rustic |

Wooden Storage Chest

I wanted to build a storage chest for our bathroom so I drew a plan in my design program. It would sit by the toilet and hold extra toilet paper with magazines or books on top.

I had rough cedar lap and gap siding left over from house repairs and I cut a board of the 3/4″ thick siding into 10″ pieces to form the sides of the chest.

The board was cupped so we ripped them down the v groove on the table saw.

I glued and nailed the pieces together to form the 4 sides.

I glued and nailed the sides to a solid mahogany base of 12″ x 7 1/2″ and glued and nailed the corners. I cut pieces from scraps and glued them into the gaps at the bottom.

At this stage it looks like a planter. Overall it is 13 1/2″ x 9″ x 10″ tall.

I glued and nailed pieces together on 1/4″ plywood to form the lid. Notice I stained the cut corners on the chest which matches the rest of the wood.

I glued cedar trim on the lid and clamped it with this nifty framing clamp from Rockler. The finished lid is 14 3/4″ x 10 1/4″.

I could trim the whole chest out in cedar or leather with tacks, but I wanted it to be different.

With a brad nail gun, I nailed rope all the way around the chest, making loops as I went. I sprayed a coat of sealer inside and out.

The final step is to install the hinges.

This wasn’t easy. I was going to put the hinges on the outside of the chest and underneath the lid, but the hinges were too deep and stuck out from the lid. Instead of going to the hardware store to find smaller hinges, I decided to install them on the inside of the chest, but I had to notch out a recess for the hinges so the lid would close without a gap.

The finished project is 13 1/2″ x 9″ x 11″ tall.

Of course, you can store anything in it but this chest holds 6 regular rolls or 4 mega rolls of extra toilet paper in a handy place. It also holds magazines or books on top for the “reading room”.

Our bathroom is nautical themed but you can decorate this chest to your liking. Have fun!

Texas Coat Rack

I saw this coat rack in a local antique store and noticed many of the items are in our store so I thought I’d try to make one like it.

I gathered pieces of weathered pallet wood, cut and placed them like I wanted them. Pictured are the approximate dimensions of the boards. They are 1/2″ thick. The trim was cut on a table saw and they are 1/2″ x 1″. The finished project was 22 1/4″ wide x 20 1/4″ tall. My version appears to be a smaller scaled down version of the original.

The boards were put together with biscuits and glue then clamped. The center support is 1 1/8″ wide. The trim was glued and nailed with a brad gun. The little corner pieces are 1/4″ thick and were glued and nailed with a brad gun.

I bought 2 10″ x 10″ mirrors from the craft store and installed them with mirror clips.

I sprayed all of the iron pieces with vinegar and placed them in the sun to rust. The iron pieces were then sprayed with a clear finish. I drilled holes for the Mini Star Nails and I had to cut the nails to make them a little shorter. I screwed everything in with antique copper screws to match the rust and used our Longhorn Branding Iron at the bottom.

This project was not so easy, but fun and rewarding.

The items used in this project were:

Lariat with Frames

When I first wake up in the morning ideas pop into my head. That was the case with this idea. I thought of attaching frames to a piece of lariat rope but found that there are several different ways to do this. I started with the loop end at the top and attached inexpensive frames with a brad nail gun. I was going to cut the rope at the bottom and tassel it. Instead I just hung the remainder of the rope on the top frame. Not bad, but I wanted to try something else.

Beginning at the tassel end I doubled enough rope for the frames and tassel at the end. To hold it together I wrapped leather lace at the top, leaving enough for a loop for hanging. I wrapped leather lace at the bottom leaving enough for unraveling into a large double tassel. I attached the frames and hung it on the wall. The rope tended to curve so I nailed in Mini Star Nails to keep it straight and against the wall. I attached the remainder of the rope at the top with leather lace. You could decorate this for the holidays with fall leaves or Christmas greenery.

Or, you can leave off the coiled rope. You could use more frames, barn wood frames, or different colored frames. Display your whole family! But this is my family. These photos are of my three babies and their sire in the middle.

Star Tray

I made a wood star tray with molding for the sides. The shape is like a primitive star.

You will be cutting 10 pieces any length you want. These were about 5 inches and the star was about 13 1/2 inches wide. You may want to cut scrap pieces before cutting the actual molding.

First make a jig for the cuts at the points of the star. Screw a piece of wood onto a piece of 1/2 inch plywood at 54 degrees. Put your miter saw at 30 degrees and clamp and cut each piece making sure to lay it on the correct side so that the cut pieces fit together. Cut the pieces about 2 inches longer than you want them to be.

Diagram of the jig.

The other end is cut at 30 degrees. Clamp a scrap piece and place the piece to cut against it so they will all be the same length. Clamp each piece you are cutting so it doesn’t move and make sure to lay it on the correct side.

Tape all the pieces together to make sure they fit, then glue and tape. Let dry overnight. Nail the pieces with a brad nail gun.

Trace around the star on a piece of 1/4 inch plywood and cut it out on the band or scroll saw. Glue the star to the plywood, let dry and brad nail it. Sand as needed after each step. Use wood filler to fill any joints or nail holes. Then start painting.

I cut a piece off of a big soft sponge, got it wet, and squeezed out the excess. Paint acrylic dark brown all over, let dry then randomly dab a lighter brown, gray, orange, back to dark brown, etc. Dry with a hair dryer between coats if you’re in a hurry. Just keep layering until your are happy with it. If you make a mistake just paint over it. I wanted a rusty tin look.

Spray a sealer coat and you are done! This wasn’t an easy project but it was fun and I felt as though I had accomplished something unique.

Western Garland

This Western Garland is a new item. What fun you can have with this! It’s made of metal or tin with coiled wire and painted brown. It is 8 foot long with a loop on each end to attach anywhere you want. You can spray paint the whole thing a different color or multi colors. You could paint each piece a different color.

It would be great for birthday parties or any holiday or just decoration on the mantel year round. You could even cut the wire, pull each piece out, attach a wire loop where the holes were, paint your choice of color and use for western ornaments!

You could also weave it into some pine garland or into a wreath.

You have a choice of Texas, Steer, Boot or Horse or buy all four so you have a big variety. I’m sure there are many more ways to use this garland. Have fun!

Concho Frame

Consider using conchos and spots to adorn frames, cabinets or wooden wall art.

I used a screw adapter to screw it into the frame.

I had these spots that went well with the Square Berry Copper Concho. With a utility knife I made indentions in the wood, placed the spot and hammered it into the frame.

Horseshoe Welcome Sign

I picked up the cast iron Horseshoe Welcome Sign and placed it on a weathered board. I thought of putting a Tiny Horseshoe on each side, but decided to use Tiny Stars. I painted the stars to match the sign and screwed everything into the board with brown screws from the hardware store. I was going to stop right there, and I thought of hanging the sign with an old rusty chain. Instead, I took a piece of lariat rope and nailed it to the back. I wrapped leather lacing on each end leaving about 6 inches for a tassel, and begin the task of unraveling the rope, which takes quite a while. I wrapped a little lace on the top also. You can have fun with this. The kids can paint the stars and unravel the rope. Just place some wax paper on the table and use dark brown acrylic paint, let dry and add a little black.

Photo Tray

I took apart the Western Coat Rack, cut the longer boards a little shorter and attached the back support boards to the front with our small handles and screws to make a photo tray.

Pallet Wall Art

Use your pallet boards to make a wall art piece. Screw vertical supports from the back side. Cut a your favorite subject matter from plywood, spray paint it and add by screwing from the back or gluing. Then add clavos to the supports. This piece is approximately 24″ wide x 18″ tall.

Spring Lariat Wreath

Make a Spring Lariat Wreath for Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day or just to celebrate the Spring! I had a pink lariat rope in which I zip tied together at the top. I zip tied a burlap bow to the rope and added raffia to cover the zip tie. I drew and cut a heart out of plywood with the scroll saw and painted it white. I applied crackle medium, let dry and added pink paint. I painted jute twine white and hot glued it around the heart. For the letters I used acrylic paint markers and tied the heart to the top with white thread. Silk flowers were inserted into the rope at the top. This should give you some ideas to create your own Springtime wreath.