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.
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| 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:
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| I started out with a few 2x4s and I used a 4x4 for the legs. |
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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. |
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| One I got them the desired length, I cut each piece at a 45 degree angle. |
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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. |
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| Here's the long piece cut. |
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| The 2x4s fit snugly around the plywood. |
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| A close up. |
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| I measured each 4x4 leg post at 12 inches. I want the bench to sit kind of low for my students. |
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| Four of the eight. |
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| On the long bench, I cut one extra 2x4 for the center to add some strength. |
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| Here's everything laid out before I sand and stain. |
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| I chose Dark Walnut stain. I don't have a picture of it, but I sanded the boards pretty well before applying this. |
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| Here are the stained pieces. I let them dry overnight. |
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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?) |
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| Then I cut the foam to put on top of the plywood. The foam was rather expensive! |
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| The foam laid out. Time to add the fabric. |
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| Mike bought me a staple gun! It was super easy to use :) |
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| I stretched the fabric a little and stapled. |
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| Bam. |
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| Action shot! |
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| The underside of the long bench. |
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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...
