Weekend Woodworking Projects

John and I finished a string of Cake Wrecks posts early last week, which has allowed me to flit from one craft project to the next in a state of constant restlessness which John claims is making him nervous. (Did you know some people find continual pacing disconcerting, while others find it soothing? Guess which is which in this relationship.)

I can't help it, though; I'm on a crafting high, people, and I am riding this binge through to its inevitable, sawdust-covered end. MWUAH-HA-HAA.


 First, I had to replace my old beat-up vanity ottoman/stool:

This worked back when our bedroom was Moroccan-themed, but in the room's current Restoration Hardware phase it's a huge eyesore. (Not to mention falling apart.)

I've been looking for a replacement for MONTHS, but it wasn't until last week that I finally spotted something that would work over at Ross:

 Simple, the linen matches our bedding, a hinged lid for storage, and only $15! SOLD!

Trouble was, as you can see, it was way too low.

So I unscrewed the legs from the old ottoman, hack-sawed them down to size, hit 'em with a darker coat of spray paint:

... drilled holes in the new ottoman, added a washer and nut on the inside to hold the legs in place, stuck new felt pads on the feet, and... voilá!

 

 A new vanity stool for less than $20! 

It's rare that I do a project like this completely on my own, and to be honest, John was a bit gobsmacked when he learned I'd sawed off the legs with a hacksaw instead of getting him to use power tools. It took a lot longer, sure, but sometimes you have to remind yourself you CAN do something. (And in all fairness, John did run to the hardware store to get me the washers & nuts I needed. :))

On a completely unrelated note, the sawed-off bits look like cute little muffins:

 Right?

 Part of my project binge has been framing up some of my never-ending art pile, but I had more ambitious plans for this "Make Like a Banana" print by Kristin Tercek:

The print comes on a regular sheet of paper, so I carefully cut it out, traced a template, and then used my scroll saw to cut the same shape out of 3/4 inch MDF. (I snapped 2 blades doing it - which, if you've ever used a scroll saw before, you know never stops being utterly terrifying.)

The woodworking is done, but I'm still trying to decide what to do with the edges before I glue down the art:

What do you guys think: leave the wood as-is, paint it a solid color, or - as John is suggesting - try to fade the edges from blue to light brown to match the art? (The wood is actually lighter than the print; it's just in shadow here, so looks darker.)

And finally, a few progress pics on what I'm calling one of the more ridiculous things John and I have ever attempted to build, JUST BECAUSE WE (think we) CAN:

From template...

... to over 40 individually cut pieces of MDF...

... to a test fitting...

... to this:

 "Now witness the power of an (almost) fully armed and operational... Rocking AT-AT."

Actually, we still have a fair amount of work to do to make it safely ride-able: John's adding foot pegs tonight, and we're testing out different kinds of metal handlebars. And it may get a padded seat. Once all that's figured out: paint! 

Fingers crossed this works; I usually don't post projects 'til they're done, since I'd hate to admit how many never get finished, or just flat don't pan out. Heh. Still, this has come together in only about 3 days, and I'm particularly proud of the legs, since those angles took a lot of finagling. Hope it gives you guys a smile, anyway, and of course I'll post finished shots when (and if! 0.o) I have them!

Oh yeah, and there's some kind of football thing happening this weekend, huh? Well, happy Footballing, if you're into that, and happy weekend to all the rest!