Do It Yourself?

I want something to put in my beach  room to hold some of Dani's things and for a bowl to hold the heart stones and things I collect on the beach. I like the idea of a ladder shelf, but I haven't seen any around here and Bill saying he will make it, doesn't mean I will get it, anytime in the near future;)

So, I decided to make a crate shelf and do it myself to save money. I used coupons for the crates and paints, but it still adds up and then there is the paint brushes and sandpaper. Never mind the painting and the hot sun and then sanding and the hot sun and trying to antique it, in the hot sun, lol.

Well, with what we spent on items and the work involved, I think it would have made more sense to buy finished crates at the home store. It did not come out the way I wanted, it is too thick, I wanted a white washed look. I had to give up for the day and I will see if I can talk Bill into sanding them more and then I can do a better edge stain on them. I just wanted a hint of stain and the wood to show through. It still looks nice though and maybe I will just use, as is and keep my eyes open for a nicer beach style shelf. Not sure if this is practical for the items I will put on it.

Here is a close up of the wood and painting. I put some of my stones and the heart ones in a heart shaped bowl, that she had. Today Bill was going to put in the new fan light, but he didn't have time to finish. Adding a few things to the room makes it easier for me to go in and work on it.