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DIY Wood End Table

June 7, 2016 By Erica Deuel Leave a Comment

DIY_end_table_tutorial2It is easy to fall into a birthday buying rut…especially for your husband. Do you know what I mean?

Shirts and movies can be repeated easily. When my husband’s birthday in March was approaching, I wanted to think of something different.

I spent some time listening to what he needed. We love birthdays, but also don’t spend a ton of money on them. Time and thought are huge components of some of our favorite gifts. Matt and I had recently decorated his office and I remembered he still needed a little end table. It had to be small but easily moveable so it could be wheeled around for a coffee table. I decided to get the kids and try to make him one. The result I just adore.

And get this….the kids did it mostly by themselves! I did a lot of the designing and supervising, but they made it. So, it’s not perfect, yet it is. It’s quirky. It’s fun. They made it and they were so proud!

Here’s our process. Adopt it! Grab your kids and try your hand at building. This could be the perfect present for someone you love, and your kids will have a blast too. It’s a win-win!

The first thing we did was buy a bunch of 2″ x 1″ and 3″ x 1″ pieces of wood as well as two 12″ x 12″ x 3/4″ square pieces of wood.

We figured out a good height for the table (taking in consideration that an extra two inches would be added with wheels) and Caleb started measuring the cut lines for me. He used a tape measure and drew pen lines.  I can guarantee you that none of our cuts ended up being exactly the same length, but they were close enough. He did a great job and was so proud.

measuring wood

measuring wood1

measuring wood2After I had cut all the wood, we started playing with the best way to attach our side boards to the 12″ squares. Those squares were going to act as our top and bottom of the table, so in short we were building a box.

cut wood

cut wood1

DIY_side_table

DIY_side_table_tutorial

ryobi_nail_bradWe used my Ryobi Brad Nailer. It’s my absolute favorite tool. You may remember it from our pallet wall. If you don’t have one, you can use a hammer and nails…or just invest in a nail brad. It will become your best friend.

Once the sides were complete, we then decided to change the direction of the wood for the back, which required measuring and then cutting the boards a little shorter.

end_table_tutorial

end_table_tutorial1After our box was complete, Jeremiah came in and sanded it down. He used a rough grit sandpaper and went to town on that thing. This boy of mine loves working with his hands. He often sands scrap wood next to me as I paint signs. He will be some kind of artist someday.

sanding_project

sanding_project1After the box was sanded, we screwed on four little wheels we got at our local hardware store for a couple bucks. I marked a spot on the bottom of the box, and Caleb used the screwgun to get the wheels in place.

building_a_wood_cart

kids_drill_project1

kids_drill_projectOnce our box was turned right side up and looked more like an end table, we decided it needed a little shelf in the middle to make it more practical. Caleb measured the wood and Jeremiah painted it. We used scrap wood to help give the shelf a little ridge to rest on and used the brad nailer to hold them in place.kid_measuring_project

paintingHere is the part Reagan was dying for. She got to paint the whole thing. She got quite messy and painted herself in large parts too by bending every which way to cover her project. She had a blast.

painting_project1

painting_project2Once the paint was dry, we gave it a light sanding job and then stained it.

stainAt times I wanted to jump in and remove a paint drip or wipe off the stain a bit better, but I refrained. I wanted it to be their piece, and it really does look more vintage-y, quirky fun for it. I just love it, and Matt did too!

DIY_end_table_tutorial

DIY_end_table_tutorial3Here you can see it with his yellow chairs. It fits right in the middle of that nook to hold a coffee, but it can be wheeled out to hold a laptop for a quick meeting as well. Reagan got to paint a frame too 🙂

end_table_projectThis was a gift that had time and thought…and it’s practical! I don’t know how much it ended up costing since we had some of the supplies. You can use scrap wood-even for the top and bottom square pieces! Take this idea, modify it to make it your own (in size, style, etc), and have fun!

I would love to see what you come up with!

I hope you are having a good week and are imaging the possibilities!

DIY_end_table_tutorial2

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Building a Fire Pit

July 1, 2013 By Erica Deuel 1 Comment

homemade firepit

Would you believe me when I say that this fire pit was free? It didn’t cost a dollar. The sweat and time were the only price for this huge, beautiful fire pit.

When we were visiting my sister the other week in Arkansas, we wanted to help her with some projects while we were there. She had on her to do list to build a fire pit. We literally found all these big rocks on her property and carried and carted them over to where she wanted her fire pit built. I wish I had huge gorgeous rocks like this lying around on my property too, don’t you!?

stack of rocksOf course, we had some really excited helpers that wanted to be apart of this project. Lucky for us, we did need some smaller rocks so they were quite helpful and of course good company.

kids picking up rocks

The first step was to create the base size/structure of the fire pit by laying down the first round of rocks. My sister, Olivia, made it bigger than I was expecting, but I love it! I wouldn’t have thought to make such a huge fire pit, but it fits her property and land perfectly. This fire pit is easily four sizes larger than those metal circle pits they sell at hardware stores that I am use to seeing as fire pits around these parts.

making a fire pit

We decided we thought about three rows of the big rocks would look the best. It then became a puzzle of aligning the rocks and placing them in the best way to create a circle rock wall with as level/sturdy foundation as possible.

building a Firepit

After we got the rock wall in the shape and height we wanted, we inserted some of the smaller rocks into niches to create the most sturdy base as possible. What we wanted to prevent was any one siting or standing on the fire pit (when it’s not in use) and it tumbling over.

farm firepitThe last step was to test it out! I loved building the fire and watching the grass inside the pit immediately spread and burn away. The rocks kept the fire in though, so it worked. We had dinner grilling hot dogs and smores over the new fire pit to enjoy our hard work.

roasting hot dogs

DIY FirepitYou might not have free gorgeous rocks on your property either, but would you build a fire pit out of rocks instead of buying a premade one? I know this project is now on my to do list for my home! To see more pictures of this fire pit in use and of our trip to Arkansas you can go read about the beauty of country living. Thanks so much for stopping by!

 

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