My Attempt at Crafty

I'm happy that I still have a week of summer left!  It's a bitter-sweet feeling.

It's dreary outside.  I was supposed to leave for Molokai today on one last summer adventure, but my plans have been thwarted by tropical storm Flossie.  I don't think she'll be much more than a lot of rain here on the islands, but of course everyone takes necessary precautions.

The itch I've had on my legs and arms for over a week now STILL itches.  I'm breaking down and calling the doctor today to try and get some relief.  Today looks like it might be a "read a book inside" kind of day.  We shall see.

I don't have a huge house update, we've been plugging away at it little by little.  More pics on that later.

The update I did want to share is my latest DIY craft!  I have been wanting to put a little reading nook in my classroom for a while.  This summer finally afforded me the opportunity to make one that's perfect for the space.  It's an "L" shaped bench that my students can use to take a break from their desk while they read.

The finished product.

  

I made it all by myself; here's how it went down.  I don't know if you want to call it a tutorial, but here are my version of step by step instructions:

I started out with a few 2x4s and I used a 4x4 for the legs. 

I cut them the lengths I wanted using a chop saw.   I think the long
bench was about 60 inches, and the short about 30 inches.  

One I got them the desired length, I cut each piece at a 45 degree angle.

Using a circular saw, I cut the plywood to fit just inside the 2x4s with a little bit of wriggle room.
I think I used 5/8" plywood--it was thick--and leftover from house stuff.  

Here's the long piece cut.

The 2x4s fit snugly around the plywood.

A close up.

I measured each 4x4 leg post at 12 inches.  I want the bench to sit kind of low for my students.

Four of the eight.

On the long bench, I cut one extra 2x4 for the center to add some strength.

Here's everything laid out before I sand and stain.

I chose Dark Walnut stain.  I don't have a picture of it, but I sanded the boards pretty well before applying this.

Here are the stained pieces.  I let them dry overnight.

After cutting, sanding, and staining, it was time to screw them all together!
I screwed the posts directly to the 2x4s with 4 screws (3 inch I think?)

Then I cut the foam to put on top of the plywood.  The foam was rather expensive!

The foam laid out.  Time to add the fabric.

Mike bought me a staple gun!  It was super easy to use :)

I stretched the fabric a little and stapled.

Bam.

Action shot!

The underside of the long bench.

And voila!  This is NOT my classroom obviously.  I post a pic of the
finished product all set up and ready to go before school starts!

August 7th, I'm not really ready for you to come, but at least I finished my bench... I hope the kids like it!  It's S.U.R.F. time in English class...