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    Home » DIY

    Woodshop Diaries Best of 2017 {and plans for 2018}

    January 1, 2018 by Shara, Woodshop Diaries

    Is anyone else ready to wave goodbye to 2017 and bring in a new year and try this thing all over?  Or is it just me?  I feel exhausted haha.

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    My 2017 (much like most of yours, I’m sure) has been full of lots of ups….and lots of downs–both in blog life and in real life.

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    I feel like this year, I’ve had so much going on outside of “blog world,” that I kind of started to separate the real world and the blog world and distanced myself a little from my readers (that’s YOU!).  So if you noticed that as the year went on, I became a little less sarcastic and a little less funny or “real” with you, it’s because I felt a little disconnected.  And even if you didn’t notice, I did.  Whoops.

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    So as we start with 2018, I vow to do my best to be myself again and bring back some of the humor and the sarcasm and the “real life.” I also vow to start doing more videos, trying to share some woodworking tips and tricks, and do more shop related projects–because that’s what many of you have said you wanted.  So, if you’ve got something you’d like to see or learn, shoot me an email 🙂  Because my idea tank is running low haha.

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    Anyway…back to 2017.  My 2017 brought about several difficult decisions.  I decided to leave my good paying job without another one lined up.  It was scary, but it was time to move on.  Then, I decided a month later to take a job closer to home but making less money than before, but that I enjoyed more.  It’s been a transition for both Danny and I.  We also decided to put what we thought was our forever home on the market this fall due to some circumstances beyond our control.

    .

    As far as the blog world goes, this last summer I also decided to attend my first blogging conference despite my heavy feelings of inadequacy.  I took on my first sponsored posts, and had the opportunity to join some blogger contributor teams.   I also took the leap and started a YouTube Channel and made my first tutorial videos.  (Lucy’s dog house video was by far the favorite.)

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    So it’s been somewhat of a wild emotional roller coaster ride this year.  I’m hoping next year may be a little more….stable?? Haha.

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    With all the ups and downs, though, this past year has been a productive one with lots of projects and builds.  I posted over 50 building projects (not including sewing or simple DIY projects)!  That doesn’t include the projects I built, but didn’t post about here.  I would have never thought that was possible!

    .

    So to sum up the best and worst of Woodshop Diaries in 2017, of those more than 50 builds, here are the top five most popular.  Are any of these your favorites??

    DIY Faux Brick Fireplace

    How to DIY a Faux Brick Fireplace and you'll never believe how easy it is!!

    DIY Ballard Designs Knock Off Pantry Cabinet

    DIY Ballard Designs Knock Off Pantry Cabinet

    DIY Storage Chest

    How to Build a Simple DIY storage chest for toys, blankets, and keepsakes

    DIY Bar Cart from a Single Board

    How to Build a DIY Bar Cart from One Board

    DIY Faux Drawer Dresser

    How to build a DIY Fake Drawer Apothecary Cabinet

    Even though these were the “fan favorites,” my personal favorites were a little different.  Here is a quick look at what MY top six favorites were:

    DIY Pegboard Cabinet

    How to build a Mid Century Modern Pegboard Cabinet

    DIY Modern Dog House

    How to Build a Modern DIY Dog House

    DIY Personalized Lazy Susan

    How to make a Personalized DIY Lazy Susan

    DIY Upholstered Couch

    How to upholster a DIY couch--free building plans and upholstery tutorial

    DIY Herringbone Barn Wood Wall

    How to install herringbone pattern barn wood wall to create beautiful accent wall.

    DIY Built in Mudroom

    Before and After: DIY Mudroom Built Ins

    And the five least popular posts??  Just for kicks and giggles, here they are:

    DIY Modern Christmas Wreath

    How to to make a DIY Modern Christmas Wreath with macrame hoop and a few floral stems--so easy and cheap and can be changed up for the seasons

    DIY Business Card Holder

    Scrap wood business card holder shaped like a house! Perfect for realtor, interior designer, contractor, etc. How cute are these?

    DIY Mid Century Dresser

    How to build a Mid Century Modern Dresser with Rounded Leg Base

    DIY Scrap Wood Carrying Caddy

    How to build a Scrap Wood Carrying Caddy for Cleaning Supplies

    DIY Pineapple Wooden Spoon

    How to carve a wooden pineapple spoon

    So after such a busy year of awesome (and some not so awesome) projects, what is next for 2018??  Well, wood shop organization is on the top of my list of things to do.  I plan to have (very soon) several tool cart builds and tips for shop organization and storage on the blog.

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    I also have lots of furniture builds planned (as usual) and plan to start doing some Facebook live videos (so if you aren’t following along on Facebook, do that now!), and making some more tutorial project videos for YouTube.  This will be the year of the videos (I hope ha!).  I’m really wanting to focus my attention this year on growth as a woodworker–learning new techniques and methods–and on working to provide my readers with good, helpful tips and content.  I’m wanting to focus my attention more on you guys and how I can help you!

    .

    So as we start 2018, I wish you all a happy new year, thank you for following along, and hope that we can both grow and learn together as we go into this new year 🙂

    Until next time, happy DIYing 🙂

    « DIY Barn Wood Picture Frame
    DIY Sawhorse Console Table »

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