DIY – Page 20 – Love My DIY Home

Antique Chair – Better than a Hobby Lobby Hack

The front porch needed some serious help after our long winter, so the first step was to fix my antique chair, one of my first projects from last year. Welcome to my life… (no pretending to be perfect here) See it tucked in the corner behind all the big pots next to my grandson’s worm collection? We got this and two other chairs as part of an auction bundle, spray painted it and have had it on my front porch for a year. I wondered if it would survive the winter – yep, I was too lazy to take it in and just kept brushing the snow off as I passed by. The seat only had a few scratches on it, so that is easy enough to fix. It’s hiding a couple of ugly electrical boxes. I thought to just go ahead and paint the chair again before putting together … Read more

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, 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

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

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

DIY Cures? Is it Possible to Live Without Traditional Medical Assistance?

We’ve not had medical coverage for about 7 years. So when I read about alternative methods in strengthening our immune system and well-being like essential oils, I wondered. I also wonder if we have become so dependent on doctors that we forget to look for ways to heal ourselves naturally. Here is my disclaimer – I’m not a medical doctor and I’ve not been to medical school. If you have medical issues, be sure to consult a doctor. 🙂 Is it possible? If this new healthcare dealy actually happens (or “doesn’t work” is more like it) and we find ourselves without doctors, meds, and/or hospitals, what would we do? I think it’s time we explore our options. Ever thought about using Essential Oils? I know, I know. Just another gimmick to have those little girly parties and make money while chatting with friends. Well, I can’t personally guarantee essential oils … Read more

Survival in a Crisis: DIY Pantry Preparedness – Pantry Design

Let’s talk kitchen pantry. My laptop is in the shop, so please bear with me as I suffer through this next couple of weeks without my MAC. Oh boy, it sure is a pain to use someone else’s computer, especially if it throws you back into Windows. I do appreciate my husband lending me his laptop, but oh my, it’s hard to use someone else’s computer, so hard to use a different keyboard, a different operating system and to be without my programs! No InDesign. No Photoshop! OK, I’ll stop complaining and get down to business. Just don’t judge me for my crummy photos – no Photoshop, remember? These days I’m talking about being prepared for a crisis and am focusing on having a good food supply. I have a blogger friend writing a guest post on how to prepare your pantry – how to stock it to be prepared for a food shortage. Until I have that post up and … Read more

Survival in a Crisis: DIY Pantry Preparedness – Using Food Dehydrators

This year I’m focusing on DIY Preparedness for my home and family. How do you think you would do if your family experienced a disaster? Image courtesy of cooldesign / FreeDigitalPhotos.net Earlier this week I addressed the need for an emergency fund as described by Dave Ramsey. Have you considered what you would do if suddenly there was a food shortage in your hometown, state or even across the country? There is a video online that walks you through the need for preparedness – click here to watch it. I will warn you, it’s one of those annoying videos that you have to read, can’t fast forward or pause. My son-in-law and I bought the booklet they recommended at the end, and I’m glad we did. It opened my eyes and gave us some good ideas. Right now they are selling it for $37. I’m currently working through Uncensored Survival. … Read more

My Master Bath Before and After DIY Project

My daughter sent me some pictures of a candle stand she bought at Goodwill and had spray painted with Rust-Oleum Multi-Color Textured Spray, Autumn Brown. When she arrived for Christmas she asked me if I’d done a post on her project. I hadn’t, because she never sent me a picture of the candle stand in her living room, finished. The subject was dropped until she brought it in to me and said, “Merry Christmas.” It was so unique – I L.O.V.E. unique! It was the perfect piece to finish my master bath re-do. Here is the before picture of our master bath. Wait, it gets worse… The former owners of our house took the adventurous avenue and used the master bath as an experimental canvas. Not my style… We called it the Under-the-Sea bathroom. It was a fairly easy DIY project, but the wallpaper WAS a bugger to get off. … Read more