Window Pane Headboard Tutorial

I got the opportunity to guest post this project on Tatertots & Jello about a month ago, but for anyone who missed out... here you go. :-)

Our subdivision had a neighborhood garage sale. I found a lot of little things, but this was by far the best find. Better yet, it was FREE!

It stayed in our garage for a couple weeks while I contemplated what to make of it. Should I hang it? But which room? Maybe a table? I finally had an epiphany one night and though, "hey I bet that is about same size as our guest bed!" I measured it and the bed the next day and sure enough the bed was 52" and frame 57". Close enough.


What you'll need:
A window pane (or you can skip that part and go straight for the MDF)
MDF
Four 2' pieces of 2"x2" (especially if you don't have a saw like us)
Fabric
Batting
Foam (if you are nixing the window pane)
Screws and a staple gun


I started by sanding, priming and repainted the window pane to match the guest room. After painting I saw that the blue paint still showed through from the back side. Just take a razor blade and start removing. As you can tell, I had A LOT to remove.



After you have it all painted set it aside and start on the MDF. If you have a window pane you can just cover your MDF with a layer of batting and fabric. If you are going sans pane, put in the extra foam then batting covered by the fabric so it is cushy.

Pull fabric and batting taut and staple around edges. I did the top and bottom first and then each side so that I didn't pull the fabric in a skewed way.

Before or after you put the fabric on (we did this before) mount 2 of the 2"x2" pieces to the center of the MDF. Make sure they are centered! This will be used to mount the headboard to the wall.
After the fabric is on, mount the back (the fabric covered MDF) to the pane using screws every few inches.
* On a side note: I found it worked best to stretch the fabric and batting taught while drilling the screw holes so that you don't end up with these little guys on your hubby's drill bits.

Now comes the mounting part. Because we don't have a saw we had to do things a little differently. Take the remaining two 2"x2" pieces and screw them into the wall, centered over the bed and spaced far enough apart so that the headboard mounts rest on each wall mount (As shown above). Once in place screw the two mounting pieces together from the top.

Now your headboard is set and ready to be used...or just looked at :)






*Linked to Simply Designing

Washer Necklaces

I have been seeing a lot of washer jewelry and crafts around lately and wanted to try my hand at them.

All you need are a few washers, a stamp set, beads, ribbon, and a chain and the possibilities are endless!
The first necklace I made was one with my husband's and mine's initials. I had to give the stamping set a few tries before I got the letters to look decent. After stamping the letters I colored in the letters with a sharpie and wiped it off immediately. This way the letters have more definition. A little dab of glue helps the washers stay in place.


The second necklace was a little more girly. I stamped O's around one washer and sharpied it. The second one got wrapped in string and a coat of paint. After pairing them together I glued on a couple of ribbon rosettes.

I have so many more ideas I can't wait to try out with washers!

I've linked these up Here, Here, Here &....Here

Dana's Headboard

My sister made this spectacular headboard a month or two ago and I thought I'd share it. She started with a piece of MDF, foam, batting, and baseboard molding. I love that it isn't your run of the mill DIY headboard. The molding definitely gives it more personality and makes it stand out. For the molding she actually just used 3 pieces since you can't see the bottom.

I am on the hunt for fabric to match our bedroom so I can make one too. She also gave me the idea to use finishing blocks on the corners since we don't have a saw to cut the 45 angles. Hopefully I will get around to it this summer. I am looking to find a fabric similar to the kind on Carrie and Big's headboard from Sex and the City 2.

Key Holder (04.20.10)

I have to say I thought of this one all on my own this time. We had a bunch of scrap chair-rail left over that I figured would work great for a key holder. I got out my burgundy craft paint and went to work.
Once the paint dried I screwed in some little hooks I once used to hang my jewelry. The project got a little delayed because even though I measured, one hook ended up way higher than all the rest. No worries though, a little wood filler, sanding, and some new paint made it all better. I bought some ribbon, letters, and scrapbook paper to make the rest. I hung it up for the housewarming party as is, and while in church the next day I kept thinking it was missing something. I'm a sinner, I know. Jordan had some twine from camping or something so I made some bows and winded some around the letters. And finally it was all done. Now that I'm thinking about it, I should probably try to make a necklace holder with the other chair-rail scraps and hooks...

Cake Stands (08.10.09)

I finally made the cake stands that I posted about in the previous blog. I found all of the stuff to make them at the thrift stores in town...all three for less than $10! Pretty impressive.

Before

After

Oh and I made cookies too. First time ever from scratch.