Giuseppi and I (Part 2)

Giuseppi and I had to use our creativity for the project in this Part 2.   We built a really unique shadow box shelving unit out of the smaller, shorter pieces of barn wood.  I have an old bottle collection and thought a barn wood creation would be the perfect way to showcase these bottles and get them out of the way.  Did I mention how little you have to dust barn wood?  Oh yeah!  It’s another big plus.

So, I brought out all the old bottles, which incidentally were mostly treasures scavenged out of the creeks running through our property and surrounding fields.  Some of which Giuseppi himself discovered in his younger years.  All of the grandkids enjoy a good scavenger hunt with Papa and Grandmama.  We furnished an entire rock bed for the flower garden just by scouring the fields in search of perfect sized rocks and then toting them back in the golf cart.  So, I have these bottles.  Giuseppi and I were trying to measure a symmetrical shelf with exact spacing enough for the bottles.  I was out of my league but Giuseppi worked magic with his tape measure and pencil.  Meanwhile, I kept finding more bottles.  I’m sure I was driving him crazy, but he never let it show.  Not to me anyway.  Then we decided it did not have to be symmetrical, it just had to look good with the bottles.  So we laid it out, cut the wood pieces to fit all the different bottle sizes and had fun completing the jigsaw puzzle.  The only two pieces that had to be the same size were the outer “frame” pieces.  We were really cooking with gas now.  

After arranging, and rearranging we were ready to assemble.  It was about that time I began wondering how we were going to hang this creation.  Giuseppi had a great suggestion of drilling a hole and stringing rope through each of the end “frame” pieces and hanging it by the rope.  I loved the idea, because I too like rope with barn wood, however, I was afraid the different size and weights of the bottles would make it hang uneven and crooked and I would be forever straightening it.  That’s the kind of anal-retentive personality I have.  The idea of a rod or dowel through the top of the “frame” pieces was perfect!  This would be strong enough to hold it straight and also be easy enough to hang on hooks to hold it out away from the wall.  We made a quick trip to the hobby store to buy a pole and stylish hooks for hanging.  Giuseppi skillfully drilled the holes and got it right on the first try.  It fit snug as a bug in a rug.  Ready to hang…

 Then Giuseppi was adamant about using rope and I agreed.  He had a piece of wood for a shelf that fit perfectly across the bottom but there wasn’t enough room to put anything on it.  He quickly went to work drilling holes in the “frame pieces” and the new shelf.  He then tied ropes to the shelf and the “frame” pieces which lowered it and created a “hanging shelf”.  He burned the ends of the rope to prevent unraveling.  Yippee!  Room enough for a few more knick-knacks!

This barn wood creation was complete.  We didn’t have to find it a home; I already had that picked out.  All that was left was to find the studs, because it is quite heavy, and hang it to display my unique collection.  It looks great!  Yep, we had just as much fun decorating as we did creating and building it, Giuseppi and I.

 

If you like old windows, you’re going to love Part 3 of Giuseppi and I.

Giuseppi and I (Part 1)

What do you do with a load of barn wood?  What do you do when a 15-year-old grandson visits you for a few days?  You make barn wood creations!  It’s sort of like when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.  But this is a ton of fun.  We work very well together, Giuseppi and I. 

I’ve known for a very long time my Giuseppi is a very handy, mechanically inclined kid, but this is exceptional.  He’s made the traditional birdhouses, wood signs, and a tree house so his wood working skills have already been apparent.  Not to mention his duct tape creations.  I still have my checkbook cover!  But that’s another series.

 

Since he was going to be visiting everyday for quite a few days Papa and I knew we had to come up with something besides a swimming pool and yard chores to make his visits more tolerable.  When I asked him if he wanted to build stuff his look was that of “hmmm, that might work” and I knew we were in.  FYI:  15-year-old boys love power tools.  I think it’s the men are from Mars thing. 

The first project was a shelf for above a window.  Since his little sister was also included in these visits my time could not be totally dedicated to the building thing so I simply explained what I thought would look good and Giuseppi grabbed the tape measure and dug right in.  Within what seemed like a few minutes, but in reality was a bit longer, he called out from the garage.  He had cut the wood to the exact lengths and attached them together so that one board fastens flat up against the wall and the shelf comes out from there.  It looked great and fit perfectly above the kitchen window. 

It didn’t stop there.  He had an idea.  He wondered if I would like a rope attached to each side as if it were a “pull down” shelf.  He drilled the holes, tied cool knots and burned the ends.  I love it!  All that was left was to bring it in and put it up, and he had no trouble completing that task either.  I see good things coming out of these visits.  With my ideas, Pinterest, a few more planks of barn wood and power tools we can do good things, Giuseppi and I.

Stay tuned for more posts and barn wood creations from Giuseppi and I!