TTT (Tool Tote Tutorial) Junky Vagabond Style

Donna at Funky Junk Interiors had a tool tote tutorial on her site (it was a guest post) and I thought, 'Hey, I like to work with wood, I have a table saw, that doesn't look too hard!' I tend to believe what others tell me, so it looks like a tool tote was being made.

And because I tend to get WAY wordy, here is my post in pictures (with captions, of course).

My $2.98 board from the culled wood pile (on top of other projects...)

My detailed design plan for the tote...don't judge

This is a seriously long tote...

Long tote, divided into sections

Hmmm....this might be a little heavy

2nd thoughts - cutting down the length

It's a 2-fer! (cutting 2 boards at once)

A little more manageable size

Still divided - see the saw burn marks? Kinda liking them

My fancy workbench and tools needed for the project

A little sanding...

Hmmm...how am I going to actually 'tote' this tote?

Simple: I'll make a hole for my hand!

My drill was too wimpy; enter big drill bit and jigsaw

Now that's a hole (?)

I did so well with the hand hole that I decided to curve the edges of the handle cuz I'm silly like that

Huh. I'm better at cutting curves than straight lines with a jigsaw. Who woulda thunk?

The curves aren't exactly even; sue me

Surprise! I stained it and love the look of the dark wood. The stain took really well. That's my special staining brush - it's actually quite awesome!

Now what to do with all this extra wood?

I know! Make more totes! I had a door jamb piece already - grooves in or out? 

This was in the directions - taper the ends. See? I'm following directions...sorta

Nothing exciting - just glued and nailed the bottom

Love this new Forstner bit - it makes easy round holes!

This was the trickiest part - holding the glued end piece before nailing

Once the first nail went in, it was easier to put the rest in

My super precise method of measuring for the handle

Measure both ends!

(Ok - I have to break in here in case you were thinking 'wow, she's so good at this!' I glued and nailed the end pieces on, and thought you put in the handle after that. Well, it was a tight fit and I might have pulled the ends apart a little while forcing nudging the dowel into the hole. Lesson learned - insert dowel into one side before nailing the other end in. Please continue...)

Putting the stained box together - see the glue? Just in case nails weren't enough. 

While pounding the nails in, the wood pieces tended to slide around (go figure). Clamps would have helped me, but since I don't have the right ones, I just tapped the nails in while constantly readjusting the wood. After the first nail, it stayed together better.

A screw on either end of the handle/center piece insured this piece would hold. I also bought a countersink set - this is something I needed 20 years ago! How have I lived this long without one??

Might have sunk this one a little too much - why don't they have measuring marks? I would put one on the bit if I was the inventor of this thing.

My totes - cute and easy, and very cheap!

My super fancy painting station

First coat is a pretty color called Melon by Benjamin Moore - it reminds me of summer!

While waiting for the paint to dry, I sorted my nails and screws. What? Doesn't everybody do this?

It's a thing of beauty :) No more hen-pecking for a screw.

On to the second coat of Creamy by SW

Lightly distressed

Juxtaposed next to the the non-distressed tote; not loving either look yet.

Enter Jacobean stain...hmmm...not liking it, better wipe it off.

Well, I went and got the camera to snap a picture. The stain wasn't coming off at all. Uh oh.

It looks messy.

Too dark. Maybe I should paint it again?

How about more sanding? This makes it look aged and weathered - I like!

It's almost like you can't tell which came first - the paint or the stain. Happy accidents are fun :)

Now to decorate: I printed a fairy off of the internet...

Super duper fancy image transfer method - pencil on the back of the image. Just trace around the lines of your picture and the pencil on the back of the image will mark the lines on the wood.

Sorry I didn't take a pic of the pencil transfer, but trust me it works well. I used craft paint and paint pens to color in the image and cover the pencil marks. My fairy looks a little insane...

I ended up just free handing the wording with a paint pen...after figuring out spacing with a piece of paper as a guide.

 Now how about those other totes? I wanted to label them somehow, but not with a paint pen...

Now what am I going to do with these??

Starting to see what's happening?

Um...'S' hooks didn't go through the wood or the little wood label. Duh. So I went into my organized screws and found these two old slotted screws. What do you know? They fit perfectly!

It looked too new, so I banged on it for awhile with various hammers and tools, even scraped it along the concrete to give it a 'broken-in' look. Love it rustic!

Cute, right? This is the first time I used blackboard paint and won't be the last! 

I actually took the time to tape and cover...

LUV THIS!!

Super chunky and sturdy.

Le Jonque = Junk :)

And there you have it. Tool Totes 101 and a bit of painting misadventures. It really is a pretty easy project, and probably would've been even easier if I had measured first...

Linking this up to

Funky Junk Interiors SNS

Flamingo Toes Think Pink Sundays

My Simple Home Life's Features and Simply Creations

Tater Tots and Jello Weekend Wrap Up

Be Different Act Normal Show and Tell Saturday

The Girl Creative's Just Something I Whipped Up
Under the Table And Dreaming
Bacon Time with the Hungry Hippo