diy

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diy: ombre, hand stamped favor tags

When my printer bit the dust days before a baby shower I was co-hosting back in February, I had to improvise real fast in order to get the gift tags for guest favors done.  They turned out to be a hit, and since I’m decorating for a friend’s shower this weekend and am once again…

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how to create a “zinc” finish

There is this little alcove between the tub and shower wall in our master bathroom in which we want to put custom built-ins, but since we are getting ready to finish our second floor, I thought hanging a full-length mirror would be a much better use of funds for a temporary fix.  We don’t have…

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diy: safe, nontoxic, eco friendly way to strip furniture

I get a lot of emails about refinishing furniture and pieces that I have worked on it the past and the best advice I can give anyone is to pay the most attention to the prep work!  Prepping a piece (aka stripping the finish, or sanding and scuffing it to make it paint-ready) is the…

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diy: gilded picture frame

I hope you all had a wonderful Turkey Day!  For those of you uninterested in the chaos that is Black Friday, how about a little DIY? Old picture frames and spray paint go together like peas and carrots, but I’ve got a twist for you today!  I love gilded picture frames, so I thought I’d…

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a few helpful tips before your next diy

Lately I’ve gotten quite a few emails about some of the DIY posts I’ve blogged about, so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to highlight some of my favorite products for helping with your next project! Krylon spray paint is my go-to brand – the coverage is excellent, the color selection is crazy…

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before + after: whitewashed brick fireplace

When my clients asked me to help bring their 1972 ranch home up-to-date, the first thing that had to go was the bright orange/red brick fireplace.  Their family room gets so much natural light, yet the floor-to-ceiling brick seemed to glow.  Instead of painting the brick completely, I decided to whitewash it, instead, to tone…

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diy: bottle lamp

Last summer, I found a wine cask on clearance at Pottery Barn for $20.  I had no clue what I was going to do with it or where I was going to put it, for that matter (it’s HUGE), but I liked the seeded glass and figured I would eventually find the perfect spot.  It…

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diy: how to make new wood look old and weathered

 In yesterday’s post, I showed you how I made my own custom picture frames for nautical charts and today I thought I’d show how I created the weathered stain – it’s super easy and very inexpensive!  I wanted to create a finish similar to the mirror and candlesticks on my fireplace, since the frames will…

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diy: make your own picture frame

  I’ve posted before on oversize art and the impact it has in a space, so I decided to take my advice when it came to my own home!  We have a huge vaulted ceiling in our living room and I needed something big to fill all that wall space over our couch.  My hubby…

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diy: step-by-step guide to whitewashing furniture

Lately, I’ve gotten quite a few emails asking for help creating the whitewashed finish I wrote about last year, so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to post a step-by-step guide for anyone interested in trying it!  Whitewashing is a simple technique of watering down white paint and literally washing it over a…

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sharpie wallpaper

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!  Aside from throwing elbows to get through Ikea on Saturday, for me, this weekend was all about relaxing and regrouping after a long and crazy week.  I tried to limit myself to an hour of Pinterest and about fell over when I stumbled upon this guest bathroom…

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diy: book page wreath

Just in time for Christmas, I thought I’d try my hand at making a wreath out of book pages.  I know I’m certainly not the first person to attempt this, but I’ve always loved how beautiful and simple they are and I’m pretty impressed with how mine turned out.  They make a great Christmas or…