Crafts-part 2

Another project we started this summer was to make a bed for my son.  Since he and the youngest share a room, they are in desperate need of space.  But I really don't like loft beds or bunk beds.  Both are hard to make and hard to get onto if you need to lay down with a child due to a nightmare.  So we decided to get a bed that was high enough to put under it his BIG container of duplos as well as several of the large imaginex toy sets he has.  But we couldn't find anything that was just right.  So we went to anawhite.com and modified one of her plans to make this bed.  It is high enough to put his toys underneath it, but low enough that he doesn't need a stool to get up or rails to keep him safe.

Before we ever tried this though, I wanted to see if I could actually build something.  I started with the doll farmhouse bed from Ana White.

I was pleased with how it came out, so I tried a birdhouse for my son's scout project:

This made me realize I cannot just make things without a plan.  It is functional, but just barely.  The birds shunned it for the longest time (I think they only used it after all other possible nest building sites were taken).

However the bedside table I made for the youngest one turned out pretty well.

So with all of that experimentation done, I tackled the big bed.  It took about two weeks, start to finish.  It only cost about $125, which I was thrilled with.  And when I was sick of the precision wood building demands (I prefer hobbies where I can make mistakes and still recover, like crochet or cooking), I made H some things to hang in her door (she previously had some plastic kite tails there):

This was ALOT easier to do and alot more relaxing.  I just did a little bit here and there, as I had time and energy.

Since school is about to start again, I think I will stick with small, easy to do projects for a while.  My son needs a bedside table for his big bed, H is asking for another stuffed animal, and she needs a simple desk for her room.  That should keep me busy for a while.

I hope your summer was fun too!

'Chelle