I love gifts that keep on giving. That is why I love making special gift boxes to gift presents in that can be kept and used as a keepsake box. And whomever can keep all their special treasures in. And today I am going to be sharing two ways to build an AWESOME keepsake box… an easy way with butt joints and brads nails and one without any hardware with rabbets and dados… oh my!
We have lived in this house for 5 1/2 years and I haven’t touch anything in this bathroom. I have really big plans to make it over, but I never seem to have the time and/or the money to do it. And I was tried of waiting, so I decided to give myself 1 week and a really small budget and turn this bathroom from awful to AWESOME! Let me show you how I did it.
I think my vanity is 50 years old. It has layers and layers of old paint on it… purple, yellow red, peach, navy and who knows. Well, since I am not able to replace it yet… I totally want to build an AWESOME one… I decided what is one more layer of paint!?! Well another layer of paint and some scraps and I transformed this vanity into something that will last til I can build a new one.
I recently did a complete mini budget friendly makeover in my guest bathroom and the biggest impact had to be painting the tub surround! Yup… I said paint! Well… actually it is an epoxy acrylic, but it goes on pretty much like paint. Today I am going to share everything I used with you and give you all the do’s and don’ts I learned doing this project, so that your tub surround comes out even better then mine!!!
My mom recently moved into a new place and was in need of some extra storage in her kitchen and asked if I could help her out. Of course I said yes! That is until she told me she wanted it to be red. Red! Red isn’t my favorite color…. orange is, of course! Haha… but after a little persuasion and time I agreed. But I told her I was gonna put my spin on it and add some power carved texture to make it AWESOME.
So we started with Simpson Strong-Tie’s Deck Planner Software. It is a free program available to everyone on their website. You create a log-in and then start designing and it is super easy to use. It prompts you for the shape, size, if its going to be freestanding or not, type of material you are going to use, style of railing, do you want/need stairs etc.
One mans junk is another man’s treasure. Recycle, reuse, repurpose…. or like I like to call it Upcycle! When I was first starting out making stuff I did a lot of upcycles. I thought of them as cheap learning experiences. You can usually find cheap pieces on the street, a garage sale, Facebook marketplace or Goodwill. And since they are cheap, if you totally mess them up it isn’t that big of a deal.
A silent air compressor? What’s the catch? That is what I wanted to find out, so when as part of The Home Depot’s ProSpective Program I was able to review this tool… I jumped at the opportunity. Air compressor pun intended… haha. But not only for that Oscar, my fur baby, is deathly afraid of my current air compressor. He hates it so much that he even know what it looks like now and if it is out and turned off he still runs away. So let’s see what this compressor is all about.
Does your kitchen feel a little outdated and in need a refresh? Well, I have 5 Easy DIY’s to Transform Your Kitchen… starting today!
If you follow me on Instagram, you know that I have been in the process of completely transforming a closet in my master bedroom into a built-in closet and office combo. Full details and reveal on that coming soon. Well as part of the makeover I needed a place to hide my printer and my files. I don’t have that many files, so I decided to make a rolling filing printer cabinet. But not just any cabinet, I wanted this one to kinda be hidden… after-all this is in my bedroom and I don’t always want it looking like an office.
Once I found a design I liked I went ahead and laid out a rough sketch of it on the board. The board is made up of glued up pieces of about 2” wide boards, so I decided to use those seams as a natural break in my design. And for the holes I was going to use three (3) different sized forstner bits (1 3/8”, 1” and 1/2”). So as I decided where I wanted them I put a B = Big, M = Medium, and S = Small. That way I would be confused once I got to the cutting process.
I used to be a seasonal plant lady… you know, my plants only lasted a season. But recently I am getting the hang of keeping some plants alive! And when they grow big you need to repot them in bigger pots… who knew. Also, I want to try my hand at propagating some of plants to save money on always buying new ones. And that can get messy, so I decided to build myself a potting bench. A spot dedicated to all my planting tools and it can live outside so any mess won’t matter.
Howdy guys… today I have a really special build to share. I built Awesome Oscar, my fur baby, a dog house! And not just any dog house… an AWESOME, Modern , Scandinavian inspired and slatted dog house! Oh and I teamed up with my good friends over at Simpson Strong-Tie to ensure that his house was built right, sturdy and would last a long long time! Wanna know how I made it? Well, let’s get started!
I have been itching to try and make some abstract art similar to what I have seen Fromaseed make. He is an AWESOME turner, power carver and artist. If you haven’t seen his work you should definitely check it out. Well, when Diablo sent me out some of there new saw blades to try, one being the Rough In/Scrolling Carbide Reciprocating Saw Blade I knew this would be a great time to try my hand at some abstract art, because I don’t have a band saw this blade should help me cut some curves and radius’ using my reciprocating saw… yup you heard that right!
Got scraps? Need gift ideas? Like DIY? Well I have another AWESOME project that will cover all those bases. For this one I teamed up with my friends at Bernzomatic to help me bring the fire and the fire is what truly make these planters AWESOME!
I went thru so many different version of what type of bed I wanted… farmhouse, modern, platform… there are so many awesome options out there. But how I came up with this version started with a recent build, my DIY Textured Storage Bench. I love how it came out and currently have it in my bedroom, so I wanted something that would coordinate with that. It has a bubble hammered texture to it and I thought that would look great on the headboard, so I started my design there.
And I didn’t want just any old barn door, I wanted something special for this door… after all it was the entrance to the Master Suite… and it had big shoes to fill by replacing the pirate flag. I joke, I kid… haha. But in all seriousness I wanted something AWESOME here and I wanted to try a woodworking technique that I hadn’t done before… tongue & groove joinery! But I also wanted this build to be approachable, so I made it from 2x6 fir boards you can get at any big box store.
When I was first starting making I was so curious about how things went together, especially barn doors. I would see all these pretty pictures of barn doors on Instagram, but people would never show the backs. So I always wondered were they just gluing boards together, was there actual joinery in there, what does the back look like, what is this made out of, etc? And now that I have been doing it, woodworking, for a while I can let you know that the answer to the questions…. and the answers are yes, yes, flat and decorated, wood plywood and mdf! So needless to say, there is not one right way or wrong way to build at barn door… at least in my opinion.
This month’s challenge is an UPCYCLE challenge. An upcycle is basically recycling a piece and giving it new life or using it and adding on or taking away from it to give it a new purpose. I used to do a lot of these when I was first starting out. It is a lot of fun to head to a garage sale or thrift store find something that doesn’t look so good and make it AWESOME again. Here are a few pics of some of my favorite past upcycles.
Recently I completely renovated my entryway. See before and afters here. Plus, see how I added a transom window above the door here. But one thing that still wasn’t quite right was my mailbox. It was an old worn metal mailbox that had a fleur de lis on it that wasn’t matching my more modern style and it totally blended in with the new black paint. So it was time for an upgrade. And with this upgrade I wanted to try a new-to-me woodworking joint… finger joints or box joints! So let’s get started.
