Category Archives: Projects

06.13.13

Bring on summer...mantles

Posted by Christina // 9 Replies

I love decorating our mantle for the holidays and seasons, mainly because it’s small enough to not feel overwhelmed but in a spot that makes the whole house feel festive.  In other words, it’s my lazy way of decking the halls.

Thanks to Danielle’s Craft with What Ya Got Challenge, I was challenged and inspired to make lots of bright DIY’s with the help of paint chips and this tutorial.

Now my mantel looks like our own little lemonade stand!  My favorite is the little quote that says, “If life hands you lemons make lemonade, if that doesn’t work add vodka”.  I think I will make that my summer mantra. a sweet summer mantle little mantle details paint chip projects dont mind the shadows Just like every time I do a mantle post I have to apologize for our crazy fish tank lighting and awesome shadows.  One day my photography skills will be good enough to compensate, I promise.

Have you been doing any summer decorating?
Have you made any fun paint chip crafts?
Want some tasty lemonade?  With vodka?

Written by Christina and Tim
05.30.13

Earlier this week, Danielle from Framed Frosting invited us to take part in her Craft With What Ya Got Challenge.

A challenge where I don’t have to buy any new supplies, absolutely.  The theme this week is craft paints.  I have an arsenal of paint, count me in.

I had seen these painted quote canvases all over the web and Pinterest (if you have made one yourself, link to it in the comments) and I was dying to make one of my own.  If you don’t remember our DIY jars, I will remind you that Tim and I are a little feisty.  We like sarcasm, and funny puns, and downright inappropriateness.  So instead of a sweet “I love you to the moon and back” or “you had me at hello” we wound up with this little flirtmeister. a lettered canvas There are lots of tutorials to show you a step by step.  Try here, here, and here.  I will just give you the basics, like what you need to succeed… all you need for a painted canvas and a syllabi for crafting class…. how to paint a lettered canvas …as well as a golden nugget of advice.  Use tweezers to pull the letters off, and be patient because they are gonna rip.  Remember that it doesn’t have to be perfect, those imperfections are called charm.

What have you made with craft paints?
Are you a fan of flirty art?
Are you craving watermelon like I am?

Written by Christina and Tim
05.28.13

DIY Kate Spade kicks....

Posted by Christina // 13 Replies

I have been oogling the Kate Spade Keds for quite some time now.

There is one problem….I am cheap.  If I pay a pretty penny for shoes that cute then they are going on a shelf, not on my feet.  So I did what any cheap girl lusting after shoes does, I got another credit card.

Just kidding, I made my own.  In my favorite colors. DIY kicks I stayed on the lookout for a cute (and cheap) pair of white shoes.  Finally found a pair at Old Navy that were calling my name, in show tunes form.  How can I resist that? supplies Then I came home and got out Pantone’s color of the year paint, you may remember some handsome pots that got a makeover with the same paint.  The hardest part was finding something to make the polka dots with.  I ended up using a set of foam ear plugs that Tim keeps around so he can ignore my snoring.  What as if I actually snore, c’mon.

After about twenty minutes of dotting, I busted out the gold paint pen and glitzed up the toes.  Say ello to my new favorite shoes. DIY cute kate spade shoes I think they are fun and funky and perfect for all our summer shenanigans.

Even Asti approves. asti approved Have you ever made your own shoes?  When I was in eigth grade I took sharpies to a white backless pair, they were my favorite shoes for at least two months.

Written by Christina and Tim
05.21.13

We have been planting fools lately… polka dot planters Every chance we get we are throwing some plants in the ground.  New bushes in the front, herbs and flowers in the back like a landscaping mullet. planting fools I am really cautious about flowers in the backyard, because I have this thing with bees.  I am not afraid of them or anything, but if there is one within a twenty-foot radius…they feel the need to call my body their stomping grounds.  I have avoided planting anything that blooms until this year.

This year I am making a change, but a small one.  I am planting blooming flowers in pots, just in case they start calling all of their buzzing buddies.  Easily relocated, so they don’t wind up squished under a shovel later.

When I saw my friend Janelle’s cute terracotta planters, I started dreaming of a yard covered in overflowing pots full of sweet blooms.  Then I started dreaming of painted pots.  Then I bought pots, duh. paint your planters Painting them was unbelievably fast.  The terracotta soaked up that paint quicker than Lindsay checks out of rehab.  After just two coats of Pantone’s color of the year, these pots were ready for some spunk. making the planters polks dots I wanted these pots to be free-spirited since they would be outside getting filthy.  In other words, I didn’t want perfect polka dots that I would have to “spruce up” every time they got a little dirty.  To get that worn look I used the end of a foam roller.  You can find these in the paint section of your hardware stores, they usually say “for doors and cabinets” on them.  Soon they will say “for perfectly-imperfect polka dots”.

I let them dry overnight and then had a photo shoot of course. polka dot planters with no plants After my exhausting shoot with Giselle and Marissa, I told the pool boy to grab me a lemonade and got to planting.  Ahhhh sweet dreams, but I did plant. throw some dirt in your planter Thankfully, Tim de-wormed all the plants for me.  Kidding, but I didn’t find any so I’ll just tuck that panic attack away for later.

Once I had both plants comfy in their new little home I found a spot far, far away from anywhere I sit.  Come at me bees.  Just kidding, please stay away…save yourself. a pretty plante Aren’t they just the cutest?  I am so happy to be bringing oodles of bright summery color into our backyard.

Speaking of additions to our backyard, we got to dogsit this weekend.
Meet Whiskey. whiskey True Story:  When my dad “retired” he decided to go back to school, to dog school.  He spent a few months living away from home while training dogs to do things like track narcotics and run agility.  I’m super proud of him, and even prouder of that pup up there for being the most well-behaved dog in history.  I guess that’s what happens when you train a dog for hours upon hours.  Tim wants to steal him, and I wouldn’t be mad about it but my dad knows where we live.

Want to know what Whiskey was gawking at…. asti What a little prissy pants.

Have you been planting lately?
Deathly afraid of worms too?
Want to go to dog school?

Written by Christina and Tim
05.16.13

Have you discovered The Bagster yet?

The coolest thing to happen to DIY since the nail gun.

We had a lot of debris left over from our bathroom demolition, as well as mountains of boxes.  According to Christina, it is not ok to hoard empty boxes.  Even if I am just saving them in case we want to return our 4-year-old tv, I guess she has never heard the term “mint-ish in box”.

If you’ve ever rented a dumpster, you know it can be costly.  With lots of restrictions and even more neighbors sneaking their trash in there.  When we saw The Bagster at that one blue store Christina mentioned seeing a few posts raving about it.  So we picked one up, and the rest is history. THE BAGSTER Buying the bag was only $30 and it gave us the motivation we needed to clean up by awkwardly staring at us from the foyer.  We tore that green bag open and got to work. SETTING UP THE BAGSTER Most of the empty boxes were calling the basement home, so I considered it my leg day while Christina broke down the boxes. BAGSTER TAKES CARE OF BATHROOMS After about an hour we had The Bagster filled to the brim. A VERY FULL BAGSTER You have to make sure that the straps can touch for pickup, so I had my beautiful helper “trash surf” and “smoosh” everything down while I zip-tied the hefty yellow straps together. SMOOSH IT IN THERE Once we were done, I was able to schedule pick up online in less than five minutes which cost a bit over $100.  I also called to make sure we could get pictures of it being hauled away to prove how tough these bags are. THE BAGSTER GOT AWAY The first weekend we planned to Bagster my lady took off work on Monday so she could be home for the photo-op.  Too bad we decided that a garage sale and Bagstering in one day would probably kill us dead.  So instead, she spent the day relaxing (and making wind chimes).

When we finally did get all the trash in the Bagster, I told Christina that I would stay home for photos.  Cue the suspenseful music.

I waited and waited.  Bagster gives you a three day window but they were nice enough to schedule ours for that Monday since we told them we wanted to be home.  I stayed alert, I stayed vigilant.

Ok, in all honesty I was playing Angry Birds when out on the lawn there arose such a clatter, I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.  Away to the window I flew like a flash, tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.  When what to my wondering eyes should appear, but a large green truck with our bag in the rear.

In case you missed that, I missed it.

I didn’t want to face the humiliation, so I grabbed the camera and grabbed that one lonely photo of the truck driving away.  I considered chasing him down the street and asking for a reenactment, I’m kidding I would never.

I think it is safe to assume that since there is no trash in our driveway, that the Bagster is a sturdy sucker.  It is also safe to assume that the drivers are speedy and awesome.

We give the Bagster two thumbs way up.  It was easy, less expensive than a dumpster, and we are officially empty-box free.

Have you ever used a Bagster?
Are you a box hoarder?
Craving Christmas poems now?

Written by Christina and Tim
05.09.13

Please tell me I am not the only person who drives through their neighborhood and stares at all the houses.  When I go out walking I tend to peep into windows just a tad too long.  Please don’t call the five-ohs (hi mom- that’s slang for cops) I fully admit to being a creeper but I mean no harm.

I oogle pretty doors, and swoon over landscaping.  Most of the time I see a house I love and I can’t quite put my finger on what I love about it.  Those are always my favorite, because it is all in the details.

The perfectly level green grass, the landscaping rocks that surround brand new mulch, the pretty porch light that matches the house numbers that match the screen door.

One thing I have begun to notice is crazy mismatched curtains.  You never notice the homes with nice clean matching curtains, but you better believe those red bedroom curtains will always catch your eye.  Especially when mixed with the bamboo curtains in the living room and the white sheers in the bathroom.  A crazy mumbo jumbo of window treatments.  Get that under control number 4256.

After a few hundred nights of pulling in and seeing our blinds all torn up from a psychotic dog that has figured out how to destroy manipulate the blinds into perfect guard dog positioning, I decided that consistent window treatments needed to move to the top of our project list.  The next time we hit up the hardware store we beelined for the roman shades and commenced the “great shade debate”.

He wanted Roman, I wanted Bright and Light.  After quite a few arm curls with all the choices we landed on a white bamboo roman shade.  The perfect compromise. before & after blinds It may not appear to be a major change to our neighbors, but this is the definition of an upgrade at this house. blinds up your curb appeal It is little things like these that pull your house together.  Now I pull in the driveway and smile, until I see my dying ferns.  Greenery hates me.

Any tips for reviving ferns?
Do your blinds match?
How do you up the curb appeal at your house?

Written by Christina and Tim