Time is going so quickly.
Can you relate? Nothing makes you feel the years slipping by quite as much as having a high schooler.
As I process my kids quickly getting older, it has me reflecting on what things I do with my time, how we interact as a family, making memories, and doing things that make our spirits full of purpose and JOY.
Two things that I love are playing with my family and being in nature.
There is something so special when that combination intersects. Times slows down. I have always loved collecting little sticks, shells, leaves and bits from my time outdoors. As a kid, I used to ask to go on family hikes for my birthday celebrations. Being in nature takes me back to my roots and smooths the stress of the world for a bit, so when I come out of it, I am better for it.
One day, I had this idea of creating a nature shelf. I was staring at this little shelf in my kitchen holding pictures and art and thinking how special it would be to have a nature version. I pictured a shelf dedicated to holding small things collected out doors, yet I knew it would be collecting so much more than just those treasures. Let me show you what I mean.
I went to Hobby Lobby one day for paint and as Hobby Lobby can do, it had me wandering all the other aisles. I saw that wood shelf above and immediately recalled my need for a nature shelf, so I brought it home and played around with where it would go.
Since we are a family of artists, we don’t have a lot of empty walls in our house. The walls are full of our passions, creative processes and journeys of exploration in time and who we are. I view them as a living museum of us. But, I found a space for this new shelf. It would live in my art room. Right where I sew, paint my journals, and even type this message out to you.
A few weeks passed and nothing happened to my shelf, but then we left for spring break and guess what we found!?
We found shells! The first two days of our break, I sat in a chair happily just decompressing and watching my kids play and enjoy their youth. It was like my body literally was saying, “It’s ok to just be.” Then I found myself walking, reading, playing, and the shell hunt began.
I am an Enneagram 4 (a creative with all kinds of feels) so it’s probably no surprise that I now look back at these shells collected, and I remember the joy of the moment, the fun of the hunt, the youthful innocence in each of us as we shared the joy of new treasures with one another.
We had brainstormed best ways to collect, techniques to try as we waded through the cold waters, and light heartily embraced pain as broken shells hit our ankles in the hunt.
The shells are like souvenirs of memories made with my family. The nature shelf holds those shells and those memories on display.
This nature shelf represents me slowing down and making time to see beauty in the everyday ordinary things and the most of each moment. How often do we walk past a bed of flowers, blooming tree, or intricate stick and miss that extreme beauty because we are racing to our next thing? How often are we sitting with our people but not really sitting with our people?
I’m really excited to have this growing reminder to tell me to slow down, notice the everyday beauty and make more moments count with my family.
There’s lots of empty squares on this shelf. I can’t wait for summer and warmer weather to finally arrive, so I can do more fun outside with my people. My shelf treasures will grow as a result as well.
What about you? What is a reminder you hold that allows to pull you out of the fast pace and make time for that inner child in you to play with your family? It’s never too late to start something new.
Do you want a nature shelf too? See my shelf come alive in this short YouTube video.
This room just makes me happy.
Shortly, before we moved to Indiana, I repainted an old dresser to give my J a 
Shortly after we moved into our new house, and started settling in, I remembered my drawers. I dug them out of the garage and gave them a fresh coat of paint. I thought if I added a few little wheels they would make awesome under the bed storage for my boys’ bedroom. This was about 18 months ago…about the time we got our pup. Who is now a full-grown German Shepard mix.
I ended up paper mache-ing some wrapping paper to the bottom of the drawer and adding new handles, but that’s where the project came to a stall.
He’s a genius. He placed the shelves right above the screws from the handles so no one would get scraped reaching for something off the shelf. This was a quick project but needed some thought and calculation. He used my Ryobi Nail Brad and whipped this up much quicker than I expected.
He cut two 14 inch long 1×2’s and attached them to the wall. These provided a sturdy hanging option for the drawer while providing a little bit of space off of the wall. He was able to sink one screw from each of the support boards into a stud in the wall. Since the drawer wasn’t wide enough to span across to studs, he used drywall anchors to attached the other screws.
Once the supports were in place, I helped him hold the drawer up to the wall. He used the brad nailer to quickly attach the drawer to the supports. Then, he went back and added a few screws for more support.
Once my drawer was hung, I painted the shelves the same teal as the flowers on the wall for an extra punch of color. I then styled the shelves, replaced my lamp on its new sturdy base, and my nightstand was complete!
I love how this nightstand is narrow. It doesn’t take up a lot of space between the two beds, which allows for maximum floor space. Yet, it allows for a little lamp to be placed. This is our foster bedroom/guest room, so it is not currently in use. But now we are ready. Guests can place their phone to be charged or a bottle of water right beside their bed at night. I love it.
I have a problem.
My boys don’t really fit in them now, but I could not stand to take them to Goodwill. As I sat staring at them, I was inspired to try to make shelves!
He used some small scrap pieces of wood to help stabilize the seat from not moving. He used wood glue and screws to keep it all intact.
This next part was just genius. He used a 1/2″ drill bit to carve out three little slots in the top of a little piece of wood that he screwed to the wall. He then screwed three little screws into the back of another piece of wood that he attached to my new shelf. These three screws sunk into the drilled out holes on the wall. This technique created a sturdy, strong attachment of my shelves to the wall. It does not shake at all. Perfect!
I love the new shelves. They were the perfect addition to that little narrow wall in between the corner and the window.
Do you have any little chairs that would make cute shelves? Or better yet, do you have any sentimental things that you too are trying to repurpose or save before they hit the donate pile!?
that I received at Haven to drill at an angle and attach my barn wood to the painted squares. This Jig allowed us to create a clean pocket hole that was minimal in size and could easily be covered by a plugable pocket hole to create a finished look.
