Last Post for a While

Hello, all!

I just wanted to say a quick couple of words.

First, I forgot to show you this awesome sign that I made my bestie for her "25th" birthday.

 If you know her, you know it fits her. Ironically, we don't have a picture together, however I will provide you with this. This is some of our/her friends that attended her birthday at the beginning of August. You can see me on the very left with that weird look on my face, and her on the right with an equally weird look. We are cut from the same...however the saying goes. We were meant to be together is what I'm trying to say.





Anyway, I forgot to share her birthday present with all of you! Happy "25th" to you Lexi! I"m glad you enjoy your gift as much as I enjoyed making it for you <3

So my second thing I wanted to say is tomorrow, I go back to school. I'm very grateful to have finished as much as I did in a short summer of 4 months. I am also very thankful that Eric let me take over half of his garage, the whole house and a lot of time making our house what it is. I will try to work on new things as things settle down, but I can't make any promises as school always comes first. I will tell you that I'm planning on making the following items: end table that will fit the couch, a console, at least 2 night stands, and a dresser. I also plan on working on and finishing (who knows when I'll have the time): my master bedroom and the bathroom. I have big plans for both of these rooms, but I can't do anything to them until I paint them! I'm looking for a nice pale green for my room and a pale yellow for the bathroom. If I update/buy/build anything, I promise I'll blog about it!!

A special thanks to all of my friends, family, supporters, blog readers and everyone else! Feel free to drop me a line, email, or comment if you have any questions about anything I've covered in this blog or future blogs.

Until next time,
Sarah

Reclaimed Wood Headboard

This project was probably my most favorite so far. It was super easy to build and so much fun to stain!! I got the plans here. Ana provides dimensions for all bed sizes. I built myself the queen size for my master bedroom. Instead of getting (1) 1x8x16, I got (3) 1x6x5. For this particular size, the panels across measure to 5 foot. I also altered the height since my bed is placed under a window and the bottom of it measures 54 inches from the floor. I ended up cutting the legs to 50 inches. With the top pieces, it just fits under the window. I also added a 2x4 support board to the back of the panel to make sure the boards are flush. I had a hard time finding straight pieces of wood for this project, but I managed. The entire thing is put together with liquid nails glue and finishing nails, except for the 2x4 on top and back. For those, I used some 1-3/4 inch woodworking screws. I'll show you the progress pictures up to when I stain it. I have something homemade for that!

My nice pile of pine! $35.

Making progress!

Everything but the framing on the top and bottom.

So I was researching about a week ago on homemade wood stain. I came across this blog post. I stopped by Lowes on the way home and picked up a package of extra fine 00000 grade steel wool. Threw 2 pads in a quart sized mason jar and covered it with what little vinegar I had left and topped it off with about 1/4 of a cup of apple cider vinegar. I let it sit for 4 days, making sure the iron oxide gas could escape without blowing the top off the bottle. Everyday, I tightened the lid and shook it, then loosened the lid for the gas bubbles to be released. Before I used my homemade stain, I brewed some extra strength black tea and rubbed it onto the wood with an old sock. Please be sure to wear gloves to apply!! I'm not sure if it helped, but the wood grain really popped after it dried. I strained some of the liquid through a coffee filter so any leftover scraps of the steel wool wouldn't get into what I want going to brush onto the wood. While the solution was filtering, I sanded the whole headboard with a finer sandpaper. I usually use sandpaper that's a bit more coarse, but I wanted that smooth finish. I applied the solution with an old paint brush. Please be sure to wear gloves to apply!! It's amazing to see the color change from the chemical reaction between the acidic solution and the wood. Be sure to do this in a well ventilated area. Here's the progress pictures!

You can see my coffee filter at the top under the lid.

Here's the top of the filter, you can see the bits of leftover steel wool

First coat.

The tea created a tannis with the wood grain...making it pop.

Awesome gains

I started by staining the frame first, to the left is unfinished panel.

This is 5 minutes after application. Note comparison of the unfinished wood.

I'll be honest, when it started turning red, I was very tempted to sand it and start over. I'm so glad I didn't!

After application of the stain, I sanded the wood one more time, then wiped the dust off with a damp towel. I then took the same paint brush I used to stain it and coated the headboard with polyurethane. Let me tell you at how shocked I was at how AMAZING the wood looked! My husband and his friend were playing ping pong while I was polyurethaning and I kept shouting at how beautiful the wood was and how I was very happy with the outcome!!

Outside after sanding

This was after a damp rub down, you can tell a difference between just sanded and after the dust was taken away.

Gorgeous colors after polyurethane!!

Covered in polyurethane, gorgeous!

Here's the final product leaned up against the bed frame. I've discovered that when I was measuring for my bed, I failed to measure the width of my bed frame, so the headboard is a little too wide to be bolted to the frame. Let me know what you think!

The top is a little crooked...when I nailed the 2x4 down, I didn't have glue for it, so it likes to pull away from the rest of the headboard.

Awesome detail in the grains.

So here are my tips that I learned along the way.

Measure, measure, measure! You can't tell in the pictures but the frame where the bolts are supposed to be barely touch the legs on the headboard.

Get straight wood. The straighter, the better.

Wear gloves when staining the wood with tea, homemade stain and polyurethane. I didn't wear them when applying anything and this is what happened.

Let me tell you, it doesn't come off. However, I did manage to figure out how to get polyurethane off using olive oil. I rubbed my hands down with a decent amount, then washed with soap and water. I tried everything from nail polish remover, vinegar, extra strength GO JO with pumice.

Until next time,
Sarah

Next Homemade Project, Sneak Peek!

I went to the local hardware store today to pick out some wood for my new project. It's actually very hard to pick out the perfect pieces...most are bent in weird ways making them not lay flat. It's utterly important, if you are building something, that the materials you use are straight. If this step isn't taken, it will shift things in your project and make them crooked.
Back to my new thing... I'm going to be building a headboard for our bedroom!  Our poor bedroom has been pushed aside and neglected. It's the last of 2 rooms in the house that haven't been touched. Although I have ideas to totally make it over and build all new furniture for it, I'm down to the wire on time as I start school on Monday. Money is also getting tight as next week I go back down to part time. Our room will once again take the backseat to everything else going on. I am, however, bound and determined to not give up. Even if it means going to the hardware store once a week for a piece of lumber, until I have enough for my next project. Oh, I forgot to tell you, this was my favorite part of going to the hardware store...the cost of lumber: $30!!! Can you believe that? $30 for a solid wood headboard. I also picked up some steel wool for a side project that will tie in with making my headboard.
I've fallen in love with woodworking! It's not only makes the wallet happy, but it also provides that little touch of personalization and sense of pride that YOU made it. It excites me when I think about the pieces I want to build, but I have to keep telling myself, "in due time."
I'll be sure to update with my progress photos and my tips I learn along the way.

Produce on a Budget

Back in February, I discovered the single most, wonderful, volunteer run Co-Op I've ever encountered. It is called Bountiful Baskets. If you haven't heard of it, you should really check it out.It's completely run by volunteers, which keeps the cost so cheap. All they ask if for you to volunteer at a site once every 7 times you order. Volunteering consists of unloading the truck and separating the produce into the baskets. You just show up at the volunteer time and help out. As an incentive, whatever is left over and fit equally in the baskets, gets put aside and the volunteers get to chose either 1 large item (pineapple, corn, etc.) or 2 small items (apples, oranges, plums etc.) In my area in South Dakota, we are able to order baskets once a week. You order on Monday, pick up on Saturday. For one basket, it's $15, or $16.50 with tax. For first time baskets, you just have to pay an extra $3 as a "first-time basket fee." If you want an organic basket, it's $10 extra. All you have to do is go to bountifulbaskets.org, create an account and usually at noon local time on Monday, log on and order. Here's an example of what I got in yesterdays basket.

 

3 heads of broccoli, a head of cauliflower, a head of lettuce, a head of kale, 6 oinions, 7 plums, 5 white nectarines, 2 asian pears, 4 huge tomatoes, a pack of red grapes, 7 bananas and a package of Brussels sprouts.

You can also get add-ons for an awesome price. This past week I know there were 20 lb cases of tomatoes for $12, organic 9-grain bread (5 loaves for $12) and sourdough bread (5 loaves for $10). They usually have packages that you can buy such as Italian package, Mexican package, guacamole package, sugar cookie package. The selection comes and goes week-by-week. In order to get the add-ons, a basket must be bought. Here's a look at my 9-grain bread that I got this week!

This is hands down, the best bread I've ever had!

What are you waiting for? Go to the website, find out if there is a site near you and sign up to get your basket on Monday! If you live in Wyoming, be sure to log on at 9am, Montana and Utah is 10am and everywhere else is 12pm. Make sure you log on at the time it opens, I waited until 12:15 to order my basket, and the site closest to me was closed! Another good tip is to check the times before you order. My usual site goes like this: volunteer time is 5am and pickup time is 7am. Yes, I have arrived at 5am on a SATURDAY to volunteer. Crazy, I know, but so worth it. So, really, what are you waiting for? Check out the sites closest to you, set an alarm for 12pm for you to log on and order your basket!

Finished table

It only took me two days but I've finished my table. I think it looks amazing. It's too tall to use as an end table. So I decided to put it in the "foyer" as a hallway table. I've been looking for one to go there for some time and I'm so happy that it worked out the way it did!! If you're wondering about the plans I used, you can see them here.

Bear booty made it in the picture!

I learned a couple of things about woodworking on the way.

When cutting the wood and it calls for off square, this means instead of the wood laying down flat, it stands up on it's smaller side.

Always double check what you're supposed to cut. Triple check it even! I ended up having to go back and re-cutting the wood because I didn't read that it said not parallel to the other side.

Use glue for the leg supports, otherwise they will turn.

Sneak Peak!

I've been spending a lot of time in the garage recently. I thought I'd show y'all a sneak peak of what I'm working on!

These will be the legs for my end table.

Just saying, best investment ever!

This is what it does :)

I'll be working on it later today and tomorrow after work. I'm hoping to be done with it by the weekend! I have a "back-to-school" party That I'm hosting and I want to show this puppy off!

First Builing Project... DIY Mirror Makeover

A while ago I pinned this. Needless to say, it's my new FAVORITE blog of all time. Anyway, back to what I was writing about. I bought a $4 mirror from Target, they are all on sale due to back to school time. Here's my progress pictures.

Finished product!

Awesome natural character in the wood

I love the grain!

Guestroom Linen

Remember back in July while my parents were here and I told you about my curtains? Well if you recall, the first bit of fabric was too short, so I'll show you what we ended up doing with it! Before my parents left, we laid the fabric out and pinned it to make a duvet cover. I'm such a fan of duvets because I don't always have to wash the comforter part that goes into the fabric. I took the leftover fabric from the duvet and made 6 little throw pillows for the bed. Here's the pictures of the final product.
P.S I'm in absolute LOVE with the fabric pattern!!

Guestroom, Complete!

Aside from finishing my dresser, I painted the guestroom. I wanted to decorate in a way that my guests would feel at home without feeling overwhelmed with family pictures, clunky wall decor, etc. I went on a mission one Saturday, I hit up Target first. They had this wooden floor vase on sale for $10. Michaels had some flowers for it on sale for $2. I had some old, handled, ceramic crocks that I threw in there. I then found some doilies at my favorite antique shop for $0.75 each. I painted them green and displayed them in front of a piece of scrapbook paper and hung them on the wall. The frames are from Hobby Lobby, probably the most expensive thing in the room. Finally, my little vintage mirror was picked up at a (usually) overpriced antique store, for $5.

Guest Room Dresser

First things first. I got this dresser for free from a friend. I had a vision of what I wanted to do with it, it was just the matter of having the time to do it.

I transformed it into this! Only took me 3 weeks to figure out what I wanted to do, how to do it and execute my plan.

I filled in the old knob holes with wood filler and re-drilled the center ones. I used my leftover paint from my theater room, gave it a good coat after sanding it. I then painted it white with leftover white paint we had. I sanded it down pretty well. I then found some stain in the garage and lightly painted it all over the white, concentrating on the edges. I found the knobs at Hobby Lobby for 50% off, so 5 for $10. Needless to say I'm in LOVE with my new dresser. It looks amazing in my guest room!

Pallet Art

Pallets have recently become all the rage. Needless to say, I needed something big to fill a big wall in my house. I remember seeing a blog about pallets and one picture stuck out in my mind. They simply put a pallet up on the wall. A friend of mine helped me put it up. We sunk anchors in the wall, then drilled the screws through the pallet, lined it up and just put it up there. It now holds an amazing picture of Eric's grandfather re-enlisting into the Air Force, Eric's basic training photo and a couple of awards that Eric's won in the Air Force.