Gnome for Christmas

 

Rice Toss Challenge

 

DIY Christmas Box Lights

I absolutely love Christmas Box Lights. I made some large ones for my front porch and I will give details of those lights in a future post, but todays light box design came from the knowledge I had from making large light boxes, but I miniaturized them into small boxes that can enhance any bookshelf, table, or shelf. The other part that makes these decorations so fantastic is they can be made from items you pick up at your local dollar store.

The supplies you will need are: Popsicle sticks, glue, paperclips, Dollar Store lights, foil tissue paper and some ribbon. I made dozens of these in lots of different colors but the cost breakdown is under $2 dollars each once you have all the supplies.

Magnetic Makeup Station Dollar Tree DIY

Magnetic Makeup Station

I love creating and making my own gifts, but this one came out of a dire need.  One day I looked at my bathroom counter, with all my makeup strung about and thought to myself, there has to be a better way. When I put my makeup in a container of some kind, it is time consuming, jumbled up and not very effective.  In the morning when I am getting ready I find myself searching to  find the perfect brush, or the exact eyeshadow I was looking for. I realized I would prefer to have an entire makeup station where each item had a home. The problem with this logic, is that means my bathroom counter looks like a bomb went off all the time. I finally realized it was time to create a solution to my dilemma. That is when the magnetic makeup station idea came to my mind.  I have used the Dollar Tree makeup stands in the past, but they come in little sections so every time I wanted to clear the counter and move them, it is big chore. Also, they tend to get top heavy and tip over and with the brushes standing up, they don't really fit in a drawer. That is when I figured out the best solution would be to create a magnetic makeup station that can be easily moved to a shelf on the wall when not in use. If I blinged out the station enough, it would then look like a decoration rather than a huge mess. So out of necessity, I created the Magnetic Makeup Station. It turned out so beautiful, I decided to make a few extras and give them away as Christmas gifts.

Dollar Tree DIY

Paint Cookie Sheet Black

Glue and Glitter Glam it Up

It's an easy 5 minute craft

Lots of glue and glitter on the bottom

Glue and Glitter on the Sides is also Fun

Beautiful

Portable Makeup Station
Can easily be moved to a shelf

Focus on the Good and Bury the Pans

My favorite motto is, "focus on the good and bury the pans." I’m sure you’ve got to be wondering what bury the pans could possibly mean. In order to understand what this is all about, I’m going to tell you a little story about my mother. When she was growing up she didn’t learn a lot of the basic skills she always wanted to know. When she first got married she wanted to make a fabulous dinner for my dad as a surprise. Her first try at cooking consisted of meat, potatoes and gravy. Not exactly a beginners meal, but she didn’t know any better. Well not one thing turned out as she planned. In fact all 3 items were scorched beyond recognition and 3 of her pans were ruined beyond repair.

When you don't know how to cook

And you don't know how to

clean a scorched pan

what do you do?

My mom was so sad and upset. The burned pans stunk up the entire house. She didn’t know what to do, but in her embarrassment, she took the ruined pans and ruined food out to the back yard, dug a hole, and buried them. 

My mom took the ruined pans
and ruined food out to the back yard,
dug a hole, and buried them

Then she just sat down and cried. Oh, how this breaks my heart to think about. We all have times in our lives when metaphorically speaking, we burn the food and the pans. It’s not a matter of if, but when. The question is, what are we going to do about it? My mom decided the only way to learn how to cook, is to humble herself and admit that she didn’t have the skills she so desired. When my dad got home from work, she confessed that the meal she was trying to make didn’t turn out. She asked him if he knew how to cook. Turns out he did. They spent the night bonding and cooking. He taught her how to cook delicious mashed potatoes, and gravy. 

Mashed Potatoes and Gravy

Later on in life, my mom’s gravy became the most coveted commodity. In fact she learned how to cook up masterful meals out of basic ingredients. But in her pride, I don’t think she ever admitted to my dad, that she had buried the pans in the yard. I feel like that is A OKAY. Everyone doesn’t have to see when things don’t go right, but it is a good idea to not give up. 

My mom’s willingness to try and try again has really rubbed off on me. In fact, I’m sure that is why I am such a DIYer. 

diyismyhappyplace

My mom learned how to do everything that needed to be done around the house. She took my little brother to a barbershop and told the barber, she only had enough money for one haircut, but she had a lot of children. She asked the barber if he would teach her how to cut little boys hair. 

I can still remember sitting out in the car

watching through the window

as my mom learned how to cut hair

I can still remember sitting out in the car watching through the window as my mom learned how to cut hair. From that day on, with one little lesson, my mom cut all of our hair. She eventually had 9 children and we all were blessed that she knew how to cut our hair. 

She also realized in order to cloth 9 children, she would need to learn how to sew. Similarly she took one sewing lesson and then worked and tried and failed but eventually became a master seamstress. It didn’t happen overnight. 

In order to cloth 9 children, my mom learned  how to sew

Some of our haircuts and some of our clothes were not top notch, but eventually, in time, her efforts paid off. In fact, she made all the bridesmaid dresses for her daughter’s weddings, and sewed or reimagined 3 wedding dresses. 

If an appliance quit working, she would go to the library, check out a book, and learn how to fix it. 

Aberdeen Public Library

Checked out a book to learn how to repair the vacuum

She started with a vacuum cleaner and over time, she became mechanically minded and even fixed some of our vehicles over the years. 

One day I asked her how she knew how to paint, do electrical, building projects, plumbing, so many other things. She told me, if she didn’t know how to do something, she would find someone who did, then ask them to show her how. Then she would just try and try until she got it right. I’m sure many attempts at projects got buried along the way, but she kept trying. Her, GIVE IT A TRY spirit really rubbed off on her kids. I guess that is why 3 of my siblings have actually built their own homes. I’m not that ambitious, but I will admit there isn’t a single surface inside or outside of my home that I haven’t updated, remodeled and changed. I guess that’s where I get my DO IT YOURSELF ambition. 

I too will try just about anything. If I want it, or like it, I try to figure out how I can build it, create it, reimagine it, or make it, but on a tight budget, just like my mom used to do, but she didn’t have the luxury of youtube how to videos, or home improvement stores or even the Dollar Store. She lived out on a farm, far from stores. She did almost everything on what she could grow, trade, or muster up on her own. 

There is a movie called Apollo 13. It reminds me of my mom and myself. The rocket malfunctions while on a mission. They have to figure out how to fix it based on what they have on the rocket. 

In order to save the rocket,

mission control had to figure out

how to put a square peg into a round hole

Mission control is given the same supplies that are on the rocket and are tasked to figure out a way to put A SQUARE PEG INTO A ROUND HOLE, based on what they have on hand. Many times when I am starting a new project, I try to make it happen with the items that I already have around the house. Or with what I can buy far below the original price. I frequent the local Habitat Restore, second hand stores and dollar stores to get a lot of my supplies especially for home décor projects. 

So now you know my type of DIY. If you would like to follow me and my progress, please follow my blog and my youtube channel. And remember “Focus on the Good and Bury the Pans”

3 Budget Friendly Halloween Crafts For Children

 

3 Easy Crafts

My granddaughters love working on “Projects” so that is what we do. They helped me make rice filled pumpkins, paint some Dollar Tree wooden decorations and paint a large pumpkin pink. It’s so fun to DIY with them. Any one of these items would be a perfect craft for Halloween night instead of trick or treating. Then go trick or treating from room to room in the house! 

Glaze Table Top

My old, dingy dining room table is wasn't working anymore. It needed a total overhaul from the color to its texture and surface finish. Check it out!

Remodel Staircase DIY

My staircase had some outdated carpet that needed an upgrade! Watch this video to see what I did.

Insane Ingredient Combination For Best Sauce in a Tinfoil Dinner!

Secret Sauce!

Host a party making tinfoil dinners. It's fun and easy. Your guests can each make their own.

Our family makes these every weekend and cook them in our backyard firepit.

 

Amy’s Chicken Chili

White Chicken Chili

As soon as the weather starts to cool down, I start craving soup and chili. This is my all time favorite recipe. We had the entire family over for Sunday dinner this past weekend. I made up a big pot of chili. It was a hit. We had extra containers so everyone could take some leftovers home as well. You can even freeze some for later if you have leftovers. You will be glad you did! Feel free to download and save it for your recipe book. It's free! Share it out where you can. Enjoy!

Family Favorite

Exterior Paint Trend 2020

Exterior Paint Update

I am not a professional painter by any means and my laborer's are all family members who have less experience painting then I do. I am posting this to my blog to show one thing, that is, you can do hard things if you do enough research and ultimately, jump in and give it a try.

I watched many how-to videos on YouTube. My favorite was a youtuber called #TheIdahoPainter. I watched his videos over and over until the techniques and supplies were seared in my brain. I took notes like I was preparing for a major exam. Then I started collecting supplies. I also tried a few things that I hoped would make it cheaper, and possibly easier. I have some hits and misses. I certainly was learning as I was going.

Let me just say, it was not an easy task. It's certainly not for the faint of heart. The preparation work took as long, if not longer than the actual painting  did.  I have old wooden windows that needed a lot of TLC before they were ready for paint. Not to mention puttying all the siding and repairing any rain gutters and trim that needed to be fixed before painting. We actually added additional trim to highlight the peaks of our house.

One of the hardest tasks was picking out the paint. I didn't want to match with my neighbors, and I also didn't want to be too bold, but I wanted to be on trend.  I googled over and over trending colors. I watched lots of home improvement shows, and ultimately I went with the colors that made my heart sing. I then had my husband photoshop our home with the colors we chose to see what it would look like. If you don't have photoshop, there are some free painting apps online to add colors to your house photos to see what you like. Sherwin Williams has a free one I found worked pretty good.

This part of the painting project was essential because I couldn't really make final decisions on where I would put the 3 different colors I was working with until I saw it on my house. I tweaked, and moved, and changed the colors over and over until I found a look I absolutely loved.  I wanted to use two colors with a white accent on the trim, but deciding which colors go where took some time and planning. My husband and I have been planning this paint job for a long time, but finally pulling the trigger on it was so exhilarating.

We did choose to use a paint that had primer already in it because we wanted be sure it would coat smoothly.  We rented a sprayer from a local company. This was a challenge in and of itself because it is first come first serve. We were at the location 10 minutes before they opened to ensure we could get it on the day we planned on painting. We were committed and planned to buy a paint sprayer if we couldn't rent one. Luckily we were the first one there on our painting day, so the odds were in our favor.

We did buy an extension wand to use with the sprayer and that was the best $35 we spent since there were many spots we couldn't have reached without the extension wand.

Don't forget to power wash the entire house before painting. This is a key element, and the house needs to be completely dry before painting so the power washing needs to be done a day or two earlier. 

Do you want to hear about one of my misses? Oh, well that is a whole post in and of itself. I'll post the misses in a later blog entry, but needless to say, not everything went smoothly, but we are a roll-with-the-punches kind of family. We made our misses work.

We thought we could get the entire thing painted in one day, but it actually took 2 very intense days of working non-stop to get it finished. 

Prep Work is Essential for a Great Paint Job

Extension Wand Is Worth It's Weight In Gold!

We ran out of daylight before we finished. Day 1 was a success.

We called in all the family to help one day 2. 3 different fine tipped paint brushes in the hands of 3 different people, where able to go around and touch up paint as we went along.

Replacing the old exterior lights really helped update the look.

When I was really high up, I kept my dear husband close to steady the ladder

It ended up coming in about $500 over our guesstimated budget, but once we got started there was no turning back. We actually didn't know how much paint we would need, so we bought it as we went along. We are lucky enough to live close to a hardware store, but we bought paint 4 times in one day. The paint was so expensive that we didn't want to over buy.  Since we are amateur painters, I'm pretty sure we used more paint than a professional would have used while spraying on, but if our amateur painting cost us extra money on paint, it was worth it since we saved so much on the over all cost of having a professional come in to do it. Especially since we were using 3 colors. Every time you add another color your price goes up substantially with a professional paint job.

Come follow me on Pinterest and Instagram for more fun DIY projects.

#DIYISMYHAPPYPLACE

https://youtu.be/nUYVruuXtXE