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Sunday, January 8, 2012

Not Yo Mama's Thread Holder!


I'm slowly knocking out projects for the new office!  It is taking me longer than I anticipated.  I almost always underestimate how much time I need, so that's no surprise to me.

Rather than wait ten years to show you the final reveal, I'll show you little bits and pieces along the way!  Mmkay?

Last month I found Grey Luster Girl's framed thread holder tutorial on pinterest and flipped out!  I knew I was going to try this as soon as I saw it, just with my own little spin! :)

I changed my mind about fifteen billion times before settling on my final color and style.  Originally I was going to frame it - then it was going to be all one color - then it was going to be yellow and white chevron heavily distressed.  See?  Creativity ADHD!

Once it was stained though I loved it so much I didn't want to cover it up!!  Rather than frame it, I decided to tape off a 1.5 inch border to create the illusion of a frame.

 1.  I bought this basic piece of wood at Lowes for 8 bucks.  It's something like 1.5 x 2.5 feet.       2.  Then I used my favorite stain, Minwax Dark Walnut, to stain it.  3.  Next I grabbed some ScotchBlue painter's tape and taped off the borders, then taped a chevron pattern (eyeballed it, of course).  4.  I painted over it with white then peeled the tape off!


Once the paint was dry I took my orbital sander to it and distressed the mess out of it!

Now for the tedious part - math. Blah! I placed some freezer paper on top so I could still see the pattern, but draw directly on the board (can you tell I'm obsessed with this stuff? I use it for everything!)

I figured out how wide and tall the work area was, then I spaced out thread to determine how many spools I could fit into a horizontal and vertical row.

For example, I could fit 9 spools on the bottom row.  I had 13 inches of space (remember, I'm not counting the border).  So 13 divided by 9 is approximately 1.4 inches. 

Doing the same math for the vertical row, I ended up with a grid that had 1.4 x 1.5 inch squares.  I just traced it right on the freezer paper, leaving a little space on each edge so the spool of thread would sit right inside the border, not on it.

I used a small drill bit to place pilot holes, removed the paper, then hammered in all the nails. 

I broke out in a sweat people! A SWEAT!

Now, it's hard to see in the photo, but the nails are actually in the shape of an "H". Look real hard, you'll see it!

 
I had this idea when I realized how few spools of thread I had.  It would take an eternity for me to fill up the entire board, so I thought I would make the nails an "H." 

Now my thread holder is a double piece of art - cool chevron pattern AND an initial!
*SQUEAL!*

 
I love the modern/industrial look with the white, wood, and metal nails!
 
The nails are 2 inches. I would have liked 3 inch nails, but I couldn't find any (I really didn't look hard).
 
Here you have a sneak peek at the desktop stained!  I didn't go with Dark Walnut on the desktop because the wood is intended to brighten up this dark room!
 
 
Rather than make more holes in the wall, I'm just leaning the board against the wall next to my sewing machine.

 
The whole project cost me $10!

It can hold up to 137 spools of thread - if for some reason I need more one day, I'll just add in more nails to make it a solid block rather than an "H."

I love it!!
 
**This post has been edited to add new photos taken with my awesome new camera**

Cheers!
Domestically SpeakingPhotobucketmommahenscoopPhotobucket Catch a Glimpse ButtonTransformation ThursdayHookingupwithHoHThe Shabby NestUndertheTableandDreaming36th Avenue504 Main

59 comments:

  1. i LOVE this and it just gave me an idea for my mom's bday!!!! thank you!!!!!!

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  2. Awesome! I love the idea and the look of it! Oh yes and the post title ;)

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  3. Awesome! I love that you take pictures of everything you make during the process of actually making it. I'm so bad when it comes to that :-/ I guess I'm pretty lazy. That thread holder looks amazing. Love the chevron!! Great job!

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  4. i LOVE it!!!! Seriously so cute!! :) And I'm TOTALLY with you on the crafting ADD - it's horrible!

    Christina @ christinasadventures.com

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  5. that is awesome! i'm getting ready to re-do my craft room and i've been wondering what to do with all my thread. i totally may "steal" this idea!!

    great job!! :)

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  6. Wow this looks so good! Totally pinning it so that when I get a sewing machine I can make something like it. Nice work!

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  7. I'm kind of loving the stained wood look lately and am so happy that you chose to do that! So so cute!

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  8. so so so cute!! i'd want to sew just to have that to hold my thread ;)

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  9. Love the chevron! What a cool idea for a thread holder- super cute!
    xo

    PS: Your craft room is looking divine! I am SO jealous since my space is just getting started and I left majority of my supplies with Kelli's cute space :( lol

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  10. Good tutorial, and I love this idea! Deb

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  11. I saw this over at Elizabeth & Co's link party and just had to come check it out. Love, love, LOVE it. Perfect timing for your great tute too since organizing my thread is on my master to do list. (How did you know?!?!)

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  12. This is fun and functional! I love the chevron pattern and the wonderful tutorial! Thanks so much for sharing!

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  13. You amaze me every week...I don't know how you do it!

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  14. What a neat idea! I love the chevron, it's so great!

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  15. ART? A R T????

    A
    R
    T
    ??

    yes, i believe you've gone to the museum level with this one. of course, it's for the "crapART" museum...but, still... it flippin' rocks.

    i even pinned it. wow.

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  16. That is such a cute idea! I would want it on my mantel where everyone could see it! Jenni

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  17. This is so getting pinned. I love this even more than the original version. I have a ton of spools shoved into a box so it would be great to have a way to organize them. I think I'll be making one of these. :)

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  18. I've already got this pinned. Such a cute idea Katie!

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  19. Love love love! :)

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  20. Great Idea! I LOVE how decorative it is yet its still very functional! Awesome job :)

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  21. Definitely worth the sweat! The "H" initial created by the nails is super clever!! Thanks for linking up to the 1st Project of the Year Party!

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  22. Whoa, that is way cool! Looked like a lot of work, but what a unique piece in the end! Artwork and practicality all rolled into one - love it :)

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  23. so I definitely commented on this already, but I still totally LOVE it!!

    I featured this on my blog today:

    http://christinasadventures.com/2012/01/sunday-features-55.html

    And I pinned it too!

    http://pinterest.com/christinasadven/20-below-features/

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  24. Katie! great job on your thread holder! very clever!
    gail

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  25. Really, really, really awesome...no seriously, really awesome. I don't even sew, but I want to and this thread holder may convince me to start... PUH-LEAZE come link up at my party-open till Monday night!

    http://kim-toomuchtimeonmyhands.blogspot.com/2012/01/get-schooled-saturday-6-and-e-book.html

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  26. that's awesome!! adding it my 2012 project list:-)

    thanks
    desiree

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  27. super cute .. going to have to copy that one, myself :)

    nice job

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  28. Wow, yours is amazing!! I totally had the same pin from grey luster girl and I made one similar to hers. I love how individual you made yours! AWESOME!

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  29. I love this.. VERY creative and neat idea.. FAB JOB..

    PS: I have a Valentine's LOVE CHALLENGE if you are interested in joining in.. http://www.theartsygirlconnection.com/2012/01/celebrate-loveloving-lil-ways-challenge.html Please stop in and check it out.. TY..

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  30. I don't sew, but what a great idea. Thanks for sharing at Wow last week.

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  31. I Love this so much I'm going to be featuring it on my blog.
    mymulberrytree.blogspot.com

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  32. COOL! and great wall color and green chair!!

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  33. This is awesome. I was just cleaning up my craft/sewing room and my thread is all a jumbled up mess in a sewing basket. This is great!!!
    Thanks for sharing!

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  34. Such a great project! I love the chevron pattern.

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  35. LOVE LOVE this!! Definitely going to pin this!! You did an amazing job! Love the chevron too!! Would love for you to link up to our Uncommonly Yours link party! ;)

    www.uncommondesignsonline.com

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  36. Katie, I am majorly inspired by the whole stain/paint/chevron combo. It is stunning. You have got my wheels turning girl. Just shared on my fb page. Great job!

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  37. fantastic - love love love the crisp chevron! well done girlie!

    c'mon over to play at our linky going on now - www.northerncottage.blogspot.com

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  38. love it! doing this THIS weekend...we have an extra board in the barn...and nails...and to think I was gonna spend good money on the flimsy one at walmart

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  39. Amazing! I saw this on Pinterest and I really really really need a thread storage solution... this is so perfect. Thanks for the inspiration!

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  40. LOVE it! Funny that I find something to replace the crappy one from Joann's (seriously, it's junk!) on a site called "Craptastic!"

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  41. Just please be careful using this in a home with kids! Great idea but still a board full of nails!

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  42. What a great idea and I pinned it to my future sewing room. We are full time rving right now but collecting all of my wants now.
    I found you while searching Pinterest. Glad I did. Great blog.
    I have a close friend who lives in Nashville.

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  43. Thanks Renee!! Good luck with your renovations!! It'll be so nice to have a customized sewing room!

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  44. ooo, I made one of these, but yours is much prettier.

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  45. I am in LOVE with this project!! I showed my husband and told him he needs to find me a nice piece of wood so I can do this! I will be making it smaller for now. Thanks for the tutorial!

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  46. I wish I'd seen this before I ordered my thread holder online. That's what I get for not thinking creatively. Nice work!

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  47. Thank you Meg! I bet you'll still make your thread holder look fabulous! I definitely had fun making this one - it's one of my favorite pieces in my craft room! So glad you stopped by!

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  48. I'm in love with Chevron right now and this is just too perfect!!! Love your {Spin} on it!

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  49. I took your idea and ran with it!! Thanks for the inspiration.
    http://youtu.be/ySHcX06UZ00

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  50. Thank you so much for sharing! I`ve been looking for a thing like this for a while now but it always seemed to complicated or too expensive.. Yours is just perfect, espescially the design - I love it :)
    I will definitely go to the store tomorrow so I can start immediately... Can`t wait to put it on my desk :)

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  51. I have seen this online before, I love the simple boarder. I used colorful duck tape on mine.

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  52. bahaha...Craptastic! I say that all the time...well I guess I used to before having kids, lol. I found this through pinterest and am enjoying all your posts! thanks for sharing.

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  53. Thanks Christi!! I've definitely gotten a few laughs over my blog name!! :)

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  54. Just made mine! Thanks for the awesome tutorial!! I love it!!

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    Replies
    1. You're welcome Andreon!! I hope you get as much use out of yours as I have mine!!

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  55. Just finished my first 2! I would love to show you photos!

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