The Ultimate DIY – Saying Goodbye to Your Mom

While I sit here in the hospital with my mom, I thought I’d share a really great project with you that my daughter, April, did recently – a dresser turned tv stand. But then I decided to just have a chat with you. To encourage you. To let you know what’s up and that it’s all good. I’ll do the Dresser Turned TV Stand another time. At the moment of this writing, I’m doing the ultimate DIY sitting alone in a hospital room I’m tending to my mom who had a major stroke Saturday morning. Let me take a moment here and encourage you. I’ve been through losing a father (30 years ago when I was 26) and now am dealing with a part of life no one wants to – watching a mother decline and trying to figure out how to make her as comfortable as possible, manage all … 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!

Holly Jolly Christmas Word Art {Love My DIY Home}

Have a Holly Jolly Christmas Word Art – FREE Download

Decorating with FREE Christmas Word Art Don’t you just love Christmas? All the sneaking around secretive gift buying just gets me into my happy zone! Yet the gift wrapping, tree decorating, and figgy pudding making is so much fun for me that I tend to run myself ragged. Ya know, good activities, like we have during the Christmas season can be stressful too! Do you stress over Christmas Decorating? Let’s keep it simple this year. Let’s enjoy the time with family and friends and just marvel over why we get to celebrate the birth of our Savior. This truly is the best time of the year. Let’s be content, at peace, and not stressed. We have worked hard all year. We deserve a Holly Jolly Christmas! Please enjoy my FREE printable Christmas Word Art. The different download options are listed below. Just click which one suits you best! Holly Jolly … Read more

Thanksgiving Kid's Table {Love My DIY Home}

Thanksgiving Kid’s Table

I hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving! Did you lavishly decorate or keep it simple? We focused on the kid’s table this year. Since the kids tend to get a bit impatient with us when we are getting the food on the table, I gave them something to do… The kid’s Thanksgiving printables are from here at Busy Bee Kid’s Printables. Their appetizers (apples, peanuts, pretzels, carrots, string cheese and gummies) and the placemats kept them happy AND busy. Our three year old grandson, Myles, had a hard time waiting to dig in. The adults? We ate on paper plates and drank from pop cans. I didn’t decorate the table other than a single lantern in the middle of the table with a lit candle. Funny how the food tasted just as good as last year when I went all out on the fall tablescape. This was last year’s (the … Read more

Free Word Art {Love My DIY Home}

Free Word Art!

Happy Sunday! Things have been crazy around here. My mom had open heart surgery a month ago – oh boy, I’m not going to give you all the details, but suffice it to say it’s been tough. Can you see the stress in my face on the day of surgery? We bought a truck – a life long want of my DH. Yep. It won’t start. Oh, and I got sick the day my mom came home a week ago, just on the heels of my 63 hour work week. (I’m not going to show you a picture of me blowing my nose.) And I’m behind on my blog, our holster business, church work, and house work. I’ve only been to church once in a month. (totally unheard of) Family stress. Health stress. Vehicle stress. House stress. Business stress. I’m not going to give you the line, “When life gives … Read more

Pallet Project – DIY Deck Island

While in Virginia visiting our DD and SIL, we worked on a couple of projects – an island made out of pallets and a rocking chair painted with homemade chalk paint. This is a tutorial on the DIY Deck Island. Project List (affiliate links): Hammer 3″ Deck Screws Cordless Drill Pry Bar Spray Paint Glue 2x4s Ceramic Tile DIY Deck Island Since pallets come in all different sizes, we won’t give you exact measurements, since it would do you no good anyway. BUT, I am giving you detailed pictures and will try to answer any questions you may have – just leave them in a comment. Find two pallets that are the same size. Pry off pieces that you won’t use, carefully. Build a Frame with 2×4’s. Keep in mind what size you will need the frame to be in order to accommodate the size of tile you plan to … Read more

DIY Kitchen floor {Love My DIY Home}

Keeping Up With the Joneses – Lose Those Ugly Floors!

We’re on a roll! The wood floors finally dried and got a second coat – oh boy, just wait until you see ’em in the final reveal! Kitchen DIY Flooring The kitchen floor had two layers of linoleum. Here is a peek at the lovely green and yellow kitchen floor before. OK, not so lovely… They took off the top linoleum, but left this second layer (the green yellow) and laid down a luan sub floor over it ($10/sheet). The sub floor insures a level flat surface for the new floor. Those who are looking for aesthetically-pleasing floors may consider applying Bespoke Resin Floor Finishes. Once that was in place, Adam marked the middle of the floor and made sure it was plumb for the first square. They used self-adhesive vinyl floor tile – AKA place and press squares ($21.36/box, 8 boxes from Menards). Easy on the eyes, easy on … Read more

Refinishing Wood Floors {Love My DIY Home}

Keeping Up With the Joneses – The Floors Won’t Dry!

Any time you get into a remodel, you’ll hear from any experienced friends, “Expect it to take twice the amount of time and cost twice the amount of money that you planned.” No man is immune. No one. Even homeowners who are renovating their home to accommodate their family’s needs. For instance, if they need to install a stairlift for an aging relative, they should consider hiring Stairlift Installation Experts instead of going the DIY route. The Joneses hit a glitch in their remodel – the wood floors. Remember here the “before” pictures of the worn out icky wood floors… 1) Repair whatever damage you can. The Joneses pulled up staples from the carpet install and filled in holes. Even the littles can help. Minwax 42853 Stainable Wood Filler, 16-Ounce April says, “I wouldn’t have filled in as much as we did had I known the sanding would have gotten … Read more

How the Ministry Groomed me for DIY Blogging (Christian Mommy Blogger}

Guest Post on Christian Mommy Blogger

If you know me, you know about my ministry history.   Ha! I'm a poet don't ya know it?  Ministry…history…oh never mind.   I have a guest post on Christian Mommy Blogger today that explains how the ministry led me to being a DIY Blogger.     I know, right? Quite an unusual statement? Well, go read my story and you'll see.   Then when you are done reading it, I'd like to hear your thoughts.     God is good. He knows what He's doing… AND we can trust Him to manage our crazy, mixed up lives.   I'm blown away by what God has done for me.   I hope you can say that too – about your life.   If so, tell me about it! (But first go read my guest post here.)    

Small changes in your kitchen can be big {Love My DIY Home)

Keeping Up With the Joneses – Just a Little Tweek

We’ve already talked about this. Life isn’t always strawberry lemonade and lollipops. BUT, you can DIY. Have you ever heard the expression Carpe Diem? What do you think “Seize the Day” means? I think it means to make the most of every moment and situation. That’s just what the Joneses are doing. Hence… The kitchen was a mess. It smelled, was greasy dusty gross, and the design was, well, let’s just say, less than desirable. Sometimes all you have to do is tweek something and everything changes. That’s the way the kitchen cupboards were at the Joneses “new” house – they needed help. The cupboards had some sort of weird routered thing going on. We never figured out why there were cut outs on the cupboard doors and we really couldn’t see how they could be content with them. So, Adam had an idea…. Don’t ya just dig that green … Read more

Love My DIY Home