DIY Clip Art Rails by Ana White

 

 

 

 

I quit blogging.

Then, by chance, I checked my blog. And I had one follower. My very first follower. And do you know who that follower was?

Kari.

Yes, Kari the author of Ucreate.

 

If Kari from Ucreate, the Oprah of crafting on blogs, was following me, then perhaps I was wrong. Women are ready to build, not just glue, sew and refinish. Perhaps I just had not reached the right audience.

Kari, thank you for supporting me. And once again, thank you for giving a carpenter another chance. I am so proud to be guest blogging for you today.

 

My name is Ana White and I am the author of Knock-Off Wood. I am a carpenter, whenever I am not while I am between peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or having once upon a time conversations . I have spent the last few years building furniture to sell to retailers, for custom orders, gifts, my own home, and designing and helping others build.

Now, I help the world build furniture through my blog, Knock-Off Wood. On Knock-Off Wood, I focus on giving you the styles you want - yes, Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, Restoration Hardware, Ballard Designs, West Elm, Land of Nod - that is what I recreate for you. I hope you visit my blog, because the tutorial I am going to show you today is a micro representation of what I do.

 

Today, I am going to show you how to build the Clip Art Rails. Plans for these bookcases are also available on my blog. Both of these bookcases were made from 1 sheet of MDF, 1/2 gallon of paint and 10 1x2 pine strips, a total of about $60. The storage bins from Pottery Barn Kids . . . were a little more.

 

The orginal plan was to show you how to build these bookcases today, but after I put these Clip Art Rails together, there was no question.

 

The Clip Art Rails are the perfect tutorial for Ucreate.

Fabulous,

yet simple and inexpensive.

 

Just about anyone has the skills and budget to make these. I spent at total of $7 on both rails (using leftover paint, spare screws and Grace's Elmer's Glue).

Materials List

2 - 1x2 pine or MDF strips, 8 feet long (I used firring strips from Lowes for 75 cents each)
2 - bags of small clothespins, 24 count each (bought mine at Joanns for $2.49 each)
Glue (I used Elmers)
Paint (I used Valspar Antique White Satin leftover from the bookcases. The fastest method would be to spraypaint)
4 screws or 4 Picture Hanging Brackets

Tools and Supplies

Paint Brush (if you are not spraypainting)
Tape Measure
Level
Drill (If you are not using Picture Hanging Brackets)
Scewdriver (If you are using Picture Hanging Brackets)

Directions

The Clip Art Rails measure 8 feet long and 3" overall high by 2" overal thick. You can cut the board to any desired length to fit your needs.

1. Remove the springs from the clothespins.

2. Paint the wood part of the clothespins and the boards.

3. Reassemble the clothespins. Then glue the clothespins to the boards. I glued the clothespins ever 4" starting 2" from the ends. You can do this by marking the board at 2", 6", 10", 14", 18", 22" . . . and so on, every 4" until the last mark at 94". Alternate pins facing upwards and downwards.

4. Attach the Clip Art Rails to the wall either using the Picture Hanging Brackets or screw through the face of the Clip Art Rails into a stud in your wall (or a drywall anchor). Hang your artwork, photos, or other lightweight objects. For the letters GRACE I simply printed out each letter, cut the paper down to 8" x 8" and glued it to a 12x12 scrapbooking paper. The photos are simply black and white prints of favorite photos.

Here is the before and after animation. I cannot believe I just shared that photo with the entire world! Amazing what $70 in lumber, paint, and some clothespins can do for a room!

Grace can actually play in her room now! And I just checked on her. Gone are the beautiful black and whites, replaced with stick figures with suns in the upper corners that look more like ugly beetles.

I like her artwork better.

Love, Ana

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