Twin Headboard Bench with Storage....

Hi Everyone!  Happy Sunday!  I hope you are enjoying your weekend.  I've been busy working out in the shop, trying to get the last few things built on the benches that are taking over the space so that I can move onto painting.  I have one that a customer ordered and the rest are for two upcoming Craft Fairs.  I thought I'd show you one of the storage benches.  Do you remember the twin headboards that my aunt Barb hauled back from AZ that she found curbside?  Well, here's a picture of them when I got them from my aunt.

I like the detail on them, I think they look very feminine.

So, I cut one of them apart for the arms and cut the legs down so that the arms would be shorter than the back.

Since it was too hot to work out in the shop, I cut all my lumber for this project and hauled everything into my living room so I could work in a little comfort.  My dogs didn't like it, but I sure did.  And I decided that this needed to be a storage bench.

And here it is, almost finished.  The only thing left is the seat/top of the storage.  I've been trying to decide if I'm going to make the seat out of 1x6's like I did on the other storage bench or if I'm going to use plywood.  I think I'll be making this one out of 1x6's and using plywood on the other benches.

I'm really happy with the way this is turning out.  And I can't wait to paint it.  I'm thinking this one needs to be white or cream as I can see this in a girl's room.

I thought about painting it a nice red, but it's calling out to me to be cream. What do you think?  I'll show you how it turns out once I'm done making the seat and painting it.  Enjoy the rest of your weekend.  Thanks for stopping by!

Coffee table, storage bench...

Hi Everyone!  Happy Saturday!  I wanted to share with you one of the things I've been working on.  I made this storage bench/padded coffee table last year for the Clarinda Craft Fair in October and it sold before my benches did.  The top opens up and there's lots of storage inside.  So this year I thought I'd make a square one similar to this.

So I started working on my idea for a square, padded coffee table, made with the same look as the one from last year.  I cut the lumber and took it all inside into my living room since it was too hot to work in the shop and got all the sides made.  Each side is a panel that fit snugly together with the panel on either side and then the panels get glued and screwed together. 

So I had each panel made and I set it up in my living room and it was just too big.  Each side measures 36".  Which didn't seem too large to me when I laid out yardsticks when I was trying to determine my dimensions.  Boy was I wrong!  IT WAS HUGE!  I lived with it in my living room for two days and couldn't image anyone having room for that large of a box. 

I talked to my mom about it and she didn't think it sounded too big.  I talked with a co-worker of mine and the same thing, didn't sound too big.  I looked in Pottery Barn and their padded coffee tables were 48" square, but didn't have storage, just legs with an open area below........that's the problem!  It was the solidness of the box that made it seem so outrageous big.  I couldn't cut the panels down so instead, I'm making two rectangles instead of a square.  I'll try again on the square later.

So I made two more panels (I've only made one of the two so far) and put it together in my living room.

I haven't made the top yet.  Hopefully this weekend.

But I did move it out to the shop so I can sand it and get it ready for painting.

Since I will have two of them, I thought I'd paint one Graphite and the other Old White (using my Annie Sloan Chalk Paint) and then wax and age them.  The only thing I haven't decided on is if I'm going to upholster the top like the one I did last year, or have a wooden top.  Or maybe one of each?  What do you think?  The nice thing about these storage pieces, it can be a coffee table or storage bench in your entry way or kids room or at the end of the bed, or at your dining room table.  They are very versatile.  I'll let you know what I decide.  Thanks for stopping by.

Shop time...finally...

Hi Everyone!  Happy Friday!  I hope you had a good week.  I know I had a productive one.  I wanted to share with you a little of what's been going on in my shop.  The weather finally turned around making it bearable to work out in the shop this last weekend and this week.  And since I'm behind because of the heat wave we had, I've spent most nights after work out in the shop until 9 or 10 pm, trying to get caught up.  I have two craft fairs coming up and I'm not as ready as I would have liked to have been by this point.  The first is the Essex Labor Day Market on Monday, September 5th and the second one is the Red Oak Craft Fair on Saturday, September 17th.  I haven't been to the second one before and normally I like to have at least a couple of weekends in between shows, but this year I only have one weekend in between which doesn't leave much time to replace inventory.  So that's why I'm building and building and haven't stopped to paint anything, yet.

So this is what the shop looked liked this morning before I left for work.  I have three completely built benches and two that are almost done.  And then that box (top right hand corner) is a storage coffee table/storage bench that is built except for the top.  I will post about each of these soon.

This bench I started Tuesday afternoon and finished everything except the seat/top of the storage, last night.

This one I started on Sunday afternoon.  I had cut almost all the wood when the sun came out and heated up the shop (it has a metal roof and gets pretty warm).  So I packed up all the pieces and moved the building party into my living room so I could keep building.  The dogs weren't too happy, but I sure was more comfortable!  Then I moved it back out on Tuesday and finished it up in the shop.  I still have to make the seat/storage top.  And I can't decide if I'm going to make it or buy a sheet of plywood for all three of the storage benches that still need a top.  I'm going to need to inventory my lumber and see if I have enough to make them or if I need to spend a little money to get some plywood. 

Hopefully this weekend is just as productive as last weekend now that our summer visitors have gone home and my mom is finally feeling better.  One of the benches in the first photo is for a client that called me last Saturday and ordered it.  I of course didn't tell her I was in the middle of making things for two craft fairs, so I slipped it into the workday on Sunday and Monday evening and I'll be painting it this weekend.  So more to come.  Well, take care and have a great weekend!

Ethan Allen bench...

Hi Everyone!  Happy Monday!  I hope you had a great weekend.  I wanted to show you my latest build.  This bench is made from a full size Ethan Allen bed.  My favorite supplier of used headboards had this one for sale in his shop and gave me a great deal on it because of all the headboards I've purchased from him.  I almost hated cutting this one in half, but I'm sure glad that I did.

I love this detail on the leg.  I'm going to have to tape that off really well before I paint.

Now my only question is, what color should I paint it?  And what saying should I put on it?  What would you like to see?  What would you want to buy?  I'm taking this to the Essex Labor Day Market.  It's a mix of antique, flea market, craft fair all rolled into one.  Last  year I took a bench to this, sold it 15 minutes after the "doors" opened and took orders for 7 more benches.  So let's hope the selling god's are with me again this year.  Thanks for stopping by.

Upholstered headboard...

Hi Everyone!  Happy Sunday!  I wanted to show you the headboard I upholstered for my niece.  She is started High School this year (WOW!) and has a kids bunkbed in her room that has the futon on the bottom and I've slept on it and it's not comfortable!  My parents are giving her the matress set from their guest room and getting a new one.  The only problem, no headboard or frame. 

That's where I come in.  Before I moved to the farm,  my grandfather had moved a bed into the large master bedroom that didn't have a headboard because he had to move their bedroom to the 1st floor after my grandmother fell down the stairs (I gave that set to my brother for his son's room).  So to correct the no headboard situation, he made one out of plywood.  When I moved in, I didn't have a headboard, so I took that headboard and upholstered it for my bed.  But I have since changed rooms and headboards.  But I didn't throw out that headboard, thinking I could recycle the plywood.  And I have a frame that I saved out in the grain bin.

So when I took my niece back-to-school shopping we picked up some chenelle fabric in lilac and I upholstered the headboard for her.

 The unfinished back side of the headboard.  I could have made it pretty on this side too, but didn't because the fabric cost 12.99/yard and it will be up next to the wall.  I think that's the most I've ever spent on fabric, but it coordinated with the fabric I used on her toy box/hope chest, just a shade darker.

She is a purple gal!  She loves purple!

So now my brother just has to haul it home and either attach it to the frame or hang it on the wall.  It's been fun having Vickie here, too bad it was not as much fun as last year since my mom was sick most of the time.  But I think Vickie won the jackpot by coming home with new bed and headboard!  Well, thanks for stopping by!

Birthday present for Mom...

Hi Everyone!  My mom's birthday was this week.  And even though she didn't feel good, we celebrated her birthday with a little gift party!  We'll do something else for her when she's back to her usual happy, fun self!  My mom had mentioned several months ago that she needed another footstool for the living room.  She had gotten one a few years ago, but my dad has sort of claimed that one for himself, thus leaving my mom with out one.  So I made her one.

I  had this stand between my love seat and recliner and it is just proportionally the wrong size.  And if you look closely at the bottom of the left leg, it has been chewed on by one of the puppies.  So I had an idea....

I cut the legs off from just above the stretcher making it almost 11 inches tall.  Which is the standard size of a footstool.

I painted it black to go with the accents in her living room.  And when my niece and I were shopping, I picked up some sage green, heavy duty fabric to upholster the top of the stool and some upholstery tacks.

You can see in this picture that I used the tacks on the underside of the top rather than stapling it.  I thought it would give it a cleaner look.

I gave it to my mom on Tuesday night and she was thrilled with it.  And my dad was happy too because now he didn't have to share the other footstool.  And I got to repurpose that small side table into something practical and nice and I still have the bottom part to work with...I wonder what that will become...?  Well, thanks for stopping!

Busy weeks....

Hi Everyone!  Happy Friday!  Sorry I've been absent the last week and half or so.  My niece has been here and the weather has been horrid!  Too hot to get anything done in the shop so I've turned my house into workspace, more than it had been.  My mom has been sick for 10 days!  She's actually been sick on and off since the middle of May and it finally reached critical stage.  She hasn't been able to keep much of anything down and she finally went to the Dr last week.  It took lots of tests and a week of waiting for results to discover that she has a parasite.  They think she caught it when they went to my nephew's graduation.  They were able to give her medicine on Wednesday that she's to take for 3 days and if she isn't better by then, the next step is to be hospitalized for some knock you down kind of medicine.  She has zero energy, but that's because she hasn't been able to keep food down.  So we are hoping that by tomorrow she'll turn the corner on this and start feeling better.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

My mom was to take my niece back to school shopping, but since she wasn't able to, I took her.  I don't have any children so that was an experience for me.  Unfortunately, I didn't take my camera with me.  Our first stop was to Goodwill where she found the majority of the clothes she bought.  And I made a find too.  I got this wooden bowl for 2.99.  I don't know what I'm going to do with it yet, but it looked so lonely on the shelf that I just had to bring it with me.  They had a really cool dresser that I would have loved to bring home to paint, but we didn't take the pick-up, so there was no way to get it home and I had to keep telling myself that I was there for my niece and not for furniture!

We also got fabric to cover the headboard that I'm sending home with her but I'll share that with you later.  I upholstered it Wednesday night, but forgot to take pictures of it.  Now that things are getting closer to being back to normal around here, I'll get back to projects and posting on a regular bases again.  I haven't even had to time to look at all the great posts I've missed.  I'm looking forward to getting caught up on all that you've been up to.  Thanks for stopping by!