DIY – Page 5 – Dust Bunnies and Dog Toys

Flipping the Door

Published on March 29, 2017 by JennaLeave a comment

We recently made a very simple change in our master bedroom that had way more impact than we ever imagined. We’ve wanted to flip the direction our bedroom door swings since we saw the model of our floor plan. In fact, it was one of the two changes we requested of the builder, but by the time we noticed it hadn’t been done how we asked it was too late to change it before the final inspection because it would cover the light switches if we did. So we lived with it for the past 3+ years.

It drove us nuts to have to come in and move the door to get to the closet every time we came home or pulled the hampers to do laundry. It’s such a minor, trivial thing but it was an every day thing which made it seem even more annoying. The Hubs decided he’d had enough and did some research online to figure out what he needed to do to swap the direction of the door.

He used a template he picked up at Lowes to chisel away the spots where the hinges would attach, starting with an outline of the spot and then creating slices he could work out little by little.

Soon he had three indented spots ready for hinges. He also had to change up the hinge locations on the door itself so he took the door off and chiseled those areas too. I was working on another project while he was doing this and occasionally held the door steady while he chiseled, so I don’t have any pictures of that step. Once he had the new hinge locations prepped and swapped over the hardware we went from this….

…to this! Look how much more open it makes the space feel! Now the door swings back flush against the wall, leaving nothing blocking the entrance to the closet – just how we always wanted it. We left the light switches right were they were because we rarely used them thanks to the remote for our overhead fan/light combo. We also have switches for the overhead fixture by the bathroom door so we can always use that instead. The Hubs relocated the holder for our light/fan remote to the open side of the door so we have easy access to that if we want to turn the light off as we leave or on as we enter.

Luna wasn’t too impressed with the change because behind the door was one of her favorite hiding spots, but she’ll just have to be upset because we love it.

We still need to paint over the old hinge locations to make them blend in, but it’s not a huge priority since you barely notice it. We plan to leave the old indents on the off chance that SHOULD we ever sell this house the next buyer has the option to change it back – if they were crazy and wanted their life to be more difficult that is!

So there you have it. One very simple change made the room feel twice as big – and pissed off the cat until she realized she can just hide in the closet instead. 🙂

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DIY Indoor Herb Planter

Published on March 23, 2017 by Jenna4 Comments

Continuing my willing of Spring to officially arrive in Alaska, I’m sharing the indoor herb garden we recently installed. We love having fresh herbs to cook with and give the chickens during the summer and preserved some to continue using over the winter at the end of last season but nothing beats fresh, so I decided we should have an indoor garden just for that. With that in mind we picked up these hanging containers and rods at IKEA on our last trip down south.

They are a perfect fit for this small wall in the dining room and as you can see, this spot gets good light from the window across the room. The Hubs made sure to secure it to the studs since the plants will have a bit of weight.

For now I just have a few faux plants, also from the same stop at IKEA. The local nurseries should begin offering herb starts within the next few weeks, but until then the fake stuff provides a bit of greenery. Unfortunately I didn’t have enough to fill the large containers in the middle, but it still looks ok for now.

I’ll be creating some DIY plant stakes once I have our herbs selected. I considered a few ready to purchase options I’ve seen in the stores but wanted them all to match and wasn’t seeing all the options I was considering which includes oregano, basil, parsley, rosemary and thyme. I may try lavender in the larger containers just for the scent, but I’m not sure it would give the plant enough room to flower.

If anyone has used these containers with live plants I’d love to hear about how they worked for you. I plan to water sparingly at first since there are no drainage holes (good thing since we’re indoors), but there are small trays at the bottom that would provide a place for water to collect below the dirt and the plant to reabsorb the moisture. Hopefully that keeps the roots from getting soggy, but there may be a learning curve. I’ll share the finished project when everything is planted and growing!

Welcome Spring

Published on March 22, 2017March 22, 2017 by JennaLeave a comment

The calendar says that it’s officially spring but in Alaska spring is “break-up” season, which is why we still have about a foot of snow in the yard. Granted, the snow is disappearing – just not quick enough for my preference. So rather than lament spring’s tardiness outside I changed up the decor inside to feel a bit more in line with what the calendar says. The Hubs brought me home flowers recently so that bouquet has been the centerpiece on our table and the large candle I’d had there moved to the windowsill in the family room where the dogs tunnel is below it so they don’t seem to notice it.

I kept things simple in the entryway with two new pedestal cloche stands from World Market, cute little beehive skeeps from JoAnn Fabrics and my Pottery Barn knockoff basket filled with the DIY neutral eggs I made last year.

I love how the little skeeps fit perfectly inside the glass domes. I love the bright colors of spring but I like to keep my decor simple these days and this gives just enough color while remaining neutral with a farmhouse flair.

Next to the front door my big oil can got some pretty dogwood branches, which are the perfect height to hide the ball chucker we keep in the corner for when we take the dogs out front to play!

The media cabinet got a few little touches of spring as well. All items I pulled out from storage and one of the little faux planters I recently created.

I don’t remember where I got this little chick or the basket but they fit together perfectly! Plus pairing two little items together means it’s a little less likely to get snagged by one of the fur babies. The other side of the cabinet has a free Easter printable I found online a few years ago and my green shamrocks. Since I don’t decorate for each particular holiday anymore (St. Patricks, Easter, etc.) but rather the season I just use it as greenery now.

The mantel is still a work in progress, but my cutie little wool lambs take safe haven up here away from the fur babies. I got the white candle sticks on the local buy/sell page for $20 and the brown one was a recent thrift store find. I’m in the process of painting and distressing it to match the others and plan to add some fun moss or boxwood balls to the tops of each. The cute birdhouses came from JoAnn’s and will eventually be used as photo props and in the backyard. The wreath was also from JoAnn’s. I just couldn’t pass up the pretty purple color.

The tray next to the table got a pitcher of tulips and a cute little bird to accompany the rustic frame I’ve had here for a while now.

Over in the dining room I kept the lanterns from the winter decorating but swapped out the filler for split pea to give them a spring feel and added smaller bee skeeps like the ones in the entry way. In the middle I paired a cute bunny ornament and a basket of carrots from storage in the cloche I found at Home Goods on our last trip down south.

In the window is my favorite farmhouse lantern, filled with moss for a spring feel and my clearance ceramic bunny I found at the end of last season for just a few dollars. The other side of the windowsill was a safe haven for a few more small pieces, including some hydrangea stems in a green bowl I thrifted some time ago, the fun little moss bunny I love to pull out each year and one of my vintage votives.

Before I had a chance to get this post up I’d already swapped out the wreath above the mantel so I thought I’d share that change. I got this boxwood wreath from Target and thought it would look good in this spot for most of the year. It’s just the right amount of farmhouse style mixed with spring. The purple wreath moved to the front porch where it coordinates well with the purple front door. 🙂

So that’s my attempt to usher in spring indoors while I wait for it’s arrival in my garden! How did you decorate for spring?

The Finished Laundry Counter

Published on March 8, 2017March 8, 2017 by JennaLeave a comment

I’m so giddy to be able to share this finished project with you all! Remember way back to No-Spend January of 2015 when we installed this cabinet where the plastic sink used to be? We’ve been living with a plywood top and no faucet for the sink since then which you’ve seen in a few posts like this. It functioned for what we needed and there were higher priorities to tackle but it secretly drove me NUTS.

So why did this project take so long to finish? We had a remnant piece of granite to match the kitchen and bathrooms but needed it cut to size and finished with the sink opening. I’d attempted to barter the service with no luck and every quote we had gotten was insanely high – like in the range of you’d think they were selling us brand new marble counter tops rather than finishing material we provided. So the hunt continued. Until the Hubs found a vendor who was willing to cut the granite using a template we provided for just a couple hundred dollars!

He used a gator board political sign that had been left out on the side of the road long after the elections to trace the plywood top. I was pretty proud of him for being genius enough to recycle material and help keep the roads clean! Once he had the template traced he cut it down and marked where the sink would be. The vendor said he did a great job and made it easy for them to layout the cuts. They also complimented him on the A-Frame he built to transport the slab to them and the finished counter home. Have I mentioned how I love having a spouse who can get things done?! 🙂

Miss Luna was not to pleased to have “her” space disturbed while we were installing the finished top, but she seems pretty ok with it now. Especially since it gives her another inch or two above her doggie siblings. Here, she does an excellent job of showing just how deep that sink really is!

The finished top makes all of my existing decor and laundry products look even better. On one side is the vintage iron I picked up at the antique store and our DIY laundry soap container. On the other is the last of our mason jar soap pumps – which I’ve been saving for this spot – and a simple little faux succulent planter from my recent spring project for a bit of greenery.

We did have to replace the faucet because we discovered that the one we’d saved from the original plastic sink didn’t have long enough posts to reach through the granite and the pull out nozzle required an extra line that we didn’t have space for. So the Hubs picked up a bargain faucet for around $50 and got that installed quickly. I took all of these pics last weekend with the old faucet standing in for the photo op, but the new one looks very similar.

Since we did the install ourselves, our total cost with the new faucet came in around $400, which was 100% worth it! I still haven’t really used the sink much since I’m still getting used to having a working faucet in this spot, but I really love having the option and seeing this clean, finished space each day when we come home.

No-Cost Large DIY Tray

Published on March 2, 2017March 8, 2017 by JennaLeave a comment

Here’s another quick project I did as part of my inventory for the holiday bazaar. This large tray started life as a cabinet drawer. When we installed the laundry room cabinet we took out the drawer on one side because we needed clearance for the sink drain. Knowing I could use it for something, I kept it and eventually took the tracks off. When I did, I immediately thought to make it into a tray.

But I was busy and it got set aside for more priority projects. When it was crunch time to create more inventory for the show I pulled it back out, dug through my stash of supplies and found two handles we had replaced on our desk cabinets. They were originally gold, but a quick couple coats of ORB gave them more of the farmhouse style I was going for.

The hubs helped me attach them, since I’m not good at making things line up. He also had the brilliant idea to use Q-Tips to paint the screw heads once they were in so they matched the handles’ new paint job! Have I mentioned recently how much I love that man? 🙂

Although it didn’t sell at the bazaar, it’s found a home in our guest room. It’s just the right size for the bed at 20″ by 20″ and can easily be moved to the hope chest when it’s bedtime. I plan to stage it with some simple toiletries guests might appreciate when they visit. I know I’ve seen similar set-ups on blogs I follow so I’ll be looking back to get an idea of what all I should include, but I’d love your suggestions as well.

Since I had the handles and spray paint on hand the entire project didn’t cost me a cent. Functional and free. It doesn’t get much better than that!

Linking up at: Knik of Time’s Talk of the Town, Tater Tots & Jello’s BFF and Savvy Southern Style’s Wow Us Wednesday, Stone Gable’s The Scoop and Thrifty Decor Chick’s Before & After Party!

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A Quick Update to the Craft Shelves

Published on March 1, 2017March 8, 2017 by JennaLeave a comment

As I mentioned when I shared our new barn doors in the office I’ve been making a few changes to the craft shelves above the craft cart. Here’s how things looked the last time you saw this space – a random collection of containers and displays to store my finished inventory and on-going projects.

And here’s how it’s looking today. Much simpler and more stylish!

A bit of purging and rearranging reduced what I needed to store here so I was able to condense it all down to two containers. I found these cute baskets on sale at Michaels and with a coupon only paid about $10 for both. One holds finished inventory and the other has bits and pieces of projects in the works.

Since I’ve stopped making hair accessories and am focusing more on personal DIY and home decor projects I didn’t need the displays I’d used for the smaller pieces anymore so the mannequin was sold and my beloved metal grate became a note board rather than a display. The rusty oil can will eventually become a small lamp for this table. I’ve got the lamp making kit, but am still on the hunt for the right lampshade to get that project rolling.

I shopped the house, pulling a milk glass vase, small plant and wooden caddy to arrange with the frame I already had here. I also moved our little minion family over here from the other side of the room. They are much more visible now, which makes me happy and reminds me that we need to have a new minion made for Brinley! 🙂

I eventually want to get a vintage scale like this one to replace the wooden caddy, but I’m waiting to find a good bargain. until then the caddy brings a nice balance of tones and texture to the space, so I’m happy with it.

I still need to figure out something for the blank space next to the metal grate. My current idea is to make a fabric canvas that can be used as a backdrop for photographing small projects, similar to one a favorite beauty blogger of mine created. I’m thinking something a little lacy since this is one spot I could get away with it because it’s out of reach of the dogs.

I’m really loving the simple farmhouse vibe this space has now. It’s a big change for just $10 since the only thing I bought for the update was the two baskets. We’ve been making a couple of other simple changes around the main area of the house recently that have a similar style so things are really starting to feel cohesive. I’ll be sharing those updates very soon, but in the meantime I’d love to hear you think of the changes so leave me a comment below.

Linking up at: Knik of Time’s Talk of the Town, Tater Tots & Jello’s BFF and Savvy Southern Style’s Wow Us Wednesday, Stone Gable’s The Scoop and Thrifty Decor Chick’s Before & After Party!

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Recent Thrifty Finds

Published on February 28, 2017March 6, 2017 by Jenna2 Comments

Today I wanted to share my finds from a few recent thrifting expeditions. I haven’t been out to the thrift stores in a while as I was trying to pare down what was already in our home, but I couldn’t stay away forever. I love the hunt too much. My motto when thrifting is always if I don’t have a spot in mind for an item or am absolutely in love with it I don’t bring it home. This motto is only amplified by my desire to simply this year so this is all that made it home from three different trips! I’d say that’s pretty good will power.

My three trips were to Goodwill, the Salvation Army shop near my office and a local home decor consignment shop. The Salvation Army used to be a great source for cheap home decor items, but since the massive Goodwill opened a few miles away the inventory at Salvation Army has suffered. I think they are also loosing some of their volunteers to the competition or the changing economy because the store seemed very disorganized this visit. The Goodwill was well organized but I notice their pricing is often higher and not always consistent as it depends on which volunteer handles each item. But I was still able to find some good bargains, so without further ado – here’s my latest thrifting haul!

First up is this sweater I found at Salvation Army. I’ve been wanting to make some sweater pumpkins the last couple of fall seasons but can’t ever find good textured sweaters at the thrift stores that time of year so I decided to start looking for them all year and preparing a stock pile. I think I can make two medium to large pumpkins and a few smaller ones out of this sweater and it was half off clothing day so I only paid $4!

There were several pumpkins at Goodwill that day, but this one caught my attention with it’s unique stem and pretty colors. I may eventually paint it to be a bit more neutral, but we’ll see how I feel about it closer to fall. I think I paid around $5, which is much less than I’d pay in a department store.

I found this cloche tucked away on a bottom self at the Goodwill and was immediately smitten with it. I’ve got a few cloches already but I like using them in different vignettes and knew if I tired of it after I give it an update I could easily sell it so it was a no brainer. It was a bit pricey but these types of pieces don’t come around often at my thrift stores and the dome was real glass not plastic so I could see the value. Plus I had a coupon for 20% off which made it a bit more acceptable.

I also snagged this wooden candlestick as soon as I saw it at Goodwill – although I have to admit I walked past it and didn’t notice it the first time because it was tucked behind an assortment of other decor items. It’s solid and chunky, which is just what I’ve been wanting. Nice big candlesticks like this don’t come up often around my stores so at $5 I didn’t hesitate. I plan to give it a white wash paint and distressing to match two other similar candle sticks I got on the buy/sell page for $20 to create a coordinating trio for my spring mantel.

This little Princess House glass container caught my attention at the Salvation Army where I found the white sweater. I’m not sure where I’ll use it exactly but could think of several possible scenarios which fit my requirement for purchase and at $3 it was a reasonable option.

Lastly was this cool copper pot I spotted at the consignment shop. It came as part of a fire starter kit, although I really was just interested in the container as decor or a planter. My mother-in-law has several similar – albeit larger – pieces that I’ve always adored so I couldn’t pass this one up. It was $15 which was a bit pricey, but I figured that there was a bit of value in the fire starter pieces as well and because this was consignment rather than a thrift store I wasn’t expecting bargain basement prices.

I set the fire starter pieces aside for when the fire pit is back in use this summer and have been thinking up options for my new little pot to decide which I like the best. Current ideas are as a decor vase, a planter, or a small fire pit for our patio table come summer using a citronella candle or table top tiki torch. Which idea do you like the best?

Linking up at Thrifty Decor Chick’s Before & After Party!

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Easy Faux Planters

Published on February 24, 2017March 8, 2017 by JennaLeave a comment

As I promised earlier in the week, I’m sharing how I made some cute little faux plants. It started with a variety of small containers I had previously had succulents in along with a few new items. The succulents had met an untimely fate during one of Brinley’s “puppy moments” and had been empty for a while so I wanted to refill them but with Alaska still well in the grips of winter there weren’t many options to choose from. While browsing Michaels the other day I spotted these little faux succulent stems (ignore my supervisor’s photo bomb – LOL!).

I knew they’d be perfect to fill several of the small containers so I picked up a few. As you can tell from the empty spots on the holder above, I’d tested out the stems on a small piece before I decided to write a post about the process. But since it went well here we go. We’ll start with this cute glass cup I picked up at IKEA the last time we were in Portland.

I fill it 2/3 full of moss I already had on hand to create a base for my arrangement.

I pulled several of the grassy stems from the holder and started bunching them together. Once I had a grouping I liked I put them down into the center of the moss in the cup.

I fluffed things around a bit until I liked how everything looked and called it done. Next up was this cement bowl I found at a local boutique shop.

Since this one was larger than the glass cup and solid I filled most of it with crumpled up paper from an advertisement that came in the mail. I was enjoying the pretty spring colors on the paper, which was a nice little inspiration.

I added moss on top of the paper, leaving a small area in the center open to put the stems.

After I added the grassy stems I randomly placed some of the small succulent stems around the perimeter. It was ok, but looked a bit crowded and not really what I was envisioning. So I kept fussing with it, trying a variety of arrangements.

Eventually I pared it down to just the grassy stems and some white flowers left over from a project long ago. Its the perfect look for early spring.

Here’s a quick shot of the other planters I whipped up using the same method. This little galvanized container came from a boutique in Portland and looks sweet next to the lamp in the guest room.

You might have spotted the succulent grouping in the small crock on the sewing table I shared recently. It was a little too much brown in here until we refinish the table so it’s moved to the laundry room, which I’ll share soon.

And of course the succulent planter you saw earlier this week with my fun little scroll art.

I love how real they all look, yet they require zero maintenance, which is perfect for my schedule these days! 🙂 I’ve got a few more of the succulent stems so there might be a few more arrangements in the coming months, but for now I’m enjoying having a bit of green around the house even though it’s deep white outside.

Linking up at: Knik of Time’s Talk of the Town, Tater Tots & Jello’s BFF and Savvy Southern Style’s Wow Us Wednesday, Stone Gable’s The Scoop and Thrifty Decor Chick’s Before & After Party!

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DIY Serving Tray

Published on February 23, 2017March 6, 2017 by JennaLeave a comment

This was a quick project I did as inventory for my holiday bazaar show back in November. I had wanted to share it back then but life with the crunch of show prep I didn’t get a chance to take step by step photos to share. Luckily, it’s such a simple project that I can explain it pretty easily and since it didn’t sell I still have it around to photograph!

I started with a plain wooden cutting board I picked up at the thrift store for around $4. It was looking pretty worn so I gave it a good cleaning and then a light coat of stain to bring it back to life. Next we added the leather handles. Can you guess what they were in a former life?

If you guessed a belt you’re right! The Hubs had several belts that no longer fit or were worn out in spots. This one was literally hanging on by a thread at one spot but the rest was still in good shape so I guesstimated how long I wanted the handles and cut two pieces to the same length. The Hubs attached the edges of the belt pieces to the board with this fancy screws we got at the hardware store after pre-drilling holes for them so they wouldn’t split the wood.

And that’s it. See I told you it was simple! I’m actually pretty glad it didn’t sell as we’ve been using it quite often for snacking on the couch or when I want to work on something but still be comfy.

I’d love to leave it out on the ottoman like this with some cute seasonal decor staged all the time but the Hubs assures me that the dogs would chew the handles and I know they would certainly knock off anything I had sitting on it so it typically lives on top of the media cabinet so it’s nearby whenever I need it. It’s a good thing I love those heathens. 😉

Linking up at: Knik of Time’s Talk of the Town and Savvy Southern Style’s Wow Us Wednesday and Thrifty Decor Chick’s Before & After Party!

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A Quick & Easy Makeover

Published on February 21, 2017March 6, 2017 by JennaLeave a comment

Here’s one of the quick little projects I’ve done recently. I spotted this little scroll decor piece on one of the local buy/sell pages for $1 and just couldn’t pass it up. Here’s how it looked when I bought it.

Although it was cute in it’s original state I thought it would look better with a metal finish rather than the faux stone one it had. A couple quick coats of ORB spray paint and it’s got a whole new look.

I’m not sure where I’ll use it just yet, but for now it looks pretty next to another of my quick projects, this mini faux succulent planter. I’ll share how I made that later this week!