Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Mudroom Coat rack Bench

Hi all! I know, it’s been a LONG time since I put together a blog post, and I apologize….life is just nutty sometimes and I needed a break…..I’m sure you know what I mean.  :0)

I thought you all might like to see a project I did a few months ago that I absolutely LOVE! It’s a mudroom coat rack/bench. You remember the old 1916 house that was torn down?  The one I took the old bank of drawers from to make my window seat? Well, I salvaged quite a few old doors from there as well. I decided this would be a fun way to use those doors! Here’s what I made!….

mudroom coat rack

It looks a lot more complicated than it was, I promise!  :0)

My doors were 48” wide when butted up against each other, but you can see in the pic they have little strips of wood on each side that ended up making them 49”. I wanted to keep the hinges, but didn’t really want to see anything but the pretty part, so I used that trim to cover them up.  (more on that later)

To make the base I purchased a 4 x 8 sheet of MDF (medium density fiberboard) and three 8’ long 2 x 4’s.  (the 4 x 8 sheets are actually 49” wide)
I cut two of the 2 x 4’s to 49” long and then cut three pieces 15” long….two for the ends and one for a center brace. My finished piece is 18” deep, the standard depth for a bench. I used some wood glue and my nail gun to nail it all together.  I then cut a top for my base piece..again, 49” wide x 18” deep.

how to build a mudroom bench

See how my side pieces are on the INSIDE of my two longer outer pieces. You want to build it like this for strength.

mudroom bench

I made sure to check the fit of the MDF piece by laying it on top of the base and checking on all sides, this will become your bottom piece to your actual bench. (where the little baskets slide in)  Don’t attach this to the base yet.

2014-03-14 12.24.59

To build the actual bench part of the unit, I cut one more 49” x 18” piece of MDF  for the top piece of the bench, and two pieces for the sides that were 18” deep x 14” high.  I also cut two pieces that will be used for the center braces, and they were 18” deep x 13” high.

coat rack

You assemble your bench like below using wood glue and a nail gun.

how do you build a coat rack

I cut a scrap piece of trim to 15 1/4” and used it to make sure my brace pieces where exactly the same distance apart from each other, like this….

what to do with old doors (2)

and this……

how to build a bench (2)

then I used wood glue and my nail gun to assemble it together.

I drew a line across the top where I was going to be nailing into the braces underneath, so I knew where to nail. I didn’t want to split out the piece of MDF bracing….

what is MDF

Then it was easy to just follow along that line and nail without worrying about splitting out my braces…

bosch nail gun

After it was all glued and assembled, I attached it to the 2 x 4 base I had built earlier with glue and my nail gun.

how do you build a coat rack

Then I trimmed it out with some baseboard molding I had laying around the garage….

how do you build a bench

Next I moved onto the doors. I basically laid them out flat on two saw horses and gave them a good sanding.

what to do with old doors

After they were thoroughly sanded, I used mending plates to attach them together on the back where it would never be seen.  I forgot to take a picture of this part, but basically this is a mending plate, and you just lay it across the two doors and screw it in to make the two doors as one.

mending plate

Next I moved onto the shelving unit at the top of the piece. I had some extra lumber from other projects, and I used it to make the shelving part.  I cut a piece of pine lumber 49” long x 5” wide. It’s the piece that will lay flat against the doors. (it’s the piece laying flat on the carpet in the pic) The top piece is MDF, and I cut it 49” long x 9” deep. It sits on top of the other piece and is glued and screwed from the top. I used screws on this piece cause you’re never going to see the top and I wanted it to be extra sturdy. I didn’t attach the corbels to the shelf at this point because I attached the shelf to the doors with screws under where the corbels are sitting so you won’t see the screws.

how to build a shelf

Before I attached the shelf to the doors, I installed some pieces of wood to the sides of my doors to hide where the hinges will go.    It was 1/2” thick x the depth of my door, which happened to be 1 3/4” thick.  I used wood glue and my nail gun to attach those pieces.  I took the hinges apart, and only used the pretty part with the rounded brass tops, and pounded them down into the openings. I only did it on the two top openings, because the bottom holes will be covered by the bench.

how to build a coat rack

Sorry, I got a little lazy about taking pictures and forgot to show you under the corbels where I screwed them to the doors. I’m sure you can envision the shelf screwed on under the corbels.  I then used the existing holes that came in my corbels to screw those to the doors and upper shelf. I filled them with wood filler and sanded it off.  (you can see the wood filler on the fronts of the corbels if you look closely) You can also see in this picture, that I trimmed the shelf out with some trim I also had on hand.  What I don’t show in this pic, but you can see in the final pics, is that I added some crown molding between each corbel.

organizational center

At this point, I trimmed out the bench around the top, and also down the front of the brace pieces with some trim. I was also a little antsy and couldn’t wait to see how my baskets were going to look. I got those adorable baskets at Walmart! They are from the Better Homes and Gardens collection and were only $9.97 each! I’m showing you in this picture how I’ll be pushing the bench up against the doors…….I couldn’t attach mine until I got it in the house because it would’ve been too big to go in my front door.  (it looks like it’s not the same width in this picture, but it really is..it’s just where I still had it pulled out in the floor a little bit)

wire baskets

Here it is inside the house and all screwed together. I basically pushed the bench up against the doors, and pre-drilled from the back into the 2 x 4’s I built the bases out of and used REALLY long screws to screw it into place. I also used some L brackets and attached it on the inside top of the bench where you can’t see it, and screwed them into the doors and inside the back of the bench.

2014-05-03 11.54.05

Then I pretty much just added a couple of hooks for coats etc, and primed and painted! (oh and you can see the pieces of crown molding between the corbels that I was talking about earlier…I just glued and nailed that into place)

I did add a tufted bench top later on. I used another 49” x 18” piece of MDF and just screwed it to the existing bench top after I tufted it.  I have tutorial on how to diamond tuft in my post on how to diamond tuft a chair. You can just use some screws and washers instead of a needle and thread….see…

2014-08-27 15.00.24

Then you just use a covered button kit (I used 7/8”) to cover up the screws…

how to diamond tuft

See….just lovely!

how to upholster a bench

And there ya have it…a Coat rack/ bench/ mudroom all rolled up into one!

 

 

mudroom coat rack

You can see I left the old glass door knobs and hardware on the doors…I just thought it added to the authenticity of the doors. (as long as you don’t sit in the middle of the bench, they don’t get in the way of you leaning back either) :0)  hee hee hee

So there ya have it…how to make a cute mudroom/bench out of old doors!

Hope you enjoyed my project!

Blessings

Missy

Monday, February 3, 2014

Peach Dumplings!! Oh MY!


A friend of mine from church brought these amazing little bundles of awesomeness to our Christmas Music Party and OH. MY. GOODNESS do these things taste awesome! My hubby didn’t get any of these the night of the party, so I got the recipe from her and made them for dessert the other night. He said, and I quote, “This is, hands down, the BEST dessert I have EVER had”! My hubby has eaten a lot of desserts in his life…I know, cause I’ve made most of them for him, so he knows a good dessert! We ate them with ice cream, and they are SO easy!

peach dumplings

 

Here’s the recipe! (by the way, I halved this recipe cause we didn’t need 16 dumplings for our family)

2 cans of peaches in light syrup
2 cans of crescent rolls
2 sticks of butter
1 1/2 cups of sugar
1 tsp vanilla
Cinnamon to taste
1 1/2 cups orange juice

Drain both cans of peaches in a colander and then dry the 16 largest peach slices completely with paper towels. 
Unroll your crescent rolls into 16 triangles, and roll a slice of peach in each crescent roll and place in a 9 x 13 pan.
Melt butter, then add sugar and barely stir. Add vanilla, stir, and pour entire mixture over peaches. Pour orange juice around the edges of the pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.
Serve with ice cream, and spoon some of the sweet sauces from the pan over the top.

TRUST ME…YOU MUST MAKE THESE! :0)  The tops get crunchy and sweet, and the middles are soft and warm….then you have all that orangey syrupy goodness in the glaze.  WOW!  Best with vanilla ice cream.

Smile
Let me know what you think!
Blessings
Missy

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Operation Organization!

Hi all!  I am FINALLY all better from my epic illness! I have never been that sick in my whole life, and I never want to repeat it either!
After I got my energy back, I decided to have a Operation Organization for the month of January! I filled the entire front page (double columns) of things to organize in our home in the month of January, and I’m pleased to say I only have one room left to go! Except for the one room that’s left, every drawer, cabinet, piece of furniture, closet, under bed……….well, lets just say every nook and cranny of our house has been gone through, purged and organized! I’m feeling quite accomplished! :0)

Today I thought I’d show you one area of our house that has bugged me since we moved in…………under the kitchen sink! I was too embarrassed to show you the before pic of what it looked like, so here it is all empty! :0)

Before shot of sink

You can see in the picture above, that there’s swelling from where there was a water leak before we bought our house, and stains from various things that had been stored down there.   I decided it was time to cover it up! I had some leftover peel and stick tiles from my laundry room makeover that I though would be perfect for this job. 
First I scrubbed the floor of the cabinet with hot soapy water, rinsed and let it dry thoroughly.  Then I started laying out whole tiles from the front to the back.  I measured where I needed to make the cuts…………….

how to organize your sink

and transferred the measurements to the back of the tiles like this…..(see the marks?)

cutting peel and stick

Then all I did was make three or four passes with my utility knife against the edge of my level that was on the marks, then just snapped the piece of tile off.  It really is that simple.

how to cut peel and stick tile

Then I just peeled and stuck it all down in place…….doesn’t that look better?!!!  It only took 6 tiles and you can buy them individually at Lowes, so the whole thing would be about 6 bucks! That’s a lot of improvement for 6 dollars! :0)

organizing under your kitchen sink

I’m still going to get a caddy to put my cleaners in when I get to Walmart, but it’s still better than it was.  I don’t use a lot or harsh cleaners anyway, mostly vinegar, baking soda and peroxide. I use ammonia occasionally. but I’d rather go as non-toxic as possible whenever possible.

kitchen sink

Am I the only one that goes completely organizing crazy in January? We really want to tackle our garage, but our temps have been CRAZY cold around here…I’m talking –27 degree wind chill…brrrr, so the garage will have to wait until Spring!

What have you been organizing?

Oh…and thank you to everyone for your sweet comments and get wells, I really appreciate it. I love you guys!

Blessing

Missy

Saturday, January 11, 2014

Where Have I Been?

Hey you guys! I’m sorry I haven’t posted in a while, but I’ve been sick.  Not  just a cold and sniffle kind of sick either, but the kind where you’re in bed for long stretches of time.  

sick girl

On December 22nd we had our big Christmas choir program at church, it was beautiful, but the very next day I was sick! I went to my mom and dad’s house on December the 24th for our annual Christmas eve together thinking I just had a little bug, but I laid on the sofa the whole time and didn’t get near anyone. My hubby even made me a plate of food so I didn’t have to get near the food…you know, so I didn’t contaminate anything in case I was contagious.  I am SO glad we did that, because Christmas day I was really sick….I had the flu! (no one at my mom’s got sick…shew! I’m glad!)  We had our Christmas morning with our kids, and then I went to bed…..and I have basically been there ever since! I was already out of the time zone to be able to get tamiflu so I fought it at home with mucinex, sudafed and ibuprofen.  I ended up going to the dr anyway because my ears were hurting…turns out my flu went into a double ear infection and bronchitis.  I have been one sick puppy!  I finally got to the point where I could get dressed, put on some makeup and venture outside. (after I took a short nap from getting dressed and putting on makeup..NO energy!)  My first trip was through the drive thru at the bank,  and the drive thru at Dairy Queen.  Ohh…a BIG adventure indeed! lol  My next time out was with my hubby to go grab a bite to eat at a local restaurant where we had been given a gift card for Christmas.  Those have been my two big excursions thus far.  I am still having quite a bit of sinus issues and headaches, but I’m doing a lot better than I was.  I’m on my second round of antibiotics, so hopefully we’ll have this thing wrapped up soon!  This is NOT the kind of break a blogger wants to take!  Please be patient with me as I get my energy back…don’t really feel like doing many projects….although I did make a list of things I’d like to do while I was sick! HA! 
I truly hope all of you had a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful start to the New Year!  The way I look at the start to my year is, it can’t really go anywhere but up from here! :0)

Blessings
Missy

Thursday, December 19, 2013

Antique Sheet Music Christmas Trees…in 15 minutes or less!

Hi everyone! Just wanted to show you a very quick and easy craft project to you can make for Christmas…and it seriously takes 15 minutes or less! 
Here they are…my Antique Sheet Music Christmas Trees!

sheet music christmas trees

I won a HUGE stack of antique sheet music from Ebay a few weeks ago and I’ve been having a ball making different things from them!
If you don’t have access to old sheet music, Karen from The Graphics Fairy, has printable sheet music too!

deck the halls

You remember when I told you to save the bases from the plastic wine glasses in my last post “How to make Christmas Cloche Ornaments?” Well this is the project I was telling you to save them for!  These are the wine glasses I got from the Dollar Tree that have the bases in them I was talking about….

plastic wine glasses

I literally took little dowel rods that I purchased from Walmart’s craft aisle, and wrapped some white floral tape around the bottom to make them just thick enough so they would stick down inside the wine glass bases securely…like this.  (I cut the dowels into three different lengths so the trees would be at three different levels)

antique sheet music

I rolled my sheet music into cones, taped them into place, then trimmed off bottoms until they looked even…

Christmas tree stand

Then I plopped them down onto my wooden dowel stands, and walla…..Christmas trees!  (to make it an even easier craft, you could just make the sheet music cones and set them down on some candle holders of varying heights too!)

sheet music christmas trees

Tada!  I told you it was fast and easy!  After looking at these pictures though, I think I need to trim the one on the right off just a wee bit more on the bottom…still not quite straight. Oh well, they are cute, and would look even sweeter with a little fake snow around the bottoms! I’ll get right on that!

Hope you all have a VERY Merry CHRISTmas!

Blessings!
Missy

Saturday, December 14, 2013

Christmas Cloche Ornament…on the cheap!

Hey ya’ll! I’ve been wanting to show you these ornaments I made for a while, but I’ve been sitting in the hospital with our middle son for four days.  He was having an extended video EEG.  I’m home now, so here’s  my ornaments and how to make em’!

Christmas cloche ornament

I saw a tutorial for these on the internet from My So Called Crafty Life…she did a great job, and I just had to make them too!
To make these stinkin’ cute ornaments you’ll need some plastic wine glasses from the Dollar Tree…(oh, and don’t throw away the bases of the glasses..I have another project I’m going to show you that uses them!)……

dollar tree

Here’s a pic of them outside the package.  I used my dremel tool and cut off the top of each one…you can see in some of the other pictures on down, how much I cut off, I forgot to take a picture after I cut it. If you don’t have a dremel, I suppose you could use a fine tooth hack saw or something like that.  Ya’ll are smart, I’m sure you could figure out another way to cut it off too!

dollar tree wine glass

You’ll also need a 3” scalloped punch, or if you have a cricut or silhouette cutting machine, you could use that to cut 3” circles or scallops too I’m sure. (or you could just do it the old fashioned way, and trace a circle and cut it out!)

3 inch scalloped punch

I used some chip board and my punch and punched out a dozen circles. That’s how many wine glasses I bought. :0)

punch chip board or heavy cardstock

I went to Hobby Lobby and they had all the little items for miniature trees 1/2 off, so I loaded up!  I LOVE miniatures!
Have I ever told you guys I have five doll houses?!! (one is still not built…I’ll get on that one day) 

miniatures

Next, I just hot glued my little miniatures on the chip board I had punched out, making sure the tallest thing was in the middle so the cloche would fit over it without touching.  I then put a nice bead of hot glue around the bottom of the wine glass, and stuck it down to the chip board base. (OH..and you can see how much of the wine glass I cut off with the dremel tool here too!)

easy christmas ornament

I made a hanger for the top with a  styrofoam glitter ball I got at Michaels, and just stuck some wire through it and made little hooks on the bottom to keep it from coming back through. (I’m thinking if I had it to over, I would have used much thinner wire…hindsight is 20/20) :0)

how to make a hanger

I made a little funnel out of paper and used it to pour white glitter into my ornament…..

add glitter

I found some tinsel at Walmart that looked like vintage tinsel…it was only $2.00 for a pretty decent sized roll. I used it to camouflage the top of the glass where I cut it off…..

vintage tinsel

Then I just hot glued the tinsel and the glitter styrofoam ball on top of the “cloche” wine glass, and it was finished!

Christmas cloche ornament

I made several different ornaments…some with nutcrackers, some with mini Christmas trees, and some more snowmen ones. I LOVE them and they really were so easy! The hardest part was cutting the tops of the glasses off.  I made 12 of them while sitting in a hospital chair……why yes, I did take a craft bag to the hospital! Including hot glue! Ha! Did you expect any less?! lol :0)

Hope you all enjoyed the ornament! Stay tuned and I’ll show you what I did with the bases to the wine glasses. The next project literally took 15 minutes to do!

Blessings
Missy

Friday, November 29, 2013

How to Make a Drop Cloth Burlap Stocking


burlap Christmas stocking (2)

Hey ya’ll!! I have been busy as a bee around here decorating for Christmas!   I wanted to show you the cute little stockings I made for my dining room chairs.  They were SO easy!

First I just hand drew a stocking shape to use as a template and cut it out of some printer paper…

stocking template

I laid it out on some drop cloth I had leftover from making the pillows on my window seat. I just doubled the drop cloth fabric and put the template on top. Notice I used the finished edge of the drop cloth for the top of the stocking…no hemming! (I did iron the drop cloth first…this was just a picture I took to show you how I laid it out) :0)

how to make a christmas stocking

I cut out all of my stockings, I did eight…

dropcloth Christmas stocking

Then, I sewed a straight line all around the stockings..leaving the top open of course.  I used the side of the presser foot as a guide for my seam allowance….

how to sew

Turn your stockings right side out. (see that finished edge I was talking about on top…makes for a nice finished edge)

IMG_5050

I wanted a cuff for the top of my stockings and I started to use lace, but then I found this adorable burlap at Michaels for $6.99, and then used my 40% off coupon! I LOVE coupons!

burlap Christmas stocking

The burlap was a little wider than I wanted the cuff of my stockings to be, so I just turned the edge over about and inch and hot glued it into place.

how to make a burlap Christmas stocking

Then I lined the turned down edge of my burlap, with the finished edge of the stocking and hot glued it all the way around….

how to make a burlap stocking

I finished it off on the back by gluing the edges together…

burlap stocking tutorial

Here’s all eight of my stockings with their pretty burlap cuffs. :0)

Christmas burlap stockings

They were looking a wee bit plain, so I decided to take some extra plain burlap and make some rosettes to adorn the cuffs with….

burlap rose

I basically folded over some burlap and began wrapping and twisting it, tacking as I went with a needle and thread until it looked like a rose. Then I tacked it onto the stocking.   I used some ribbon and sewed it to the inside edge of the stocking so I could hang them on my dining room chairs.

stockings

I just LOVE how they turned out, and they look really cute in my dining room!

burlap Christmas stocking (2)

These were so inexpensive to make!  Basically the cost was just the money I spend on the burlap from Michaels, which was less than $10.00 for both kinds!

Hope you like my stockings, and I’d love to know if you make them!

Blessings to all of you!
Missy

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