King Sized Pallet Headboard!~!

 

 

I finally did it!!!  I made something successful out of pallet wood!! I have been reading about "pallet projects" for months and months.  I even have a Pinterest board full of them. I was once semi successful with a small table - but not really.  I did however learn from my mistakes.  there are a million headboard tuts out there...  this is more of a "share" than a tutorial...   as I wasn't real sure what the heck I was doing.

I am very fortunate to have a cool friend that loans me his tools on occasion.  He was also kind enough to pull all the pallets apart! How cool is that.  I have taken the pallets apart in the past, so it is possible for me, but very hard.... thanks buddy!

 

As you all probably know, pallet wood is basically crap wood. So if you want it too look decent and not to "rustic" you have to sand the crap out of it!!  This was the longest part of the project and took almost 5 hours..

 

I knew that I wanted a clean, smooth look so I took the time to sand all the boards down as much as I could.   After measuring the width of the be ( a king is 72 inches) I laid  out the measuring tape and just started lining up the boards until I had enough.

I also wanted it to be tall so I cut all of the boards to be the same height as the shortest one I had.  It ended up being 36 inches tall.

 

I laid down some brace boards ( I actually ended up with more than just these two ) and drilled them from the back.

 

This is a view from the back side.

 

After I got all the boards secured I added the legs.  A few of the boards had to be screwed in from the front, but I tried to use existing nail holes so you could tell too much.

 

I only used clear polyurethane.....the different colors are the actual wood.   Due to the fact that the wood was old and kind of junky I had to put several ( I think 5) coats on.  It just sucked the polyurethane right up.  It was worth it though.   I took the longest boards I had and used them for legs.  They are just screwed into the back brace boards.  The legs extend 23 inches below the bottom of the headboard; making it nice and tall.  I did 3 legs just to be a bit sturdier.

 

 

And amazingly enough my husband and I managed to get this giant thing into the house and behind the bed.  It is not attached to the bed, just pushed against the wall by the mattresses.  I have found it is a bit wobbly so I will be attaching it to the wall with long screws from the top.

 

Please Please post pics if you do this!!!!  I would  love to see what anyone else creates!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Home Made Dog Snacks ( 3 ingredients)

So this week, the little one and I decided to bake for the fur babies instead of humans!!  We did however share them with my co-workers  ( see they benefit from all my baking )! 

We used to buy the mix for these treats and make them at Christmas time.  Which is the reason I own a Bone Shaped cookie cutter!  We have since decided that it much more fun, and economical to make them from scratch!  Only 3 ingredients.  For this batch I used Biscoff Spread instead of Peanut Butter just be cause I had it. 

This batch makes 24  three inch cookies.

 

4 Cups A/P Flour ( or wheat flour if you prefer)

2 Cups Oats ( instant works fine)

2/3 Cup Peanut butter

2 1/2 cups Hot Water

 

Preheat the oven to 350.

Mix your flour and peanut butter until it becomes crumbly.

 

Add in the oats and mix again.

Add your hot water a little at a time until you have a nice heavy dough.

be careful with the water, if you add too much it will become very sticky

( I added too much and had to keep adding more flour until it was workable)

 

On a floured flat surface roll out your dout to 1/2 inches and cut .

Place the Bones on a light greased cookie pan and cook for 40 mins.

 

Let the cookies cool completely and store in an airtight container so they will last a bit longer~!

 

The Pups with love em~~!!!

 

 

FYI, if you don't feel like making them your self I do sell these and a few others in my Etsy Store!!

 

 https://www.etsy.com/shop/FlutterbyFantastic

 

Easiest Pasta Salad Ever!

 

Easiest Pasta Salad Ever!!

 

OK, to make a long story short I screwed up the dessert I was bringing to the work pot luck and had to come up with something quick and easy, but yummy.  I do have a reputation to uphold ya know.

 

Any woo, the result was the easiest pasta salad I have every made.  Basically I picked a pasta that I had plenty of and starting rummaging through the fridge for add ins.   Here's what I cam up with

 

3 pieces of sliced ham - cut into small pieces

3 pieces of sliced provolone, cut into small pieces

3 teaspoons prepared pesto

1/2 cup frozen corn

1/2 cup Zesty Italian Salad Dressing

1 small green bell pepper ( from my plant ) chopped coarsely

1 teaspoon oregano

salt and pepper to taste.

 

After cooking and cooling 1/2 box of bow tie pasta I mixed all the other ingredients in one at a time mixing well after each addition.  The salad dressing goes last, mix well and refrigerate.

 

Holy Yum!! 

 

By the way; we were able to salvage the dessert also.  Apple Pie Eggrolls, I will post that one next time I make them!

Chalkboard Paint!

Chalkboard Paint!! 

On the closet door!

 

So this weeks project for my daughter's really small room turned out pretty cool.  Which is a good thing since it involved painting!  Did you know that you can purchase colored chalboard paint???  I sure didn't, Home Depot has it in 12 colors. 

Two coats on the closet door, the border is the cheap "duct" tape. It matched the organizing bins we did a couple of weeks ago.  No need for a bulky easel taking up space when you can do this!!

Peanut Butter Cupcakes!

Peanut Butter Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting!!

 

I made these a few weeks ago, my first try.  Brought a batch to work and they were gone in minutes!!  Really!  Yummy!

 
The best thing is that all of the ingredients were already in my pantry! No shopping!

CUPCAKES                                                  FROSTING

2 cups brown sugar                                          1/2 cup Butter

1/2 butter or shortening                                    1 cup Peanut butter

1 cup peanut butter                                           3 tbls Milk   

2 Eggs                                                               2 cups confectioners sugar

1 1/2 cups milk                                                 2  packages  candy coated peanut butter (RP'S)

1 tsp Vanilla extract                                        

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

 1 pinch salt

 

 

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line you cupcake pan with paper liners.  This recipe makes 24!

 

 

2.  In a bowl mix together brown sugar, butter/shortening and the peanut butter until light and fluffy. And the eggs one at a time and mix after each one.  Stir in the Vanilla.  In a seperate bowl combine the flour baking soda and salt. Stir the dry ingredients into the batter alternating with the milk,  this should take 3 times.  (Flour, milk, flour, milk, flour milk)  Fill muffin tins 3/4 full and bake for 15 - 20 minuts.   Top of cakes shouls sring back when lightly pressed and a toothpick inserted should come out clean.

3.   Cool in the pan for 10 minutes then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Frosting:
1.  mix the butter and peanut butter until fluffy. Mix in the sugar and add the milk until it is a creamy spreadable consistency.  You may have to use a little more milk. 

I  use a ziploc bag to pipe my frosting.  Just cut off one of the corners and there you go.  Chop up the peanut butter peices and sprinkle on top.

Hope you love them,  post pics if you make them !!
Nadine 

 

Super Easy Wall Storage, Kids Room

Dollar Store Kids Storage!

 

Under $10.00. 

So here in our new house in Florida my daughters room is quite a bit smaller than her old one, and she has more stuff!!  How did that happen. 
So we came up with a super cheap and easy way to store her crayons and art stuff. 

The bins are from the 1$ section of CVS - super cheap and they had lots of color.  The border is made from "duct" tape from the Dollar Store.  That tape is pretty cheap ( nothing like the real stuff) but that is good because it will come off the wall very easily without wrecking the paint. 

The bins are attached to the wall with thumbtacks on the top and bottom of the longer side.

We did this right above her desk, so it helps keep her desk clean as well.

Enjoy, post pics if you do it yourself!!

Nadine

 

Toaster Oven Salmon Lunch! ( single serving!)

 

So, I am still getting used to this 9 - 5 thing!  And a whole hour of lunch!!  OMG so many things I can do with a free hour.  I am used to shoveling down my food in 15 minutes , while checking email.

With this much time for lunch my mind tends to wander to "what will I make for Lunch?"  So I decided to make a healthy quick lunch from the toaster oven and microwave!  The toaster oven cooked the salmon great and the rice was made in the microwave (instant rice) I added a cut up plum just to have some fruit!!

So this is a great quick cooked lunch, but tastes home cooked. 

 

 

INGREDIENTS 

 

I buy salmon filet from the freezer section, they are small and vacuum packed so they are perfect for this lunch recipe.  Salmon thaws very quickly so keep  it frozen until you head off to work.

 

MARINADE ( remember this is a single serving, multiply as needed )

 

1/4 cup soy sauce, I use low sodium

1/.2 tsp minced garlic

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon Agave Nectar ( or honey )

 

Mix all the above ingredients well and store is a airtight container, refrigerate.

 

RICE

 

1/2 instant rice ( I store it in a ziploc because it fits in my lunch box better )

1 teaspoon chopped green onions

1 tbs frozen green peas.

1 tbs chopped carrot

 

 Store the onions and peas and carrots together in the freezer until you are ready cook.

 

 

DIRECTIONS

 

     About an hour before you are ready to cook, pour your marinade over your fish, store it in an airtight container and refrigerate.  The fish should marinate for at least an hour.   Turn your toaster oven on at the Broil setting.   Cover the toaster oven tray with tin foil and lightly spray with cooking spray.  Add your fish to the toaster oven and set the timer for 8 - 10 minutes.  While your fish is cooking add onions, carrots and peas to your rice and mix well.  Add 1/2 cup boiling water and stir.  Cover the bowl.  and let sit until all water is absorbed ( about 5 minutes).

 

When your rice is done add a couple of tablespoons of the marinade to it and mix well.  Your fish should be just about ready by now, depending on how well done you like your salmon.   I chose plum for my fruit and it was a delicious flavor pairing,  YUM!!