Using Your Head{board}

I recently decided what I wanted to do for my "big girl job." Yay me, but I have to go back to school to get my Masters degree. I moved back in with my parents to save money while going back to school...yeah, I'm THAT person. When I moved back, I decided to make my own headboard since I didn't have one in my tiny apartment. The rest of my room is kinda country/rustic, using aqua, yellow, gray, and white colors. I wanted to do something original. I love Pinterest, but I don't like stuff that everyone else in the world has. I like to be different. So I found this really cool broken arch that had been out in our garden forever. As you can tell, it's only half of an arch and wasn't salvageable to do it's original job anymore. It was white in a previous life, but after 20 years outside it was looking a little gray.

First, we had to sand it down a little to make sure all the sides were smooth, and to get off all the moss that had found a home on it. 

I frequently give my dad puppy dog eyes to help out on my projects. I'm infamous for guilt tripping him, but he's a good sport. Plus, I'm kind of a klutz and would probably staple my finger if left unsupervised.

Next, we got out the spray cans and painted that puppy white. 

(I'm rocking my camo hat & boots this day)

While the paint was still tacky, we used an old rag to take off some paint to give it a bit of a "weathered" look.

Finished product.

We (mostly my dad) hung some small "L" brackets on the wall to secure the headboard.

The finished product!

The best thing about this project was that it was FREE! I'm a cheapskate, so the cheaper the better. We already had the sandpaper and white spray paint so we just had to add a little elbow grease and love. 

*An important message: if you have anything that's been outside for 20+ years, it's a really good idea to spray it down with bug spray. I possibly had a few ants crawl out after we hung it. We sprayed it then and HUNDREDS of ants came out and died on my bed. I freaked out and washed my bedding about 10 times before I would sleep on it. Even now I sleep with one eye open, just waiting for an ambush.