Top Posts of 2012

Happy New Year's Eve, everyone!

Because this is the last day of the year, I thought it would be cool to see what my top posts were of 2012.  Enjoy!

Modern Baroque Mudroom

 Ikea Hack - Sprucing Up Lekman Boxes

My Design Style

Ikea Hack Malm Dresser Window Seat

Ikea Hack Pax Wardrobe

 Chalkboard Sticky Note To Do List

 A would like to Thank the following blogs for referring others to my blog.  These are the top referring blogs of 2012.

Tatertots And Jello
I Heart Naptime
A Bowl Full of Lemons
DIY Showoff
My Repurposed Life

2013 is already shaping up to be a great year for me and the blog.  I have a lot of projects on the horizon and some exciting news that I will announce next week.  So, I hope that you will come back soon.

DIY Mini Fork Sunburst Mirror

Hello everyone.  I hope that you had a wonderful Christmas.  I know I sure did.  It was the best Christmas yet.  I got tons of gift cards and I can't wait to go shopping.  It looks like the office is going to get done sooner than anticipated.  Yay!

Today, I am going to show you my mini fork sunburst mirror that I made.  Awhile back, I came across this mirror on etsy.

Etsy.com

I really liked it and knew I could make this myself.  I already had most of the materials to make it as well.  So it wouldn't cost that much to make it.

Here is what you need:



5" Round Mirror (I found at Joann Fabric)
Luan plywood (Cut slightly smaller than mirror)
Several forks
Hot glue gun and glue

Once you cut your wood, you will need to remove the handles from the forks.  I wasn't sure how to do that so I asked my husband for some help.  He just bent the forks back and forth until the metal got weak and snapped on its own.

Your forks will all be different sizes using this method as you can see, but that is perfectly fine.

Now layout the forks onto the wood to get the spacing you want.

When you like the arrangement, get ready to hot glue.

Now glue the forks to the wood.

After you glue the forks down, add a bunch of glue to the fork handles and then lay your mirror on top of it.

Add a hanger on the back and it is ready to hang.

To finish this side of the cabinet soffit, I decided to use 2 bundt cake pans as art.  They were already red which was perfect.  I bought them at Walmart.  You can find the post about the book page art here.

My version of the etsy fork sunburst mirror was only $1.  Can you believe that.  Of course, if you don't already have wood, forks and hot glue, the cost would be more.

Another project down, only a few more to go.  I can't wait to show you the reveal of the Kitchen.  It is quite the transformation. 

Please, stop back soon so that you don't miss it.

I am linking up to: Craft-O-Maniac, Clairejustineoxox, I Gotta Try That, DIY Home Sweet Home, The Realhousewives of Riverton, Practically Functional, DIY by Design, Crafty Scrappy Happy, The 36th Avenue, Chic on a Shoestring Decorating, Tatertots and Jello, 

Christmas Decor

Hello again everyone. 

I wanted to show you my Christmas tree before I take a few days off from the blog to spend time with my family. 

For the past few years, we have only put up a Christmas tree and that is it.  After getting a lot of inspiration from other home decor blogs this year, I have several ideas for next Christmas.  Plus, our living room will be done this spring and I think that has been holding me back in wanting to do too many decorations.

 

 

Our Christmas tree is black.  We spray painted a regular green artificial tree a few years ago.  We missed a few spots as you will see in other pictures.

 

 

We love black and red so, naturally we have red lights and ornaments on the tree. There is a splash of silver ornaments in there as well.



 

We went with a simple star tree topper.

Not much to see I am afraid, but we love this little tree.  It is so pretty at night with all the lights off in the living room.  My husband said you can see it at the end of our road as you approach our house and it looks really good from there.

All the presents are wrapped and we are all set for Christmas in our house.  I hope you all are ready.  Please have a Merry Christmas and I will be back after the holiday to show you how I made that mini fork sunburst mirror.

Thanks for stopping by.

The Curse of the Kitchen and Book Page Silhouette Art

I'm back!!!!

So let me explain what has been going on.  I have been extremely busy remodeling our kitchen.  I did tons and tons of projects in that room and most were huge fails.  I was convinced that the kitchen was cursed.  I told my husband that I think the kitchen was happy looking crappy for so long that when I started to improve it, it rebelled.  It seemed like everything I attempted to do in there went horribly wrong.

Because of all the project fails, I started to get in a funk.  My confidence went out the window and the blog suffered.  I had nothing to blog about.  Until now.

Finally, the kitchen has decided that it likes looking better and has let me do my projects without complications.  So I have several things to show you.  The kitchen still isn't finished, but it is about 85 percent done.  I hope to have it done by the beginning of the new year.

This project that I am about to show you was the turning point in this ordeal.  It is such an easy project.  I guess I needed that fail proof project to get my confidence back and get things done.

I made these 2 Book Page Silhouette Art Prints for the soffit above our cabinets.  Very easy and cheap to make.

Here is what you need:

2 Frames (whatever size your book pages will be)
Old Book
Computer and Printer with Black Ink

I remembered that I had this old Guinness book of World Records from 1977.  How I acquired that, I have no idea.  I wasn't even born yet.  Either way, I thought it would be neat to use the pages that pertained to food.  Conveniently, there was only 2 pages that were food related records.  I tore those out carefully.

Next, I got on the computer and looked for kitchen utensil silhouette vector art that was a .png file format.

I found these two utensils that were .png files and opened them in photoshop.  As you can see, the background is invisible and that is what you want.  Also, I made mine 5x7s to fit in my frame.  You have to adjust your printer paper size to 5x7 as well.  Insert your book page into your printer and print it.

I had to cut off some excess book page to fit into my frame.  But that is it.  It is ready to hang on the wall.

It really was a relief to have a project go smoothly and quickly.  The total cost of the project was $20 for the frames and it literally took about 20 minutes to complete. 

I will post how I made the mini fork sunburst mirror next.  Another easy project.  So please come back to see that.

Thanks for sticking with me through the blogging drought.  I have some exciting things coming up for the new year and can't wait to reveal them.

Kitchen Sneak Peek...DIY String Art

Hello everyone.  Happy Friday!

I am still working on our kitchen.  I have kind of hit a road block in getting things done.  All of the projects that I had lined up have been completed.  My husband has some things to do that only he can do.  Until he finishes those things and I get back to the store to buy a few things, the kitchen is at a stand still.

I thought I could show a sneak peek of the kitchen by showing the string art that I made for the room.

I don't have a tutorial for this because I simply followed the tutorial that Honey & Fitz posted here.

I chose the word yummy because that is the most used word we use to describe the food we eat on a daily basis.  You can use any word or any type of font.  The font I used is called Cheri.

As you can see the kitchen is far from done.  Here is a list of things still to do.

• Add molding to cabinet doors (to give dimension)
• Paint hinges black
• Finish painting light above sink
• Install glass shelves in front of window
• Install shelf above other window
• Install backsplash
• Put Billy's together (new pantry area)
• Touch up paint near ceiling
• Install Flor tiles
• Rearrange items in cabinets
• Add art to soffett and pantry doors

I think that is it.  Still lots and lots to do.  I will try to post some more projects as they are completed.  Thanks for following along.

.

DIY Throw Blanket

I am still hard at work on my kitchen.  It is a slow process right now.  This weekend is suppose to be in the 60's.  So hopefully, we can get the new counter tops in and the moulding onto the cabinet doors.  In the meantime, I thought I could show you the last tutorial for our bedroom.

 

This throw blanket was the easiest project in the room.

 

Here is what you need:

 

Red minky cuddle fabric (you can use any type of soft fabric)

Black anti pill fleece

Black thread

Pins

Sewing machine   

In my small house, it was very difficult to find a big enough open space to layout the fabrics to pin.  I ended up doing it on our bed and it was kind of a pain.  So I didn't take pictures.  I apologize.  Just layout the fabrics on top of each other.  Make sure that the fabrics backside is on the outside.  I wasn't sure if the fleece had a backside,  both sides looked the same.  Either way, the furry side of the red fabric was facing down.  

 

I pinned the 3 sides of the fabric together.  If your fabrics aren't the same width, you will have to cut them first.  My fabrics were close but still needed cut.

Sew the 3 sides with your sewing machine.

When that is done, turn the throw blanket inside out.  I looked at how a throw I purchased for our living room was finished.  To me, it looked like they folded the unfinished side about an inch and sewed that down.  So that is what I did.

That is it.  I was really impressed with it.  It looked exactly like something you would buy in a store.  It is very warm and soft and perfect for a cold night.  The dogs really love it as well.

 

I will try to get to a few posts about some kitchen projects soon.  Please come back to see those.  Thanks for stopping by.

 

What You Get For Your Money...East Liverpool Ohio

I watch a lot of HGTV.  Go figure.  I am always amazed at how much real estate is in other parts of the US compared to our crappy little town of East Liverpool.  I thought it would be cool to show you an example of what is out there, in the real estate market, in my area.  You might be surprised.

This house I am going to show you is my favorite.  If my husband didn't have a problem with old houses, I would definitely want to buy this house.  It was listed on realtor.com for a few months and now has been removed.  With further research, I discovered that the house has an offer on it.  So it is quite possible that it is sold now.  Bummer!

 

 

All Images via Trulia

This is a 5 bedroom, 5 bath (2 partial), 2 story Tudor style home built in 1930.  It is 2,502 square feet.  It has a 1.02 acre lot with a 2 car garage.  Other features include 2 fireplaces, central air, family room with wet bar, a sun room and partial basement.

In my opinion, it needs a little work.  The kitchen and bathrooms need updating.  So it needs a little TLC.

So how much do you think this house is listed for?  How much would this house be if it were in your city?

This house is listed for $145,900.  They did start out at $172,500 and have lower the price twice in the past 2 months.  They obviously needed it to sell as soon as possible and priced it to sell.

I am kind of bummed that I couldn't get my diy hands on this house.  It would have been a lot of fun to transform this Tudor house into a more modern interior.

So what are your thoughts on this house?  Can you believe the price?  I wouldn't recommend moving to East Liverpool.  It really is a depressing town, but the real estate prices aren't bad at all and we are close to Pittsburgh, Pa.

Thanks for stopping by.

Knock Off Z Gallerie Skeleton Hand and It Is Halloween Everyday At Our House

Happy Halloween everyone!

Today, I am bringing you my one and only Halloween project.  I was inspired by this metallic skeleton hand from Z Gallerie.

Z Gallerie

 

 

Here is what you need to make this yourself:

 

 

Metallic Silver Spray Paint (I already had)

Silver Glitter (I already had)

Resin Skeleton Hand (Michael's)

 

I didn't take any pictures while making this.  It is pretty self explanatory.  Paint the hand with the metallic spray paint and while the paint is wet sprinkle some glitter onto it.

 

Here is my version of the metallic skeleton hand.

 

 

It fits in perfectly in my living room, not because it is Halloween. You see, we decorate our living room with Halloween-esque decor year round.  Here is a look at some of our decor.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We have skulls, black candelabras, black candle holders and a crow that were all in the Halloween section from various stores.  Every year, I can't wait for the Halloween decorations to come out in the stores so that I can add to my collection.  We don't do pumpkins, spiders or anything too creepy.  A lot of Halloween decorations are baroque style and that is the style that I love.  If that means I have to shop in the Seasonal section of stores than that is what I do to get my baroque stuff.

 

 

When our living room is complete, you will see the baroque style come into play.  So stay tuned for that.

 

 

I hope you all have a wonderful Halloween.  Until next time...