How to Make a Wood Shim Crate......When You Don't Own Any Power Tools

We don't own any power tools other than an electric drill and a Mouse sander. My husband doesn't see a need for anything more. I wanted to make some "wood crates" for storage in our office and had to come up with a way to do it without a power saw.  I ended up using a couple packages of wood shims, two sturdy baby wipes boxes, hot glue, and some paint.


Basically, I measured and cut the wood shims with a hack saw (well I made my husband cut), and hot glued them to the boxes. I started with the corners and evenly spaced the rest of the shims in between. I applied a coat of brown spray paint to the exterior, making sure to get in the crevices to cover any exposed printing on the boxes. After drying, I painted the individual shims in aqua, peach, coral, and cream acrylic. I distressed the shims with my sander, and wiped walnut color stain on the bare spots to give the wood an aged look.

I will say, after cutting seventy-two wood shims with a hack saw, my husband may just be ready to buy a table saw.  Maybe I should come up with a few more projects that require him to cut wood by hand, hee hee.

What do you think?  In what ways have you been resourceful when you did not own the necessary tools and supplies?