Wooden Box to Wine Rack

     I have a number of those old wooden boxes, all shapes and sizes, that I've collected throughout the years. Well, my husband would say it was a ridiculous amount, but I would call it a perfect variety of future ideas. Once friends and family found out about them it seems they start collecting for me as well and that's when I realized I need to breath new life into them before it gets out of control.
     I started with this:

     I could have used one a bit smaller, but I really like the label detail on the sides of this one.
Then, using the circular cutting bit on my Dremel I measured out 3.5" circles to fit across open at the top so I can lift it out if I need to. You can just make holes, but sometimes I buy those really fat bottles that I would like to be able to set in there but wouldn't be able to pull all the way through if they weren't open.
     The result was this:

     The cuts were a little rough until I got the hang of it so I sanded the edges with 100 sandpaper. It was the first time using this attachment on my Dremel....kind of exciting!

I realized my bottles rolled around in there a little too much so I decided to use some leftover wood I had from another project to build simple walls. This you can get at Home Depot. It's 2" x 36" x .25". I cut and glued them down and to each other in the box with wood glue.

Now I can buy extra bottles of wine to have on hand. Gotta love that!

Whimsy-ish Wooden Whales

     Whales are popping up all over the place these days. My dad was cutting a few of these little guys out of some left over plywood for a project my mom was working on and I just had to have a few. I decided to give them a geo/vintage look.... if that's a thing.

     First, I used my Dremel to soften the front edges of the wood, create some wear and tear and some light eyes and mouth detail. You may have to click to enlarge to see it.

     I painted them both a dark solid brown being sure to get it in the cracks. Once that layer was dry I went over it with the background colors you see purposely avoiding the cracks and dents to show the brown. For the designs I used my usual process of creating a laser printer transfer with the detail designs from my computer. You can do this with any type of design or image you can find or create. (Create a transfer with a laser printer) <---this is a great step by step explanation!

  I'm really loving the little white one. I may just have to keep that one for myself... I mean for in my little girl's room.

Little Table Redo from Kiddie to Kiddie Chic

 

   I'm excited this will be my first project post of my new blog! This little table belonged to my mom and her sisters growing up. Let me tell you I'm 35 (on Sunday) so that sort of tells you how old this sweet table and chair set is. It is impeccable shape though. When I mentioned that to my mom she said "we were taught to take care of our things." I responded "oh you mean there were no boys in the house to destroy them." Nod.
  On to the project..... After a ton of sanding I used MinWax PolyShade espresso satin on the table top and chair seats. It's in the stain section of the hardware store , but it's supposed to be better to stain something in a darker shade without stripping. I did two coats but it still appeared streaky. The table top is cute like that though because that gave it a rustic farm table look. The light shade is actually paint I had left over from painting that little sweetheart in the photo's crib. It's a very very light grey.
   Here's the reveal! Not too shabby. Thanks for looking.

Blog World is Not on my Side

   Well, I'm not sure what happened, but my previous blog myinvisibleinkstudio.blogspot.com has magically been deleted from Blog World and no one seems to be able to offer any assistance. I'm saddened by the posts and comments that I lost, but the creating and talking about it must go on! Here is my new beginning.