DIY Baby Book Crate

A friend of mine is mega preggers with her first baby. His name is Oliver and he will grace us with his presence very soon. She is a pretty amazing woman and she is going to be a spectacular Momma Bear.

I was  trying to figure out what to get for the little guy, and since she has Toys R Us rage burning deep inside of her - she didn't have a typical baby registry. So I decided instead to make Oliver a little crate for books and paint his name on it.

I fought the temptation to fill the crate with the Twilight books... I will probably wait to Ollie is older and will appreciate the literacy masterpiece that is the Twilight saga. (Please read the previous sentence with a sarcastic tone while at the same time accepting the fact that I have indeed read the Twilight series... now try not to judge).

 

 

I made the base and two sides of the crate with a 1x8 knotty pine board. I used a 1x3 for the pieces along the front and back.

 

I know what you are thinking.... and yes I always wear my Michael Kors watch while working with tools, I feel like it gives a good balance to the paint splattered baseball t-shirt. Sometimes you need a little bling to class up the garage.

(Side Note: The watch was a gift from a fabulous and amazing friend and I try not to take it off because I love it so much - and I am afraid that I will lose it... because that would not be an unusual thing for me)

We sanded down all of the boards so that the edges and corners were smooth. (Not exactly a rocket-science idea since it is for a baby... but I still thought I should mention it)

Once all the pieces were ready to go I measured out the holes for the side handles. I bought the handles in the hardware section at Home Depot and the screws they came with were the right depth for my board. I pre-drilled the holes and then assembled the rest of the box.

I gave it two coats of Winwax Special Walnut and once it was dried I added the handles and got ready to paint.

I printed 'OLIVER' off the computer and coloured in the back of the letters with a pencil. Then I laid the stencil along the front 1x3 and drew around the outline of the letters with a pen. This transferred the pencil from the back of the paper onto the board. And Viola! I had an outline to paint.

I did two coats of the paint and let it dry over night. In the morning I sanded over the name very lightly with a 320 grit sandpaper. It just gave it a bit more worn look which I liked.

I hope Oliver and his Momma like it!

xo B