A Grown Up Headboard

Since I’ve had this super comfy queen sized bed, it’s been missing its key counterpart… the headboard. I bought the mattress and frame during my junior year in college and due to my tiny room and budget, never invested in a headboard. Then when we bought our first house, I had so many other things to buy to furnish the rooms, the headboard quickly fell to the bottom of my “gotta-have-it” list. After many hours of online shopping, I found all of the headboards I loved were $300+ and I simply can’t justify that cost for a guest bedroom… sorry Bumpass guests! So what’s a gal to do when she wants something that’s $300+ for less than $100…? Well, make it herself of course!

If you have 3 hours and ~$100 bucks (depending on your tool supply), you my friend can have your very own handmade tufted headboard.

Here’s whatcha need:

• 1 sheet of 1/2 inch plywood
• Circular saw
• Jigsaw (if you’re cutting an angle, like I did)
• Electric screwdriver and 5/16 drill bit
• 2″ foam (I used foam squares)
• Spray adhesive
• Batting
• 2 yards of fabric (for Queen headboard)
• Staple gun
• Make-your-own button kit
• Decorator needles

Here’s how I did it:

Step 1: Cut the plywood the width of the bed. Queen bed = ~60″ wide and I left the height as is, 48″. Note: Definitely use sawhorses if you have them, but since we do not, our bench press worked perfectly! Remember my post last month about not using a chainsaw? Well, I still haven’t worked myself up to using a circular saw, so JD stepped in to help out with this part. Thanks shug. 🙂

Step 2 (Optional): If you want to add a design or curve to your headboard, start by making a pattern. I thought about free handing this, but really wanted it to be symmetrical, so I quickly made a pattern out of card stock and traced it on the plywood. I then used a jigsaw to cut my design. (This is officially my first powertool. And yes, it does live on my side of the garage!)

Step 3: Decide placement for the buttons and drill the appropriate holes. I placed mine 14″ apart and used a 5/16 drill bit to make the holes.

Step 4: Cut the foam to the exact dimensions of the headboard and use a spray adhesive to ensure the foam sticks to the plywood when you stand it up to secure the batting.

Step 5: Cover the foam with batting and tightly staple it to the back of the headboard. The batting makes your foam stay in place, adds another layer of padding, and ensures the color of your foam is hidden. Definitely a good thing, as my foam was sea foam green!

Step 6: Tightly wrap the front of your headboard with fabric and secure it to the back with a staple gun. Pull as hard as possible to ensure the fabric is super tight.

Step 7: Most professionally made headboards have finished backs but since this headboard is going to hang on the wall, I completely skipped this step. TADA!

Step 8: Use decorator needles and a thick thread to add your buttons. I bought the plastic “make-your-own-button” kit from Hancock and although it’s a little hard to assemble, it does the trick. Make sure you get the larger size, as I accidently bought 2 different sizes (Thus why only one row is currently finished!)

Step 9: Enjoy your fabulous new headboard! 🙂 I’m also loving this new DwellStudio coverlet from Target. It’s sold out online, but I found 3 left (and on sale!) at my local target. It’s a perfect match with Benjamin Moore’s “Stonington Grey”.

A friend of mine recently told me that you’re officially a grown up when you have a headboard on your bed. Who knew it only took a few hours and about $100 bucks to get there 🙂 What makes you feel like a grown up? Besides 8 hour work days and bills….

xoxo,
Jamie

Tufted Headboard Sneak Peek

I’m still working on the buttons and finishing a few more details in the room, but I’m so excited to share my tufted headboard tutorial this weekend! 🙂

Here’s a sneak peek:

A Different Kind of Pickin’

Typically to me, the word “picking” means finding something fabulous in not so fabulous places (i.e. my Henredon coffee table from a junky farm sale). However, this weekend I did a completely different type of pickin’…. and boy did it produce some sweet results. At a farm nearby, we found bush after bush with the prettiest blackberries I’ve ever seen. The deer who frequent this bush with the afternoon munchies are definitely going to be pissed when they see how many we picked. Speaking of deer, if anyone knows how they can get the berries off the bush without bleeding and dropping the “f bomb” several times, please let me know… it’s boggling my mind! 🙂

Although it’s not the most attractive bush in the world, it definitely produces one of the sweetest fruits. I think if I could get over the seeds, it would by far be my most favorite!

Although the red berries are pretty, they are definitely not as good as the black berries… plus they’re called Blackberries not Redberries so give them a little time.

The thorns surrounding this bush are very painful so we had to grab the top of the berry and pull. Thank you to my beautiful hand model.

Jackpot. Good find Mama!

So what to do with all of these Blackberries? Since I had about 2 quarts I narrowed it down to either jam or cobbler and of course I chose both! Since I also ambitiously decided to make a fabric covered headboard (post coming later this week, so excited to share!) and paint the guestroom on Sunday, I only had time to make the cobbler. Here’s my favorite cobbler recipe from an old cookbook JD’s grandma gave me. Thanks Effie! This recipe is as sweet as you 🙂

Blackberry Cobbler

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ½ cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• 2 tablespoons melted butter
• ½ cup milk
• 1 qt. blackberries cooked with 1 cup sugar and ½ cup water

Directions:

Wash the blackberries thoroughly.

Combine the first six ingredients and pour into a greased 9 inch square baking pan.

Cook the blackberries with 1 cup of sugar and 1/2 cup of water. (Important Tip: After the Blackberries are cooked, I typically use a strainer to separate the juice from the berries. If you don’t feel your cobbler has enough juice from just the berries, then add a little from the juice you strained.)

Pour the cooked berries on top of your batter.

Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. Cool before digging in! Pair with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a cold glass of milk. Yummmmm…..

Cheers!
Jamie

Decked out!

Happy Monday! Boy was I tired today…I forgot how tired (and sore!) painting a room can make you feel. I always assume it will only take me an hour or 2 to finish but then after taping, trimming and priming I’m ready for a break. You’re going to totally pick on me when I tell you it was only half a room, as the entire other half is wainscoting. OK, OK, I’ll stop complaining but in my defense I also finished painting the “new” deck furniture and completely revamped this space. You know the saying “If you build it, they will come?” (I honestly just asked JD if this quote came from the movie Wayne’s World. After he laughed at me for five straight minutes, I learned it was actually from Field of Dreams! Makes much more sense now.) Well this saying totally applies to my deck furniture, as one of my best friends spontaneously stopped by for some much needed girl time on Saturday. Two bottles of wine and 4 brownies later, I was no longer in pain from a day full of painting and totally digging my new-to-me furniture and deck!

I started both chairs and the table by cleaning and sanding. The original paint was chipping badly, so sanding was a critical part of this revamp. After sanding, I dusted each piece thoroughly and then primed with my favorite Rust-Oleum spray primer.

I had trouble picking the color scheme for the furniture, until I found this outdoor fabric on sale for $4 a yard at Hancock. I loved this shade of green but wanted the deck to feel like an extension of the interior, so I decided on cream for the chairs and green for the table. I chose to make extra large pillows so they could double as seat cushions if needed. Although you can’t see it in the picture above, I’m also planning to paint the larger table black with a chalkboard top for fun. Tic-Tac-Toe here we come!

I couldn’t find a spray paint in the exact shade of green in the fabric, so I chose an exterior latex paint from True Value. The only downside is that it takes forever to dry, so plan on some down time. Yes, that’s a banana popsical in the picture – they’ve become a must-have in my summer outdoor projects!

Project Total = $28

• Adirondack chairs and table: $0 (rescued from the dump!)
• Chair paint: 1 Quart / ~$10 from True Value
• Table paint: 1 Quart / ~$10 from True Value
• Fabric for pillows: $8 from Hancock (used old throw pillows for filling)

Until I have a bigger front porch, back porch sittin’ will work just fine 🙂

My next project of the weekend was painting the dining room. This room has such fabulous wainscoting and crown molding that I needed a richer color to really make them pop. Since the bathroom downstairs is painted an intense blue grey, I wanted to stay close to this color range. I chose “Stonington Grey” by Benjamin Moore (although I bought the True Value version) and love, love, love it! The color sample had a little more blue in it, but I’m really digging this subtle but warm shade of grey.

Since there was a $20 price difference between BM and Easy Care, I obviously chose the latter but am really happy with the results! Painting a room grey definitely provides some instant gratification. I’m thinking the guest bedroom might just go grey too!

I also spent sometime this weekend organizing my hot mess of a garage. Since someone must have broken into our house and only taken my two paint rollers and edging brush (a.k.a JD threw them away on accident!), I really needed to organize my supplies. So I installed a 6 foot shelf and organized by the following: Spray paint, tools, towels/rags, and paint gallons.

While I was writing this post, one of my super sweet neighbors stopped by to bring us fresh tomatoes from her garden. I may dislike a lot about The Bumpass, but I do love my sweet neighbors and their yummy tomatoes.

They were the perfect addition to Taco Night. Thanks neighbors that don’t read my blog and may not know my name! We’re still the new kids on the block…

xoxo,
Jamie

What Makes Me Appy

My name is Jamie and I’m a iPadoholic. I’m 100% addicted and have no plans to quit. Ok Ok, I’m being a little dramatic, it’s not like it’s crack but I honestly can’t imagine life without it. It’s my go-to tool for almost everything, especially when I need a little inspiration for cooking, sewing, designing and of course blogging. I can also get my angry bird on like it’s nobody’s business.

As my memory (on the iPad and the one in my head) is quickly filling up, I wanted to take a few minutes to share why I’m so in love with this genius invention and a couple apps that as of recently are striking my fancy.

1. Popbooth. Do you remember those photobooths at the mall that produce the most amazing candid pictures ever? You pile in the booth with your bf or bff’s and have a blast making silly, completely ridiculous faces. I’ve also seen some really cute versions recently, like these from Young House Love. Personally, I always seem to act like a complete fool as soon as I step into the booth.

I love this iPad app because it’s honestly like having a photobooth in your pocket. Ok… only in your pocket if you’re wearing those horrible jnco shorts from the early 90’s, but good news – this bad boy is also available for the iPhone!

The app is also super simple to use. Simply download the app and snap 4 funny pictures. (Funny is my requirement, not Popbooth’s!) Next, share your photos via Facebook or email. Popbooth also gives you the option to order high-quality prints by mail. Photos are printed on glossy card stock and only cost $2.99. That may be slightly higher than those machines at the mall but check out the neato filters you can apply. I’m loving “Colorz” and “Vintage”.

I’m thinking the vintage strip below might just find a home above our sofa…

 

 

 
2. Epicurious
What’s cookin’ good lookin’? This app is almost always in the kitchen with me, especially if I’m cooking something new. I love the fact that you can search by food item. Say you have a lonely eggplant hanging around, about to spoil in your fridge. Simply search “Eggplant” and multiple yummy recipes will suddenly appear. I know, it’s kind of magic! There are also ratings & reviews, which every girl knows after buying your first pair of pumps online, how valuable these are. I love how little forks represent ratings!

 

3. BHG Magazine
A comfy chair, a cup of coffee and Better Homes & Garden on my iPad, is how I like to spend most Saturday mornings. I see more and more mags going digital and I totally dig it. Making PDF’s of print pages doesn’t allow for a friendly UX and I love that BHG knows that. I also love how visual the digital edition is. They often have rooms that you can paint by simply tapping a paint color or products you can learn more about by just touching the screen. It allows you to interact with content in a whole new way and (as of now) is almost ad free.

Every month features beautiful designs, great DIY tips and the most delicious recipes! BHG often makes itself into the Kitchen with me as well. Thanks BHG, I heart you 🙂

Meredith Corp knows what’s up, as the Fitness Magazine app is also fabulous.

bhg.com

 
 

4. Houzz
If you need room design inspiration then this app is a must-have. The app features hundreds of designs, categorized by room and even allows you to store the images in your own Ideabook. Say you need a local professional (Architect, Interior Desinger, General Contractor, etc.) for an upcoming job, simply tap on the Professionals tab, click on your city, and several recommendations appear!

The app also features dozens of great DIY ideas and amazing before and afters (And who doesn’t love those?)

Since I’m planning to revamp the laundry room soon, I’m on the hunt for inspiration and am totally loving Houzz.

 
 
What apps are you loving?