The Thirteenth Colony Antique Store | Love My DIY Home

The 13th Colony Antiques of Minoqua

  We came across The 13th Colony on our way to Minoqua. WI. There are three reasons I stop to shops like this:   1. I like to support Mom & Pop shops.   2. I enjoy getting ideas for my own home, mostly on how to use what I already have in a new and different way.   3. It helps me establish what I do and don't like for my decor.   I rarely buy anything at places like this because I am a DIY'er and very cheap! But I did find their prices reasonable and the selection of never before seen products was intriguing. They were kind enough to let me photograph their store. I'll let the photo essay do the talking. I’m also planning to write a short essay for this one as I find this amusing. If you also like to create beautiful essays, then … Read more

DIY Arrangements | Love My DIY Home

Make Arrangements to DIY – Grab and Stuff!

Psst. Pssssst. There is something you need to know. You may have never been told this before, but believe me. I know what I'm talking about. OK, I'm going to say it..     You don't have to pay anyone to do it. You don't have to take a second job to afford it. And the best part is – you can do it in 5 minutes. What am I talking about? DIY arrangements – arrangements you can copy. Easily. This has to be one of the easiest DIY's I've shared. Grab and stuff baby.   GRAB . AND . STUFF .   Go to Hobby Lobby, Michaels, or anywhere that has a variety of flowers and accessories like leaves, twigs, branches, sprigs, whatever – you know, the foofy stuff. Decide what you like, buy it along with some sort of vase or basket – really anything you like that … Read more

Got Work to Do - Bulletin Board upcycle

Got Work To Do, Got Work To Do…

Years ago my DH and I watched a sit com about two writers. I have no idea who they were or what the show was called, but there was one funny scene that we never forgot. The guys (I think they were brothers) were trying to work and had writer’s block. One of the men tapped his head with his notebook and said, “Got work to do, got work to do.” From that moment on whenever we had a long list of stuff to accomplish, we’d say, “Got work to do, got work to do.” I know. Cheesy. But it’s our “inside” mantra…kinda like an inside joke, but not. So, when I wanted to redo our office and put up a bulletin board in front of his desk, I decided to “decorate” it. Not  girly decorating-ish, but MANLY! I rifled through my scrapbook stickers and found some stick on letters … Read more

Restored Photo

DIY Photo Restoration

I have a friend … Truth be told, she's more of a seester, and this seester is also my top commentor on Love My DIY Home. Linda and her (my other) sister, Pam, are my adopted sisters – and I even have have a certificate to prove it! Years ago one of them photoshopped my picture into their family photo and made it official.   ⇔ my sisters by choice ⇔ Now that you know who I'm talking about – a while back Linda sent me an old photo that she hoped I could fix. She knew I worked with Photoshop and she had done as much as she could using her little jenky program. Ha! If you know anyone who uses Adobe products, you know we are snobby when it comes to design programs.   I started out using Publisher years ago and would die before going back to … Read more

Pantry Organization DIY

Updated DIY Pantry Reveal

To have an organized pantry makes things so much easier… It wasn’t a terrible mess, but it certainly desperately needed to be organized and pretty. Pretty doesn’t hurt. Seriously. Isn’t it nice to have something that you visit every day look inviting? Here is a “before” picture, Not bad. Functional. It was OK. But OK isn’t good enough for me. This is my Hobbit Hole. I want more than just “OK.” So now you have it. My messy pantry. I did have a door on it, so I could close it off and not think about it. Do you do that? Well, I’m done with it. I’m tired of messy and “unpretty.” I started by taking the door off – I’ve always hated the bifold door. It took up too much of the opening. I plan to get a regular door, though my mom says I will hate that even … Read more

crisis chart by cooldesign

Helpful Websites for DIY Crisis Prep

  Since looking into pantry preparedness, I've learned a lot along the way and I'd like to share what I've learned. That led me to ask myself, "Am I negligent in the area of crisis preparedness?" I decided I needed to make a list of the helpful websites I found while investigating the subject of crisis preparedness and share them with you. I might as well put all the hours of reasearch to good use both personally and for others.   I will be adding links as I find sites, products, and tips that are helpful.   Information/Checklists SB Canning on Facebook – Tons of canning information and tips Emergency Essentials Preparedness Checklist – "By making the necessary preparations, you can have the confidence of knowing you and your family will have their needs met in an emergency, whether it is an economic, man-made, or natural disaster." Be Prepared Educational … Read more

Young Living Essential Oils

Essential Oils – Amazing Theraputic Value!

  Essential Oils ESSENTIAL OILS!!! This has been a very exciting month for us. We invested (don't ya love it when people say "invested"?) in the Premium Starter Kit for the  Young LIving Essential Oils.   I say "invested" because at first glance, the cost of $150 is enough to warrant the word "invested". It strikes fear in the pocketbook of misers like me. If you know me well it's like trying to squeeze blood out of a turnip to get a buck out of me.   But $150??? No way.   Well, after I read about the benefits of Essential Oils and saw how they worked on some of my kids and grandkids I became a believer!   So my "No way," turned into a "I gotta get me some of them thar oils!"   I kid you not, I paid the $150 + shipping/handling and got the kit.  … Read more

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From Trash to Treasure – DIY Hurricane Lamp Candle Holder

There isn’t always paint involved, or sanding or even glue in every DIY project. A friend was dumping a bunch of old deco at Goodwill and offered to let me look through her box. Woohoo! A DIY’ers hayday! I’m working on four projects today, this one was a 30 second redo… No paint. No glue. No sanding. Nada. Here is a hurricane I picked out of her box. I thought it had potential. But I had no idea what that was when I took it. It was a very nice piece, but the bottom wasn’t solid or large enough to stand on its own. This morning when I was putting away some of my decor I had sitting in a pile (we’re working on our guest master bedroom), I got the idea to pair this up with a wooden candle holder I paid about a buck and a half for … Read more

DIY Designer Desktop

Greetings, my peeps! (Adam, my dear SIL, I said that just for you!)   Confession time. My desktop was a mess. Seriously – there were folders and PDFs and files strewn all over my desktop and whenever I've cleaned it up it's lasted, oh maybe, 2 days?   I was cruising around on Pinterest (big surprise, right?) and saw this really cool desktop from Moritz Fine Designs. Heather offers a bunch of downloads in different sizes. Heather, I pinned your designs on my Pinterest board – thanks for the idea!   After checking out her designs, I said to myself, "Self, you could do that." So I did.     I measured my desktop at 14.5" X 9".   I opened a new file on Photoshop with those dimensions and placed a scrapbooking background paper on the board. Using the rectangle tool, I added boxes and colored them using the … Read more

Upcycle old photo frame into a French Photo Board DIY

DIY French Photo Frame Tutorial – Re-purpose Old Picture Frames Part 4

Here’s another frame project completed. In November 2013 I talked about upcycling old unused photo frames here. Let’s face it. We get tired of our old stuff and want need changes in our home. It’s who we are. No sense in fighting it. We can have change for pennies rather than spending money on something someone else did. Here is my inspiration photo: source I searched through my boxes and found an old oak framed sports collage and painted it with a light tan spray paint. To bet on sports events, sites like sip777 are always available. I didn’t sand it because I like the way the paint scatters somewhat and grain shows through just a bit. It will be hanging on the wall, so I’m not concerned about scratching or paint wearing off. Since I am in Wisconsin, I took it out in the garage, sprayed it with Satin … Read more

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