Picture Frame from Scrap Wood

Picture Frame from Scrap Wood

First let me explain the picture. This is a Gone With the Wind charcoal drawing my husband bought for me on our honeymoon almost 20 years ago. It has always been in our bedroom, so I knew when we built the new bed frame; it had to go above the bed.

The print has always been in one of those black plastic poster frames, I remember when I went to buy a frame, and it was so much money for us to spend on a non necessity. But the print was important to me and I wanted it protected in a frame not just on the wall with sticky tack.

I have made picture frames before using expensive molding but never out of left over scrap wood, in a barn wood style frame.

In keeping with the farmhouse bed, I wanted a frame to coordinate. I found a 1 x 4 in the garage and thought it wouldn’t cost me anything to try it. So I made a frame using an old 1 x 4 piece of pine board. I wanted to paint the frame the same cream color I used on the bed but it did not look good with the print at all. I had some black spray paint, so black it was. I went to Michael’s bought a mat board to match the background color of the print and a 10.00(with 50% off coupon) poster frame, total cost $15.00. I used a mat to add to the overall size of the picture, since it was going over a king size bed. Using the “glass” from the poster frame and the backing from the frame, I stapled the backing to the frame and for $15.00 I had a large focal piece for the bedroom.

Black Frame made with scrap 1x4

(sorry about the ceiling fan glare)

Farmhouse Bed - Finished

Farmhouse Bed
from Knock-OffWood.com
http://www.knock-offwood.com/2010/01/plans-how-to-modify-farmhouse-bed-to_09.html

When I discovered Ana’s site Knock-Off Wood, I fell in love. There were so many projects and awesome ideas; my head was spinning with all the things I want to make. My husband probably groaned when I told him about the site, but he is good natured about it and offered to help with whatever I wanted to do. Plus we have been married long enough for him to know I am a little crazy and am prone to wild ideas.

The first project we made was the child’s adirondack chair. While reading the site one day, my 6 year old saw the chair and wanted to make it. I thought it made a good first project and something he would like doing. He loved it, he helped make the list, shop for the wood, mark of the measurements and put the chair together. He informed me he needs a workshop of his own to go with his chair! I wonder where he gets the wild ideas.

The next project I knew would be the farmhouse bed, I love the design. Ever since the movers broke our bed years ago, we have been without a bed frame; we just have the metal frame for the bed to set on.

I printed off the plans; we measured our bed, made a few adjustments for the size and went shopping.

SUPPLIES
Pine Wood – $95.00
Screws - $9.00
Wood Glue - $4.00
Sandpaper $13.56 (huge 50 pack, what a deal)
Primer – Had Kiltz
Paint – Had leftover from painting a room, Edwardian Linen by Ralph Lauren
Stain – Had English Chestnut from refinishing kitchen table
Furniture Wax - Have had forever!
Tools – We used a miter saw, drill press (hubby had to play with his new toy), drill, brad nailer, and sander

WOOD FOR FARMHOUSE BED

CUTTING AND ASSEMBLY
We cut all the wood pieces at one time and assembled the bed in our living room. While I do not recommend turning one’s living room into a workshop, the heat here is unbearable it is what worked to get the bed together. We used a brad nailer and 3 ½” screws.

First Cuts

SANDING AND FILLILNG
After assembling the headboard and footboard, we filled in the screw holes. I also filled in the seams on the post with joint compound, wood putty would have worked but joint compound is easier to work with. The plans call for 4x4 posts and we could not locate untreated ones anywhere, so we put two 2x4 post together and, while the seam did not need to be filled in, it was my personal preference.

Filling seam with joint compound

PAINTING
After the filling and sanding it was time to paint, the fun part for me. After a good coat of primer, I painted the bed a cream color called Edwardian Linen by Ralph Lauren. I had a ½ gallon left over and it was the exact color I wanted for the bed. I then took screwdriver and notched all the grooves in the panels so they would take the glaze better and stand out. Next I used Minwax English chestnut stain to glaze over the paint. This glazing method is fast and works well if you have a partner, you have to remove the stain quickly of you don’t you will end up with a very dark piece of dirty looking furniture. I put the stain on with a sponge brush directly on the grooves and then wiped the stain off in a circular pattern from there.

Cream Paint

Glaze with English Chestnut stain

FINISHING

I did not want to poly or varnish the bed. I used furniture wax for a protective finish.

Finished

ASSEMBLE THE FRAME
We assembled the bed in the bedroom; it was hard enough getting the headboard in there. We did not make the wood frame for the bed to sit on; we left the metal frame and built the bed to surround the frame. To attach the rails to the headboard we followed Ana’s method for using 2 2x4 she has shown on the farmhouse bed for California king bed. As seen here: http://www.knock-offwood.com/2009/10/farmhouse-bed-save-158100_7467.html#uds-search-results
To attach the rails to the footboard, we used an L-bracket.

FINAL THOUGHTS
It took us a week to make and finish the bed, working on it when we could squeeze in an hour here and there. One thing I would do differently, I would sand the wood before assembling it, trying to sand around all the edges and nooks was a bear.

I LOVE the bed, it is beautiful, and was hand made by me and my husband. I can’t think of anything better.

Vintage Ruler Hanger/Coat rack

My husband came home with a SUV full of reclaimed wood a couple of weeks ago and I am making all kind of plans for it. It is already gray with nail holes and worn looking, perfect.

One easy project I made is a coat rack or in our case backpack holder. I used a piece of scrap reclaimed wood that is 6" wide and one vintage folding wood ruler. I took apart the ruler, attached the ruler to the wood with a brad nailer(glue would work just fine), and added an iron hook.

This will look great in my son's room which is decorated in a garage/workshop theme including Craftsman tool carts for toy storage.

Handmade Satin Rose Pens

I have been making rose pens for years. I sell them on Ebay, Etsy and locally. I make them using satin ribbon and an EZ rose maker. Using ribbon gives me the chance to make roses in a multitude of colors. You can find my Etsy store here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/SatinRoseBoutique



The pens are bought mostly for baby, bridal showers and wedding favors. I have seen them used as part of a center piece, given out in a basket, used with the guest registry, and have had a few order just roses for dress decorations.
Once you learn how to make the roses, they are easy and fun to do. I use a ballpoint pen and floral tape to create a stem for each rose.

Recent order of 10 white rose pens.

Farmhouse Bed - The Beginning

First let me say, I love Ana's blog, Knock-Off Wood. There so many of her plans I want to build, it is mind boggling. We are currently making the Farmhouse Bed King size. You can find the plans for this bed here : http://www.knock-offwood.com/2010/01/plans-how-to-modify-farmhouse-bed-to_09.html


First order of business was a trip to Lowe's to purchase supplies. I am lucky my husband has all the tools needed for this project. We purchased the wood, wood glue, and screws for a total of $107.26. I already have primer and paint for the project.




After measuring the width of our box springs and metal frame, consulting the instructions with our modifications, we were ready to start cutting. The panels in the head board call for ten 1x8s and two 1x3s. This did not work with the wood we had, the 1x8 boards we purchased were anywhere from 7 1/8" to 7 5/8" wide. It was an easy fix, instead of using the two 1x3s we add an extra 1x8. The eleven 1x8s gave us a width of 79.5". Be sure and check your board measurements before cutting.




We actually assembled the headboard in the living room. While I do not recommend this, my son wanted to help and it was just to hot for him outdoors. My husband is reorganizing the garage so we will be able to work in there soon.



Another modification we had to make was the 4x4 post. We checked at Lowe's, Home Depot and two local lumber yards, no one had untreated 4x4s. We used two 2x4s together, I am planning on sealing the seams with wood putty because I want the solid post look but they would be fine as they are.




We hope to get the footboard made this week and the painting done by the weekend. We will have to see how busy the week turns out to be.