Plenty 'o Storage from One Board | Pretty Handy Girl

Before we get started, did you enter the $1,000 Build.com #LoveItMoment giveaway? Only a few days left, so get crackin’!

What would you say if I told you that I took one board…one 1″ x 8″ x 8′ board and created a faux cubby box with Plenty O’ Storage that will work in any room in your home!

Plenty 'o Storage from One Board | Pretty Handy Girl

This is a project born out of the #OneBoardChallenge. What’s that you ask? In short, it’s a challenge thrown down by Jen from House of Wood. She challenged 17 bloggers to make something amazing out of one 1″ x 8″ x 8′ board.

One-board-challenge-graphic

I’m here to show you how that one board can be cut up and turned into this beautiful fake cubby storage box:

Plenty 'o Storage from One Board | Pretty Handy Girl

And it can store anything you don’t want in plain sight.

Plenty 'o Storage from One Board | Pretty Handy Girl

Today I’ll show you how to build your own Storage Box with Plenty O’ Storage!

Plenty 'o Storage from One Board | Pretty Handy Girl

Materials:

  • 1 – 1″ x 8″ x 8′ board
  • Drill
  • 3/32 drill bit
  • Philips head screwdriver
  • Wire mesh
  • Tin Snips
  • Staple gun
  • 1/4″ staples
  • Pencil
  • 2 – 2″ hinges
  • Magnetic latch
  • 5 – Sash hook lift hardware
  • 4 – {6 x 2 1/4″} wood trim screws
  • Miter saw
  • Table saw
  • Jig saw or Bandsaw

Cut list:

(Note that a 1″ x 8″ board is actually 3/4″ x 7 1/4″. Cut list sizes are actual sizes.)

Plenty 'o Storage from One Board | Pretty Handy Girl

  • 1 – 5 1/4″ x 25″
  • 2 – 7 1/4″ x 25″
  • 2 – 7 1/4″ x 8″
  • 1 – 2″ x 25″ (optional for hanging cleat or back stop)

 

Instructions:

Cut your 1×8″ board into the pieces listed in the cut list above. Most cuts can be made on a miter saw, but you’ll need a table saw to rip the 2″ board and to cut grooves into the face of the storage box. Alternatively, you could skip the fancy details and create a plain face.

Plenty 'o Storage from One Board | Pretty Handy Girl

Set the table saw depth to 1/8″ above the saw table. Set the fence at 5″. Cross cut the board along the saw blade to cut grooves into the board. Rotate the board and cut across the other ends of the board. Set the fence at 10″ and repeat on both ends.

Plenty 'o Storage from One Board | Pretty Handy Girl

Your board will look like this when you flip it over:

Plenty 'o Storage from One Board | Pretty Handy Girl

Download the template shown below, print and cut out the shape.

Plenty 'o Storage from One Board | Pretty Handy Girl

Using the template to trace the cut out onto the top of the face sections.

Plenty 'o Storage from One Board | Pretty Handy Girl

Use a jigsaw or bandsaw to cut the face profile.

Plenty 'o Storage from One Board | Pretty Handy Girl

Pre-drill holes into the four corners of the two 8″ x 7 1/4″ boards.

pre-drill-screw-holes

Collect the four sides of the box ( 2 – 7 1/4″ x 25″ and 2 – 7 1/4″ x 8″)

Plenty 'o Storage from One Board | Pretty Handy Girl

Drive wood screws into the sides and into the base of the box. Read more

DIY-feather-art

DIY Feather Art | Pretty Handy Girl

When I needed an extra piece of art for our living room gallery wall I created DIY Feather Art. You can create your own, but please purchase craft feathers, use fake feathers or paper feathers. (Per the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, it is illegal to collect feathers, nests and other anatomical parts of certain migratory birds.)

Materials:

DIY Feather Art | Pretty Handy Girl

  • Rustic 1×4″ boards (I used pallet wood)
  • Wood yardstick or lattice boards
  • Watered down white paint
  • Paint brush
  • Clamp
  • Scissors
  • Kreg Jig
  • Pocket hole screws (1.25″)
  • Nylon line
  • Small drill bit
  • Drill
  • Staple gun
  • 1″ finish nails
  • Hammer or nailgun
  • Wood glue
  • Feathers
  • Pencil
  • D-ring picture hangers

Instructions:

Cut your 1×4″ boards to size (or select one board the size you want for your art background.) To connect the two boards, mark the location to drill pocket holes.

DIY Feather Art | Pretty Handy Girl

Use the Kreg Jig to drill pocket holes into the back of both boards.

DIY Feather Art | Pretty Handy Girl

Clamp the boards together and join them with 1 1/4″ pocket hole screws.

DIY Feather Art | Pretty Handy Girl

Flip the board over and paint it with watered down white paint for a white-washed look.

DIY Feather Art | Pretty Handy Girl

Mark the width of the white-washed board onto the yardstick. Cut two pieces the same length. Read more

How to Make an Ottoman Table

Design inspiration can often come in the least-expected places. It can happen when you are in an airport or at the farmers market or just plain window shopping in your home town. Last year when I was at the Haven blog conference, I fell in love with this table I saw in the hotel restaurant.

How to Make an Ottoman Table

But want is it called? An ottoman tray, a side table, a bridge? Turns out it is all those things. Today I’m going to teach you how to make one. This simple piece of furniture is not only easy to make, but very functional too. It can fit perfectly over an ottoman in your home and give you a steady place for a book or your favorite drink. Or if you don’t have an ottoman, it makes a nice side table too.

Materials:

  • MDF board – These come in many sizes at the home improvement store. For this project I used a piece that was 1 x 10 x 72″.
  • L-brackets
  • Wood screws
  • Primer
  • Paint
  • Drill and drill bits
  • Circular saw (optional)

Instructions:

First, measure the size of the ottoman you want to slide the ottoman table over. Make sure you have enough clearance for it to fit the width and the height of the ottoman. You will have three boards total. Two that will serve as the “legs” and one that will be the top.

Transfer your measurements to the board. Using a circular saw, cut the board in two places according to your measurements, giving you three boards.

You can have the board cut for you at the home improvement store and save yourself a step. (This works for me a lot since I have a small car, then it easily fits inside on the way home.)

Wipe of any sawdust with a rag.

How to Make an Ottoman Table

Prime and paint the boards. It’s a good idea to use a “gripping” primer so that your table will be stand up to frequent use. There are also enamel paints that are meant for furniture that you can use as the color. If you have paint on hand, use what you got! Or, sample cans are only around $4 and should cover your entire piece, depending on the size.

After the boards are dry, you can assemble the table. Take the top piece and turn it upside down on a soft surface. Place a “leg” board perpendicular next to it and mark where to place the L-bracket. Read more

DIY Marble Toss Game | Pretty Handy Girl

This summer, parents are busy trying to keep their children busy with quality games and toys. Any seasoned parent knows that those electronic noise-maker toys have no place in a sane household. With this in mind, my friend Stefanie from Brooklyn Limestone has started a summer long series called “Die Ugly Toys Die.”

Die Ugly Toys Die

Every Thursday she’ll feature another DIY toy or game that you can make for your children. It’s time to get back to the basics and send those annoying and ugly toys off a cliff.

My tutorial for creating a DIY Marble Toss Game is starting the series today.

Click here to find the instructions to build your own. Then watch your kids have hours of fun challenging each other in a tossing game.

DIY Marble Toss Game | Pretty Handy Girl

Be sure to check over at Brooklyn Limestone every Thursday for a new DIY toy or game.

PHGFancySign

produce rack diy

diy-produce-rack

Hey everyone!  It’s Katie from Addicted 2 DIY again!  I’ve got a great project to share with you all to store your summer bounty.  I’ve been looking for a way to store fresh produce for a while.  It was driving me crazy storing everything on my kitchen counter or having it get lost in the pantry.  Forgotten potatoes start to smell pretty bad after a while.  I stumbled across some adorable wire baskets in the Target dollar spot a few months ago for only $3 apiece!  At that price, I bought several and figured I’d find some way to use them.  I thought they would be perfect to store fruit and vegetables, so I built this simple DIY produce rack using some scrap wood in the garage.

Supplies:

  • 1 – 1×6 @ 6′ long
  • 1 – 1×4 @ 8′ long
  • 2 – 5 gallon paint sticks
  • miter saw
  • staple gun
  • 3/4″ staples
  • wood glue
  • wood stain
  • chalk paint
  • adhesive vinyl
  • Farmer’s Market Silhouette cut file
  • wire baskets
  • screw eyes
  • drywall anchors and screws (I used 75lb anchors)
  • D-ring picture hangers

Cut the 1×6 into two 31″ pieces and the 1×4 into one 31″ piece.  Cut the paint sticks in half.

supplies-for-produce-rack

Glue and nail the paint sticks to the back of the boards using 3/4″ staples.  You can also use a brad nailer and 5/8″ brad nails if you don’t have a staple gun.

staple-paint-sticks-to-wood

For a weathered finish, stain the boards with a dark stain and then dry brushed chalk paint onto the wood until satisfied with the look. Allow the stain to dry overnight and then you can dry brush it the next day.

stain-produce-rack

To dry brush, add a tiny amount of paint to your paint brush and dab the excess off onto a paper towel, then brush it in even strokes on your wood.  It is a great technique to make your new wood look decades old. Read more