DIY Full Storage Bed

So, it's spring cleaning time in our household right now!  I have a love/hate relationship with spring cleaning.  I love getting organized and redecorating but I loathe that you have to create endless messes in the house before the final product!

One project I am starting this spring is my 7-year-olds room.  His room has always been pretty hodge-podge because he likes to express himself with crayons and stickers on his furniture.  I have been bribing him the last year that if he could start taking care of what he has then we would redecorate his room.  So, here we are!  We are starting with a big boy bed which is quite an exciting change from his twin/twin, hand-me-down bunk:)

I'm sure you all remember the Twin Storage Bed that Whit shared with you all!  I have always loved the storage beds that I see in certain "high-end" magazines so this was the bed that I went with.  I  

followed the plans for the Full Storage Bed that from Ana's site! 

No more quick trips to Home Depot;)  I love my little shopping buddy and she looks so excited to be shopping with me;)

After building the pieces to the bed I stained it with Minwax Dark Walnut.  It took two coats and it was super easy! 

I let it dry and followed up with a coat of Minwax Polycrylic Clear Gloss.  This was just the look I wanted with the clear gloss!

So far so good!  I absolutely love it now that it is put together.  Anyone can do this and I suggest it because it is so rewarding (and addicting)!  Not to mention that it only cost me $120 compared to $700!

Advice/Pointers:

~ If you mess up, nothing is unfixable!  Wood putty works wonders and I used a TON;)

~ Use Gorilla Glue Wood Glue!  This is what actually joins the pieces together.  The screws/nails are just to hold in place while the glue dries.  This bed is so sturdy that I can jump on it!

~ Make sure you wipe all the glue drips off, especially if you are going to stain the wood.  If you do not, the stain will not penetrate leaving lighter spots (yes, I learned the hard way but fortunately it is not obvious).

 ~ Check all of your boards to make sure they are straight!  If you get home with bowed boards it will make construction a nightmare!  This is very simple.  Just pick one end up to eye level and look all the way down the board to make sure it is pretty level.  Flip over to check all of the sides.

~ You can have Home Depot cut your boards for you.  I cut my own with my miter saw but I have had them cut boards for me before.  (Make sure you bring a tape measure with you so you do not leave with mistakes).

So that's it for now!  I am going to add the Farmhouse Headboard to his bed next.  I love the look of it and I think it will complement the storage bed nicely:)  I am also working on the storage crates for the cubbies.  I am constructing them without plans so I will share the tutorial on those as soon as they are done!

Don't forget to scroll down to our "I Made it Without My Hubby" party to check-out all of the great entries!  It's not too late to enter;)

~Ashley

Shanty Ballard Inspired Shelves

Hey Guys!!!

I hope you all had a great weekend!  Both Ashley and I spent ours in Dallas at NCA Nationals.  Ash is a competitive cheer coach and just happens to be the coach to two of my girls :-)  We had a blast.  It was long though and I am surprised Ashley is still walking.  Our gym took home 5 National titles with over 750 teams there... Woohoo! Way to go Ash!

I started this project last week and finished it today so I thought I would share.  I originally saw Miss Traci's Ballard inspired cafe shelves long ago and fell in love.  I just didn't know where I could put one.  However... My new curtains brought me a bit of inspiration :-)

Here is how mine turned out...

Now I will kind of show you how I did it!

For this shelf I used a 4 ft 1x10" piece of pine from Lowe's.  I used my miter saw to cut it a few inches short of the space I was filling.  I think mine was 36".

There are many brackets at Lowe's and Home Depot.  These were the ones I chose to go with.  I loved the size of them.  They are big and a bit longer than most of the others.  They were about $6 a piece and I decided to use 3 on my shelf.  Since I was just building one I thought it would give it a bit more presence on the wall... Know what I mean?

I used a little Gorilla Wood Glue on the 1x10...

And attached my brackets using my brad nailer.  Can I just say that this might be my very favorite tool?? It would definitely be a toss up with the saw and hot glue gun but it's for sure in the running.  Mine was only $44 at Northern Tool and it makes me so happy :-)

There it is attached... Like 46 seconds later.... Whoop!

At this point I had my shelf built and needed to add the trim.  I used my miter saw for this part but I do realize that many of you don't have one.  Traci gives an awesome tutorial on using a cheap hand saw and  even cheaper miter box to make your own HERE. Super easy I promise!! Check it out!

My final step after trim was painting it.  I also shantied it up a bit using a 3M sanding block with 120 grit.  Once my edges were sanded I used a little stain to make them stand out a bit more.  You just use a foam brush to apply your stain to your sanded edges and use an old t-shirt or cloth to wipe of the extra.

I hung my shelf up and added a locker basket with a couple of towels.  I was so excited to find those at a decent price!!  I love the old antique ones but not for $30 a pop.  I got mine on Amazon here...

See the shantied edge??

I then added another recent revamp to finish it off for now.  I know I want something else up there but that is in the works :-)  For now... Here it is.

Hope you like it! Make sure to check out Traci's great tutorial as well!!

Happy Wednesday!

~Whitney

Pottery Barn Inspired Votive Holder

Hi friends!  So, I was DIY shopping in the Pottery Barn catalog again when this came along.

I just love it and I knew that I could DIY one that I would love just as much (actually more because the $129 price tag takes away from it).

Anyone can make this with minimal supplies and cost.  Here's how I did it:

Start with 5 dowel rods.  I purchased them at Wal-Mart for $.70 each.

Arrange them in the shape of a star.

Next, cut 5 equal pieces of paper (I used newspaper) into rectangles and roll them into cones. 

Secure with scotch tape.

Next, cover each corner of the star with the cones using scotch tape to secure the cone to the rods.

I used Gorilla Glue Epoxy to secure all the cross points of the dowel rods.

Using 1 ply jute tie down the cross points for extra hold.

Cut the excess jute.

I then spray painted the entire star with Rust-Oleum Heirloom White.

Now for the corners.  I used 4 ply jute and wrapped each corner up to the tip.  I started by hot gluing the end to the back side of a rod.  I continued wrapping securing with hot glue as I went.

I purchased 5 of these mercury glass votives at Target for $.99 each. 

I used 1 ply jute and wrapped it 3 times around each votive hot gluing as I went.

I knotted the jute

and secured it with hot glue.

Now to add it to the star.  I tied the excess jute around the back side of the star and knotted it.

Then I followed up with another piece, wrapping it from front to back securing with a knot in the back.

View of back

I cut the excess jute

Now for the finishing touches...I used the 1 ply jute to wrap the rods.  Start at one corner and hot glue the end of the jute to the back side of the corner.

Wrap it around loosely until you reach the next corner.  Secure with hot glue and cut the excess.  Repeat steps to the next corner and so on until every rod has been wrapped.

Total cost was under $10 and it was super quick and easy!  I get the same look of the $129 name brand piece for less than 10 percent!  I hope you all like it!

Merry Christmas

~Ashley