Today I’m collaborating with some talented bloggers for the DIY Challenge. Terrie, our host,  from Decorate And More With Tip issued the challenge to make something from a solar light. So I thought I’d share how to make a solar lantern.

If you are coming here from Gail’s – Purple Hues and Me, welcome! I’m so glad that you are here!

Supplies:

Plywood

Jigsaw

Wood Reed

Scissors

Staple gun and staples

Spray Paint or Stain

Wood Glue

Solar light

Eye Screws

Drill

Drill bits

Sting or small chain

Step 1:

Cut 4 circles from 1/4″ plywood with a jigsaw.

I cut mine outer ring 6″ in diameter and the inner circle 5″.

Step 2:

Cut 16 pieces of the wood reed 15″ long with scissors.

Step 3:

Mark 3/4″ from the end of each wood reed.

Turn the reed over and mark the opposite end 3/4″.

Step 4:

Place the 3/4″ mark on the outside edge of a circle and attach 4 reeds at 1/4 intervals on the circle with a staple gun.

Step 5:

Fill in the spaces on either sides of the first 4 reeds with 2 reeds, they will overlap slightly.

Continue until all spaces on the circle are filled in.

Step 6:

Using spray paint – or stain – paint the lantern, base, top circles and all sides.

Let dry.

Step 7:

Use wood glue to attach a  wood circle on top of the lantern base.

Secure with 1/2″ brad nails or staples.

Step 8:

Use an 8″ piece of 2 x 4 as support to attach reeds to the top cut out circle with staple gun.

Finish stapling reeds to the circle the same way as in step 5.

Step 9:

Use wood glue and staples or brad nails to attach the last circle to the top of the lantern.

Step 10:

Remove the stake from the bottom of your solar lantern.

Doing this on my solar light left a hole that I covered using black electrical tape.

When I was done, you couldn’t even see that I had put tape over it.

However, most solar lights have the stake on the bottom so this will not be an issue.

OR, you could glue on pretty pieces of glass, rocks etc.

Step 11:

Attach eye screws to the top of the lantern.

Using a pencil,  lightly mark your top lantern circle into thirds.

Pre-drill your marks. ( Make sure that your drill bit is slightly smaller than the eye screw. DO NOT drill all the way through both circles.)

Screw the eye screws into the pre-drilled holes.

Attach a string or chain to your eye screws.

Step 12:

Drop your Solar light into the top of your lantern.

Step 13:

Hang your lantern and enjoy!

I love how my lantern turned out.

Even though this project took a lot of steps and a few days to complete, I had a great time making it.

Plus, I love a project that is something that not only looks pretty, but one that you will use daily!

But the big question is: how does it look at night?

Like this.

I LOVE it!

I also loved sharing with you how to make a solar lantern and hope that you will join me in checking out all of the other solar light projects that my fellow bloggers created.

Now please head on over to  Jodi’s – The House House and see what kind of solar light project she has for us.

DECORATEANDMOREWITHTIP | PURPLEHUESANDME | PATINAANDPAINT | THEHOUSEHOUSE

PAULASHANDMADESPACE | B4ANDAFTERS | SWEETSOUTHERNGRACE | KSOLYMPICNEST

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Today I’m sharing how to zhuzh up a box. You know, give it something a little extra.

Why? Well, have you ever visualized something decorated in your home, but when it comes to finding it you can’t find it anywhere? I do all of the time! It drives me crazy.  I guess this dilemma is why I’ve made so many decor items in my home.

I have had these cute olive trees for awhile now.

But I’ve always felt like they needed something more.

Something extra.

Like a really cute planter to put them in!

Supplies

I wanted this cute little style of box to put my topiaries in, but sadly couldn’t find the right sized ones anywhere.

So I’m making my container.

These are the supplies to make one:

Box

Wood beads

glue

Wood filler

Scissors

Spray Paint

Basket reeds

Step 1

Measure your box.

You will need the measurements to both the width and length of your box.

Step 2:

Using your measurements, cut a strip of reed for the length and width of your box.

Then cut the reed in half lengthwise.

This will give you a total of 4 strips.

2 for the length and 2 for the width.

Do this for all four sides of your box.

Step 3:

I started out using wood glue to glue the strips to the box.

However, this took forever!

After a few sides of glueing, then waiting for it to dry before moving on to the next side, I quickly decided to use a hot glue and hot glue gun.

Step 4:

Cut your cross wood strips.

Math clearly isn’t my forte, so I did not measure the cross strips perfectly.

I measured my box diagonally.

Then cut a wood strip that was a little longer than my diagonal measurement.

Cut that strip in half lengthwise, set one piece aside.

Laying the piece diagonally across the box, mark the strip where the corners meet on the box.

Cut where you have marked.

Glue onto box.

Step 5:

Using the piece of wood strip that you set aside, cut it in half widthwise.

Mark the end pieces just as you did in step 4.

Place the end of the strip into the corner of the box and measure the other end, where your wood strip meets the cross wooden strip that you have already glued on.

Mark and cut.

Do this for the other side.

Glue both pieces onto the box.

Step 6:

Once you have completed all four sides of your box, fill any holes or spaces that don’t quite meet up with wood filler.

Let the filler completely dry, then sand smooth.

Step 7:

Glue the wooden beads to the bottom of your box to give it feet.

Step 8:

Paint the box.

Once your box is completed it is time to paint it.

I used a white spray paint that already had a primer in it.

Give it a couple of coats of paint and your box is finished.

Isn’t this the cutest?

I just plopped the topiary in, added some moss and tied on a bow.

It’s exactly as I visualized it and it goes perfectly with my decor.

I couldn’t be happier and feel like the traditional style will be perfect for quite some time to come.

Hopefully, you liked how to zhuzh up a box as much as I did making one!

Until next time….

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Hey friends! It’s $10 on the 10th. This months theme is Ladybugs. Not gonna lie, I had to pull out the extra creative juices on this one, but I’m pretty happy with what I ended up with. Spring means planting season here in Texas. Which means that we are outside a lot more. When my boys were little I always tried to find a fun outdoor activity to keep them busy while I gardened. Since our theme is Ladybugs, it only stands to reason that I would think of a Ladybug bug box!

I picked up this colorful bug box at my local Dollar Tree.

It is so fun and colorful, however it was a little plain.

It needed a little something extra.

Plus, if you have more than one little it’s always good to do something that lets each child know who’s bug box is who’s.

Nobody needs a squabble going on while work is getting done!

Step 1

To make my bug box extra special, I cut out this vinyl ladybug on my Silhouette.

If you don’t have a cutting machine there are a ton of vinyl stickers available at craft stores.

Step 2

Apply the vinyl transfer to the bug box.

Step 4

Add extra embellishments.

I added a few “dashes” to show the ladybug’s flight.

On the back side I added the child’s name.

My Ladybug box is done!

I found this magnifying glass at Hobby Lobby and couldn’t resist adding it to the box.

Super easy and guaranteed to keep littles busy!

Now please join me in visiting the other bloggers to see what Ladybug things they came up with.

Patti – Pandora’s Box

Allyson – Southern Sunflowers

Terrie – Decorate And More With Tip

Barbara – French Ethereal

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It only took us about 6 weeks, but our kitchen remodel is done! I am so happy to say that we are no longer living in never ending dust. More importantly, the dark hole that used to be our kitchen is now a light, bright space that we love.

Before I share the finished kitchen, let’s take a look at what the kitchen used to look like and a recap of all the work we’ve done.

The Old Kitchen

The original cabinets were a white oak that had been lime washed.

I’m not sure of the original stain color, but over time they had taken on an orangy, peach color.

The top coat had worn off in spots and they had seen better days.

The granite countertops had been installed 18 years ago and had chips and dings in them.

You can’t see it, it had  a bright burgundy color in it to match the backsplash trim.

I was not a fan of either.

What I hated about the counter tops the most was that you couldn’t see when they needed cleaning.

Drove. Me. Crazy!

Don’t even get me started on the backsplash and the yellow under counter lighting.

Work in Progress

Step one was to have the counter tops replaced.

I agonized over this one decision more than any of the rest.

The trend is to go with a white quartz, but having everything in the kitchen white would be a little too much in this small space.

I loved the look of Soapstone, but didn’t want the up keep that came with it.

And after having busy granite in the last two homes we had, I was ready for something a little less “extra”.

So we went with a timeless look.

A black Quartz called Pittsburg.

It isn’t very shiny and has little bits of shiny pieces here and there.

Farmhouse Sink

For our sink we chose a farmhouse white porcelain sink.

LOVE it!

A brushed gold faucet was another big decision for me, as I was trying to choose timeless pieces, rather than trendy ones.
However, every time I would go looking at faucets I found myself drawn to the gold.

After the gold faucet was installed I was so glad that I went that route.

Bye Bye Raised Bar

The raised bar was removed to give us more countertop space.

Plus, the new countertop was extended about 6 inches to give us a place to actually be able to sit at the bar and eat.

What a game changer!

Painted Cabinets

The cabinets were painted next.

An airless sprayer was used and I have to say that it was one of the best decisions we made.

Previously, when painting cabinets, we sprayed the doors and drawers and hand painted the cabinets due to my fear of overspray.

Never again.

The spaying was easier and looks fantastic with little to no overspray.

In the middle of painting the cabinets and installing the backsplash, Snowmagedon took place and North Texas became  a frozen Tundra.

Since a spray tent was to be set up outside for the drawers and doors to be painted, we had to wait for the thaw before we could finish the painting.

Same with the backsplash.

No cutting tile with a wet saw outside in sub-zero temps.

Cabinet Hardware

After the thaw, the cabinets were finally painted and gold hardware was added to the drawers.

Glass door knobs were the finishing touch for the cabinet doors.

Tile

Then came the backsplash.

Other than the countertops, this was my one big splurge.

Originally, the plan was to do a white Subway or Moroccan tile backsplash, until I saw this Byzantine Arabesque Bianco by Ivy Hill.

It was love at first sight!

Once all of the major items were installed, it was time to do touch up paint, install molding, caulk, paint the crown moulding, paint doors, and put in under counter lighting.

All of which took a few days.

The last thing on my list of things to finish was to install the pendant lights above the island.

There is nothing like adding a little bling to make a space pretty.

Finished Kitchen Remodel

Here’s the north side of the kitchen remodel.

BIG difference, right?

The Hubs and I eat here all the time and we love it.

I left my island blue, but painted the pantry door back to SW Pure White to match the cabinets.

The original plan was to put a wooden top on the island, however there was a little mix up with the installers.

I walked in when they were done and the quarts was there.

Oh, well – plan B.

Plus, it’s not like I hate it or anything!

This is the south side of the kitchen.

I still haven’t decided whether or not I’m keeping the valance or changing it up.

For now it stays.

Other than a few different decorating choices still to be made, I’m officially calling our kitchen remodel done!

I can’t tell you how happy that makes me.

Until next time….

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Good Friday morning y’all! I don’t know about where you all are, but here in North Texas we’ve been experiencing Spring like weather. After the frozen Tundra of a few weeks ago, the weather is so welcome. Since I’ve been dreaming of Spring, I’ve been thinking about my Easter table. While it won’t be like it has been in years past, I’m still trying to make it special. I was planing how I wanted my table to look when I came across these beautiful pink and white charger plates.

They had me at Buffalo check.

And then I saw the price and kept on scrolling.

However, I kept thinking about them.

How pretty they were and how cute they would look with my spring centerpiece.( you can see the video here)

Which got me to thinking, could I make them?

I had 4 chargers that I had painted white some time ago.

Which was perfect for my base paint color.

Step 1:

Make a grid for your plaid pattern.

Find the center of the charger plate.

Once you’ve done that, lightly draw a line down the center.

From there you will mark lines 2″ apart.

Then turn your plate 180 degrees and mark your charger the same way.

This will make your grid for the check pattern.

Step: 2

Tape the charger plate.

Following your grid pattern, tape off every two inches.

Do this vertically, but not horizontally.

Step 3:

Paint your first set of stripes.

Before painting, be sure to burnish the edges of your tape to prevent any paint leaking underneath it!

Then give the non-taped off area a light coat of paint.

Let the paint dry.

After the paint has dried, give the same painted area another coat of paint.

Now, at this point remove the tape and give the plate another 180.

You can tape the lines off again – but be very sure that the paint has thoroughly dried OR the area you just painted will peel off.

Or, I found that it was just as easy to paint the next set of stripes without using tape.

Step 4:

Add gold to the rim of the charger plate.

Once the next set of stripes has dried it’s time to add the gold on the rim.

This was the part that I wasn’t too sure about.

Honestly, it turned out to be so much easier than I thought.

I chose a flat brush the width that I wanted my gold edging to be, loaded the brush with gold paint, then started painting.

TIP: I found that if the outside of the brush lined up with the outside of the plate and I didn’t put too much pressure on the brush it was super easy to paint this edging.

This is what my pink and white charger plate looked like when I was done painting.

Not too shabby!

I chose to go with a darker pink paint that matched my napkins that I planned to use, but other than the color I think they are a good dupe for my inspiration chargers!

Step 5:

I gave my pink and white charger plates a good spray of this Triple Thick Clear Glaze.

I love how shiny it makes them as well as protects the paint.

Which I definitely wanted to do after spending the time to paint them!

The best part?

They turned out looking exactly like I wanted them to with the rest of my Easter table.

Here’s a sneak peek!

So, would I spend the time to make them again or splurge and buy them?

I definitely would make the pink and white charger plates again!

Until next time….

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Happy March 2! I know I say this almost every month, but time is flying!  Which makes me so happy as I can’t wait for Spring. We are still working on our kitchen, but progress has been slow due to the weather. So when I can’t be working on the kitchen I’ve been making a few fun decor items. Today I am sharing how to make an easy wooden tray.

I’ve been looking for a round wooden tray to hold my canisters in my kitchen, but so far I either haven’t found the size I need or one in my budget.

On a recent trip to Hobby Lobby I found this “tray” in the wood section.

Since it had a hanger on the back I feel like it would hang on the wall, however it was the perfect size of the tray I wanted.

Plus, the tray was on sale making it $11.89.

All it needed was feet.

I also found these solid  wooden balls for $4.99.

With both the feet and the tray base together the price came in well under $20.00.

Which was more than in my budget!

Here’s just how easy it was to make.

Step 1:

Paint your tray and wooden balls.

I used white spray paint.

Since the center of my tray was not wood, I felt that a spray paint would adhere to the surface better than an acrylic paint.

Step 2:

Glue the wooden balls to the tray.

Once the paint had dried thoroughly, I flipped the tray over and removed the hanger.

Tip: Remove the hanger before spray painting. Don’t be me!

Then, using a ruler found the center of the tray.

If you look closely you can see my pencil lines.

Using E6000 glue, I adhered the wooden balls to the bottom of the tray.

I used my pencil lines to make sure that the feet were spaced evenly apart.

Step 3:

Distress the tray.

Make sure that the glue on the wooden balls dries thoroughly.

I cannot stress this enough.

If they aren’t sufficiently adhered to the tray, they will fall off.

And nobody wants to have a tray loaded with pretties when a foot falls off!

After your glue has dried, give it a quick light sanding to distress the edges.

I just wanted hints of wood showing through, not a full blown distressed look.

So, easy on the sanding.

Once you have finished distressing your tray, you are ready to load it up.

I am so happy with the way my tray turned out!

Also, wouldn’t it be pretty if you added a design to the middle?

Maybe Mod Podge a napkin to the center to match your kitchen?

The possibilities are endless.

Making an easy wooden tray was well… truly easy!

Until next time….

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When I last shared my kitchen remodel plans with you, this is what my kitchen looked like. A little sad. Very dark. A little outdated. A lot has changed since then. It’s been a few weeks, so I thought I’d share my kitchen remodel update with you!

Here’s a day by day update.

The day before the counter top crew arrived, I emptied out all the cabinets and removed everything from the walls and countertops.

Day 1 :

The countertop crew arrived and started demolition on day 1.

They took out the bar wall and made it counter height.

Moved an outlet that was on the bar wall, tore out the backsplash and put up new sheetrock,  and rebuilt the sink cabinet to hold the new farmhouse sink.

Day 1 was hoppin’!

Day 2:

Not much was going on here at the castle, except cleaning up massive amounts of dust.

Everywhere.

The crew were busy in their workshop making the countertops.

Day 3 :

To say that I was excited for day 3 to get started was an understatement!

The countertops were installed, as well as the sink and faucet.

I am in love with the new sink!!!

She’s so shiny and pretty.

Day 4 and 5:

The original plan was to do the backsplash, then the cabinets.

At the end of day 3 we saw that the weather was going to to change drastically by weeks end.

Since part of the painting would be done in a spray tent outside, we needed to get the painting done before the weather turned cold.

We spent 2 days removing doors, hinges, drawer guides, drawers, undercounted lighting, light switch covers and covering all surfaces with ram board, paper, tape and plastic.

Once all of that was done, we sanded, scraped and cleaned all cabinets, doors and drawers inside and out.

By far the hardest 2 days so far.

Day 6:

We sprayed the base cabinets white.

I will say this was time consuming, but so much better than painting and rolling the cabinets.

We purchased a new stationary HVLP sprayer.

Not only was it affordable, but it was so well worth the investment!

This was the half way mark and I was like a kid on Christmas morning.

Day 7:

The Hubs and I had a lot of work to catch up on, so not much was done other than remove all of the tape, paper, plastic etc and give the room a good cleaning.

We still have to paint the drawers and doors.

Fingers crossed we get them done before it gets too cold.

Already it is so light and bright.

No more dark hole!

We still have a lot of work to be done.

Repair the walls where they took out the bar wall.

Paint the doors and drawers.

A few places need paint touch up.

All trim and crown molding needs to be painted to match the cabinets.

The white plug in on the island will be replaced with a black one.

The black towel rack on the island will also be painted gold.

New hardware will be installed onto the cabinets.

And a few places either need caulk or trim moulding.

Of course, everything needs to be put back into the cabinets!

Yep, a lot still needs to be marked off of our punch list, but I’m already loving what we have done so far!

Also, happy mail or should I say happy packages have started arriving.

These are my new counter height bar stools.

That’s it for the kitchen remodel update.

I’ll be sure to share more with you next week!

Until next time….

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I love a good sale, don’t you? And when the sale is 90% off, well I am hearing the heavenly choir sing! On a recent trip to  Hobby Lobby I made a quick trip down the 75% off isle, only to find out that it was just reduced to 90% off. The first thing that caught my eye was this sweet little lamp. Now most people would take one look and walk right on by, but I’m going to share how I turned janky into swanky!

Repairing the lamp

After carefully looking the lamp over, making sure that the only thing wrong with it was a hanging harp and the socket I snatched that cute little lamp up faster than a monkey jacked up on Mountain Dew.

You see I knew that all I had to do to fix it was gently pull on the cord at the base until all the slack was out of the cord.

Once that was complete it was simply a matter of screwing the light socket to the base.

The socket had just come unscrewed!

The price?

$8.99!

Total girl squeal.

And it is perfect in my library for a cute little reading lamp!

Revamping the mat and frame

Now, you know I  wasn’t done shopping the 90% off isle!

I spied this chinoiserie print.

In fact, I already own it and it sits on a shelf in my living room.

The mat had some dark marks but the frame was in excellent condition.

So I bought it!

No, it’s not weird to have two of the same prints!

Especially if you aren’t using the print part of it.

I just wanted the frame!

A sweet friend sent me the cutest topiary prints a few months ago and I’ve been looking high and low for the perfect frames!

I unscrewed the back of the print and  took out the print portion.

Once that was done I added one of my topiary prints to see if the mat and frame would work.

It was perfect!

I used a Magic eraser to remove the dark marks on the mat.

A little white paint took care of a couple of chips to the edge of the mat.

Put it all back together and this is what it looks like now.

I couldn’t love it more and it matches my living room perfectly!

The total cost for this janky to swanky?

$2.49. Plus tax.

Woo Hoo!

The moral of this story?

Don’t judge a book by it’s cover.

Sometimes it pays to look a little more closely and think outside the box.

Until next time….

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Hey y’all! Today I want to share a couple of super easy projects that I promise will help you get organized for the new year! I like to call it Command Central.

Even before the holidays I started looking for some kind of chalkboard/magnetic board/ calendar system to put on the side of my fridge cabinet.

I just wanted something that looked cute but that would also let me keep track of things like my grocery list, reminders etc.

Also, if it had a place for me to put a few photos of my littles that would be a huge bonus.

I thought that it would be easy to find, but boy was I wrong.

What I found was either too big, too small, too expensive or didn’t function as I wanted it to.

So  I made my own!

After looking through my stash of unused stuff, I found a red metal decor piece.

I painted it a pretty navy blue.

Once it had dried, I took it into the kitchen and held it up against the cabinet and was so disappointed.

It looked flat and drab.

PLan B!

I painted the metal sign white.

Two good coats and a little distressing with sandpaper and this is what my new sign looked like.

So much better!

To protect the paint, I put a satin top coat on the sign.

This metal sign was the perfect size and I would be able to post reminders and photos on it easily.

While rummaging through my stash, I also came upon a piece of 12″ x 24″ chalkboard.

I normally use these to make back to school chalkboards for the littles in my family.

And it was the perfect size!

However, it didn’t have a finished edge.

After very little searching I found this frame at Hob Lob.

It was the perfect size and color.

And to make it even more perfect it was 50% off!

I simply dropped the chalkboard into the frame, then because it didn’t have any way to hold the chalkboard into the frame, I simply put a bead of silicone around edge fo the frame.

I put some weight in the center to hold the chalkboard down until the silicone dried.

After leaving it overnight, I removed the mugs and my chalkboard was secured to the frame.

Once I added a picture frame hanger to the top of the board and it was ready to hang.

Command central is complete!

I have to say that having a place to see all of my favorites every day sure makes my heart sing.

And the chalkboard grocery list?

Works so well for me!

No more having to walk into another room to write it down – or forgetting to write it down – or forgetting why I walked into the room….

I love it!

One last tip.

Prime your chalkboard!

Before using any brand new chalkboard take a piece of chalk , lay it on it’s side and rub it all over the board!

Wipe the chalk off and your board is ready to be written on.

The priming helps you  keep from getting ghost images of what was written on the board.

Until next time….

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How it’s Made

Yesterday I partnered up with Terrie from Decorate and More with Tip to share how to style a Two Tiered Tray. We both shared  our videos on Facebook. Every Wednesday we share either a craft or how to decorate something in your home. And Every Wednesday we get asked the all important question “Can you tell me how it’s made?”. So this week, as well as sharing the video we thought that it would be fun to share how we made several things that we put on our trays. If you would like to see my video, please go here. Don’t forget to visit Terrie here.

Valentine’s Day Mug

I love the look of the Rae Dunn mugs.

However, I don’t like the idea of storing a ton of mugs for each holiday.

So I make my own holiday mugs by taking plain white mugs and adding vinyl lettering to them.

I have a Silhouette machine that makes it super easy for me to make a design.

Once I’ve decided on a design, it’s simply a matter of cutting it out and adding it to the mug.

Don’t have a Cricut or a Silhouette machine?

No worries!

Your local craft store has a ton of peel and stick lettering that you can use!

Mini Rolling Pin

In my video I had taken one of these sweet little rolling pins, cut out vinyl  lettering and attached it to the pin.

Well, since you may not have a cutting machine I want to show you just how easy it is to use peal and stick lettering.

Simply choose the letters of the word you want to use, the stick them on.

Once I have my lettering on, I like to add a bit of bakers twine tied in a bow for a little extra embellishment.

Seriously, it couldn’t get any easier and it takes very little time!

Mulit-media Sign

A few years ago I made the multi- media heart signs.

If you missed it you can see it here.

I made all sizes, shapes, and colors with a ton of different embellishments.

They are so easy to make and I have used them just about everywhere here at the Castle!

Conversation Heart Mug

The last craft is the centerpiece on the top tier.

It’s a cute mug with a conversation heart.

I found the heart at Hob Lob and it’s originally intended to be used as a floral pick.

However, it was much too long for my mug.

I simply cut it to my desired length using a small hack saw.

Placed a piece of styrofoam into the mug.

Next, add the heart pick to the styrofoam and cover it with crinkly white paper.

The centerpiece is done!

I hope this answered your question “can you tell me how it’s made?”

If you’d like to see just how this two tiered tray was put together, don’t forget to head on over to my Facebook site ( link above).

Also, be sure and visit Terrie @ Decorate and More With Tip to see the cutest tray ever!

P.S. she actually MADE her tray.

You don’t want to miss this!

Until next time…

                                                   Don’t forget, if you loved it, be sure to PIN it!

Welcome to Plans for Cumberland Trail  part 2! Last week I shared just how busy last year was for us.  I didn’t realize just how busy until I did that walk down memory lane. Needless to say, it was a full year for us. Today I’m sharing what we plan on doing this year here at the castle. Don’t worry, we all know that there will always be small changes and projects to do! Nobody wants to hear ALL of those, which is why I’m only going to share some of our bigger projects with you.

The first thing on my list is to finish up the laundry room.

This room has come a long way since we moved in.

It had linoleum flooring.

Wallpaper from the 80’s… maybe even the 70’s.

Fluorescent tube lighting on the ceiling.

The cabinets may have been a cream at one time, but over the years they had yellowed and just looked dirty.

The first week we were here all floors in the house were replaced.

The second week I striped the wallpaper and gave it a good cleaning.

Everything in this room from the ceiling to the floor has been painted.

The fluorescent lighting was replaced with a pretty crystal one.

So what’s left?

The countertop, new sink, faucet and tile on the wall above the sink.

I have all of the  supplies to do this and have for a few months, I just never found the time.

I’m making this my number 1 project.

The Kitchen.

I knew before we moved in that there needed to be big changes in the kitchen for it to function for our family.

First off, it’s much smaller than our previous kitchen so I’m having to learn to let go of things and be more intentional with my space.

Plus, it’s not my style.

At all.

At one time they had lime washed the cabinets.

The finish has worn off in some spots, making it very porous.

At certain times during the day the cabinets look almost peach.

Fluorescent tube lighting under the  upper cabinets.

And I’m not sure what the granite was finished with but it always looks streaked even after polishing.

It’s the darkest room in the house.

When we moved in the first week we replaced all of the appliances.

We plan on painting the cabinets white.

Replacing the sink, faucet and undercounter lighting.

If it fits into the budget I will be replacing the countertops. Fingers crossed.

Long term, I’d also like to take the upper cabinets all the way to the ceiling for extra storage and put in a new simpler style of doors.

The Master Bathroom

There is nothing terribly wrong in here.

It functions, but it just needs a few repairs and updates.

Right before Christmas we painted the vanity, walls and trim.

It had a bad antiquing treatment on the vanity and the walls were builder beige.

The vanity was painted a blue gray color, the walls a greige and the trim pure white.

I’d like to get rid of the wall of mirrors.

Aint nobody need to see that much of themselves!

And remove a few of the light fixtures.

They are blinding!

The ceiling needs to be painted white.

The window treatments in the master bathroom and the bedroom are Duets.

At one time I’m sure they were super nice, however they are tired, worn and there really is no good way to clean them.

They are going.

I’m going to replace them and put in some kind of valance to give the space a little color and texture.

We do have one issue, the wall between the tub and the shower moves.

Yep, it gives just a little.

We are betting that it will need to be replaced before long.

Bathroom Countertops

The last two really large things on my list are the powder room and the guest bathroom countertops.

It’s hard to tell in the picture, but the tops are a biscuit color.

Nothing else in either room is that color and they stick out like a huge elephant in the room.

Not sure what the plan is for either of these rooms is at this point, but I’m working on a quick fun solution!

That’s it for Plans for Cumberland Trail Part 2.

As you can see, we have our work cut out for us!

However, I’m really looking forward to getting started and make Cumberland a little more “us” every day!

Until next time…..

On a recent trip to Hobby Lobby, I was lucky enough to come upon their 90% off isle. It was suppose to be a quick run in, run out  trip, but I made the time for a quick stroll. I found several things that just had to come home with me, including the cutest bamboo candleholders ever!

Each candle One of the candleholders was missing a slat on the bottom for the glass cup to sit on.

However, I knew that would be an easy fix.

Each candleholder was$4.49 each.

I grabbed all four that they had left.

I love the look of bamboo, but I’ve never really known where to put it in my home.

While I think of myself as an eclectic decorator, bamboo always seemed a little too Gilligans Island in my home.

With the recent trend of gold bamboo picture frames, trays, and all things chinoiserie I knew that I could finally find the perfect place for a little bamboo.

Once the broken slat was repaired, I gave each of the candleholders a couple of coats of gold spray paint.

I was so excited.

Until I set the candleholder next to the picture frames that I already had.

The gold on the candleholder didn’t seem gold enough and looked really flat.

And even though the candleholders might never be next to the picture frames, the gold color just didn’t work for me.

My solution was to give the candleholder a quick coat of Rub N Buff.

The new gold color  had  the luster, warmth and shine that I had envisioned.

The gold candleholders pair well with my white pumpkin, fall leaves and berries.

I love this fall vignette.

My sofa table sits in a walkway, so I put potpourri in the glass cups instead of candles.

Less chance of a lit candle getting knocked off.

Plus, it smells heavenly!

I love this how well the gold looks in my blue and orange fall living room.

But I can’t help but wonder how they might look in a different color.

How about a bright hot pink?

Maybe a bold navy blue?

A deep emerald green might be nice!

No matter what color my bamboo candleholders eventually end up, right now they are perfect just the way they are!

Until next time…

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Don’t you love finding something on sale? Then adding one or two little tweaks to your find to make it look super cute? That’s what happen to me recently. I found these super cute beach bags for $4.00! Each bag came with the cutest tassel on it. Cute, but by adding one tiny thing I turned them into totes adorbs swag bags.

I know “totes adores” is so last year, but I just couldn’t help myself!

So what did I do that made the swag bags totally adorable?

I did what any southern girl would do, I monogramed them.

Here’s how you can monogram you beach bag too.

Step 1:

Cut out your monogram on a digital cutting machine.

Don’t have one?

No worries!

I wanted to use a single initial on my bags, so I didn’t need anything fancy.

You could use a stencil,  hand draw your letter or use a pre-cut scrapbook letter.

I sprayed the back of my card stock letter with spray adhesive to ensure that it would stick to my bag.

Step 2:

Next, simply place your letter on your bag.

Make sure to press down firmly to make sure that it adheres well.

Step 3:

Using a pencil, lightly trace around your letter.

This is what your design should look like after removing the card stock.

Honestly, you could skip the spray adhesive if you want, it just helps keep the letter in place.

Step 4:

Paint your letter.

I used an acrylic multi-surface paint and a small paintbrush.

I matched the color of paint that I used to the colors in the tassels for a more custom look.

You may find that you need a couple of coats of paint to achieve full coverage.

Once mine had fully dried, I added a few tiny white accents to give it a little dimension.

That’s it!

Your bag is done.

Such a small thing that creates a lot of bang for your buck!

I did four of these bags for my sisters and nieces, painting each one a different color.

Once the bags were done, I filled them with all sorts of fun goodies.

I do believe that these are totes adorbs swag bags!

Last time I say that…

Promise!

Until next time…

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Welcome to August’s DIY Challenge! This month our challenge was to make something out of dowel rods. That’s right, you read that right. Dowel rods! After much thought I knew that I wanted to add to my gallery wall letters. There are a few spaces that still need a little letter here and there. Thanks to Terrie from Decorate and More with Tip for being our fearless leader! I just love her monthly challenges. Also, if you are coming here from Michelle, Blessings by Me, I am so glad that you are here. Now, let’s get down to business!   Our media room is really a bonus room above our garage. When we moved in last year, a lot of the old house’s decor landed here. So there is a lot of color. I decided to just go with it. This throw is one of my all time favorites and it matches all of the color in the room I used it as my inspiration for my letter. I found this letter at Hobby Lobby, as well as the small dowel rods. The plan was to cover the entire letter with different colors of dowels.

Step 1:

I measured and marked each dowel that I was placing on the letter.

Step 2:

Once I had each dowel marked, I cut them using my mini miter saw. I just love this thing for cutting small pieces of wood! It may just be my favorite tool!

Step 3:

After cutting the dowels, I gave them a light sanding on the ends to knock off any rough edges.

Step 4:

After each of my dowels were cut it was time to paint them. For this next step, I highly recommend wearing gloves! I was going for a distressed, worn look to match the other letters on my gallery wall. With that in mind, I watered down the paint slightly. After giving each dowel a coat of paint, I then wiped them off with a paper towel.

Step 5:

Paint the letter black. My dowels are going to cover most of the letter, however there were a few spots here and there that would show. The black just gave it a more cohesive look and did not compete with the other colors.

Step 6:

Glue the dowels to the letter. I worked in 1 to 2 inch sections. Put on a little glue, place the dowel rod. I continued doing this until all of my dowels were in place. Make sure that you have  plenty of glue to ensure that the dowels adhere well. So how did my dowel rod letter turn out? I love it! It fits right in with the rest of my gallery wall letters. And matches my inspiration pillow and throw perfectly! Plus who doesn’t love an easy, budget friendly project that adds so much to a space? Now it’s time to visit Terrie from Decorate and More With Tip ( you are not going to believe what she made!)  and all of my other DIY Challenge friends.

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My BFF Roxanne was kind enough to gift me her blue flower pots when she moved. When we went to pick them up she asked if I wanted to do a children’s lounge chair makeover? Actually, it was more like “here’s a child’s lounger, I know you can do something with it!” So we loaded it up and took it home.

My first thought was to just clean the cushions and umbrella top and paint them.

However, before I could paint, the cushions needed a good scrubbing.

As I scrubbed, I discovered a zipper.

Cool!

I could take the covers off of the cushions and wash them in the washing machine!

Umm, nope.

Not happening.

What I found inside the cushion cover convinced me that plan B was  a better option.

I took the foam out of the cushion cover and the umbrella top off of the umbrella.

My plan was to take them apart and sew new ones, using the old ones as a pattern.

Until I priced outdoor fabric.

It would cost me more than my BFF had originally paid for the lounger.

So not happening.

Plan C.

I power washed the lounger and umbrella.

Already they were looking much better!

I ordered enough outdoor material and a few embellishments to make a new umbrella top.

Using the old umbrella top as a pattern, I cut out pieces to make a new umbrella.

It was a challenge, but I’m happy to say that it came out better than I expected.

With the sewing done, I painted the umbrella skeleton a bright white.

Giving the lounger 2 good coats of white paint made it look like new!

This is coat one.

Once the painting was done it was time to put it all together.

And this is what it looks like painted with a new umbrella.

I had just enough material left over to make a swanky little pillow.

When Miss A came for a visit a few weeks ago, she took one look at it and said “look, it’s just my size!”

She’s right, it is.

I have to admit that this children’s lounger makeover took a lot more time and planning than I ever thought it would.

But if the rest of our littles enjoy it as much as Miss A did, then it was so worth it!

Until next time…

After weeks and weeks of searching for the perfect material to recover my breakfast room chairs, I’m happy to say that I finally found one!

Just a quick recap in case you missed it.

A few months ago I started giving my dining room a quick makeover.

I refinished my breakfast room table.

Made new curtains and added a coffee bar.

As you can see from the picture, the material looks as if it has several shades of blues, greens and yellows.

However, when it came in it was actually several shades of teal, not blue.

Now, I had to figure out how to match up all of the blue in the room to the curtain material.

This material, Emperial Trellis, is from Ballards.

It is shown several times paired with my curtain fabric, however I worried that the green was brighter and a little too much on the mint side.

Also, it is an embroidered fabric and a little too pricey for me!

This is the Osaka Bamboo Trellis fabric from Spoonflower.

Not only is it similar to the Ballard’s fabric, it is a perfect match to my curtain fabric.

Winner, winner chicken dinner!

Step 1:

Remove the chair pad from the chair.

In all honesty, since there was no piping to deal with, I was hoping that I could simply cover the cushions with the new fabric.

However, as you can see, the old striped fabric could clearly be seen through the new fabric.

Step 2:

The old fabric had to come off.

Did I mention that I hate the tedious process of removing the staples?

When I remove staples from furniture there are always a few bloody knuckles before the project is over!

So much fun.

Once the staples and fabric were removed, I positioned the new fabric making sure that the pattern was centered.

Then using a staple gun, I attached the new fabric.

Seriously, if I could ignore the staple removal process, this is one of the easiest reupholstery projects to date.

( The fabric looks very lime here, but is really a grass green!)

It took me a long time to commit to this fabric, but I am so glad that I finally did.

Why did it take me so long?

Can you say white and green?

Don’t get me wrong, I love both colors.

But white on a dining chair?

It honestly made me a nervous wreck just thinking about it.

However, after much thought, I decided to go for it!

Did I mention that I bought lots and lots of Scotch Guard?

Seriously, I really do love the new fabric on my breakfast room chairs.

So much so that I wish I had done it a few months ago!

Now, if only I could make up my mind on the wall paint color…

Until next time.

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Hello my friends! Today is the first Wednesday of July. Which means that today is the DIY Challenge. This month’s theme is Summer. Which is right up my alley ’cause summer is my favorite time of year! Today I’ll be sharing how to make a garden hose guide.

However, before I share that, I want to thank our hostess, Terrie from Decorate and More With Tip. Terrie is one of the sweetest, most talented gals I know, so if you haven’t visited her go there NOW! You can thank me later.

Also, if you are coming here from Jodi’s, The House House, welcome. I’m so glad that you stopped by. I always love to meet new friends.

We’ve been hand watering the flower beds since the pool dig started.

I gotta tell you that watering the flower beds and the flower pots on our wrap around front porch became quite the event.

Clearly it was time for some garden hose guides before I killed a few plants.

I went to order a few and quickly became discouraged, as all of the cute hose guides were quite pricey!

After doing a little research on making some of my own, I remembered that we had some left over finials from the new fence.

Add the finials to a copper pipe and Ta- daaaa !- new garden hose guides were born.

After picking up a copper pipe from the big box store, The Hubs was kind enough to cut me 18″ pieces of the copper pipe using a jigsaw.

Once he had them cut out, he used a rasp to sand down the rough ends of the pipe.

Now, it was my turn.

The left over finials were black.

Honestly, I almost left them that color and called it good.

However, I loved the look of the copper so much that I wanted the finials to be the same color.

I lightly sanded the finials, then gave them a few coats of Martha Stewarts Copper metallic paint.

After the paint dried, it was time to glue the finials to the pipe.

I used E6000 glue along with the double sided foam tape.

Because my finial was a little larger than my pipe, I wrapped some double sided foam tape around it.

Then liberally coated the tape with E6000 glue and inserted the pipe into the finial.

After letting the glue completely dry, I lightly sanded the finial to give it a worn and slightly distressed look.

The last step was to put a protective coating on the finals.

And my garden hose guide was done!

I have to say that I love the warm color of copper in the garden.

However, if you aren’t a copper fan you could use plain pipe and top it with just about anything.

Door knobs, drawer pulls and curtain rod finiasl are just a few that come to mind.

Now if you will please join me in visiting Pamela at DIY VIBES.

I can’t wait to see what she – and all of the other talented bloggers – is doing this summer!

DECORATEANDMOREWITHTIP | PALLETANDPANTRY | CELBRATEANDDECORATE | CLOCHESANDLAVENDER

B4ANDAFTERS | AVINTAGEFLAREFARMHOUSE | BLESSINGSBYME | PAULASHANDMADESPACE

THEHOUSEHOUSE | PATINAANDPAINT | DIYVIBES | BLUESKYATHOME

It’s the first Wednesday, which means that it is time for the September DIY Challenge. It’s my first time to participate and I’m so excited! I’m sharing how to make some DIY fall art!

Terrie at Decorate and More With Tip is our hostess.

She put out the challenge to take scrap wood and make it into fall decor.

Lately, I’ve seen a lot of the sweetest small farmhouse artwork which had galvanized tin ribbon used in place of a wooden frame.

I’ve been wanting to make some for awhile now, so when Terrie sent out the challenge I knew exactly what I would be making!

The first thing that I did was grab a piece of 1 x 6 scrap wood from The Hub’s wood pile.

The Hubs was kind enough to cut out several 6″ X 6″ wood pieces for me.

Once the wood was lightly sanded, I gave each piece a base coat of paint.

For this project I used acrylic craft paint.

When the base coat was dry I painted the back ground, before drawing the pumpkin design that I wanted to paint.

In the interest of time, you can see how to paint a pumpkin here.

These are super easy to paint, I promise!

It was so much fun painting these that I made several, all with different designs.

Once my pumpkin was painted, it was time to add my galvanized ribbon trim.

I found 30 feet of galvanized fluted tin ribbon here.

NOTE: this tin has sharp edges. Safety first people! I recommend using gloves when handling the tin. I didn’t and I have the cuts and scratches to prove it. Don’t be like me.

To determine how much of the tin that I would need to use, I simply multiplied 6 x 4 and added and inch for overlap at the top.

I used a pair of tin snips to cut the tin.

Remember that I said that the edges of the tin was sharp?

Once the ends are cut, they are super sharp!

So sharp, that you don’t even realize that it is cutting you sharp.

I took a piece of sandpaper and sanded the cut edges until they were dull and smooth.

At first, adding the tin to the wood was a little challenging, but once you get it started it comes together quickly.

Starting at the top, in the middle of my artwork, I used small brad nails to attach the tin to the wood.

I spaced the brads evenly, approximately an inch and a half apart

When I hit the corners, I pulled tightly, then bent the tin all the while trying to keep the tin as close to the wood as possible.

I did this all the way around the piece until I was back to the top of my artwork.

To finish them off, I added a picture hanger to the back.

These are my finished pieces and I couldn’t be happier with them.

My plan was to hang them on the wall in my kitchen.

However, I’m loving how they look standing in my hutch!

I think that my DIY fall art will be staying here awhile!

Now please join me in visiting my fellow September DIY Challengers:

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Summer is almost here. Spring has gone by with the blink of an eye and it’s almost time for school to be out, outdoor cookouts, swimming and cranking up the air conditioner.

Today is Ten on the 10th. Y’all know it’s one of my favorite posts each month. Today’s theme is a little varied. Mother’s Day, End of School, and Spring/Summer. Before I go much further, I want to thank Katie from Let’s Add Sprinkles for hosting this month!

My theme this month is End of School/ Summer.

When my boys were small I loved giving them a little basket full of goodies to kick the summer off. Unfortunately, my boys have all grown up, so I decided to make my niece, Beep, a goody basket!

I made a fun hooded towel for Beep, which was where I started with my basket’s theme.

My boys used to love the hooded towels when they were small.

The towels covered their head and were generous enough to wrap up their bodies.

These are SUPER easy to make. All you need is a bath towel and a hand towel. I’ll be sharing how to make these soon!

Next, I hit the Dollar Tree to find a basket and a few goodies.

I found this pretty pink basket, which was the perfect size for what I had in mind.

Once I got it home I added Beeps name to the bucket with some vinyl I cut out on my Silhouette.

I also picked up a fun water bottle. A Girls gotta stay hydrated!

I also found a plain pair of sunnies, which I later added some fun butterflies to bling them up a bit.

Some bubbles, a colorful whirly gig and a few sponges rounded out the goodies in my basket.

The sponges were cut up in strips and tied together to make water sponges.

When wet, the sponges are super soft and fun for the littles to throw around!

Total cost of all things fun in my basket came out to $9.94!

If I count tax, I may have gone over slightly but I think the extra .80 was worth it!

The next stop is at Apple Street Cottage. Then when you are finished there, please join me in visiting the rest of my fellow Ten on the 10th bloggers!

Decorate and More With Tip

Pandoras Box

Homeroad 

Decor To Adore

Let’s Add Sprinkles 

Bluesky at Home 

The Apple Street Cottage 

Chasing Quaintness

County Road 407

French Ethereal

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