When I was growing up, my favorite spot in our house was the arts and crafts room. A tiny space sized just for my sisters and me, we could be as messy as we wanted in this place for creativity. Amanda Blake Soule of SouleMama whom we interviewed last summer in this post, has just come out with her second book, Handmade Home. Filled with inspiring family stories, rustic DIY projects, and resourceful tips for keeping your home comfortable, eco-friendly, and crafty, Handmade Home makes me want to gather little ones with crayons and redesign every houseware and decoration. For this week's How-Tuesday project, we're sharing Amanda's Art and Hook Rack, a delightfully practical way to display your child's chef d'oeuvres. 

Purchase Handmade Home

Most of the things I make are for my family and our family home. Home, is our primary place of comfort, nourishment, love, and soul. Home is our place of peace and comfort both for us and for our children. Filling my home with items I've made by hand — that have, in effect, been infused with love in their making — is one of the ways I show those closest to me how very much I love them. Sprinkling some handmade creations through our home makes it a truly unique representation of who we are. Looking around at the things in our home, I can see who we are, what we value, and how we spend our time. These furnishings become comfort, peace, and the landscape in which our family grows, learns, and loves together.

Blessed by both the history and materials of generations past together with our modern knowledge, awareness, and options, we have a beautiful opportunity at this point in time to make a change in our lives. In a world of increasingly limited earthly resources, it is true that all of our decisions — small and large — have a powerful impact. Our small actions can improve not only our earth, but also our hearts, our spirits, and our children — and bring about the kind of change that is the most powerful, the most heartfelt, and the most personal. Our role in living a greener life for our children and ourselves can begin to reverse some of the damage we have done to the earth and provide a bit of healing for it and ourselves, while at the very same time, providing a home life that is richer in heart, soul, history, and hope for the future. If it is true that peace begins at home, as I believe it does, this change might even reach beyond the walls of our family homes.

In my home — and I'm quite sure in yours, too — there is no shortage of children's artwork. Also in my home, there is no shortage of bags, hats, sweaters, and other things that require hanging. This project is a great way to do something special with all that artwork we love, while also creating a place to hang all the many things that go along with family life at home. It's a little bit of art and function together in one versatile piece that your little ones — and you — will love.

Pattern Details
Intermediate
A day project
Suitable for little hands
Finished size: 24 1/2" x 12" x 1"

Use What You Have
This project calls for a piece of hardwood. Found wood, scrap wood, or salvaged wood is perfect for this project. The wood panel can be any size you desire. A smooth surface that will hold paint and glue well is the only essential. The panel should be at least 1/2" in thickness to accommodate the screws.

Materials
Wood panel: 1 found, scrap, repurposed, or salvaged panel of wood in any size
3-6 hooks or knobs depending on the size of your wood panel
Sandpaper
1 quart of water-based paint
Paintbrush
Ribbon or embroidered trim, the length of your wood panel
Children's artwork
Decoupage glue
Paintbrush for glue
Hot glue or any other kind of heavy-duty glue
Self-leveling saw tooth hangers and nails (for hanging the finished rack)
Screwdriver
Hammer

1. Prepare Materials

Gather all materials and cut the wood to the desired size. If necessary, use sandpaper to even out any rough spots.

2. Decorate Wood Panel

Paint the entire piece of wood — front, back, and all sides. Let the paint dry. Apply a second coat, if desired.

Determine the placement of the artwork, ribbon, and hooks by using the size of the artwork as a guide. Lay the artwork on the panel, and then measure and mark a straight line where you want to place the ribbon that will separate the art and the hooks.

Adjust the artwork on the board as desired, cutting the artwork as needed. Once you've decided on the layout of the artwork, begin to apply the artwork to the panel. With a paintbrush, apply a thin layer of glue to the back of the art. Place it on the panel, and smooth out any wrinkles. Repeat this process for each piece of artwork until the top portion of the panel is covered from the pencil line to the top of the board and across. Apply one final layer of glue over the entire top half of the panel. Let the glue dry.

3. Attach Ribbon

Place the ribbon over the pencil mark, covering the edges of the artwork. Wrap the ribbon around the edges of the wood panel about 1/2" onto the back. Attach by adhering glue to the backside, and placing ribbon in place firmly. Let the glue dry.

4. Finish Art and Hooks Rack

Turn the board over so the back is facing up. Position hangers where desired, and attach them with nails. On the front of the board, arrange the hooks and then use a pencil to mark their placement. Screw the hooks to the board as marked.

Hang your rack on a wall, being sure to secure it safely in a stud or with sheetrock screws.

Earthy Tip
Instead of using traditional commercial paint products, search out a green option. Milk Paint is an environmentally safe and nontoxic alternative to common acrylic or latex paints. Made the old-fashioned way with crushed limestone, this natural paint is an inexpensive, durable, and safe option. Milk Paint also has more variation in color, lending itself well to do-it-yourself projects like this one.

Thanks to Amanda Blake Soule and the good folks at Trumpeter Publishing for sharing this project with us.

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Handmade Kids Series on The Storque