Dad's Craft, too!

Hey, blogger land!  Long time no see!  Maybe we'll start posting here again.  I'm feeling nostalgic for traditional blogging. :)

This Christmas our family was surprised by not one, but TWO homemade gifts.  From our Grandpas.  Awesome!

The first is this plaque my father-in-law made for each family of his favorite saying.  Not only is it beautiful, but also sentimental.  He made it from a walnut tree cut down from his Mom's historical home in Manti, Utah.  I love sentimental gifts.

The second was the big shocker.  My dad made each of us our own walking stick.  My dad hardly does his own Christmas shopping let alone MAKE his own gifts.  He found these great sticks on different camping trips/outings with my mom and their friends.  He did all the work, including almost all of the bead work.  (My mom did have to show him how to do the beads. :) He was so excited to show us how unique each stick was and the beauty of each piece of wood.

Dads really are the best. :)

Repurposed Twin Bed.... Bench!

A few months ago, a twin headboard and footboard showed up in the garage. I asked my mom what she was doing with them and she said... "making a bench." She began to explain to me that the headboard is the back of the bench, the footboard becomes the sides... so it sat for awhile... and finally this weekend I got my hubby to help me make it into a bench. The first thing we did we measured how deep we wanted our bench to be. We wanted it to be 18" deep, so we measured 18" in from each side and marked the wood. We then cut the footboard to length. We then attached the two footboard pieces to the headboard to form a bench.... And we needed a place to sit. We used some scrap 1x4's that we had laying around. Make sure your bench pieces are sturdy because.... well, they have to hold your weight. We wanted our bench to be about 18" off the ground, so with our design, it worked out to screw the wood into the top board from the bottom.... it all depends on the style of your bed. Now I have to paint it.... -Anisa

Routing Wood

I posted about my new router a couple of weeks ago, but it came to my attention that I should tell a little more about routing wood. Keep in mind I am no expert, so if you would like a little more info, you could check out Wikipedia.

I bought my router because I wanted to make decorative edges on wood. I used it to make these photo blocks. I would also like to make my own picture frames some day... another project on my list. To make the groove in the back of the wood for the glass to fit into, you need a router. Basically a router has several different bits. Here is a picture of some of the designs that you can make with a router.

My brother also made it to use some shelves... he needed to make a groove in the wood for the bead board to slip into. It has come in quite handy around here.

So, here is the router that I bought at Home Depot. The rep for the company happened to be in the store that day and he helped me pick out the right router. I was just going to buy the router, but he suggested I get the table... I don't know how I would have been able to route the wood without the table. Basically a router has a bit in it similar to a drill bit..... it turns around and as it turns, it cuts the wood. With the table, you just slide the piece of wood along the router bit... and the table has guides to keep it straight. It is very easy to use..... and very messy. My husband showed me how to hook up the shop vac to it so that it sucks up the sawdust as you're routing... very loud, but much less messy.

It is very quick and very easy to use. I would recommend this router/table combo to anyone. I hope I answered any questions that you may have...stay tuned for my cake platter that I made with my router as well. -Anisa

Angie's Door and Anisa's Mom's Headboard

A few years ago, my mom got a new front door. She loved her front door tons and didn't want to just get rid of it, so she had my little brother make it into a headboard. It's pretty cute, isn't it? After I met Angie, I found out that she had the same front door. That's kind of crazy, isn't it? So, here is a before picture of the headboard/door. I love doors... especially fun ones like these!!! I would love to find a cool old door to make into a corner bookshelf for my kitchen!!!

Crown Molding Shelves

If you live in the Salt Lake City, Utah area, I have a great deal on some awesome crown molding shelves for you!!! My little brother has started a little business making these beautiful shelves.

He sells them by the foot prices... painted or unpainted. Check out his blog for details. This black one is a huge 10 ft. shelf that he made for my mom's bedroom. How fun to have one of these shelves all along a room to display other fun crafting projects.... I think I'm going to have him make me one for my living room.

-Anisa

Craft room Storage Crates

I have a cute white desk in my craft room that I purchased on Target.com a few years ago. I love the style and simplicity of it, but the desk has open shelves on it. The open shelves are very deep and I have never been able to find the right size of baskets to fit the shelves. So, considering the fact that I love to cut wood, I decided I was going to make my own wooden crates... that way I could make them to perfectly fit under my desk.

And they fit perfectly.... it's almost scary. I only made three and now looking at the pictures, I'm wondering if I should make one more. I have my Cricut mats and paper trimmers on the top shelf and they kind of hang out so they wouldn't fit in a crate. I guess I could find somewhere else to store them so that I could have a perfectly even desk storage. I had so much fun building them. I love it when I get to use tools and saws without my hubby's help... it's even better that he's willing to clean up my sawdust mess:) My ultimate goal is to get this craft room organized enough that I can take pictures of the whole room and post them for you... one step at a time.... Here's a preview of one wall.

Countdown: Baby, it's Cold Outside, but we know you'll go shopping anyway

It is currently 7 degrees Fahrenheit in Utah, but you can warm your friends' and neighbors' hearts each season through thoughtful gifts. In continuing our Countdown with Crafts, here are a few ideas from this week's ads.

• If you've been crafting in the kitchen and need something to put your goodies in, Michaels had really cute Christmas baskets for 50% off.
• While I was there I bought acrylic paints for just 69 cents each. My mom has wanted me to paint her a whimsical childhood-related painting for awhile so it's a great thing that they also had artist's back-stapled traditional canvas on sale for 40% off as well!
• Roberts has all their unfinished wood for 40% off, if you want another place to use acrylic paint.
• If you make jewelry for others then Jo-Ann has 50% off Jewelry Making bead boards and a buy one, get one 50% off deal on Blue Moon beads (though Roberts has Blue Moon for 30% off)
• Neighbor gift idea: both Roberts and Michaels has their ornaments 50% off.
  

  Buy a pack of the large clear glass ones. Funnel in around 1/4 cup of pretty sand and toss in a few tiny seashells. Tie a ribbon and this message at the top. I received this as a gift last year and really love it.

  Now, what did I do with all the great deals this week? I bought Team Licensed Fleece at Jo-Ann for 25% off and made the simple no-sew fleece blanket for my BYU-loving husband. (here's a little tutorial from Project Linus With the little extra that was part of the piece I was buying I also made him a team pillow. He's going to love these and it was pretty simple to do. There's a man-gift for you.