So, sometimes I do this thing where I have eight million things to do, and I spend time stressing over them, and then I find something else to add to my plate in addition to doing all of those things. Yesterday was one of those days. We had been home from vacation for approximately three seconds when I decided that there was no time like the present to go ahead and paint the front door. Now this is extremely out of character, because I don't usually act on impulse. Ha. I couldn't even type that with a straight face. We all know from this guy and this guy... and oh yeah, THIS GUY, that I happen to be one of the most impulsive people on this planet. And, truth be told, I ended up painting three doors in total yesterday, but I LOVE the way they turned out. It was a project that I have been meaning to tackle for a while, and I have to say that I don't regret it, even though it was cause for a bit of a hectic day. We have a pretty large front door with flanking windows that happened to constantly look dirty in it's white uniform, so I loved the idea of breaking up the design with a little pop of color. As far as color choice goes, mine was SUPER involved. NOT. I obviously went into my garage and found the most full can of leftover paint that we had, which happened to be a lovely shade of gray. I would tell you exactly what color it was, but I actually don't know. I happen to be a crazy lady that brought this particular paint can back to the lovely gentleman at Sherwin Williams three different times to have it tinted. So, I doubt you could even replicate this color. If you follow me on Instagram, it is the color that is in our dining room that I painted a couple of months back, and now it was going to be the new color of our front door as well. Now, painting a door may seem like a pretty self-explanatory task, but did you know that there is actually a correct way to paint a door? It was news to me as well, but apparently there is a method to this madness if you are in fact on the painted door train. I'm sure you can find a whole lot of tutorials about how to do it, and to be truly honest, I have no idea why this method works, but it does. If you are a total rebel, you can go ahead and try it another way, and I'm not saying that it won't work out well for you, but that's on you, my friends. So, back to the method. As you can see, the door can be divided into sections, and for our purposes, I've numbered them. First step: you will want to paint the border of the rectangles. Second, hit the rectangles themselves. Next, you'll want to paint the middle vertical area. The fourth step is to paint the horizontal areas, and finally, paint the outside vertical sections. Seems like it might be confusing, but tape off the hinges and walls and follow my little diagram and you shouldn't have any problems. It's kind of like a real life color-by-number that adds an awesome design to your home. I loved the addition so much that I actually went on to paint two more doors, and this time, added the trim to the project as well. I love it so much, and think it adds the perfect touch to our little laundry room/mudroom area. The painting of the trim also adds a little something extra, and I am not mad about it. So if you've got a little DIY itch to scratch, this is the perfect resolution! So easy. So quick, and so worth it.

This week's #diy tutorial is a throwback to a couple of years ago, and I thought it would be perfect because, well... AMERICA'S BIRTHDAY! I absolutely LOVE the 4th of July. We are usually celebrating with family, and often up at the lake, filling our faces with tasty beverages, flag inspired apps, and all the mayonnaise heavy dishes we can make. And this time of the summer wouldn't be complete without a few patriotic decorations, because who doesn't love to decorate for a birthday? If you are looking for a super easy way to decorate for any occasion, palettes are it. There are endless opportunities for these shabby (and might I say chic) wood fixtures. You can hang blankets on them, make them into a table, or even just lean them against a wall for a little texture in your decor. In this case, I actually had an old pier section, which is basically the same thing as a palette. I opted to paint ours, and turned it into a flag for my in-law's cabin. It was a super fun craft to do with a couple of my nephews, and we finished it in an hour or so. Supplies Palette/old pier section (tomato/tomahto, am I right) Acrylic Paint (or outdoor paint if that applies to you) Rubber star stamp This one is pretty self explanatory, but I've got a couple of tips and tricks for you if you decide you want to tackle it. You can make this as involved as you wish. I personally chose to go the easy route and paint each row of the palette a different color, despite the fact that an actual American flag has more stripes. We painted the red and blue parts first, and the white last. That way, we didn't have to worry about making a mess of red and blue paint on the white parts. As for paint choice, choose wisely. You might want to keep in mind where your palette is going to live, and whether it will be outside or not. For our purposes, we knew that this guy would be living on the indoors, so good old acrylic paint was the best choice. Durable and thick, and just what we wanted. After the stripes were slapped, er... I mean, painted on ever so carefully, we also had to decide what we wanted to do with the stars, and we were left with a couple of choices. Free hand stars were an option, but to be honest, not a great one for this girl. That pretty much left me with stencils or stamps, and I chose the latter. I liked this option because if there's one thing about me, it's that I don't always need to have my projects be perfect. Since the palette itself was a bit rustic, I wanted to roll with it, and keep the project rustic as well. Ok fine. "Rustic" is my code word for "it's not perfect but I kind of like it that way." Hey, at least I have a realistic idea of my abilities, right? So anyways, back to those stars. A little dip in the paint, some dab-dab-dab on a paper plate or paper towel, and then stamp away. Have fun with it! Doesn't have to be symmetrical if you don't want. Becuase, YOLO. And that, my patriotic people, is kind of all she wrote. It's that easy. Ample dry time and some muscle to put it up on the mantle, and voila! A close-to-free 4th of July decoration that makes a huge statement. Happy freaking birthday, America.

I have a confession. I love to make BIG statements in small rooms. I think it's so fun to play around and take chances in spaces like this, and small powder rooms are the perfect place to do it. Tiny spaces like these often get forgotten, but let's not forget the little people, people! One of my recent DIYs took place in our powder room, and I'm kind of crazy about it. I'm talking about #wallpaper, and if you want a quick and easy way to spice up a space, then THIS. IS. IT. Now, there are different kinds of wallpaper, and different levels of difficulty that come along with the different options. But let's be real: we all know that I prefer the easiest option. And to be totally honest, I didn't even realize that this type existed until recently. Basically, the "wallpaper people" got smart and decided to make their product WAY easier to use. Enter, peel and stick wallpaper. Yessiree. You read that correctly. IT'S A GIANT STICKER. That means no glue, no mess. So basically, this stuff is right up my alley. So, imagine it's just a normal Thursday at our home, and per usual, I had to run to Target for something or another. I came across this shiplap-looking peel and stick wallpaper, and by the time my husband was done with work that day, I had given our powder room a little makeover. It's that easy. Of course, all I did was cover one small wall, but again, that's part of the allure of changing up a small space. Small spaces can mean small projects, and small projects like this can be quite quick and easy. You might remember some other #diy surprises for my husband (oh, hey there), and he isn't always crazy about them (woopsies), but he was pretty happy with this guy, and so am I. A Few Tips As I mentioned, this stuff is super easy to work with, and peels off the wall pretty well if you make a mistake. Still, I found a few helpful tips while I was using it that might help you too, especially if you are a first-timer. 1. Mind the Pattern. Depending on the pattern that you choose, you will obviously want to line up the patterns between rows. I found it most helpful to lay the rolls out on the floor before I applied them to the wall. This gives you an idea of what fits with what, and will also help you determine exactly how many rolls you'll need for your space. 2. Not All Walls Are Created Equal One (and by "one", I mean me) might easily assume that lining the paper up with the top of the wall will provide you with a straight line up for the wall. And that assumption would be FALSE. Call me crazy, but it seems to me that when building walls, the people who build them would make sure that they are level. But apparently that's not the case, because our walls are definitely not level. However, I'm certainly not an expert in this department, and our house hasn't fallen over yet, so I'm sure it's fine. But, when hanging wallpaper, make sure that the paper is level, or you will end up with gaps between the rows later. This was especially important in my case, because the pattern of wallpaper that I chose happened to feature horizontal lines. So, I made sure that those lines were level when hanging. A few checks and rechecks throughout the process kept me on track. 3. Smooth like butter If you are familiar with the regular process of applying wallpaper, you may remember how easy it is to get a glue bubble or a bump during application. Unfortunately, just because we aren't using glue here doesn't mean that the bumps and bubbles are absent. It can be pretty easy to get a little air bubble here and there, so I just recommend smoothing it out very well throughout the project. I used my hands most of the time, but there are specific tools (called wallpaper smoothing tools) that you can get to assist you in the process. Whatever smoothing method you use, don't be shy. Better to take more time with it than be staring at a big air bubble on your wall every time you go to use the bathroom. Well, there you have it folks. Other than that, the whole idea of peel and stick wallpaper is pretty straight forward, so go ahead and give it a whirl! Small little powder room makeover that makes a big statement: not too bad for a day's work.

I have sworn to myself that I wouldn't allow my recent trend of adopting other people's old furniture become a habit. But you guys... these projects just keep turning out! It's so hard to turn them down when those Miss Lizzy wheels start turning. And luckily, so far, I haven't regretted the acquisitions, and this most recent addition was no different. Last week, I was scrolling the online marketplace (the free section, because that's how I roll), when I came across a free chair that was really speaking to me. I have been wanting to change up the sitting area in our bedroom for some time now, and this was the perfect opportunity! After a quick brainstorm on what I would do with the piece, and a quick inventory of what supplies I already had on hand (palm sander, wood stain, saw... check, check, check), I did what every normal mom who found a free chair with lots of potential online would do. I rushed the kids through their breakfast, threw them in the car for "an adventure," and headed to the pick up site. For the record: I do realize that my kids are likely going to grow up and tell stories about how they had a crazy mom that used to throw them in the car to go dumpster diving. But it was worth it. I knew that this chair would go quick. There were actually originally two identical chairs, and I'm lucky I acted with such haste, because just as I was backing into the lot, someone pulled in RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME and snatched up the first chair. It was nuts! I was cool with it though, because I was still left with the second chair, even if it was in worse condition than the first. But we all know I love a challenge, so it was game on. The Project Supplies: Old, sad looking chair Palm Sander Hand Saw (or even better, an oscillating tool) Wood Stain Fabric I usually play a lot of these little projects by ear, but in this case, I actually had a vision of what I wanted to do right from the start (SCORE). First step was definitely to saw off the banister-like corbels (that's the fancy name for those slatted sides). I have definitely painted enough of those in my life (remember this little adventure), and I wasn't interested in doing that again. Plus, I liked a more simple, open look, so the slotted sides had to go. This step was easy enough. I soooo wish that I owned a great little multi-tool like this, because that would have made my job a lot easier. Instead, I went old school on this one and used a good ole hand saw. It actually wasn't difficult. It also made me feel kind like some sort of lumberjack bada$$, so that was a plus. After I lumberjacked the heck out of the sides, the chair was ready for sanding. That orangish stain HAD. TO. GO. This was by far the biggest step. It wasn't hard, exactly. It just took some time. I definitely recommend using a palm sander for this one. If you are a glutton for punishment, you can go ahead and sand it down with sand paper, but that will likely take you until October, so do yourself a favor and use the tool. All I did here was sand the wood down to it's bare, natural self. It was already looking so beautiful. After I sanded, I gave it a good wipe down (because, well, palm sander equals saw dust everywhere), and then moved on to stain. Per usual, I wanted to keep this project as low cost as possible, so I checked the garage to see what I had. I happened to have a basically unused can of wood stain in the color "Driftwood," which was actually exactly what I was going for. I wanted something light and bright that would keep the chair looking close to its natural wood. Driftwood stain was the right answer there. After a few coats (I think I did about three), it was looking gorgeous. The last and final step was re-upholstering the cushions. You guys, I own a sewing machine, but I have to be honest. I am, in no way, shape, or form, even CLOSE to a seamstress. I am actually not great at sewing. I can take on a project if it doesn't involve more than a couple of straight seams, but other than that, I'm a total rookie. That being said, I wouldn't even attempt to school you on how to recover cushions. I will, however, share this awesome tutorial that I found to be extremely helpful. After the piece was dry and the cushions were covered, my newfound friend was ready for it's new home. I have to say, I'm pretty happy with how this one turned out... maybe I'll keep this up for a little while longer.

Let's be honest. Life can get crazy, and most of us are busy with a capital B. I don't know about all of you, but I am all about any kind of tip that can make my life just a little bit easier, so I'll take all the life hacks that I can get. In the same way, I use TONS of little hacks and short cuts when I'm doing my #diy projects. Some have worked, and some have flopped, but I thought that I would highlight a few of my favorite #DIYhacks, in hopes that they might give you the extra push to dive into the wonderful world of doing-it-yourself. 1. Think Outside the Box This is perhaps the hack that I use the most, and it might seem pretty obvious, but I think it's important. I repurpose a TON. I'm constantly trying to find ways to change something into what I want it to be. Take these curtain rods, for example. Guess what? Not curtain rods. When I decided to hang curtain panels in my living room, I knew that they would be mostly for decoration. It isn't a room that we spend a ton of time in, so I knew I wouldn't be closing the curtains all that much. I knew then that I wanted stationary curtain panels. Easy enough, right? Sure, except that curtain rods (even short ones meant for stationary panels) can be pricey, and I wasn't really down for spending a bunch of money on something that wasn't even going to be functional. Solution? Towel racks totally double as curtain rods, and they are a lot cheaper. I've used cheap towel racks as curtain rods in two different places in my home, and no one (well, except for everyone now) can tell the difference. Repurposing is my jam, and in a most cases, it will save me some money. I've also turned a shower curtain into a valence, and now I have a valence that no one else has. Keep things custom and save some cash at the same time? Sign me up! 2. When in Doubt, Spray It I have a confession. I spray paint everything. I honestly don't think that I have one item in any of the rooms in my house that hasn't been spray painted at one point or another. From candle sticks, to furniture, with all the lamps and curtain rods (aka towel racks) in between, I have spray painted it. I've even spray painted a chandelier. This DIY hack works just perfectly with my tastes, because, well... my tastes are constantly changing. And as much as I love changing up the decor in my home, I don't love having a bunch of old decor to store or worry about getting rid of. That's where spray paint comes in clutch. There are SO many different types of spray paint, so the possibilities are honestly endless. You can make something look glass or brass or anything in between. Take this adorable little stool that I found at Target on clearance for instance. I loved it to begin with, but wanted to add a little something to it. A little painter's tape and some gold spray paint later, and I've got a perfectly customized stool. It just works. It's cheap and quick, so what's not to love? I know I won't be putting down my spray cans any time soon! 3. Trash to Treasure My next hack is perfect for the DIY newbie who is a little weary of diving in full force. Now, if you are familiar with my projects, you know that I'm not afraid to pick up other people's give-a-ways here and there. I'm sure we have all had the following experience: Driving along, minding our business, when we spot a no-longer-loved piece of furniture like a chair or desk. I'm sure we've all been there and see them, but I'm the crazy lady who actually picks them up and throws them in her vehicle. I LOVE finding other people's "trash" and turning it into something cool. Ok, I know how this sounds. In fact, if I'm being honest, I am desperately wracking my brain right now for the correct words that won't make me sound like I am promoting full on dumpster diving. But let's be real. That's kind of what I'm promoting. In fact, just the other day, I was mentioning to my husband how convenient it might be for the next vehicle that we buy to be a pick up truck. He took one look at me and said, "You just want to make your dumpster diving easier." Can you believe the nerve and the complete accuracy of that statement?! Listen, it's not like I run around picking up a bunch of dirty, used furniture like changing tables and make them into bars. Oh wait, yeah I do. But here's the thing: Not every DIY works out the way I envision it will. So, when I find something for cheap, or even better- for FREE, it makes diving into the project just a little bit less scary. There's no big risk involved if it turns out to be a flop. So don't be afraid to try out your projects on second-hand items... you might just find that they turn out to be some of your favorites! Well, there you have it. I've revealed all my secrets. Well, not all my secrets, but these are some of my favorite #DIYhacks . Now what are you waiting for? Go on- get out there, find someone else's trash, spray paint that bad boy, and use it for something entirely different than it's original purpose. You never know what you might come up with!

I love Memorial Day. It may even be one of my favorite holidays. It’s a time for reflection and relaxation, and the kick off of all things summer. For us, that means heading up to the lake, lots of family time, and if we are lucky, anticipating some nice weather for the next few months. Though we don’t really decorate for Memorial Day or the 4th of July around our house because we are generally out of town, adding a bit of patriotism to the front door is a nice touch, and this wreath is a perfectly easy way to display it. If you are like most sane individuals, you could just go out and buy a wreath if you really want one that badly. But, if you are like me, you might just enjoy the satisfaction of creating one yourself. Plus, the nice thing about this #diy is that it is incredibly versatile. You can easily make this wreath pertain to any holiday, party theme or season that you’d like. In fact, after Memorial Day week, I'll change it up a bit. The Project Creating a rope wreath seems pretty self explanatory, and I thought that it would be a quick project. It's a little bit more involved than I realized when I started, and so a tutorial should do just the trick to get you through the tough spots. The Details Supplies: 18" straw wreath Jute rope of desired thickness glue gun push pins This project started off like most of the others, in that I didn't know exactly what I was doing when I started. Yolo, right? Anyways, you might notice that I suggested using a straw wreath. Now you may be wondering why on earth I would make such a messy choice, and there is in fact a reason behind this. I knew that there would inevitably be small gaps between the rope when I was finished, and I thought that they would be the least noticeable with the straw wreath (versus the green styrofoam wreaths that you can get). Pro Tip (and I use that phrase incredibly loosely): You can save yourself from the mess by not actually unwrapping the wreath from the plastic wrap that it comes in from the store. I started with 32 feet of the jute rope. It came in rolls of 16 feet, and I was completely shocked to discover that by the end, I used almost all of it to cover the wreath. I thought for sure I would be returning one of the rolls. Math can be hard, you know? To begin, I pinned the end of the rope to the back of the wreath and began to slowly wrap the rope around the wreath, being careful not to let it get twisted along the way. Don't get it twisted, people. As I wrapped, I would glue pieces down. I do NOT recommend gluing down all of the rope, because if you are anything like me, you may want to pull it off and re-apply here and there. Seems easy enough, right? Right. Except for when it gets a little tricky, and about a quarter of the way through the wrapping process, you will discover just what I mean. Because of the shape of the wreath, you WILL be left with gaps here and there. Once the entire wreath is wrapped, all the while gluing and pinning as necessary, you will be left with gaps to fill. I tried everything to find a way to avoid these, but to no avail. I learned to embrace the gaps. Well, I learned to embrace them, and I also learned how to cover them up. Armed with a glue gun and pins, you will want to use any extra rope that you have to fill those gaps. I found that if I cut the rope on an angle, I could squuueeze it in to the gap and glue it down. I also used the pins on the back to secure the rope and wrap it back around as necessary, so that from the front of the wreath, the gaps are hardly noticeable. This part takes a little patience, but don't be afraid to re-do your work if you don't like the way it looks. Hang in there. Once you've got the rope situation all wrapped up (tee hee), feel free to grab any ribbon, fabric, or otherwise that you've got on hand, or that pertains to your season, event, or holiday. In this case, I actually started with ribbon, but didn't love the way it turned out. So I ended up finding a couple of bandanas and used those instead. I love the way it turned out, and again, I love that I can very easily use it for another holiday or season if I want to. All in all, the entire project took me about 90 minutes, it was a fun project to do with my daughter, and now I have a cute new wreath on my front door. So, I'd call that a win... that's a wrap (sorry, I couldn't resist)!

Truth be told: the more and more posts that I add to this blog, the more and more I realize how annoying I would be to live with. I just can't sit still when it comes to DIY projects, and though most of them don't really affect my better half too much, there are the ones like this one and this one that he really gets roped into without much (ok fine, ANY) consent. Today's topic is another one of those. Sorry, honey. Thanks for putting up with me. Let me just start off (because it somehow makes me feel less guilty about this whole project to put this thought out there) by saying that I have always loved the piano. I grew up with one, and someone in my house was often tapping the keys, and so they really give me all the warm and fuzzies. I have therefore always wanted to have one, but to me, purchasing a piano is really one of those things that will constantly keep getting pushed further and further down the list of "things to acquire." For the record, that list is large and in charge. And I don't know if that list will ever stop growing. Probably not. But anyways, back to the key subject at hand (see what I did there... key as in piano key. Ok, I'm sure you get it): the acquisition of a FREE piano for our home (mentioning that it was free makes me feel better too). As it turns out, there are lots and lots of people online that, for whatever reason, no longer want their pianos. Those same people, as I discovered, also do not want to move their pianos out of their homes themselves. So, these people often post their pianos online for FREE with the one stipulation that the new owners move the piano themselves. Sounds like a pretty great deal, if you ask me. So, a couple of years ago, after I had made these discoveries, I began to try to claim one of the free pianos as my own. This, in itself, was not an easy task, because, as it turns out, I'm not the only moron who wants to try to move a free piano on their own. But eventually, after quite a few tries, I was able to "claim" a piano. Score! Now all I had to do was pick it up. After breaking the news to my husband (Heck no, I did not tell him about this previously), I arranged to borrow our neighbor's trailer and made a quick call asking my college-football-playing nephew (shout out to Colton) to help us. And by us, I mean that I wasn't actually involved in the physical movement of the piano, but that I went along for the ride. The good news was that the piano was only 40 minutes away, which, as it turns out, is actually a brutally long way to ride with a piano on a trailer behind your vehicle. The bad news was that the piano was currently living in a beautiful, old Chicago bungalow, that, like most Chicago bungalows, had about 8 steps up to the porch. You know that emoji of the monkey that's covering his eyes? That was me pretty much the entire time. ANYWAYS, all's well that ends well, and we {they} got the piano home and inside our house in no time. The Project Once home, I quickly decided that it needed to be painted. Who am I kidding here? We all know that I was going to paint that bad boy the entire time. I started the next day. There were obviously tons of options for how I was going to paint it, and though I did spend some time on that nerve wracking drive home checking out all the piano projects on Pinterest, I ended up choosing to work with supplies that I had on hand (SHOCKER). For the white paint, I chose to use trim paint. I did this mostly because I had a bunch of trim paint in our basement, but also because it holds up well, is decently thick, and is bright white. I did sand down the piano and bench briefly so that the paint had something to adhere to. This step will save you from your paint chipping later, so in this case it was worth it to spend the extra time. What's also worth the extra time is putting on more than one coat. I myself did 3. I wanted to make sure that there weren't any transparent spots, especially since I didn't end up using a top coat on the white parts. For the top of the piano and bench, I chose to use the left over gel stain that I used on our banisters. If you go through that post, you will have way more detailed directions, but gel stain is fantastic- little prep involved and it produces excellent results. As I mentioned previously, I did NOT use a top coat on the white parts. I have found that poly top coats often give a yellowish tint to white paint, and that was the last thing I wanted to see on this piece. I felt alright about this, because I was using the trim paint- I knew it would hold up well without the top coat. I did use a poly top coat on the gel stain. I wanted it to really shine, and I also wanted to protect it (particularly the bench seat) because that would be getting the most traffic. At the end of the day, the entire project took me no more than 4 total hours, not including drying time. Not. Too. Shabby. I LOVE this piece, guys. I went with a look that really complemented our stairs, and I'm so glad I did. It's classic, and looks beautiful in our living room. Have I mentioned how much I love this piece? If you have the means and the man power to pick up a free piano and give it a new home, I highly recommend it. Not only is it gorgeous, but I have started tickling the ivories again. My kids love it too, and it makes my heart happy to know that they will grow up learning how to play as well. Definitely worth the trip and sore shoulders- just ask my husband.

YOU GUYS. I think that some warm {ish} weather might actually be here to stay! And you know what that means: Cocktails. I mean... patio weather... and maybe some cocktails. Since the majority of our lives in the good ole Midwest are spent cooped up inside, we LOVE to take advantage of the warm weather and use our outside space whenever possible. This year, I am especially excited to use our patio as an extra living space, and I recently finished working on my latest DIY, which will be the icing on the cake for our patio-living days and nights. I'm not sure that I ever really even imagined saying this because this project was particularly spur of the moment (seriously, people... there's a trend happening here), BUT... I made a bar! Definitely the most unplanned project that I have to date (because I literally made it up as I went along), but I have to say that I was pretty pleased with the way that it turned out! The Project Rewind to a couple of months ago, as I was pulling out of my driveway when I saw a piece of furniture on the side of the road in front of my neighbor's house. As a creature of habit (impulsivity being the habit in this case), I couldn't help myself and uttered, "I've gotta be able to do something with that." What appeared to be a baby changing table seemed to be in decent condition (sort of), and so I scooped it up and put it in my garage for the remainder of the winter. Yep, that's right- I garbage picked. I garbage picked, and I'm not afraid to admit it. Well, maybe a little afraid, but it isn't really garbage picking when you know the owners.... right?? Fine, still garbage picking, but it somehow makes me feel better about the situation. Last week, as the weather started to warm up, I really started to set up my patio (see our cute patio here), and the idea came to me- I could make a bar out of that recent garbage pick! I don't know where these amazing ideas come from, but I'm quite sure it had something to do with the endless cravings for refreshing beverages that come along with patio weather. So, the fate for the baby changing table was made. This little piece, that once held a cute little baby, was now going to house some cute little cocktails, refreshments, and other entertaining items. Now I just had to figure out how to do it. The first thing that I did was seal the top seams of the piece. As I mentioned, this piece was in decent(ish) shape, but much of it was made up of particle board. Since I knew the piece was going to be outside, I knew that I needed to seal the seams with waterproof caulk. HA. That is NOT true. I did not want to complete this step at all. My husband made me. Also not true. My husband completed this step, because I had no idea how to do it. But here's a picture of his handiwork. I took the reins from there, and I knew one thing for sure... the drawers had to come out, so I quickly unscrewed those. The addition of the shelf was also very simple. All I did was take 2 small pieces of wood as supports, and then measured and cut a piece of plywood to rest on top. Everything was secured with wood screws, which went in nicely. Next, I had to paint it. Lucky for me, and if you remember from this post, I knew a thing or two about chalk paint, so that was an obvious choice. Little-to-no prep work (and in this case, I didn't prep at all), and quick drying time. The next addition was actually my husband's idea, and it's really what makes the piece so cool, so I've got to give him all the credit. He suggested using some of our old pier planks to cover the outside (he's way more creative than he lets on). I loved the idea. Not only would it look great ascetically, but it would cause the piece to be made with a little piece of our hearts. We happen to have a pile of old wooden pier planks from my in-law's lake house that are sitting in our garage, so I started to measure and cut, measure and cut my little heart out. Again, I kind of made this up as I went along, so I decided in that moment to line the sides, top, and the bottom most shelf. The original plan was to line the existing door with them, but I decided to recreate a door out of pier planks instead. For said door, I just took 3 pier planks (measured to size), and screwed a couple of pieces of scrap wood into the back to hold them all together. Not super technical around here, folks. If there are any true wood workers reading this, I apologize for making you cringe (because I'm quite sure you must be at this point). But, it's what worked for me. I removed the hinges from the existing door and attached them to my new, super adorable pier plank door and reattached it to the cabinet. Final touches involved scuffing it up with some sand paper and making it look a bit antiqued, and also applying a poly top coat. I used an exterior poly spray this time, and it was incredibly easy. To be honest, I wasn't super concerned about this because I knew that I was going to place this piece under a window which would partially cover it, and that I would also be covering with a tarp to protect it against the elements. In the end, this project ended up being a true example of "trash to treasure," and I am SO happy with how it turned out. Not only do we now have a cute addition to our patio, just in time for entertaining, but we also have a conversation piece, and a story to tell. And we all know how I love a good story.

Well, I think I've almost gotten over the nightmares that were sparked from last week's post. This marvelous beast of a DIY really made us work for results, but like I said before, it was well worth it. In case you don't remember the painful project from last week, I'm mid-tutorial on the worst DIY project known to man: Staircase Facelifts. Picking up where I left off, I had just finished complaining, er... I mean explaining all about how to refinish the 114 balusters of the two staircases in our home. Next steps in finishing off the project are to gel stain the banisters and paint the risers. Smooooth sailing, folks. It's an easy downhill ride from here, so just sit back and relax. The Project (Banisters) First off: Gel Stain. Gel Stain might just be one of my favorite projects ever. It requires little to no prep work, and produces excellent results. This is the route that we chose for our banisters, and I haven't regretted that decision once. It looks awesome. Gel stain, for those of you that don't know, is really just that. A wood stain in gel form. The obvious difference between gel stain and regular stain is the consistency, but my favorite thing about gel stain is the lack of necessity to prep much. We all know how I can be a bit compulsive (if you don't know what I'm talking about, you can refresh your memory here and here), and so a project that allows me to see results quickly is right up my alley. The Details Supplies: Gel Stain (we used Minwax Dark Walnut) Sock or old rag (I prefer an old sock) Rubber gloves Sand Paper (optional) Poly Top coat Like I mentioned, Gel Stain prep is optional, so you can pretty much cut right to the chase if you so desire. You are welcome to lightly sand down your banister (or other wooden object of choice), but it isn't required. Because our light oak banisters were a bit on the shiny side, I did run some fine grit sand paper over them before we began. If sanding is in your cards, you will want to wipe down the excess dust with a damp rag to ensure that your surface is clean and smooth before you apply the stain. Once your working surface is nice and prepped (or not), you are ready to rock with the gel stain. Now, pay attention, because this part can be tricky. The key to doing this correctly is scoop some stain out of the can and wipe it on the banister (if you didn't figure it out by now, I was totally joking about that whole "tricky" thing). Armed with rubber gloves and an old sock over one hand, just wipe that stain on, one layer at a time. That's honestly it, guys. Like a freaking peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Once you get one coat on, you will want to wait 12-24 hours between coats for drying time (depending on directions on the can). The stuff goes on pretty thick, so 2 coats will probably suffice, but if you want them darker, then you do you, boo. A poly top coat is encouraged, especially for something like a banister that is going to get a lot of hand traffic. Using an old brush, we painted one on, and just like that- our banisters went from drab to fab (can I get a "hands in the air emoji")! The Project (Risers) The risers were equally as simple, if not more, due to the fact that I didn't use poly on these. And that wasn't even out of laziness. I actually found that if you use a poly on the risers, it gives a bit of a yellow tint, so I decided to skip it. Ah, I love it when a plan falls into place. The Details Supplies: White Trim Paint Paint Brush Fine grit sand paper {Yep, that's it} A light sand on those risers, a little wipe down, and paint your little hearts out. I used trim paint because it's thicker than normal paint, and it's also a bit more durable. Again, I didn't poly these, and although they are also high traffic areas, they have held up pretty well. And personally, I would rather touch up the bright white here and there than have to deal with a faded, yellowish look on the risers. So, no poly it is for this gal. And THAT, ladies and gents, is how you update an outdated staircase. Again, not everything in life can be easy, and the stuff that you have to work for is the stuff that tends to really give you all the feels in the end. Plus, you usually don't remember how bad the work was once you see the finished product. Such is the story with our staircases. I can barely even remember how hard it was (until I wrote a blog post about it and relived that nightmare), but they really give me all the feels when I see them, and maybe even more so, knowing that we did them ourselves.

You may have noticed by now that many of my DIY adventures tend to be pretty quick and easy. That's kind of my thing. I find these #DIYprojects to be a little more enjoyable when things stay simple. With the exception of this monstrosity, most of the projects that I undertake are just that: niiice and easy. Except this one. Easy, not so much, but worth it? Oh yes. So much yes. It was totally worth it. Time consuming and tedious, but totally and completely worth it. I'm talking about our banister projects. Yes, that's projectS, with a capital S. We happen to have 2 stair cases in our house, which is awesome at all times, except for when the time has come to give those stair cases a little makeover. It is at that time, and likely that time only, that it is not awesome to have two stair cases. But, as with most things in life, it can't all be awesome and easy, and so I will just be honest up front. This particular project was NOT. In fact, this project was big enough that it deserves two posts about it. It is pretty involved, so you get a Two for One here, folks. So put on your hard hats, because the Easy Train has temporarily left the station. The Project When we moved into our house, the floors and banisters of our staircases were a very light oak. Beautiful? Sure. Just not really my style. I prefer something a little darker, and so this was one of the very first projects that we took on in this house. As much as I would love to be able to say that I am cool enough to be able to stain my own floors, the fact of the matter is that I am NOT that cool (for a multitude of reasons, but let's focus on the subject at hand, mmmm kkkkk?). Due to said lack of coolness, we had a professional stain the floors and the treads of the stairs. No good is going to come out of me attempting that task, I'll tell you that right now. But what we DID do ourselves was revamp the balusters, risers, and banisters themselves. For those of you that aren't familiar with what a baluster is, don't fret. I had no idea what those "banister pole things" [as I lovingly used to refer to them] were actually called. Turns out they go by the name Baluster. This brings me to the hardest part of the project, which was sanding down all of the balusters. All 114 of them. And then painting all those balusters. All 114 of them. With 5 coats of paint [this is the part where "Stairway to Heck" comes in]. This wasn't hard, per say. It just took FOREVER. Think of Hamilton "Ham" Porter from the classic, The Sandlot, saying, "Fooorrreeevvvveerrr." It was kind of like that type of forever. BUT, let me tell you- once this was done, they looked simply gorgeous, darling. The Details Supplies: A never-ending amount of balusters to refinish Sand paper White trim paint Rubber gloves You can do this project one of two ways, but I highly encourage you to do it the way we did. It is a little bit more involved, but in the end, I believe that it actually made our lives a lot easier. What I am referring to is the removal of the balusters from the banisters. I kind of feel like there should be a children's song by that name. Anyways, you can totally choose to leave your balusters attached to your banister and do all the sanding and painting that way. I quickly decided, however, that not only would it be difficult to sand them down that way, but it would also be quite messy with paint drippings. So, I removed them. After a little research, I found that most balusters can just twist right off. Now- I am talking specifically about wood balusters that are attached to wood banisters. I really can't speak on the other types. With this particular wood variety, each of the balusters have a little nail keeping them in place at the top, so if you very GENTLY twist, you should be able to loosen and remove them from your banister. I found that this was the best way to do it so that I could do all the sanding and painting in the garage. Once they are lightly sanded down (you do NOT have to sand these all the way- just enough for the paint to have something to stick to), you are ready to paint. Armed with rubber gloves and a paintbrush, I actually started to get pretty quick at this. You will likely come up with your own system, but I stand by my method. I used a step stool, and stood the particular baluster that I was working on on top of it. Holding the paint brush with one hand and the very top of the spindle with the other, I was able to turn the baluster with one hand while brushing with my opposite. Tedious, but not super difficult, either. Not super difficult if I had to complete, say, 10 of these. The difficulty comes in with the number of actual balusters to complete. So hang in there, tiger. You've got this. Once I got over my PTSD from completing the revamping of the balusters, the steps after that followed not nearly as tedious. For the banister, we used gel stain. If you have never used gel stain, it is another one of my quick and easy DIYs. Totally the way to go when staining small pieces, in my humble opinion. The risers are in the same boat. Way easier to finish. As I mentioned earlier, this project deserves two posts, so I will pause there. I don't want to overload you with info, and let's be honest. It's gonna take you while to finish all those balusters anyways. I will go much more into depth about the next steps in next week's post, so stay tuned!

Ok. Enough talk about Spring being on its way. It's really here, guys. It's really, truly here. And I don't know about your house, but in mine, along with the season change, comes (DIY itches if for one thing, if you recall from last week's post) seasonal decorating. I personally have always loved putting a few touches here and there for Easter and Spring. It feels bright and airy, and who doesn't love to change up the decor every once in a while, am I right? For those of us that want to change it up, the "right" way to decorate can often be a challenge. I'm sure the same questions go through your head as mine. Do I go traditional? Do I take a chance? Do I buy this ugly flag with a rabbit on it just because its an Easter decoration (spoiler alert: The answer is "no")? So, to help with this perplexing predicament, I've decided to highlight some of the tips to remember that work for me when decorating for Springtime. 1. First and Foremost: Keep it FUN! Maybe its the memories from childhood, or maybe I'm just a kid at heart, but I love to keep seasonal decorating fun. I like to do things that I normally wouldn't and stretch the limits a little bit. Each season or holiday only comes around once a year, after all. Might as well enjoy them while we can. I find that changing the decor by decorating for spring also tends to make my attitude change as well. Gets me a bit excited for what's to come. So bring on the fun. 2. It's Temporary Like I said, these seasons only come around once a year, so when taking risks, remember: this only lasts a little while. It isn't as if you are going to paint your walls with the seasonal decor, so go ahead! Hang the flags, fill the bowl with eggs... heck- put that big stone bunny in your entryway if that's your thing. It's only temporary. And because it's temporary, I like to keep my budget for these sorts of decorations low. I know that my tastes might change over time, and I don't want to feel like I can't change it up because I broke the bank on a solid gold Easter bunny. I don't actually know if said "fancy bunnies" even exist, but I'm sure they are out there somewhere. The point is, keep it casual folks. These decorations are only going to be out for a few weeks. 3. Incorporate Your Personal Taste This is perhaps my most important tip, and one that keeps me loving my seasonal decor year in and year out. I love to integrate my home's style into the seasonal decor as well. Sure, I may decorate for the seasons with colors that aren't in our normal palette and take risks, but I generally tend to acquire like pieces that complement each other well. This kind of goes with the whole "thinking outside the box" idea as well. You may have to do a little digging to find the pieces that match your home's decor, but, in my humble opinion: totally worth it. I personally tend to gravitate towards a bit more rustic feel, and you will see that in my seasonal decor as well. As with most things in life, it's all about balance, and if you can find pieces that make your home feel pretty as well as accentuate your current decor, then I personally think you are doing it right. These are just a few tips that might help when trying to navigate seasonal decorating, but above all else: Own your space, people! It is your space, after all. Just because someone else may not like your style doesn't mean it's not right. Your space, your style. The seasonal decorations that you love might not be traditional, but you know what I always say: You do you, boo (Ok, I don't always say that, but I'm saying it now). So go ahead and do your thing- and have some fun while decorating for Spring!

It's haaappennning... the sun is starting to show its face around here! Granted, temperatures are just barely warm enough to ensure that I don't freeze my face off when I go outside, but I will take it. I don't know about you, but when it really feels like the warm weather is on the horizon, there are a few things that seem to come naturally with the climate change. You know what I'm talking about: Sunnies on, car music blasting, maybe a little giddy-up in your step. Something about the sun shining that just makes everything better. For me, there's also something about springtime that gives me a little itch. But don't worry, it's a good itch. The warmer the weather gets, the more I start to feel that DIY itch coming on. Enter Mirror Antiquing. Last week, I was feeling extra productive around the house one day. So, I decided to scratch that itch a bit. Just for a few minutes. This one... well, this one, ladies and gents... is an easy one. I know, I know, I have said that about projects before... and before that. But it truly is. This is a record breaker for me, folks. I mean, this whole project couldn't have taken me more than 6 minutes and 33 seconds, start to finish (but who's counting). Project We have had this lovely, wood framed mirror for a while now, and while I love the simplicity of it, I felt that it needed a little something to spice it up. I'm not entirely sure that I am done spicing it up, but I love the way the antiquing turned out. Antique, weathered mirrors are pretty in style right now, and I love them in the right setting. So, walking past our bedroom mirror, I decided to give it a go. Just had to figure out how. Supplies: Metallic Spray Paint Black Spray Paint Paper Towel Gloves (optional... I didn't opt) Drop Cloth (again, I didn't opt, but I would recommend) As I'm sure I've mentioned before, like any chronic DIY addict, I happen to have quite the inventory of spray paints in my garage from past projects. And if hoarding half used spray paint cans isn't your thing? No worries there. I'll show you exactly what I used. Plus, this is one of those projects that you could very easily modify in order to fit your own taste. Remember this canvas, where I assured you that you couldn't really mess it up? Kind of the same deal here. Just follow your little DIY heart. Surprising as it may sound (NOT), I didn't have a script that I was following on this one. That's part of what makes these projects fun, to be honest. I never really know what I'm gonna get. Now, do I recommend running to tell everyone in your household that you are going to go spray paint a perfectly good mirror that you recently purchased? No. No, I do not. You bet your little DIY booties that I didn't inform my {saint} husband that I was about to spray paint our mirror. In our bedroom. Without a drop cloth (insert cheeky, mischievous, smiling emoji here). I personally let him see most of my projects after they are completed. But to each his own. But, back to said mirror. I knew I had a bunch of spray paint downstairs, and- BINGO. Metallic Spray Paint. Check. That's where I started. Armed with my can of spray paint, a roll of paper towels, and a couple of brown paper bags (I'm smart enough to use those, if not an entire drop cloth), I trotted upstairs. Now, in case you are wondering: Yes, the thought did cross my mind that maybe this wasn't a great idea. After all, I paid good money for this mirror, and if it didn't turn out, it would probably be a waste. But that thought quickly passed, because, well... that's kind of my thing. YOLO. The first thing I did was spray a bit of paint onto a crumpled up piece of paper towel. The super technical description of "crumpled up" is very important here, because that's what made my paint actually look antiqued. Kind of like those old sponge painting techniques that we all watched our moms attempt. No? Just me? Oh, right. Hey, I had to get it from somewhere. Anyways, I started dabbing the paper towel very lightly. I chose to dab around the corners and in the middle ever so slightly, so that the mirror would still have functionality. After I finished with the silver, I definitely liked what I was seeing. But it needed a little something more. So, back down to the garage I went. Adding a little (and I mean a little) bit of black paint in the same manner here did just the trick. It added a little depth to the design, which was exactly what I was looking for. Note: I did not use close to as much paint on the second go around with the black. Very small dabs here and there. I wanted the sliver to be the main focus. I actually may go back and add gold to the mix as well, but I didn't happen to have any left, so that may happen at a later date. I'll be sure to update if I do. Now, there is definitely a fine line of knowing when to stop adding small detail. It's been a LOT of trial and error for me with projects in this regard, but over time, I have learned that less is more. I find that its best to do a little bit at a time. Sit... take a step back... take it in... and then decide if you want to add more to your work. In this case, I felt that what I had done was enough. And there you have it. An antiqued mirror, in precisely 6 minutes and 33 seconds, and not a single spot of paint on the carpet.