DIY Tuesday [Sesame Street Light Post]

Even though the twins bday party was almost two year ago [wow] I still get asked about the Sesame Street Light Post my husband built. Today [with his help] I'd like to share with you how he made it. It's a DIY project that he made up as he went and the light post came out wonderfully. Here's how he did it.

Materials

1/2" Plywood [only about half of a sheet] 

Table Leg [or Staircase Leg]

Round Base [see photo]

Wood Glue

Hammer

Screws

Nails

Electric Saw

Electric Drill

1/2" Dowel

Drawer Knob

Crown Molding Pieces

Large Light Bulb [non-functional]

Green Spray Paint

White & Yellow Craft Paint

Brass Hooks

[These photos were taken on his cell phone camera]

Furniture Leg / Round Base

We are working from the base up. Start by cutting 4 identical pieces of plywood, we did 8.5" x 6.5". Once the for pieces are cut screw them together like this:

Hollow box

Next cut another piece of wood for the top of this box it should be 7" x 7".  Screw this top to the box and then drill a hole in the middle so you can mount the round base.

He then added wood glue [for good measure]

Attach round base the the top of the box

It comes with a screw in it

Your base should look like this:

From here he added the street sign arm to the furniture leg. He cut a piece of 1/2" thick dowel about 18" long.

You'll need to drill into the furniture leg about 1/2" deep and drill into the dowel about 3/4" deep. Apply wood glue to the end dowel [non drilled side] and adhere that end into the furniture leg 1/2 hole you just made. 

Once that is set you'll need to attach furniture leg to the base.  Drill a hole into the round base and add wood glue for good measure.

At this point your post should look like this.

Take the drawer knob and screw it into the 3/4" deep hole in the dowel

Once you've reached this step it should look like this:

almost finished!

He used a real light bulb at the top of the post even though its not going to be a working light post, it was the best way to achieve the light post look.

To attach the bulb you'll need to drill a 3/4" diameter hole into the top of the post.

Screw in the light bulb to check for fit, and adjust as needed

From here you'll need to measure and cut crown molding to fit along the bottom of the base of the light post. We do not have pictures of this step, but here is a tutorial & tips on how to measure and cut crown molding.

Once attached the crown molding is attached you'll need to paint, spray paint the entire post (light bulb removed). Until it has reached the color you'd like, for us it was about 6 coats.

For the street sign he free hand drew the shape with a pencil then used a jig saw and cut the street sign out of plywood. Then he painted the sign [with names] and hung it using the brass hangers [painted green].

Finished!

This was shared with

Ginger Snap Crafts