Category: DIY

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DIY Fleece Blanket with Braided Edges

I love craft stores. More than that, I love sales and clearance sections at craft stores. While shopping for fabric and felt for our DIY Christmas stockings, I found some scraps of fleece material in the clearance bin. They were the perfect size for a baby blanket for my new niece!

I scooped ‘em up, and got to designing. After some trial and error, which is really the only way I do projects, I designed a pretty braided edge, which maximized the size of the clearance fleece. Grab your scissors and odd sized fleece, and I’ll show you what I did to make this braided edge.

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DIY Christmas Stockings: For Beginners

Nothing gets me in the Christmas spirit like decorating the house. Typically my rule is the day after Thanksgiving but James talked me into decorating a week earlier this year. Since we were married, I have been wanting Christmas stockings. Inspired by the beautiful plaid stockings I have been seeing this year, I decided to try my hand (and my novice sewing machine skills) at making Christmas stockings!

 

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Removing Wallpaper: Using Items You Probably Have in Your Pantry

`Many of you know we bought a beautiful home on some land in the spring.  Built in the 1980s, but hasn’t been updated since then. We spent a few weeks painting until I thought my hand may just permanently attach to the paintbrush. I’ve been putting off the master bathroom because it’s covered in wallpaper. *sigh*. Removing wallpaper can be super intimidating and time consuming!

I’ve removed my fair share of pastel-floral and fruit covered wallpaper over the past two years with our two fixer uppers. I’m here to share my favorite removing wallpaper method, with items you probably already have in your pantry!

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9 DIY Ideas for a Nautical Bridal Shower

My sweet sister, Allie, is getting married next summer! We thought we’d kick of the celebrations with an early bridal shower to celebrate. My amazing aunts hosted the shower at my mom’s house. One aunt put on a show-stopping, mouth watering meal, and the other was in charge of decorations. Guess who jumped at the opportunity to help with decorations…. I love love love all things weddings and showers, and I rarely say no to a themed party.

Allie and her fiance, Derek, love sailing. They took their engagement pictures on my dad’s sailboat, and are getting married by the water with a subtle nautical theme. We knew that with a shower, we could have some fun with more nautical-inspired decorations and get away with it! Here are 9 DIY ideas for a nautical themed wedding shower (or wedding!)

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DIY Indoor/Outdoor Dog Kennel

If you know us or read our blog, you probably know about River. He’s  our darling fur baby, a 1-year old German Shorthair Pointer. He requires a lot of exercise, and James hated keeping him in a crate all day. And when we got home, he was just bursting with energy – he was like a tornado. We recently moved out to the country and decided to build him an indoor/outdoor dog kennel! Somewhere where he could seek shelter, stretch his legs, go to the bathroom and chew on sticks – safely and securely.

We did some research, but couldn’t find what we were looking for. James has a vision for this sort of thing and he whipped out this dog kennel in less than 2-days. Got a jumper? A digger? We’ve done the problem solving for you! Check it out. Here’s what you’ll need:

Supplies

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DIY Two-Sided, Hanging Wooden Sign

I told you fall gives me DIY-vibes! Wooden signs are really having a moment, aren’t they? I love them. I think they are so warm and rustic, and add a personal touch to anywhere. I’ve wanted a wooden sign (or five) for our house for some time, but I thought, well, I can probably make one!

I’ve been staring at this metal post below all summer. Does it need a hanging basket? Should we just take it down? Maybe add flowers? James and I were brainstorming one day and we thought of it – a two sided, hanging, wooden sign with the name of our new home and property.

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8 Painting Tips to Save Time & Money

Fall is in the air in Michigan! And with fall gives me all the DIY-vibes. (Seriously, as I’m writing this I have paintbrushes in the sink, concrete mix on the driveway, and a wood sign drying in the barn). In the summer I just want to be outside wandering in the sun or by the lake. But in the fall, I tend to want to cozy up and get elbows deep in hot-glue, yarn, wood, fabric, or paint.

In the last twenty four months, James and I have bought two fixer uppers. The first one a small bungalow and just as the paint dried, we bought a bigger house in the country. EVERY ROOM in both those houses needed painting. And we did all the painting ourselves (with the help of my family, of course). So, I learned a thing or two about painting in the last two years.

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DIY Wedding Invitation Ornament

Ah, weddings! I love weddings. The anticipation before the bride walks in, the groom’s first look at his bride, the vows, the kiss…. *swoon*.  I’m a sucker for romance. Not to mention I love a good party. Dancing and an open-bar with my friends and family is my kind of party. I was the first of my friends to get married. When we got married, we received several handmade gifts which meant so much to us.  The time, creativity, and love that went into each gift was heart-warming. My very creative aunt made us an ornament with our wedding invitation! It was so beautiful, the way each line of our invitation swirled and curled together inside a glass globe.

So, when my close friends got married, I wanted to recreate this magic for them. This ornament took me about 30-minutes during our morning coffee time. It costs about $2.

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