The Mundane

Well my friends, the no spend month is ending soon. I can’t say I’ll be sad to see it go but it sure does help me refocus when I do this. When I’m not spending on house stuff I can concentrate on bettering what we already have. I’ve decluttered a TON and whenever I felt the urge to go out and walk through a store I just found a new spot to sort through.

I’ve gotten a ton done this month but there’s so much more on my list! When I’m focused on the larger projects I find the smaller ones tedious. But when I’m working on a to do list and not bringing anything new into the house the mundane little things are oddly rewarding.

I’ve put off painting the inside of the built in cabinets in the family room for months – I finally sat down and just did it:

Even though you can’t see much with the doors closed you can tell it’s darker and more uniform in there which I like. For this girl who never even paints the inside of the cabinet doors, this is huge!! ;)

Speaking of painting…a lot of it is happening in the kitchen. I’m still working on the second coat on all the window trim in the bay window:

I won’t finish the white on the walls till the window seat is done, which will be sooner than I planned!! Whoot! Next time you see this spot the seat should be there. :)

We went through all of the toy bins in the basement and I finished up a few little things down there. We have an AWESOME ottoman with storage that holds our DVD books and other stuff:

Problem is the kiddo pushes it around all the time and we never know which way it opens. We have to move around it and pull till we get the right side. This is struggle people.

My solution took five minutes – I found some old belts while going through stuff and since I don’t wear them anymore I used one to make little handles:

I just screwed them into the ottoman framing and now we know exactly where to open and it’s easier to pull up:

I was laughing because as I was doing this I knew I had used another belt in a similar way years ago -- but for the life of me could not figure out where I did it. I placed my little DIY tray back on the ottoman and realized it was on that tray. Ha! I’m smart.

When something needs to be hung I tend to leave it leaning for months – it’s one of those little things that I put off. I finally hung a cute sign in the laundry room:

Love it! I will be installing shelves between the cabinets but until then I went ahead and hung it. Knowing me that could be another year from now. ;)

We’ve had a big mirror leaning in our newly organized closet for at least six months – and it took me all of five minutes to get it hung:

On a whim back in late December (I’ve technically been on this no spend gig since mid-December) I decided to hang a bunch of the random photos we’ve had laying around:

This wall in our loft is HUGE. I have to get a taller ladder to keep going, but it’s not empty for the first time in years!

And finally, as I mentioned I did a lot of purging, but not a lot of organizing just yet. I did switch the contents of a couple dressers around and things make much more sense now. I put all of our linens in the dresser in the dining room turned library – and I have a couple of empty drawers now too!:

I’d still like to get some shallow baskets to organize things a little more – baskets may be my first purchase. :)

These no spend months remind me that sometimes it’s the smaller projects that make me feel the most accomplished. It also reminds me that I’m pretty darn lucky to get to do the “mundane” in a house we love – I’m grateful for it. :)

Making (DIY) art pop

Hey there all! Hope you had a lovely weekend! Hope those of you in the NYC area are stocked up – please be safe over the next few days!

Real quick, I wanted to remind you that the eBook sale finishes up tonight – it’s your last chance to get the 76 eBooks I told you about here. Baking, crafting, DIY, photography – it’s all covered in the books and it’s an incredible deal for less than $35! You can order yours here – I believe the sale ends at midnight tonight (EST).

OK, onto my latest DIY! So this is another one of those little projects I’ve had on my mental list forever, and this no-spend month is as good a time as any to get it done. Seriously, I want to go shopping SO bad. But this has been a GREAT month of getting lots of projects done and I will power through. :)

Back when I was finishing up our family room reno I needed some art for a wall and did a very quick piece of my own using a canvas I had picked up for another project. It turned out OK but it was a little dark and moody for the family room. The colors went gray instead of blue so I didn’t love it there.

I was changing things around in the master so I ended up hanging it there – and quite liked it. I don’t know if it will stay forever but for free art it will stick around for awhile:

A couple months ago I was finishing up small projects in that room and went ahead and framed it out with basic wood lattice trim from the hardware store:

I didn’t miter the corners or anything – they just butt up against each other. I quite loved the natural wood with the gray painting too:

I’ve been wanting to do the same with the painting I did years ago that now hangs in our foyer:

I just knew it would look more professional and finished off with a little edge to it. Problem was, I’m not spending on DIY this month and I didn't have enough of that lattice stuff. So I searched through the wood pile in the garage and came up with a solution. Cause I’m a hoarder crafty like that. :)

Remember the underlayment I used to do the inexpensive wood treatment over our fireplace?: 

Well when I had them cut it down at the store I kept the scraps. It’s really hard for me to give up stuff I know I can use later. And that I did:

I had a couple pieces that were a little over two inches in length so I sanded down the rough edges, then gave them a coat of black paint on the front and back:

This stuff takes paint really well so I never have to prime first.

Since it’s so thin I was able to avoid the garage and just cut with my miter box and handsaw:

Old school baby!

I used my nail gun to secure them to the side of the canvas:

And I couldn’t believe what a difference it made! It really makes it pop!:

The thickness is just perfect – even better than the lattice stuff. It’s a lot more substantial:

You can see here how I didn’t miter the ends – I just boxed it out:

The edges of the underlayment stuff weren’t great but after it was painted, you can’t even tell. I really really love it! I love touches of black and now this all ties in together nicely with the stairs and the bench underneath:

Not bad for FREE. You can see how I transformed this old canvas into our personal art (I did it with the Bub) here. It’s something I treasure and I’m glad it has even more of a presence now:

If you don’t have scrap laying around the lattice is about $4 for eight feet – for less than ten bucks you could give a canvas some oompf. :) And if you have a big piece of art that underlayment is only $15 for an eight by ten sheet – you could have it cut to whatever size you need.

I did the same look with the giant IKEA map in the basement as well and it really finishes it off nicely:

Boom! Another one off the list and no money spent! I’m concentrating on getting a big project done this week and hope to declutter a few more spots as well. It’s been a productive month for sure!

Little bathroom updates

Hey there and happy Friday! Today I’m sharing a few smaller projects I’ve finished up lately. I almost didn’t share them because they aren’t anything earth shattering and the photos are even that great cause the SUN WON’T COME OUT but then I realized it’s not always the big projects that make you feel happy about your home. Actually, it’s usually quite the opposite – I feel accomplished and happy when I get little things knocked off the list.

All of these are in our master bathroom, which isn’t anything fancy. It’s big and has really tall ceilings though, which we love. Someday it will get a full makeover but it’s never been up there on my list. I always laugh because I have spent most of the 11 years in our home working on spaces that don’t bring as much value as far as resale. Our two main bathrooms have barely been touched and I haven’t done a whole lot in our kitchen over the years (but that is changing this year!).

But anyway, I’ve had quite a few little projects on my to do list in our master bath for a while now and I got most of them knocked off. I had one extra shelf and two sets of brackets that I didn’t use over the basement kitchenette so I thought about where we could use the extra bit of storage:

The placement isn’t my favorite, I’ll be honest – but with our sinks right there it was the only option without bonking our heads each time. AND the crazy-A cat can’t get up there. At least he hasn’t tried yet. I had those pretty glass containers on the vanity and because we keep Q-tips in one and he is OBSESSED with them, he would knock it off every. single. day.

So…it’s not perfect but it’s functional and I’m just happy I can keep my Q-tips nearby. It’s the little things my friends.

I shared these on Instagram the other day because they are SO dang pretty. I ordered these simple glass votive holders from CB2 months ago and they finally arrived earlier this month. They were only $2 each – and I thought they’d be pretty spread out on a wall. I couldn’t decide where I wanted them to stay permanently so I just put them up in the master for now:

They really are beautiful! I don’t know if they’ll stay here forever but I love them!

I have an old vintage wood bowl that was just sitting in the storage room. I brought it out and filled it with my random bath bombs and Epsom salts:

I used to keep all of it in big glass containers but I just wanted a simpler look. It’s much easier to access it all now too. :)

If you’ve been around for a loooooong time you may remember my DIY shower curtain. Well about two years ago the tension rod fell and broke -- rehanging it has been on the long list since. I actually purchased the new tension rod a year or so ago and it’s been sitting in the closet. As always, I am SUPER on top of things!:

It’s literally a few yards of terry cloth from the fabric store hung up on a tension rod with curtain clips. Simplest shower curtain EVER. It’s hard to find a curtain long enough (if you want it to hit the floor) so this is a great solution. And it hides our really ugly shower so that’s a big bonus. :)

The project that took the longest was the linen closet – it actually stays fairly organized but it needs some “fluffing” once a year:

With time things get tossed in the wrong bins and stuffed in places. I don’t know WHO would ever do that, but it happens.

I sat on the floor for about an hour and went through everything and resorted – and got rid of another set of towels. :)

I have to mention my favorite part of the closet. The organization part is pretty cool but these little stick up lights are the bomb:

That’s an old pic, things look a bit different now.

I am pretty sure you can get these at Target now – I can’t remember where I got mine. Amazon has them too, $10 for two. One of the things I wish I would have done when we built our house is add lights in the closets – it seriously is one of those things that drives me bonkers because I can’t see anything inside. I have a few of these and they work great.

Like I said – little projects that I’ve had on my list for quite some time. And all either make the room function much better or make it look a little better. It feels so good to cross things off the list, yes?

Have a wonderful weekend everybody!!

 

Affiliate link included for your convenience.

Finished basement kitchenette

Hey hey! Well I’m getting things done this month, that is for sure. The no spend month is in high gear and I’m purging and organizing and getting little projects done like crazy. It feels GREAT! But I’m dying to go shopping. :) I usually don’t mind it but I haven’t stepped foot a “fun” store for more than a month now. Starting to twitch a little bit.

But did I mention I’m getting things done? I’ve had the materials for this project since two IKEA trips ago, which I’m figuring was about eight months ago. As usual, I am incredibly efficient and on top of things!

This was our little basement kitchenette last year:

We had the cabinets installed and then I installed the countertop and painted the cabinets. Then I jazzed it all up with a fun stencil.

A few months later we had the sink installed and since then it’s been a really functional spot. Love it! I’ve always wanted storage up above but knew cabinets would feel too heavy and would block the lighting.

So I picked up these shelves and the EKBY BJÄRNUM brackets from IKEA awhile back. (Sorry, didn’t mean to shout those at you in caps, but I copied and pasted that from their site cause I’m not even trying to spell that.) I could have just used basic stained wood for the shelves but these were the exact color I wanted and they were done, which is nice once and awhile:

That’s actually one shelf – I cut it in half for this wall. So I only used two shelves total. The brackets were easy to install – some of them I got right into a stud:

And for the others I had to use anchors:

You just install one side, then place the shelf and bracket on the other side, make sure it’s level and then mark where your anchors need to go. When you have the anchors in, put the shelf and bracket back up and then secure it to the wall. You have to insert the shelf first!

Funny thing was I’ve put this off forever and it took less than an hour to finish up. Typical! I wasn’t concerned about how strong they were because this one tested them out immediately:

Of course he did.

My original plan was to hang three on each side, but I thought that would get a little busy. We don’t need a ton down here – just a few plates and smaller items so the four hold everything perfectly!:

Here’s the basic sink we put in – it’s just a drop in but very deep. I gotta have a deep sink to hide the dirty dishes. ;) I went pretty basic with the faucet too and didn’t add a sprayer. Kinda wish I would have but we don’t use this sink a ton:

I was using what we had to fill the wall – the dishes were on clearance last year, the basket holds towels and washcloths, the ball jars serve as glasses and the sign above is one I made years ago:

It all came together just like I envisioned it!:

I may add a mirror to the middle to see how that looks. I don’t want it to get too busy so we’ll see about that.

Here it is with the lights off so you can see the stenciled wall a little better:

We also have a small fridge and microwave down here in the stair storage. Someday I can see us adding to this spot and wrapping it around the corner to add a bar or something. For now that area to the right of the cabinets is the Bub’s indoor basketball “court” that he uses every day in the winter. :)

When he’s older we may expand it a bit. For now it’s a great little spot with everything we need for movie and laundry folding nights:

This basement is a dream come true – we absolutely LOVE it down there. And now that we have cold drinks and running water we can just hibernate (which we did a lot over Christmas break). By the way…pizza rolls are the BOMB in a toaster oven. Just sayin. Try it.

One project down, a million to go! :)

EASY image transfer method

Hello my friends! I’m back today with a REALLY simple way to transfer words or images onto basically anything! I was so excited to find this tutorial because I used to do this by stenciling it – so I would use an X acto knife to cut out each letter and then use it as a stencil and paint.

This method is SO so so much easier, and much quicker. Whoot!

I did a little holiday message on our chalkboard to show how this is done. I found this tutorial on this YouTube page so if you want a visual be sure to check that out.

I started by figuring out what font I wanted for my words. I just use Word – easy is my key word here. :) For the advent calendar I showed you yesterday I used a sharpie for the letters, but I knew I was using chalk for this one so I wanted the letters nice and fat:

Obviously because they were so big the words were broken up on the page. You’ll want to cut them down so they’ll fit together on your surface.

The only problem with that is matching them up when you tape them to the wall or whatever else you’re transferring to:

I just eyeball it. The lettering on my advent is not perfectly straight but it adds to the charm. Or something. :)

So this where the easy comes in – grab some chalk. If you’re transferring to a light surface you can use colored chalk. For a darker surface white is perfect. Just flip up your image and “color” the back:

You don’t need to do the whole thing, just cover the letters.

Here’s how it looks after you’re done coloring with the chalk:

You can blow the excess off – you’ll still have enough to transfer.

Then flip it back down (I tape the other side so it stays put) and then just trace your letters or image with a ball point pen:

That’s IT! SO much easier! My surfaces were a little bumpy but the great thing is you don’t have to be exact. You can fix it later if you are tracing over it again. :)

Here’s a better shot of how I traced:

Again, if you mess up, not a big deal.

When you pull up the paper you will have an outline:

Brilliant. I was afraid all that chalky dust would be all over but it doesn’t transfer – just where you trace.

Awesome!:

So you can leave it as is – I actually love that lighter look. I wanted something that would stand out a little more for our chalkboard so I traced with a chalk pen:

Then I filled it in with real chalk to get that look.

I have a couple different types of these pens – the Chalk Ink are my favorite and I am pretty sure you can only get those online. Anyone know if they are in stores now? The Bistro version is at most craft stores and they are OK, I just don’t love them as much:

It still takes some time but it’s nothing compared to cutting out the stencil like I used to do. It took me maybe 30 minutes to do this one?

Now that I know how to do this I may actually put some cute stuff on my chalkboard from time to time!:

Side note – since that year I spelled Christmas as “Chirstmas” on our cards that went out to everyone we know I’m always looking at it 15 times to make sure it’s right. Haha!! 

I love it! What a fun way to add some seasonal fun to your chalkboard! I’m not great at free handing that stuff so this is great to know. And of course the possibilities are endless with wood – you could go crazy with fonts and do fun signs or art. And it’s practically free!

Here’s how the letters on the advent came out with the sharpie marker:

There you go! An easy and cheap way to transfer just about anything to just about anything. :) I hope this all made sense!

Have you tried this method on anything? Have you done this any other way? Do tell!