DIY Dining Cart Tutorial

Remember our precious dining cart that we posted about last year?  (I love jokes like that in January.)

We're here with the dining cart tutorial so you can build your very own.

I'm glad Nate humors me and my crazy furniture building ideas.  I like that he now makes my ideas come out better than I can even imagine.  That's love.  Enough mushy stuff.  Let's get to the tutorial which Nate wrote for the blog.  (Also love.)

Material List

8 - 2"x4"x8'

2"x3" - Only need 28", so get the smallest one possible, or rip a 2"x4" down

2 - 3/4" x 6' black iron pipe

4 - black iron end caps

4 - industrial wheels

2 - corner brackets

2 1/2" pocket hold screws

Kreg jig mini

wood glue

Construction adhesive (we use Loctite Power Grab)

Black spray paint

Small nails or upholstery tacks 

Cut List

2"x4"

4 - 30.5" (sides)

6 - 45" (outsides of shelves)

6 - 38" (middles of shelves

6 - 7" (ends of shelves)

2"x3"

4 - 7" (middles of sides)

Start by building the sides, using pocket holes and glue.  Attach the 7" 2x3 to the top and bottom of the 30.5 2x4.  I used one hole at the tops of the 2x3's as it will be hidden by the shelves.

Next, build the 3 shelves.  I attached the two outside 7" 2x4's to the 45" 2x4 with wood glue and pocket holes on the bottom of the shelf.  

Using wood glue and pocket holes attach the two 38" middle 2x4's, then attach the other outside 45" board.  Repeat for other 2 shelves.  If some of the boards are a little uneven, sand with belt sander or use a planer to even.

Using pocket hole screws, attach the bottom shelf to the bottom of the 2 sides.  

Then mark 13 3/4" up from the bottom shelf on the sides, attach the middle shelf using those marks with pocket hole screws. 

Finally, attach the top shelf to the top of the sides.

Drill holes for the rods in the back, measure up 5" from the bottom and middle shelves, then in 5/8".  Drill hole slightly larger than the pipe, the hole for ours was 7/8".  When drilling, put a scrap board behind the 2x4's in order to prevent the back side from "exploding" when the bit goes through.

Sand any remaining uneven surfaces.  Stain or paint and poly.  We used Rust-Oleum wood stain in weathered gray.

Using a hack saw, cut the black iron pipe so when a cap is placed on one end it will go into the opposite hole about 3/4". Test fit the cut, leaving it in the board, measure the remaining length needed (probably about 1 1/2" or so).  Cut that length off of the remaining pipe, making sure to keep the threaded part.  I did this in order to keep the threads on both sides so the cap will screw on.  There is probably a tool that will put threads on the end of the pipe after it is cut but I don't do that much work with this material so this seemed cheaper than buying a tool only to use it once.  Put end cap on short piece. Test fit making adjustments as necessary.  Put construction adhesive around the end of the cap and down pipe a bit, and on the longer pipe put adhesive on the end once just before putting it into the opposite hole.  Repeat for second shelf.  Let glue dry.

If you cannot find vintage corner brackets and wheels, use new brackets (inexpensive ones from any hardware store) and beat them up a bit with a hammer.  We spray painted ours black.  We purchased these wheels and gave them the same treatment.

Attach the corner brackets with nails or tacks to the top front corners. We used upholstery tacks.  Note: You will have to spray paint nail or tack heads to match brackets.

Attach wheels to bottom of the cart, I placed mine on the outside, with the end of the wheel on the end of the shelf.

Place your dining cart in it's home and fill it with beautiful Pyrex.  Or whatever you want to store, I guess.

Nate and I are now talking built in shelves for the living room.  Pesky tax season is going to make that a long process but we'll get there!

Check out our "build it" page for more free furniture building tutorials!

Any furniture builds in your future?

Linking up to: Thrifty Thursday

Crochet Bow Necklace | Tutorial

I have a new obsession.  Crochet.  All things crochet.  Crochet necklaces. Crochet baby hats. Crochet granny square blankets. I can't get enough crochet.

You may be asking "How old are you, Michelle?"  The answer is 87 trapped in an almost 32 year old body.

Before I go drink my prune juice, I'd like to share with you a tutorial for a crochet bow necklace.  I had seen a few on Etsy but couldn't find a tutorial that I liked.  The bows were either too flat or the steps looked way too long and drawn out for a silly necklace.  But I must have a bow necklace.  I mean, look how cute it is!

Please excuse the lack of face in these photos. I had a wicked sinus infection and no one needs to see what was happening above my chin.

I made two sizes.  I like them both but I'd choose the little yellow guy as my favorite if I had to.  I want to make an even tinier one but I need a smaller hook.

This is a fairly easy crochet project.  I have had people ask how I learned to crochet.  My grandma taught me how to knit and crochet when I was around 10.  I've mainly been a knitter since then but knitting takes so darn long.  I just never really caught on to crochet.   As I've aged, I've become increasingly impatient and I needed a quick yarn fix.  I started making a baby hat about a month ago and it just clicked.  As in, I get it. I get complicated patterns.  I'm not sure what happened but I like it.

If you want to learn (or re-learn in my case), I recommend the Learning Center at Lion Brand Yarn.  There are always Youtube tutorials.  My buddy, Rachel {Maybe Matilda}, has a great step-by-step guide for stitches.

For this "pattern", I realized that if I scrunched a basic tube in half I'd have a bow.  A bow that has some dimension to it.

Here's how to make your own!  You can do this.  Trust me.  I'm a doctor...of pharmacy.  

I'm going to write this in Michelle instead of normal crochet pattern.  Hopefully it will make it easier for beginners to understand.  And annoying for everyone else that crochets.

Crochet Bow Pattern

Size G hook

worsted weight yarn

Step 1: Little Bow: Cast on 20 stitches leaving a very long starting tail (~20 inches).

              Big Bow: Cast on 28 stitches leaving a very long starting tail (~20 inches).

Step 2: Join to first chain using a slip stitch to work in the round. Be careful to not twist your chain!

Step 3: Chain 2

Step 4: Double chain evenly around.  Join to first stitch using slip stitch.  Chain 2.

Step 5: Repeat step 4

Step 6: Repeat step 4

Step 7: Repeat step 4

Step 8: Fasten off leaving a very long tail (~20 inches).

Step 9: Wrap the two tails around the middle of the bow.

Step 10: Tie a knot to secure the ends.

Step 11: Thread chain onto necklace.

Step 12: Be proud of your new granny necklace!

Here's some visuals for you.

Step 1

Step 2

End of Step 4

End of Step 7

Step 8

Step 9

Step 10

Step 11

Step 12

What's your favorite elderly pastime?

DIY Growth Chart Tutorial

Kids.  They grow up so fast.  You want to remember every stage.

That's why I made Ike a growth chart.

Look how tall he's getting.

I kid. I kid.

I whipped up this ol' ruler growth chart for a friend that is expecting triplets any day.  (Yep.  You read that right.  Triplets.)

I'd previously seen these growth charts all over the interwebs.  Turns out they are super easy DIY.  Here's how I made my wooden growth chart!

I purchased a 6 foot 1x10 from Lowe's.  I sanded it down a little (probably should have done a little more. Slacker).  I then gave it two coats of Sherwin Williams Pool House beings it was free in my basement.

I used a ruler and lightly made 1 inch marks along the side.

I applied painter's tape 2 inches from the side to help keep my lines crisp.  I then used a Sharpie paint pen and my ruler to draw many tiny straight lines.

At each 12" mark I made a larger line across the board.  Keep in mind how far off the ground you will be hanging your sign.  I started my sign about 4 inches before the 1 foot mark.  We then hung the sign accordingly.

I printed off numbers 1 through 6. I then traced them onto my board. I usually use tracing paper but this wood was soft enough to just trace onto the board by pushing hard with a pen.

I then filled in each with my Sharpie paint pen.  Seriously easy project.  I think it took me about 45 minutes to do all of the marking and painting.

All that's left is to hang it.  Which I failed to get a picture of in the nursery.  Weak.

I was too busy figuring out how to break the news to Ike that this isn't his growth chart.

He's still not understanding.