30 Days of DIY Projects 2 Make Us Thankful

Project 30

This is the final post of our series of projects to make us thankful for DIY.  Thanks for being with us during the month of November for  simple and easy DIY projects! Please be sure to visit again to check out our upcoming December series of great Christmas gifts you can make and give!

It's our way of saying Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at
Simply Easy DIY!

Optimizing space in a bathroom can be quite challenging. Oftentimes navigating the bathroom is like navigating an obstacle course.

Some of the things that you can encounter in a cluttered bath are half hazered towels, messy kids bath toys, just used hot  hairdryers and irons, and a weirdly placed toilet paper holder.

Some bathrooms even have "decor" like free standing statues or fake plants.

No thanks on the fake plants. Too dusty.

How can you improve the design and functionality of your bathroom storage? You could go with a pricey custom cabinet installation. Most of us don't have that kind of budget though.


A better option is to utilize that dead space behind the door where cabinets won't fit anyway.

A thin spot can perfectly fit a nice floating shelf with a lower towel bar. An added bonus: the industrial pipe look is really popular right now.

Check out how Dan over at Kateryna Woodworks shows how it easy it is to make. Also included: all materials and dimensions this project!

DIY Industrial Bathroom Towel Bar:

Wipe on Polyurethane

Thickness Planer

Miter Saw

Cedar or your choice

Drill

Random Orbit Sander

Various grit Sandpaper 

Iron Piping

Final Thoughts

Worried if that bar might leave marks on your towels? Dan covers that. He cleaned and coated his bar with polyurethane too.

I hope you enjoyed today's featured project and don't forget to stop by "Dan Ridley" YouTube channel to check out even more great woodworking videos from him. Don't forget to subscribe.

We are wrapping up our November 2016 thankful 4 DIY series. Thanks for being here with us.  Our "12 days of Christmas projects" next series can be found here. Design plans included in each one!

Until then!

0

DIY Easy 2x4 Bedside Table

30 Days of DIY Projects 2 Make Us Thankful

Project 29

This is the twenty ninth post of our series of projects to make us thankful for DIY.  Be sure to check back everyday during the month of November for new simple and easy DIY projects.

It's our way of saying Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at
Simply Easy DIY!

If you're familiar with those end tables that are called "decorator table" then you will know well how flimsy they can be.

At one time I admit that I had two of them serving as bedside tables. They each had a cloth covering that you could match up to the colors in your decor and you could swap it out periodcially out if you wanted to.

An added bonus was that under that covering you could stash away clutter. We even had books stacked underneath.

They served their purpose and we used them for several years.

Over time, the peg legs on the table didn't fit so neatly in their sockets after going through several moves.

Then, children came along and wanted to "hide" out under the covering on the table. The space is limited and they'd topple over the table, lamp, and other things on it each time.

Fortunately the lamps never were broken in this process.

After awhile though, we were dreaming of more formal furniture. Specifically, something that had a shelf or a drawer and wasn't so easily knocked over.

At the time, we went with a cabinet style one that was purchased from a furniture store. Thinking back on it, these easily doable bedside tables that Brittaney shares would have been perfect for our need and much better for the budget.

DIY Easy 2x4 Bedside Table:

Wood Glue 

Miter Saw

2x4's 

Various Size Clamps

Drill

Nail Gun 

Pocket Hole Jig 

Brad Nailer

Cuts:

You should always measure to fit your specific space and expectations. In the project that Brittaney shares, the cuts measure as follows:

Top:
5 2x4's cut to 24 inches

Legs:
4 2x4's cut to 20 inches
4 2x4's cut to 12.5 inches
4 2x4's cut to 11.5 inches (2x4's ripped in half)

Bottom:
4 2x4's cut to 15 inches

Final Thoughts

I hope you enjoyed today's featured project and don't forget to stop by "Tru Furniture" YouTube channel to check out even more great woodworking and crafting videos from Brittaney. Don't forget to subscribe.

We hope you will return to Simply Easy DIY everyday through the month of November for more projects that make us thankful 4 DIY.

Until then!

0

DIY Wooden Planter Box

30 Days of DIY Projects 2 Make Us Thankful

Project 28

This is the twenty eighth post of our series of projects to make us thankful for DIY.  Be sure to check back everyday during the month of November for new simple and easy DIY projects.

It's our way of saying Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at
Simply Easy DIY!

We  have planter boxes in our backyard that are currently growing herbs and other edibles.  We grow this way due to our Florida sandy soil and I'm happy to report that we've had a lot of successes.

One of our most successful gardening adventures has been this planter box.



It's made out of pine but has great bones. In other words, it's a well made design. It's pushing two years old is still going strong.

No matter what choice of wood, the design will help ensure it's success and lifespan.

Right before we built that planter box, we were using two store bought cedar planters. The design was a circular barrel shape, held together by metal strips. Once the metal strips came loose, the boards were loose and when we looked closer, the cedar boards were rotted .

Those planters lasted about a year.

Here in Florida, we use our planter boxes year round so it's like having a double growing season.

There are so many designs out there. You have to give some thought as to how much maintenance you want to do, what materials you've already got on hand, what it's going to hold, and what look you want on your property.

I've seen them made out of cedar, pine, old fence boards, hay bales, cement blocks and it seems the list goes on and on.

In other words, there is not a right way or a wrong way to make a planter box.

The planter box that you make will be great for YOUR purposes.

This is what Mitch did over at Mitch Deitrich YouTube channel. He placed his box  in the front of his home for some curb appeal in what had previously been empty unused space.

Build this DIY Wooden Planter Box:

 

Final Thoughts

I hope you enjoyed today's featured project and don't forget to stop by "Mitch Deitrich" YouTube channel to check out even more great woodworking videos from him. Don't forget to subscribe.

We hope you will return to Simply Easy DIY everyday through the month of November for more projects that make us thankful 4 DIY.

Until then!

0

DIY Modern Accent Table

30 Days of DIY Projects 2 Make Us Thankful

Project 27

This is the twenty seventh post of our series of projects to make us thankful for DIY.  Be sure to check back everyday during the month of November for new simple and easy DIY projects.

It's our way of saying Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at
Simply Easy DIY!

For this project, you'll need only to stop at the home improvement store to pick up a few items in the plumbing section. If you purchase a 5 foot pipe length and then cut it down to size using a pipe cutter, you'll have the pieces you'll need at an affordable price.

You can purchase any pre made crate or make one yourself in the workshop. We built several DIY crates in our rolling cart storage bin build and you can use our design plans.


Stain your crate the night before and then the build goes quick the next day, once you begin cutting and assembling the copper tubing lengths that make up the bottom of this table.

Use this accent table in the living room or position it in the bedroom as a bed side table. Have a child that is going off to college? This one fits in the dorm room.

How to make a DIY Modern Accent Table:

Wood Gel Stain "Dark Walnut"

Pipe Cutter

Wood Crate
NOTE: If you want a Simple and Easy DIY version click here.

E6000 glue

Old T Shirt, Gloves

4 - copper elbows
 
4 - t connectors 
(1/2 inch pipes)

5' of Copper Tubing from Plumbing section cut into the following lengths:


2 - 10 inch pieces
4 - 16 inch pieces
2 - 14 inch pieces

Leather Cording (optional)

Final Thoughts

I hope you enjoyed today's featured project and don't forget to stop by "Katie Bookser" YouTube channel to check out even more great crafting videos from her. Don't forget to subscribe.

We hope you will return to Simply Easy DIY everyday through the month of November for more projects that make us thankful 4 DIY.

Until then!

1

DIY Rustic Christmas Tree Base

30 Days of DIY Projects 2 Make Us Thankful

Project 26

This is the twenty sixth of our series of projects to make us thankful for DIY.  Be sure to check back everyday during the month of November for new simple and easy DIY projects.

It's our way of saying Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at
Simply Easy DIY!

In the early 1800's in America, no one had even heard of these things called Christmas trees.
That 's because Germany started the custom in the 16th century. It didn't make it across the pond until the mid to late 1800's.

Queen Victoria was shown in 1846 with a Christmas tree in her home.

Why did she have a Christmas tree?

Because her husband was German.

These days not everyone has a real tree in their home. We are one of them. Our choice is to go with a a 7 1/2 foot pre-lit Virginia pine artificial tree that was purchased several years ago.

It doesn't have a special Christmas Tree base other than the supports that it came with.

We've been thinking about doing something a bit more stylish. Chris from CMR Woodworks has a pretty good idea. He created a custom base that fills it out and makes the tree look fuller....

or is that less filling?

  DIY Rustic Christmas Tree Stand:

 

Wood Glue

Pallet Wood or other scrap
plus 2x4 for crate support.

Table Saw

Random Orbit Sander

Various grit Sandpaper

Finish Nailer

Final Thoughts

To make the rustic stand fit your specific tree, first measure around the bottom. Add a couple of inches, then make your cuts. The height of your base will depend on how tall your tree is so measure from the bottom of your tree to the floor.

I hope you enjoyed today's featured project and don't forget to stop by "CMR Woodworks" YouTube channel to check out even more great woodworking videos from Chris. Don't forget to subscribe.

We hope you will return to Simply Easy DIY everyday through the month of November for more projects that make us thankful 4 DIY.

Until then!

0

DIY Twisted Christmas Tree

30 Days of DIY Projects 2 Make Us Thankful

Project 25

This is the twenty fifth post of our series of projects to make us thankful for DIY.  Be sure to check back everyday during the month of November for new simple and easy DIY projects.

It's our way of saying Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at
Simply Easy DIY!

Shane Conlan over at DIY for Knuckleheads likes working through his pile of scrap wood and doesn't miss a beat to have a chance to put something in his pile to good use. Plus, he has so much fun doing so.

Watching him put together his scrap wood Christmas tree brought to mind something that I've been pondering lately.

So often we head to the attic and lift out the artificial tree and begin to decorate it with several boxes of ornaments that we also had to haul out. There's manual labor and effort to get this stuff out of storage.

Or, if you're the "real tree" type of family, there's the effort expended to go purchase one, somehow transport it home, and then wrangle it into the Christmas tree stand.

Did I also mention that you're running around with the vacuum cleaner almost daily trying to stay on top of the needles?

That wears me out just thinking about it.

Consider creating and giving away this lightweight table top version of a Christmas tree.

DIY Pallet Wood Christmas Tree:

 

Satin Varnish

Wood Glue 

Miter Saw

Pallet Wood or other scrap

Circular Saw

Random Orbit Sander

Various grit Sandpaper

Pin Nailer

Drill

Threaded Metal Rod

Red Spray Paint (Optional)

Santa Hat (Optional!)

Final Thoughts

I'm envisioning a small strand of white lights and some home made pinecone ornaments made by the kids or grandkids and this tree is good to go.

I hope you enjoyed today's featured project and don't forget to stop by "DIY For Knuckleheads" YouTube channel to check out even more great woodworking videos from Shane. Don't forget to subscribe.

We hope you will return to Simply Easy DIY everyday through the month of November for more projects that make us thankful 4 DIY.

Until then!

0