Rustic Farmhouse Table

Hi all! I know it's been quite a long time since I have posted, but teaching has been taking up much of my time and mental capacity lately. I look forward to more posts in the next couple months (summer vaca)!!

This is our newest build. A rustic farmhouse style dining room table. A little back story first: when we first moved into our house we had a el-cheap-o IKEA 4 person table (with chairs pictured). Don't get me wrong, I love me some IKEA, but this table was dinky. After about a year, we received a hand-me-down table, which was the exact opposite: huge, real wood, ginourmous. This was great, except it was super wide, which made trying to walk around it while others were dining almost impossible. 

What I really wanted was a farmhouse table. The cost? $800.00+. My budget? $200.00.
Solution? MAKE ONE!

After searching the Internets, I came across this plan from Ana White. 
We decided to alter the length, and leg type, choosing 4x4's instead for a more sturdy look.

We have never built anything from scratch before, so it was intrimdating at first. But, after using my handy graph paper for my visual brain, the shopping and cutting were a breeze.

 

We choose Pine Select Boards from Home Depot. This was the most expensive wood available, however it provided the least warping for us beginners. Using less expensive wood would have added more of a rustic feel though. The legs we had to purchase from Lowe's, as non-pressure treated 4x4's are hard to come by. They are Fir, but were similiar in tone.


Here is just a breif play-by-play of our experience. For specifics, please visit the link above.


Framing Up Apron & Screwing Boards
*tip: lay out your planks for the top before hand. Number and flip correctly to achieve your desired effect. 

 

Flip & Screw in Apron:

 

I sanded the top and legs separately for the sake of ease. Then screwed in the legs.

The longest part of this project was the staining. One coat of Charcoal Grey from Minwax, and two coast of Satin Polyurethane. The Grey turned out pretty blue, but we still loved the color!

 A close up of the stain:

And Ta-Da! A brand new table!

This cost me just around $200 bucks, a good part of my weekend, but valuable learning and creating time. 
We really like the pop of color. We were on a wood tone overload with wood-on-wood-on-wood, floor, paneled wall, and brown table. Now some blue to add! We can also fit 8 comfortably with room to walk around!

Please feel free to ask any questions about certain steps. And, don't be afraid to build! 

Till next time, friends. 

Picture Frame Jewelry Holders

(Disclaimer: My not-so great digital camera stopped working, so all picture were taken with my phone. Sure wish the great ones weren't so co$tly!) 

These jewelry holders were made as Christmas presents for my sister, mother, mother-in-law, and a few aunts. Two of them aren't in the picture. 

I don't have step by steps, but I can break it down pretty quickly. I choose to do this project because my family are jewelry fanatics, with my mom and aunts doing a lot of their own beading. There is never enough room for all the jewelry one girl can own!

The netting in the middle is to hang earrings, and the hooks on the side and the bottom are for necklaces and bracelets. 

The frames picture frame from The Salvation Army. I ended up paying around $3-$5 per frame. I would have liked to spend less, but it seemed they only put on the "nice" ones with cutesy pictures in them so they could up the prices. 

I ripped out the insides, pulling all of the staples, removing glass, etc. Clean, sanded, drilled holes for cup-hooks and drawer pulls. The drawer pulls are awesome and from Jo-Anns. I got them at least 60% off, good deal. I put the cup-hooks in before I painted, to ensure a uniform color.

Good old spray paint, quite possibly my favorite household item. Spayed a few super shiny black, and a few a pearl-like (I had to paint one of the frames white first, then the pearl coat). 

After they were dry, I bought screen-door screen. Used my trusty staple gun, and stapled to the inside of the frame. Not to the flush back side, or you will not be able to hang your earrings.

The hardest part was the drawer pulls. The screws they came on were super long. We had to drill a second, larger hole over the back of the first hole to be able to countersink the nut to hold the screw in. My husband helped by using some power tool to cut off the ends of the screw as flush as possible. Then we put the washer/nut combo in, put a little glue over it to be safe, and covered it with a little felt circle just in case there is any pokey parts.

I also added a frame hook on the back, so they will hang on the wall, just like a normal frame, and added a few cute buttons and do-dads to match the color scheme to one corner!

Again, I apologize for the awful photos, and not having a step by step. I think they are cute, and if you need any more instructions, feel free to contact me!

Here is a picture of the one I did for my sister, via text message. I love the drawer pulls on this one!

Happy Crafting!