This project is what Elizabeth would call “finding crap on the curb and making something fabulous.” I found this mint green railing (from a crib? shelves?) in a pile of debris. Add galvanized wall pocket planters (on clearance at Jo-Ann for $1.50 each), daisy hooks (thanks, Kristi), spice rack ($3.50 at a thrift store), paper/pen bin (thanks, Jim), dowels and wire for hooks (Freecycle), and I’ve got a cheap craft organizing solution. A power strip and a salvaged bench vice (thanks, dad) attached to the rolling toolbox make it complete. Can’t wait to use it!
Supplies
Tools
1. If you can’t find hooks that will work with your railing, get some wire and make some yourself. Use pliers to bend into shape, then cut with wire cutters. I made 18 hooks.
2. Cut your scrap piece of wood into four 2- x 3-inch pieces, then drill a 7/16-inch hole at one end of each piece. These will hold the dowels.
3. Prime (one coat) and paint (two coats) the dowel holders.
4. Attach the dowel holders to the railing with wood screws. Drill two holes in the dowel holders, then drill matching holes in the railing.
5. Counter-sink the holes with a larger drill bit, then screw in 1-3/4-inch wood screws.
6. Attach the railing to the wall at the top and bottom with four long screws. Find a stud to hang them from or use molly bolts.
7. Cut your dowels so they stick out at least a half inch beyond the dowel holders. Slide ribbon and paper onto the dowels, then insert into the holders. Hang all your bins/pegs/etc. on the rack using the hooks you made. Fill with craft supplies.
8. Mount a power strip to the side of your workstation. Use screws or nails. Make a pencil-rubbing template of the back of the power strip on scrap paper first to determine where to place the nails/screws.
9. Attach the bench vice to the front left corner (if you’re right-handed) of your work surface using bolts, washers, and nuts.
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July 31, 2009 at 11:32 pm
AMAZING!!!!!!!!!
July 31, 2009 at 11:53 pm
OMG!! i NEED that!!!!!
August 1, 2009 at 5:40 am
Wow, you did such a fabulous job!
August 1, 2009 at 5:54 am
Ooohhh…I would LOVE something like this at my house!!!
August 1, 2009 at 8:30 am
I am seriously agog at the ingenuity of this project. PERFECT!
August 1, 2009 at 9:28 am
WOW! when i first clicked on your page, i assumed the picture was an “inspiration” photo from a magazine or website…i can’t believe YOU did this! how amazing and perfect!
-g
August 1, 2009 at 10:19 am
This is great! You are amazing!
August 1, 2009 at 11:37 am
oh my goooooooosh that is amazing!!!! ooh i want to make one so bad!
August 1, 2009 at 11:45 am
This is fabulous! Thank you for sharing this great, green idea!
August 1, 2009 at 2:57 pm
totally awesome ~ see new life in a found reject is a gift!
August 1, 2009 at 2:57 pm
BRILLIANT!!
August 1, 2009 at 4:14 pm
This is frickin’ AWESOME!!!
August 1, 2009 at 5:21 pm
I love this; we have some old fence railing with square balusters I can use :) and look, it’s the cute workstation below it
August 1, 2009 at 7:52 pm
Love, Love, Love it and can’t wait to try this one myself. Bravo!
August 1, 2009 at 10:05 pm
Hey lady! I hadn’t checked your site in a while. I LOVE this craft/tool station. I’m soooo going to roll with it for my new studio!!
August 1, 2009 at 10:55 pm
I LOVE this idea! Not only is it very functional…it is CUTE! Daisy Hooks…planter boxes…this is a genius idea! You are helping me to look at “junk” in a whole new way! I’m always trying to figure out what I can make from something else now!
August 1, 2009 at 11:23 pm
this is AMAZING!! I can’t believe you thought of this idea and made it!! Great job!!
August 2, 2009 at 6:18 am
Awesome. You are inspiring me to turn more trash to treasure!☺
August 2, 2009 at 3:07 pm
Wow..that is every woman’s dream come true..Men may drool over a gas grill but an organized space for a woman is more than just a cherry on top…Heaven…
August 2, 2009 at 3:18 pm
Just send it to me and no one gets hurt! I love this a lot
August 3, 2009 at 5:13 am
I HEART your blog!
August 3, 2009 at 10:35 am
Awesome! I really need one of these. Thanks for posting this. I saw it in Craft Magazine & had to stop by & take a look! Hmm, how can I con someone into making it for me…:)
August 3, 2009 at 1:10 pm
This is awesome…I think I sense a little butch woodworking project in my near future :-)
August 4, 2009 at 5:27 am
This and the dresser you fixed… Genius!!
August 4, 2009 at 6:17 am
This is amazing. I wish I have the patience to make this.
I love your blog and your projects. Keep up the good work
craftig.com said,
August 4, 2009 at 8:13 am
How to Make a Craft / Tool Station with a Wall Organizer…
Create a stylish organization unit using found and recycled materials with this tutorial from Craftynest….
August 4, 2009 at 8:52 am
That is amazing!
August 4, 2009 at 1:16 pm
What a great project! Love the creativity and organization. Always a great combo. Also letting everyone know I have a room makeover challenge going on over at my blog and would like as many people as possible to participate, to make it fun and interesting the limit is $200.00 for the room. Anyone interested come check it out.
August 4, 2009 at 3:29 pm
GENIUS!!!
August 4, 2009 at 5:00 pm
You have out done yourself once again! I can’t believe how GREAT that old dresser/new tool box looks (love the color & hardware)!…and I’m crazy about the craft organizer (and commentary – thanks for the shout out. : )
August 5, 2009 at 10:58 am
Wow! I LOVE this :) I am having my husband whip up one of these for me asap. He is a home builder and is always throwing extra railing out all the time. Fab idea.
xoxo Brandy
p.s I have a site called The LOVELY List. Would love to include you. Check it out and let me know.
August 7, 2009 at 9:46 am
LOVE the color. Gorgeous!
August 8, 2009 at 10:12 pm
I need this level of organization in my studio!
You just may have inspired me to do it myself:)
August 10, 2009 at 6:05 pm
Hi, It’ s fantastic !!! Here in Brazil, me and many friends were in shock !!!! Thanks for posting this…This is fabulous!..Congratullations !!!
August 10, 2009 at 7:49 pm
Wow, that’s awesome. You have to have real vision to see “crap on the curb” and come up with that. LOVE IT!!!
August 12, 2009 at 2:18 pm
Don’t you just love it when you can rescue something and turn it into something useful and for not much money! Oh wait, you just did that. Beautiful job!
August 12, 2009 at 2:47 pm
Wow, you are so creative, I love this!.
I would love to have the time to go through all my “crap” and make something similar. I’m going to find time!
Good on you!
Pru Dent.
August 19, 2009 at 4:04 pm
Love this! It’s a super (and super organised) crafty project!!
August 21, 2009 at 12:14 pm
This is brilliant! I love the ribbon organiser.
I have a very, very old, unwanted cot, that I didn’t know what to do with – I think I’m going to have a play :-D
August 22, 2009 at 3:25 am
AWESOME!!!!You done such a fantastic job ..What a great project! Love the creativity and organization and I’m crazy about the craft organizer….thanks.
—
Reenee
September 10, 2009 at 8:08 am
oh to be that organised!!
September 21, 2009 at 6:16 am
Thought I’d let you know that I’ve just linked this post on our most recent post about ribbon storage. Check it out at: threesimplegirls.blogspot.com Have a great day!
October 1, 2009 at 1:11 pm
LOVE it! and love the shabby chic look. so cute. isn’t getting organized the best!
-natalie
October 5, 2009 at 9:43 pm
This. Is. Awesome.
I’m in the process of setting up my own craft area. *Bookmarked!*
October 19, 2009 at 4:07 pm
I LOVE this project! I am opening my own studio soon and was looking for good ways to organize. Repurposing and recycling is a huge bonus!
November 19, 2009 at 2:16 am
so cool! I l.o.v.e it!
November 19, 2009 at 2:25 am
This is absolutely inspired! Adding it to my to-do list….
November 19, 2009 at 9:25 am
holy holy holy holy holy smokes.
November 19, 2009 at 4:42 pm
Love it, love it L-O-V-E I-T!!! This is my kind of project.
December 11, 2009 at 5:39 am
This is one of the best ideas ever! Especially as I have the slatted thingy (mine is part of a broken outdoor bench) in my garage right now waiting for inspiration. Thank you so much.
March 13, 2010 at 1:26 pm
I just found you site. I absolutely love this and you have inspired me. I even joined a local Freecycle, way cool!
August 24, 2010 at 2:40 pm
Hey!! great stuff here, and I absolutely love this craft station organizer!!!
I am just now starting up a blog – maybe you could stop by to check it out and maybe leave a comment :)
Thanks so much. Keep up the amazing work!
http://skinnyhound.etsy.com
http://www.skinnyhound.com
September 1, 2010 at 10:08 pm
Oh, how I love thee, let me count the ways… I’ve been looking for this tutorial for ages. I’ve finally found you! (again.) I’ve been saving this crib railing for months, endured crazy looks from husband and FIL, and now, to my surprise (using stumble) here it is. Ahhhhhhhhhhh, I breathe a sweet sigh of relief and tomorrow, I start sanding! Thank you, thank you! I’ll post a pic soon. <3
November 28, 2010 at 5:07 pm
I need to do that for my sewing room, I have all the supplies, just need to get to work now, thanks for the great idea
January 5, 2011 at 2:04 pm
I have had an old crib headboard lying around for 2 years, thinking I could find a way to reuse it ( it has a small dent that occurred when it was shipped to me, so the company sent me a new one ). I FINALLY can use it to make something useful now! Thanks so much for the inspiration! I’ll have to take pics when I get around to doing this.
May 3, 2011 at 5:20 pm
I’m going to get heavy into home improvement this summer. Do you have some suggestions for tool basics to get me started?
Pinterest Picks | Frugal Fun - Crafts for Kids - Dollar Store Mom said,
July 29, 2011 at 3:02 pm
[…] Turn an old crib railing into this incredible craft/tool organization center with Crafty Nest […]
July 31, 2011 at 10:36 pm
Oh my, I NEED that in my studio! I love the blog! I found you on stumbleupon.
I just started a new blog, check it out if you have a chance, I’m renovating my first house!
http://www.thehouseofbaker.com
<3
5 De-Cluttering Craft Projects For Your Dorm - Earth911.com said,
August 29, 2011 at 5:04 am
[…] repurposed organizer project, dreamed up by Craftynest blogger Monica Ewing, is durable enough to last you until your first […]
September 28, 2011 at 11:11 am
Absolutely fabulous! Will be keeping my eyes open for some great roadside gleaning for this one. ;o)
December 15, 2011 at 10:17 pm
Well, I was getting ready to sell my daughter’s crib…but now I’m going to tear it apart! This is genius!
January 5, 2012 at 2:12 pm
Love it Pinned it shared it! More things to put on my honey do list!
January 13, 2012 at 7:51 pm
This is FANTASTIC!
April 9, 2012 at 9:24 am
So clever! Thanks for sharing and the nice tutorial.
June 20, 2012 at 1:53 am
My brother recommended I might like this website. He
was entirely right. This post truly made my day.
You can not imagine simply how much time I had spent for this
info! Thanks!
July 8, 2012 at 10:58 am
I have *got* to make me one of these… it is fabulous
I’m hopefully moving soon so this is first on my to-do list for my new place
July 13, 2012 at 3:33 pm
I love this!!! Thanks for the post! I am now on the look out for broken crib railings… I think a trip to Ikea in their discounted misc. crap is in order!!!
December 6, 2012 at 4:54 pm
Hello,i just happened across your page, can you tell me what the baskets are on top? Where did you get them or did you make them?i have a baby bed that was given to me, but i don’t have any babies to put in it…i love the way you have your workstation..i so totally need this in my craft room..
January 21, 2013 at 8:08 pm
I can’t waig to make this for my laundry/craft room. Happy that I can use the dropside from my daughters crib instead of it going in the burn pile.
February 7, 2013 at 1:44 pm
Now that’s what I need! A true space saver too! Thanks for posting! Gonna be on the look-out for a crib to complete this project!
April 13, 2013 at 4:58 pm
damn and to think there was a bulk trash day here and I let the crib go without grabbing it. I could have made two of these. Just my luck…lol nice job.
April 15, 2013 at 8:48 pm
Love this!! I had an old crib in the shed, but now I won’t lol This is perfect for my art supplies to be organized. Thank you so much for the idea!