DIY Reclaimed Wood Headboard

I've been wanting a headboard for a while now. Since Andrew got a circular saw for Christmas and a cordless drill when we moved, I thought we could make one. I had been doing research on Pinterest how to make one and I got some great ideas, but we ended up making this up to fit our own needs. 

We looked for about a month for some free pallets, but they would be gone when we would go to pick one up. One morning when I was looking a Craigslist, I found a gentleman getting rid of some scrap wood. The picture made them look small, but they ended up being 2x6's. I knew that we could still make a headboard out of it, but it would be HEAVY!! 

Supplies:

2x6 boards (or you can use pallets)

3 2x4's for the support in back

2.5" wood screws

Wood Stain and polyurethane

wood putty

foam brush

old cloth for staining

circular saw

drill with a drill bit

sander 

Cost:

$9 for 50 wood screws (we used them all)

$9 for 3---2x4's

$4 wood putty (used 1/8 of it)

$8 wood stain (used 1/2 of it)

$8 polyurethane (barely used any)

$100 multi-tool

$0.50 foam brush

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Total = $138.50/  $24 = project

The wood had at least 3 nails each that we had to take out. I wasn't strong enough so Andrew had to take care of this step. We did this immediately because we had to keep the wood in the backyard and we didn't want Kyrie to step on them and hurt herself. Of course, Kyrie thought she could help too! Every time Andrew took a nail out, she went crazy and thought she would get to play with it. 

We were originally going to do this project on President's Day because Andrew had off from work, but it was super rainy and cold that day so we had wait :(

Once the wood had dried, I laid the pieces out to make sure we had enough to make our headboard. Our boards were either 60" or 42" long. We needed the headboard to be 60" wide to fit our queen bed. We decided that we didn't want all the boards the same length, but decided to do the typical pallet wall look.

I wasn't comfortable using the circular saw, so one day when Andrew got home early from work we got started!

We used a square to make sure our cuts were straight and measured everything like 3 times.

We used the porch as our workspace as it is about a foot from the ground. Andrew did all the cutting and I helped hold the wood steady.

Once all the boards were cut, we went to the 2x4's. We made these be 57" long and cut 3 of them. We then used the left overs to make 2 boards that were 30" long each to use as the base. Andrew wanted to make sure the force was distributed evenly on the floor.

Here they are all lined up ready to be attached. 

We then used the 2x4s to level up the boards on the top and side. We then laid a 57" 2x4 on top of the boards flush with the ends. 

We used a 3/8ths drill bit and pre-drilled 2 holes for each 2x6 board. We did this so that the screws would go in straight and our boards wouldn't move so much when putting the screws in. I don't think this step is 100% necessary,  but it was easy and only took an extra 5 minutes. 

Once we pre-drilled one 2x4 board, we drilled in the 2.5" wood screws. We did the two outsides and then put one down the middle for extra support. We wouldn't have had to do this if we used the same length boards, but we needed to support the middle boards. Also, it is really heavy so all the extra support was good.

We had a couple of boards that needed to be attached together. So, we used some of the scrap wood and attached them. I didn't take a picture of this step because it was dark and the porch light wasn't good. I then forgot to take a picture of the back so when I get a chance to move the bed I'll take a picture. Sorry!

This is what it looked like at the end of the first day. At this point we have put about 1.5 hours of work into the project. 

The next day while Andrew was at work, I tackled the staining. 

I first sanded it down using Andrew's new oscillating multi-tool with a 60 grit sanding pad.

It started raining so I had to move the project to the garage so it wouldn't get wet and I could stain it. 

I laid down my old plastic drop cloth and put the headboard on top. I mentioned before that there were nails in every piece of wood when we received it. I tested the stain on the holes and decided I didn't like the look so I made a quick trip to Home Depot and bought some wood filler. I got the stuff that changed colors (you know like the glue sticks) so that I would know when it was dry.

It took about 3 hours to dry. I'm glad it changed colors, otherwise I probably wouldn't have let it dry enough. I sanded it down real quick and was now ready to stain!

I brushed it off with a microfiber cloth to make sure all the saw dust was gone!

Andrew picked the stain. Minwax  Jacobean. It actually ended up being darker than we both anticipated, so I only did 2 coats of stain with 3 coats on the green boards(I think they were treated?).

I used a foam brush to apply it and then wiped it off with an old undershirt. MAKE SURE TO WEAR GLOVES! It's not necessary to apply, but definitely good when wiping off--this is the messy part. I applied the stain one board at a time about 1/3 of the length before wiping off the excess and moving on. 

Make sure you have good ventilation, because this stain is pretty strong! I let it dry for 9 hours before applying the polyurethane. We used Minwax fast drying satin polyurethane. You can buy the 2-in-1 stuff, but I didn't know how many coats we were going to do with the stain so went the non-quick way. I used another foam brush and did 2 coats. 

We let it dry over night with the garage door slightly cracked. We actually went out of town so it sat in the garage for the weekend and still felt a little sticky when we got back. We decided it wasn't wet and we were done--almost! 

We took it upstairs which was a challenge it's pretty durn heavy! Our screws were too long so we couldn't attach the headboard to the bed frame. We will buy some screws and bolts and drill into the 2x4 supports. 

I hope you like this as much as we do! We are so proud of our work. Our plan is to make a kitchen island with the rest of the scrap wood we acquired so stay tuned for that.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask! 

Easy Beef & Cheese Enchiladas

Growing up it was always a treat when Dad made enchiladas. He didn't make them often, so when I got the chance to pick what we were eating for supper I'd almost always ask for his enchiladas!

I learned his recipe-which is real simple,but time consuming to make. I attempted to make them the long way by frying the tortillas and soaking them in sauce, but became lazy and learned some time saving tricks from my Uncle John.

Usually I make just plain cheese enchiladas, but tonight we added some beef at Andrew's request. Here's what I did:

Brown 1 lb ground beef with a chopped onion and use a packet of taco seasoning to flavor it.

On an oven safe plate (if you don't have one you can use the microwave with a microwave safe plate), place a corn tortilla. I use our lovely Fiesta plates we got from our wedding. 

Start layering with some cheese-enough to cover the tortilla.

A small spoonful of beef. I used less on mine and more on Andrew's.

And a couple of spoonfuls of enchilada sauce. You can use red or green they both taste good and you can choose your spiciness.

Repeat with tortilla, cheese, beef, and sauce. We make them with 4 layers, but you could certainly do more or less depending on how much you eat.

Put them in the oven at 350 for about 8 minutes or until the cheese is melted. If you use the microwave put it in for 1 minute/layer on high. (Ex: 4 layers=4 minutes)

When you serve it, the plates WILL BE HOT so use caution. Garnish with some green onions and cilantro. You can add some salsa if you'd like.

It's that easy and pretty tasty. Adding the beef was good, but personally I prefer the plain cheese enchiladas.

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef

1 packet taco seasoning 

~ 20 corn tortillas

~ 2 cups shredded cheese (we use Mexican Blend but use your favorite)

1 large can enchilada sauce

1 yellow onion chopped

cilantro or green onions for garnish

1. Brown ground beef in a skillet with onions. Drain and add taco seasoning following the instructions on the packet.

2. Layer tortilla, cheese, beef, and sauce-use as much or as little as you want.

3. Repeat with desired amount of layers. We usually eat 4 and when I was a kid I would only eat 2.

4. Put in oven for 8 minutes at 350 degrees. {You can also use the microwave if you don't want to use your oven or don't have one. When using the microwave heat for 1 min/layer. Ex. 3 layers=3 minutes} THE PLATES WILL BE HOT! Use oven mitts and be careful of where you set the plate down. 

5. Garnish with green onions, cilantro, or salsa and ENJOY! 

I hope you enjoy this family favorite as much as we do! 

Welcome to our blog!

Who we are:

Lauren is a math teacher who started off blogging about school stuff. She is married to Andrew and they have a cute puppy Kyrie. They just recently moved to Austin after Andrew graduated with his M.S. in Industrial Engineering from Texas A&M. They met while at A&M and got married in June 2014. Lauren taught high school math for 2.5 years, but since moving has turned to substitute teaching and finally getting around to doing all those craft projects that got put on hold while teaching full time.

Samantha is a property manager in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She graduated from Texas A&M in 2014. She brings the "quirky" to the blog. She loves all things history and enjoys documenting the world through photography. She just recently went to Paris and has plans to travel much more of the world. Her hobbies are to watch movies, drink coffee, and eat lots of chocolate! While she won't admit it, she definitely brings some creativity to the table.

We are sisters. Growing up people thought we looked like twins, even though we are two years apart. (This might have been because we got hand-me-downs from our twin cousins and we were the same size most of our childhood. haha) However, we are VERY different. Samantha was always more of a tomboy, loved green, and was sporty; while, Lauren was a girly girl, loved all things pink, and was not very coordinated. 


Our goal:

We hope to share some craft projects and ideas, recipes, tips on some of our favorite things to do, and share lessons we have learned in our short 24/22 years of life. We are using this opportunity to grow as crafters, bloggers, and sisters sharing this experience.