Reviews – Love My DIY Home

Festool Dust Extractor Review on Youtube

[VIDEO] Festool Dust Extractor: The Solution For Effortless, Dust-free Furniture Flipping!

SANDING – Dust Free! This Festool Dust Extractor is a game changer! After many encounters with lung issues over sanding, my DH gave this Dust Extractor to me – and was it ever worth it’s weight in gold. I can now flip my furniture quicker and without trouble over dust all over and in my lungs! You can get it on Amazon (affiliate link): https://amzn.to/4burneH We all know that a furniture redesign project can take days and even weeks because of the many steps we must take to guarantee a great finish and design. This Festool tool not only is easy to use, but so much better for one’s health! Click the pic below to be taken to the video on Youtube ↓ Do you refinish furniture? I’d like to hear about it. Comment below or on Youtube. Let’s connect! Thanks for visiting. Oh, and btw, please subscribe to … Read more

From Gun Cabinet to Display Cabinet – Upcycle, Don’t Toss!

We go to garage and estate sales looking for deals or just something fun for our house, our kids or to flip. I guess you could call us “PICKERS.” I don’t usually have anything in mind. I can look at something and envision something else. DH can’t do it at all. I’ll say, Oooh, wouldn’t that look good in blue with a dark glaze and he’ll say, “Ok, if you say so.” He’s learned to rely on my vision. I rely on his ability to size something up that needs repairs and know whether it’s a good buy. After all, he’s the one who will be fixing it. I’m fortunate. He’s pretty good at fixing things. We saw this gun cabinet turned shelving unit at a garage sale. I’ve always looked for narrow cabinets. Too often they are very wide and take up too much space. This one was narrow … Read more

[VIDEO] Product Review – Phone Camera Lens Kit by Isaac Jones

Isaac has been working with me creating videos for 5 years now. Believe it or not, his first set of videos were when he was 12. He helped me put together a course for kids, demonstrating how to redesign furniture – CREATIVE KIDS FURNITURE ART. He was pretty amazing back then – but now? WOW. He’s a pro at age 17. This video is his review of tiny little lenses you can add to your phone to enhance your photos. In my case, I use them when I stage my redesigned furniture. I’ve bought and or downloaded several products, apps and programs he’s recommended because he takes the time to learn them and finds the ones that are the best price for the quality. Take a look. If you love photography and would like to take some cool shots or need to extend the usability of your phone, this kit might … Read more

Polyacrylic Isn’t Hard to Apply ANY MORE!

POLY APPLICATION FRUSTRATION! When I first started redesigning furniture, the hardest part was working out what methods worked the best – especially when applying glaze and poly. Fortunately after about 2 weeks of stressing and waking up and going to sleep with it on my mind, I finally figured it out. For glaze, I apply poly first and the glaze goes on so much better. For poly, I started using a damp car detailer sponge, soaked it in the poly first and then applied in strips, overlapping just a bit and never going back over it because you’d then get drag. Drag is when you go over a part that has already dried and the poly looks cloudy when dry. I added Extender to increase open time so I didn’t have to work so fast. I also discovered that humidity and temp in your room made a difference. It worked … Read more

Adding a Bit of Glitz to a Motif – The Royal Collection Metallics

Add Some Glitz! The Retique It Royal Collection Metallics Are you wanting your pieces to stand out so people take notice? One way to create the WOW factor is to add a little glitz. Whether you are stenciling a piece of decor, redesigning furniture, or even stenciling on a wall, metallics are a great choice. I recently redesigned a coffee table for my living room and of course I wanted a piece of art rather than just a plain ‘ol table! Today I’m sharing a video showing you how I giltzed it up. Sometimes the best things are the simplest! I used the Royal Collection Metallics by Retique It by stenciling just a bit of trim on all of the leaves. You don’t see it at first when coming into my living room, when casually glancing at it from the front, but as you walk around to sit on the … Read more

Fixing a Sloppy Paint Job

Here’s a little tip to save you some time and effort. I bought a dresser from Marketplace and the drawers had some messy painting going on. Drips, over painting, scratches, bristles embedded, etc. The worst part were the drawer sides. My options for fixing them were: painting them, stenciling over the mess, or sanding it off. I didn’t like any of those options. I thought on it a while and came up with a better option. It was easier than any of the three choices I originally thought I had and it worked. Here is the finished project – you can click the pic to go right to the post about this project: This is an example of the super short videos I create for my Blueprint members. I’ll be sharing some of them with those who wish to see the nicky picky details that most experienced furniture flippers have … Read more

[VIDEO] Creating Appliques Using Paper Clay

SAVE $$ It can be pretty pricey to buy ready made appliques, so this is a good solution for anyone wishing to add a little pizazz to decor or furniture. It’s easy and actually a fun thing to do once you get a handle on the particulars. This video shows you how to use paper clay to make appliques fairly inexpensively. PAPER CLAY It certainly doesn’t hurt that this product and process is pretty easy too. I like easy. At the time I made this video I only used (afflink) paper clay, but since then I’ve learned about and also use hot glue and another medium similar to paper clay, Form Flex. These two are flexible after they dry unlike Paper Clay which is not. I share the other methods in the Blueprint – be sure to subscribe to the DROPCLOTH so you’ll be notified when it opens to … Read more

New Pop-Up ESCAPE ROOM on Facebook – DIY DECOR

COME LEARN SOME STUFF Since I mentor furniture flippers, accumulating staging props to use in photos for listings can be a big issue. So I like to help with every area of the flipping process to help members save money and increase profits. We can make our own decor and save $ – our bottom line isn’t only affected by the profit we make on a piece of furniture, but also on our expenses. So, the more staging decor we acquire easily and cheaply, the better. NEW POP-UP GROUP ON FACEBOOK THE ESCAPE ROOM – DIY Staging Decor is open and ready for you. You can click the name and it will take you there so you can sign up and reserve your spot. It’s going to be fun! I’m busily working on projects to share with you. It starts September 28, but you can join in on the … Read more

Tips to Save Your Paint Brushes from Dying

Yes, I said, “dying,” not “drying.” But it’s pretty much the same, isn’t it? But maybe not… I’ve been painting for many years, so I’ve run into issues with brushes. Paint getting into the ferrule, hairs falling out and drying in the paint, dust, globs, contamination, paint drying in the brush. You name it, I’ve experienced it. But fortunately I learn from my mistakes and can share solutions with you. In my Random Furniture Flipping Tips Video Series, I have a few that might be helpful to you. Here’s #74 & 87 from that series. I’m working on a bonus for my Blueprint members where I’m posting all of my brush reviews and tips for September’s bonus and ran across these tips thinking they might help you as you paint your decor and furniture. Have you joined FFB yet? Enrollment is closing soon, so, don’t wait. My tips videos are … Read more

Create Your Own Flexible Appliques

I’ve talked about creating your own appliques using paper clay and hot glue. Today I wil show you a fairly new product that will give you the same type of applique as the most used, paper clay, but without the cracking and lack of flexibility. It’s quite pricey compared to other products, but if you are wanting to create your own appliques that are flexible, this is a great solution. Here’s a link to buy Form Flex Compound. I’ve not found it on Amazon yet, but one ay hope to carry it in my shop: Furniture Flipping Market. Recently my FFB members and I tried it it out and found it to be a very good product. Form Flex Compound is used much the same way as the paper clay. Step #1 – Lightly dust the mould with cornstarch and remove the extra before adding the Form Flex … Read more