Have you been thinking of painting your kitchen cabinets, but can’t stomach the thought of all the mess, upheaval, and general mayhem that goes along with such a big project? Then I have good news for you! Now there’s an easier way to paint your cabinets, without destroying the heart of your home in the process. (THANK YOU to DecoArt and D. Lawless Hardware for providing supplies for this project!) You may remember I already wrote a post on the “right” way to paint your kitchen cabinets, otherwise known as the world’s longest kitchen cabinet painting tutorial. After I published my original post, the question I heard most often was “Is there an… Keep Reading
Mother’s Day is Coming!
If you’re like me, Spring may seem a little early this year. I feel like we just made it through the holidays and already it’s almost Spring Break! That may be because I’ve been wrapped up in moving to a new house and haven’t thought of much else besides the absolute necessities involved in selling and buying, packing and unpacking. (You’ll hear lots more about the house soon!) Since I’m so behind on everything, I thought I’d try to get ahead of the game for at least one holiday: Mother’s Day. Now here’s a holiday I can really appreciate. As a daughter, I definitely appreciate my mother, but as a… Keep Reading
Let There be Light!
One of my favorite parts of starting out on a new venture or project is amassing new tools. Have you seen this quote: Why buy it for $7 when you could make it yourself with $92 of craft supplies? That pretty much describes the life of a DIY-er. Or upon further thought, it may be that DIY-ing just provides a thin cover for my slight hoarding tendency. Any-hoo, where was I? Oh yes…tools. I’ve recently decided to learn the art of hand-lettering. I’ve never loved my handwriting (insert sob story about being home-schooled in China by my left-handed mother the year everyone else learned cursive back in the States) and now I’m motivated… Keep Reading
Knit Your Own Fall Shawl with SKEINO
It’s finally scarf and shawl weather! And to get ready, I have a fun knitting project for you to try. Today I’m teaming up with my favorite craft tutorial website, Guidecentral, to bring you this Startup Shawl from SKEINO. SKEINO is a unique yarn company specializing in hand painted high quality yarn, knitting kits, and handmade gift items and accessories. What’s really neat about SKEINO is that all their yarns are hand painted and packed by people with special needs so they can provide these folks with a regular income. I just think that’s cool, and it made me happy thinking about it while I was using their yarn on this project. I bet you didn’t… Keep Reading
A Chair Reborn of Chalk Paint and a Drop Cloth
What do a chair, a drop cloth, and chalk paint have in common? Nothing, until a DIY-er gets ahold of them! Often when I’m thrift shopping, I hear a little voice in my head, telling me to buy this or that fabulous mess and take it home for a little TLC. In this case, the voice wasn’t in my head, it was over an actual loudspeaker. I was standing in my local Habitat for Humanity ReStore, contemplating this dusty orange velvet arm chair. I was debating whether it was worth the $10 price tag, considering the huge amount of work that I would have to put into it. (And considering… Keep Reading
When Engineering Meets Art in the Home, Part 1
I love a good art project! So when Lennox asked me to showcase their new “What Perfect Feels Like” campaign, I was intrigued. When I saw the art, I was hooked. (This is a sponsored post, but all opinions are my own.) You know that there are parts of your home that just don’t get enough attention, although they’ve become a pivotal part of your life. Can I get an “amen” from anybody who’s ever had to snake a drain, plunge a toilet, or sweat through a weekend while waiting for the air conditioner repairman to come on Monday? Well your HVAC system is definitely one of these. Whether you… Keep Reading
Window Blinds that Work Better than I Do
A couple of weeks ago I had the world’s easiest and fastest shopping experience picking out blinds for my new kitchen. Then it was all downhill from there. Not the blinds – they’re great. No, the problem unfortunately is me. I got them picked out, custom cut, and then home, all in less time than it takes to cook a pan of brownies. Then what happened? They sat on my laundry room floor for two weeks. Unfortunately this is not unusual for me. Finally, I got motivated to hang them up. I removed the old blinds easily by sliding the header piece out of its brackets. My husband had the… Keep Reading
Brownies and Window Blinds
What do brownies have to do with window blinds? I’ll get to that in a minute. But first, tell me I’m not the only one who has learned to live in a house with all sorts of minor inconveniences that would only take moments to fix, but somehow live on, only to be contemplated when they don’t work. For instance, I spent years with a cheap, mostly broken, can opener. Not the end of the world, certainly, but there were moments that I just wanted to chuck it out the window. Then each time I wrestled a can open and went on with life, I forgot all about it. Finally I… Keep Reading