My Favorite things off amazon

Wednesday, March 24, 2021

These farmhouse towels are a great price, and you get so many. I am in love with the simple pattern and softness. 



This steam vac has changed my life.


These shelves are so fun to decorate and change up and they are half price right now.


Tired of your throws, I changed mine out with these covers 
I just ordered 3 sets of these and am very happy with the finish.


Who doesn't love a boxwood wreath? These are a great price
These scales are so in right now. The price on this one is definitely worth splurging for one.


And I can not forget my favorite floor tiles. Floorpops 


This pillow is long and so well made. Love it on my bed.



 I hope this helps you make your home more personal and gives you the confidence to try something new.

Don't let fear of trying something hold you back. It's okay to make mistakes along the way, that's how we learn what we don't like.


When I use a product I do try to link it for you and if you decide to purchase the product I am affiliated with some of those companies. Its the only way to offset the time it takes building my how tos for decorating and DIY.

I am in no way asking you to click and purchase any items but it makes it easier for all the info to be on one site. Many different stores carry the products I use. But the links I provide is where I had purchased.


I hope that helps you make your home more personal and gives you the confidence to try something new.







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Pallet board clock Pottery Barn Knock off

Monday, March 8, 2021

This was one of my favorite DIY art. I turned an old pallet into a rustic clock. I did this project about 10 years ago. So sadly I don't have the step by step directions with pics but I still really love this old world clock.

I had seen this old world type clock at Pottery Barn. It wasn't an actual working clock just for décor. It was so long ago I can't find the images to even show you.
I Had received a shipment on a pallet, I was so excited to use the pallet board for this project.
I started pulling off nails and disassembling the pallet so I could have just the boards.


I laid all the boards flat and attached three boards across the back to secure the wood. I used old roofing nails to give it a more rustic look.


I then stained the boards in a black stain. I roughed it up a little with sandpaper to really give it the old rustic look.

Now this was before I had a projector or knew how to transfer letters so I would up printing the roman numbers and tracing around them in chalk. The labor of love...
Once I had the outline I was able to paint in the numbers with a small brush and white paint. I went over the entire clock with a brown stain to really give it the aged look. 
 

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Modern Farmhouse kitchenette Black kitchen cabinets

Wednesday, February 17, 2021

Honey Oak to Black French Farmhouse-

The challenge here was to design an existing kitchen to blend with our massive bar/pub and game room. Our basement was very country looking, with a lot of orange tones. It has a lot of natural lighting and is a walk out. So we really went with a dark tone in the walls, cabinets, and ceiling.




We didn't want to replace any of the appliances or countertops, but I couldn't live with the honey oak cabinets. We don't cook a lot to justify spending the money to redo the entire kitchenette, so we went with a color palette to incorporate the space we currently have with our pub themed basement.


Added a veneer backsplash to give the room some texture. Wayfair sells this in peel and stick. Super easy to apply.


Our new kitchenette has tons of texture. I wanted to blend with our existing countertops and not replace the granite that was there. The backdrop of warm tones is a great base for decor and it will be a fun space to easily change up with the seasons.

The stain on the shelves is vinegar stain, which brings out the natural grain in your woods, while aging it. For the details on How to achieve that look  here


We added farmhouse brackets and chunky shelves to give the kitchenette and updated look with more storage.



The shelf brackets came from amazon here



I used peel and stick wallpaper for my drawers and drawers. It’s so much thicker and luxurious then using contact paper. They have a much larger selection of colors and patterns too, then what you’ll find in contact paper. Here is the one I choose.


White was my first choice for the honey cabinets, but half way thru the painting I derailed and re-painted the cabinets in black. We have a lot of natural lighting so the area isn't dark it all. The transformation has actually helped the space feel more homey and welcoming.
We added the same veneer to the back of the island.



Here is the other side of the basement. Our pub style bar in progress. We opened up the basement by having  the drop ceilings removed and sprayed flat black.


Before it was just okay. I am not a fan of anything honey oak. The cabinets were in great shape we just needed to add some color.
want to know where to get the backsplash?  I linked the one we purchased here

The shelf brackets came from amazon here

The stain on the shelves is vinegar stain here
 
The paint color for cabinets is Dark secret Behr 

 I hope this helps you make your home more personal and gives you the confidence to try something new.

Don't let fear of trying something hold you back. It's okay to make mistakes along the way, that's how we learn what we don't like.


When I use a product I do try to link it for you and if you decide to purchase the product I am affiliated with some of those companies. Its the only way to offset the time it takes building my how tos for decorating and DIY.

I am in no way asking you to click and purchase any items but it makes it easier for all the info to be on one site. Many different stores carry the products I use. But the links I provide is where I had purchased.


I hope that helps you make your home more personal and gives you the confidence to try something new.

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Cleaning the Farmhouse porcelain washboard sink

Thursday, February 11, 2021


 



I am not an expert in cleaning these sinks, But the sink I had found at the side of the road had no cracks or chips in the porcelain.  So these are the products I used to get my sink back to working order and shiny again.






                                                                   





The products I used

-gloves

-scrub brush

-CLR here,

- Household Bleach

-Comet here

-bar keepers friend Here

-Magic Erasers here.


I soaked it with CLR first trying to loosen up any deposits and residue or rust on the tub, 

I put the stopper in the sink and poured 2 cups of  CLR then filled the sink with water. I would use a good amount of CLR to really give it good fighting chance on that grime. Use a scrub brush and give the entire sink a good scrub with the CLR. Let the CLR soak on the tub for a few hours. You can purchase it in a spray as well if you need to apply it stronger on the sink top and washboard. I just let the water sit on it from the sink.

I would come back every 15 min and take a scrub brush and try to loosen any grim on the sides of the sinks.

Drain sink and completely dry.

Now that the sink is dry  I went back and scrubbed it with bleach, just to get anything that was left. 

I did the same process with the bleach as above. Filling the sink with water and adding 2 cups of bleach to the sink. 

Let it soak for a couple of hours.

Scrub, drain and dry.

Now that I have gave the sink a good soak I went back and covered the entire sink in bar keepers friend  and really scrubbed in a circler motion. The comet did a lot to the finish on the sink it helped get it nice and shinny and any scuffs or marks really came out in this process.

Once you have scrubbed the entire sink rinse and dry well.


That should get all of all the old yuck off the porcelain sink.

Now go over it with a Magic eraser. They work great for any left over scuffs.
 I do need to from time to time give it a good scrub with the bar keepers friend  powder.





 I hope this helps you make your home more personal and gives you the confidence to try something new.

Don't let fear of trying something hold you back. It's okay to make mistakes along the way, that's how we learn what we don't like.


When I use a product I do try to link it for you and if you decide to purchase the product I am affiliated with some of those companies. Its the only way to offset the time it takes building my how tos for decorating and DIY.

I am in no way asking you to click and purchase any items but it makes it easier for all the info to be on one site. Many different stores carry the products I use. But the links I provide is where I had purchased.


I hope that helps you make your home more personal and gives you the confidence to try something new.




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DIY farmhouse style sign

Monday, February 8, 2021

I fell in love with the large family signs I see all over Pinterest, but I didn't love the price tag on it.
The large ones that I wanted cost $300 and up. So it was time for another DIY.

Supplies needed
  • plywood (I used 2x4)
  • stain
  • black paint
  • sandpaper 80 grit
  • furring strips
  • vinyl sticker
  • nail gun
  • saw

I had a scarp piece of plywood in 2X4 feet so it was the perfect size for my project.
I stained the entire piece of plywood in walnut first.
Then I went over it with black milk paint. You can purchase milk paint or just take some black paint and add water to it. For this I did half paint half water ratio. 
I brushed the black milk paint over the stain. 
Let dry



 I didn't take pictures of the process, but once the milk paint dried I just lightly sanded the entire top of the board. You can do this either more aggressively or lightly just depends on how much you want it to be destressed. 

I do not own a cricket maker, which I know a lot of you do. So I ordered my letters off of Esty. I ordered the last name to fit the width of the board. 

Applying the vinyl making sure to center it on your wood. Then peel away...

 For the trim I used furring stirps. Home depot has them for $2 a board. I needed 3 for my sign. Cut the sides first, We used a chop saw to cut the boards. The boards are thin enough you could use a hand saw if you don't have a chop or circular saw.




For the finish on the furring strips I used steel wool and vinegar you can find that here 



we attached the frame with our nail gun.
hope this inspires you to try something new. Thanks for stopping by.

 I hope this helps you make your home more personal and gives you the confidence to try something new.

Don't let fear of trying something hold you back. It's okay to make mistakes along the way, that's how we learn what we don't like.


When I use a product I do try to link it for you and if you decide to purchase the product I am affiliated with some of those companies. Its the only way to offset the time it takes building my how tos for decorating and DIY.

I am in no way asking you to click and purchase any items but it makes it easier for all the info to be on one site. Many different stores carry the products I use. But the links I provide is where I had purchased.


I hope that helps you make your home more personal and gives you the confidence to try something new.

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Tutorial for painting ceramic floors

Friday, February 5, 2021



How to paint ceramic tiles







Supplies 

2 boxes of Floor coating, two different colors with glaze Here

Paint tray

2 Mini foam rollers for smooth surfaces link Here

Painters Tape

Paint trim brush

Stencils in the size of your floor tile link Here

Polycrylic here




Prep your floor first.

 Clean your floors really well and dry, make sure there is no hairs or dust left on your tiles. This is really important because they will show up in your paint. 

Tape all your trim and cabinets in the room were you are painting the flooring. Give it one more vacuum or dry swifter to make sure there is no lint or debris.



Start painting your tiles. 


Mix your paint well. Start in sections, I did a 3x4 area first, this way You can keep cleaning the tiles to remove dust or debris  as you work in sections. 






Apply your base coat color using a paint brush around the edges, trimming the outside of your floor and your grout lines.

Next you start rolling the tiles with your base color. Make sure you do two coats so the tiles are completely covered. 

Repeat with your next section.

Let dry. 


It took about 6 hours for the paint to not be tacky. Once I had the entire floor painted with the base color it was time to stencil.



The stencil pack comes with two stencils. Use one at a time that way if you stop you can use the clean one to finish your project, they aren’t really easy to clean once they get full of paint.


Get your second color ready for your stencil.

Lay your stencil on the tile using your grout line as a guide to keep your stencils straight and uniform.

Do not tape your stencil down. You will just run the risk of pulling up the base paint since it hasn’t quite cured yet.

Roll your paint roller into the paint, but makes sure you don’t have too much paint on your roller or it will smudge and leak thru your stencil.

This is a good time to practice on a piece of card board, in a closet or behind your appliances before you try your first tile.



I did my practice behind the washer and dryer. First few too much paint. 

Once you have the right technique with rolling your stencil you can’t start on your actual tiles.



It’s always better to use less paint, you can always replace your stencil and match up the design on a tile to redo if you need to darken the stencil pattern then it is to take off paint.

Work first your 3x4 area, doing every other tile, (this way your not touching the freshly painted tile)

They dry pretty quick, so just keep moving along the pattern.


One you have finished the area go back and do the stencils on the unpainted tiles.

Repeat in sections until your floor is finished.

Now since this is stencils they won’t be perfect or all the same but that it’s what makes them look so unique



Once you have finished stenciling all the full tiles you will have have tiles around your trim and cabinets. This is the tricky part. I let the paint dry completely for 6 hours.  The stencil doesn't bend well to get a clean finish. I cut  the stencil in different edges and corners to finish all the edges in the room. With your two stencils you can used all 4 sides to cut them to fit into the edges of the room. 


Let your paint dry a couple of hours make sure it’s not tacky. Dry swifter the area again to make sure it’s dry and free of any debris. 

Now you add the glaze that came with the kit.

We did apply polyurethane after we applied the glaze and it had dried. This is our exit to the garage and only way to the basement.

We let the glaze set overnight. Then applied the poly. If you are using a light color make sure to use Polycrylic, Polyurathane will yellow.


This picture was taken before we applied the poly. So the finish with the glaze still has a nice gloss to it.

I have heard that Polyurethane can be slippery when wet, so I would just do the glaze if you get a lot of water traffic. Do not use Polyurethane if your base color is white, it will turn yellow. Instead use Polycrylic.




I am very happy with the finished results. They are all perfect. But they definitely gave my laundry room a more luxurious feel and my tiles don't look dirty anymore.

Thank you for stopping by, I hope this post will inspire you to try something new in your home.


 I hope this helps you make your home more personal and gives you the confidence to try something new.

Don't let fear of trying something hold you back. It's okay to make mistakes along the way, that's how we learn what we don't like.


When I use a product I do try to link it for you and if you decide to purchase the product I am affiliated with some of those companies. Its the only way to offset the time it takes building my how tos for decorating and DIY.

I am in no way asking you to click and purchase any items but it makes it easier for all the info to be on one site. Many different stores carry the products I use. But the links I provide is where I had purchased.


I hope that helps you make your home more personal and gives you the confidence to try something new.


Read More