Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Guest Bedroom


Welcome to  
my favorite room!
I purchased this dresser locally for $100


These lights were purchased on Etsy from a family operated business called ironcladindustrial

The straw blinds were purchased at Lowe's for less than $12 each

The first wreath I ever made! I used brown coffee filters that I stained with water colors and shaped into roses. DIY coming soon!




The brown pillow covers are 100% linen and a sale find at Pottery barn. The comforter cover is from Target

The beach sign is one of the many signs I make to order. Shop my shop!

This metal garden Stool was purchased at the World Market






This comforter cover is "Mari" by Pottery Barn

Thank you for stopping by




Thursday, May 9, 2013

Headboard DIY

Things from the guest bedroom I like most are....

The headboard I built.....

The handcrafted lights I purchased on Etsy......

The first Wreath I ever made......

The vintage dresser I purchased for $100!


This room is not quite finished, you see! I still need to reupholster a chair sitting in a corner, refinish the dresser, hang pictures and build one small night stand.


But for now....it's all about the headboard!

This room is the smallest bedroom in the house. It is only 12 x 12 with double closet doors (which takes a lot of wall space) and 2 windows.

Do you like waking up with bright sunshine hitting your face at 6:00 AM every morning in the summer? I sure don't.
I purchased really inexpensive straw blinds at Lowes thinking they would be a great light barrier but they turned out more decorative than fonctional and though they weren't doing their job of keeping the sunlight out, I could still not part with them. My solution to this problem was to move the bed to the window side. I liked it ok there but it was missing a certain "je ne sais quoi"! Something more than a picture or a mirror or any other decorative accents. It needed a headboard!

One with height and character.

The board and batten design I had been dreaming of doing on our hallway was now going to live in our guest room.

I purchased the materials and started working. This project only took me a day to put together including the paint part.

The space between the windows is 60.5''
I really wanted squares but you can go for rectangles if you prefer. My squares are 12'' x 12''

Materials

9 MDF boards 6' x 2.5" x 3/4" for all the squares.
1 MDF board 6' x 5.5" x 3/4" for the top of the headboard
1 MDF board 6' x 1" x 3/4" for the shelf at the top of the headboard
Nail Gun
Liquid Nail
Paintable Caulk
Level (large and small)
Primer
Paint

Instructions

Measure the size you want your headboard to be. It could go from one wall to another. Mine was going to fit between 2 windows and measured 60.5 inches wide and about 76 inches tall.

I leveled, glued and nailed the top piece on the wall first than added the center board


I glued and nailed the other boards vertically using one of the 12'' pieces (from below)  as a spacer


The space between each board is 12". I cut 16 pieces of MDF that I glued and nailed using one of the pieces as a spacer so my squares are even.


Caulk all crevices well. let dry and sand.



Glue and nail your shelf board at the top. Prime and paint your headboard. I used an angled brush for the tight corners and a small roller. You will need several coats of paint.




Voila!

Let me know if you have any questions or if you need help with understanding my measurements.

Monday, May 6, 2013

Chicken Braid


I have been making this wonderful chicken braid for years. Everyone who's tried it, loved it. It is a great party appetizer and very easy to put together.
I came across this recipe in 1996 during a pampered chef party. The party host made this braid using all pampered chef utensils which included a dough roller, a food chopper, a batter bowl, a pizza cutter a garlic press and a baking stone. The recipe was on the shopping catalog so I took one home that night and started baking the very next day. What a treat!

For those of you who have been requesting this recipe, ENJOY!

Ingredients

2 Cups cooked chicken, chopped
1 Cup broccoli, chopped
1/2 Cup chopped red bell pepper
1 Cup (4 oz) shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 garlic clove, pressed
1/2 Cup mayonnaise
1 tsp dried dill weed
1/4 tsp salt
2 packages (8 oz each) refrigerated crescent rolls
1 egg white, lightly beaten
2 Tsp silvered almonds





Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Chop chicken and broccoli. Place in a 2 qt bowl. Add bell pepper and cheese, press garlic over vegetable mixture and add mayonnaise, dill weed and salt. Mix well.


Unroll 1 package of crescent dough. DO NOT SEPARATE. Arrange longest sides of dough across width of 12x15 rectangle baking stone. Repeat with remaining package of dough. Using dough and pizza roller, roll dough to edges of baking stone. (I skip this part since I do not have a dough roller. I simply pinch the dough wedges together to seal the perforations in order to have one large flat rectangle.  *note: you can buy the Pillsbury rectangle dough instead of the crescent rolls if it is available at your grocery store. I could find it in Richmond but not in Wilmington)
On longest sides of baking stone, cut dough into strips 1 1/2 inches apart, 3 inches deep using a knife (there will be about 6 inches in the center left uncut for the filling).


Spread filling evenly over middle of dough.


To braid, lift strips of dough across mixture to meet in center, twisting each strip one turn. Continue alternating strips to form a braid. Tuck ends up to form a rim at the end of braid.


Brush egg white over dough using a pastry brush. Sprinkle with almonds (I sometimes skip this part)

Bake 25 to 28 minutes or until deep golden brown.