How's that for entertainment?

Remember when I said I had fun things to share with you?  Well, I do.  I've been working really hard.  Blood, sweat and tears hard.  OK, maybe I'm exaggerating a little bit, but it was close a few times.

Anyway, did I ever mention that I decided to make all of my Christmas presents?  I started out really ambitious and came up with all my ideas one fine morning over coffee and breakfast at Tasi's with Ben in early October.  Emphasis on October.  We even got started that day by moseying over to The Candle Lab and customizing a few scented candles.  I was pretty proud of my new found non-procrastinating self.

I'll be honest with you.  My non-procrastinating self didn't last long.  As it often does, life happened and all of my ingenius gift ideas fell by the wayside only to be scooped back up in a panic after Ben's birthday when I realized only days remained before Christmas.

It was a busy busy busy couple of weeks trying to make up for lost time, but the results and the smiles on my loved ones faces were well worth the self-induced stress. 

I am going to share my gifts in a series of posts, beginning with one of the projects I was most excited about.  I promise I wasn't just excited because I got to use power tools.  OK, so it was partly because of the power tools, but also because it was my very own brain child and it turned out exactly as I had imagined.

Gift #1: Pallet Entertainment Center for my brother.

My brother just moved into his own apartment (complete with his very own flea circus - but that's another story) and has been taking all the hand me downs he can get to furnish it.  However, if there's one thing he doesn't lack, it's his entertainment accessories, and he's made some upgrades for his new place.  He braved the black friday rush and got the very last 46 inch flat screen TV for $300.  He is very proud.

I had planned from the beginning to make him something out of pallets.  First it was a wall display for his records which turned into a coffee table which ended up as an entertainment center.  I'll admit it.  Along with being a procrastinator, I am also not the best decision maker.  Just ask my college roommate how often she had to decide what I was having for dinner.  I'm not proud of it.  However, an entertainment center was the perfect fit for my brothers personality and interests. 

There it was, it was set.  I sketched out a basic design and my dad and I spent a day bonding in the garage over wood, paint, and power tools.

It was a huge success.  My brother loved his new toy holder.  You should have seen his face when he realized the biggest present in the room was for him.  It was like he was 5 again running down the stairs in his footy pajamas into a room full of perfectly wrapped boxes just waiting to be ripped open to expose their magical contents.

Want to know how I made it?  Stay tuned for a tutorial.