Oh Christmas Tree!

I admit...I stole this idea after being in an antique/craft store.  I thought it was super cute and knew I had the ability to make one myself.  So in the spirit of the season, get yourself some old barnwood and start creating your own forest of trees.  Start with cutting them into 1 1/2 to 2 inch strips.  The bottom of the tree is 24 inches long with each 'layer' being 1 1/2 inch shorter.  I attached each layer using a biscuit joiner (greatest thing EVER!).  Hang indoors or out...whichever you prefer.  Merry Christmas everyone!  (Or at least to my one follower!  Haa haa!)

Bedknobs & Broomsticks

This bed I refer to as my "four letter bed".  It did nothing but give me fits when I was trying to get it assembled.  I think the end result turned out ok and I really should take a picture of it in my daughter's room, because it looks much better there than in front of the barn!

Twin size bed.

Anyone else about my age (which in my head is 18, but really I'm just shy of double that) remember the classic movie Bedknobs and Broomsticks?  That is a classic!  After my success of mastering barstools, I wondered just how far I could take my business.  How cool would it be if I built each of my kids bed as a keepsake?  Well, out of 3 kids, 2 of them have a cedar log bed!  I will eventually get to that 3rd bed, just like I will get all those pictures put in albums!

How it all began.....

My love for 'Doing-it-Myself" began because you could call me somewhat of a tightwad...my husband will tell you I squeak when I walk.  I am a stay-at-home-mom and so I struggle with tremendous guilt whenever I want something that is truly not practical.  I also give credit to my grandpa for allowing me to hang out with him in his workshop when I was a small girl, spending several hours playing with his dremel tool (for some reason, that was my favorite!).  I sure hope (and am fairly certain) he is smiling from up above and beaming with pride at what I can accomplish. 

I just love the character of the red cedar wood.  I often say that when peeling the logs, it is like unwrapping a Christmas present...you just never know how great it is going to be under all the bark.

This particular stool came for a log that had this natural red 'heart' center....I had no trouble selling these stools!

Anyhow...I LOVE all things rustic!  I needed some bar stools for the kitchen and really wanted some cedar log stools.  After much shopping on-line (because there is no store near here that would sell such a stool) I decided I was NOT going to pay that kind of money for a simple stool.  Fortunately at the time, my husband was working for a guy who runs logging equipment and I asked James to bring me home 4 round cedar slabs.  He questioned my intent, but did what he was told...good man!  I did have to by a tenon cutter that I purchased on e-bay.  Not having a pattern, I guessed at my measurements and was quite surprised at how well they turned out!  Thus began the beginning of my furniture building business that at the time I named Born in the Barn Cedar Creations.  I have since dropped the 'Cedar' as I have become a bit more versitale with the materials I use.  The 'Born in the Barn' is because I pretty much build everything in our barn, with the horses keeping a watchful eye on what I am doing...that part is a big LOVE!  I'm one of those wierdo's that think horse sweat is one of the best smells in the world and I would much rather muck a stall than clean our bathroom!  I hope you enjoy my creations...I know we have gotten lots of enjoyment out of them here on our farm. 

Pictures thrown in a shoebox....not anymore!

In todays world of digital photography, it is so easy to all of a sudden have 229 pictures that need developed and then it's just as easy for them to get thrown in a shoebox with the intention of 'getting them in sorted and in their albums someday'.  For me, 'someday' never seems to come and I have all these cute pictures that nobody ever sees.  I knew there had to be a cute way to display them, so I went out to the barn and found this piece of wood that was once the top of a barn door, before I wacked off all the rest of the wood to use in a different project.  This originally was going to be a coat rack going down to the basement for the girls room, but it was too long and I couldn't bring myself to cut it.  Glad I didn't as I like it a lot here.  At first I just pinned the pictures on without the frames.  Liked it ok, but knew I could do something to dress it up a bit.  Once again, I headed out to the barn (by the way, do you get why my blog is called Born in the Barn yet? Most all my projects are built in the barn and I LOVE having the horses nicker in agreement at my creativity) to see what I could come up with and decided to whip out some cute little barn wood picture frames.  Wa-la!  A fun place to display our snapshots that otherwise would have ended up in the shoe box in the cupboard for no one to see! 

My latest and possibly greatest project so far!

Base construction of my table.  6x6 posts were used as a support beam at one time inside a barn. 

I was worried this table would look too large for the dining room, as we don't have a rather large house, and have to utilize every ounce of space possible, but I think it fits just perfect!

A good view of the top and how the old nail holes add so much character.

I have for years wanted a barnwood table, but have had some guilt over getting rid of the existing dining room table that I HAD to have when we were first married.  Advice to all young newly-weds:  You don't know anything about anything and should not insist on having something that you 'think' you are absolutely in love with, because more than likely, you won't really know yourself or what your true 'likes' are until you turn at least 30.  So save your husband's money, and dig down and find some patience and eventually you will discover who you really are and what you really like.  Anyhow, my only solution to getting the table of my real dreams was to build it myself.  After all, what is hubby to say once it's all done?  "No, you can't use that absolutely gorgeous table that you worked extremely hard to build yourself because I bought you that really ugly table 14 years ago that you just HAD to have and we are keeping that one."  Any man in his right mind would know better and I was really hoping my husband would be in his right mind the day we brought it in the house!  I kind of kept this project a secret from my husband which was easy at the time since he was in the combine 16 hours a day at the time of the table's journey into life.  Since I promised myself that I would not allow blogging to take up anymore of my time (as Pinterest has since overcome all my 'spare' time) I will get on to posting the pictures of what I think is a fabulous farm table, if you will.  I look forward to the many, many memories that will be made at this table, and I hope someday, my kids will fight over who gets to inherit it!

My Beginning

I am starting this blog because I have a computer from the dark ages and I am dying to post some of my own projects to Pinterest and for some crazy reason, I can't upload them from there.  So, thus begins my blogging adventure.  I am a die-hard do-it-yourself-er and hope that some of my work will inspire others to tackle a project that may seem a bit over your head at first, only to discover (as I often do) that nothing is impossible!