Recycled Pallet into Book Shelves

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With the number of little ones frequenting our house recently, I decided that we needed a set of shelves at their level.  I had a space in the hall that was perfect, but finding the perfect shelving was another issue.


Enter:  The Recycled Pallet Shelves


For diy and Pinterest fans, these shelves are nothing new, but it was a great first "real wood" project for me.  Here is how it happened:

First I acquired the wood pallets -- free thanks to Freecycle!

Next I grabbed my reciprocating saw and made a few strategic cuts.

By strategic, I mean so that what I ended up with looked like this: 
two slats on the back, one on the front, and the curved supporters.

Next I grabbed the sander...

and sanded the living heck out of every surface and edge.  Can't have any chance of booboo's!

Found some scrap wood for the bottoms and cut them to size.

Nailed down the bottoms.

Pin It Screwed them into the studs (they're not extremely heavy, but I was playing it safe.)

Pin It Finally, I filled them with all the necessities.

Pin It Minnie likes her new hangout.

Pin It They're a hit!

Check out these other examples to see my inspiration:

Ana White (she's my hero!)  I hope to be as fearless as she one day.

 Strawberry Chick.  Very nice photos and tutorial.

ArtsyNina.  Can you believe she got her stain from her local hazardous waste facility--how cool is that?!?. 

Little Lucy Lu.  I love these painted ones.  Just perfect for a little girl's room.

 

Until next time,

~Sister #2

Go Get Crafty, Sister!

Secret Love for Oil Cloth

Pin It I love the beautiful colors -- I think I'm going to need one of these for the summer!

I have a secret love for oil cloth.  There us something about a fabric that can be wiped clean that speaks to my practical side, and I LOVE the fun patterns! 

Just a few of the patterns you can find at Mums.  It's like oil cloth heaven!

Unfortunately, those fun patterns are hard to find except online, so when I stumbled onto (or into, lol) Mums in Fredericksburg, TX, I was wowed.

Pin It Rolls and rolls of oil cloth.  See that pink paisley?  My favorite (at least one of my favorites, lol)!

"Mums, Bits for Body and Home" is a small shop on the main drag, tucked in amongst the historic buildings, wide sidewalks and quaint little courtyards of main street.  The store is run by three friends with a penchant for oil cloth, linen clothes and Dansko shoes.

Beautiful clothing and shoes aside, their selection of oil cloth is amazing.  After years of lamenting the lack of resources for this product, it was great to see the different patterns up close and personal.  

And spread throughout the store were items made from this wonderful cloth--tote bags, lunch bags, pillows, iPad cases and more--including an item I absolutely fell in love with:  an oil cloth covered booster chair.  

Pin It Oil cloth covered booster chairs--how cute is that?!

There were at least a dozen different styles, and each one just as cute as the other. I happen to have one of these seats at home, so I picked out a couple of yards of some pink paisley. Another project to add to my ever-expanding list (although upholstery is not at the top of my talent list, so I might have been better off choosing one that had already been covered :).

Pin It Oil cloth lunch bags.

If you're ever in Fredericksburg, stop in at Mums and take a look.  You can also visit them online at http://www.mumsfbgtx.com/.  (They're on Facebook as well.)

Tell them Sister#2 sent you, and while you're there, try on a pair of Dansko shoes--you won't be disappointed!

Until next time,

~Sister #2

(Go Get Crafty!)

Crafter's Rules of Acquisition

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Crafter's Rules of Acquisition

There are several variations of this going around.  Here's ours:

   

Original Files Used on the Cupcake Stands

Remember all those cupcake stands we made back in January?  We bought some of the files we used, but some were original, so I thought I'd share.  To download the pdf's for cutting, go to the Freebies page.  If you would like them in another file type, leave a comment below.

Enjoy!

Pin It Cupcake stands and serving platters made with melamine plates, candlesticks and my cutting machine!

Pin It Bird and branch used on one of the cupcake platter designs.  Free cutting file or print!

Pin It Penguin used on one of the cupcake platter designs.  Free cutting file or print!

Pin It Owl used on one of the cupcake platter designs.  Free cutting file or print!

Until next time,

~ Sister #2

OMG Coffee Table Book, or is it a Book Coffee Table?

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While this doesn't exactly fall under recycle, upcycle or anything else we're about, I couldn't resist sharing this awesome coffee table.  I've seen some great Coffee Table Books, but this coffee table takes that phrase to a whole new level.  Wonder if one of my sisters could create a knock-off?  I know it's way beyond my skills!

Designed by Micth Steinmetz this table (he called it Remembrance) is a combination of a coffee table and a large photo album. The cover actually opens to large "pages" that are filled with photos.  And at the bottom is a secret space.

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Have a great day, and go Get Crafty!
~Sister #3