Island Tutorial

Thank you all for your sweet thoughts about our son Mason.  I am a better and stronger person for having gone through it, thanks to God's grace Your comments meant a lot to me.

I did manage to get an island made this weekend and I remembered to take some process pictures so I can show you a tutorial.  I made an island, but this same tutorial will work to make a potting bench or wine bar, sofa or entry table.

I started with a lovely piece of wood that I knew I wanted to use for a table top and 4x4  legs cut the same length (Well 2 legs were 4x4's and 2 were a bit smaller--I made sure I put the two same ones in the front and the other two in the back.).  The top piece is narrow, but I still saw island.  If you do not have reclaimed wood you can use pallet wood and piece the top together and 2x4's for the legs.  I made this piece a little taller, but when deciding height I usually measure my counter top height, my own sofa table when making a sofa table, etc.

I then used some smaller trim type wood to make the table apron.  I measure the island top width and cut the short side pieces 2 inches shorter than this measurement.  I also cut 2 pieces for the bottom shelf brackets. Remember the longer apron piece will be included in the total width of the sides so depending on the thickness of your wood you may need to make the side apron pieces more than 2 inches shorter than your top piece. I sand my wood before I assemble--much easier that way.  Also, never assume the end of a piece of wood is straight, cut a 1/2 of an inch off yourself to start with a straight end.

I assemble the sides or legs.  I lay the short apron piece across the top edge of two legs.  I measure the inside distance between the legs and cut a scrap piece of wood to use a "jig" to keep the legs an equal distance apart.  I use a clamp to hold the jig tightly in place.

I attach the apron pieces and then flip it over to attach the bottom shelf brackets.  Measure up from the bottom of the legs and mark where to place the bracket.

2 sets of legs all done.

Next add the long side apron pieces.  Again I measured the length of the island top and subtracted 3 or 4 inches.

Although this was very sturdy, I wanted to add a cross bar mostly for design purposes, but it does help to sturdy the piece more. 

At this point I decided I wanted this part of the table to be painted, and the rest to be left as wood, so I painted the base blue.

I then added the bottom shelf.  I always make my table base to fit the top piece I am using and the assume I will find something to make the bottom shelf.  Sometimes it is one piece of wood like it was here, sometimes 2 or more.  At times if I am using more than one board I need to leave a slight space between the boards to make what I have fit.

I wanted some side pieces, again for design purposes.  I wish I could tell you what angles I used to make these side pieces, but I am a random girl so.I cut the 2 pieces together at an angle and then hold them where they need to be and draw a line showing where the angle should be cut.  I take it to my miter saw and cut it on the line. Sorry that is a little confusing.

I attached the top using my kreg jig.  Before I had this, I would screw through the top of the wood which is okay for most of my rustic pieces.  This was the first time using my kreg jig and I am quite sure I didn't do it correctly but here is a great tutorial from Gail at My Repurposed Life that shows you how.  What I did worked.

I stained the island in a natural stain and waxed the top.  A few hooks added for towels, etc was the final step.

 On another note, I was contacted by the producer from Home and Family on the Hallmark channel and supposedly they made and filmed my pallet bench today, and it will air on tomorrow's show.  They will mention my blog.  I say supposedly because I have had other opportunities not pan out, but hopefully :)!

Remembering Mason

Today my son Mason would have been 13.  We only had the joy of spending 6 days with him, but rest in the absolute peace of knowing we will see him again one day.

Tiny feet with tiny toes,

A beautiful face with a tiny nose,

Now a twinkling star shining bright,

Forever at peace in God's eternal light.

$100 LinkyParty Features

In case you missed my post last week, the linky party is on hiatus for the summer.  But, I did promise some features from last week's party so here they are:

Frenchy cabinet from Shabby Love

House of 34's cute table runner

Pretty dresser redo from Art is Beauty

Design Dream's delightful potting bench

Beachy bathroom from See Shells Space

Penny Wise Mommy's kid's wall art

Simple, sweet jewelry holder from Revolutionairies

Off to enjoy a lovely evening and some smores!

Planter Parade

If you haven't finished your planting for the summer, here are a few planter ideas of mine form past posts:

Happy planting!

Roadside Rescue

Sweet hubby picked up this roadside table for me.  See the lovely brass strip on it and the smoked glass insert?  

I decided to get a little funky with it, doing a sort of, kind of, faux verdigris treatment.  Originally I was going to do something else so I painted it with Annie Sloan cream paint.  This step is not necessary.  Because you want the under color to look like it was copper, I painted it orange.  You could use a copper spray paint too.

I stained the orange to make it look darker, more like copper.

I then use light blue (duck egg), turquoise and bright green and dabbed it over the orange, brushing it in some places, stippling it in others. I also painted the glass insert.

When that was dry I painted a white wash over it all.  This is really watered down paint--75% water at least.  I blot this with a rag.

I sanded next.  When I sanded the stain came off the orange :(.  If I had waited 24 hours before painting the blues and greens over the stained orange paint I think it would have been okay.  After sanding I used Annie Sloan dark wax, leaving it uneven and blotchy in some spots.

The dated leg style looks much better.

I copper leafed the glass inset. 

I wanted to leave a few spots unleafed (I am sure that is a word) that is why I painted the glass. I applied some dark wax over the leaf--gently with a soft cloth and then sealed it with a clear sealer.

Like I said, funky, but oh so much better and I think it looks rather high end now.

Linking up at:

Sunday Verses

A Simple Side Table

I made this simple side table using a stool base and a lazy Susan top.

This stool was the type with a particle board/vinyl covered seat--not high quality, but the base is real wood and solid enough.  The lazy Susan top only needed the twisitng base removed (and saved for another project) and then I attached it to the stool legs to the top with screws.

I used my Cricut and some vinyl to make the pattern on top, painted over it and then removed the vinyl, sanded a bit and used stain over it all.

 I did paint the base as well.

Simple and the perfect side for a chair or couch or on the porch.

Find more ideas at Funky Junk Interiors