I made this!

Oooh, I never tire of saying that.

We've already established that I'm cheap and that I like to make stuff. Mum says "You're not cheap, dear, you're 'frugal'".

When I realized I needed nightstands for the "master" bedroom (somehow a room that wee deserves air quotes. It's not exactly grand.) and they had to be diminutive to fit in the space available, I knew my only hope was to build my own.

Enter Knock-Off Wood and her fantastic shelf plans. Ana is my hero. Her design was too wide for my needs, so I rejigged it to narrow them down to 16" wide.

One Monday evening I ditched the captain and the boy (who had softball practice), and took the princess to the Despot, plans in hand. I'm not positive, but I think I heard the store manager cackling and rubbing his hands together gleefully at the sight of me.

Maybe I just imagined that part.

The princess and I toured the aisles, gathering up the goodies I'd need. 1x2s, 1x12s, (also 2x4s, 2x3s, 1x3s and some panelling but that was for another project). Oh, and some wood screws. And some wood filler.

I got some odd looks in the lumber aisles and plenty of "Can I help you?!" offers, but we were good. I had it all under control.

Because I don't have a table saw at home, I talked nicely to Peter (the man with the massive saw) and he chopped up my panelling and 1x12s . What a godsend that service is, and I never would've known about it if Ana hadn't mentioned it on her blog. Peter was impressed with my organization as I was able to tell him exactly what I needed.

The princess clapped and cheered with every cut Peter made. I bet Peter has never had a cheering squad at work before.

We carted all the wood home and I set up shop in the garage. I needed the following tools:
- square
- pencil
- tape measure
- compound mitre saw (loves my saw. Yes. It's my saw. Not the captain's. I got it for a birthday present.) Any old saw would do, but this one is lovely.
- drill
- drill bit (for pilot holes)
- countersink bit
- #8 1-1/2" flat-head robertson wood screws
- robertson screw driver
- wood glue
- sanding block
- safety glasses
- clamps
- wood plane

I probably could've managed without the last two, but I'm glad I had them. The only thing that I wished I had had was a nail gun. Ana, at Knock-Off Wood, recommended using nails, but I just ended up mashing my wood - and my thumb -  with the hammer when I missed, so I switched to countersunk screws. I suspect Ana has a schmancy nail gun. *envy*

One problem I encountered during the build was that my 3/4" laminated pine shelving (the 12" boards) were not the same thickness as my 3/4" thick 1x2 strips. I had to break out the wood plane to shave down the 1x2 strip on the top so that it would be one smooth surface.

Here's my first unit before I used the wood filler to cover the screw holes. My plan is to fit a 12x12" storage box/basket/bin into the bottom shelf and leave the top shelf open. Not bad for my first wood-working project since grade 8!

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Special thanks to Ana at Knock-Off Wood for the excellent shelf design and instructions.