Showing posts with label Pallet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pallet. Show all posts
Sunday, July 28, 2013

A Sort Of Coffee Table!!!

Good Sunday afternoon to you all!
 
I have to start off by telling you that I am working in a hostile environment.  My craft world has been invaded.  I'm running a graveyard...a June Bug graveyard!  This is my very least favorite part of summer.  You could go so far as to say that I absolutely HATE it...June Bugs.  They're gross, fat and love to buzz my ears.  GAAAAG!!!  So I haven't been out in the garage a lot lately.
 
(Do you have the heeby geebies?  I know I do...shutter!!!!!)
 I did manage to venture out this afternoon to finish up my latest project...a pallet coffee table.  Well, sort of....meaning it's sort of a pallet and sort of a coffee table at this point. 

See here's how it goes. 

My hubby brought home this cute little pallet the other day. 


It measured 42" by 26".  I instantly thought "Coffee Table!"  So I set off to make one.  I just needed to add a few boards to the top; noooo problem.  In doing our figuring we decided to replace all the top boards and change the dimensions to 24"x42" so we only needed an 8' board, and we'd add MDF to the bottom to make a solid shelf-like area.  So off to HD I went. 


I purchased a 1x6x8 and had them cut to 24" lengths.  I painted that in Simply White by Cece Caldwell's.



I purchased a 1x4x8 and had it cut to the 24" lengths and painted that in Mardi Gras by Maison Blanche.


And finally I purchased a 1x2x8, had it cut to the 24" lengths and painted it in Traverse City Cherry by Cece Caldwell's.

While I painted my hubby decided to pull apart the top of the pallet.  After a few broken boards, broken skin and perhaps a few naughty words he announced that he was DONE with the pallet and would simply purchase the 2x4 we needed and add the MDF to the bottom of that.  So suddenly my pallet coffee table was now a pallet INSPIRED coffee table...since it has NEVER been used as a pallet. 

Oh, well, I tried to recycle...

Sooo, back to HD we went...and added to the list were casters and all the screws needed to finish the project.


We purchased a 2x4x12 board and had HD cut it down to 3-42" pieces with a bit to spare.  We also purchased a 2'x4'x1/2" MDF board, 2 free spinning and 2 free spinning, but locking, casters and all the extras.  I painted all the remaining boards in the Simply White by Cece Caldwell's.  I wanted the majority of the body to be the lighter color with accents of green and red. (these are the colors I've used in my living room...I'll show you that in a later post :-) )


Once everything was painted I applied Maison Blanche's clear wax on everything...PREASSEMBLED!!!  I knew that once the assembly process was done I wouldn't be able to get in all the small areas to wax it properly, so I waxed and buffed every piece separately. 

Once everything was painted and ready my hubby and dad got busy putting it all together.  They're much more handy with this type of thing than I am...I end up just getting on my hubby's nerves in the way!!!



They started by lining up the bottom with the edge 2x4s and adding the casters (2-1/2 inch screws to go into just the MDF and 2-1 1/2 inch screws to go through the MDF and into the 2x4).  Then they added more screws to secure the bottom to the 2x4s.  Once they turned it over I lined up the top boards in the pattern I wanted and held it while they used a countersink drill bit to drill through the top boards and into the 2x4.  They screwed it all down and it was done!!!


Remember...this is pallet inspired so imperfection is the point...just wanted to make sure and POINT that out...tee hee!


We took it inside to try it out I decided it was really a lot shorter than I'd hoped for...so there are plans to add on to it, but that's for a different day.  It also needed to be dark waxed, but since we planned to add on to it I thought I'd wait.  It stayed in my living room for a week and was very handy...especially for my Silhouette Cameo!!!


It fits perfectly with my laptop beside it.  Plus it keeps my Silhouette up off the floor when I need to use it (this is not its normal home by the way!!!). 

Today, however, I couldn't stand it any more.  It went outside to the hostile environment and got a dark wax coat.

It was WAY too bright for my taste!!!
 
 
So after some Maison Blanche Dark Wax, some buffing followed by MORE buffing...and then some MORE BUFFING...here's the finished product!
 

I love how white paint looks with dark wax.  So much yummy detail!




Did I mention how much I like the dark wax on white?  Huh...huh???


OOhhh Shiny!!! (Been watching way to much Wolverine this weekend with the kids!)


And it comes with magazine/book cubbies!

 
It seems to be more of a footstool at this point than a coffee table...oh well...sigh!
 
Till the next time...I'll just put up my feet and enjoy my newest Treasure!!!
 
Jennifer

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Sunday, September 23, 2012

Repurposing and a Wall Coat Hanger

 
FALL!!!
 
It's my favorite season of the year!  But it also means something else...winter is just around the corner.  It seems like I barely get time between the heat of Summer and the cold of Winter to get those spectacular days of open window weather...and then the coats come out.
 
I have 3 kids...you all knew that right?  But did you know that they're pre teens to teens.  And add to that Winter weather and the need for jackets/coats.  Do you know what happens in my house?  Yep, coats everywhere.
 
I have this lovely spot right behind my door.  It begs for something to fill the space.  Why do I call it lovely?  Because it's got MAYBE ten inches of space and gets very little visibility.  How in the world do you decorate a low visibility, tiny space?
 
When we moved in to this house the family before us left a wooden, very dated coat hanger.  It had 4 hooks, was wood with a lovely mirror heart in the middle.  Ok, it was NOT pretty, but it was useful.  My kids filled that thing every winter.  (It's 3 kids...how do we have 12 dozen coats for 3 kids?????)  But when we painted the hallway we took the hanger down and low and behold it was broken on the back side.  Since it was SOOOO beautiful...I threw that thing away as fast as I could!!!  It's been 3 years and I have yet to replace it...that is till this FIRST DAY OF FALL!!!
 
Anticipation of a nice cold Winter!!!
 
But this is about repurposing right?
 
Ok, so for months I've been pinning things to Pinterest.  I have so many lovely things I'd love to make for my house.  I'm drawn especially to old wood...cheap wood...the kind like you get when you see a sign that says "FREE PALLETS"!!!  Now that makes a Pinner HAPPY!  I made a stop and found this one pallet that was in great shape: thick wood, not overly aged, good structure...the kind you NEVER find.  But there was only one. You bet I got it.  Problem was, like in many of my projects, I had NO idea what to do with it.  We thought about making a bench out of it for the kids to fall on.  That was going to be expensive for all the padding.  So the pallet sat there for months.  Till one day...
 
I remembered this lovely spot behind my door...and the fact that I didn't have a coat hanger that I'd plan to replace years ago.  Voila!  But a pallet is a HUGE thing to hang on a wall and I'd have to hang it rather low just so it would fit.  Idea #2...cut half of it off.  I consulted with my Cigar Geek and he concurred that this would be an interesting idea.
 
.
So...here's where we start.  My Cigar Geek cut the yuckiest half off the pallet (the one that had gotten water logged), but then removed the loose boards off of the top rung.  He then took that rung and pounded it in the middle of the bottom section.  From here it looks like a full pallet...kinda...but if you notice it's rectangular and not square.
 
It was exactly what I wanted...size wise that is...but it still looked a bit too "new" for me, and I don't have any dark wax nor did I want to stain it.  So I grabbed what has become a new "painting" medium for me.
 

Brown Kiwi Shoe Polish
 
I rubbed it all over and darkened up the wood.  It wasn't a huge difference, but it did bring out some of the pretty texture in the grain.
 


To finish it off...the wood that is...I grabbed the Minwax Waxing Paste (not the specific name, but it's close) and for the first time applied it to wood...go figure!
 

I waxed and waxed (sore fingers and all), then buffed and buffed...and I cannot imagine going back to polyurethane ever again!!!
 

It's a beautiful thing!  I could not believe how rich it made the wood look.  I am a wax lover now!!!
 

Now the pallet shelf is ready!
 
Wait, there's something missing...what could it be?
 
Oh, yeah, HOOKS!!!
 
PROBLEM...I want the hooks to attach to the bottom...horizontally...Home Depot & Lowes...NOPE!  They don't carry hooks that attach horizontally and still hook.  I couldn't find them anywhere.  Cigar Geek found them on-line, but I wanted them locally (ok, impatient I know...but dang it...I worked hard...I want it DONE!)
 
So we decided to try a hardware store, NOPE!  But we had to drive by a Hobby Lobby...might as well try.  I had no idea where to look, but my first thought was in the drawer/door knob area.  Low and behold there was this ONE hook that was designed to hang vertically, but it had enough filigree on it that it could be hung horizontally and work...we tried!  And this is why I love Hobby Lobby...they were 50% off!!!  SCORE!  4 for the price of 2...can't beat that!  Problem solved!!!
 
So today Cigar Geek took the time to attach my hooks and then hang this heavy coat hanger on the "Lovely Spot" on my wall. 
 
BRING ON THE COLD...WE'RE READY FOR WINTER!!!
(ok, not too quickly...I want to enjoy the Fall!)
 



Now our coats have a place to hang, the gloves and hats have a place to sit, and I don't have the clutter in the living room (or in the kids' bedrooms).
 
TREASURE!!!
 
Thanks all for stopping by!
 





Jennifer

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