Ladder Bookcase

July 10, 2022July 29, 2025 Lutin

This project is about how to build a ladder bookcase. This bookcase has less room because its sides slope in towards the top but fit well into small spaces and is very sturdy, a perfect place for books! This design was inspired by a model designed by Vico Magistretti.

Please note, this material is provided for informational purposes only and is not a guide on how to create the designs. Please read our disclaimer.

Supplies required to build a DIY Ladder bookcase — All the Supplies Laid Out

First, you get all the materials:

- 2 clamps
- a bottle of wood glue
- 5 48 X 3.5 X .5 inch wood planks (we used reclaimed wood)
- 4 36 X 5/8 inch Oak Dowel Rods
- 4 48X 2 X 3/4 inch cheery wooden boards
- a saw
- sandpaper (Course and fine grit)
- drill
- 3/4 inch bit

4 MDF Wood Board 6x8x.0785
Wood Stapler
No Screws or nails!

Measuring for a DIY ladder bookcase — Measuring carefully

Now you can begin. First, on the 48X 2 X 3/4 inch cherry beam make a straight line one inch from the top. Line this up with the edge of the circular saw.

Cutting wood for a DIY ladder bookcase — Cutting carefully

Next, you cut a twenty-degree angle so that the tip touches the corner.

Using Japanese saw to build for a DIY ladder bookcase — Our Japanese saw in good use

Then cute off the excess without impacting the angle.

Measuring agin for building a DIY ladder bookcase — Measuring again

Then, you make dots 11 inches apart in the center of the 48X 2 X 3/4 inch cherry beams.

Clamping wood to align drilling for a DIY ladder bookcase — Clamping wood to align drilling

Next, you clamp both pieces of wood together, to make drilling more accurate.

Drilling holes for a DIY wooden ladder bookcase — Drilling carefully

Then, you drill a hole on all the dots while keeping the wood clamped together.

All the holes align for our DIY wooden ladder bookcase — All the holes align!

Put them aside to use later.

Planning out next steps for a a DIY wooden ladder bookcase — Planning out the next steps

Then, mark 3 of the 48 by 3.5 by 0.5-inch wooden boards at 22 inches.

Measuring the support for a a DIY wooden ladder bookcase — Measuring the support

Measure a 36 X 5/8 inch pole and mark it at fifteen inches.

Cutting the support for a a DIY wooden ladder bookcase — Cutting the support poles

Then, cut the pole at your mark 9 times. if the pole is too wide for your hole, drill a bigger hole or sand the wood. If it is too thin, then wedge some pieces of wood between the pole and the hole.

Partially asembled DIY wooden ladder bookcase — Almost assembled!

Next, stick the poles in the holes that you drilled so that it looks like this. After that, put the other two wood beams on the other side as well. Make sure not to alternate.

Measuring the shelves for the DIY wooden ladder bookcase — Measuring the shelves

Mark the other three 48 X 3.5 X 0.5 inch boards at 30 inches each.

Cutting the shelves for the DIY wooden ladder bookcase — Clamping the shelves for cutting

Finally, clamp all three of the boards together. Then, cut them at 30 inches while keeping them clamped, and remember to use both sides for shelves.

Cutting the shelves for a DIY wooden ladder bookcase — Cutting the shelves

Clamp the shelves together while sawing to make it much easier.

Finished DIY wooden ladder bookcase — Finished!

Now you have a amazing ladder bookcase! The finished shelves was quickly put into use for storing our large StarTrek and RPG book collection.

Happy Creating!

Monster: Lin the Dragon

January 10, 2022July 29, 2025 Lutin

steampunk, monster, woodcraft — Lin the Dragon

Born from one of our favorite bushes and a failed costume, Lin the dragon was our most complex monster at that time. Lin is made from wood from our own garden, making her unique.

Lin has posable legs, tail and wings. The legs can barely support her so we decided to hang her from the ceiling to watch over us as we craft.

Close up of wooden wing — Close up of a wing joint

The wings are from a dragon costume we were building that proved to be too heavy. The tail is made by repeatedly cutting the log and threading a steal wire through them to secure it.

Happy crafting!

Monster: Hummingbird

November 10, 2021July 29, 2025 Lutin

This monster was made from a branch too weak to be used for other projects. We decided to make it into a hummingbird because it already had a long beak, and the body was already shaped like a bird. After lots of trimming, sanding, and bees wax, we added felt and wire wings.

Hung from the ceiling, the hummingbird monster comes to life.

Wooden Monster, Kid-made, bird

Happy Creating!

Monster: Anteater

February 15, 2021July 29, 2025 Lutin

We call this monster the Anteater. The Anteater monster was a wonderful branch that was too split to make a good wand or use in other projects. After we stabilized the splitting and cut out all the rotted wood, we sanded her and coated her heavily in bees wax.

At first we thought of mounting Anteater on the wall as if she was a trophy, but then the sisters team thought of having her appear to climb out of the wall. We then used a picture frame we were working on and created a fake window using the picture frame, paint, and plexiglass for her to climb out of. With a window as a mount, she made a great addition to our living room.

Wooden Monster on a table

Happy Creating!

DIY Ukulele

May 2, 2020July 29, 2025 Lutin

Inspired by our trips to Hawaii, the sisters team decided to make their own working DIY ukulele. We ended up making a whole lot of them because it is a good way to practice some woodworking skills. We advise using wood that isn’t to hard for the sides, because that makes drilling the center hole a lot easier.

We are missing some photos between the required supplies and the final clamping.

DIY Ukulele- clamping the front and back — Clamping the front and back together

After lots of cutting and drilling, we clamped the front and back together. We used a big drill bit to drill the center hole after measuring for the right spot. Make sure that you don’t put two keyholes directly on top of each other, leave room for the strings to go down.

We put the keys in and glued the bridge on. We double-checked out measurements a lot so the strings would all align. We also made sure to sand it thoroughly to get off all of the splinters.

The keys and bridge came from a set ordered online. We glued it securely to the body with wood glue.

Here is an indestructible DIY ukulele capable of fending off a troll. Made from poplar and bound together with the magic of the ages, its music will impress even fairies.

Happy Creating!

Color Splash Collection

May 2, 2020July 29, 2025 Lutin

Embracing color and elegance, our Color Splash necklaces will bring joy to those who wear them.

Wooden Jewelry, Necklaces, Color Splash — Color Splash Collection

Our collection of Color Splash necklaces are made from poplar wood and painted with acrylic paint. They are on a silver chain and use silver wire as a bail.

This necklace is called Ocean Color.

This necklace is called Midday Sun.

Happy Creating!

Puzzle Box: Dovetail

May 1, 2020July 29, 2025 Lutin

This puzzle box was inspired by Roy Underhill’s Woodwright Shop. Based on an early American grease pot design, it is crafted out of poplar. It measures 8 inches by 3 inches, just big enough to hide special jewels or a secret treasure.

Handcraft Wooden Puzzle box DYI — Puzzle Box

The clean dovetail is essential to making this puzzle box work. Ideally, you want to use a harder wood than you used for the box.

Starting a dovetail for a puzzle box — Measuring a dovetail

Use a chisel to measure the width of a dovetail. Cut two sets of parallel lines and carefully remove the outer edges, then cut it off the wooden beam. To help draw the parallel lines, we used a marking gauge. This also made sure that all of the dovetails we made are the same size.

DIY wooden puzzel box — Cutting the lid and lock.

Make use to secure the wood and cut very slowly to get a clean cut. If using a Japanese saw let the weight of the saw do the cutting, instead of using lots of force.

DIY wodden puzzle box — Drill a hole after cutting off the lid

We tried drilling the hole before cutting and found out the pieces did not align tightly. Even a thin blade takes a lot of material from a piece of wood.

Remember to carve out the dovetail before cutting the lid and lock. Be prepared to make mistakes- that is all part of the process. For the locking slider make sure it is angled to secure the lid. We made that mistake more than once, so we used the wood that we made mistakes on for other projects.

To make the dovetail pop, we typically use a darker stain. To make it harder to unlock, you can paint the whole piece to hide the locking mechanism. We also made a small indent on the bottom of the box so that the bolt doesn’t stick out.

Happy Creating!

Shape Shifting Toy Robots

May 1, 2020July 29, 2025 Lutin

When the sisters team discovered Transformer comics (go WindBlade!) they wanted a whole city of Transformers to play with. While that was way too expensive, they could build their own shape-shifting toy robots out of wood.

Supplies for a hand crafted DIY robot that transforms — Getting Started

Inspired wooden dolls, we settled on a design with rubber bands attaching the arms and head to the body and a bolt to attached the legs enabling the robot to shift forms.

Making DIY wooden transfromjng robots — Drilling to holes

First we cut and drilled all the wood based on a working design.

Assembling a hand crafted DIY robot that transforms — Assembling Begins!

We used Lego wheels for the robots that transformed into cars for easy attaching.

Fitting rubberband a hand crafted DIY robot that transforms — Fitting the rubber bands

Attaching the rubber bands proved difficult. We used a jewelry tool to thread the rubber bands through the holes in the wood (many broke in the process).

A few more adjustments, including sanding the edges and widening holes.

A hand crafted DIY robot that transforms — The robot is complete!

By using springs in the legs, the toy robot can hold a standing position.

DIY wooden transfroming robots — The assembly line

After we perfect a design, it was just a matter of creating a assembly line to crank out droids! We did some that turned into cars, some that turned into bugs, and some that turned in to other forms!

The robots in alt form. For the ones with wings we cut two wing shapes out of a thin sheet of plastic and attached them together.

The robots transformed!

Happy Creating!

Our Apothecary Garden

May 1, 2020July 29, 2025 Lutin

Severus Snape and Professor Sprout are two of our favorite characters in Harry Potter, and their story inspired the sister team to begin exploring potion making and herbology.

From our hidden garden in the city, the HipMonsters sister team will bring you tips on growing an herb garden in a city, how best to preserve and prepare your herbs, and how to have fun!

We started our herb garden by clearing and preparing several patches in our yard that were suitable for growing herbs. We ended up with two beds that received full midday sun and others that were in the shade most of the day during summer. Our yard is really old, so to prepare the beds we dug down 24 inches and churned in lost of fresh dirt. All of the beds had good drainage.

A herb garden — The sunniest bed after planting

After the beds were done, we observed how much sun they received and how the water drained. Using this information, we researched the best herbs for each bed focusing on herbs that were well-suited for San Francisco’s climate. Here is a good article to start your research.

Here is a list of some of the herbs that worked best:

Thyme
Yerba Buena
Rosemary
Sage
Oregano
Tarragon
Red Veined Sorrel
Chives
Basil
Parsley
Onions
Wild Garlic
Roses
Borage
Lavender
- English
- Spanish
Mint
- Spearmint
- Mojito
- Peppermint

Most of our yard has is dedicated to native plants or flowers that are good for bees. This gives us flowers nearly year round. The credit for most of the planting is the prior owner who took great care to attract bees and birds. We have tried to follow in her footsteps and have several bumble bee nests throughout our yard as well as lots of honey bees from neighboring hives.

Many of the flowers are perfect for drying but most are not good in flower arrangement because they die too quickly once cut. Here is a great article on the types of flowers in our yard, and here are two posts about specific flowers in our yard: this post is about hummingbirds and bees, and this post is about cinaria flowers. Even though most of the flowers are native, we still need to care or them and fertilize the beds a few times a year using liquid kelp. The most important thing is to never rip up the flowers after they die. We leave them to assure the seeds will spread for next year’s crop. This does look a little unkept, but the next spring will make up for it.

And now our Harry Potter fandom kicks in. Given our growing collection of herbs and dried flowers, we decided to make to our own apothecary cabinet hidden deep in our basement!

mortar and pestle grinding Herbs — Our well-used mortar and pestle

From our store we craft little bags and jars filled with ground up herbs and flowers as presents.

Bottles of Herbs and Flowers — Herbs ready for cooking

We also bottle up our best dried herbs to be used in our cooking and potion-making!

Happy creating!

Wooden Monster: Allie

May 1, 2020July 29, 2025 Lutin

The HipMonsters team does not like trees going to waste, so whenever we stumble upon a piece of wood too rotten or misshapen to be used for our projects, we create a wooden monster! We try to let the original shape of the wood inspire the final result. This pieces of wood was split like a giant mouth, so we decided to make it into an aligator.

Born from a dead branch of a juniper bush, this monster is built to protect a child’s room. It is very possessive and will only allow one monster in the room at a time. Perfect for making sure human children have a restful nighttime sleep.

Wooden Monster, kid-made, front view — Allie from the front.

We made Allie’s eyes out of two Styrofoam balls and drew in her pupils with sharpie.

Wooden monster kid-made- rearview — Allie from the rear.

Allie was one of our first monsters and is at the front of our house every Halloween!

Happy Creating!