How to Create a Charming Farmhouse Burlap Bar Stool

August 2, 2017November 17, 2017

Creating a burlap bar stool is not difficult. The difficult part is not covering the entire house with burlap!

I just love the rustic feel of it and the earthy tones. You can add lace, stamp, print, recycled jewelry and create all sorts of things.

When I was decorating my home bar (it all started here), I decided I wanted a rustic feel to it.

If you look at my front bar chairs redo I chose burlap and added some prints to create a “faux” coffee bag look to them. Coffee bags can be pricey and burlap is not.

So it was easy to just recreate the coffee bag look with stamps and save a ton!

But I needed more bar stools and tables for the home bar, but I didn’t want them to be as big as the ones in front of the bar.

See here:

And because I needed quite a few stools for each of my bar height tables (the big table and the corner table) they had to be cheap and smaller.

The Burlap Bar Stools had to Start Somewhere

This post contains affiliate links. I may make a commission from any purchases you make through these links without any extra cost to you. This is how I make sure my foster birds have plenty of wooden toys to play until they find their forever home

I found these simple bar stools for only $16 bucks each. Not bad considering I needed at least 6 of them.

Because I wanted to create that rustic look I decided to add some dings and chips. This is optional.

I just used a hammer and chains and worked on the legs (the only visible thing after I added the burlap). Then I applied some light stain over the legs to enhance the dings.

Let it dry for a few days (don’t forget to do some light sanding over the original varnish or the stain will never stick).

Materials for the Burlap Bar Stools

Bar stool (choose the height that is appropriate for your counter or bar height)
Burlap (you can choose an earth tone color or any color that goes with your decor)
Painter’s drop cloth or any fabric liner matching the color of the burlap
Foam (choose the density according to how “tall” you want the cushion to be)
Upholstery Stapler
7/8″ Electro Galvanized Roofing nails
Spray Glue
Scissors
Hammer
Stamp or Stencil (your design choice)
Paint for the design (choose a contrasting color that matches your design)
Spray paint for the nailheads

Putting the base foam and liner together

Start by cutting the foam using the stool seat as your guide. I just used a cardboard to create my pattern. Easier that way, instead of balancing the stool over the foam.

Once you have the foam sized, spray some of the spray glue over the wood seat and place the foam over it.

Let it dry for a few minutes.

Notice I improvised with my foam and used a piece of mattress topper because the foam I had was too thin and I was sure the husband would complain about that. Sigh!

Once the glue is dry you can start stapling the liner:

Be sure to pull the liner tightly to avoid bunching on the side of the stool. You don’t want any lumps showing under your burlap.

Here it is with the liner all stapled:

It’s not suuuuper perfect but it will do.

The Burlap Bar stool is finally taking shape

After the liner is in, it’s time for the burlap. This part is exciting because you can see your progress very quickly.

So just like the liner, start stapling your burlap, being careful to pull around the sides as you staple.

Now, silly me forgot to take a picture of the bar stool after stapling and before the nail heads so the pic above is just a close-up.

The next step is the fun part.

Prepping the nailheads

You will need a cardboard or any styrofoam you have available so you can line up the nails for paint. You will need quite a few nails for each stool you are creating (about 35 nails on average).

Simply stick each nail onto the cardboard or styrofoam so they are standing. Do not press all the way in because you still want part of the “stem” of the nail painted to make sure nothing shows on the side when they are nailed onto the stool.

Spray away!! They will be ready to go in an hour.

Since I wanted to match the nailheads on my bar tables and the actual bar, I chose I rusty brown color for my nailheads.

Not quite the same color but close.

I wish I could afford real “clavos” but they are oh so pricey.

I think the “faux” ones turned out great and at a fraction of the cost.

The box comes with over 300 (1lb) of these guys and I had plenty left when I was done. The real “clavos” cost an average of $0.50c each or more. Considering you need an average of 35 nails per stool, it can add up.

Time to add the nailheads to the stool

This part can be fun or frightening at the same time. You don’t want to hammer your fingers but you also want to see the finished product too.

The first thing you need to do is cover your hammer with a little bit of foam or a folded up piece of fabric at the head of the hammer.

The reason is, if you don’t cover the hammer the painted nails can flake off or scratch and you also risk bending the nailhead.

Here is my nifty hammer:

The next step is nailing these babies to the side of the stool.

When you do, you can use a needle nose plyer to help you hold the nail while you hammer far enough that the nail won’t fly off your hand.

But before you do all the hammering, you have one more little step:

Cut a 2 inch wide strip of burlap that is long enough to wrap around the circumference of the stool plus an inch extra just in case.

Next, fold it on one side (1/2 in), and then fold the other side over it (you can use an iron to flatten it and make things easier).

Insert a nailhead onto one end of the burlap strip right in the middle:

Line up that first nail with the base of the bar stool seat and hammer away, adding and separating each nail by one inch. Like so, as you continue to hold the folded strip of burlap:

Here it is after all nailheads are in:

Final Touches!

Now that the burlap was in, it was time to add a final touch: a printed design to spice up the decor.

Since I was going for “Old West-y/Mexican Rustic” I decided to use a Fleur de Lis design.

You can certainly choose other designs depending on the style you are going for like seashells, starfish, arrows, the sky is the limit here.

You can buy or create your own stencils or use stamps (see my stamp tutorial here).

Here they are!!

and here they are around one of the tables.

I hope you enjoyed this project. Below is another project I worked on to add character to my home bar.

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Until next time!

How to Make a Colorful Summer DIY Feather Wall Art

June 19, 2017November 17, 20172 Comments

Summer is here and to celebrate its festiveness why not make a colorful feather wall art?

Now, full disclosure here. This feather wall art was made with naturally shed macaw feathers. You see, birds usually shed their feathers every 6 months and as I’m sweeping the bird room, I collect a bunch of them and save them in plastic bags to preserve them.

Finding feathers for your Feather Wall Art

If you read my bio, you will see that I rescue and own quite a few exotic birds. From macaws to cockatoos, from Amazons to tiny little diamond doves. I got quite a few of these guys coming and going at all times.

See Stuart, my Blue and Gold Macaw below. He likes to hang by his nails to keep an eye out for his girlfriend, Blueberry.

We rehab them (some come to us really stressed out) and we find them forever homes.

It’s a labor of love and a lot of maintenance

You can read my post about bird care and see how much is involved in caring for them.

Anyway, the reason I’m telling you all this is that I want to let you know that these feathers were not purchased. You can purchase them online but they are super pricey.

A tail set (about 10 feathers) can cost upwards of $100.

If you have access to exotic bird feathers then you are all set. If not, then your options are buying feathers at the craft store or contacting local bird rescues to see if you can get feathers in exchange for a nice donation. Here’s some I found online:

You are also not limited to exotic feathers

You can use turkey feathers, duck, goose, and many other colorful birds feathers. Many will come from the “meat” industry where nothing gets wasted (not a happy thought but at least everything is being used). Also, many local farmers who raise egg laying chickens and ducks could hook you up too.

Just use your creativity on the colors and I’m sure the result will be fabulous.

So let’s get to it!

Materials for your DIY Feather Wall Art

A base: flat bottom wicker plate for a higher end finish (cardboard, or a plastic plate will work too).
Feathers (amount will depend on the size of your base)
Hot glue gun
Picture hanging kit
fabric scrap to cover the back of the base
Scissors

Arranging the Feathers

Before you start gluing the feathers onto the base, you need to separate the feathers based on sizes and colors (if you are using more than one).

I arranged mine like this:

Feathers will have curvatures to the right and the left, so you want to make sure they are separated that way. It will make things quicker when you are gluing.

Also, since sizes vary and in this project, we are working with several sizes, arrange them by sizes too.

Once everything is organized, it is time to take a practice run on how the feathers are going to be placed around the base. You want to see how the spacing will work on the base and how many feathers you will need. Also, pay attention to the direction of the feathers. Use right curved feathers for the right and left curved for the left side.

Here’s my practice run:

You want to start at the edge of the base and work your way in.

Hot Gluing the first row of feathers

Start with the larger feathers first for the outside rim. I started with the flight feathers. And since I wanted to give it a splash of color I flipped the feather on the other side. Macaw feathers are blue on the top and yellow underneath (mother nature is really cool, huh?).

Before gluing, check if the size of the stem is too long, adjust as needed by cutting it with a pair of scissors.

Then start gluing and adjusting the space between the feathers just like you practiced.

Here is the finished first row.

Using the base as a guide, start placing the second row of feathers. Don’t forget to do a practice run and use the left and right feathers accordingly. Here is how I started the next row:

Notice the feathers are now blue (flipped to the outside) and of a smaller size. These are secondary feathers of a macaw wing (you know you are a bird owner when you know exactly where they come from. LOL).

After gluing the stem onto the base, you will need to place a very small drop of glue under the tip of the feather wherever that tip touches the feathers underneath, like so:

This is to ensure the feather won’t flop over when you hang it on the wall.

Be sure not to press the top feather onto the drop of glue. Just let it rest over it. We don’t want the glue to seep through the feather.

Here’s the finished second row:

In the next row I wanted a yellow color, so once again I flipped the feather to its back and added smaller yellow feathers.

Once that was done, I added another row of blue ones and finished with yellow feathers. This time I used Blue and Gold Macaw chest feathers which are bright yellow (I forgot to take a picture of the next row, oops!).

After cleaning up all the strings of glue, flip the entire project upside down and hot glue a circle of fabric cut to size to the back of your project to hide any imperfections.

Hot glue the wall hanging bracket.

And here is the final product:

Here it is with a white background. I love how the colors pop!

And here is another one of these feather wall arts with white cockatoo feathers.

The yellow center is made from the crests of my Citron Crested Cockatoos, Coconut, and Cuddles. Here they are:

Coconut is a hoot and he says the funniest things like “Goodnight Sweetheart, see you in the morning”. Cuddles is another one of my rescues and she wears fashionable sweaters because she is a mutilator (she will pull skin until she bleeds). The sweater prevents her from doing that and she loves it. She actually has a Facebook page too!

Finally, here is another one of my feather wall arts I created a while ago using a larger base.

This one is my favorite!

These feather wall arts look good anywhere around the house as a centerpiece in any decor. I have the white feather wall art in my bedroom right over the bed and the larger one on a wall right at the top of the stairs.

The feather wall art I created for this post is going for a good cause as a donation to The Oasis Sanctuary, a bird rescue organization in Arizona. If you wish to help them just click on the link above. They always need help.

If you love these feather wall arts but you don’t think you are crafty enough, here are some ready made ones I found online. They are absolutely gorgeous!

I hope you enjoyed this post. Follow us on Facebook and Pinterest for news and updates and sign up for our email list below to receive new posts right in your inbox. We are always creating new things to share with you.

Until next time,

How to DIY Indoor Shutters For a Rustic Bar Decor

May 25, 2017

If you are keeping up with the blog, you probably know that I have done several projects to decorate my home bar. You can click on the image to read the post where it all started (the image is a little fuzzy).

After finding a steal for the actual counter and back-bar, I moved on to finding the right style stools and decorating them with cushions and cool scarves to give them some personality. I love the color combination of blues and greens. Here they are and you can see the tutorial for the cushions by clicking on the image:

The next step was to give the bar a name and a sign

Since we (me and my husband) rescue birds and find them “forever homes” (basically, we rescue, rehab them and then find them homes), we decided to name the bar “Flipping the Bird Saloon“.

It is a name play with flipping homes where you rehab them and flip them, and rescuing birds and giving these birds a second chance.

Yes, as a guy, my husband sure had a kick with the name. Hence, the image of the bird with his eyes “bugged out” on the sign (is that a word?).

If you click on the image you can see the tutorial for the sign.

I have since added other decor pieces

The bar is still a work in progress but my favorite projects for the bar were the menu and the bar height tables (click on images for tutorial):

As I mentioned, the bar is still a work in progress and I will soon share more tutorials but the one tutorial I want to share today is the rustic farmhouse indoor shutters I created to add some personality to the room.

Materials to Make the indoor shutters

(4) 1x4x8 boards for the vertical cuts (you can also use dog-eared fence boards for a very rustic finish).

(1) 1x4x8 board for the horizontal cuts (you may need another board depending on how wide you want your shutters.

Nail gun and 1 1/2 in nails (another option is to hand nail with finishing nails if you don’t have a nail gun. I would not use liquid nails but that’s another option if all fails).

Paint – I just needed 1 pint (the color I selected was “Intense Teal” by Behr).

Minwax Wood Stain – The small can is enough (I used “Dark Walnut)

Brush – (hair, not sponge)

220 grit sand sponge or paper

Rags for staining and cleaning

Why indoor shutters?

You may be asking, “why would you put shutters indoors?”

Well, I’m glad you asked.

My home bar is located in a room with a view to the front yard. I am blessed to have a large circular driveway with a nice fountain in the middle of the circle. I love watching the birds drink water and take their baths during the hot summer days of Arizona. I felt that putting a curtain on the windows would take that away a little.

Also, it is a very rustic style bar and any curtains there, even if I used burlap would just not look right. So, I decided that shutters would give the personality I needed and it would still match the decor.

PUTTING THE INDOOR SHUTTERS TOGETHER

The first step is to measure the opening of your window (vertical). Of course, the indoor shutters will look better if your window does not have any trims around them. But if you do, you can consider removing them or making them work with your shutters.

Start with the vertical cuts. You will need 4 cuts of the same size. Two per side of your window. My window is 59 inches tall. So I cut my boards at exactly 59 inches.

The horizontal cuts are going in between the vertical cuts. You have to decide how wide you want your shutters. For my window, I decided that I wanted them about 16 inches wide total (Each vertical board is 4in plus 8 inches for the horizontal board= 16in).

Since I wanted one board for each end and one in the middle of the shutter I cut 6 pieces at 8 inches long. 3 horizontal boards for each side of the window.

This is what they looked like after my cuts:

Painting the Indoor Shutters

First, you need to sand the boards with the sanding sponge or paper. Then it was time to paint the boards.

I applied paint over the boards. However, since I wanted them to look rustic, I did not paint more than one coat. You can put a lot of paint on the brush and work the paint over each board in the direction of the grain (without assembling the window, of course).

The paint doesn’t have to cover the board perfectly.

Here is another closer look after the paint dried.

Assembling the shutters on the window

This is a very easy process to do. It is, of course, much easier if you have a side-kick to hold the boards while you nail them. Especially, if you don’t have a brad nailer and you have to do it the old fashioned way (Yep, the good ol’ hammer, baby!!).

Start by lining up your vertical board near the frame of the window, directly onto the wall. Be sure to line up with the top and bottom. Also be sure it’s not crooked. You can always use a level to help you.

It will be easier to maintain everything lined up if you start the first board completely level (vertical, of course!).

The next step is to add the horizontal boards (3 cuts) starting from the top or bottom and right next to the now attached vertical board, nail the first horizontal board. Be sure to line up with the edge of the vertical board. Once the top and bottom are nailed on the wall, find the middle point of the vertical board and nail the third horizontal piece. See graphic below:

Follow the sequence in the image above for both sides of the window and voila! The shutters are installed.

Final Touches on the Indoor Shutters

Since this is a “faux Shutter” and I didn’t want to add more steps to the project, the only final step is to paint the wall inside the gaps between the boards.

In my project, I wanted the shutters to have the same color throughout. Imagine you are creating a white shutter and you sanded it to make it all rustic and “chippy”. How do you create this “chippy” look on the wall?

Stain! That’s right!

Since my walls were a light green and I didn’t add any wood panels in between the boards (Yes, you can do that with a thin sheet of plywood. I skipped this step). I had to create a “faux” wood look to make it all match.

I first painted the wall inside the boards the same “Teal” color I used for the boards. Let the paint dry. Apply a second coat of paint (you don’t want the color of the wall showing).

To make it look like there was a wood board of similar tone in the gaps, I used a dark wood stain and used a rag to “stain” or “age” the “Teal” color on the wall.

Here are some daytime and night time pics. The light outside kinda changes the color a bit and same with the indoor light but you get the picture (pun intended!).

It’s like doing the reverse of what we did for the boards and the wood, where the wood would show in between the light coat of paint instead of painting the wood. Makes sense?

It may take a while for the stain to dry, so don’t touch it for a day or two or you will see finger marks on the surface. That’s it!

The final product!

Now the room is full of personality and it matches the decor of my bar (Sorry about the angle of the picture, It’s a long room and the bar takes 70% of the room).

You can try an antique white or cream if you are going with the light color farmhouse look. Light yellows or sky blues could also work.

A final note: This project cost me less than $20 bucks. You can find the boards from $1.20 to $4 depending on how fancy you want the boards to be. I chose a simple pine board for about $2.05 each.

I already had the paint from another project (a pint will cost you about $5 or you can buy a can or two of sample sized paint since you won’t need much if it’s just one window). I also had the stain, but you can buy a small can for less than $5 dollars. Not too costly and the room looks spiffy!

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Until next time!

9 CLEVER MOTHER’S DAY GIFTS FOR THE CRAFTER MOM UNDER $50

April 18, 20172 Comments

Mothers Day will soon be here and it’s time to find a cool Mothers day gift for mom.

If you are a DIYer like me, you can certainly make a nice Mothers Day gift for Mom like this cute scented pillow shown below (just click on the image for the tutorial):

You can make this pillow with scrap material and any other cute little items you have around the house.

Now, if you are pressed for time or Mom has hinted a wish list, why not surprise her with a Mothers Day gift that you know she will use in all her crafting activities?

Because I’m a good Amiga, I have done all the shopping for you. I have included all the tools and other goodies I use the most in my own crafts.

Hopefully, Mom’s wishes are on this list or you may find something completely unexpected that she may love.

Simply click on the image and you will be redirected to the merchant’s website.

MY FAVORITE CRAFT/DIY MOTHER’S DAY GIFTS UNDER $50

Did Mom ever mention wanting to make wood signs or other wood projects but couldn’t make them because she could not cut the boards or drill hooks for the wall?

There are the tools she would need.

And here are a few examples of what she can make. I think she will be thrilled to make these.

DOES MOM LIKE TO MAKE JEWELRY OR CREATE CUTE DESIGNS WITH WIRE?

Here are some great tools for that:

And here are some examples of the lovely things she can make with if she gets any of these tools above for her Mothers Day Gift:

MOM IS ALWAYS PAINTING ROOMS AND FURNITURE

Is Mom always bringing home furniture from the thrift store or from the neighbor’s bulk trash because they are in such a good shape and she’s sorry to see them go?

If so, these are some items that she will really love to have to transform those thrifty finds:

And here are some of the cool things Mom can do with these tools:

Now, since this post is mostly showing items from Amazon, you’re gonna love this:

If you sign up for Amazon Prime you will get free two-day delivery on most of these items. Click on the link below if you wish to gift Prime to Mom, or sign up directly in your shopping cart.

You can even make your purchase, get the free delivery and cancel within 30 days!

Of course, there are so many benefits in keeping Prime since you can get music, videos, and some great TV shows and still get free 2 day deliveries for a whole year on most items. I’m a big fan of Amazon as you can see.

Well, these are my picks for clever gifts for the crafting/DIY Mom.

Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Pinterest.

You can also sign up below to receive more news and updates from our blog. As a thank you, you will receive a nifty Project Budget Checklist so you can keep any DIY project on budget.

Happy Mothers Day!

zen bed feature amigas daybed from old mattress

How to DIY a Fabulous Outdoor Zen Daybed Using an Old Mattress

March 20, 2017March 20, 201714 Comments

Have you thought about converting your old mattress into an outdoor daybed?

You just bought a new mattress and now you have to discard the old one. Of course, as you probably know discarding mattresses are a nightmare.

They are clunky and most people just throw them in a dumpster (when they can find one), or on the sidewalk on “bulk trash” day, or they have to drive to the nearest “dump”. Which is also a nightmare with all the rules about when and if they will accept your mattress.

Donation places won’t take them as easily (maybe because of fear of bedbugs), so a lot of times mattresses just sit there by the side of the house or in the garage taking all that space.

Until now!

How I Came Up With a Way To Repurpose An Old Mattress

When I bought my new memory foam mattress I was in heaven. It was nice and firm, and it was great to wake up refreshed.

If you are in the market for a mattress, you can check my selections below:

If you order them online through the above links you can also apply for Amazon Prime and get free delivery, which is better than most mattress stores that charge a lot for delivery. You can click below to apply for a Free 30-Day Trial of Amazon Prime.

Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial

Anyway, my old mattress was very high quality, it was still in good shape and it still had some life in it.

I didn’t want to throw it away but I knew no one would take it other than bulk trash. I felt bad about sending something perfectly good to the landfill. Plus, you all know I try to save the earth as much as I can.

My solution: Why not reuse that mattress and make an outdoor daybed?

I have this area in my backyard that has a lot of trees and even in the hot Arizona Summer, it’s a cool spot to hang out.

I thought, wouldn’t it be nice to have a daybed under those trees? It would be the perfect place to read a book and drink some iced tea in the afternoon and “chillax“!.

Of course, I wanted to save money so I decided to build it. The project was very simple and the secret is in the bolts holding the whole thing together.

Materials for the Day Bed

12 boards (2×6)- See Measurements in the image below:

2 boards for the header and 2 for the sides.
1 for the headboard
The remaining boards for the slats (you can also use 2x4s or even 1x4s instead, but I wanted the slats to be sturdy, so I used 2x6s)
Some scraps for the “side tables” and 2 (17-inch pieces to support the headboard)

1 2x4x80in board: for the center of the bed frame.

2 1x2x75in boards: for the inside frame to support the slats. Pieces to support the middle board.

1 4×4 post: for the legs (cut into 12in each)

Box of Wood screws (3in long)

12 (6in) round head screws with bolts (decorative and sturdy to support the weight of the bed and mattress

12 (4in) round head screws with bolts (for the headboard)

4 Casters (optional)

4 “L” brackets to support the “side tables” (If you are adding the side tables be sure to get a bracket that supports the weight of the boards)

Liquid Nails or Wood Glue

Drill

Phillips Screw Driver

Wrenches to tighten the bolts

Putting the bed together

Start by cutting the boards to size using my schematic above. Consider the size of your mattress and give at least 1 inch more to give room for any bed covers to fit in.

I started with the frame first. Glue each corner with liquid nails or wood glue and use wood screws to join them together. It will make things easier when you are trying to add the bolts into the frame.

Glue and attach the inside boards (1x2s) to the side of the bed frame (level with the floor). This is where the slats will rest on.

After attaching the side boards, flip the frame over (this will be how the frame will remain when the daybed is done).

Measure the distance from the top of the side board (inside the frame) to the top of the frame (this will tell you the distance you have to level the middle frame).

Mark the measurement on each end at the center of the head and foot of the frame. You want to make sure that the center frame is at the same level of the boards inside the frame. See image below (this is “under” the bed).

Attaching The Legs

Once the frame is ready and stabilized with wood screws and glue, it’s time to attach the legs to each corner of the frame. (Note: the boards you see on each corner in the image above were only temporary. Please ignore them).

To attach the legs you will need to raise the frame first or work on it upside down using a piece of 2×4 to level the legs with the same level as the inside boards (the slats will rest on the legs too).

I wanted the legs to be sturdy so I drilled two holes on an angle, straight through the post on each corner of the head and foot of the bed. See below (sorry, the image is not the best). Place bolts and nuts and tighten to make sure the frame is not wobbly.

Then on the side of the bed, I drilled another hole for one bolt (making sure that I didn’t hit the same spot as the two bolts).

The Headboard

I chose to make a simple headboard with one board only. I thought it had a nice Zen looking style with a clean line.

Before attaching the headboard, lay the 2x6x76in onto the floor and select where you want the vertical support boards to go on the headboard frame.

I chose to put each board in the center of each side of the middle frame.

You can certainly move them closer to the edge or the middle but I thought this would make it more stable.

Attach the vertical boards with the edges level with the horizontal board first. I drilled on an angle just like the legs. See detail image below:

I did the same with the bottom part that was going to be attached to the frame. See below image:

When I took these pictures I haven’t started blogging about my projects so I know I’m missing a couple of step by step pics of the back of the frame and how I attached the side tables but it’s easy.

The Side tables

Of course, no Zen retreat is complete without somewhere to put your tea on. Enter the “side tables“.

They are basically shelves attached to the bed. But how cool is that? No need for extra furniture. It’s all in one piece.

Before attaching the headboard you should install the “side tables” when you have the bed upside down (bottom up). That way you can simply lay the 2x6x17in board on the floor by the side of the bed and attach the “L” brackets without having to work “under” the bed.

If you do this after the headboard is on then you can just raise the side of the bed you are working on with a bucket or something to have better access to install them.

Next Step: Paint!

I chose a dark brown color because it closely matched the color of my pergola outside. I love how it turned out:

Notice I added casters to the legs?

Well, I really didn’t have to do that since the daybed was going on grass. I figured it would be easier to drag it around if it had wheels but forgot that they would also sink on the grass. Sigh!

At least you get an idea what it looks like with wheels in case you are doing this for a cement patio. Then you definitely want wheels.

Installing them is easy. Simply flip the bed frame on its side and screw the metal brackets onto the bottom of the legs (they come with the wheels) and that’s it!

I didn’t paint the slats because that would be a waste of good paint. They were going under the mattress anyway.

My Zen Daybed and Repurposing that old mattress

Here is the final product before the mattress went on:

And now, with the mattress and a cover I made for the daybed:

Giving an extra twist to the Zen Style Daybed

Because I just can’t stop crafting, I decided that my zen daybed retreat was missing something.

Oh! Yes, Curtains!!

So I got some burlap and made these curtains to give it an extra zen look to my daybed (tutorial coming soon-psst, it’s no-sew!!).

Notice the paint color for the stencil was similar to the bed cover?

Isn’t this the best place to read or what?!

Before I go, you must be wondering what happens to the mattress when it rains.

I bought a sturdy plastic sheet and wrapped the mattress on it really well before putting the new cover on.

There is some waterproof mattress covers out there too. But I just thought a sturdy plastic would do.

Status Update:

I made this bed at least 2 years ago, and everything, including the mattress, looks good. Except for the terracotta cover: the sun really did a number on it. I will be replacing it soon.

If you don’t think you have the skills, or time to make this daybed but you like the design, here are some fabulous outdoor daybeds that you can purchase.

Don’t forget you can use my Amazon Prime link above to get free shipping on most selections (it’s free for 30 days!):

I hope you enjoyed this project. I so happy I was able to save a mattress from going to the landfill and got my Zen retreat in the process.

Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Pinterest. Sign up for our email list below and receive updates and other news about upcoming projects and ideas.

As a thank you for signing up, you will receive a nifty project budget checklist where you can make drawings, list your materials and even write down price comparison to make sure your project doesn’t get off track.

Until next time,

How To find Inspiring Pieces for Your Next Bathroom Remodel jif 1

How To find Inspiring Pieces for Your Next Bathroom Remodel in a Jif

March 1, 2017March 20, 20176 Comments

Finding inspiration for your next bathroom remodel is no longer a struggle.

I’m glad the days of “leg work” are gone. Remember when you had to drive in every direction to visit the available stores in your area just for one project?

It was even worse when all of them carried the same “boring” styles.

If you are like me, you want things done yesterday. And I‘m not the most patient when it comes to shopping for products and accessories. I want to see them all. NOW!

But how do you find everything for a bathroom remodel in one place without ever leaving the house?

Thank goodness for the internet!

There is nothing better than online shopping for someone who is not interested in driving all over to find each little item for a bathroom remodel.

And who has the time to drive around anymore?

Lately, my go to online store is Amazon.

You can see everything under the sun in one place. Which saves you time and money too. Imagine being able to compare prices with their multiple associated vendors without ever leaving the site.

Plus with Amazon Prime, you get 2-day shipping on most purchases. Imagine how much you can save on shipping if you buy a big honking item like a vanity or a heavy mirror (psst, you can try it for free for 30 days!).

Here’s a link if you wish to sign up for it:

I know I sound like a big fan but with a busy life like mine, time is money.

Inspiration for my bathroom remodel

Even when I’m diy-ing a project or looking to buy items to complete a project I first get my inspiration on Pinterest. Then my next step is to shop online.

Take a quick look at my two bathroom remodel projects: my downstairs bathroom and my powder room. I found the inspiration for both of these projects online (see my inspiration images below).

And if you love any of the pieces I selected, simply click on the image and you are redirected to the source where you can buy them.

How easy is that?

Unique Farmhouse bathroom decor pieces I found on Amazon

Starting with these oh-so-cool accessories:

The farmhouse toilet paper dispenser is fabulous! My other personal favorite is the wood shelving in the above image.

For my downstairs bathroom remodel, I ended up skipping the traditional medicine cabinet and opted for a rustic wood shelf with little storage trunks to hide the “medicine”.

The trunks were even big enough to hide an average size can of shaving cream.

Here is my “medicine cabinet” in more detail:

Who says you need to stick with a traditional medicine cabinet? A little creativity and you can accomplish the same purpose without being boring.

The vanity: Queen of the Castle

The vanity is the anchor of any bathroom project.

Unfortunately, due to a major budget setback, I ended up not buying any of my inspiration vanity pieces below.

Repurposing my old vanities and creating something similar for both my downstairs bathroom project and my powder room projects was the only other option.

But if your budget allows, these vanities “scream” farmhouse style and they will not break your budget (unless the main pipe bursts in your adjoining laundry room-sigh).

Aren’t these vanities fabulously farmhouse-y?

Notice the “Shaker” style doors of the white vanity above? They look a lot like the doors on my own DIY vanities.

I hope you enjoyed my inspirations pieces.

Stay tuned for more inspiration posts from my adventures in shopping and DIY-ing around the house.

Follow us on Facebook and Pinterest for more projects and decor ideas. And don’t forget to sign up below for our email list for news and updates.

Sign up and you will receive a free budget estimator for your next remodeling project. It includes space for drawings, measurements, and price comparison so you can make sure you stay within budget.

Until next time,

Powder room redo amigas feature image (1)

How to Transform Your Powder Room on a Miracle Budget

February 14, 2017November 17, 2017

Transforming your powder room on a limited budget does not mean it should look cheap. You just have to be wise where you are spending your money and the final result will surprise you.

Follow me on my continuous journey to bring my house to this century, one project at a time.

Today, I will be showing you how I managed to transform my powder room from the 60s into a modern farmhouse chic design for around $350 bucks.

But first, I want you to savor the “before” images as they will give you a pretty good idea how bad things were.

The powder room before transformation

The top left image is the overall look of the bathroom. The image on the right is the “fabulous” (yuk) light fixture from the 80’s.

The bottom left image is the old metal sink covered in rust and chipped paint and the faucet. Don’t get me started on that faucet!

The bottom right image is the opposite wall from the sink. As you can see, pretty dated.

Let me tell you a secret. It used to be worse!

When I moved into this house, the wallpaper was this ugly purple ribbon print with pink flowers. It was so ugly I never even took any pictures.

Anyway, to protect my eyes from any damage (the wall was that ugly!), I slapped on a new wallpaper over the old. I had found this wallpaper at a thrift store for less than $3 bucks for 5 rolls. So for a temporary measure, it wasn’t too bad.

It was enough to cover the entire room and at least make it look semi-acceptable until I had the money to really transform that room.

Taking the wallpaper out

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Now that I finally could work in the powder room, the first thing I had to to do was remove the newspaper.

Let me tell you, it was pretty tedious work.

The lifesaver was using a wallpaper remover. At least the wallpaper would come out like “butta” once you applied the remover.

But it still took about 2 days to get it all out. Remember, I had two layers of wallpaper to remove.

Here’s the powder room without the wallpaper.

Notice the lovely 1965 Pepto pink walls?

Refinishing the walls – materials

After the wallpaper was removed, the walls were in pretty rough shape. To refinish the walls you will need the following materials:

Finishing Trowel (to apply the compound)
Squeegee Trowel (to smooth the compound)
Pre-mixed Joint Compound (to refinish the wall)
Sand paper both 60-80 grit and 220 for finishing)
Hand Sander (by hand it takes longer)
Paint with primer (your color choice- Mine was white)
small bucket for the compound

After pulling all the wallpaper you will see that there are parts that are scratched, dinged or that need smoothing.

In my powder room, the walls were uneven because the top wall had the wallpaper but the bottom wall had paneling at some point in its life. So over the years with paint and wallpaper, the wall had some issues.

You may not need to do all this if your house is newer or the walls are in better shape than mine.

Applying the compound

Simply pick up a small amount of joint compound and smooth it over the wall. Like applying icing to a cake, or butter to a piece of bread (it’s not hard to learn this).

Apply the compound as needed and make sure to keep the amount even to cover all the details and defects. You will need to let it dry overnight and then apply a second coat.

Then it’s time to sand the wall. If you have “raised” areas with the compound, use the rougher grit sand paper (60 or 80) to “level” the raised spot. If the wall is mostly smooth then use the 220 for a smooth baby skin finish.

After your walls are dry, you can paint them.

The vanity transformation

Since I needed this project to meet a certain budget, I decided to save some money and restore my vanity.

There were many reasons I needed to do that. One, this vanity fit perfectly in the space. There was also a weird thing the builder did for the sink to fit in the space (see image below) so I didn’t want to risk having to restructure a new vanity just to fit in the weird space.

If you prefer a new vanity, below I gathered some ideas I found when searching for a vanity that could work in that space

Here is the vanity “before” restoring it:

To see how I transformed this vanity, check out my post about my vanity transformation from another bathroom project I worked on.

The techniques are the same and even the color and materials are the same. I wanted them to have the same style since these bathrooms are both downstairs. The only difference here is the size of the vanity.

Here are the “after” pics for this vanity:

And here, after cutting the sink and the butcher block to size:

Wall feature

After installing the sink and butcher block, it was time to install the wall feature. Since it was a very small room I wanted to add some “wow” factor to it.

So I chose a mosaic glass tile backsplash. I decided that I was going to apply it in a vertical line instead of the typical horizontal backsplash.

There are several ways to apply a backsplash if you are not comfortable with tiling. I am old school and just tiled with thin-set like any other tiling job.

But there are easier options like peel and stick tiles, or tile mats if you want to use your option of tiles but you don’t want to work with thin set. These are not the cheapest options but they are an option.

The materials for my wall feature:

I won’t be teaching you how to tile today, but there are some good videos on Youtube on how to tile a wall. It’s not that difficult.

The tricky part is cutting the tile. If you are using glass tiles it is easier to cut them with a manual saw.

If you are skilled with the wet saw it goes much quicker for sure. Be prepared to have 200 cuts on your fingers by the time you are done. If you can use gloves then do it. I just can’t work with gloves.

Once the tiles are on the wall, then apply grout. Clean up the grout with the sponges and rags. Be sure to cover your butcher block with plastic before working with water and grout.

It’s pretty messy. Plus you don’t want the grout getting on to the surface even if you seal your butcher block really well.

The tiled wall

Here’s the wall after tiling:

The lighting is not the best at this point because the only light (over the sink) was not installed yet.

And here’s the light fixture I selected:

Some similar styles that were my inspiration:

After installing the light fixtures I added some Edison lights to give it a “vintage” industrial farmhouse look to the powder room.

Here they are installed:

Finalizing the room:

After installing the lights, I added an oval mirror I found for about $25 bucks. Even though the room was white and gray, I wanted the mirror to have a silvery gold frame just like my other bathroom.

Finally, it was time to add the sink with plumbing (not my favorite part) and new faucets. I did splurge on the faucets ($99) because this room gets a lot of traffic when guests are over and a cheapie would not last.

I also wanted it to match with the other bathroom faucet.

The final product

It’s hard to believe this is the same room. Here is the final product. I’m so happy with the result:

My favorite part was decorating the powder room. The mirror was the first piece.

Then I wanted to add some storage over the toilet bowl for TP, an extra hand towel and a splash of color with an orange flower bouquet since the room was so white and gray.

For added style, I found this wooden star (left image) for sale for less than $10 bucks.

It serves a dual purpose: It’s a great looking wall piece but it also serves as a night light so guests can find the light switch when they enter the room. Even the towel ring was less than $5 bucks!

Here’s another angle. You can see the mirror a little better (the circle in the middle is actually a mirror on the opposite wall):

Pardon the lighting. It’s a very small and dark room.

Here’s yet another angle:

Overview:

For the opposite wall, I just chose these round framed mirrors (also dirt cheap) and hung them with command strips to make sure people didn’t knock them out when they used the powder room (yes, the room is that narrow).

Total cost for this project was around $350 (mostly because of the butcher block, about $80 and the faucet about $99). The rest was the tiles (about 9 pieces at about $9 bucks each). I already had thin set, tools and paint from other projects.

The decor pieces were about $40 bucks total.

I hope this post inspired you to start your own powder room project.

Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Pinterest and sign up for our email list so we can keep you updated on new projects and ideas.

Until next time,

How to Make a Fabulous Faux Cement Tile Backsplash

January 25, 2017January 31, 20174 Comments

A kitchen backsplash can really add up in a kitchen project budget. When I was researching for tiles for my kitchen backsplash I completely fell in love with the cement tile backsplash. The problem was: They are Oh! so pricey!

According to my measurements for the wall behind my stove, I would need $900 worth of cement tiles. For one wall!! (See my kitchen project here).

And, that’s not counting the thin set, grout and the sealant. Worse?

I had two walls of about the same size to do. $1800 for a backsplash? I don’t think so!

If you do have the money and don’t want to get into stamping, check these designs I found on Amazon (below). They are mah-velous!

I decided to research some more to see what was out there as a possible alternative to make a faux cement tile backsplash. However, most DIY projects for cement tiles involved using stencils.

While I love stencil projects (like my DIY Bar Menu and my Bar Sign projects), I felt that this one would have to be a little easier since I still needed to get tiles installed first before I could get into the printing process.

I decided that stamping would be a lot faster and easier because if you are following a print on a stencil you can’t really move on to the next piece until the other piece next to it dries.

Especially if you already have the tiles installed and you just want to update it.

After much research I chose this print as my favorite design for my faux cement tile backsplash:

It doesn’t look like much now but wait until you see all the tiles side by side. The effect is really cool.

Click on the link to see my tutorial on how to create a stamp for this project.

Once your stamp is ready. It’s time to stamp away!

Here are my stamps:

The top stamp goes with the black design and the bottom stamp is for the gray design.

Materials for the Faux Cement tile backsplash:

Your newly created stamp
A tiled wall (of course!)
Tile Primer
Foam rollers
Foam brushes
Chalk Paint (most latex paints will work but I would use chalk paint instead. It’s a double assurance that the paint will stick)
Sealer (Be sure that your paint base is the same as your sealer-Water based paint/water based sealer. Or oil based paint with oil based sealer). Watch for sealers that can yellow the paint.The yellow could ruin your final color). Finally, if you don’t want it too shiny I would select satin finish instead of gloss.
rags for clean up.

The Tile Wall

Now, you ask: “why would you go through all the trouble to tile the wall and paint the tile when you can buy a ready-made tile backsplash with all the colors you want?” Price!

Since I wanted the look of cement tile and their prices were prohibitive for my I had to find another option. Sure I could have bought these fancy looking backsplashes you see everywhere. But they would not look right in my kitchen and they are still pretty pricey.

The option was to get these square subway tiles at Home Depot. They were pretty cheap and for one wall I spent about $38 bucks!

The total cost for both my walls with all materials was less than $100 (tiles and stamp materials included!).

If you already have the tiles and all you are doing is the stamping, you are looking at less than $25 bucks for the stamp materials, the paint, and the sealer. Not bad for a customized backsplash!

See why I took that route?

I will not be teaching you how to tile here today (hopefully soon). But I will show you how to stamp these tiles and get them to look exactly how you dreamed.

Note: If you are starting your project with a tiled wall with a base color or print you don’t like simply apply the primer, paint the tiles with a new base color and then start your stamping project.

Important Secrets for your tiles to last (don’t Skip!

Since I was going to have to tile the walls I decided to stamp the tiles BEFORE installing them. My honest opinion? DON’T!

I learned that the hard way.

After installation, I had to grout the tiles. That’s when you risk losing your work. Even if you apply all the seal in the world, the print will not survive the grouting process. Grout contains sand. Even if you use unsanded grout, it will still have some “grit” to it and it will peel the paint right off.

So if you are starting with new tiles like me, please tile first, then grout, THEN stamp.

If you are concerned whether the paint will hold the normal wear and tear of a kitchen, it will. You will need to be a little more careful not to scrub the tiles too heavily when cleaning, but once the seal sets, it will hold just fine.

After the tile is installed, you will need to apply the primer. Simply use a foam roller or brush. Apply a couple of coats just to be sure. Let it dry well between coats.

The Stamping Process

Once the primer (or base paint) is dry (preferably overnight) then you can start the printing process. You can do some test pieces first to get a hand of the technique before doing the entire wall.

I started with my darker color stamp first. The easiest way to do it, in my opinion, is to get a shallow tray for the paint and grab just a little bit of paint with a foam roller and roll it onto the stamp.

Be sure to take out the excess paint from the stamp with a foam brush. You really want just a little bit of paint and just enough to cover the raised design on the stamp.

Since I used a tile with the same size as the tiles I was printing, all I did was line up the sides of the tile to make sure my print was centered and applied just enough pressure to transfer the paint from the stamp onto the tile.

Notice the imperfections? Don’t worry!

If you researched about cement tiles you probably know that they are hand made and that each one is unique.

And yes, the imperfections ARE part of the real deal and it will be part of our project here too. Pfeeew!

The only way to get a perfect print on a cement tile will be to buy regular tiles that are “imitation” cement tile like these porcelain ones below for example:

But I wanted something close to the real deal, so the imperfections stay!

Now if you make a big mistake like a misaligned print or the print is too light, no worries. Simply wipe the design off and start over!

Finally getting to see the final look

The next step was to stamp the lighter color over the black design. Same process as the stamping above. I lined up the base of my stamp with the sides of the tile and the print was automatically centered.

This part was fun because the paint dries quickly and you can actually start the second color just about an hour after the first color.

Since I had over 100 tiles to print (I lost count), by the time I finished the first color on all tiles, the first tile was dry enough to start the second color.

The whole wall (er, tiles for that wall) was done in about 2 hours!

It was very cool to see how they looked so quickly.

See the final effect with the circles and squares? You can actually see several designs if you look at different angles. It looks modern and farmhouse-y without looking busy.

Sealing The Tiles

After the paint was dry (overnight just to be sure). I applied at least 3 coats of polyurethane to seal the print. Let it dry at least 4 hours between coats. This may even contradict what the instructions on the can say. Just trust me on this one.

If you follow my suggestion above and print your tiles after they are installed, once the tiles are sealed your work is ready to be admired by all!

Here is the final product:

The best part is: if you get bored with the design you can scrape it all off with hot water and some scrubbing and you can do a whole new print!

This can also work if you rent and you hate the look of the current tiles but don’t want a permanent change.

UPDATE

It has been about 7 months I did this project and I can say that it’s holding up pretty well. I had some very minor peels but only because they were flimsy in the first place (Remember I told you about not doing the stamping before tiling and grouting? Yep, I didn’t do that and that’s the only reason I had some peels).

If anything peels you can always do minor corrections with a brush and reseal the tile. No Biggie. Just make sure that when you clean the tiles you don’t use any scrubbing sponges or harsh chemicals.

Basically, soap and water. Even if you fry stuff near the wall, somehow the sealer prevents the grease from sticking to it and it does make it easy to clean just by wiping.

I hope you enjoyed this project. Follow us on Facebook for new updates and cool projects. We are also on Pinterest.

Oh, if you sign up for our email list below, you will receive a few ready to go designs you can use to make your own faux cement tile backsplash!

Simply print the design, make your stamp, and start printing! I would love to see how your design turned out!

Until next time!

Oops! I forgot to buy gift tags. Now What do I do?

December 14, 2016November 17, 20172 Comments

That’s right! I forgot to buy gift tags and I had to wrap all these presents to be shipped the next day. Somehow, I lost the ones I always have stashed in my gift wrap closet and it was close to 11pm. There was no way I was going to drive to the pharmacy to buy labels at that hour.

Well, I had to get creative and quick. So I decided to make my own labels!

I wanted them to look classy and whimsical (I know, very demanding considering my late start). Since I love to DIY and even more to recycle and reuse materials for unexpected purposes (like my Christmas angels made with mattress springs, for example), I chose to use materials I had at home to make my gift tags.

Here’s what I used to make my DIY gift tags:

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Gift wrap of various styles and colors
Craft paper (but you can use cardstock or even cereal boxes to make these tags)
Sharp tipped scissors (for the extra delicate cuts)
Glue stick (or any kind of glue you have on hand)
Cotton or sisal twine (you can also use curling ribbon or whatever you have on hand)

My Diy Gift Tags

First, decide what size and shape you want your tags to be. I chose rectangular at about 2 1/2in long and 1 1/4in wide.

Since I had a paper cutter on hand, I used it to cut my labels. But you can certainly improvise with a ruler to make them perfectly straight.

After cutting the number of tags I needed, I punched a hole on each tag to run the twine through.

Each twine was cut at about 5 inches long.

Now it was time to select my designs for each tag. A lot of the designs were a little too big for my selected tag size. So I decided to go with it and selected odd parts of each design to glue onto each tag. Like this stocking for example.

Or this snowflake.

Once I glued each design on each tag I just tied a little knot on the twine and voila! Gift wrap gift tags!

It took me no more than 20 mins to make these. Don’t they look adorable? Oh, I used a silver pen to write “to/from” on the tags but a good old Sharpie is just fine too.

I hope this project will inspire you to recycle some of your gift wraps. I hate to see all this paper gone in less than 5 seconds when people open their presents. So if I see that they are in good shape I save them for projects like these (and no, I’m not a hoarder! I promise!).

Until next time!

How to Make an Adorable Christmas Angel From an Old Mattress

December 6, 2016November 17, 20174 Comments

Angels from an old mattress spring #easydiy Share on X Who doesn’t love Christmas angels? Now, isn’t it even better if it’s from upcycled materials?

If you have been following this blog you should know by now that I love making things. Especially from unusual or unexpected materials.

I love upcycling and recycling things and making “new” things. The results may really surprise you. Who here remembers my bar table using an umbrella stand as a base?

That’s why I could not help myself when I came across these old mattress springs in a pile of discarded items.

I’m not a hoarder by any means. In fact, if my house is not organized I can’t even function. But when I see materials that can be turned into something new, I keep it.

Recycling/Upcycling Saves Money and Trees

In a world of consumerism, where everything is disposable I’d like to think that I’m saving the world one upcycled/recycled project at a time. And I get to have something “new” without spending much, if at all. It’s like Christmas morning every time!

So before you throw away something that is well built, it’s not broken and that could use a little bit of TLC, think twice.

Can you paint it and make it look new? What if it just looks “tired” but you would totally keep it if it just looked a little more updated?

Wouldn’t it be better than spending money on something that already works but just needs some “love”?

When I remodeled my downstairs bathroom I was sooo glad to get rid of this eyesore:

Of course, looking back I could have made a pretty nifty terrarium to plant some succulents! Sigh. The one that got away! (….but it was soo ugleeee!).

And how about my bathroom vanity from the same bathroom project? It was an original 1965 vanity that I magically transformed with just some paint and new trim to give it a facelift. Now, it looks like a modern “Shaker” style vanity that people are paying top dollar to get. That project cost me $200 only. And that includes a new sink AND the counter top.

The reason I’m saying all this is because I made this project using only things I had around the house. Some of the materials are remnants from other projects that I saved for future projects that would eventually pop in my head (see my Christmas tags project below).

So let’s do this!

Materials for the Christmas Angels

Old Mattress Spring
Painter’s Drop cloth and/or Burlap (or any other fabric)
Tacky Glue
Hot glue gun
Sisal Twine
Electronic candles
Buttons

While I am giving you a list of the materials I used, remember that you can use your creativity and use any materials you like. Any fabric that you think could work can be used. You can also use paper or cardstock for the details.

The Christmas angel project

The first thing you want to do is design and cut the angel wings. For that, you can free hand it or you can find an image online as inspiration.

Before you trace the shape of the wings fold the fabric in half so when you cut the wings they will have the same size and shape.

Then you need to place the base of the spring onto the drop cloth (or burlap) and trace it around the spring. Cut and use “tacky glue” to glue the base onto the spring. Note that this step is optional. This can serve as a base for your electronic candle.

Hot glue the wing onto the back of the spring (Yes, I know the spring is circular). You just have to decide where you want the wing placed (notice the hook at the top of the spring on the image? I wanted that straight tip to point backward).

The next step is to decorate the “front” of your angel. I chose to make a bow by cutting the edging part of the burlap for one of the angels.

For my other angel, I used burlap to make the wings and I used the drop cloth to make the bow (see below)

I hot glued each bow on the “front” of my angels and then used buttons to decorate the bows and give them a “homey” feel to them.

After the wings and bows were in place, it was time to make a “halo” for my angels. I used a piece of sisal twine and made a circle for each angel.

Just hot glue the tips to make a circle about the size of the top of the spring.

Let there be light!

Now that your angel is pretty much ready, it’s time to make it shine!

Because the electronic candle is not the prettiest thing in close up, I decided to cover the side with sisal twine to make it blend in with the angel. The only visible part would be the top of the candle and the light.

All you need to do is hot glue the sisal twine by wrapping it around the side of the candle.

This next step is optional: Remember I told you to glue the fabric base onto the spring? Well, you can place your candle there and you are done.

But I decided that I wanted the light to be a little higher so that my angel looked more illuminated. It is an angel, after all!

So, another option is to hot glue the side of the candle a little higher in the spring, right about the height of the bow.

And here are the angels with both options:

And here’s a close-up of each one:

Notice I added a little piece of burlap in front of the wing to cover the hot glue that was showing where I glued the wing. Here’s the detail:

This project is very easy and the final product looks very angelic! Pun intended!! Here’s another picture of one of my angels with different lighting:

I would love to see how yours turned out. Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Pinterest for updates.

Until next time!

The Burlap Bar Stools had to Start Somewhere

Materials for the Burlap Bar Stools

Putting the base foam and liner together

The Burlap Bar stool is finally taking shape

Prepping the nailheads

Time to add the nailheads to the stool

Final Touches!

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Finding feathers for your Feather Wall Art

It’s a labor of love and a lot of maintenance

You are also not limited to exotic feathers

Materials for your DIY Feather Wall Art

Arranging the Feathers

Hot Gluing the first row of feathers

Here’s the finished second row:

And here is the final product:

This one is my favorite!

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The next step was to give the bar a name and a sign

I have since added other decor pieces

Materials to Make the indoor shutters

Why indoor shutters?

Painting the Indoor Shutters

Assembling the shutters on the window

Stain! That’s right!

The final product!

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MY FAVORITE CRAFT/DIY MOTHER’S DAY GIFTS UNDER $50

DOES MOM LIKE TO MAKE JEWELRY OR CREATE CUTE DESIGNS WITH WIRE?

MOM IS ALWAYS PAINTING ROOMS AND FURNITURE

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How I Came Up With a Way To Repurpose An Old Mattress

My solution: Why not reuse that mattress and make an outdoor daybed?

Materials for the Day Bed

Putting the bed together

Attaching The Legs

The Headboard

The Side tables

Next Step: Paint!

My Zen Daybed and Repurposing that old mattress

Giving an extra twist to the Zen Style Daybed

Isn’t this the best place to read or what?!

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But how do you find everything for a bathroom remodel in one place without ever leaving the house?

Inspiration for my bathroom remodel

Unique Farmhouse bathroom decor pieces I found on Amazon

The vanity: Queen of the Castle

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The powder room before transformation

Taking the wallpaper out

Here’s the powder room without the wallpaper.

Refinishing the walls – materials

Applying the compound

The vanity transformation

Wall feature

The materials for my wall feature:

The tiled wall

Finalizing the room:

The final product

Overview:

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Materials for the Faux Cement tile backsplash:

The Tile Wall

Important Secrets for your tiles to last (don’t Skip!

The Stamping Process