Weathered Wood Project

My obsession with making things from pallets continued this week when I made these vintage style crates and display trays for the Honest2Goodness market, which takes place every Saturday and Wednesday in Glasnevin.

Vintage Crates

Image: Patent Pending Projects

 Display Trays

Image: Patent Pending Projects

The 'vintage style' element of the crates was pretty easy to achieve as the the wood used was fairly weathered already. However, what if you are using relatively new wood and need to create that old worn look?

Well there is a variety of ways to do this and most, if not all of them, involve sanding, staining, more sanding, denting with a hammer, burning slightly, waxing, polishing, a touch more sanding, a touch more denting - this time with rusty nails, lightly painting the wood followed by the partial removal of this light paint and finally finishing with a smidgen more sanding. Alternatively, you could just leave it outside in the rain for 3 months. Whichever method is quicker.

I have of course found a quicker way to do this, courtesy of Frugal Farmhouse Design who transformed this new timber table...

Image: Frugal Farmhouse Design

Image: Frugal Farmhouse Design

   ...into this 'aged' dinner table with just 2 simple steps.
 

Image: Frugal Farmhouse Design

What you'll need.
1. A bottle of white vinegar
2. 2 pieces of steel wool
3. A couple of tea bags
4. A glass jar
5. Paint brush
6. Varnish of your choice. (My preference is for a satin finish, not gloss.)

Before you treat the wood, you will need to make the mixture that will create your effect.
To do this you need to tear up the steel wool into small pieces and pop it inside the glass jar.
Next, pour in enough vinegar so that the steel wool is covered.
Pop the lid on top and let this sit for at least 24 hours. The longer you leave it - the darker the colour you will achieve.

After 24 hours you are ready to treat the wood.

Step 1. Take 2 tea bags and in a bowl, pour in enough boiling water for about 2 cups. Let the tea soak for a few minutes and then apply to the wood with the brush as if you were using paint.
It will look like a very light stain. Lets this dry completely.

Step 2. Once the tea stain is dry, apply the vinegar/steel wool mixture with the same method as the tea. The wood should start to change colour immediately.

Finish with a protective coat of varnish.

It's always a good idea to try this process out on a scrap piece of wood before trying it out on the actual wood you will be using. 

There is a nice photographic tutorial of this process to be found over at Extreme Restoration and for those of you who prefer the sanding, denting, painting, stripping, sanding, waxing, burning approach - check out Young House Love for a one of a kind 12 foot long 'weathered look' console table.

Image: Young House Love

Image: Young House Love

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Stencilled Table Project

So it's time to get a new dinner table. Or is it?

Unless your table is on it's last legs, literally and figuratively, then I urge you to consider all possibilities before posting it on Free Trade, abandon it in a skip, or in my case, reclaiming any wood worth saving.

There are lots of tutorials and how-to's when it comes to restoring furniture but this idea is one of the simplest and more effective ways to help revive an old piece of furniture, saving you the need to replace it.

Stencilled Table

Image: Design*Sponge

Here's what you'll need:

1. Sand paper
2. Dust mask
3. White paint (or choose your own colour) - go for a satin finish
4. Stencils. You can buy these or make your own.
5. Masking tape
6. Brushes and/or foam roller
7. Varnish

You can pick up all of these materials at your local DIY store.
If you've never stencilled before, have a look at the 'how-to' videos on this website for a few handy tips.

Instructions:
1. Prepare your table.
If you are painting an unfinished table, sand it down until nice and smooth and if you are using a painted piece make sure that your base coat is nice and fresh and ready to take the stencil.
Your piece should be smooth, clean and dust free.

Image: Design*Sponge

2. Set out your design.
Once you are sure of your placement , use masking tape to securely hold the stencils in place.

Image: Design*Sponge

3. Apply the paint.
Use the brush or foam roller. The most important thing to remember here is to use very little paint to ensure that it will not bleed under the edge of your stencil.

Image: Design*Sponge

4. Check the design.
Gently lift your stencil to view your design. If there are any “issues”, reposition your stencil in the exact same place and add more paint where needed. When you are finished painting in your stencil, gently remove the stencil and let paint dry completely.

Image: Design*Sponge

6. (This is optional) Lightly sand the finished stencil.
Once your stencil is completely dry, very lightly sand with a fine grit sandpaper (150-180) to achieve a smooth look and work it into the wood a bit. Wipe the area clean with a dry cloth.

Image: Design*Sponge

7. Apply varnish.
Apply 2-3 coats of water based varnish using either a foam roller or a brush. If using the foam roller, make sure that you roll very lightly to ensure the smoothest finish.


If it works out well you might be inspired to breath new life into some more worn out furniture.
"Revive don't replace".

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Make Your Own Board Game Project

It's another cold and dreary day in cold and dreary Ireland but hopefully, with today being the 30th of April, that's the end of the infamous April showers. If not, here's fun idea to help keep the kids entertained indoors on  rainy day #120.

Check out these websites for ideas and inspirations when making your own board game.

Try alphamom
Use Lego pieces, recycled colour paint chips and add instructions like 'make a funny face' or 'do a silly dance'.

Image: alphamom

Or how about... One Crafty Mumma
Make your way to the fabulous farm house, picking up treats along the way.

Image: One Crafty Mumma

And for a themed board game go to my Momma told me about...
A Christmas game where Santa has to make it from the North Pole to all the rooftops.

Image: my Momma told me about...

In the meantime...
Though April showers may come your way,
They bring the flowers that bloom in May.
So if it's raining, have no regrets,
Because it isn't raining rain, you know, It's raining violets.

 .....here's a little bit of the Velvet Fog

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Plastic Cap 'ABC' Magnets Project

Image: The green art classroom

Most plastic soda, water and milk bottles are made from Polyethylene terephthalate, or PET #1 plastic and their caps are most commonly made from polypropylene, or plastic #5. These two different types of plastic melt at different temperatures during the recycling process and therefore, need to be processed separately. 

If you are a dedicated  recycler and find that you have a pile of bottle tops at the end of the week, then this easy craft will have you putting them to even better use and help your child learn the alphabet.

ABC magnets

Image: Kiwi mag online

The materials you will need are:
1. Bottle caps
2. Old magazines
3. Scissors
4. Glue stick
5. Self-adhesive magnetic tape (available at craft stores)

Instructions:
1. Collect as many plastic bottle caps as you can. You’ll need enough for every letter of the alphabet, plus a few extra E’s, A’s, S’s, T’s and any other letters that might appear twice in your child’s name or word.

2. Search through magazines and cut out bold, colourful letters to fit inside each cap. Also look for pages without much writing, and cut them into small white squares, slightly larger than the bottle caps.
Alternatively, use the templates below these instructions to cut out your letters.

3. Trim as close as possible to each letter, and then glue them onto the white square backgrounds.

4. Place a bottle cap on top of a white square and trace around it. Cut out this circle, glue the letter to it and then glue to the inside of the cap.

5.Cut a small piece of self-adhesive magnetic tape. Stick on the back of a cap so that the magnetic side is facing out. Repeat with remaining caps.

6. Stick your magnets on the fridge and start spelling!

CLICK ON IMAGES TO PRINT LARGER VERSION


  B&W letters for water bottle caps                                                        Colour letters for water bottle caps

Image: Art is helping children

Image: Art is helping children

B&W letters for milk bottle caps pg.1                                                B&W letters for milk bottle caps pg.2

Image: Art is helping children

Image: Art is helping children

Colour letters for milk bottle caps pg.1                                              Colour letters for milk bottle caps pg.2

Image: Art is helping children

Image: Art is helping children

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Cardboard Shape Sorter Project

This project, found over at play and grow, appeals to 3 of my ongoing obsessions.

Image: play and grow

To start with, Evengy Kudryavtsev recycles cardboard, mostly Pampers boxes which I have in abundance, into educational toys for toddlers. That's two out of three obsessions right there. Thirdly, he's Russian, which you may or may not have guessed from his name.

When I first saw this I just felt so stupid that I had not thought of it sooner for my own son. I've looked at different wooden shape sorting toys and made plans for making one myself but this is such a wonderful idea that has just been staring me in the face. I guess that's the thing with the best ideas, they're just so simple.

The materials you will need:
1. Cardboard
2. Pack of wooden dowels (you can pick these up at any DIY store)
3. PVA glue
4. Paint (of your choice) or colourful card stock.
5. Craft knife
6. Pencil
7. (optional) Drill and drill bit (the same size as your wood dowels)

To begin with, cut 3 pieces of cardboard 260mm by 80mm.
Glue 2  of the pieces together and paint white.

Image: play and grow

Using the dimensions detailed below, mark out the holes, on the painted cardboard, with a pencil.

Image: play and grow

When making the holes, use the pencil to punch some of the way through the cardboard. You can use the wooden dowels to widen and complete the holes as they will need to fit snugly into the cardboard. Use your craft knife to remove any excess cardboard on the reverse side.

Image: play and grow

Glue the last piece of cardboard to the bottom, which will form your base and hold the dowels in place. 
Use some more glue when placing the dowels into the cardboard for extra stability.



Next, cut your geometric shapes. Dimensions below.

Image: play and grow

Cut two versions for each shape (using the first version as your template for the second - the must be exactly the same). Glue two piece together.

Image: play and grow

To make the holes, pierce the cardboard with a pencil (as you did with the base) and use any extra dowels to complete the holes, cutting away any extra cardboard from the reverse side.

Alternatively, if you have a drill with a drill bit the same size as the wooden dowel, simply drill a hole in the cardboard, starting slowly with little pressure as you may tear the cardboard.

Image: play and grow

It's a good idea to make a couple of sets of the shapes so that you can have a variety of colours.
Test them all out on the wood dowels and adjust the slope of the dowels or the diameter of the holes accordingly.

Image: play and grow

All that's left to do is pop some colour on them and you're ready to go.
If you are using paint, make sure it's non toxic child friendly paint.
If you are using colorful card stock, use the dimension above to cut out your shapes and glue them in place.

Image: play and grow

I'll be sure to keep an eye on more of Evgeny's fantastic inventions and if you have kids in your house or young children in your family, I'm sure you'll find more wonderful ideas on his site.

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Cereal Box Notebook Project

I'm constantly finding little scraps of paper in my back pocket with hastily scribbled notes on them.
Anything from shopping lists, phone numbers and silly ideas that pop into my head.

The worst part about this is not really the finding them in my pocket but my more my filing system for them.

Normally, at the end of each day, these scraps end up in a haphazard pile on my bedside locker where my son can, and usually does, find them the following morning and then spends the day depositing them around the house only for my wife to find them stuffed behind pillows, under seats, inside the washing machine and once surprisingly, inside a sandwich.

So, this project manages to achieve 2 of the favourite pastimes in this house. My wife's love of organising and my obsession with reusing cereal boxes.

Image: SCJohnson

The materials you need are:
1. A cereal box  or cracker box or other lightweight product boxes from your recycling bin
2. Scrap paper (you could collect office scrap paper from fax machines/photocopiers)
3. Rubber bands
4. Small pencils (pick up a few free pencils the next time you're in IKEA or Argos)
5. Stapler
6. Scissors

Image: SCJohnson

How to Make:
1. Cut out box sections for covers and paper to 2 inch x 4 inch pieces. 
2. Draw score lines on the cardboard for easier folding by running a straight line down center of the back side with a ball point pen.
3. Fold sets of six paper pieces together in half and line up with the cardboard cover.
4. Slide the stack into the stapler and staple the fold.
5. Fold the notebook in half, add a pencil and secure with a rubber band.

Image: SCJohnson

Nothing could be simpler. Repurposed cereal boxes turned into fun little notebooks.


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Raised Garden Project

This is a perfect project for those of you who want to grow some vegetables and so far, the only thing stopping you was lack of space.

The best part of this project is, about half of the material you need, could probably be found  just by walking to the end of your road.

Image: Poppytalk

Here are the materials you will need:
1. An old door. (as mentioned before - in this city lined with skips - the one thing in abundance is discarded doors.)
2. (using the measurements of the door) pick up 2 x long pieces (to fit length of door) and 2 x short piece (to fit top and bottom of door) of pressure treated wood (at least 10 inches wide) from your local DIY store. They will cut them to size if you don't have a saw.
3. 2 x Saw Horses or Trestles. You could try and pick some up in your local DIY store or buy them online here.
4. A packet of L brackets (8 in total)
5. A box of screws
6. Roll of plastic painters sheeting (to line the box)
7. Compost/Potting Soil
and seeds of your choice


Fit the wood around the outside of the door and screwed it.

Image: Poppytalk

Then secured the inside of the box with the 8 L brackets.

Image: Poppytalk

Set up your two saw horses/trestles outside and place the box on top. Line the box with plastic sheeting. This step will help prevent the water from eventually rotting the door. For our water drainage hole, leave the hole open where the door mechanism would usually go and remove the plastic in this area.

You can always drill more holes for drainage.

All that's left is to plant your seeds - or if you have already started growing seedlings, get ready to transfer them into their new home.

Image: Poppytalk

Image: Poppytalk

But first things first.

Go out and get skip hunting.