All posts tagged reclaimed wood

make this: wood pallet dog bed

PalletDogBed5.jpgOne of my most popular DIY posts to date has to be a tutorial for a Burlap Dog Bed. Published almost eleven months ago to the day, this post continues to bring in dozens of visitors every week, from varying parts of the world. While I’m not sure if anyone has gone on to make a potato sack bed for their pet, I still consider the post a success based on stats alone.

I prefer not to talk incessantly about our animals, in fear that I will sound like a crazy lady who thinks that her fur babies are just the most special things to have ever walked the earth, but I do love them like mad. I also think that I love them the appropriate amount because I can definitely see their faults and know that they aren’t perfect. Far from it. However, if I have a few extra dollars or a few extra hours, my first thought is how can I spend it to make their lives better? See this Bicycle Trailer tutorial.

PalletDogBed12I have seen pallet dog beds on the internet before and I have always wanted one of my own. Well, for my dogs. I absolutely loved the look of them, and knew that they would fit in perfectly with our decor. About five months ago, I found someone online who claimed to make them for a ridiculously low price and who only lived about an hour away from us. After contacting her, we set up a future date and time to meet so that I could purchase one from her. Long story short, she completely fell off the face of the earth, deleting her photos, add, and even her email address. I think that it was a scam, since “her” photos were actually popular photos that can be found all over Pinterest. Thank goodness I didn’t pay her in advance!

Since that happened, I knew that our next pallet dog bed experience would be courtesy à la Kurysh. Do you what? The result was a success! I just know that yours will turn out perfectly as well. :-)))

PalletDogBed4Here is what you will need:

2 pallets
circular saw
drill
screws
tape measure
bar clamp
4 casters
stain
brushes
cushion

Steps:

PalletDogBed3The base.

1. Lay the first pallet down. Choose the one in the best shape. We’ll call it Pallet #1. Take its measurements, and decide what size you would like your bed to be. You may also do this before you start, either way will work!

2. Once you’ve decided on your measurements, you may need to cut Pallet #1. Try to salvage the excess wood if you decide to alter its size. 

PalletDogBed11The sides.

3. There are two ways that you can attach the sides to the bed. The first (a) is the easiest way. The second (b) is the way that we chose to make it.

(a) Measure the base length and width of Pallet #1. Using Pallet #2 and the saw, remove three of its boards. Now cut two of the boards to the width of the base, and one to the length of the base of Pallet #1. Once the sides are cut, using the drill and screws, attach them to Pallet #1 so that it looks as if the bed has a head board, side board, and foot board.  

PalletDogBed10(b) Measure the base length and width of Pallet #1. Using Pallet #2 and the saw, remove three of its boards. Now cut two of the boards to the width of the base, and one to the length of the base of Pallet #1. Remove also the four wood blocks that separate the top deckboard from the bottom deckboard on Pallet #2. You will need these to attach the sides to Pallet #1. Now screw the four blocks onto the four corners of Pallet #1. Once you have completed that, attach the sides by screwing them into the blocks.

PalletDogBed6The casters.

4. Turn the nearly completed Pallet #1 over. Mark a 2″ gap from the top and side of every corner. Screw one caster into each corner, just below the markings. Flip the pallet back over once they are secure.

PalletDogBed2Finishing touches.

5. Sanding the pallet is one of the most important steps in constructing a dog bed. There’s a good chance that these have been left outside to be at the mercy of all of the elements, bugs, dirt, and who knows what else? A light to moderate sanding will get rid of the pallet’s top layer of grime, while keeping the uniqueness of the stamps and other markings intact. 

PalletDogBed136. Once the bed has been sanded, stain it to your colour of choice. Or if you want to keep it natural looking, choose a clear coat of Varathane.

7. Depending on the size of the pallet, you may either be able to buy a fiber-filled dog bed that will fit the pallet dog bed perfectly, or you will have to buy a foam mattress and cut it to size. May I suggest covering the foam with burlap?

8. The last step is to grab your furry loved one and let them try out the bed for size! I already know that you will love it, so they are the last (and hardest) critics to please. Fingers and paws crossed!

<3

Emory

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by Hello, Scarlett Blog on 01/12/2015  •  Permalink
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Posted by Hello, Scarlett Blog on 01/12/2015

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photo of the day

Screen Shot 2015-01-05 at 10.33.14 AM

“We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams.”

Roald Dahl

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by Hello, Scarlett Blog on 01/06/2015  •  Permalink
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Posted by Hello, Scarlett Blog on 01/06/2015

https://helloscarlettblog.com/2015/01/06/photo-of-the-day/

fifty shades of grey

Stain1Spoiler alert: This is not a post about the erotica novel or film. 

Picking out stain was about as frustrating as picking out a hand railing. My knowledge of stain is about as profound as my knowledge of quantum physics. I know that they exist, and that they are a fundamental part of their respective categories, but as for how it all works, I have no idea. 

Stain4I have never used any other colour of stain aside from white. It was on two different staircases, one inside and one outside. I used the same stain for both and applied it with a paintbrush. It was messy and didn’t last longer than a year on either. I saw my hard work go down the drain, and decided from that point on that I hated stain. Paint was the way to go. 

Stain3That was before The Little Barn. Since then, stain has become our best friend. From the varying brands, to the varying types, to the varying tints, to the varying coverages, to the varying woods, to the varying materials used to apply it, we have had a crash course in stain. Stubborn to the end, I can’t say that I’ve liked it. However, I don’t hate it as much as I once did.

My mum uses stain for everything. I never understood it before, until now. With having to choose a colour for our tongue and groove ceiling, trim, doors, and furniture galore, we decided to stick to none other than gray. No, it’s not for our love of gray days, nor for the novel by E.L. James, but merely because it looks freaking cool. Literally. Its cool tones work well with our dark floor and white walls. I’m a big fan of the shade.

Stain2We chose Classic Gray Minwax for the majority of our home. For our furniture, we went with Sun Bleached Varathane.

What has been your experience with stain?

<3

Emory

by Hello, Scarlett Blog on 12/16/2014  •  Permalink
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Posted by Hello, Scarlett Blog on 12/16/2014

https://helloscarlettblog.com/2014/12/16/fifty-shades-of-grey/

a picnic table for the little barn

PicnicTable1I began this post like I usually do. I had a general idea of what I was going to write, in addition to some photographs that I had taken earlier. I also knew that this piece needed a good title. I think that most writers leave the naming of their work until the end. That way, they are able to encompass all of their themes and digressions in a matter of a few words after getting a sense of the piece in its entirety. It’s easier to name something after you see it as opposed to naming it before and having to live up to that grandeur title. Or else they just call it “Untitled.” That’s taking both the easy and the rebel’s way out.

PicnicTable2I said most writers, not all. I actually do the opposite. I like having fun titles to my posts. Not ‘Fun.’ the indie band, but ‘fun’ as in interesting and quirky. Titles that seem vaguely familiar, but by changing a few of the words or its context, they take on a whole new meaning. Take today’s post, for instance. Knowing that it was about a picnic table, I typed the word picnic into a lyric database. What I was expecting was many children’s song titles such as “Teddy Bear’s Picnic” or “Going on a Picnic.” What I ended up getting was something completely different, and a little terrifying. I didn’t know that there was so much hostility towards what I consider to be such an enjoyable pastime!

PicnicTable4Here are some examples of such lyrics:

“Picnic” by Sammy J

The sun is up, the sky is blue

There’s no one here, just me and you

This would be such a perfect moment

If you were breathing 

…

It’s quite a shock, but all the same

Now I get twice as much champagne

And that should take away the shame

Of abducting you in the first place

“This Ain’t No Picnic” by Minutemen

Working on the edge

Losing my self-respect

For a man who presides over me

The principles of his creed

Punch in, punch out

Eight hours, five days

Sweat, pain and agony

On Friday I’ll get paid

This ain’t no picnic

“Talking Bear Mountain Picnic Massacre Blues” by Bob Dylan

Well, I soon lost track of m’ kids ‘n’ wife,

So many people there I never saw in m’ life

That old ship sinkin’ down in the water,

Six thousand people tryin’ t’ kill each other,

Dogs a-barkin’, cats a-meowin’,

Women screamin’, fists a-flyin’, babies cryin’,

Cops a-comin’, me a-runnin’.

Maybe we just better call off the picnic.

PicnicTable3You get the picture. Suddenly, my light-hearted post about our new table had started going in a downward spiral. In the end, I couldn’t bring myself to use any of the titles or lyrics that I had just discovered, and for the first time in a long time, I had to come up with my own. Hence, my blatantly obvious choice of “A Picnic Table for the Little Barn.” Short and sweet and to the point!

PicnicTable5So, after all of that, what I originally was going to write about was the fact that we ordered a custom table for our new home. We’ve never owned a proper table. We had a cafe set for the first few years of our marriage, then nothing for a year or more, then finally Baba’s table for the last year. Since we have 9 feet of space in our new home, I wanted a long-ass table. My mum generously gave us one of her church pews that I have been coveting for years, which is exactly 9 feet long. So I found a guy online who builds tables, and told him what I was looking for. He ended up making us a picnic table with a bench on one side only, and a tabletop that is 7′ x 3′. I love it!

PicnicTable6We still need to stain it and fill in the holes with filler. Until then, it’s being stored at my parent’s house. 

I’ll be sure to post a picture of our new table, along with our pew in The Little Barn, once we move everything in. Until then, I hope you enjoyed this post and music lesson!

<3

Emory

by Hello, Scarlett Blog on 12/12/2014  •  Permalink
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Posted by Hello, Scarlett Blog on 12/12/2014

https://helloscarlettblog.com/2014/12/12/a-picnic-table-for-the-little-barn/

stairway to heaven, or something like that

e5556d9f070dcb71dbfdfbde1c06d0f9(Image via Pinterest)

The day is getting closer for when we’ll be able to move into The Little Barn. I would say in two weeks, to be exact. This also means that the decisions are becoming finer in their details and much more rushed at that. Our contractors are scrambling to finish last minute projects, both little and big, and we are calling them almost on a daily basis asking when it is that we’ll be able to bring our belongings over. The only other time that I’ve felt this nervous during our house building was in the beginning, when we were waiting to hear back from the bank regarding our mortgage. It’s torturous!

Anyway, that’s not the point of this post. What is the point is that we were asked to pick out a railing for our staircase. Actually, I was texted that question. My first response was that I didn’t bloody know. My contractor then told me that I had to pick something. Obviously, but what a vague question. Who thinks about railings? Didn’t they just appear when the staircase was installed? What are the different kinds of materials that can be used? How would I know what would look good and what wouldn’t?

In a desperate attempt, I had asked my husband to pick out a railing. He was about as shocked and overwhelmed as I was, and asked me what look we were going for. 

“I don’t know,” I said. “Just type in rustic staircase.” 

So he did. What we came up with was a reclaimed wood railing.

dd14c481e8c7a8520a2b38efd2c3612b(Image via Pinterest)

671a060c2fdcd58b6bfb9d3df8325f29(Image via Pinterest)

038f7fd977cb5472824f871e11babdc0(Image via Pinterest)

What would you have chosen for your own house?

<3

Emory

by Hello, Scarlett Blog on 12/08/2014  •  Permalink
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Posted by Hello, Scarlett Blog on 12/08/2014

https://helloscarlettblog.com/2014/12/08/stairway-to-heaven-or-something-like-that/

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  • Hello! My name is Emory. I am a wife, mother of four (three on earth in heaven). This is our life on the Canadian prairies.
    email: helloscarlettblog@outlook.com

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