In the "olden days", as my children so lovingly refer to the time when I was younger than they are, I had the privilege and good fortune to be in one of my high school's first woodworking classes that allowed girls. The one other female and I were accepted by our male counterparts with more ease than the teacher. However, it was soon realized that our attention to detail, ability to read patterns and compile material lists overshadowed other areas. My final project, an oak coffee table of my own design received an A+ and is still very much in use.

dumpor instagram look back at that class as a stepping stone that encouraged me to pursue other areas of creativity. Occasionally, I will still doodle the design for a project, spend a day or so at the local hardware store with my list, dust off the saw horses and create!

Finding patterns for quick and easy projects to the hard and time-consuming ones can be a challenge in itself. It was with some excitement and trepidation that I opened the pages of not one, but two books that have been written by Stevie Henderson and Mark Baldwin.

For starters, one does not conjure up images of sleek furniture and accessories when one sees a heading that contains 2 X 4's. Intrigued and fascinated with the thought that a wall stud could actually become something that was useful and ecstatically pleasing, I did a preliminary peruse. By the time I had glanced through both books, I was convinced that they needed to come home with me!

2 x 4 Projects for the Outdoors and Great 2 x 4 Accessories for Your Home both offer straight forward, easy instructions combined with diagrams, material and tool lists and patterns to complete the projects offered. You will be impressed with the ease of which you can make a wall ledge to show off your collectibles or an ottoman to rest your feet on. You can add hurricane lamps, a barbecue table or a porch swing to your outdoor living space.

There are enough accessory projects here to allow the gung-ho woodworkers to put finished projects throughout the entire house. Henderson begins her books with a chapter on basic tools, techniques, materials, and safety. The projects shown are in color and have the step-by-step instructions, clear illustrations, and excellent line drawings that even the newest woodworker could want.