DDIY (don't do it yourself)

I originally found this DIY on Pinterest and couldn't wait to tackle the project, but after 2 Ikea trips, 3 visits to the Home Depot, and five hours of staining and sanding.. I came to the conclusion that I might just buy em next time. It doesn't help that I was an idiot and didn't catch the "untreated wood". After trying to stain some half plastic Ikea shelves, and wondering why they weren't getting any darker, it finally hit me. So this post my dears, will be what not to do when handcrafting your own shelves.
1: As I mentioned earlier, don't buy the ikea shelves.. or spend 3 hours wandering Ikea while breathing in that swedish meatball aroma (place is a time suck I tell ya).
2: If you want a good stain, I would suggest investing in a high quality one. I purchased mine at Four Chairs.
3: Buy a top coat for the stain, polishes that baby right off.
4: Don't take your old clothes to DI just yet, I went through about 4 old T-shirts for the staining process.
5: Purchase a lot of sand paper, if you're going for the distressed look that is.
6: When you buy your wood from the hardware store (I got pine), make sure you measure it EXACTLY in line with the brackets.
7: Don't do this project during the dead of winter like I did, or bundle up in five coats to slave away in the freezing garage.... like I did.
8: Don't expect to finish this project in a day, beauty takes time my friends.. along with the 8 hours it takes for the stain to dry.
9: Find a man and a drill to help hang them up.
10: Better yet, find a man to do the whole project.

So there you have it kids. Just a couple of shelves... on kinnnd of a negative note (sorry). They will be worth it, promise. Now I just need to figure out what to dress them with.. I'm all ears for suggestions!