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.

Frugal, Homemade Wooden Signs

So I've been eyeballing a particular project from Pintrest for some time. A friend of mine brought over some firewood to burn in my fire pit. We loaded it in the wheelbarrow and once I finally saw it, I knew I had to keep some!  So this is what I wanted to make. Sarah has so many great ideas as well as her followers that comment. So I tried EVERYTHING to make this work. Either the ink wouldn't transfer, or it wasn't dark enough. I used two different printers, heat, water, pressure...everything. My husband could see my frustration and gave me some suggestions...one of them was to just give up. I almost did, until I researched and found this. This was my saving grace. Had I not found Angela's blog, I would never had followed through with my project. Here's my pictures and success stories about my amazing signs.

The cost:
I picked up a couple of mis-tint samples at Lowe's for $0.75. I also splurged a bit and got a sample of a light blue color for $1.50.
The wood was free.
The ink was what I already had in the printer.
The wax paper came out of my cupboard.

I painted the sanded surface. I knocked most of the paint off the brush before I went to town. I was very careful not to completely paint all of the edges and some of the middle to give it that laid-out-behind-the-barn-forever look.

 I cut out wax paper the size of the printer paper and taped the side that went down into the printer. Be sure to change your printer's settings to print the mirror. For me, I had to print it as an iron-on transfer for it to flip.

 After printing, you have some time to get the newly printed wax paper to the board. I lined it up the best I could since I printed on 2 sheets. I then carefully placed it down being sure not to move the paper once I got it on the board. I then used a card to add pressure and flatten it out. I then carefully removed the paper in one solid motion.

 Here is my finished product. It sits proudly on my buffet in my kitchen/dining room.

I didn't stop there, I also made a couple to go on each side of my window about my buffet table.

I nailed some regular nails into the top of the board and tied twine around them to make the hangers. Please let me know what you think! Feel free to send me your own antique boards.

A lot of homemade items today :)

Hello all,

I hope you've had a wonderful last couple of weeks. My friend, Lexi and I had the opportunity today to try our hand at many new projects. All of them are fairly easy to make and finding the supplies wasn't too bad. I'll start out with what Lexi made as she made quite a bit for the household.

Laundry Soap

1 cup Washing Soda, luckily there is a lot leftover for other projects, I got this at Wal Mart for about $3.50

1 cup laundry bar, grated (I use Fels-Naptha.) I can get a bar for $0.97 at Wal Mart

1 cup Borax, the same goes for this as the Washing Soda, I got this at Wal Mart for about $3.50

1 quart boiling water

I also picked up a 5 gallon bucket to mix.

Grate the laundry bar. I unfortunately do not have a food processor or fancy grater. I used my hand grater and it took about 20 minutes.

Boil 1 quart of water on the stove. Slowly add the grated soap while stirring it until it's dissolved. I have run into where the water gets out of control for a minute and overflows, then goes back to normal, only to go out of control again. I haven't mastered that one yet, so meanwhile I've been using a hand towel to clean it up.

Fill your bucket about halfway with hot water. I use the kitchen sink sprayer. Add the Borax and Washing Soda and stir well.

Stir in the melted soap mixture while mixing. Fill bucket the rest of the way with hot water.

You’ll need to leave the detergent alone overnight to allow it to set. When it has set, you’ll need to mix it up again. I personally divide it up before it settles and I ad about 15 drops of essential oil. I've used lavender and eucalyptus. If you have a certain scent that tickles your senses, it's okay to do that. You can pick up a bottle of essential oil at most health food stores for anywhere between $4-$10. I plan to pick up a bottle of tangerin, vanilla or honeysuckle for the next batch. 
I also usually use anywhere between 1/4-1/3 cup per load. This makes quite a bit of product as well since it fits in a 5 gallon bucket. If you have room next to your washing machine, you could also keep the bucket next to it and get whatever you need for each load.

Hand soap

2 Tablespoons of Liquid Glycerin (found in the band aid section at any drugstore or grocery store)

1 - 8 oz bar of soap grated

1 gallon of water

Melt grated soap into a gallon of boiling water. Add two tablespoons of glycerin. Pour into a gallon jug and just transfer into the pump bottles when needed.


Fabric softener 

6 cups HOT water 

3 cups white vinegar  

2 cups Suave Refreshing Waterfall Conditioner {or other favorite scent}

  

Mix conditioner & hot water well, until conditioner is dissolved completely. Add the vinegar, and mix well. Store in a large container, 1 gallon.

Dish detergent

Mix 3 cups of Borax with 3 cups of Washing Soda.

6 packages of lemon kool-aid

For each load of dishes, use 2 tablespoons of the mixture. Add just a drop of a liquid dish soap. Makes 1 pound.

Febreeze

2 Tablespoons of Your Favorite Fabric Softener

2 Tablespoons Baking Soda

Hot Tap Water - To Fill the Bottle to the Top. Makes 26 ounces

Jewelry cleaner
1 tbsp dishwashing detergent
* 1 tbsp baking soda
* 1 tbsp household ammonia
* 3 cups warm water

Mix everything together and place in container.

Soak jewelry, remove, brush and rinse off.

I made everything for beauty, not household.

The first thing I made was lip balm. After reading about all of the horrible things they put in commercial lip balm,  it made me want to make my own, that way I know exactly what is in it.

2 Tbsp. Coconut Oil
2 Tbsp. Beeswax
2 Tbsp. Shea Butter

This makes about a dozen lip balm tubes.

I not only took my old lip balms and emptied them out, I also got a couple of tubes from the local health food store. There are a ton of websites out there that sells these empty tubes. I threw these into a pot of boiling water to be sure there were clean. I removed them and set them upright on the counter while my beeswax was melting.

I put the beeswax into a glass measuring cup and placed the measuring cup into a boiling pot of water.  After the beeswax was melted, I added the shea butter and coconut oil. I also added a couple of drops of Vitamin E oil. After making sure it was all melted, I carefully took the measuring cup out and pour it directly into the tubes. Let them sit for 1-2 hours until hard. The picture only shows a few, I had given some away already!

Homemade Deodorant

3/4 a cup of baking soda

4 tablespoons melted coconut oil

Since I didn't have a container, I went out to Wal Mart and bought a $0.97 cent deodorant and cleaned the contents out for the container. In a bowl mix the baking soda and coconut oil. I also added about 20 drops of lavender. Carefully put into the container. I had enough to fill the deodorant container plus more. I'm storing it in a baby food jar until I need it again. I can then just nuke it in the micro and pour it in.

Homemade body wash 

1/2 gallon distilled water

2 cups grated soap (I used Tom's since I have sensitive skin.)

2 Tbsp Vegetable Glycerin oil

Melt grated soap in the 1/2 distilled water. Stir in glycerin oil. I poured this into 2 quart jars and added the scent. I used plumeria in one for me and a masculine scent in the other for the husband. The liquid is still transparent because the content is very hot. Tomorrow, it should be creamy looking and I'll just have to give it a good shake to get the consistency.

Homemade lotion

1 cup filtered water
¾ cup oil such as olive, almond, unrefined coconut, or avocado
3 tablespoons grated beeswax
Optional: a few drops of essential oil of your choice, for fragrance

Set up a blender and pour in the water. Prepare clean, dry glass jars for packaging and have them nearby.

Put the oil and the beeswax in a Pyrex measuring cup. Place the cup in a pan or small pot and pour in water to reach about halfway up the cup. Bring the water to a gentle boil, and heat the oil and beeswax until the beeswax melts. You’ll know when the wax is melted because you won’t see it anymore. As soon as the wax is melted, remove the cup from the water and let the oil cool for 2 minutes.

*This is an important step, I didn't have the blender on when I pour the mixture in and it solidified instantly and was very hard to blend.*
Turn on the blender and start blending the water at medium speed. Remove the stopper in the blender lid so you can pour the oil through the top while blending. Slowly pour in the oil and the mixture will begin to emulsify. If there is still some water on the surface, turn up the blender and blend the mixture 30 seconds to a minute longer. If you’re using essential oil, blend it in now.

 With a clean rubber spatula, transfer the cream to the glass jars. Cover the jars with cheesecloth for an hour, or until they’ve reached room temperature. Placing the lid on the jar when this is warm will cause condensation to form under the lid, which will water down the lotion and form bacteria. When the lotion is cool, screw on the jar lids. Store at room temperature for up to 3 months, or in the refrigerator for 6 months.

I hope y'all have your own adventures in saving money and making your own products!! It's more fun to share with a friend. We are planning to have a barter system in my nursing class :)