Craft Room Organization- Part 2: Hanging Buckets!

After we completed our recent Picture Ledges project, I was feeling like my craft room table was looking cluttered...and I don't like clutter.

Brett actually suggested using small buckets to organize the tabletop items, which I loved! But I wanted the stuff off the table... ah HA! Hang 'em on the wall!

Thankfully, we always have scrap wood from previous projects lying around. So I didn't have to go to the store for the lumber!

To build your own 3-bucket holder, you'll need:

• 1 x 2 piece of wood (I prefer primed wood.. it's easier to paint!)
• 3 small screw-in hooks
• Drill with bits
• Paint
• 3 small buckets



Photo Credit: Target.com

I was able to find the screw-in hooks on a recent trip to Target and I found the small buckets at Michael's. Of course, I used my weekly Michael's coupon for some awesome savings!

Since we had some wood lying around, I chose to use a primed piece of 1 X 2 for this project. Brett then cut the wood to our desired length; 18-inches.  If you don't have a saw at home to cut your boards to the desired length, the friendly people at Home Depot/Lowes are usually willing to cut it for you!

I then sanded and painted the boards with a couple coats of semi-gloss white paint. I used the buckets to guide where I should drill the holes for the hooks. I knew I wanted the first hook to be directly in the middle (9 in. from the end of the board). I then decided I wanted the other two to hang 6 inches from that center hole. Here's a diagram:

Just drill holes in these spots (the box of hooks will tell you which size drill bit to use), and screw in the hooks!

To hang on the wall, either attach a picture hanger, screw/nail directly into the wall or use command hooks...whichever you prefer!

Craft Room Organization- Part 1: Picture Ledges

I have participated in quite a few "Sip and Paint" classes in the past few years. Which means I have quite a few canvases lying around my craft room. I decided a few weeks ago that they need to be properly displayed, but I didn't want to just hang them on the wall. What to do? Picture Ledges! Problem was... I wanted long ledges (6 ft) but I couldn't find them anywhere!




Corner Moulding
Picture Credit: Lowes.com

So, Brett and I took a trip to Lowes and started thinking of how we could make these ourselves. After wandering around the lumber department we determined we would need the following:

• 2 x 4 Poplar Board
• Corner Moulding
• L Brackets
• Paint
• Sheet Rock Anchors

We first cut the 2x4 and corner moulding to 6 ft. sections. Then we stripped the 2x4 in half, length-wise using a table saw. Since the ledges won't need to support much weight, I wanted them to be thin and sleek.

Next, we glued the board and corner molding together using wood glue. We then used a brad nailer to ensure that the 2 pieces would stay together. The glue is quite strong, but the brad nails provided some "insurance"... and gave Brett a reason to use his new tool, very important.

To fill in the small brad nail holes, I used some putty leftover from a previous project. After the puddy dried, I used some fine grit sandpaper to smooth everything and remove the excess.

Lastly, we gave the ledges a couple coats of semi-glass white paint. After they were dry, we attached 3 of the L brackets to each shelf as shown in the picture below:

Since these brackets didn't perfectly line up with the studs in the walls, we had to use sheetrock anchors. These are simple to use and ensures the nails/screws won't pull out of the sheetrock.

We carefully arranged our MAGNIFICENT works of art on the ledges and WAH-LA... we're done. As an added bonus, these 2- 6ft. ledges cost us about $30! LOVE IT!