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Jon Chapin

Shutter Door Cabinet - Completion

Wrapped up the cabinet this morning. Everything is done and will make a lovely addition to our house.

Before you view the completed piece, you can view the build here:

After the white base coat dried I lightly sanded the whole piece. I then focused on areas that would normally receive the most wear, revealing the stain underneath. When doing a project like this, very the thickness of paint in areas and don't be afraid of brush strokes - the fun part of vintage style builds are the imperfections.

After sanding, I used a Faux Glaze mixed with a little stain to darken it. I then brushed this over the entire piece and lightly wiped off to darken and add age to the nooks and crannies.

I found these lovely knobs and pull handle on ebay - search around for the hardware that will set your piece apart.

All finished - now off to watch Mississippi State take it to Jackson State!

Shutter Door Cabinet - The Build

Me and the wife were out shopping the other day and we were in one of our 'go to' stores - Ross (wife loves the prices) and sitting back in the furniture section was a cabinet that had shutter type doors. I was looking for something that would look good in the bathroom and thought this was a perfect fit.

They were asking around $50 for this piece - but you know I'm not going to pay for this type of furniture...so...off to the shop!

First thing I did was head over to my favorite place - Astoria Vintage Hardware, and found two small shutters and a table leg. I measured and built the entire piece around these shutter doors.

I cut the table leg in half and mounted it on both sides. I had built the frame to match the width and height of the two shutters and also a place for a top shelf.  

I built the sides using 3/4" plywood for strength. The back is 1/4". Attached everything with wood glue and brads.

Built shelves, drawer, and drawer supports.

Here it is with the shutter doors mounted. (The knobs are temporary) 

Except for the knobs, everything is ready to go. Although I'm probably going to change the drawer face to match more in line with the inspiration (seems to me that I was putting these type drawers on everything)

Now I'm off to stain, paint, and sand. Stay tuned for the updates and the finished project!

View the finished Project!

Taking a Trip

Well guys, due to my day to day job (the one that actually pays the bills) I will be gone for the next couple of months. I hate to leave the crafting behind, more importantly though, my family. So if you have any questions or concerns and I don't respond, this is why.

Please feel free to send me any requests or ideas, and when I return I'll hit the ground running getting you some new material.

Until then - The Craftsman, out.

Clothes Pin Photo Hanger

Hey guys. I saw this in our favorite antique store several months ago and thought that it was a great idea. It wasn't until I ran across a picture of one the other day that I decided to make one.

Clothes Pin Photo Hanger

I love the look of it, and the purpose it serves. Here's what I did - I took a couple pieces of 2x2 (actually it's about 1.5" x 1.5") and cut to length. I forgot the exact measurements I used, but it's entirely up to you. I then cut 45 degree angles at each end and put it together with wood glue and screws (like a picture frame)

45 Degree Angles

I then drilled holes for the string, which is hemp twine. I then gave it a good sanding and used a saw blade to "antique" some of the areas with scrapes and holes. I stained the wood with some Minwax wood stain (again, up to you)

The clothes pins were brand new, so I decided to 'ruff' them up a little to give them that 'been outside awhile' look. To achieve this look I first stained them the same color as the frame. After they dried I put them in some muriatic acide for a few seconds to eat the protective coating off the metal. I then let them soak in a mixture of whit vinegar, hydrogen peroxide and salt for about 10 minutes. I then took them out and let them sit in an oven at 250f until fully dry. They came out looking great (I'll do a full tutorial on this technique at some point)

Weathered Clothes Pins

And lastly I strung the twine through the holes and cloths pins and stapled on the back. The hanger was strung through the holes and large knots were tied into the ends to keep it from pulling out, and then I frayed the ends.

So what do you guys think? It's a very easy project to make, and looks great hanging on the wall!

This build was featured in the Living Section on Instructables.com!

Mixed Media Barn-Scape

Spent the day in the shop and started looking at all of the scrap wood and other little things laying around and thought that I could do something with all that spare stuff. This is what I came up with:

I took a 24" x 36" painting canvas (I think that's the size) and took the canvas off and mounted it to a couple of pieces of 3/4"x5"x3' planks of plywood that I joined together for the overall width.

I then painted the canvas white, and while it was still wet I applied a thick layer of dry-wall paste on top of it and used a paint scraper to give it texture. 

While that was drying I hot-glued scrap wood together to make the barn and stained and painted it. Once the canvas was dry I stained the sky and painted the fields. I then attached the barn and other items using nails and hot-glue. 

There are a couple of little pieces here and there that I used to get the overall look.

Hope you like it. Give it a shot. See what you having laying around and think of something you can recycle it into.

Oh, and of course - the inspiration:

Tea Light Candle Wall Art

I was looking around on the internet the other day thinking about a new project I could do. I came across this idea for a Tea Light Wall Art.

I picked up some old spoons from our Goodwill store and "rusted" them. (Hopefully, once I perfect this technique, I'll post a how-to) I then stained and painted the board and mounted the spoons.... Well, enough talking, watch the video:

I want to thank Brooke at Spruce Your Nest! Check her blog out.