Friday, September 30, 2011

Welcome: 31 Days of DIY for Busy Gals

You are a busy gal right?
You either work at home
blogging, caring for kids, cleaning and cooking
Or maybe you work outside the home
long hours
and then you come home and cook and clean
and maybe care for kiddos and puppy dogs.

I'm a work outside the home chick.
And not only that,
I don't even get to go home every night.

Case in point, 
October.

I will be staying somewhere
other than home
at least 12 if not 15 days this month.
Crazy isn't the half of it.

I often wish I could stay home.
No, not just sleep at home,
but really stay home.
During the day.
And do nothing but DIY all day long.
I don't have kids.
We just let out lovely puppy mutt go.
I could get a lot accomplished.

But since I don't, I figured I would blog
for 31 days
about all of the awesome things you 
CAN DO
no matter if you're home or not
if you have 31 minutes
or 3 hours and 10 minutes
or 3 days and an hour.

We can get it done.


This 31 days of DIY for busy gals
will have quickie projects
mid range projects 
and longer projects.

Every last one of them will lead to a more
homey home
than that awesome builder grade stack of bricks
many of us are fortunate to call home.

I'll break my list down by time required
and I'll come back to this post at least once a week
to provide a handy dandy list of posts so you don't have to hunt them down.

If you click on this image
in any of my posts,
it will bring you back to this post
for a handy dandy landing spot.

Because I'm a busy gal,
most of my 31 days posts will post at 9 pm.
My regular blog posts happen at 6 am.
I'm going to challenge myself to do 2 (TWO!!)
posts a day.  

My regularly scheduled stuff
and the 31 days stuff.

Wish me luck.

Ready for some DIY busy gals?

Let's make it happen.

Here's a list of what may be to come.
Because I like to know what I'm getting myself into
and maybe you do too.

In no particular order:
(As I update with links, I'll shuffle to order them)

Project 2:  The Grass is Still Greener
Project 3: A Rocky Collection 
Project 4: Marking Your Spot | In the Yard
Project 5: Pumpkin, Pumpkin, Pumpkin Eater
Project 6: Lucky Balls
Project 7: Initially Speaking
Project 8: Getting Framed

Project 9: Eyeball Wall Hanging 
(vintage throwback post from August 2010)

  Project 10: Wine Label Snobbishness
Project 11: A Spool{full} of Vintage Love
Project 12: Wrapped Yarn Fall Wreath
Project 14: Mini Terra Grande
Art is All Around You
Meaningful Packratting for the Wall
The Wild Indoors
Ombre, Ombre Ikea Hack
Podtastic Plants
Chalky Guest Book Wall
Growing on You
Naughty or Nice - Stocking Tags
A Notch Above Knobs
Please be Seated
That's a Planter?
Beyond the Books - Shelved Up
Lay Your Head on my Pillow
Custom Stamped Curtains
36, 24, 33 - Know Your Measurements
Mark the Date/Spot - Calendar Gallery Wall
Hemming & Hawing - No Sew Accent pieces
Faux Beadboard in 30 Minutes
Thrifty Genius - 30 minutes, $30
Indoor Garden Prep

I know.
There are more than 30 on this list.
And really, I will repost some vintage B3HD the Original too.
I gave myself some leeway.
The titles in bold are projects I can do on the road.

Just in case I need to be away from home a couple more days, 
I wanted to have some back up projects that I could do outside the house.

If you play along,
leave me a link in the comments
(on this post or the actual project post)
and I'll feature the awesome sauce you create.

Have fun with it!
Don't stress.



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Week 40 Random Pinehurst

 Making homemade granola.
I love it so much.

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Saturday, September 24, 2011

It is a zoo in here. Or, maybe, a barn



For a while, I've seen the blinkie to Barn Light Electric on a few of the blogs I frequent.
I've usually been really good about keeping my itchy finger away from the mouse
so I have not been too distracted by their pretty pictures.

But then twitter was all abuzz with this giveaway.
I said to myself, 
"self, you have a blog"
And I might have responded to myself
"self, you also have a house with lots of ugly builder grade lighting."
And maybe (perhaps), I then said to myself
"self, you need to work that out."

Have you heard of Barn Light Electric before?  
Let me take you on a virtual shopping spree.

If I won $1000, I would consider splurging on two of these:


$480

They would go on either side of my bed in the bedroom.

Then I would wake up from that dream and do something far more practical like two of these:

$230

Those would go on my back porch, under the deck.
And three of these

Those would go over my kitchen island.
 What would you get with a $1000 gift card?

Barn Light Electric is hosting the most amazing giveaway of the year.
Amazing because if I won, you have no idea how quick that $1000 gift certificate would become something like a 50% off coupon.  Just saying.
The prizes include:

1st place - one $1000 grand prize gift certificate and the second place prize is one $500 gift certificate.  That should help finish up a project or two.

Here’s how you can enter too:

1.      Look around Barn Light Electric and pick lights you’d love to own.
2.      Feature your lighting picks on your personal blog, and link to the lights if you can!
3.      Copy/Paste these rules at the bottom of your blog article.
4.      Once your personal article is up, you must email your blog link to: contest@barnlightelectric.com to be qualified to win. The contest ends October 12th, 2011.
5.      Don’t have a blog? Find out how you can enter by visiting their website.

Friday, September 23, 2011

Week 39 Random Pinehurst

The deck was awesome
this summer.


 

 Now.
The deadheading
and composting
begins








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Wednesday, September 21, 2011

My fave season: Autumn

I think it is time
to start breaking out
the fall decor.
 
 
 
Of course, my fave DIY supplies
(natural, free, things like garden rocks)
get repurposed.

These were our place settings last year.
Love those rocks.

Will need to make more since I sold the others ones
at our annual neighborhood yard sales.

I'll also have to pick up some of these


Happy season change!
Linking up to B&B's Fall Decor and Crafts
Nest of Posies Fall Festival
Chic on a Shoestring Decorating Fall Festival

 
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Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Learn from Me | Freecycle Deck Chair Fail

Remember how I came back
and showed you how horribly wrong
turned out?

All ganky and like?

Well here's another of those million year projects
that just started out sounding so good
and went so horribly wrong.

Off of Freecycle, I picked up these three chairs.


Do NOT let the photoshop skills
and rad camera angles fool you.

They were TORE up,
stained,
scratched.

In need of some loving.

First, I thought I would use the stain from our fence
to redo the wood.

Then I realized that you might have to strip off the sealant to do that.
So plan B.

I decided to paint them.
And to that, I decided to take them apart.
Which meant I would have to put them back together.


You will notice,
there are lots of "extra" pieces
laying about in my garage.

I just couldn't even deal.
And I'm a girl that LOVES her a puzzle.

Impatience is my worst enemy.
The paint started chipping off 
because I wouldn't wait
weeks for it to dry. 

I'm okay with chippy.
he (who shall not be named)
is so not okay with chair parts all over the garage.

Matter of fact, he took one look at the covers
and started to chuck my chairs into the truck for a trip to the dump.

I have plans for those covers



A little dye.
A little drop cloth leftover action from the yard sale.
Another 18 months...

I call this miserable DIY fail.
They were supposed to be done for this summer
Preferably the Boeing Classic party.

Not. 
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Sunday, September 18, 2011

Curtain Indecision 2011

 You could tell me
that you prefer this set of Ikea KAJSA curtains
on the main floor gigantor windows
slung low and non-functional 
in front of the top |down blinds that almost ended my marriage.

Light, flowly, patterned, cheap ($29.99 for the pair).


or
you could tell me you prefer 
these horizontal close set striped ones.
That I would have to make.
Out of super heavy material.
That I didn't get enough
and can't get more of
because I'm not patient enough for my 5 followers
to scour their little town Joanne's to find me more
in their home decor fabrics
table of rejects.

 I should have known it was too heavy
And I was too cheap to get enough fabric to do it right.
I bought 3 yards
at $7 a yard.

Not bad, except that I don't have curtains out of them.


All to say it wouldn't matter what you told me
because I'm hard headed.
I went back to Ikea 
and went something like this



Yes, eagle eyed observers.
I did indeed still use the first set of Ikea curtains.
LOVE where they ended up.
And how they ended up there.

But that's for another time.

The remaining indecision?

Should I stamp/stencil
these  bad boys up?
If yes, with what pattern?

I did cut off the tabs
and open up a slit of the hem on the top of the panel
to slide my rods through.

Tabs, so not my friends.

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Friday, September 16, 2011

Week 38 Random Pinehurst

I could grow nothing but tomato plants.


Well.
And maybe some basil too.

  

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Thursday, September 15, 2011

Then and Now: Living Room Sofa Table

When we first moved in,
we had two of these


So when I first hit the blog DIY world
and saw all the painted furniture
I figured it would be no harm
in painting this ONE white.



Best. Decision. Ever.
If only I could get up the nerve
to paint my coffee table white.

I just love how the white makes all the other natural decor really pop.
And I love having a handy husband, who can build out cubbies
into functional, usable space.

Well, and he built our sound system.
No, not installed a sound system,
he BUILT it.  Yes. Built the speakers from components.
From scratch.

Told you he was handy.
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Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Life of the Dinner Party | Decorating w/Plants

 I have these really awesome orchid pots
which are not in any of these pictures.

But you see,
I wanted to do something different with them.

I wanted to plant plants in them.
Not flowers.

So I picked up a Dracena Marginata Cane plant
for 9.99 from Ikea.


It had 3 canes.
I had two orchid pots and a wicker pot.

I split them apart into individual cranes
and promised myself I would not cry if they died in the next 3 days
because I split them wrong.

Thing is.  
I never get this kind of thing wrong.

No research,
just do it because I think it
and touch it with my green thumb
(who knew??)
and voila


on the dining room table
none the less


You'll notice in this shot
that a certain gold mirror
is still present
 and still very gold.

Wonder what else you might catch a glimpse of...


 Don't worry.  Only the eagle eyed would catch it.

Finally finished the upholstering the seats for the dining room chairs
And, of course, had to add a little life to this side of the room too


Small doses.
What kind of plants do you like to decorate with?

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Tuesday, September 13, 2011

PB Knockoff fail | Eco Chandy Pt 2

So almost a year ago
By attempted, I mean I am no electrician, 
so I didn't actually wire bulbs or intend to make it a "light" (per se)
I intended to make it a "statement piece" 
that I would hang from the ceiling
in a spot where a light should be
in my reading nook

Figured the sun (yeah, I know, I live in the PNW)
would beam down on it and make it some cool Dale Chihuly looking piece or something.

Then I woke up (11 months later, or so) from that pipe dream.
And I said to myself

"self, surely you're going to NOT let those billion dollar light bulbs go to waste."

Well yes, I just might.
So I also thought to myself.

Especially after my better half saw me do this


with these


and you remember the reaction to that right
(something about "cluster#*$8@* hanging from my ceiling"
artists.  we are so misunderstood)

In any event,
no, I was not going to let those billion dollar light bulbs go to waste
Though I had originally strung them up like this


I decided to chop off the string
(used that in another project that I'll debut, oh...2012)


Now, if you look close enough in that second picture.
You can see my eco chandy dilema.
How was I going to get these lightbulbs to open up
and be the vessels they were meant to be
especially if I was too chicken to hammer and bang and drill
too hard
for fear I'd break the billion dollar light bulbs.

Well duh, folks. 
I pried the hot glued washers off the ends of my plumber's pipe fittings
(the part painted black) 


and I was able to come out with this
Awesomesauce.
Only 98 more bulbs to go. Or 8


Since I had removed their strings,
I now needed some ingenious way to hang them from my ceiling
if my eco chandy vision was to become reality.
In comes handy dandy eco chandy fishing wire.
and hot glue. And some crafty knots.



Yes mom, I still bite my nails.

Then came the fun part.
Making a chandy out of all this.

We already established I am no electrician
(or carpenter for that matter)
So I decided to make an ECO (as in no energy, healthy for enviro) chandy.

So I used these

 which you will notice are NOT the hammer in anchor types,
they are the screw in drywall anchor types.

I used these because I would wrap my fishing line around the threads
(you can kind of see on the left in the photo above)
and then I would screw these into the ceiling.

Yes I am tall.
No I am not 12 feet tall.
Not even on my tip toes in high heels.

We all know my propensity to not measure or think through
the actual installment of any of my art
(remember that whole subway art hanging debacle?)

Well, I'd like to tell you that this experience went smoothly.
But I gave up on that charade long ago.

In the end
maybe it took me 4 hours,
maybe I was also watching Toddlers &Tiaras

I DID end up with this


And yes, he (who shall not be named)
walked in the door, looked up
which prompted my sidekick awesome puppy mutt to look up
and then together, they were in cahoots with that sly little
"uhm, okay" look going all night long.



Her puppy spot is right under this installment.



Then I lit some tealight candles in the handled jars at night
and I might have won them over.

And if not, maybe my consolation will be a place in the  

 

A girl can dream.

Linking up to Tatertots and Jello Weekend Wrap Up
Good Life Wednesday over at Beach Cottage 
Frugal Friday at the Shabby Nest
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