wood Archives - TaylorMade

Project Life Card Holder

October 22, 2013 By Taylor 49 Comments

A few months ago I was playing on Instagram and looking at the hash tag #craftroom because it’s just plain fun. I came across an awesome Project Lifer, Miriam and her pretty feed. I looked back through her photos and fell in love with her Project Life Organizer! My husband is really handy so I started drawing up some plans. Spoiler Alert: he built it and it’s amazing!!!

The one I saw on Miriam’s Blog is a lot larger but mine has to fit on a shelf so I had to keep the size down. I gave my husband the dimensions and this weekend he went to work! Mine is 30″ long and 9 1/2″ deep.

My husband even made risers in each section so my cards have stadium seating. He glued and nailed the dividers in and I sprayed it white. In other news I need to stop buying Project Life Kits :/

I have been using the plastic trays that the kits come in so the cards stand up. I find it SO much easier to use something if it’s already out. Not only are they handy but now they are even prettier in my new holder! When people walk in to my craft room they always say “what are these pretty papers?!” They are their own decoration :)

Thanks Bryan for building me the best Project Life Holder Ever!

DIY Kids Play Market

January 17, 2013 By Taylor 17 Comments

A few months ago, I had the really great idea that Santa would bring the boys a Play Market. Then all of a sudden it was Dec 20th and we had nothing. But thankfully Santa is really talented and he can stay up really late and he did just that :) I told my husband Santa just what I wanted and I drew it out. Then I came home from dinner with some girl friends one night and pulled up to the garage to see a market! He’s the best.

Imaginative Play is my favorite mainly because it’s what I would do if I was 3, and I’m here all day too so I am really catering to myself. But seriously who doesn’t love to play pretend? My mom and I used to play “checker lady” when I was little. I think I could go to the Children’s Museum without the kids and have fun.

I don’t have specific measurements or steps but here is kind of what we did. As usual, Bryan constructed and I designed and staged. He used a little over a half sheet of plywood for the top and the shelves. And scrap wood for the posts on the sides and the legs. We used metal dowels for the awning and I used the most perfect fabric ever for the top.

It is big and it does take up a lot of room but I wanted it “L” shaped so it felt more like a market with a counter. I also gave Bryan the measurements for the Land of Nod shopping cart and he custom built the little lip so it fits perfectly to that size.

For the Chalkboard he cut me a piece of scrap plywood with two holes and I added a ribbon and sprayed it with Chalkboard Paint. Oh good they’re serving hot dogs this week.

I really wanted the baskets to sit at an angle so Bryan built them just to my liking and added a little lip so they stay in place.

He Braced everything and added these brackets for the back part that has legs. We also white washed the whole thing because I still wanted the wood to show through but I didn’t want it raw.

I found the shopping basket at a teacher store and the Shopping Cart and Register are from the amazing people at Land of Nod, who sent us these to review and giveaway last month. They boys still love them! Finn is only 3 so we pretend that everything is $1 to make it easy and he rings me up :)

This little critter snuck into my photo shoot :) Rough hair day.

I would say Santa did good under pressure. You always hope when you spent time on something that your kids will love it, thankfully this time they do! They still play with the Play Kitchen from Santa 2 years ago every single day! That Santa does good work.

What other “pretend play” toys do your kids have? I unfortunately don’t have any doll houses, doll beds, cute tiny ironing boards or washing machines, I’m the only girl here remember.

Spool of Thread Wall Art

April 17, 2012 By Taylor 16 Comments

Hi. I have had a crazy week- with the store, and a fun event, a trip to the ER, colds (maybe the flu?) and sinus infections, crafts get put on the back burner… but I’m back, yay. As you all know my craft room is a forever work in progress. If you are new around here, check out craftspaces. I have a few blank walls that need some help. I want to get a huge pair of scissors; like a real working huge pair of scissors. I thought of this spool idea months ago and thought it would be cute. I love spools, I think they are really pretty.

I used foam board for the middle part of the spool and I used paint stir sticks for the top and bottom.

Hot glue the stir sticks to the foam core board. I also added a little batting on the front of the spool but that is optional.

Glue the beginning of the yarn to the back. Then just start wrapping.

Then I hung it with some twisted metal wire around the sticks.

Now if I could find my huge pair of working scissors then it would be perfect :)

Truck Table

September 5, 2011 By Taylor 20 Comments

If you ask my son, “What do you want to do today?” you will get the same answer every single day. “Pway Twucks “. So in order to have even more truck playing time in my life, I made him a truck table for his birthday. I actually started out looking to buy one but they were all so bulky and expensive… DIY to the rescue.

Here is how the truck table magic happened:I started with a cheap coffee table from Walmart. First step is to prep the table top. I did most of this but I had my husband pose for the pictures. The man can build anything but can’t take a picture to save his life.

Tips for the table prep:– Don’t attach the legs– Brush off the extra dust after sanding– Make sure the tape goes all the way to the edge– Apply 2-3 thin coats of primer and let that dry overnightNow you want to tape off your “roads”. Just get creative. I measured two matchbox cars side by side and figured 3″ could be a good width for the cars to pass each other. So all of my roads are 3″ wide. Use painters tape to cover where the roads will be. I made a big square for the parking lot.

I painted green for the grass and added a lake in the corner.

Remove the tape…

Paint your roads in with black paint.

For the street lines, I used white vinyl and cut it into tiny strips.

Cover the whole table with a clear coat.

My favorite part is the drawer that I thought of :) Pretty much just an “L” shaped rail that we screwed to the bottom of the table. Make sure to get a tupperware with a lip so it can slide in and out.

I would say it was a successful bday present! I knew about sports but no one warned me when I had boys I would play trucks every day :) But I am ok with it.