Chevron Scrapwood Coat Rack

I haven't been the best blogger this year, but I wanted to share this Christmas present I made for myself using scraps from my planked ceiling. 

I cut my little plank pieces at 30 degrees and then glued them onto a piece of leftover MDF. (I used pieces of wood and hand weights to press the pieces down while the glue dried). I framed it with some 1x2s.
 
My coat and backpack pile up is solved and the kids can get and hangup their own coats now!

Map Drawer Tilt Out Laundry

For my birthday this year, I decided to finally dedicate time to a project that I've been wanting to do for the past four years, but kept putting off to do more practical things instead. I really wanted a tilt out laundry to hide the hamper in our hallway. I also decided to use only scrap wood that was taking up space in my garage, so I got a little creative with cutting and ripping certain pieces I had to make them work.

The sides of the box are all left over pieces of MDF. I even ripped some smaller pieces of MDF to make braces in the back.

I added some 3" strips of 1/4" plywood to make the sides look nicer and hide the seams of the MDF.

The front door is a few pieces of 1/2" plywood that I fused together with my Kreg Jig. I hid all those seams by attaching more 3" strips of 1/4" plywood to make the false drawer fronts.

I found some cute mini knob handles off ebay. And these self adhesive metal label holders on Amazon here. I spray painted them silver to match my knobs. I ended up with seven false drawer fronts below the handle at the top, so it worked out perfectly to label each one a different continent (my kids love that part).

I wasn't sure if I could stain the MDF and have it look like a wood finish. First, I used M
inwax Pre-Stain Conditioner (affiliate link) to help it absorb the stain evenly. Then I used Minwax Gel Stain in Walnut (affiliate link), which sort of goes on like paint, so a few coats of that (sanding in between) looked great. Then to protect it and give it a nice finish, I used two coats of Minwax Polycrylic (affiliate link).

Linking to: DIY Dreamer Party 233, Wake Up Wednesday 138,Wow Us Wednesday 291,Talk of the Town 37,

Mood Board: Back Patio

I was recently inspired by Arhaus to come up with a mood board for my dream outdoor space based around one of their sectional sofas. Since it's always fun to dream, here's  what I came up with:

1 - I chose this beautiful sectional here. It really brings a cozy living room feeling outside.
2 - I long for a covered back patio for shade and to protect outdoor furniture. Source:  luxist.com  via  Kathleen on Pinterest
3 - I love outdoor string globe lights like the ones I found on Amazon here. (affiliate link)
4 - I think an industrial coffee table would be a nice place to rest drinks and magazines. I love the DIY version like this one, replacing the glass in an old coffee table with reclaimed wood from Beneath My Heart here.
5 -  It'd be great to have some fresh herbs and plants with a freestanding pallet herb garden like the one at DIY Showoff.
6 - I love these cute Calypso 5" Lanterns from Arhaus.
7 - To add some whimsical color, I found these Bird Print Outdoor Pillows on Amazon here (affiliate link)
8 - An Industrial Rolling Bar Cart like this DIY one from Addicted 2 DIY, can function as a side table or food and drink cart.

And there you have it!

Gossip Bench Makeover

A friend gave me this awesome gossip bench that needed fixing up.

I love the detail on the back.

I started sanding it and gave it a little repair. I was able to get the top shelf off to help with sanding.

After two coats of primer.

After two coats of blue.

I decided to stain the desk/shelf parts.

I wanted to use this awesome telephone company advertisement graphic from Knick of Time. I turned it into a stencil using my silhouette machine. I thought it would go well with a gossip bench where people talked on their "old timey" phones :) It reminds me of my grandmother, who was a telephone operator in the 1940s, and the stories she told.

I added new foam to the bench.

I reupholstered it with quilting batting and upholstery fabric like a present.

Ta-da!

Linking to: Remodelaholic Link Party,Wake Up Wednesday 131, FDTR 228,Wow Us Wednesday 284,Talk of the Town 30,

DIY Maple Leaf Wood Art (Happy Canada Day!)

I love decorating for the 4th of July! This year I wanted to add a little something to recognize Canada Day and my husband's Canadian roots. Inspired by some star wooden cut outs, I decided to make a maple leaf cut out instead.

I used 4 1x4s and cut them to 14" to make a square.

I used my silhouette machine to cut out a maple leaf. Since my machine would only cut out 9" wide, I could only cut out half of my design.

I traced the first half, then I flipped it over and finished tracing.

Since the design was kind of intricate, I cut each board separately with my jigsaw instead of attaching the boards together first and cutting continuously.

After sanding all the pieces, I flipped it over

and nailed some thin scraps to hold it together.

Then I used 1x2 on their sides to create a frame.

I nailed them in with my nail gun and then filled the holes with stainable wood filler.

To stain it, I put a plastic bag on my hand and then used an old sock to rub the stain on.

I followed up with a clear polyacrylic.

I attached it to the house using vinyl siding hooks (affiliate link) similar to how I hung up my DIY shutters.

Now I have a little bit of Canada mixed in with my American decor.

Linking to: Remodelaholic Friday Favorites Party, Merry Monday Link Party, Show and Share 319, Inspire Me Monday 118, The Scoop 229, Inspire Me Tuesday 322,You're Gonna Love It Link Party, Tips and Tutorials 265, Peace Love Link up 13, DIY Dreamer Share 224, Wake Up Wednesday 127, Wow Us Wednesday 280,

DIY Shutters on Vinyl Siding

There's one little window on our house without shutters on it. It always seemed a little bare to me.

There isn't a lot of room on either side of the window. I used some scrap/repurposed 1x4s for the long pieces and 1x3s for the short pieces to go on the top and bottom. I used paint sticks to separate the two pieces on each side.

After I gave each piece a good sanding, I decided to prime and paint everything before screwing it together, so the painting process would go a lot faster and I could better control drips in between the two boards.

Once I screwed the top and bottom pieces on, I did some paint touch up over the top of the screws.

I decided to attach them temporarily with hooks, so I could make sure I liked how they looked before doing any drilling into the vinyl. I got these hooks vinyl siding hooks (affiliate link) on Amazon.

They are actually really strong and don't come off without some finagling. The bottom of the hook juts forward a bit, so I smashed it with my hand to make it more flat with the wall.
 

I measured how far down the hook was and added some wire wrapped around some little screws on the back.

Then I just slid the wire on the hook. I'm not sure how long they'll hold up in the wind without some more permanent attachment, but for now, they feel really secure. 

It's a small difference, but I love the result. Next, I think this window needs a window planter to go with the new shutters.

Linking to: Link Party Palooza, Merry Monday Link Party 110, Show and Share 319, Inspire Me Monday 118, The Scoop 229, Inspire Me Tuesday 322,You're Gonna Love It Link Party,Tips and Tutorials 265, Peace Love Link up 13, DIY Dreamer Share 224, Wake Up Wednesday 127, Wow Us Wednesday 280,