Dad's Day Handy Man Trio with The Ultimate

My dad is a really, really handy guy. Back when he was a kid he helped my builder grandfather build homes. Like from the ground up! Foundation, framing, plumbing, electrical. That experience as a kid has him with a wealth of knowledge the average DIY Joe would kill to have.

And since it's Father's Day very soon, I thought I'd peruse the hardware store for some quick items to help him keep his little hardware things together!

For this project you will need:

Aleene's The Ultimate

Miscellaneous boxes and hardware items

Miscellaneous things to glue on (we'll talk more about that below)

One of the first things I found was an awesome little utility knife combo set. I know this isn't going to get tons of play, but seeing as how this isn't the type of thing my dad would think to get for himself, it could make a welcome addition to his tools. AND just might turn out to be really handy to have in the future!

To adorn this little bad boy I got a package of 100 hex nuts. 

First place your nuts out along the width and height and count how many it will take to go across and down. Next multiply those two numbers. That's how many you need to cover completely. According to my math I should have had a good few left over.

Glue your first one down and allow to dry a few minutes so the glue is nice and sturdy.

Continue in your straight line and allow those to dry to be nice and sturdy.

With that first row holding down tight, you can start your pattern down the length of the box. Inevitably you're going to kind of move all of the nuts around as you work which is why having that first row steady is so important.

Finish up and allow to fully dry.

Now I know this pic seems to make no sense but I was so relieved that I had the EXACT NUMBER I needed to finish this thing. I just knew I was going to be running to town because I had apparently lost a few nuts (probably cat craft assistants in all honesty). The joy of not having to drive an hour into town was enough to warrant a celebratory picture!

When dry you'll find there are little strings left behind, much like when using a glue gun. Simply rub around and these strings will easily ball up and come away.

Next up I've got a really generic storage box and a piece of rubber safety mat with tread.

Measure and cut the tread mat to fit both the top and bottom of your box. The tread comes in a few sizes so purchase accordingly.

Add glue to the back and slap onto your box. This glue is awesome because it dries quickly, but you have plenty of wiggle room to finagle things to be just right!

Oh, and as it turns out, this mat was self adhesive and I put glue onto the backing paper. Wah, wah. I peeled it off and stuck it on properly only to have it fall off within a few hours. Boom, my glue came back into play and that sucker is going nowhere!

Not only is the tread attractive looking for a tool box, it's also functional. The rubber prevents the box from slipping and sliding and will stay put! Really convenient for big fingers digging out of tiny cubbies in these things!

Totally not going to lie, one of these magnetic parts holders is totally for me! Daddy gets one, I keep the other :) The idea is simple, print Instagram pics and use them in the bottom of the bowl. When stored on a cabinet, when not in use, it will look like a framed picture!

Magnetic holders come in lots of sizes and I got the smaller 4" ones for around $3 each.

Trace the bottom to make a template for the inside the dish and cut from paper.

Finagle until you have a good pattern to start cutting on your Instagram pics!

Trace your template onto your photo and carefully trim out.

Apply glue, taking special care with the edges.

And place inside of the dish.

And just in case you're wondering, my nephews decided to turn fake mustaches into fake unibrows :)

In all I spent around $20 which isn't bad. And I think that these little tools are going to come in really handy for dad this year!

I hope Dad loves his Father's Day this year. If you want to check more of my craftiness, head on over to my blog Dream a Little Bigger.