So many possibilities…big, small…where to start! Gina had saved me about 20 pieces of the metal.  Most of the panels were about 8 feet long by 2 feet wide.  But there were several smaller pieces that were easy to handle so I immediately put them to use as a small backdrop for photos!

With Gina’s upcycle challenge approaching, I had several ideas running through my mind. Usually I choose a smaller project that is simple in construction and won’t require a ton of time.  Because I run a retail store, I simply never know when my time will be completely consumed on any given day by the demands of the retail business.  So, what better upcycle project that one that is simple and completed within 30 minutesl?!!

One piece of metal just caught my eye.  It is a strange size but manageable.  Small enough to handle but large enough to make a statement.  In my business, I am constantly struggling to stay organized and on task.  So, I decided to make a huge message board to help me!  Surely, I can’t misplace this list of things to do, right???

I measured the metal.  It was 82 inches by 14 inches.  I loved the rough edges of the metal and considered leaving them exposed.   I could grind the edges to make the edges smooth and safe.  I was a little concerned that it would hard to hang because of the size so I decided I would use some salvaged wood to create a frame that could be used to lean against a wall.  As luck would have it there was an old door frame in my salvaged wood pile.  It even had grooved edges and I hoped to be able to slide the metal right into the grooves.

Yes, perfect fit.  I measured the width of the partially constructed frame and cut 4 pieces of wood to use for the horizontal top and bottom pieces of the frame.

I grabbed my handy dandy Ryobi  Airstrike cordless stapler and stapled these pieces into place.

I cut a piece of backer board to fit the back of the frame.  This helps to stabilize the unit so that the frame will lay flat against t a wall if hung.  It will also lean nicely against the wall should I choose not to hang it.  I used my Ryobi Airstrike stapler to secure the backerboard. I considered painting the frame but decided that for now, I loved the combination of the raw weathered wood and the patina of the salvaged metal. What do you think?

I think this board would be great horizontally as well…mounted above a massive desk!

I have really enjoyed participating in these monthly challenges.  Here are my last two projects using 2x4s and pallet wood.

Hop on over to  Gina’s blog to see her awesome project for the May Upcycle Challenge. Then be sure to visit each of the bloggers who have linked up at the bottom of Gina’s post to experience the unbelieveable creativity in this group!

The post May Upcycle Challenge with The Shabby Creek Cottage appeared first on Shop at Blu.

I had a customer looking for a long skinny box to use on her mantle to hold old soda bottles.  The box needed to be very narrow because her mantle is not very deep.  After looking for several days with no luck, I decided to make one!

I had one pallet sitting outside of the store.  It had weathered nicely so I decided to use it as my wood source.

The slats on the pallet were only 3 inches wide.  This would be the perfect depth for a skinny mantle box.  The long length of the pallet was 40 inches…perfect for a longer box.

CAUTION:  When working with any type of pallets PLEASE be aware of all of the sharp and rusty nails that you may come in contact with.  WEAR GLOVES to protect your skin and safety glasses to protect your precious eyes from splintered wood and rusty nails.  Y’all these tiny little preventive measures  are worth it!

I removed all of the nails with a claw hammer for safety reasons and grabbed my Ryobi cordless air nailer.  I selected the best looking boards for the sides of the box and decided to use the ugliest (in this case it had some paint on it) for the bottom of the box as it would not be visible.  You can cut the boards to any length desired.  For this project, 40 inches was perfect.

I lined up the boards and nailed them together.  I used 3 nails at each end and scattered another 5-6 along the length.  They seemed to be sturdily attached so I did the same on the other side.

I measured the space at each end of my soon to be box and took another slat and cut it down to fit.  I nailed those in place.  And voila!  C’est Finis!

I didn’t really have specific design measurements in mind.  The width and length of the wood slats seemed workable so I just went with it as is.  A shorter box could easily be created by cutting these slats to whatever length you desire.

It’s nice and skinny so it will fit on a skinny mantle or maybe even on a window sill!

I will be making more of these skinny boxes.  What a quick and simple project!

If you enjoyed this quick project, check out some others I have recently completed using 2x4s:  Serving tray and wooden ladder. 

This post is part of round up of pallet wood projects inspired by my sweet friend.Gina Luker of The Shabby Creek Cottage.  If you aren’t familiar with Gina and her blog, get over there now!  You are welcome in advance!  And check out the other pallet wood projects assembled just for this round up!  They  are linked below.  I know you will be amazed by the talent in this group.  I’d love to see your projects made of pallet wood!

The post Easy Pallet Wood Projects appeared first on Shop at Blu.

Gina Luker from Shabby Creek Cottage challenged a group of us to design a project to build with 2x4s!  I thought why not??!!!!!!!  I can use a saw, drill, kreg jig, etc.  My biggest concern was finding time to complete the project because of the time constraints of my store The Blue Building Antiques and Consignment.  So I decided to build small!

I thought about easy projects that anyone could build!  And I came up with a serving tray!  With a super simple design, I figured it is virtually a project that anyone can do!  And in my life, simpler is better!  Plus, aren’t alot of folks AFRAID to try things like this?  What better way than to start with something simple!

So my intricate, complicated design is…a serving tray!

Supplies:

• 3- 2x4s ($2.69 each)
• 16- wood screws 2 1/2 inches
• Kreg jig
• 20- Kreg jig screws 2 1/2 inches
• jig/saber saw or a miter/chop saw
• drill
• clamp
• wood glue
• 2- handles
• paint or stain of your choice

Planning:

My first step was to decide how big to make the tray.  We have a huge ottoman at home! The top is fabric and it would be nice to have a solid surface on top of it on which to place a glass or other items.  Due to the width and weight of the 2×4’s I felt a larger tray would be more desirable so I decide on 28″ x 17.5″.

Cutting the wood:

I cut five 28″ sections and two 17.5″ sections from the 2x4s(the width of the five 28″ sections laid side by side).  I used my chop saw, also called a miter saw.  But you could use a saber saw, also called a jig saw.

Assembly:

The next step was to assemble the bottom of the tray.  I used my Kreg Pocket Hole Jig for this.  Bless the day I saw the first post about The Haven Conference (an annual DIY Bloggers conference held in Atlanta, GA)  which led to me buying a ticket which resulted in attending 3 Haven Conferences (soon to be 4) which resulted in my discovery of the Kreg Pocket Hole Jig!  If you even remotely want to consider building signs or honestly any project of any size out of wood, INVEST IN THIS TOOL!

I drilled 2 pocket holes about 6 inches in from the  left side, and 2 pocket holes about 6 inches in from the right side of each 28″ section.  Then I attached each 28″ section with the Kreg pocket hole screws.

The next step was to attach the end braces upon which the handles would be attached. Since I wanted a cleaner look for this tray, I decided to screw the wood together from the bottom of the tray so the screws would not be visible from the top view.  I drilled pilot holes to make this easier.

My Dad always uses wood glue when building things from wood.  It provides extra stability should your screws or staples loosen or fail.  I thought this project definitely needed wood glue because of the weight of the 2x4s.

I added wood glue to the end braces and clamped them into place.  I flipped the tray over and inserted the screws through the pilot holes to attached the end braces.

At this point, I had one of two choices.  Leave the tray as it or rip a 2×4 in half and insert edges between the two side braces..  Functionally, a tray should have sides to contain items and prevent them from sliding off of the tray.  Decoratively, these sides are not necessary.  And, honestly, for a beginner it is mentally a rather scary task to have to operate a table saw (in reality it is easy peasy).  So I finished the tray without the side braces to show that it looks super that way!

At the end of the project,  I added the side braces to show the other option (see picture at end of post).  Just a personal preference…the finished product looks great either way!

Finishing the tray:

I wanted a beachy weathered look for this tray so I pulled out the General Finishes grey gel stain that was left over from a previous project.  Read about that project HERE, and see how to create this finish yourself!

I painted the tray and added some industrial looking handles that I assembled out of plumbing supplies.

And the finished project:

Ok, so once I got the tray completed, I started thinking about some of the other bloggers who would be building.  Gina had built an entire porch full of outdoor furniture!  Suddenly I thought…um…tray…lame!  Time to step up the game!  I had 3 more 2x4s so I decided to keep building.  Again, I was concerned with time constraints of a retail store so simple was again the goal!  We are getting ready to spruce up the outside walkway of The Blue Building so I thought i would make a leaning wall ladder for plants or decor.  The design should be simple and it’s another project that folks with little experience could tackle confidently!

Supplies:

• three 2x4s ($2.64 each)
• jig/saber or miter saw
• drill
• level
• 20 screws 2 1/2 inch
• paint or stain of your choice

Planning:

First step was again to determine the dimensions of the ladder.  I wanted a taaaaallllll ladder.  They make more of a statement and would display more decor items!  So I decided to use the entire length of the 96″ 2x4s.  I decided a good width was 16 inches.  Which would make each rung/shelf 13 inches wide.  I figured the general shape between rungs is pretty much a square so I divided 96 by 16 and came up with 6.  So for six 16 x 16 boxes I needed 5 rungs/shelves.  So I cut five 13″ sections.

Assembly:

Since the 2x4s were rather thick, I opted to use screws instead of a nailer/stapler to attach the rungs.  I marked 16″ increments along each outer rail, drilled pilot holes for the rungs, and started the screws into the holes.

I started on one side and attached each rung with one screw.  Then I lined up the first rung with the other outer rail.  I tilted the rung and used the level to ensure the rung was level.

Then I attached one screw to the second side rail.  I inserted the remaining screws, one into each side rail while adjusting the rung to ensure level installation.

This was the most difficult part of the build.  I did have to drill another set of pilot holes for 2 rungs because I inserted the screws crookedly and then that rung was not level.  However, it still went relatively smoothly for my first ladder build!

Optional:  before I started the project, I made a slight angled cut to the bottom of each side rail so that the ladder would sit flat on the ground.  I also use my mitre saw to cut an angled section off of the back of the top of each side rail to allow it to sit more flushly against the wall.  The top was an awkward cut and I am sure there is a more effective way to measure but I am a rookie so I used the eyeball method and you can see from the pics that this was not exact!

Final Finish:

Finally, I stained the ladder with MinWax Jacobean stain for a dark rich brown.

While still wet, I  dry brushed some white latex paint and then blended with more Jacobean.  This gave me a wonderfully weathered finish.

Thanks to Gina Luker for pushing me to build!  This is something I never seem to be able to make time for!

Feel free to follow these links if you want to buy any of the tools I used in this project!  I will make a small profit should you make a purchase!  Thanks for sharing the love!

I am so happy to be sharing these projects in Gina Luker’s 2×4 round up!  Check out all of the exciting projects below!

The post Simple projects to build with 2x4s appeared first on Shop at Blu.