Make It! Merit Badge, Intermediate Level

The adorable, always humorous MBA Jane is my way of honoring our Sisterhood Merit Badge program, now with 5,929 dues-paying members who have earned an amazing number of merit badges so far—8,474 total! Take it away, MBA Jane!!! MJ 

Wondering who I am? I’m Merit Badge Awardee Jane (MBA Jane for short). In my former life   

For this week’s Make It Easy/Make It! Intermediate Level Merit Badge, I decided to quit pinning amazing ideas and DIY crafts on Pinterest, and actually accomplish one. Or several.

In order to earn my Intermediate Level Badge, my little chickadees, I needed to make a piece of outdoor furniture. Seeing as how my garden is coming along at a beautiful rate and there’s nothing better than relaxing on the porch at sunset, a frosty beverage in hand, I was all about some outdoor furniture. (A girl can get tired of sitting on the steps, especially when that girl’s derriere is not as young as it used to be).

I cheerfully hopped on the Upcycling Bandwagon. Didn’t know there was such a wagon? Oh my, yes. Upcycling—recycling something into something else even more fabulous—is all the rage, and never let it be said that I’m not up to date in the newest trends; I have leopard-print ballet flats to prove it.

A little treasure seeking in my own attic brought out the perfect materials to make the cutest bench you ever did see: an old twin headboard and side rails. Are you following me, farmgirls? Headboard for the backboard, so to speak. Rails to make the bench, and a fresh coat of homemade chalk paint. I even had plans for the extra rail (after all, I only needed one section to make the bench): either a table to match (on which to place my frosty beverage) or a homemade swing (but where will I put my frosty beverage in that case)? Table it is.

I sawed a bit, measured a lot, sanded some, and nailed the rest. Along the way, I got distracted by other ideas for upcycled DIY outdoor (or indoor) furniture. You wouldn’t believe the creativity of our fellow thrifty gals out there in cyber space! A few more ideas now taking up real estate in my noggin:

  • another bench idea, but this one made from 2-3 kitchen chairs, connected
  • window seats made from cabinets
  • nightstands out of stacked dresser drawers
  • fire pits made from wine barrels
  • tables and chairs made from pallets
  • a porch swing made out of an old crib
  • suitcases into end tables
  • small entertainment centers transformed into children’s play kitchens
  • take an old dresser drawer, add legs and a hinged and upholstered top, and you have an instant ottoman/footstool (with storage)
  • ladders into bookshelves, or shelves for hanging bathroom towels on
  • shutters turned into a bookcase
  • a dresser becomes a doggy or kitty (or pot-bellied piggy) bed
  • an overturned table becomes a bed, perfect for porch napping (you can buy memory foam cut to fit for your mattress)
  • an aviary from an old television cabinet
  • old microwave carts or small bookshelves become an outdoor bar station

You name it; some creative gal out there has done it! It might just be me … or you.

  1. Winnie Nielsen says:

    I love all of these ideas. Somehow, when I look at old stuff, I cannot “see” what it might become or how to make it happen. Not to mention my carpentry skills are sitting at zero aside from putting a nail in the wall to hang a picture. I have been around people, like yourself, that see dozens of possibilities to recycle or up cycle. They create the coolest porches and gardens too. So, maybe there should be a badge for real beginners with a focus on visioning? Or perhaps I need to leave that to those who have it and do another badge!

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