I’ve been wanting a better system for storing our pantry/ food storage items but didn’t want to spend the money on one.  The only ones I found were plastic or cardboard.. which lets be honest, no matter how well made will not last that long.  I knew I wanted a FIFO style rack too.   FIFO stands for first in, first out and makes food rotation a breeze.  Not to mention you can fit a lot more in a small space.  I wanted to make my own.  And then I wondered why I was doing this to myself.
I started with the directions found here, then altered them to fit our shelving.  Basically I made them deeper and longer.
You basically have two shelves at angles (so the cans roll forward) and dividers with slots cut for the shelves to slide through.  Then add ends and a top.

I never got around to putting a guard in front, if you overfill this would be an issue but I don’t.   I use the top for things I only keep a couple of in stock.
My main issue was getting the slots cut exactly right since they need to line up perfectly for the shelves to be able to slide through all of them.    They need to be just so, because otherwise the cans will get crooked and stuck.

Luckily a friend came to the rescue with his plethora of tools and helped with that part.  By the time they were actually together and finished they barely… BARELY fit on the shelves and I gave in and didn’t even sand or paint them.  By that point I just wanted to put the dang cans in it and be done.  I probably should have asked for help sooner but I was being stubborn. 🙂
Do I love it? Yes.  Would I make one again? … maybe.  Ask me in a few years.

It was a long standoff, but I finally caved.  I mean, they weren’t going anywhere and waiting them out was useless.  The Lego’s are here to stay.
But before I surrendered I made a compromise.  If these little weapons of foot pain are going to stick around they need to have a home… besides the floor where they lay in wait like little grenades of destruction just waiting for you to step on them and cause excruciating pain… or the dog eats them.
I loved some of the ideas I’ve seen using Ikea’s trofast system, the trays are a good size for sorting colors and since they have a large opening you can easily sort around and find that elusive piece.
But I had a clear idea of how I wanted it to look, and wanted it to be on wheels… and out of wood, not particle junk.
So we made it ourselves! From scrap in the garage, even better!
I used plywood for the sides, dividers, top, and bottom.  1 by 3 for the bottom trim, 1 by 4 for the top trim, and trimmed the front of the sides to hide the plywood edge.  1 by 2’s worked well for the ledge for the trofast bins.  Added some wheels and perfecto!  We’ll probably add some Lego base plates to the top sometime, but for now it’s working great as is.

We even have a drawer for those directions that always get lost.
Lego cat was so excited she had kittens! Yay!

I finished these some time ago but never posted pictures… and I’m pretty happy about them still. 🙂
I have the spot at our table that faces this wall in our dining room.  Every meal I would look at this wall and hate how cluttered it was.  There was an antique buffet under the window (In not so great condition and also didn’t store hardly anything).  The corner shelf unit (which again didn’t store much for the room it took).  And then my china hutch.  It was an excellent find at $35 which I had meant to refinish.. but never did. 🙂  I didn’t mind it, but it never fit the space well.  It seemed i always had a couple baskets of things on top of the buffet that just didn’t have a home.
THE BEFORE:

In my mind an idea developed and I just knew I would have to make it myself for it to turn out how I wanted.  I really wanted the look of some built-in cabinets, without them actually being built in.  In the end I made 2 cabinets for each side of the window, then a long skinny buffet to go between them.
THE AFTER:

I made the cabinets from 3/4 inch plywood and used some screen molding trim on all edges (I dislike edge banding).  I was fortunate enough to find some doors at IKEA in the “as-is” room for $5 per set of 2!  That took that off my plate.  I also bought some baskets at IKEA for linens, and made 2 open shelves, one for the baskets and another for a few special things to display.
I sealed the cabinets with shellac first, then painted them using Annie Sloan pure white.  (I didn’t bother painting the inside of the cabinets since they are now sealed with shellac and won’t be seen).  The insides of the open shelves I painted with louis blue for a little color, and used a glaze made from annie sloan wax on some trim around the edges of the open shelves in the back.
The trim on the bottom is with just the louis blue painted on, the middle is with the dark glaze, then the top is after I wiped off the excess dark glaze.

For the buffet I kind of made it up as I went along, building the frame first, then adding a couple planks of pine for the top.

I ended up painting it all with pure white except for the top which I used a couple stains on until I liked it. 🙂

My dad was an expert carpenter so I can’t help but see all the flaws in things I build…  but I’m just happy with getting this done and I know my dad would love that I made them by myself and figured it out. 🙂

I still remember the Christmas when I was around 5 years old.  My Dad had built a dollhouse.  It is still one of the most precious memories I have of my childhood.

I’ve been wanting to make one for my girls, and since my youngest is 5 I figured it’s about time.  I can’t believe I got it finished before Christmas!
There were a few glitches along the way, because of course I couldn’t follow a pattern any better than a recipe 🙂   For some reason I had to change it.
I used the dollhouse bookcase plan from Ana White and made these changes:

-Used a 15 degree angle for the roof, instead of 30 degrees
(This was a bit of a pain, trying to figure out the roof line, but I’m glad I did it this was so the top floor has more room.)

-Used a laminated pine for the roof
I’m not sure how necessary this was, but I really wanted the roof to overhang on both the front and back side.

-Added corner trim to hide plywood edge
I just have a thing about exposed plywood edges.  And I hate using that edge banding.  It just never looks how I want, or chips later on.

-Placed windows and door on backside instead of the sides.
I really wanted the backside to be more like the front of the house.

 

Besides the paint I bought for the house and roof, I just used odds and ends I had to paint the rooms different colors.  I used a Rust Oleum spray primer, then a Rust Oleum white spray paint for all floors, ceilings, and trim.
Then I brush painted the colors, then finished with a spray clear coat.

 

I plan on adding a few things later on, like window boxes under the windows, some shutters, etc.  But this beyond ecstatic face on Christmas morning?
Worth every minute of work.

She wasted no time setting up one of top rooms as an “animal shelter” 🙂

I did buy some wooden furniture to paint, but I’m going to do that with her sometime.  The furniture I found at a second hand children’s store.  It was the Fisher Price Loving Family Grand Dollhouse with a bunch of furniture.
I had a coupon for 20% off in the store as well, so I spent around $40, then sold the dollhouse on Craigslist without the furniture for about the same amount!
It worked out well, and luckily someone was looking for the dollhouse without furniture.  Otherwise, it still would have been a good deal for just the furniture alone anyways.

I saw this on Ana White and loved it.  But knew it would be awhile before I made one.  Then I was cleaning out the garage and saw this bookcase… it was just about the right size.. and why not try? I wasn’t using it as is, and was an old particle board that wouldn’t be missed if I ruined it.
BOOKCASE TURNED DRESS-UP STORAGE

 

 

 

1. I removed the 2 middle adjustable shelves and the brackets holding them.
2. I carefully removed the back and the nails attatching it.
3. Then I attatched the shelves to enlose the bottom, srewing in through the sides of the bookcase, and again through the bottom.
4. Attatched light weight casters to the bottom.
5. I attatched a bracket for a closet rod, and added a rod.
6. Last, I put some inexpensive hooks on both sides (4 for under $1.50 at Home Depot)

Other Ideas: I love how it looks with painted or vinyl lettering, I was thinking “Imagine” would be cute.
I think I’ll be adding a second row of hooks, to fit all the little necklaces and such that get lost.
I added a couple of containers on top, one for hats, and the other for misc small dress-up.  I love that the big tutus can easily fit in the enclosed bottom, I never knew where to put them before!
The bookcase I used was 2′ wide, 1′ deep, and 40″ tall