Hi guys! Apologies for being a little MIA in terms of new projects this week (I’ve shared a few new members projects though which you can check out here) – still trying to adjust to my new web design and making it perfect for you guys!

Anyways I digress, I’m so excited to announce that me and three other bloggers have gotten together to take part in a monthly Create With Me challenge. The challenge involves making something creative using material voted by our readers! This month you guys voted rope/jute string!

You can scroll down to the end of the post to to view the other bloggers creations. BUT HERES WHAT I DID!! (Yes, I did actually just scream that)

DIY Crate Bookshelf

I decided I was going to make a cook book shelf out of crate and use the rope as a kind of barrier so that the books didn’t fall out. Simple and practical. Not a bad idea really…. or so I thought

When I told my husband my plans, he literally laughed in my face for a good minute (or maybe it was longer, I don’t know. I was too busy feeling indignant). ‘WHAT cook books??’ he spluttered between fits of giggles.

Funny.

The supportiveness of this guy is unreal . Ok so yeah maybe my cooking skills were less than creative and yes maybe I hadn’t physically touched a cook book recipe in like forever , it still was no reason to laugh!

Here’s my logic and what I told him – ‘maybe if my cook books had somewhere to live other than the old box in our spare room I might just take the initiative to use them one day and cook you a fabulous meal’





He stopped laughing then . It may have been because he had heard the words fabulous and meal in the same sentence. I guess it’s true what they say…. food really is the way to a mans heart

Materials I used:

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience – please see full disclosure here)

How to:

Here is the crate I used – a little dirty I know.

I first sawed half of the front of the crate using our very reliable manual saw (hasn’t let us down yet)

Next I sanded inside and out with my mouse sander.

I then applied the WICKES stain (but again MINIWAX is also a good option) with a cloth this time. I used a paintbrush to stain my pull out pantry that I built a couple of months back and it did not end well!

I left the stain to dry overnight…although you probably don’t need to leave it that long ..I work at snail pace when my son is around. The struggles of a DIY blogger mum I tell you!

(Yeah my kitten likes to get involved)

Next I drilled in 2 holes to the each side of the crate (big enough to fit 8mm rope)

The rope was then threaded through and stuck in place with liquid nail glue (this is my favorite glue for all my woodworking projects – its super strong!. I used it to attach wheels to my DIY sons underbed toy box and door hinges to his mini drop down murphy bed for his teddy. ) Leave glue to dry overnight

I spray painted 4 dome shaped screw heads black and covered over the rough edges of the rope (the same way I had used them to create an industrial shelf for my sons bedroom makeover) Finally I sealed with clear varnish to give it a coat of protection.

The shelf was then placed on the wall with screws and wall plugs (anchors)

So now that you’ve seen how I’ve conquered this rope challenge, I want to see your jute/rope projects! Share them with me and the other hosts on Facebook or Instagram and use the #createwithmeprojects hashtag! We’ll pick our favorites and feature them across our social media accounts!

CLICK HERE TO VOTE FOR NEXT MONTHS CHALLENGE! EDIT: You voted terra cot flower pots! Check back here next month to see what I make!

AND HERES WHAT THE OTHER BLOGGER DID! Aren’t these projects amazing?? Click on the images to take you directly to each of their blog posts

PASTELS AND MACARONS: Coastal lamp

LITTLE BITS OF HOME: Coastal Rope Vases

LOVE CREATE CELEBRATE: Jute string Lanterns