Wood grain. Live edge. Bark accents. Sleek metallic legs. Mid-century farmhouse feel. Perfection.
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DIY: Live Edge Hairpin Leg Table
Category: DIY Projects
DIY Natural Pallet Wall
Let’s kick this thing off with one of my favorite DIY tutorials, our Pallet Wall. Leep was very unsure about this project in the beginning when I told him we were going to cut up some nasty old pallets and nail them to our wall. But knowing my eye for design and track record of not having an unsuccessful house project yet – he allowed me to be the Foreman and lead! Continue reading
Toddler Friendly Cool Whip Easter Egg Dyeing
While this post is a moot point now, it was super fun and easy so I had to share. It’s a good one to keep in your back pocket when Easter rolls around again.
Last year at Easter, Gunnar was too small to understand or participate. This year was a different ball game. We dyed eggs, did multiple eggs hunts and celebrated with family.
We dyed our Easter eggs with Cool Whip, yes you read that right. The sweet, sticky dessert topping! We all loved every delicious moment of it. Continue reading
His & Hers Engagement Gifts
This past weekend during their ‘Stock the Bar’ housewarming party, surrounded by everyone they love, Leep’s brother Jeremy popped the question and was answered with an excited – Yes! 
Congrats Uncle Worm & Auntie Ash!
We were the only two in on the when & where details so we decided to surprise them with his & her engagement gifts right after the proposal to start the celebrating early. Most people will gift a bottle of wine, a Congratulations card or some other generic gift. Why not mix it up and give something a little more personal and meaningful. Here’s what we put in our gifts…
DIY: Porch Makeover
When we bought our house I loved that it had a double decker “party” porch.
When we moved in it had green turf carpet, the screens were covered in plastic and the wood paneling was starting to warp. We immediately ripped up the green carpet and removed the plastic from the screens in our initial house demo. This got us through a few years. This year, the wood paneling started to fall off, get moldy and just fall apart. Not to mention our demon dog [Darth] tried to chew his way through the house. It was time for a face lift.
If you have a porch and it’s starting to look a little dingy or dated, follow these easy steps to give it a brand new look that’s easier on the budget than an entire new porch! Continue reading
How To: Chalkboard Art Tutorial
Chalk art makes my heart happy.
This week has been crazy, and it’s only Wednesday. Sure a glass of wine [or 3] at night can help to de-stress after a long day, but sometimes I like to start the day off relaxed by letting my creative juices flow. A little chalk dust and a few cups of coffee later and I was ready to start my day.
I’ve posted previously how to make your own chalkboard wall, but I figured I’d do a quick tutorial on how I actually create my chalkboard art for the average person. [let’s be real – no one has time or sanity for that elaborate fancy shit] I’ve seen people print out their designs and cover the back of the paper lightly with chalk dust then trace over it, I prefer to do mine all by hand. I find it therapeutic to see what you picture in your head come to life.
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DIY: Hand-painted Wall Pallet Art
We’re doing something a little different this post – a guest post!
My sister and her fiance are moving so that he can attend dental school. [excuse me while I go cry] She’s been busy buying and crafting away to fill their new apartment. We come from a family of crafty ladies.
She recently made this amazing hand-painted, antler silhouette, wall pallet art to hang above their bed. Check out how she did it below!
Take it away, Kaitlyn!
When decorating, you typically have an idea in your head of what you want the space to look like. It’s frustrating when you can’t find the perfect piece of art or furniture to make that vision a reality. In this case, I decided to take matters into my own hands and make it myself! Here’s how you can too – and you can customize it with any silhouette of your choosing – you could do your initials, last name, child’s silhouette – the options are endless!
The piece I was pulling inspiration from was about $300 at Pier One, this one cost us about $75 total.
- Map out about how big you want your finished art to be so that you know how many boards to buy. I ended up purchasing 4 of these boards from Michael’s that have 5 planks each. They come in all different sizes.
- To save money – gather up any extra or left over paints / stains you have lying around and use those. Or determine your color palate and go buy paints / stains.
- Using those colors map out your design so that you don’t end up with the same colors next to each other, etc. I also included the painting technique I wanted to use and how big each section would be.
- Choose a color to start with and paint all the sections of that color at one time. It’s easiest if you tape off the boards and sections you’re painting with painters tape to keep the lines crisp and clean. Use different brushes, sponges and painting techniques to give the art character and texture! Also, purchase some fun stain colors to stain your boards a darker color to give the illusion of different types of wood. We also taped the boards off into two sections at all different levels to give the appearance that some boards were split into 2. This really gives it the pallet / hardwood feel.
- Arrange your sections into the order to create your desired pattern. Attach the brackets to the back to connect them all together creating one piece. Using a 4 hole bracket and 4 screws, place 2 screws in each board section to connect the two. Continue until all are connected.
- Measure the boards to determine what size stencil you need. Find a picture of the silhouette you are wanting and download it onto a flash drive. Bring it to Office Max and tell them what size you need the image. They will be able to print the large image for you, that will become your stencil. Ours cost only $7.00.
- Cut the inside [black portion] out to reveal your homemade stencil. Place this on your board and paint the inside to reveal your silhouette. Do this step very carefully and use little paint so that your paint doesn’t bleed under your stencil.
You now have your completed artwork that you can proudly display because it’s one of a kind and you did it yourself.
