A Lego Table Upcycle

#sponsored I’ve seen many upcycles, but this type takes the cake. It’s just amazing to me to see what paint and a little ingenuity will do. So many pieces are tossed in the dump because they are outdated and/or in bad shape. But…I had a vision for this one. Here is the before. We got it at a ReStore in Michigan for $5. It was obviously very old. The casters were caked with years of crud & were very tarnished. The leather on top was in decent shape, as was the rest of the body. It just needed sprucing up. I decided to make it into a Lego table for my grandkids for Christmas. I didn’t want to go with the traditional primary colors, so I chose period appropriate colors with a few extras to make it special. Using (afflinks) vinyl spackling in a cake decorating mold, I make “stone” corner pieces and a “wood” walkway. Then I painted a … Read more

Want to learn how to paint furniture?

DISCOVER YOUR INNER ARTIST If you’d like to be a part of an amazing community of furniture artisans and have a great resource to go to when you need information, join us on FFB. You will access accurate and timely information on all things furniture redesign on FFB (painting, staining, etc.) and as a bonus, all members receive 4 marketing lessons and will be invited to a small, intimate Facebook group – are looking for your tribe? Furniture Flipping Blueprint is open until midnight, Monday, Feb. 25. Come join us! TELL ME MORE >>>

Entertainment Center Gets a Face Lift

Every couple of years my DH has asked me if I wanted to get rid of our entertainment center. I loved the functionality and design of it, so I always said “No! I love that piece!” BUT I didn’t love how outdated it was. Back when oak was the wood that said, “quality.” When we bought it, the price tag was decent and it was all the rage. But tastes change. Trends change. And now that I have the where with all to have the look I want, I decided to go for it before we got our new wood flooring in. We walked around on sub floor for about a year as we worked toward getting our flooring laid. First we considered paying for someone to lay it, but being a do-it-yourselfer, that was a hard pill to swallow. 2k. Ugh. Plus the guy who did our DDs wasn’t as impressive as we’d hoped. So we asked our son … Read more

Counter Top Cleaning Solutions

The 5 Types of Kitchen Countertops and Their Homemade Cleaning Solutions Aside from the living room, your kitchen is the most important part of your home. You probably spend most of your time cooking in it, preparing food on the kitchen island, and enjoying your food at the farmhouse table. Since food is prepared and cooked in the kitchen, it’s essential that you keep this space in your home clean and sanitized. People come and go in the kitchen and, because of this, there’s a great chance that it will become a breeding ground for germs and bacteria. The most critical part of the kitchen for bacteria growth is your kitchen countertop. As such, you should know about the various natural cleaning solutions for different types of kitchen countertop materials. You can read on below for that purpose. Granite Countertops You should avoid using lemon, vinegar, acidic cleaners, and any cleaning solutions that contain bleach and ammonia when cleaning a … Read more

Nobody Wanted Constance…Except Me

Nobody Wanted Constance…Except Me This Was One of Those I walk through estate sales and grab tickets before anyone else grabs up the good stuff. This one didn’t look like the good stuff, per se. Old, damaged and out of date, this one was a challenge. Not were the innerds a mess, but it just didn’t speak to me. I named her Constance, because of her colonial feel, and she talks to me now that she’s beautiful again. Here is her old self: The drawer glides were damaged and someone had tried using some sort of goop to try to glue them up. And of course I didn’t see this until I got it home and started prepping it. Fortunately, after a few attempts DH got it fixed up by making new glides. It is a very strange set up – the drawer glides are up under the top, slanted and the drawer top fits into them. It was quite … Read more

How to Build a Tiny House

This article was offered as a guest post and since I’m intrigued with tiny houses, I thought you might be too! We’ve many times talked about putting up a tiny house next to our home for families that come for a visit, both to give them privacy and a fun experience. Let me know what you think!  ~Val   How to Build a Tiny House By Molli McGee Do you enjoy the feeling of building something with your own two hands? While you may have crafted many a tiny thing for your home, it’s likely you haven’t considered the possibility of building your own tiny house. What is a tiny house, you ask? At no more than 500 square feet, a tiny house is the ultimate in DIY projects and focuses on living simply. Another aspect of tiny houses that will fulfill your DIY dreams, is the fact that tiny houses require designs that are purposeful and often multi-functional. For … Read more

DIY Pumpkin Floral Centerpiece

They say the third time is the charm. So, here is my third flower arrangement I’ve shared with you – a DIY floral centerpiece. (Hope I’m not boring you!) By showing you my first three attempts at flower arranging I’m hoping you’ll get the idea that you can do this too. HONESTLY…it really is quite easy. My little ceramic pumpkin turned floral centerpiece is the best yet. Here’s how I did it… I started with leaves around the bottom and then added a candle. It only took a few more flowers to make it fuller. I just kept moving them around until I was happy with it. The leaves were too big. I just didn’t like it and it didn’t really match the picture I had in my head. It was OK, but “OK” wasn’t good enough. So I took the leaves out and I knew it was done – a picture of my perfect Thanksgiving arrangement. Now, I didn’t … Read more

Fall Floral Arrangement DIY Tutorial

I found this pot out in my mom’s a storage shed covered in dirt. It had sat in there many years and traveled here to Wisconsin from Michigan a few years ago unprotected in that little plastic shed. Here’s that little pot – it’s amazing the treasures you find sitting in a little plastic shed covered in dirt. Since Michaels had fall silk flowers at 80% off yesterday, I bought a bunch for that little pot along with a little ceramic pumpkin I bought from a consignment shop for $2.00. I started with flowers, two pots, some foam and a few picks. The only tool I used was a pair of tin snips that I used to cut the stems. I stuck one of the smaller flower bushes in the center of the foam and spread them out. Normally you would just cut them apart and arrange them, but I thought this might give the arrangement a bit more stability. This … Read more

Homemade Apple Pie Filling and Applesauce

HOMEMADE APPLE PIE FILLING   This is an oldie but goodie – I’ve brought it back since fall is here and it’s time to do some canning…   Apples. Apples. AAAppples!!!! I mentioned in a recent post that I was spending hours cutting up apples a neighbor gave us for applesauce and apple pie filling to put in our freezer. Here’s a quick recap in case you are looking at two or three bags of apples and don’t know what to do with them. First I cut up a bunch into cubes with skins on and threw them into sandwich baggies for the freezer. Rather than using lemon juice to keep them from browning, I soaked them in salt water as I cut them up instead. I had read on Pinterest that someone had tried it and it worked so I tried it – besides, it was cheaper and easier. They’ve been in my freezer a week now and are … Read more