I wish I could say I thought of this but idea, but, I was inspired by the Offbeat Bride blog post and took it from there. And, it was really quite simple, cute and affordable! We had a great time putting these together. Hanky My sister, Julie, found these vintage hankies from a online marketplace site listed as “free”- although the owner was particular to whom she gifted these hankies. My sister thought we could do something cute with them for my niece’s shower. Bag and Twine I purchased both the baker’s wax bag and twine from Amazon for less...
DIY Projects
DIY Bridal Shower Attendee Gift Candle
A candle and a hanky were the beginnings of our ideas for bridal shower attendee gifts. Pinterest is my “go-to” place for DIY ideas – so, we looked for ways to customize the candle and hanky to make each special for the event and add to the table decor. I really wanted to incorporate some of the special talents from friends and family. This post shares the thoughts around the candle. My son owns C & J Candle Company, so we knew we wanted to gift a candle to the bridal shower attendees. My niece (the bride-to-be)selected the scent and...
Photo Stands | Great for any occasion
Adding photos to the decor of any celebration is so fun and makes the event so personal. This weekend, my family hosted a bridal shower for my niece. As part of the shower decor, we displayed photos of the future bride and groom. The event was in a restaurant, so I needed to be creative about how to display about 25 photos! FRAMES I wanted the photos to have a finished look, but didn’t want to spend a lot on frames. I found inexpensive frames at the dollar store. The frames held 4×6 photos, but the frames themselves were different...
Color and Dimension mean Big Impact
As part of the master bath update, I added a small feature wall that was very simple and affordable AND added huge impact through color and dimension. This master bath has both classic and on-trend design features. The traditional lines of the vanity and a classic style of the light fixture pair well with the polished chrome faucet, drawer pulls and towel bars. I loved the look of the board and batten I recently added board and batten to a kitchen and decided to add some batten and a bold color to create a feature wall in this master bath....
Bathroom Update! Affordable changes with big impact
Another bathroom update? You bet! I had 3 weeks while my nephew was traveling on business to update 2 bathrooms and the laundry rooms. I have a few units with this footprint, so I knew exactly what to do! My son, Kevin, helped with removing the toilet, mirror and vanity. Check out the in-progress demo below — 2 layers of linoleum. Flooring I hired someone to remove the linoleum. To be honest, that is one of my least favorite jobs and I had 3 rooms to get done. Worth the investment in my book! I had just enough left over...
Three Basic Updates to Make Your Laundry Room a Happy Place
Anything I can do to make doing laundry a bit more enjoyable, I am all for it. In my case, changing the aesthetic of the room definitely uplifted the vibe and made it more pleasing to enter the room. Now, to be clear, I am not doing cartwheels over doing laundry. I’m not crazy. But, these three basic updates will easily change the look of the room. It’s always fun to see the room from the start. My laundry room had a very 1990’s vibe with oak cabinets, medium green walls and vinyl flooring. Flooring As with any room, the...
New Builder Tips | 4 Things I Learned from My Cabinet Build
I am a new builder and only have a few basic builds under my belt which include a table pedestal, a mantel and a storage cabinet. So, I am still very much learning with every build. If you are a beginning builder, these learnings might help you too! Build on Site (if a precise fit is important) Since I am shy on experience, I am still doing a lot of measuring along the way to ensure proper fit. In my recent cabinet build, I began work in my garage and then worried I would assemble the whole cabinet and it...
Board and Batten to the Rescue! Wallpaper No More!
Wallpaper removal is a daunting task, especially in an investment property where speed of renovation means money. So, is there another approach to add interest to a room with tired wallpaper and NOT remove the paper? Yes! Board and batten! In a recent investment property renovation, the kitchen had 1990’s wallpaper throughout the entire kitchen and to be honest, the prospect of removing the paper was daunting and a huge time suck. Instead, we invested time in adding some architectural interest to the kitchen walls – and, in the process, covered the wallpaper with board and batten. It’s always fun...
Fourth of July Outdoor Decor
Summer is in full swing and that means lots of outdoor entertaining! Every year, it seems like the Fourth of July comes so quickly and I am scrambling to find or make something cute for outdoor entertaining. Last year, I had fun with estate sale and curbside finds and turning them into Fourth of July decor. Check these out for some inspo! Beverage Station I found this wash tub at an estate sale for $10 and had no idea what I was going to do with it. This was during the phase when I was experimenting with “blue” paint and...
Graduation Gift Idea | Sweatshirt Quilt
Spring is finally here and that means there may be a graduation celebration around the corner. If you want create a special gift and keepsake for your graduate, consider a t-shirt or sweatshirt quilt. This is a special gift for any occasion – a birthday, Christmas, graduation, etc. — but, at this time of the year, I thought thought this would be a great idea for a special graduate. I made a quilt for each of my kids and both have really appreciated having memories of their high school/college days wrapped in a keepsake quilt. The quilt featured in this...
Three Tips To Manage Project Overwhelm
You are not alone in having some nerves around starting a new project — especially if the project is big or involved or requires new or different tools and skills. Believe me, I have been there many times and have managed through the overwhelm using these strategies. Chunking If project-size has moved you into overwhelm, chuck the project into several smaller phases and tackle these one at a time. For example, a bathroom renovation could be chunked into (1) demo; (2) plumbing (3) tile; (4) painting; (5) vanity installation; and, (6) lighting. The individual phases are not likely as daunting....
Roman Shades | Affordable Solution for a Custom Look
These Roman Shades are a great way to add pattern, color and texture in a sleek and simple design. I have to say, I was procrastinating on this project and only because I had never done it before. I searched Pinterest for ideas and essentially followed the instructions from Remodelaholic’s blogpost (which was inspired by 33 Shades of Green). This project was not difficult, it was time consuming and somewhat involved. In the end, I save more than $300 in labor cost by doing it myself. Supplies Fabric ( I had this fabric from when I covered my kitchen chairs....