovered that all the “necessaries” behind the washer and dryer were not covered up by the washer and dryer. And it looks gross–I don’t know what sprayed in that box back there, but that is NOT water. And I refuse to clean that. I don’t like cleaning my kitchen sink, much less climbing back there and cleaning that out. Nope. Not doing it. Now I don’t have to!
Here’s some pictures of the build. Read More…
Leaning Wall Shelves Part 9: The Reveal!
The last post in this series–the leaning wall shelves are done! I couldn’t help staging them in other parts of my house before they went where they were built for:
Leaning Wall Shelves Part 8: Staining the shelves
I am always a little afraid of the finishing step of any project, especially staining something. You just never know in the store just how the color is going to go onto your project. Paint is a little more predictable, but not stain. I recommend getting out one of the scrap pieces of lumber you used on the project and testing out the color you came home with before going any further–stain or paint. So much easier to change your mind now, rather than once you’ve started on the actual project!
Since I had sanded so thoroughly before assembling the leaning shelves, I did not do that again. I vacuumed the shelves with the brush attachment and gathered my supplies:
The stain was recommended by a member of the community over at Ana White’s website. If you want to see the results on red oak, click here and take a peek at Read More…
Leaning Wall Shelves Part 6: Assemble the legs & supports
Here we go, the part I have been worrying about–modifying those shelf legs so that they fit 3 shelves instead of what the plan called for. I decided to go with Ana’s plans at this point, which meant that I marked my boards from the bottom up, for 3 shelves, using her measurements. I knew this wouldn’t work perfectly, but I had to start somewhere!
Make sure that when you are drawing the lines on your board, that you make one board a mirror of the other, like this, but you haven’t cut anything yet:
Leaning Wall Shelves Part 5: Assemble the shelves
When I was assembling my first project, the closet organizer, I had not figured out the art of using clamps. Information on clamps seemed nonexistent on YouTube. So I made it up as I went and had problems. Project #2 went much smoother after viewing some of the Kreg Jig videos on YouTube and watching what they did (these were videos on using the Kreg Jig, not on using clamps). I tried to take pictures of my own set-up while constructing these leaning shelves, and I hope they help you.
After the bottoms of the shelves are screwed together, you need to cut a front and back for each shelf at 22.5 inches (same length as the bottoms). For two shelving units you need 12 cuts.
Next you need pocket holes on the bottom of your shelves in order to attach the sides. If I could do this again, I would make the pocket holes on the top of my Read More…
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The only plywood I use
Pink Toe Projects (click on the picture to get to the post)
Build your own crates:
Under Sink Storage:
Closet Organization:
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Pottery Barn Statton knock off in twin:
Pottery Barn Inspired Bedside Table:
Twin Storage Bed with Drawers:
Hide washer & dryer hookups:
Built-In Cabinet and Shelves:
Entryway Bench:
Board & Batten:
Laundry room cabinet & hutch:
Painting the dining room table:
Leaning wall shelves:
Thrift store lamp revamp:
Refinishing door hardware:
The $20 (or not) storage closet door:
Ruffle Flower Pillow:
Luggage Tag Tutorial:
TeePee Tutorial:
Fresh Eggs sign tutorial:
