When I saw another blog make picture ledges I new they would be perfect and it would be the perfect beginner building project. I have these dreams to build all the things but the truth is I have no idea how to build anything and I'm winging it and learning as I go.
I bought the wood about a month ago and it chilled in the garage for a few weeks before I got Derrick to help me cut it down. Then it sat in the garage for another long while until I worked up the motivation to stain it.
Makeshift work bench didn't work so I moved to the table.
This is what a kreg jig does. It drills pocket holes so you can join two pieces of wood with hidden joints. I was joining three pieces of wood so I did a pocket hole in each direction. I ended up doing six pocket hole per shelf.
This is a blurry pic Derrick snapped after my successful assembly right before bed one night!
After the shelves were assembled I did two coats of polyurethane to give them some extra protection and hopefully lock in some of that smell. It also made a big difference in looks. The top one in this picture is one coat in and the bottom one doesn't have any poly yet.
Learned my lesson and did this step outside this time.
Today I got them hung and, per usual, I did it the hard way without in help because I wasn't patient enough to wait for Derrick to get home. I don't have any pictures of getting them hung because all hands were on deck but I always find this to be the hardest part. Am I missing something? Is there some trick to leveling, pre-drilling holes, and making them even?
It seemed to work out in the end. Here is the final product! The Williams' are fan people. AKA my Dad is a fan person and my mom, like Derrick, is a martyr to this trait that Dad has passed down to all three kids. Unfortunately there is no pretty way to hide the fan but I do think the shelves help take a little attention off of the fan.
The art is just filling in for now. Some will stay but not all. I have visions of our wedding photos in color. We have a lot of bright yellows and greens in our wedding pictures and I think canvases of those shots will be pretty against the wall color. I just need to get them printed.
Look at this awesome light up LOVE I found though! This will definitely be staying and it's battery operated so no annoying cords hanging down!
They aren't perfect if you get up close but I'm pretty darn proud of them! I have so many other projects floating around my head for what's next I'm not sure where I'll end up but hopefully it involves my kreg jig!
I bought the wood about a month ago and it chilled in the garage for a few weeks before I got Derrick to help me cut it down. Then it sat in the garage for another long while until I worked up the motivation to stain it.
I made the mistake of staining the wood inside the house. The smell got super strong for a while so I had all the doors and windows open while it was 50 degrees out but it was either that or passing out with a stain high.
Once everything was stained I let them air our for several more days because the smell was strong! Then it was time to assemble! I was so excited to finally use my kreg jig! Derrick's mom got me one for Christmas! It took me a few minutes to figure it out but it turns out it's pretty darn easy. The hard part is I don't really own all of the other useful tools like large clamps and a workbench/saw horses. I made due in the kitchen tough.
Makeshift work bench.
Makeshift work bench didn't work so I moved to the table.
This is what a kreg jig does. It drills pocket holes so you can join two pieces of wood with hidden joints. I was joining three pieces of wood so I did a pocket hole in each direction. I ended up doing six pocket hole per shelf.
This is a blurry pic Derrick snapped after my successful assembly right before bed one night!
After the shelves were assembled I did two coats of polyurethane to give them some extra protection and hopefully lock in some of that smell. It also made a big difference in looks. The top one in this picture is one coat in and the bottom one doesn't have any poly yet.
Learned my lesson and did this step outside this time.
Today I got them hung and, per usual, I did it the hard way without in help because I wasn't patient enough to wait for Derrick to get home. I don't have any pictures of getting them hung because all hands were on deck but I always find this to be the hardest part. Am I missing something? Is there some trick to leveling, pre-drilling holes, and making them even?
It seemed to work out in the end. Here is the final product! The Williams' are fan people. AKA my Dad is a fan person and my mom, like Derrick, is a martyr to this trait that Dad has passed down to all three kids. Unfortunately there is no pretty way to hide the fan but I do think the shelves help take a little attention off of the fan.
The art is just filling in for now. Some will stay but not all. I have visions of our wedding photos in color. We have a lot of bright yellows and greens in our wedding pictures and I think canvases of those shots will be pretty against the wall color. I just need to get them printed.
Look at this awesome light up LOVE I found though! This will definitely be staying and it's battery operated so no annoying cords hanging down!
They aren't perfect if you get up close but I'm pretty darn proud of them! I have so many other projects floating around my head for what's next I'm not sure where I'll end up but hopefully it involves my kreg jig!
Yay! Always proud of your creativity and independence! You dream it and you do it!
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