String it up



Baseball season is in full swing, and while I may not be an Atlanta Braves fan, my brother definitely is! I have posted ‘string art’ before, so I will make this short incase anyone is wanting an easy project. You will need: string or yarn, small nails, a hammer, a wooden board and paint or stain if you want to change the look of the wood.

The steps are simple… cut your board to size (and paint or stain it if you’d like), print the word or shape you would like and place the print on the board, use your hammer to outline the print in nails and finally use your string and wrap it from nail to nail until you’re happy with the look. Don’t worry if you can’t cut the board yourself, most all home improvement stores will cut a few pieces for you at no charge when you purchase from them. When you’re stringing the yarn from nail to nail try and make it as random as possible and in all directions. Don’t forget to tie a tight knot at your beginning and ending points!

I hope my brother knows I must really love him to make a Brave’s sign in this SF Giant’s house! Happy weekending everyone!

          xoxo,

                   Rachele

Time for bed!!

       I have a big DIY building project for everyone today! I'm not going to lie, this project is NOT for the faint of heart and beginning wood workers, it definitely had its challenges. I needed LOTS of help with this bed, and a couple points along the way I thought it might not even be working right at all! My hubby was a major part of the planning and construction of this massive bed. With that said....I am soooo in love with it! It makes me happy every time I look at it. Love, love, love. I don't regret taking on such a big project because it was so worth it. 

       I found these amazing plans on one of my favorite websites, by Ana White of course. The original plans can be found HERE. I followed the plans almost exactly...for the most part. One of the major changes I made was to have the mattress sit IN the frame, not sitting on top like Ana's. Due to this change I added a few inches to the width of the frame, but this didn't affect the headboard and footboard measurements. Those stayed exactly the same. Another decision you will want to think about is do you want to adjust the plans to use a box spring? Or have the mattress sit directly on top of the wooden frame? I had mine sit right on top of the wooden frame because I thought having the box spring would make the height too tall. I am glad we decided this, I think the height came out just right. I forgot to mention this masterpiece is the new guest room bed! Yay! 

        I wanted a very clean, crisp look for this farmhouse bed so I went with bright white paint. Since I was starting with bare wood, which is super absorbent, I did two coats of 3-2-1 Zinsser Primer, then followed with two more coats of bright white. And don't forget to sand it like crazy!! I sanded all the pieces before I even assembled the bed to make it easier. It is more tedious but really pays off when it comes time to paint. I recommend it highly! 

       And lastly, we ended up having to saw 4 inches off the headboard posts. It was too tall and would have caused a big gap between the mattress and the bottom of the headboard. So away it went and now its perfect! Here are some pics to show the building process...they even include some little carpenters in training. Heehee.  

                          

                          

                    

                         

       Here is a coat of primer...at this point I realized there were obvious gaps in certain places so I broke out the caulking and had to fill in a few spots before painting the final coats. This makes a big difference in how the final piece looks, so you should do it!!

                    

       Building the bed frame...

                    

                    

                    

       And....the hubby measuring out how to put the whole thing together. I hadn't quite finished painting at this point but I figured I could do it afterwards and it worked just fine.

                    

                    

                    

                   

                    

                    

                   

       The completed bed! It is VERY heavy and sturdy, and was even tested out by the kids who were jumping on the bed. Yikes. If it can hold up to them, then we are good to go!!

                    

                    

                    

                    

                    

                         

       Making that bed was exhausting! But it was so rewarding to create something so pretty for our guest room. We are both so pleased! One of my first guests is my best cousin Rachele in a couple weeks, I hope she enjoys it as much as I do! I can't wait to see her and work on more fun projects. Have a fabulous weekend and try to stay cool in this sweltering heat!

                   

                Xoxo,

                          Katie