The Bed is Made

Its finally finished and in place in Babe Jr's bedroom.

I used 2 coats of primer and one coat of semi-gloss of trim paint to make sure none of the knots showed through.  After the the first coat of primer I also used some paint-able caulk to fill cracks and disguise some of the nails.  It took forever.  I had the units propped up in my kitchen and could only work on one side at a time, then had to wait wait until it dried to flip it over to work on the other.  But its finally done and I have my kitchen back!

We already had the bins on hand and they conveniently fit the cubbies perfectly.  Only one of them actually has stuff in in right now because they were stacked together under Babe Jr's desk previously.  I actually bought them several years ago to use for her Easter basket; they've served many storage purposes over the years.  We have some reorganizing to do now.  The cubbies on the wall side of the bed can be used to store things that won't be needed very often, like off season clothes.  Both sides are finished and trimmed out the same way, so the bed could be placed in the center of a room with bins in all 6 cubbies. 

I didn't trim out the section at the head of the bed like I did the foot due to the layout of Babe Jr's room.  We're planning to do a headboard eventually, probably something upholstered.  But if you trim that end you can center the bed lengthwise on the wall like a traditional day bed.  This is really a versatile design, and even though it was time consuming for me since I could only work on it in spurts, it was fairly simple to construct.  Here's the link again for plans.  Ana White Daybed

Bed Update

I finally finished most of the sanding and started priming tonight.  I used up the last of a can of primer I had and now I need to buy some more.  This is going to take forever.

This section will be the foot of the bed.

I knew the raw wood would suck up a lot of paint, but I may need more than one coat of primer or multiple coats of trim paint once its primed.  There are also a few holes and cracks that need filled that I didn't notice before it was all white.  I'm not sure if I should use wood filler and then prime those spots again, or buy white caulk of some kind.

I've also been looking at baskets and bins to go in the cubbies.  I don't think a natural or stained basket would match in Babe Jr's room.  I've been trying to find something black.  Maybe like this:

 or this:

 or this:

 Images from walmart.com

She has some plastic bins in her room currently that fit, but they are orange, pink and green.  They match for now, but she's already sick of her current comforter set, so I foresee a color scheme change in the near future.  But, based on how long it looks like its going to take to get all 3 units painted, we've got plenty of time to think about it.

Cupcakes!

Yesterday we threw a bridal shower for my friend who's getting married in 2 weeks.  I decided to make cupcakes.  Approximately 72 of them.

 Yellow cake with Chocolate Butter-Cream.

 My personal favorite, Dark Chocolate cake with Peanut Butter Butter-Cream.  I love that Reese's make mini peanut butter cups now, they look so cute on top.

And in honor of fall, and because the bride loves pumpkin, Pumpkin Spice cake with Cream Cheese Butter-Cream.

They were a pretty big success.  The Pumpkin Cream Cheese seemed to be  a crowd favorite.  I bet I gained 5 lbs from licking beaters, spoons, and mixing bowls - after I was done using them of course.  Mr. Backwoods nearly had an aneurism because I wouldn't let him eat lots of them.  He was, however, quite pleased when I brought home leftovers.