Bonkers for Boxes

 

I'm back!  

August has been a fun and crazy month starting with a relaxing 2 weeks at a cottage near Lake Michigan with my family and my sister's family.

Sam started 10th grade at a new school this week and this coming Sunday Doug with compete in an Ironman Triathlon. 

I have managed a little time in the garage so I thought I would share some pictures. 

My good friend, Robin, came to visit me last week.  Her church, through donations and lots of volunteer hours, built and furnished a house for a family who lost everything in one of the southern tornadoes this past spring.  One of Robin's many jobs on the project was to furnish the house and she was in accessory mode when she was visiting me!   Robin loves to shop - I mean loves to shop!!!  She was having a blast finding all kinds of things - she wanted pretty but also useful items.  When I could shop no longer I suggested a few thing I could do in my workshop!   First she needed something cute for the dining table so I suggested the box I made a while back with the succulents:

 

 

Then she wanted something to go on the entry table for mail, keys etc.  so, we came up with this:

 

 

 

It came out so cute - I love it!

Next was something for the family room to hold the tv, dvd & cable remotes:

 

 

 

We had a great visit - a little bit of shopping and a little bit of building all for a great cause!

 

I am working on another box today for a sweet little boy - pictures will be coming soon!

 

 

 

 

Baby Crate for a Sweet Little Girl!

A friend's daughter is having a baby girl soon so I made this cute little crate to store all the toys this sweet little girl is sure to accumulate!  I just love her name!!

I used some leftover wood in the garage to make the crate and used my handy Kreg Jig to attach the sides to the bottom. The slates in the front and back are attached with glue and nails.  I then painted some areas pink and where I wanted the pink to show I put a bit of Vaseline to keep the white paint from sticking.  After 2 coats of white paint I rubbed with fine grit sandpaper and the pink paint below came through!  The letters for the name are stick on letters from a scrap booking shop!  After I had just the right amount of distressing I coated the whole crate with 2 coats of Polycrylic by Minwax.  I drilled holes in the sides and threaded pretty ribbon through for handles.  I did place the holes in a standard width though so sturdier handles could be added later if needed.    I love how it came out and I pray God richly blesses sweet baby Madelyn Grace!

I was featured!!!!

Two of my projects were featured today on a wonderful blog called Better After!
I am so excited :)  Check out the blog by clicking on the words Better After above, it features great projects from all over "blog world"!

A Cute Little Box!!

I used some scrap lumber to make a box last week.  I was practicing doing mitered corners on the box.  Emmy helped me decorate it.  I used rope for handles and then just printed some number stencils on the computer to do the numbers.  Emmy arranged some succulent plants in three jars and I have a cute table decoration!

A Matching Pair

Table and bench are all finished and waiting for their new owners!

I love how they came out!

Anyone need a table or bench?

I am taking custom orders - I can make it to your dimensions, any paint or stain color.

Farmhouse Bench

I SOLD the Farmhouse Table! The couple that bought it wanted a bench to match so I have been having fun in the Garage this week building one! Here are some pictures of the bench before I painted, stained and distressed it. I think it came out great!

Be back soon with the finished bench!

Sprucing up the Back Door

This past week I spent some time in the garage building hand rails for my back door.  One of the perks of having my parents in Cincinnati, is having them visit frequently.  I hope these handrails will help entering my house easier and safer for them.  After building and painting the rails I decided that the door could use some paint and some hooks would be great for all the dog stuff!! 

I had lots of fun with this project because I got to use a compound miter saw!  A neighbor and friend, Jerry, loaned me his, and it made the project a breeze!  Jerry also brought me all the wood in the pictures below - solid oak!  One of his clients was removing a big built in media center and wanted the wood gone :)  This should give me plenty to work with for a while at least.  

Side Pieces

Trim

Shelves

Next project bookshelves for Emily and Nate!

Have a great Day!