Home Tree Atlas

Drilling all of the holes did take some time, but in the end I was left with a unique decor piece. The beauty of this project, is that you can take any illustration and turn it into a unique art board.

TOOLS

• Drill

I used a corded drill, but you could use a battery one if you use a thinner piece of plywood.

• Different Sized Drill Bits

I ended up only using 3 sizes of normal drill bits to create the design

MATERIALS AND SUPPLIES

• Plywood

You need a sheet of plywood, cut to the size of your printed piece – in my case this is A1 size.

• Illustration

I wanted to create a design with a lion, so i searched for ‘Lion Illustration’ on google. Search for illustrations, since you want a simple black and white design to work with.

• Printed Piece

You can get really cheap large prints by going down to your local printers and asking for a Blueprint/Plotter/Engineer print – which will cost you about $5 for a huge A1 size black and white print.

• Tape

This is used to stick the print onto the plywood

• Fine grit sandpaper

• Polyurethane

I gave my final piece 2 coats of polyurethane to give it a slight gloss

OPTIONAL

• IKEA DIODER LED lights

To give the decor piece an added dimension at night

INSTRUCTIONS

STEP 1: Setting up the board

Once you have the plywood the same size as the illustration, glue the print to the plywood.

STEP 2: Start drilling

Clamp down your board so half of it hangs over the table.

I had three different sized drill bits in total, and started with the biggest drill bit first. I just went for it, and drilled where I thought best. The biggest drill bit was used on the thickest areas of the illustration. Then I moved onto the medium sized drill bit.

I left the most important and defining details (the eyes, mouth and nose) mostly for the smallest drill bit. This way I could get more details to show through.

STEP 3: Touching up

It took a while to drill all of the holes.

I took a paper clip to poke through all of the holes to get rid of any saw dust. Next, I took some fine grit sandpaper to clear of any tear in the plywood.

STEP 4: Adding a little gloss

Two coats of Polyurethane were added to give it a slight gloss and to seal the plywood.

OPTIONAL

I glued on a strip of LED lights, IKEA’s DIODER, to the back of the board. Now at night the board also acts as subtle ambient lighting in the room.

Email me at jacob@hometreeatlas.com with photos if you make your own, or if you have any questions.

For more DIY projects and ideas, visit The Mill @ Home Tree Atlas

Slot two pieces of plywood together, and you have a simple magazine stand.

TOOLS

• Jigsaw

To cut the plywood

• Drill

I ended up having to use a drill to make a hole for the jigsaw blade to fit through when cutting the slots

MATERIALS AND SUPPLIES

• Plywood

1 inch thick plywood

• Large sheet of paper and scissors

Used to draw the template

• A curved edge

This is to draw the curved top. I used the closest thing to me, which was a dustpan

• Paint

My magazine stand ended up painted white

INSTRUCTIONS

STEP 1: Creating the template

Take a magazine and draw around it. Add 1.5 cm to all sides. Then do the same above to create the top half.

STEP 2: Adding the curve

At the top left corner, I took my dustpan and traced over the curve. The curve extended up further a little more than the original dimensions.

STEP 3: Trace the template onto the plywood

Roll up some tape and stick it to the backside of the template, so that you can trace around it.

STEP 4: Cut out the boards

Cut the plywood using the jigsaw

STEP 5: Marking the the first slot

Measuring from the bottom of the board to the top on the longest side, I found the center. An inch width was penciled out across the whole board – this will be cut out so that the two boards can slot together.

Next measure the width of the board and mark the center.

STEP 6: Cutting out the slots

Use the jigsaw to cut the slots. When you reach the middle, you are going to need a drill and a drill bit the size of the blade of your jigsaw. This will allow you to make the sideways cut.

STEP 7: Repeat cutting the slot

You are going to need one board that has the slot cut out in the front, and one that has the slot cut out in the back. Both cuts meet in the middle of boards.

STEP 8: Trying it out

You can now slot the two pieces together, to create a semi rustic magazine stand.

STEP 9: The finishing touch

To create a more finished look, I went ahead and added 2 coats of white paint.

Email me at jacob@hometreeatlas.com with photos if you make your own, or if you have any questions.

For more DIY projects and ideas, visit The Mill @ Home Tree Atlas

This quick DIY was to practice working with plywood. I grouped together books that have inspired me to build and create, and made a quick display stand for them. The idea for this DIY came from here.

TOOLS

• Jigsaw or Circular Saw

Need a way to cut the plywood to size

MATERIALS AND SUPPLIES

• Plywood

The plywood I used was 1 inch thick. You can use thinner sheets and glue them together to match the width of the different books you’ll be displaying

• A Set of Books

The tops of the books are level – creating a more stylized look. So you need a set of books that you’d want to keep in this display stand.

• Ruler

• Wood Glue

• Clamps

• Polyurethane

This is what I used to finish the plywood, and give it a little gloss

INSTRUCTIONS

STEP 1: Measure your books

Line up your books so that they are all aligned at the top.

For the 2 end side panels, I wanted them to go high enough to hold up the books. The height I went with was 13cm.

The tallest book will have a 2cm piece of plywood for it’s base.

The top white book I am measuring in the picture below is 3.5cm shorter than the tallest book. I added 2cm and the plywood piece for this white book will be 5.5cm. Next I measured the difference between the other books and the tallest book – and added 2cm to each one. I needed to cut 2 pieces (which will be glued together) for the base of The Beach since it was a really thick book.

You now have a list of the heights for each piece. For the depth, I went with the widest book – which was 18cm, and cut all the pieces the same width.

STEP 2: Cut the plywood

I used a jigsaw to cut the plywood strips

STEP 3: Glue the pieces together

Glue the plywood pieces together using wood glue – making sure it is all aligned in the front and at the bottom.

STEP 4: Clamp the glued plywood

Once the pieces are glued together, you’re going to need to clamp them together to make sure you have a solid bond between the pieces of plywood. I used scrap pieces of plywood to hold up the overhanging part of the book stand. It takes 30 minutes for the glue to dry.

STEP 5: Sanding down the plywood and adding a coat of gloss

If your cuts, like mine, at not absolutely aligned, take a piece of fine grit sandpaper and sand the pieces of plywood level. Then apply 2 coats of polyurethane to finish off the plywood.

Email me at jacob@hometreeatlas.com with photos if you make your own, or if you have any questions.

For more DIY projects and ideas, visit The Mill @ Home Tree Atlas

Here is a way to display a group of your travel photos in one frame.

TOOLS

• Corded Drill

It can be done with a battery drill, but only with thinner plywood

• Saw Drill Bit

Choose a drill bit the size you want your photos to be. Mine was 3cm wide.

MATERIALS AND SUPPLIES

• Plywood

The plywood I used was 1 inch thick. I would recommend going for a thinner one – 1/2 an inch. I used a jigsaw to cut it, but you can have it cut when buying it at your local Home Depot.

• Tape Measure and Pencil

Needed these to create the grid for the holes

• IKEA RIBBA Frame

The 40 x 50cm one works well since it is deep enough to hold the plywood.

• Small Screws

I used these to hold the plywood in the frame

• Fine Grit Sandpaper

• A3 Sheet of Printed Photos

Since my holes would be 3cm wide, I had 20 5cm square photos printed at the printers on a single A3 sheet.

INSTRUCTIONS

STEP 1: The right size plywood

We need a sheet of plywood that fits into the frame. I took the backboard out of the frame, measured it, and cut the plywood to the same dimensions.

STEP 2: Cut scraps of paper

Next, cut sheets of paper to the size of the photos you will be using. This is to create the general layout of the grid. I have a 3cm hole cutter. So I cut out 5cm sheets of paper.

I played around with the layout to see what looked best, and how many I could fit.

STEP 3: Create the grid

You want to create an equal margin on all sides. Once you have these marked out you can divide the space between the lines by the number of photos you have.

I had a 3 inch margin (from the edge of the plywood to the centre of the photos) on all sides. I then divided the space in-between by the number of photos that were going to be in each row and column.

STEP 4: Drill the holes for the photos

Keep the drill as straight and as perpendicular to the plywood as possible

STEP 5: Sand down the rough edges

If you get a bit of tear while drilling the holes, you can use some fine grit sandpaper to sand it down.

STEP 6: Cut out the photos

I cut the photos out with some extra room around them, to make it easier to glue.

STEP 7: Mark out where the photos will be glued and glue the photos over the circles

I glued the photos to the backboard of the photo frame. I put the plywood with the holes over the backboard, and drew where the holes would be. The photos were then glued over the circles.

STEP 8: Fixing the plywood and backboard to the frame

Put the plywood into the frame, followed by the backboard with the photos. 4 tiny screws were screwed into the frame to keep the backboard and plywood in place.

Email me at jacob@hometreeatlas.com with photos if you make your own, or if you have any questions.

For more DIY projects and ideas, visit The Mill @ Home Tree Atlas