I give you shelves

Using hard-earned sanding skills

Sorry about the lack of posting last week - things, days, got away from me somehow. Anyhoo, here are a few promised shots of my shelf making project. A few months ago (maybe as early as April?) I bought two pieces of red oak to make into shelves for Kirby's room. What with one thing err, excuse, and another, I didn't get around to doing anything about the shelves until after Kirby's room was painted. This was actually a good thing, since I didn't have to try to paint around them or re-hang them.  

First coat of stain, check.

 In college, I spent a summer working for a contractor/furniture maker as a finish sander. This meant that I spent 8 hours a day using an orbital sander to put a nice smooth finish on pieces of cabinets that would then be stained and installed in clients' homes (and inhaling lots of sawdust.  You would would be amazed where that stuff can get, even with a mask and earplugs). So I definitely know how to wield a hand sander. And I put those skills to use on these boards. They didn't turn out as smooth as the ones I used to work on, but only because, in the end, I was too impatient to get these up to do three or four levels of sanding. I chose a light, natural stain/topcoat to enhance the color of the red oak, rather than obscure it. After two coats of stain, some drying time, and a contentious half an hour, the shelves went up. A little crooked (thanks to a defective laser level. Mom, you get what you pay for with those things), not quite level, but up. 

Voila!

When I was getting pictures off the camera, I preferred this picture, taken without the flash, because the color is a little richer, but now that I am seeing it on the blog, I think I should have used the other one. Oh well, you get the idea. They are on the wall in Kirby's room, and at last I can put out some of my cute breakable decorations. Yay.