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What does a Nature Shelf Collect?

April 20, 2022 By Erica Deuel Leave a Comment

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.

 

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Easy Narrow Nightstand (for that small nook)

August 18, 2016 By Erica Deuel 2 Comments

DIY_narrow_nightstandThis room just makes me happy.

There is color EVERYWHERE!

I’ve never been afraid of color, but lately I am having more and more fun going bold and mixing prints and styles to create something of my own. In this room, we have handmade and store-bought. There is new and rustic. There is color and then neutrals (or a color that acts as a neutral), and somehow it all works together to create a beauty that I love.

This room’s finishing touch was actually started years ago. Let me explain.

narrow_nightstandShortly, before we moved to Indiana, I repainted an old dresser to give my J a new dresser. As I was getting ready to throw his old busted dresser out, I just couldn’t part with the drawers. It was an old really heavy, painted too many times dresser that needed to go, but the drawers seemed like good boxes. I knew I could use them for something someday. So, as we moved to Indiana, we loaded up these empty, someday project drawers to come with us. Can we say hoarder!?

It was worth it.

old_drawer_projectShortly 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.

painting_drawers

painting_a_drawer

drawerI 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.

My drawers did go under the bed, but they weren’t being used. It was more of just a new, clean place to store my someday project (rather than the garage). They sat here until a few weeks ago when a new inspiration struck. I needed a small, narrow nightstand to go between the twin beds. I wondered, “could I use one of these old drawers as a nightstand?!” I hurriedly pulled one out and placed it between the beds. The size was perfect. But since there is a vent in the same spot, the nightstand couldn’t get pushed up against the wall and be a snug fit. It fell and the lamp broke (nothing a little super glue couldn’t fix). This is where I roped in my talented husband. He added shelves to the drawer and hung it up on the wall for me. Garage_work_shop

creating_small_wood_shelves

creating_small_wall_shelves

Ryobi_nail_brad_toolHe’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.

creating_small_shelves

Ryobi_nail_bradHe 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.

hanging_a_shelfOnce 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.

hanging_bedside_tableOnce 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!

colorful_nightstand

small_wall_shelf

narrow_nightstand_on_wall

hanging_nightstand

hanging_DIY_nightstandI 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.

narrow_nightstandThis room has so many surprising fun elements from the wood chairs hanging on the wall all the way to the huge painted flower mural. Having a drawer converted to a nightstand just completes the look. Yes, it might have been cheaper to just find another drawer in Indiana rather than fill up more space in our moving truck from Georgia, but then I wouldn’t have as good of a story.

Have you repurposed anything recently!? I love to repurpose items. Turning our kitchen chairs into a bench is one of my favorite projects to date. I really loved this little dresser that had broken shelves that I turned into a fun piece too.

There are so many possibilities, if we use our imaginations! I’d love to chat with you about your projects! Find me on Instagram, @ericadeuel, and say hi!

Thank you so much for checking in! I will be back with a room round-up post full of links to the various projects soon!

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Repurpose Kids Chairs into Wood Shelves

April 11, 2015 By Erica Deuel 2 Comments

kids_wood_chair_makeoverI have a problem.

I can’t let go of sentimental things. Items that have a story. It may be like hoarding to hold onto them, but I like to think of it as a repurpose-ing gift. Can you relate?

My boys received these little wood chairs from their uncle, after he did a trip to Africa. I love that he found them for my boys and brought them clear across the sea on a plane just for them. So thoughtful.

wood_carving

wood_carved_chairsMy 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!

They are made from strong wood and the carvings on them are simply gorgeous. What a perfect solution, if I could only pull it off. In hopes to not ruin the chairs completely, I roped in my handy husband. I stood by for mental laughs, smiles, and to document the experience.

He started by cutting the seat with my Ryobi miter saw, so just about two inches still stuck out on the back side.

cutting_wood_chairHe 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.

making_a_wood_shelfThis 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!

It was a quick project, and I love how it came together. Every once in a while one of my crazy ideas works out.

back_of_wood_shelf

DIY_wood_shelfold_cameranarrow_DIY_wood_shelfI love the new shelves. They were the perfect addition to that little narrow wall in between the corner and the window.

This is going to be our foster care bedroom. I can’t wait to show you more of it soon!wood_shelfDo 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!?

Just use your imagination! I’m sure there is a way to repurpose that item!

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DIY Rustic Wood Shelf

November 11, 2013 By Erica Deuel 5 Comments

wood_shelf_tutorialToday, I’m excited to share another element of our Foster Care bedroom. If you’ve followed along you’ve seen the plank wall, unique curtain hooks, the “LOVE” and “Whole World Inside Me” wall art, and the pallet frame. Right now, I want to walk you through this Rustic Wood Shelf. I gathered some odds and ends wood and a few planks from a collapsed barn to make this piece. If you gathered your own wood and followed the principles in this post, you could make your own rustic shelf too!

I love the detail and even the moss in this warped wood. Although it looks rustic and rotten it is solid and heavy. I let it dry out for a couple of months, before using it to create this shelf.

old_wood_boards

old_woodI cut my scrap wood pieces to create four equal squares. I then spray painted them, let them dry, and sanded them briefly to create a more rustic look to blend with the wood.

spraypaint_and_sandWe then used the Kreg Jig 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.

kreg_toolFor extra reinforcement, I drilled screws from the top of my barn wood down into the square blocks. This made sure that the barn wood was tight and secure.

creating_a_shelfI then used some of my Purebond wood scraps to cut and cover the back. I measured the size they would need to be and stained them.

scrap_purebond_woodMatt then used a small finishing nail and hammered them into the middle shelf board, so it was one nail down the middle of each Purebond wood piece).

back_of_a_shelfWe made sure it was level and rigged a little hanging device on the back. This is a heavy piece, so we wanted to create a safe way to hang it that would hold up. Using 50lb eye hooks and hanging wire that we wrapped into a loop made a secure way to attach it to hooks that we anchored to the bedroom drywall.

shelf_bracketThe last thing was to hang it up and stage it! I love how it came out. It is simple, yet has character and charm. I am still building my confidence with my Ryobi Miter saw. I use it often to cut things, but it is usually something simple like a wood sign. To design and build something from scratch is still new to me. I am so proud of this piece.

create_wood_shelfI love the rustic, natural wood with a pop of pretty blue color. I love the edges of the shelf hanging over the side blue wall. What do you think?

rustic_wood_shelf

rustic_shelfI loved putting my accessories on this shelf. It’s a simple, yet fun way to decorate our foster care bedroom. Since we will have a range of age and gender staying in the room, this shelf allows for me to quickly switch our decor based on who is using the room.

Do you collect wood? My stash is running low, so maybe I will be on the hunt for some pallets soon. I hope you had a great weekend. If you missed it yesterday, I got a tattoo this past weekend!

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