Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Hexagon Honeycomb Shelf tutorial





 I am in the process of bringing my 2 year old son's room from nursery to toddler room, and have a large wall that needed something fabulous. I have been drooling over hexagon/honeycomb shelves lately, but couldn't find a simple tutorial, so I decided to create one for myself, and for you. 


Everything I needed for this project came from Home Depot. Everything. I love one-stop-shopping!

You will need to decide the depth of shelf you want. I went to Home Depot, and got three 1x6 boards. I bought 8' lengths. I bought the cheapest wood I could find. I just made sure to find the straightest pieces. I used pine, because it is light weight.

The first thing you do is to set your miter saw to 30 degrees. That means you rotate the blade on top to 30 degrees. I did this by turning a knob on the back of the saw. You leave the bottom alone at 0. It will be straight in front of you. You will leave it this way for all the cuts. You will be flipping the wood with each cut, not the blade.

Next, decide the length you want for each cut. I started with 10 inches, but that produced too large a hexagon for the space, so I ended up cutting the pieces down to 8 inches. This makes for 16 inches from point to point. So just figure that the widest point will be double the length of your original cut. I am sure there is some mathematical formula to this. I should have listened in geometry class...


I figured out after the fact, that it would have been better to use a sewing measuring tape, because you can lay the end of the tape right on the end of the angled wood, and get a more accurate measurement.


Make your first cut, then flip the wood and measure for your next cut.


Repeat this process until you have cut all the wood. I made 7 hexagons with 8" cuts, and spent $23. I even had leftover pieces to spare.


Now, it's time to put them together! I recommend using wood glue on all the seams for extra reinforcement.


You can pin or brad the pieces together. I like pinning, because it leaves virtually no hole. You can barely even see where the pins go in. Pins are not as strong as brads, so you will need to think about the weight of what you will be putting on the shelves, and decide what to do. You need a micro pinner if you choose to pin. I love mine. Okay... it's my husband's. He lets me borrow it.


I made all the cuts, and put them all together in under 2 hours. This project was so fun to watch come together! Just something to keep in mind: Wood is sometimes warped. Some pieces may be thicker than other pieces. You might have to muscle some of the ends together. Don't worry. The finished product will look great!


Next, it was time to paint. I found the perfect mini paint roller at Home Depot for $1.97. It is 3in x 1/4in nap, by BEST. I just used sample sized paint in the colors I chose, and had more than enough.


For hanging, I used sawtooth picture hangers from Home Depot. I hammered them into the back top of each shelf. You could hook the shelves together, but I wanted to have the option to be able to separate and rearrange them in the future.


I like mixing up the colors, and did an odd number of shelves.


These are so easy, that they are kind of addicting. I am thinking I am going to make a smaller and deeper unit to go in my bathroom.


Be sure and check back to see what I am doing with the rest of this toddler room. It is adorable!

I will be sharing the tutorial for these shelves live on Studio 5 this Thursday. I hope you will tune in at 11mst, channel 5, or watch it online.

Have a Happy and Creative Day, and go build some shelves! You know you are thinking about it...

Risa

Saturday, June 8, 2013

Primary 5, Lesson 21 Printable

Just working on my lesson for tomorrow, and thought I would share the printable I designed with you. I know this is not my finest work, but I have moved to a new operating system, and am short on time :) I made it in two colors, so the kids can choose what they want. This is Proverbs 15:1. It is 4x6.


Enjoy!

Have a Happy and Creative Day!

Risa

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Tween Room Makeover

   

My daughter is getting older, so we decided it is time for her to move on the a tween room.  Tween rooms are tricky! She didn't want it to be little girlish. She wanted no pink. I didn't want it to be too grown up. This is what we came up with. We went to Lowes and she picked paint swatches. I took the swatches, and went shopping, and happily found the perfect tween bedding set! I felt so lucky! I have to admit.... I was a little sad to take the pink down.


I knew I wanted to make a collage wall for her, that really reflected her style, and what she is in to. 


I find frames at DI all the time, and like the oddly shaped ones. See the octagon? 


Let's go from left to right, starting from the top. 

The clock is Hobby Lobby, and was $10. 
The purple mirror was DI, $3. I sprayed it purple.
The green octagon was DI, $2. 
The white board was DI, $4. I sprayed the frame, then sprayed the back of the glass white, and she draws on the other side with dry erase markers. She is so cute, and calendars her days, and writes little quotes.
The empty black frame on top was DI, and $2. I am still thinking about what to put it it. I will know when I see it.
The large frame with a dancer inside was from DI for $8. I spray painted it. The dancer was a clipart I got from etsy for $1. I sent it to Staples, and blew it up to 2x3 for $3.50. I mounted it to the back of the picture that came in the frame originally. 
The subway art is a compilation of things that describe her. I created it in picasa. Message me if you want a copy. It is in a 16x20 DI frame.
The bird cage is from Ross $15.
The fuchsia mirror is Hobby Lobby, $12.
The light teal frame is a gift from a friend. I am still thinking what to put in it as well.


UPDATE!!! I got the $1 ballerina clip art from an Etsy shop called, Tangels Graphics. You can visit them HERE.

I love it when there is depth to items in a collage wall. The cage is fun!


She loves her desk area, and tells me it makes her happy to look at all the stuff.


Could you DIE over the cuckoo clock??? I LOVE it! I found it for $15 in the classifieds. I gave them $20 because I felt bad. I painted it by hand, because I couldn't find the color I was looking for in spray paint. It was a nightmare It took four coats. I used craft paints, because it was the only color I could find that matched. This is my view from the hall. I LOVE IT!


I had a hard time knowing what to do as far as paint. I just left the hands and the bird white. I love it. Looking at it makes me so happy!!!


Most of the items on her desk are Hobby Lobby, TJ Maxx, or DI, and many of them are spray painted.




I love her little tutu. She wore this in recital when she was missing front teeth. I love that it matches her room.




You can see how it flows to the door.



I got this mirror at Di for $1, and spray painted it. She loves having it right by her door, so she can check out how she looks right before leaving her room. 



I feel so lucky to have a daughter. We had a great time planning and decorating her room together.

If you like this, please leave a comment, and let me know. Makes it feel worth it for me to take the time to create a blog post.

Thanks for stopping by.

Have a Happy and Creative Day!

Risa
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