My Most Recent DIY Projects

When we bought our house last May I found a bunch of random materials in a storage closet in our basement. I found wood, old glass windows, paint, flooring and metal fencing. I instantly came up with ideas of ways I could use half of the stuff.

You should know, I am a creative. I really enjoy creating new things especially from old things. I can find use of almost anything. The last woman's trash can be made into treasure. LOL I think I enjoy it so much because it reminds me of my childhood when you could find me building or fixing something with my dad. Every week marked a new project from fixing cars, hanging drywall, laying carpet, building dart board cabinets and soooo much more. Around holiday time we created and sold gift baskets. It was really fun. 

Only issue... Very few of my dad's projects were completed. He had more ideas than he did time, other people's needs came before his own, and I think he constantly underestimated how much time a project would take. I took on these traits but in recent years have refused to not master finishing things. Also my husband made me promise I wouldn't have more than 2-3 projects going on at one time. 

I've been doing good with that. I've finished more projects than I can remember and I'll share 3 of my most recent ones. 

Upscaled shutter shelves

These took me about 4 hours to do over 2 or 3 days. Really the project took maybe 2 hours but I really wanted to get the measurements right and not drill holes before I knew the shelves would be centered, evenly distanced and leveled before starting. I did a lot of penciling on the wall the first day or two.

I paid less than $25 for the brackets, wall anchors and spray paint which I got from Home Depot. I already had the shutters. The process was pretty simple. I measured and marked the wall for where the screws, brackets and shelves would go. I spray painted the brackets from white to brown and used 1 wall anchor for each bracket. I also used a level to make sure the shelves were even.

Mail Organizer 

This was a really easy project and it can be customized in many different ways. It took me about an hour and a hot glue gun to complete. I also used a cereal box and scrap fabric. After cutting the box about 1/4 down from the top, I secured the ends closed and glued the boxes together with the open sides up. 

Then I sat it on the fabric and played with how I could get the fabric to fit the boxes best. You can try to use one piece of fabric and make cuts to fit the different angles or you can trace the sides on the fabric, cut it out and then glue it on in sections. With the second option cut a bit more around the edges so the fabric "panels" overlap and don't leave any of the box exposed. 

I really like how it adds a touch of color and African culture to my kitchen.  I also made matching place mats. 

Standing Coat Rack

Our coat closet is across the living room so it's a bit inconvenient for hanging items we wear everyday. Also without any storage right inside the front door the entry way is often a mess with things we throw down or don't want to forget when leaving out (out of sight out of mind). So I built this coat rack (with help from my boys, Kobe (5) and Peyton (1)) to organize the front area a bit more. 

I did this project in one day and used about 3-4 hours. I spent less than $20 dollars, borrowed a circular saw from my neighbor and used wall paint that we already had. It was a fun project. If I can figure out how to speed up a video, I'll post the recording of me building this.   

I used a 6 foot square piece of wood for the trunk and 2- 2 foot 2x4 pieces we had in the basement. I cut the smaller pieces of wood in half to make the base. We added  2 robe hooks and 4 single hooks at varying heights and on 3 sides. Kobe choose the color which matches our accent wall adjacent from the door. It is sturdy and cute. 

What projects have you done lately (big or small)? What kind of diy projects are you most interested in?