DIY MONDAY

It is DIY Monday which means it is time to share another DIY project (I have plenty of them as I get ready to move into the dorm)

Todays DIY are the headboards I made for my sister's bed and for my bed. This project took the most time and most patience out of all the projects I have made for the dorm.

Materials:

piece of 1/2 x 2 x 4 plywood cut down to 2 x 3.25
these measurements are for a twin bed 

They will cut your wood at Lowe's if you don't have a way to cut it like me -- roughly $8.00 each because I went for the cheap stuff

some foam

I ended up with 4 packs of 4-pack 16 x 16 foam squares. because thats all my local Walmart had -- around $24.00 total

batting

I ended up with 45 x 60 roll with "medium fluffiness" -- around $13.00

a 4 x 10 dropcloth

You can get actually get any size or brand I just got the cheapest one at my Lowe's -- around $4.00

upholstery nails (sisters)

upholstery nails (mine)

Upholstery nails (for the trim) - I made the mistake of letting my sister choose them. I ended up with the boring ones. -- around $8.00 for 8 packets (4 for each headboard)

SUPPLIES I HAD ON HAND: 

black craft paint

printer

tacks

scissors

small craft paintbrush

STEPS:

1. measure and cut the foam to the width and length of your board then secure with any type of adhesive

2. measure out your batting (2 inches longer than your board on all sides)

3. flip the board face down onto the batting and staple (pull tightly but don't rip it)

4. same as step 3 only this time with the drop cloth - also, I forgot to iron this step and now I'm stuck with wrinkles on my headboard

5. start putting in those nails - this takes a while luckily for me there was a Harry Potter marathon on

mine

sisters

almost done

nails all done!

I was going to just leave it like this but as I stared it I couldn't help but think it needed more.
but what? MONOGRAMS OF COURSE

onto step 6. find a font you like and make the letters the biggest font they will go and print them off
step 7. now tediously cut each letter out and place it how you like on your headboard then pin.

the boyfriend thinks monograms are weird. he doesn't like the last initial going in the middle. boys.

Step 8. Trace around each letter with black paint and then remove the letters. Now fill in the traced letter and you should end up with something like....

This!

and this!

GRAND TOTAL: around 65 dollars for both or 32.50 each

I'm so glad they are done but I can't wait to have nice custom plush headboards in the supposed to be sterile dorm :)

♥ Katie

What I Wore

Since I started a new job that requires me to dress "appropriately" (in other words no nike shorts - which is hard considering I'm a college student) I've decided to start keeping track of my outfits with this "What I Wore" post.

On this day I had to go to work but I also had to take the GRE (death) so I needed something comfy but work appropriate.
I started with a blue maxi dress I bought at least three years ago and have never worn.
I went through a multitude of sweater and belt options

too frumpy

not a fan of what it did to my hips 

the winner

The sweater I ended up choosing was a hand me down from my mom that I had never worn.

ta-da. comfy and wearable to work {p.s. sorry for the crappy quality I'm stuck with my iphone and a mirror for now}

Shop List:

Dress: Shop at the beach many years ago - Similar blue maxi 

Sweater: Hand me down from mom - Similar Cheetah Sweater

Belt: Came with a dress I bought from Material Girls - Similar Brown Skinny Belt

Shoes: Selena Gomez from Kmart {sold out I think) - Similar Tan Zip Sandals

♥ Katie

DIY: Key Holder

As I was making DIY items for the dorm room I came across a bunch of key holders on Pinterest. 

I figured why not we are prone to losing our keys and this might just help save 10 minutes of looking in the morning{which means 10 more minutes of sleep}

here it is in all its glory

Supplies:

{1}Gray Spray Paint

{2} White Paint

{3} A Small Candle

{4} 3 hooks

{5} A Mason Jar

{6} I cant remember the name of the ring holding the mason jar on but it is found in the plumbing section

{1}I started out with a piece of scrap wood and painted it gray

{2}When that dried I rubbed the edges and parts of the middle with a candle 

{3}Then I painted it a creamy white color from Valspar - I had picked up the sample size earlier at Lowes

{4}Its hard to see in the picture but I sanded where the candle wax was and the gray peeks through on the edges

{5} I installed the hooks and the ring thing and then just slipped the mason jar in 

BACK

After a long period of abandonment I have decided to give the good ole' blog another try.

I have recently finished a large set of DIY projects for the dorm room my sister and I will be sharing.

There are no real tutorials for them because I never really intended for them to be tutorials but I'll at least share them with you on here.

Numbero Uno: THE DROPCLOTH RUG

My sister and I lucked out and got a room with carpet instead of laminate BUT the carpet was ugly. I'm not sure who picked it out but sheesh. I knew we needed a large rug to cover the majority of the carpet but large rugs are usually on the expensive end and we're on a budget.

In came a drop cloth for about 10 bucks and two things of Valspar sample paint and I was left with a huge area rug for about 15 bucks.

I got impatient and started peeling the tape off the already painted sections

more impatience.

the finished product!

I wouldn't call it the plushest rug in the world but hey its going over an already plush carpet.

I should probably add our bedspreads so you can get the direction the room is going.

The Sister's Duvet

My Duvet