Project 7: Initially Speaking (DIY for Busy Gals)

31 minute project

You'll need:

PRIMO clay

Letter cookie cutters
rolling pin
non-stick baking pan

You are going to create these:

In pictures:

For the readers:

1. Gather your clay
(mine: PRIMO modeling clay - on sale for about $1.25 a pack at Mike's)

2. Grab your letter cookie cutters
(mine: $1.50 from the Wannabe Dollar Store in Bellevue)

3 .I eyeballed 2 of the 8 wedges per letter (I was making 4 letters)
4. Roll said wedges into balls

5.From a ball, roll out, place stamp, remove excess.

6. Here, I learned that I wanted thicker letters
To get that, I rolled all 4 balls out,
then layered them on top of each other
Rolled them again to squish them together
and stamped out my letter.

7. Pretty, thick, much easier to remove the negative spaces in the B.

8. Roll the excess from the first letter into a giant ball, repeat step 5.

9. Stick lovely puffy letters on non-stick pan,
bake at 250 for 20 minutes.

Perfection.

You can get REALLY crafty with this

and use flat back thumbtacks on the back side

so that you can stick these into corkboards.

Or, you can leave it and just sprinkle them here and there.

(A)shley, (B)ernadette, (R)obert.
All M's.

Bonus Pictures:

Check out what's to come with 31 DIY projects for Busy Gals by clicking the log above.

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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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If I cleaned | Sponge Snobbery

If I cleaned

these would be the supplies I could not live without

Because I don't clean that often

I can go to the extremes - 

I can buy really cheap supplies (the yellow rubber scrubby rag and the white cello sponge)

and I can break the bank (Myers Clean Day, Eurosponge, specialty scrub brushes).

As you can see, those supplies are all on my black granite counter tops.

Which I hate.

Love when they are clean

hate that it takes my blood, sweat and tears

to get them to shine up properly.

Equal amounts of each at that.

In any event,

Most of my decor is black white and yellow.

So the blue sponges are just so not cool.

Sure, they are useful and functional.

But not cool.

So I picked up a couple of packs of really cheap white cello sponges from the dollar store.

Stylish. Chic!

The only thing I hate worse than the black granite counters when they are dirty,

is the glass cooktop.  Uhg.

The yellow rag with rubber scrubby dots is a God send.

Non-abrasive, but some scrubbing power to get it done.

The white eurosponge is the super thin "sponge" on the left in the photo.

It. is. awesome!

I can just dampen it, swipe it across my counters

and I get a non-streak shine that is unbelievable.

On the glass cooktop, I use the Myers window cleaner with the eurosponge

and not only does it sparkle, it also smells great.

Sometimes, I have to use my secret weapon on that stove

because spillovers are really common around these parts.

Just saying.

The finishing pieces are the scrubby brushes.

he (who shall never be named) actually bought us the palm scrubby

which I love because it fills with dishwashing liquid, that you just squirt out.

No big bulky jug of dishwashing liquid up on the sink.

The smaller slim brush with handle is just convenient for getting around edges and into small spaces.

That's all I need.

Well, and the secret weapon.

What cleaning supplies do you avoid using until the situation is just beyond bearable?

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Upstairs Guest Bathroom - Progress

So before,
I was so proud of getting up
that waffle weave shower curtain.

Don't you just love the tiny mirror all antagonizing the wall of mirror?
Yeah.  Needed to fix that.

So I picked this up at Goodwill (of course)
for $3

That bad boy is massive.
I almost fell out getting it up.
But I did it all by myself.

And I only cussed once.

Now there is something pretty to reflect upon
rather than the endless time warp
of a mirror reflecting back a mirror
reflecting back another mirror...

I'm surprised I'm still here.

I call this progress.

Linking up to Happy Hour Projects

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Lovely, but not as fun

Be still my Target heart

Gorgeous (and inexpensive) as these clean whites are from Tar-jay, 

there is just something off.

It isn't as fun to collect all sorts of white kitchenware 

when you can just buy it in bulk from CB2 or, now, Target.

Although they did have a pitcher for under $15 that I might not be able to live without.

Might not.

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No more wire...

shelves.
Hangers, by the way,
are also my bane.

I adore those fluffy white towels

And I no longer have a love hate relationship with the scale

(fertility tracking does that to you)

Love the little brown basket of soap on the floor

love the glass cubes of stuff I don't use

because I don't take baths

yet I feel it necessary to have a bathtub.

So American of me.

That top basket...

eh

Those wire shelves

held up by the completely

functional

but not at all

stylish

center rod

those

are

the

BANE

of

my

existence.

Just saying.

Bathroom | One bit at a time

YEAH!
I got up
a shower curtain

It is waffle weave
which is impressive
no?

okay.
really,
I need to figure out
what to do
with this room

Given that it is really the dumping ground
for all the bathroom stuff
we don't want to stash
in the bathrooms we actually use

Go figure.

This is probably most evidenced by the little mirror on the wall
or the black rug on the floor

Hey.
Don't hate
it works

Of course,
I'm thinking
nautical

And I have some cool crab print/sketches.
But that's about it

No,
I didn't even install the curved rod.
That came pre-installed.

I know...what kind of
home improvement blog
am I running here?

Week 5 Random Pinehurst

What can I say

I love white

Week 2 Random Pinehurst

I have a love|hate relationship

with these two

Love the smell of clean towels

Love a warm towel in the morning

Love folding clothes and feeling like

I finished something

Hate doing laundry

Found and Used | Lovely Linens

I am a sucker for the bed and bath section of any thriftstore.  Well, really the bedding.  Mostly because I have 4 extra bedrooms in my home that I'll never sleep in, so I don't have to get all creeped out with the whole "I don't want that to touch my skin" thing that I get with bathroom goods.  Which.

Really doesn't make sense.  Because I have at least two bathrooms I don't ever set foot in.
So I could fill those up with good stuffs too.

Hmm.

I'll have to try to settle that tension in my mind.
Or I will never be the same.

Anyhow.

I picked up these pretty pillow cases

Scallop Edged Pillowcases

Intl District Goodwill, .99 each

And used them in this bedroom

(the Mother In Law Suit extra bedroom)

Crocheted Pillowcases

Intl District Goodwill, .99 each



Which is also home to this

hot. mess.

Or.

Art.

You decide

Ikea Chest of Drawers

Mother in Law Suite

Right.

Design Around: Creamy White

Now we all know

the home bloggity world

is abuzz around all things

white

But not just white

The right KIND of white

Which, in this place is a challenge. 

I love the warm creamy white

that is my trim color

throughout most of the house

Especially against all the grays

(which, evidently, help the naturescape)

and the polished silver.

But downstairs

in the bloodroom,

I mean the red rooms

I'm trying to design a nautical

and/or beachy small bathroom

around these creamy whites

Beachy dreams, lower floor bathroom

I think I can make it happen.

Even though this room is right around the corner

from this

Lower Floor Mantle

I'm going to make that tomato soup happen

Believe that.