DIY Archives - Page 3 of 8 - white house black shutters

Floor Plan of Our Home

posted on: October 11, 2012 10 Comments

Many people have been asking for a floor plan to get an idea of the flow of our home, so I made a rough sketch of the first floor: As you can see, we have two bedrooms and one bathroom. The previous owners also used the living room (which is open to the dining room) as a bedroom. The space is really well laid out and has a great flow to it, and you’d never guess that it’s only 1400 square feet. Well, maybe. Yeah, it actually does. ;) There are two parts to our house: the old part built in … [Read more...]

Filed Under: DIY, OUR HOME, renovation, talking to you

Black & White ABC Magnets

posted on: October 9, 2012 9 Comments

I needed some ABC magnets up in this house. Not the colorful, fun kind, oh no. I needed some boring magnets that would blend in with my kitchen. No fun allowed, not on my fridge. errr, umm... These letters are vinyl stickers that you’d use to stick onto your mailbox, I found them in the signs and mailboxes section of my favorite orange home improvement store. Nice and industrial. And cheap! Under two dollars a sheet. The nice part is that they have multiples of the most used letters, so … [Read more...]

Filed Under: crafts, DIY, kid projects, kitchen

Anthropologie Inspired Lattice Tank Top

posted on: September 26, 2012 3 Comments

I’ve painted a lot of stuff over the years. The shutters for our home, many lamps, a box fan, frames, pillows (here and here), furniture, light fixtures. Everything. You name it, I’ve painted it. But I never change clothes when painting. It’s a bad habit that has left me with many good paint clothes. Yoga paints, freshly painted nails, shoes, shirts, my feet, my wedding ring, it’s all met the fate of getting paint on it. I was once asked by the lady at Kay jewelers, “what do you do … [Read more...]

Filed Under: free projects, painting, recycling

Giving Our Landscaping the Lumberjack Treatment

posted on: September 13, 2012 15 Comments

Let’s start at the beginning, shall we? Here’s a picture from when we first took a tour of our house, August 2009. WOW. 3 years ago?! This is why our blog is called white house black shutters (even though our house is not white). We had old, dirty white siding that I thought we’d freshen up with new white paint, and I envisioned adding black shutters. The bushes and landscaping were outdated, but not too shabby. Here’s the house after we replaced the siding and windows, no shutters … [Read more...]

Filed Under: 2012 goals, DIY, outside, renovation

Instagram Photo Coasters

posted on: September 10, 2012 15 Comments

Hey guys, I’m going to be on the latest season of “So You Think You’re Crafty”! You can head over and vote for me for this week’s challenge, “Stashbusting”, aka using up supplies you already own so your friends don’t nominate you for an episode of Hoarders. ;) Today, I’m sharing a tutorial for the Instagram Photo Coasters that I submitted for the audition round of SYTYC. They were easy to do, save our tables, and add a bit of personalized fun to the room. I take a ton of … [Read more...]

Filed Under: crafts, decor, DIY, free projects, kid projects, kids, repurposing

Chalk Painted Stripe Pillow

posted on: August 29, 2012 12 Comments

Here's the story: I had two cream pillows I had bought from a garage sale for $1 each. They were nice. But kids + cream pillows = homeless chic. And I needed color in my new family room, so why not give them a little bit of happy? I applied some painter's tape to the pillow. Working with an already made pillow instead of fabric added a nice bowed touch to the stripes. I didn't measure either, imperfection is an art. :) Tape only one side for now, but carry the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: decor

How to Make Homemade Deodorant

posted on: August 16, 2012 47 Comments

Fun fact that I bet you didn’t know about me: I’ve been making (and wearing) homemade all-natural organic deodorant for a year now. My husband wears it too. It only is $1.89 a batch, I don’t have to reapply a few times a day, I don’t sweat like crazy, and I don’t smell like a dirty hippie. No offense to any hippies. In fact, I probably am a hippie. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Ahem. That’s right, you won’t smell. My husband didn’t believe me and waited a … [Read more...]

Filed Under: DIY, GREEN LIVING

Antique Desk Put to Work

posted on: July 31, 2012 6 Comments

In local desk news, an antique variety has been my saving grace the last two weeks. I finally have a spot! It was Doug’s grandma’s desk growing up. She gave it to my mother-in-law, who gave it to us. It fits perfectly next to the fridge, it isn’t too deep, it doesn’t have a lot of storage, which is perfect. I can’t have a desk that has a lot of space. I have trouble with restraint. And stuffing crap into desks. This desk is the perfect size cause I can’t do that. It holds a … [Read more...]

Filed Under: foyer, furniture, hand-me-down, ORGANIZATION

Second Hand Family Room Makeover

posted on: July 24, 2012 39 Comments

Okay. I’ve been holding out on you guys. The family room remodel. Never posted it. But I made Doug hang the map over the couch last night just so I could post this for you. Cause I love you. So I’m going to zip my lip for a million pictures and just let you look at my new, completely remodeled, and almost all second-hand family room. Of course there’s still stuff we need to do, but whatever. HERE WE GO. New floors. Eeep! you’re going to hate me when I give you … [Read more...]

Filed Under: family room, garage saling, renovation

My Grandma’s Milking Stool

posted on: July 23, 2012 7 Comments

It will be 10 years this November since my grandma passed away. I remember the day she asked me to come close and told me to go find something to keep. To remember her by. She had lung cancer. Some days were good, some days were really bad. This was during a good time. I was seventeen, and my naïve brain didn’t want to accept the fact that one day, she wouldn’t be here. I told her no and brushed off her request like she was being silly. But she looked at me sternly and asked me again. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: decor, DIY, family, favorite things, hand-me-down, painting