Repurposed Crib into a Desk!

My daughter never slept in a crib but if she had you better believe I would have wanted to make a desk like this:

I Have A Crush on Ana White!

A burning passion to create things using my bare hands started decades ago. Not sure of the exact date, but I can tell you that my father, an engineer, was always building something when I was growing up. My mother, Tanzanian-born and raised, was taught by her village to NEVER throw anything away – that everything can be reused.

After all, when life hands you Mt. Kilamanjaro to stare at from your front yard everyday, you make babies who want move mountains!

Daddy’s projects were plentiful; however, one of my all-time FAVORITES was the custom-built van he made in the summer of 1989. I was 14.

He bought the empty shell and mcgyver-ed a lawn chair to make the driver’s seat. Me and my sisters slid and giggled in the back of this van all the way home. After 3 1/2 months of fearless building, we had a fully-carpeted conversion van complete with EVERYTHING from separate radio systems to mood lighting to an automatic fold out bed.

       

*the fam was taking to long to send me the actual pictures so I grabbed these from the internet. They are VERY close to the real deal.

Twenty-two (22) years after the summer of Van-ities, I find myself following closely in my father’s footsteps. However, it’s not a van I want to build. I want to build a home and all of the furniture in it!

Thanks to Ana White, I feel like a giggling 14 year-old again and I want to move mountains!

Ana, you built the closet but I’m coming out of it to say that your website is FLIPPIN’ AWESOME!

For those of you who don’t know her, Ana is the bomb dot com!

She is a mother and wife living in Alaska and is the proud owner of one of the most popular furniture-building blogs on the interwebs today!

What makes her site so special? I’ve been doing this forever, you say.

She, like most of us DIY bloggers, started out with a dream, not knowing what to expect. And now, within two years of her first blog, has accumulated over 41,000 followers (at the time of this writing)  on her Knock-Off Wood Facebook page and has surpassed the 1,000,000 mark on her website.

That’s just the icing, folks!

Ana shares everything she does – for FREE (as of the writing of this post) – and then has the nerve to create a Brag section specifically set up for you to post your finished projects (using her plans, of course).

  

This is how it works.

1. Have the desire or need (and not necessarily the skills) to build a piece of furniture, a loft bed for example.

2. Scratch your head (and rub your belly at the same time) about how to build the bed. Ask yourself, ” Self, where do I start?

3. Go to Ana’s website!

Just click the picture, will ya!

4. Look for loft beds through her simple search button or by category.

5. Drool over the detailed sketchings, shopping list, cut list, and general instructions.

Don’t worry. If you can figure out the difference between a nail and a hammer, then you can follow her plans to build whatever your ticker desires – except a van. That will require a PRO – kinda like my daddy.

6. Convince significant other (also known as your “creative” self) that you can do it!

7. Post your finished project to the Brag section of her site like these builders did.

      

Hold on to your hammers and glue guns!

SHE BUILDS HOMES, TOO!

She and her husband just broke ground for their MomPlex – a duplex they are building for his mother and her mother to live in – together!

Are you starting to understand why I dedicated this entire post (or 4.5 hours – whatever, who’s counting) to telling you why I HEART Ana-White.com?

Don’t get it twisted! Flippin’ Factory is in a monogamous relationship with Upcycle.  My goal is to use Ana’s plans to make just about everything using recycled materials. For my next project, my daughter’s loft bed, I was thinking of using an old chest of drawers, slats from another bed, old rope, used wine corks, and fabric scraps. When it’s all done, you will be the first to know. Until then, enjoy the intense gratification you’ll get from making something with your own hands.

FLIPPIN’ FACTORY + ANA WHITE = BFF

…building frames forever

Flippin’ Paint

Flipping a piece of furniture can be as simple as adding a new coat of paint – as most of you already know.

I found this on Craigslist for free and sold it for $75, which included delivery.

Step 1: Sand the entire dresser (going with the grain of the wood, not against it)

Step 2: Wipe away all dust with a moist cloth. Let dry

Step 3: Remove old handles

Step 4: Fill in holes with wood puddy

Step 5: I applied 2 generous coats of white paint (I used a combo paint/primer). Let dry

Step 6: Take great photos and send to friends and family!

Check out what Mary of The Decorative Paint Brush does with her furniture. WHIMSICAL BEAUTY!!!

Find a Recycled Furniture Maker Near You!

Finally! There is ONE  place where you can find quality recycled furniture, not only in your area, but around the globe.

You’ve come to the right place if:

• You’re tired of spending hundreds of dollars on new furniture

• Your eyes hurt from browsing the internet for a recycled furniture maker in your area

• You or someone you know recycles furniture and is looking for a place to tell everyone about it!

Find an insanely talented artist in your area, an artist  who can take an unwanted piece of furniture and transform it into something beautiful, and in some cases, rare!

→→→→→→→→

Look to the right of this post to view the list.

Don’t forget to tell them you found them here on Flippin’ Factory!

Flippin’ Factory is quickly becoming THE online resource for the entire recycled furniture industry.

Join the recycled furniture community on FACEBOOK atflippinfactory and on TWITTER @flippinfactory

Happy Shopping!!

Cardboard Highchair

Inspired by a friend’s need to have a place for a child to eat and sleep, Betul Madakbas, created a high chair made out of cardboard, called the Belkiz Feedaway. You’re probably wondering how a cardboard high chair can support the constant wiggle of a baby. Not to worry. The Belkiz Feedaway was developed using Standards Australia Product Safety Framework handbook, a joint initiative developed by Standards Australia and INPAA (Infant and Nursery Products Association of Australia.)/Baby Safety.

Recommended durability, strength and stability:

Toddlers from when they can sit straight and hold their head up (usually around 6 months) to 20 months of age. Weight between 6kg up to 20kg.

For more information visit their website at  http://www.belkiz.com.au/