DIY Rustic Frames

Hey folks. In my mind this post started like a month ago. You see, I bought these really awesome posters on Amazon for BigE's room. Each one features a different national park, and they are really vibrant and beautiful. I love them so much that I question whether I bought them more for Eli or myself. Either way I needed some frames for them. However they are a pretty irregular size (13x19). Yes, I could find these frames, but they were either crappy or ridiculously expensive. So without settling or paying too much, I decided to build the frames myself. I had access to some beautiful gate wood that I had been waiting to use for the perfect project. So I cut my wood to length at 45 degree angles to make the frames look more professional. Then came the hardest part of the project. I do not have a 45 degree angle clamp so joining these boards together perfectly was a bit of a struggle. I used wood glue, my hands as clamps (sad day), and my porter cable nail gun. Once that part was over I gave the frames a quick sanding without my sander just to make them a little smooth. Now the majority of the work is done, and the rest was really fun.


At this point I knew that I would need something to back the posters, as they are not very thick. I decided to go with some thick, foam poster board from the craft aisle at Target.  I cut the poster board about a quarter inch longer than the posters to be able to staple them into the wood without damaging the posters themselves. Once the poster boards were cut, I taped the posters to them with masking tape so that I could center everything in the frame easily. One each poster was centered, I flipped it over and used a staple gun to attach everything.


Now, the hardware that you choose to hang your frames with it up to you. I used what I had on hand, so that I didn't have to take a trip to Home Depot. That happened to be some simple screw eyes and wire. DONE.

This project took me less than 3 hours to complete. I spent about 5 bucks total if you don't count the actual posters and factor in all of the supplies I had at home already. Pretty preferable over the flimsy, over-priced crap they sell at the store.

Handmade Beds and Vintage Quilts

Let's take just a second here to soak in the glorious fact that the car-bed is out of my house and our lives forever. Yes, the new baby on the way has forced us to upgrade BigE's bed so that the crib mattress can be put back into the crib. Bye bye, super ugly, bulky, cheap car-bed....on to bigger and better bed options! I knew I wanted to build Eli's bed because I refuse to pay what they charge for solid wood these days. I also knew I wanted something simple and sturdy because this thing is going to see some wear. Also, I didn't want anything too fancy because it would really go with the theme that will eventually be in his room.

I am shamelessly thrilled to brag that I did this for less than 100 bucks. WAY less. It also would have taken about one day to complete if my sander hadn't crapped out on me. Also, factor in that I am 4 months prego and haven't built in months....if you have basic woodworking skills, you can do this in less than one day. I am sure.



I didn't take any progress pictures for this build. It's pretty straight forward if you have had some practice joining. I used my trusty KregJig. If I had planned it better I would have angled out the trim on the headboard and footboard at 45 degree cuts. It turned out very noticeably two-toned, which was not my intention. I usually use a much darker stain, and you can't ever tell that I'm using two different wood types. However, it was super obvious with this stain and the wood I used. But overall I am thrilled with this bed and so is BigE.


I struggled finding a good selection of twin size comforters anywhere, but not to worry. A vintage, twin size quilt will do just fine (even better really).


All of the effort is really just for moments like this :)