My Subconscious Crafting Prayers are Answered!

For a long time now I've been wanting to start woodworking. That is, I've been wanting to personally make a couple of only mildly challenging, functional pieces for my home, since I'm WAY too frugal to spend the $$ that furniture stores charge and not allowed to buy damaged pieces from our local discount shop (which are STILL overpriced, if you ask me--or Nick, which is why I'm not allowed). However, my woodworking experience is limited to the bench I made in high school shop class. It was good, but it was done under supervision of an experienced instructor, someone who would answer my (many) questions and not try to take over the project and do it himself. I do not live with someone who would do that, and I'm not interesting in starting a project, only to hand it over to my dear husband when he sees me doing something "wrong". That dear, dear, neurotic man. ;D Anyway, what I've really been needing, and keeping my back-of-my-mind's eye open for, is a step-by-step, visual, detailed, illustrated source with just the right information and designs to motivate me to go ahead and do it myself. I found that motivation today at http://www.oneprettything.com/ (I'm telling you, that site is awesome!!). And that motivation is http://www.knockoffwood.blogspot.com/

Things I hope to build sometime this spring:

I'd really like a box with storage (kind of like a chest, but really just a long wooden box) to put under the window in my bedroom, but I have a feeling that the first thing I made isn't going to be great, so I can absolutely use this bench. According to Ana, this should be pretty easy. Here's hoping!

AND for my kitchen/dining room, which is really small and cramped: the perfect sized table!! This will not be the first project I do.

This is actually an image from West Elm. Let's hope I can do something similar.

Similar is all I ask for here. Not better--heck, not even as good as!

One of the many great things about this blog is that she gives a time and cost estimate, which is super useful. I'm so so so so psyched!! I plan to get the wood for a project Monday.

I. AM. SO. EXCITED!!!!

I love this blog!!