Tutorials – Page 11 – Love My DIY Home

Desk Flip – September FFFC Geometric Design Contest

The Fab Furniture Flippin’ Contest challenges DIY bloggers to create a great piece of furniture following certain guidelines. #sponsored This contest is sponsored by General Finishes who donated a blogger’s choice product to finish the piece. The theme was “geometric design.” GEOMETRIC?!?! How do you incorporate geometric design on a piece of furniture, and in my case, a desk? Why, with Mod Podge, of course! Let’s start with a “before” picture. Brace yourself, it’s pretty sad… My DH and I found it alongside the road. It looked like a kid’s painting project gone bad but…it was sturdy and in decent shape. I picture a high school student sitting at this desk working through her (had to be a “her” with all the pink and purple paint) geometry homework. It is obvious she tried to create a stylish, fun desk to use but she missed the mark…just a bit. As you … Read more

DIY Tub Tile Installation – Guest Post by Ben Lamm

How To Install Tile Around A Shower or Tub Does your shower or tub surround look tired or out-of-date? A new marble tile surround adds an instant update and increases the value of your home. Fortunately, this is a project that you can do yourself if you know the method and have the right tools. I decided to ‘try this at home’ and the results were impressive – if I may say so myself! Consider incorporating elegant marble wall tiles for a luxurious touch that enhances both style and functionality. Here’s a step-by-step guide of how I tackled the project: Step 1: We Planned the Project Before we began, we needed to decide what tiles we wanted and how many we needed. Traditional 4-inch square tiles and larger subway tiles in neutral shades of white or gray never go out of style, so that was one option. We also looked … Read more

Brush Paint Vs. Spray Paint – Before and After Nightstand

I have a before and after antique nightstand redo for you today. And it only cost $1.25. BUT, let it be known…next time I tell you I’m going to brush paint a piece of furniture using traditional paint, please stop me. Seriously. Stop me. I thought I’d give it a whirl but the whirl turned into a relentless week of painting because the tanins bled through. It was on my kitchen island. For a week. I like to use spray paint when I want a smooth finish. You can also contact Stubbins Painting San Diego – and take the help of professional painting contractors to give a professional and classic look to your house or a piece of furniture. I didn’t prime first when using traditional paint, which was a major mistake and consulted the painting companies phoenix. Then I found some great spray primer that I use now when … Read more

Painted Pegboard for DIY Craft Room {Love My DIY Home}

Decorative Peg Board – Craft Room Decor

“Find out who you are and do it on purpose,” ~ Dolly Parton. Imagine a place where your most inner self can feel at peace. For some it’s in their garage restoring an automobile. Others it’s behind a pulpit, sitting in front of a MAC or Pfaff sewing machine. Do you have a place like that? Possibly, if you are reading this you may be “one of us.” THOSE people that are happiest with a can of spray paint in their hand leaning over an old beat up piece of furniture…or shutter…or door/window/pallet? You name it. For those who find joy in enhancing not just the interior but also the exterior of their spaces, explore seamless gutter services to ensure that your home maintains its charm while being well-maintained. That’s me, btw. That’s me with the can of spray paint in an old pair of sweats out in 44 degree … Read more

How to Upcycle an Antique Door – Part 2

In How to Upcycle an Antique Door Part 1, I showed you how I had painted brown on one side. Now I will show you what I did to the other side. I kid you not – this is by far the coolest project I’ve done and you could for sure do this yourself. Now you’ll see what I did to the other side and the end product. Here are the two sides… IN THE RAW This is the one side that I painted brown that you read about last week. Now let’s look at side two. MATERIALS (Affiliate Links) Sanding Sponge Rust-Oleum 2x Painters Touch Spray Paint American Decor Creme Wax Hobby Lobby Hardware 1 ” Corner Brackets Step One – Side Two: Clean and sand, but not so much that you lose the textured layers of old paint. I used a (afflink) Sanding Sponge, Fine/Medium. These sanding sponges … Read more

How to Upcycle an Antique Door – Part 1

This is my favorite DIY thus far, an upcycled antique door turned into a trendy piece of home decor for just pennies. My DH and I found some old doors at an auction – about two years ago. They’ve been sitting out under our lean-to since, just calling to me, “Paint me, Paint me…” Here are the before pictures – side one. Here are the before pictures – side two. They’re pretty cool in the raw, but I had other plans. This will turn into a series because there were many steps to the project. Step One: Clean and sand both sides, but not so much that you lose the textured layers of old paint. I used a Sanding Sponge, Fine/Medium. These sanding sponges are easy to use and if you don’t use too much pressure, you can preserve the alligator chippy look of the many layers of paint, yet … Read more

Ningxia Red Bottle Upcycle 2

I have a second upcycle project using a Ningxia Red glass bottle for you today. Materials: (Affiliate links) Chalkboard Spray Paint Decorative Rope or Sisal Twine Tag or Sign Bottle Candle Holder And, of course, a bottle… Spray with chalkboard paint and decorate – do a couple of light coats so you don’t get drips. I randomly wrapped twine around the upper part of the bottle and tied in a knot and then a bow, adding a color to accent the bow. The twine is very easy to work with. I wasn’t careful, I just wrapped it around until I ran out of twine. Use this project to experiment – you can’t really mess this up. Just decorate it in a way that you like, in a way that will go with your decor. I added a curtain clip on the twine at the knot on the bottle neck … Read more

Gift Bag Tutorial {To Work With My Hands}

DIY Gift Bags at To Work With My Hands

Occasionally I like to share resources that I think would be useful to my readers. Today is one of those days… My friend, Karen, over at To Work With My Hands has a tutorial today on DIY gift bags …made out of TRASH! You should hop right on over there and check it out. …and while you’re there, leave Karen a comment, letting her know you stopped by. Blessings!

Keeping up with the Joneses | Love My DIY Home

Keeping Up With the Joneses – The Kitchen Before

Welcome to a new series: Keeping Up With the Joneses Join us as we follow the first time homebuyers Jones family as they take a foreclosed house and turn it into a warm and inviting home in just 30 days! Their goal is to have it not only livable for their family of five in just 30 days, but have a 5 year plan to bring it to perfection – to flip it and move on. Not only is this a huge job, but they have a very tight budget as well. The Kitchen Before I’ll let the pictures do the talking here – it’s pretty obvious they have their work cut out for them! Occasionally I’ll photo bomb since I’ll be out there helping from time to time. You can play the Where’s Val game (Where’s Waldo?) with me. We will show you step by step, and occasionally insert … 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