DIY – Page 16 – Dust Bunnies and Dog Toys

Welcome to No Spend January

Published on January 1, 2015 by Jenna2 Comments

Happy New Year! Today is a busy one at the DB&DT house. I’m taking down all the Christmas decorations (since I won’t have another chance to do so for weeks) and we’re starting a few of the projects I have planned for 2015. But it’s also the beginning of my choice to have a “No Spend January” as part of my desire to pay off debts and better balance our financial standings.

What is “No Spend January”? It’s actually pretty simple, I will only be purchasing or spending for those items that are necessary – groceries, gas, regular monthly bills. So that means no trips to the thrift store, Target or through the clothing department unless it’s for a necessary item, which isn’t likely. Luckily I got a few gift cards for Christmas – one for $40 at Target and another for $40 at Pier 1, plus I won a second $35 Target gift card in a local contest. So I have a bit of a reserve I can utilize if I just need to go browsing. The hubs and I also got a $100 gift card to Home Depot for Christmas so that provides for any supplies I might need to work on projects in the mean time. The hubs also received a $40 gift card to Lowes for Christmas, but he’s not participating in my no spend project and I’ve told him those dollars are for him to use finishing his egg table.

Since I won’t be shopping, I won’t be bringing in any new projects which will allow me to focus on those that I’ve already purchased supplies for, but not yet completed. That list includes:

Installing shelves above the desk in the office/studio
Installing a cabinet in the laundry room
A bench for the foot of our bed
Candlestick pedestals for décor
Crate & Barrel Knock-off hurricane candlesticks
Applying felt to the legs of our barstools and dining room chairs
Organizing my fabric stash
Finishing the guest room closet install
Labeling my laundry supplies
Revamping several thrift store finds
Making a sign with a “Together” vinyl I’ve had for years
Prepping the items for a gallery wall I’m planning around the family room TV
Creating a photo collage from a large old window I brought back on our road trip last year

It’s a pretty hefty list, but I’m excited to see all those projects accomplished and removed from my to-do list. Doing it all without spending any more money is the cherry on top! So stay tuned to see how it all turns out over the coming weeks! And if you’d like to join me on this adventure share your journey as well!

Merry & Bright

Published on December 24, 2014January 6, 2015 by Jenna3 Comments

It’s Christmas eve and I wanted to share one last Christmasy craft project! My mother-in-law gave me several glass blocks when we visited her last fall. They had been given to her and she had no idea what to use them for, so she hoped I would figure out something fun to do with them. I had seen several ideas on Pinterest using glass blocks, so I revisited them and chose to make a simple lighted message block, using materials I already had. I didn’t take step-by-step photos since the process was so easy.

I had the hubs drill a hole on one side of the block and then shoved a strand of Christmas lights inside. I could have paid better attention as I stuffed and probably would have gotten the lights more evenly dispersed inside the block, but I think it turned out just fine anyway.

I found a Merry & Bright design in the Silhouette online shop for 50 cents and used white vinyl to create my applique. Once the vinyl was applied and smoothed I just plugged it in. Wha-la! Festive Christmas décor for under $1!

I also made one with a different Merry & Bright design and white lights, which sold at my holiday bazaar booth. Luckily, the one left was my favorite of the two and it now greets guests on our front porch.

I hope your Christmas is Merry and Bright and filled with fun!

Super Simple DIY Santa Ornaments

Published on December 2, 2014 by JennaLeave a comment

These cute ornaments are another Pinterest success project. From the moment spotted the idea I knew it would be a great addition to my inventory at the upcoming holiday bazaars. The materials were simple – a red ball ornament, a soda can tab and black electrical tape. I had two of the three materials laying around and found an 8 pack of the red ornaments on sale at Michaels for around $5.

It took a little bit of finagling to get the tape to fit through the tab holes smoothly, but once I did a few it was pretty easy. I found it easiest to get the buckle/tab started with a bit of tape on either side and then pull the tape around the ornament, keeping it taunt so that it would go down flat. Once I made it around to the other side I just lined it up with the starter tape and cut it just past where they joined.

Priced at $5 each, they were definitely one of the most noticed pieces at my booth last weekend, but I only sold one. I still think that’s a fair price when you factor in my time and additional cost for the electrical tape, but I might reduce it to $4 each for my booth this weekend. If they don’t sell then they will end up on my own tree and two will go to my nephews who I give ornaments every year. It’s a tradition in my family for the kids to receive an ornament each year so they have a collection of their own when they move out one day. And Alaskan themed or hand-made ornaments are usually favorites! 😉

The Cutest Pumpkins EVER!

Published on November 24, 2014November 28, 2014 by JennaLeave a comment

Remember, last week when I said I had a little décor project to wrap up on the porch? Well, it’s finally done and I’m ready to share it with you! Wa-La! The cutest pumpkins EVER! At least to me anyway. 🙂

Besides being adorable, they were super easy to make. First, I spray painted some scrap pieces of 4×4 left over from our fence project. A couple coats of orange and they were looking like very square pumpkins. Now they just needed stems, so I went stick hunting in our woods, much to the dogs delight.

I let my pile of sticks “dry out” on the porch for a few days, ok, weeks – which caused several of them to fall victim to puppy playtime. But I digress. Once I deemed them “dry” I chose a few with interesting texture and curves and marked off sections for the hubs to cut. Yes I could have done it myself, but have a bad history with sharp objects so he came to my rescue.

Once I had all my stems ready to go I tested them out on the different bases and decided the combinations I liked best. A little hot glue and presto, stems!

Cute as they were at this point I felt like they needed a little softening, so I dug out some orange raffia I found at a yard sale long, long ago and tied some around the base of each stem. BAM. Delightful, rustic, recycled wooden pumpkins! On. my. porch!

They are the perfect finishing touch to my other fall decor on the front porch! Apparently Mother Nature didn’t agree because she added some little touches as well… LOL.

Lightbulb!!!!

Published on November 20, 2014November 21, 2014 by JennaLeave a comment

Now that the weather has turned chilly I’m in the mood for crockpot cooking, but many of the recipes I find to try only require 6-8 hours which is much less than we are away from the house thanks to daily commuting. I considered getting a new crockpot with a built in timer, but the one we have works great and we really like it. So I figured out a work around – a timer plug! We have a couple of these for our holiday decorations so I dug one out and and tested it the last time we made something in the crockpot.

It took a few minutes to make sure I had everything set just right and I left for work afraid I’d come home to find it never clicked on, but it was a needless worry because it worked perfectly! I felt pretty clever for figuring out a solution that would be beneficial all winter, but it wasn’t until I was telling a co-worker about it and she declared it genius that I realized just how smart it was.

Although her commute is significantly less than mine, she is away from home longer than the recipes she was using called for, so she would often request her husband run home during lunch to start the crockpot. Now she has a simple, no cost solution that won’t require coordinating a run home to start dinner mid-day. So I’m sharing the idea here in case it helps others as well.

As for what’s in that pot? Our current favorite is a six ingredient turkey recipe that only requires five minutes of prep, just in time for Thanksgiving!

Even though I have a Pinterest board full of them, I’m still in the hunt for more crockpot recipes so if you have a favorite please share it below.

Thanksgiving Decor

Published on November 18, 2014November 18, 2014 by Jenna1 Comment

I’ve given ya’ll a couple sneak peeks of my fall/Thanksgiving décor and I’m finally ready to share it all. I kept things simple and used items I already had to create fun yet classic vignettes. You’ve already seen the entryway here, so today I’ll share the little holiday tree that sits next to the front door. It’s the perfect spot to show off my cute little jingle bell Thanksgiving ornaments – a turkey, scarecrow and a pilgrim couple.

Also in the entry way is the new welcome pumpkin I picked up on sale at JoAnns. It’s the perfect fit for the narrow space between the two coat closets across from the dresser and mirror. I’m loving the rustic feel and the contrast it provides with the wall color.

And here’s a full shot of the mantel with my pretty new painting made by moi! I picked up that amazing yellow ceramic vase for just $8 on the buy/sell page. I did my happy dance when I did because I’d been eyeing similar versions at different stores for months for WAY more. I filled in the rest with items I already had – antlers, pumpkins a couple gold votives, a little crow figure and some tall decorative grass in a tan vase. I finished it off with a fall colored ribbon garland I made, similar to the one in the entryway but with softer ‘harvest’ colors. Notice that one pumpkin on the floor? It’s the only one that the dogs aren’t interested in because it’s metal! 🙂

There are few other fall touches in the family room including a bouquet of orange mums in a small cream crock I thrifted earlier this year on the side table and a pretty pumpkin plate in the windowsill next to the fireplace. Somehow I neglected to take photos of those for this post, but I’m sure you can envision them. In the dining room, I paired a tall cloche holding a pumpkin and other natural elements with some gold votives on the buffet.

The windowsills in the dining room also got some attention. A metal owl thrifted last year gives a bit of contrast to my pretty purple plant and a small metal gourd on one side. On the other side I grouped a fall arrangement with a doily covered green pumpkin and my favorite little scarecrow.

I had grand plans to make a pretty centerpiece for the dining room table and a “Thankful” tree, but time is a scarce resource these days so I decided to table those ideas for next year in favor of other more important projects right now. I still have a simple craft project to wrap up out on the front porch and then I can share that with you, hopefully in time for Thanksgiving!I’d love to see how you decorated for Thanksgiving, so share a link to your site or leave a comment below and tell me what you did to show your gratitude this year.

Channeling My Inner Van Goh

Published on November 14, 2014 by Jenna1 Comment

Although I’m the crafty type, painting is a skill that eludes me. I seriously suck at it. So when I saw a painting class offered on Groupon I figured why not? The hubs wasn’t too interested in joining me so I purchased a single coupon and figured it would be a fun way to meet a few new creative people.

When I checked the studio’s schedule to decide which class to attend I noticed that they offered one called “Starry Night Over Alaska” which used Van Goh’s Starry, Starry Night as inspiration. That has always been my favorite painting, so I was pretty excited to give it a try. Maybe it’s the scene, maybe it’s the movement, or maybe it’s just all the little details put together. Whatever ‘it’ is, I LOVE it!

When I arrived at the studio I was greeted by walls of the other designs they teach. There were several I wouldn’t mind attempting and possibly hanging in my home. Here’s just a small group of the options.

Luckily, everyone started out with a stenciled canvas like this. That immediately made me a little more confident that my final product would turn out looking at least somewhat like the masterpiece I adore.

They gave us palettes of paint and showed us which to mix for the different sections of the painting. First we started with the sky. The first layer looked pretty rough but they assured us that it would get better.

Next we filled in our comet, stars and moon. I wasn’t super happy with the lack of blending I was seeing in the comet tail, so I went back in and worked on it a bit more before we had to move on to the other half of the painting, where the ground and mountains were.

I didn’t get any shots of the lower half in progress, because we were running a bit behind and had to rush a bit to stay on schedule. Although that certainly flustered my inner perfectionist I had to finally call it done and let it dry so I could hit the road for my hour drive home.

And here’s my finished creation. Rather than the little village seen in Van Goh’s version, we depicted Sleeping Lady and glaciers. I had a bit of trouble with the flat brush that was supposed to create the depth and tones on the mountains so they aren’t as crisp as I’d like, but I decided to go with the instructor’s five foot rule – that most paintings look pretty darn good from 5′, but when you’re up close painting them you notice little things you want to play with.

The instructor offered that we’re welcome to come back during her open studio time any week if there are things we want to ‘adjust’ after we live with it for a while. I’m considering it, but probably won’t just because although it’s not the original master piece, part of it’s beauty is it’s imperfection. Than and the fact that if I have time to go back, I’m painting another creation! 🙂

PS – Enjoy that little sneak peek of my fall decor. I’ll share more of that next week so stay tuned!

Our Big Massive Shed Update

Published on November 12, 2014November 12, 2014 by Jenna1 Comment

The hubs has been working very hard the last few days to get this project finished and just has a few details left to wrap up. There were a few hiccups in the process, but it looks amazing, especially since he did it all by himself.

Luckily, now that the roof is complete and the siding is up, except one spot in the back wall, he can start taking things out of the garage and putting them in the shed. Which means I’ll soon be able to park in the garage again – something I’m very excited about with winter snow just around the corner. And now that it’s done we can start cleaning up the job site. All the debris and tools laying around has made me twichy the last few weeks, so I’ll be glad to get everything organized and tidied up before winter sets in.

There is one spot on the front above the door where he pieced together two scrap pieces rather than buy a whole extra sheet of siding, so he’s going to caulk that seam to make it less noticeable. Then he plans to add some trim over the siding joints and around the corners to finish things off.

Another big project checked off the ever expanding to-do list. Now he gets a little breather, before we tackle another. 🙂

Quick DIY Thanksgiving Decor

Published on November 4, 2014November 18, 2014 by JennaLeave a comment

Now that Halloween is over, I’m in full Thanksgiving mode and that means the decorating has begun. This pretty plate was a left over from a recent work event and it just screamed to be made into a sign. It fit perfectly on one side of my entry table and I thought a simple “Give Thanks” was the perfect way to welcome guests during this season.

I loved the texture it already had and new simple white letters would play well off that. I took some quick measurements and played with a few fonts on my Silhouette and came up with this!

I do wish it filled the space a bit more, but I still love it. And it only took about 5 minutes to create! All with materials I found for free or had on hand. That’s my kind of decorating. Here’s a quick sneak peek at the other side of the entry way table.

I found that little owl lantern at the thrift store for a few dollars earlier this year, and the wooden tote started out solid black as a clearance find at JoAnns. I sanded it down on a whim one day and loved the texture the left over paint gave it. And because it’s so simple it ends up being used in many of my vignettes throughout the year. And you might remember my little lace votives from this project.

Looks like someone approves of my Thanksgiving entry way decor! I’m still working on a few things for the other areas I’m decorating, but I’ll share those soon. 🙂

Constructing A Massive Storage Shed

Published on November 3, 2014November 7, 2014 by JennaLeave a comment

Even though we have a three car garage in our new home there still isn’t enough room to park our two daily driver trucks, my classic truck and our side-by-side and still fit all the things that tend to end up stored in the garage. To solve this problem the hubs decided to build a shed. But this isn’t just any lil ‘ol shed. It’s a mega shed. Seriously. It’s 11′ wide by 20’ deep! But it has to be pretty big to house the lawn mower, yard tools, our side-by-side and various other odds & ends.

I don’t have much of the step-by-step info since he’s been doing the construction solo while I’m busy crafting, cleaning and editing photos but hopefully these pictures give you a good idea of the basic framing and set up. He started with freebie I-beams that were headed for the dumpster at a job site to lay out the base of the shed. Because the location of the shed was a bit uneven, he used cinder blocks we had on hand under the subframe on one side to make everything level.

The I-beams were topped with a layer of plywood and OSB so the floor of the shed has a solid surface and additional strength. Next he framed up the walls, figuring out the angles needed to create the pitched roof line. The side walls were made in two panels.

Once those were ready I helped raise the walls and held them in place while he nailed them in. That’s when you start to get a sense of just how big this thing will be.

The side closet to the house will be taller than the far side, which should help reduce snow build up during the winter and eliminate any water build up during the rest of the year.

He’s now moved on to framing the roof and adding the clear panels which will let in natural light. Both sides of the roof have a bit of overhang, which should help keep water away from the base of the shed.

That’s the progress thus far. He’s hoping to get it finished and filled before winter hits, but we’ve already had one snow (as seen in the first pictures) so who knows how long that will be. I’ll post another update once we have some more progress to show, so stay tuned!

He’s added supports between the rafters for additional strength. After the first few rows he had the ingenious idea to use left over pieces of the I-beams to save the more costly wood for other areas.