DR. MAG

Do you ever have those projects that you know you will do, but you are never sure when? (This is different from those ones that you would like to do.) I know I am not the only one out there with these. This project is one of those. I knew I was going to make it, and I started looking for supplies, but I never really got started on it until the cold really hit. Once I got started I really wanted it done. I am happy to say that now it is finally done. I am super excited about it because now there will be no more of this chaos. And I took this after I hung up most of the coats and jackets, usually there is only one or two things hung up and everything else strewn across the floor.

And the kids are excited to because they each have their own hook. I saw something like this in PB a while ago and it caught my eye. I started look at thrift store for yard stick and rulers, but all the ones around here wanted $1-$2 for them. So that is when I got the idea that I could just paint my own and make this look just as good. We are going to hang this up at the kids height so that hopefully they will not leave their stuff laying around on the floor. Here is the end product:

 

And here is how you can make one for yourself, and it is really not hard at all!

I got most of my sticks from Lowes and Home Depot, (I liked the thickness of their sticks as compared to some other stores). But I did pick up a few other thick ones here and there. Once I got them - or thought I had enough; I later went back and got 2 more - I laid them out on some newspaper and painted them each with a watered down color. Some of them had a glaze and the paint did not take so well and others the paint just soak right in.

 The third stick down really did not want to take the paint, and the top stick is one that had a glaze on it. I found that if I sanded it a little bit the paint stuck better. But I also liked how it gave it a little uneven look. These dried super fast and so I was able to put multiple coats on in one day. I did a different amount of coats for each one until it was the color I wanted.

 

After I had them all painted, I lined them up on my board that I had got for this. I glued these on with liquid nails, because I just love how well that stuff works.You can see my line of it in the above photo.

I was using clamps to hold it, but I did not want to do one at a time and my clamps would not reach the middle of my board. I quickly scanned the basement and grabbed two of my kettlebells and placed on them to hold them in place. One more reason to love my kettlebells. I then cut the ones that hung over the edges with my trusty coping saw. I sanded a little to remove the rough edges.

 After I got them all glued on I took an antiquing medium paint that I bought in a whim at Hobby Lobby once. I followed the instructions - well most of the way.

 

 It gave it a little bit of that old look - rustic is what I like to call it.

 I then proceeded to lacquer this baby up because I liked the way it looked now and I knew that once the kids started to use it it would look even more rustic and old. Which I guess would not be a huge problem, but I also wanted it to be easy to clean.

 

 Here is pictures of it with the letter hooks screwed and glued onto it. I really want these to stay on. I found these hooks at Hobby Lobby and loved them. I bought them even before I knew what I wanted to do with them, but I knew I could come up with something. And I did! Now I just need to find some time when Conan is home from work and we are not so busy that I can get this thing hung up. I was thinking about waited to post it then, but I just loved the way it turned out and did not want to wait.

There you have it, a cute, fun hook for your kids to help you keep their clutter picked up. This is also my entry for Crafting with the Stars.






Linking up to:Somewhat simple, House of Hepworths, Shabby Chic Cottage, paisley passions, a Little Knick Knack, Sassy Sites, Tidy Mom, craft-o-manic, Skip to my Lou, Sew chatty, Crafts keep me sane, Shanty to chic.

And don't forget my first ever link party tomorrow! I would love for all of you to come and share your Fantastic creations at Fantastic Friday!