Moving forward, but keeping a part of the past

My parents lived in their home for over 50 years.  They recently sold their home to a developer to move into something easier to manage. The home will be torn down and I am happy for my parents to be in a new place.  It's also a little sad to know that the home will soon no longer be there. Before the home was sold I took lumber from the home because I wanted to make Christmas gifts.  A piece of the old home made into something new.  These are the items I made:  a superhero kids bench, 3 kid sized adirondack chairs. a couple of birdhouses and a centerpiece.

laptop / drawing easel

My son gave me a challenge.  He wanted a table top laptop desk / easel.  For the life of me I could not find a plan that I had all the tools, supplies, etc.  I found one finally that I thought I could make but there was no tutorial (of course).  I am not good with moving parts so to make an adjustable one was hard for my brain to figure out.  This is what I came up with supplies I had on hand. (1) 15  3/4 X 11 1/4  3/4 inch piece of pin, for the top (2) 5 3/4 X 11 1/4 X 3/4 inch pieces of cedar fence slat, for the bottom. (2) large door hinges, to connect top and bottom (1) small hinge, for adjustable angle (1) 4 3/4 X 5 X 1/4 X 1/2 inch cedar slat, for angle (2) 11 1/4 X 1 1/4 X 3/8 inch oak molding, to connect the bottom fence slats together (2) 13 1/2 X 3/4 X 3/8 inch oak molding, to hold cedar angle in place (8) felt sticky circles to protect table and of course wood glue and screws.  (1) 15 3/4 X 1 1/4 X 3/4 inch piece of pine, for the front rest. You can use whatever, this is what I already had for supplies. My son wanted it natural in color, so I just added 4 oats of water based polyurethane to finish it off.  Total cost for me 0.00

Centerpiece for all occasions

Like many people I see something I like, but cannot afford.  I wanted a centerpiece that I could use for any occasion. Something simple that had a driftwood kind of look to it.  People always ask me "hey do you want this".  I usually say yes because somehow I might find a use for it.  This project was completely free for me.  I used one old fence slat.  I cut 2 pieces to 11 inches in length (you could custom to any length).  I then cut the other 2 pieces to fit the width.  I used small wooden blocks for the legs. (you could use anything, or not even add legs.  I used wood glue and screws to attach all the pieces.  I attached underneath so you couldn't see the screws.  I hand painted a branch silhouette and when it dried, I

simply sealed with 2 coats of water based polyurethane.  I attached 2 nickel drawer pulls.  It's close to Christmas so I placed a candle on top and other holiday decorations

DIY portable Gaming / Laptop table

We have a super small space.  My daughter is a gamer and asked me to make a table for her to set her keyboard on when she was playing Final Fantasy.  I couldn't find any tutorials that would work for my space, so I had to come up with my own plan.  I have plenty of lumber from recycling, but not a solid wide light weight piece.  I am a cheap skate, but I reluctantly went to Lowes.  I found a rounded edge 48 X 11 1/2 X 1 inch piece of pine that would work perfectly.  while I was there I purchased a 2 x 3 stud.  They offer up to 4 cuts for free.  The table top was cut to 30 inches.  The legs were each cut to 23 inches long. I do keep anything that I believe with be eventually useful.  I already had 4 3 inch tall castor wheels in my garage.  I also has 4 brackets to strengthen the legs.  This was very simple to build.  I used the rest of the pine for the bottom.  It measured 18 inches in length.  I placed the legs on top and used wood glue and screws to attach.  I then attached the top piece also with wood glue and screws.  I added the brackets next.  Finally I attached the castor wheels.  The height of the table is 28 inches.  It is the perfect height the fit under her chair.  I let her pick what she wanted on top.  I then hand painted the images.  For the final step I used a water based clear polyurethane (several coats) to protect the painting.  My final cost was less than 15 dollars.  I do have paint supplies that people have donated to me over the years.  I also buy the small oops paint when they have a color I like.  If you already have the lumber it could be cheaper or even free.