"S" is for Sconces

Wall sconces converted from hard wire to plug in:

Please note I am not an electrician by any means but I do love these sconces.

Only problem is they come hard wired, our wall is not hard wired for sconces and I wasn't willing to go through that process.

Therefore I converted the hard wire into a plug in with flip switch operation.

If you're curious about how I made the shutter headboard click here.

Here's how I converted the sconces:

1. Find sconces you love:

And a 6 foot lamp cord set with switch (from Home Depot here):

And you need wire strippers:

2. Drill hole through mounting plate at bottom, wide enough for cord to slide through but still be slightly snug:

Also clip off socket from lamp cord set:

3. Thread end of lamp cord up into base of mounting plate:

4. Slide a nut onto lamp cord flush to mounting plate on inside to prevent wire from pulling through.

5. Now pull lamp cord wires apart about 3" and strip back each side about 1" to expose copper wires.

6. Twist white wire with copper wire from rigid side of lamp cord and black wire with smooth side of lamp cord. 

I taped up the ground wire with electrical tape as it isn't needed for a plug in item.

(In this picture below you can see the nut I slipped on to prevent the wire from pulling through.)

7. Screw in a lightbulb and see if it works.  Magic!!

8. Secure mounting hardware to wall:

9. Place mounting plate over screws and secure with nuts:

10. Add glass and wire cage, plug in and enjoy.

The cord hanging down isn't perfect but it's the best solution short of hiring an electrician to hard wire the walls.

An affordable solution that frees up space on the nightstand and provides a sleeker, more efficient look for the tight space.

Now on to something for above the headboard.

"H" is for Headboard

Built: headboard from shutters

I took these shutters:

And made them into this:

 A little makeover for our Master Bedroom, we started with this:

(Yes it's from my husband's bachelor days but I did paint it white.)

And now have this:

Here's how I made the headboard:

1. Find old shutters (my neighbor left these out on bulk trash day thank you!):

2. Sand down to smooth then cut each shutter in half, making four equal pieces:

3. Paint one coat Annie Sloan paloma grey:

4. Then paint one coat Annie Sloan old ochre:

5. Sand to distress.

Apply Minwax Early American stain:

6. Prepare backing.

Using 3/8" plywood cut 1" less on all sides than shutter layout, attach scrap piece 1x in center for cleat.

Then attach cleat to 1x scrap piece and plywood:

** I also attached a 1x scrap piece near the bottom so the headboard hangs flat against the wall.

7. Place shutters face down (notice I did not paint the backsides) then place plywood backing on top of shutters:

8. Predrill and countersink plywood to shutters using 1 1/4" wood screws.

Use 4 screws on each shutter at the corners:

9. Secure other half of cleat to wall, be sure it's level:

(This cleat claims to be able to hold 200# but the headboard only weighs about 40#.)

10. Carefully place headboard side of cleat into wall side:

Now move bed back into place:

And you would never know the headboard is not attached to the bed.

The shutters add a bit of character and charm.

I'm linking up to:

Whatcha Got Weekend @ Lolly Jane

SAS @ Funky Junk

Weekend Wrap Up @ Tatertots & Jello

Sundae Scoop @ I Heart Naptime

Sister Sunday @ Sisters of the Wild West

Sunday Showcase Party @ Under the Table & Dreaming

Just Something I Whipped Up @ The Girl Creative

DIY Fall Festival @ The DIY Showoff

Made by You Mondays @ Skip to My Lou

Making the World Cuter @ Making the World Cuter

Nifty Thrifty @ Coastal Charm

Tuesday Treasures @ My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

Tutorials & Tips Tuesday @ Home Stories A to Z

Good Life @ A Beach Cottage

Delightfully Inspiring @ Delightful Order

Transformation Thursday @ The Shabby Creek Cottage

Strut Your Stuff @ Somewhat Simple

Share Awesomeness Thur @ The 36th Avenue

Flaunt it Friday @ Chic on a Shoestring

Tickled Pink @ 504 Main

Frugal Friday @ The Shabby Nest

SAS @ Just a Girl

Feathered Nest @ French Country Cottage

Remodelaholics Anonymous @ Remodelaholic

inspiration board @ Carolyns Homework
All Things Furniture @ Perfectly Imperfect
Furniture Feature Friday @ Miss Mustard Seed
POWW @ Primitive & Proper
Before & After Party @ Thrift Decor Chick

"R" is for Remodelaholic

Remodelaholic is featuring my kitchen renovation today.

In case you missed the original post in its entirety you can see it all over at Remodelaholic.

In a nutshell we went from 3 choppy, outdated rooms:

Long kitchen and

living room into dining room

Knocked down some walls and now we have one large great room.

Complete with kitchen and island:

living room area and

dining table area:

And we used Ikea Lidingo cabinets all throughout the kitchen:

Thanks Cassity for featuring my kitchen makeover.

"C" is for Crib #2

Built: vintage style doll crib

Built using plans from Ana White here.

Painted in creamy off white with crackle finish:

A special request from a friend.

Big enough for two baby dolls:

Or one sleepy baby:

Here's how I made the crib:

1. Cut pieces to fit using Ana White's plans here:

2. For the end pieces I made a template on graph paper using Ana's layout, then traced the template onto each end piece and cut out with a jigsaw:

3. Construct with glue and screws:

4. Prime and paint one coat BM Kansas Grain.

For the crackle effect paint one layer of white school glue:

6. Immediately add the second coat of BM Kansas Grain, as the glue dries faster than the paint it creates a crackle look, the effect starts almost immediately:

7. Work each surface separately leaving it flat (horizontal) to dry, if you tip it vertical you will get droopy, saggy sloppy cracks.

8. After it dries it looks like this:

9. To enhance the crackles rub brown acrylic paint in the cracks then wipe away the excess:

10. Sand to distress edges.

11. Stain with Minwax Early American to age the whole crib.

Then seal with clear satin poly:

9. For the mattress, cut a piece of foam mattress topper to length, set inside bottom of crib and then fold over sandwiching the bumpy part of the topper together:

10. Wrap foam with cotton batting and stitch or hot glue to hold mattress together and keep shape.

At this point you can cover with fabric and add bedding as you wish.

Or just leave it plain, loving the simplicity.

Thanks Ana for the great plans.

I'm linking up to:

Whatcha Got Weekend @ Lolly Jane

SAS @ Funky Junk

Weekend Wrap Up @ Tatertots & Jello

Sundae Scoop @ I Heart Naptime

Sister Sunday @ Sisters of the Wild West

Sunday Showcase Party @ Under the Table & Dreaming

Just Something I Whipped Up @ The Girl Creative

DIY Fall Festival @ The DIY Showoff

Made by You Mondays @ Skip to My Lou

Making the World Cuter @ Making the World Cuter

Nifty Thrifty @ Coastal Charm

Tuesday Treasures @ My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

Tutorials & Tips Tuesday @ Home Stories A to Z

Good Life @ A Beach Cottage

Delightfully Inspiring @ Delightful Order

Transformation Thursday @ The Shabby Creek Cottage

Strut Your Stuff @ Somewhat Simple

Share Awesomeness Thur @ The 36th Avenue

Flaunt it Friday @ Chic on a Shoestring

Tickled Pink @ 504 Main

Frugal Friday @ The Shabby Nest

SAS @ Just a Girl

Feathered Nest @ French Country Cottage

Remodelaholics Anonymous @ Remodelaholic

inspiration board @ Carolyns Homework