New Hose Holder

Today I'm sharing a super easy project we recently did to solve our front yard hose problem.  I'm a little embarrassed to show you how we kept it before this project, but I try to always keep it real so you'll get a nice, good look. (and go ahead and judge away because it was awful!!)

So yeah, here is how we had our front yard hose for a long time. We once had one of those storage boxes that you rolled the hose into, but honestly it was such a pain and I find those don't work very well. 

After browsing Pinterest I saw the super easy solution that would also look pretty.  I took off to the store to get my supplies (all of 2 things) and came home to make it happen.

What you need:

A 4'x4' fence post (you can find at any hardware store)
A wall mount hose rack (also found at the hardware store or even Walmart)
Spray paint (color of your choice, but we went with black and we already had on hand)


I had Rick screw in the wall mount hose rack into the fence post then all I had to do was spray paint - THAT'S IT. Once it was dried, Rick dug super deep and put it in the ground for me and voila, project complete!! I wish all my projects were this easy, haha.

So what do you think? At some point, I would like to switch out to a darker hose but I honestly don't really mind the green. I think it looks perfect where we put it and no matter what, it's better than it was LOL




*linking up with Jessi's Design & Lindsays Sweet World

New Clock {DIY}

You know those projects you start and then never seem to get around finishing? This clock was that for me. I originally started this last September but it was just finished a couple of weeks ago.

Going back - Months ago I started thinking how I want a clock above my fireplace. I've had many different things above my mantel but nothing ever seemed right to me.

Enter this clock I saw online:

via

I knew this would look amazing above our fireplace but that price tag, woah, way outta my budget. I then went to Pinterest and started searching planked clocks.  I saw a few and they seemed easy enough (thanks to my super handy hubby) and decided to give one a try.  I don't have a full tutorial for this, but I'll explain how I made it.

I didn't follow any set plans, just went to Home Depot and picked up some wood and had them cut it there

Once I had that done, Rick helped me glue the boards together. Once dry, he cut out my giant circle

From there I stained it a dark brown, jacobean to be exact, and after that dried I painted on some cream/white paint we had already. I wanted a distressed look so I scuffed it up in some areas and even used a screwdriver to bang it up as well. 

Now for the hard part - I wanted my roman numerals to be big, metal pieces rather than just paint them on (which would have been soooo much easier and cheaper) so the hunt was on for that. I ended up finding a seller on Etsy that wasn't too pricey so I ordered those and went ahead and purchased this spray paint to paint them.

When I was ready, I used gorilla glue to glue the numbers to the clock. Then came the next obstacle. I wanted this to be a working clock because it was going to be such a big statement piece I just thought that made sense. I originally ordered a clock motor and hands off Amazon and when it came, the thread shaft (the part in back that sticks through your clock) was too short to fit through my wood which is about 3/4" thick. 

So I found a different clock motor that had a longer shaft (no pun intended) and when it came, the hardware that was sent with it didn't fit. I was getting frustrated at this point because I just wanted the clock DONE. So my awesome hubby drilled a hole in the back of the clock so we could use the original clock motor. 

And with that, the clock was now complete! Well, almost. I wanted the clock to hang on the fireplace wall, not just sit on the mantle. so Rick had to drill a hole into our stone and place a nail in it. Then we added a sawtooth picture hanger on the back of the clock, and now it was done!

I am in love with this clock so much! I know it's not really close to the one I originally saw, but I think I love it even more. I love the fact that we created this beautiful piece for our home. Can I say love anymore??

After this was all said and done, Rick remembered Menards sells already cut large circles of wood - that would have been nice to know 6 months ago :)

I think this is one piece of decor that will be sticking around for a long time :)

*linking up with Our Pretty Little Girls & Sweet Parrish Place

$12 Harvest Sign

I am so happy we are in the middle of this week - it has started off to be a doozy and I literally just wrote Monday and Tuesday off - both days were fails.

Anyway, this past weekend I finally finally finished a super easy project that I've been wanting to do for a couple of years now - pretty much ever since I saw this pin


I set off to Home Depot (sans kids!!) and picked out the best looking 1 x 10 board. I thought the height of 6ft was a tad too tall so I had them cut off 9 inches - just eyeballed the height I would want.

After my wood was cut, I headed over the paint section to get a sample of orange paint. I shocked myself and was able to pick out an orange color in 5 minutes! I ended up going with Peking Orange by Glidden.


This was all I needed for my project since the rest of stuff I had at home.


First, I stained the piece of wood super dark, jacobean to be exact. I let that dry then I painted on the orange. I used a brush because I wanted a weathered look, not a smooth look. I did two coats and was happy with how it looked.

 


For the letters, I pulled out my trusty silhouette portrait and got to work. I cut out each letter on a piece of cardstock and used that as my stencil.  I laid them out on the board and taped them down with painters tape and dabbed white paint (that I already had on hand) on with a foam brush.

  

 Once it dried, I sprayed the whole thing with a clear coat.

And then set it on our front stoop. So easy, so cheap and so cute!!!

This little project cost me just under $12 and I would say that's a win!

*linking up with Jessi's Deisgn for What's Hap-Pinning Wednesday

Etsy Shop + DIY Canvas Artwork

Happy Monday Friends! I'm here today to show you our newest artwork in the playroom.

But first, I need to tell you about an amazing Etsy shop called 2BsCraftsandDesigns

They have the cutest signs!! I knew I loved the saying on the sign I purchased because I originally saw on my girl Marie's blog

And their customer service is awesome! Quick responses (which I love) and very patient!

via

Since what you get is a file when ordering from 2BsCraftsandDesigns I knew I had to come up with a way to get this sign printed for artwork on our wall.  Originally I thought maybe I would frame it, but then decided on mounting it to canvas.

For this little project, you need:

• print in whatever you size you would like (just make sure the size you pick also comes in a canvas) - I did my print size 22" x 28"
• canvas (I bought a 22" x 28" from Joanns, and of course with a coupon)
• spray adhesive
• black paint (optional)

I first searched and searched where I could order a poster print in size 22" x 28" without breaking the bank. I ended up ordering from Overnight Prints and my total with shipping was just over $11.

Next, I bought my canvas from Joanns which was on sale for $10!

I already had black paint and spray adhesive so this project was pretty inexpensive. 

First, I painted all 4 sides of my canvas.  I did this so when it is hung on the wall it looks finished. I toyed with leaving it white and I'm SO happy I didn't.

After the paint dried, I sprayed the entire canvas with spray adhesive and then I had the hubby help lay the poster print ever so carefully on the canvas.  We just used our hands to smooth it out then let it dry overnight.

Here is the final result! I love it so much!

It looks so nice in the playroom

So go check out 2BsCraftsandDesigns now and get your shop on! Alot of the signs are on sale ( the one I got is only $3.50!!)

And just for my readers, you can get an extra 10% off using code thishappylife10 - this is valid until 7/31/16! Enjoy!

Pinned it - did it

Today I'm sharing my fall mantel which also just so happens to have my latest project - a neutral Fall wreath.

I saw this pin and immediately fell in love with everything I saw, but especially the wreath.  It is made from - wait for it - a canvas drop cloth! Like the ones used for painting.



Let me tell you a little about this wreath - it is a serious labor of love.  It's super easy but very time consuming and I'm actually surprised that I finished it as quickly as I did.  I was on a mission.

Here's what you will need:

• Wire wreath - I bought an 18" at Walmart for under $3

• Drop Cloth - I bought mine from Home Depot

• Scissors

Directions:

*Tip: Start a Netflix series or something because you're going to be here a while :)

Open up your drop cloth and start cutting! I would cut from the bottom about 6-7" up and cut straight across so I had one big piece.  From there I cut about 1/2" strips - you will do this until you have a bagillion strips.

Once done cutting, start tying your strips to your wreath.  I started on the smallest wire and worked my way outward.  Just keep tying until your wreath is full and you can't see anymore wire.  Thank goodness my pregnancy induced carpel tunnel has pretty much gone away or there would be no way I could have done this project.

And Voila!

I bought my drop cloth from Home Depot and it definitely looks more gray than the pin but I still love it.

What have you pinned it and did it lately?

Family Sign

This is a project I had pinned a long time ago and kept putting it off, but finally a few months ago, I tackled it and it has been one of my favorite projects yet! It has made such an impact in our family room and we get tons of compliments on it.

I don't think it hurts that surrounding the sign are pictures of my adorable family :)

I made some changes to the tutorial like making my sign smaller and not adding the hardware to it.

First I started off by going to Home Depot and picking up 4 furring strips - these are by the wood section and super cheap, I think they were $1 something - I got mine in the size 1" x 3" I believe as the 1" x 4" would have made my sign way too big

I had the guy at Home Depot cut them to my size for me (side note, for some reason I thought I only had to pay for what I was having cut, but it turns out they give you the rest of the pieces, something I did not know and now feel a smudge stupid for! )

When I got home, I stained my cut pieces - on the front side of the sign

Next, my hubby added some wood board pieces we had laying around to the back to hold all my strips together

 I had the hardest time fining letters for this sign! The letters in the tutorial from Pinterest were waaaay too big since her sign was much bigger so I knew I needed something smaller.  When I struck out at all of the craft stores and would not pay an expensive price tag for some custom sizes online, I randomly came across these from Walmart for $1.66 each!!  Bonus was they were already white so that saved me time with not having to paint.

I used wood glue to glue the letters to the sign, I just lined them up at first to make sure they looked good, but I didn't bust out a ruler or tape measurer to be exact.

After a day of drying, it was time to hang!!

My vision for this wall was always to put pictures up somehow but it wasn't until I saw this sign that it all came together in my little head.  I just LOVE how this looks!!

Our Kitchen Table Reveal

I've yet to show any of our house remodel yet (just can't get around to taking some decent pictures!) but I will show you our new kitchen table!!! I am literally in love people!!

If you remember back when I was still dreaming of our table, I was considering hiring a guy to build it for us. Well, after talking to him and going back and forth, we decided to build ourselves, and by we, I mean the husband, and by ourselves, I mean himself. 

We were quoted $1500 for the table and bench, I thought his pricing was a little much considering I knew what he charged for a standard table and he was charging much more than included the special kind of legs I wanted.  We knew we could build for MUCH less.

I started with printing off Ana White's husky farmhouse table plans and giving them to the hubby - he tweaked them a little and we didn't follow exactly but it was definitely the foundation of our project.

Here is our new farmhouse table!! Isn't she beautiful!!!!!!!!??? 

I am still so in love every time I walk in this room and see her!! I don't think I could ever get tired of this table (at least I hope I don't!)

It was a lot of work for my hubby and he managed to squeeze in working on it on the weekends and still give his attention to me and the kids.  I am so grateful he built me my dream table! Saving money was of course a plus, but just having such a nice piece of furniture that we can tell people my hubby made us is so rewarding!

I ended up ordering these chairs from Amazon - I wanted solid wood black chairs and also didn't want to spend more than the table :)

Now if I only I can get around to showing off the rest of our house...maybe by Christmas :)

Our Magnetic Chalkboard Wall!

I finally did it! We now have a magnetic chalkboard wall in the playroom and I couldn't be happier! I realize I am late to the game with this as so many people already have one, but that doesn't lessen my excitement! I always knew that was the plan for the playroom once we moved a year and half ago, but I wanted to wait until our remodel was complete to make one, you know after the walls were painted the color we wanted, got new toy storage, etc.

I made sure to do my homework on how to get the wall magnetic, so many things I read said their wall was NOT magnetic even after 2-3 coats.  I knew this meant I needed lots of coats.  I started the project on a long weekend when the hubby went out of town.  Before he left he taped the wall off for me and made sure the lines were perfectly leveled.  He knew if he left that up to me we would definitely have had a lopsided chalkboard wall.

I used Rust-Oleum magnetic primer and Valspar chalkboard paint (I had the chalkboard paint on hand already and have read that Valspar is much better than Rust Oleum)

When the magnetic primer directions say to stir before use, that is an understatement! Get ready for an arm workout.  It took me probably close to 20 minutes just to stir the primer around and even then it wasn't perfectly stirred, but I couldn't stir anymore! I did 5 coats of the magnetic primer because I wanted my magnets to stick!  I waited 30 minutes in between each coat and I did this over 2 nights while the kids were sleeping.

Then I did 3 coats of the chalkboard paint - this needed much more time to dry in between (1 hour) so again, I did it over 2 nights.

After the last coat of chalkboard paint I let the wall sit for a day before I prepped the board.  Once I was ready I used a piece of yellow sidewalk chalk turned on its side and rubbed it all over the board.  Then take a paper towel or cloth and rub the chalk into the board, in circular motions. 

**Warning** this gets messy!! I had a drop cloth put down below and yellow chalk dust still went EVERYWHERE, so just be careful and be ready to vacuum.

Once the wall was prepped, it was time to have fun with it!! I went to Joann's and had the kids pick out some cute little wooden pieces to turn into magnets - I had to use 2 little magnets on the back of each.  I was happy to see that our magnetic letters & numbers that we already had stick to the board just fine.

And here she is!!!!!

My 4 day project is finally completed!! And of course, when the hubs came home I begged him to add the rod and buckets below it to finish off the look.

The rod, hooks & buckets can be found at Ikea.

Fireplace Makeover

This is a project that has been done for a few months now but I'm just getting around to document it :)

Here is what our fireplace use to look like - you can say it, GROSS!  At least to us it was, just so old and not our taste, plus it took up the entire wall!!

Before we moved in, the only picture we have

We knew we wanted to do a fireplace remodel before putting in new carpet, and we are so glad we were smart enough to do that because knocking down that old fireplace sure did make a MESS of our old carpet.  

We hired a guy to do the demo part of removing the old fireplace.  Part of me (the cheap part) was not happy to pay someone to do something that we could have easily done (of course I say this after I saw it get done) but I knew with 2 little kids, both the hubs and I working full time, and weekends jam packed there was just not time for us to do it. 

We searched the internet for different stone options, I knew right away I liked the thin stacked stone look. We ended up using Eldorado Stone in Dry Creek.  

Initially we only went half way up the wall.  As soon as it was done, the hubby was not happy.  He wanted the stone to the ceiling.  Again, the cheap part of me was perfectly happy with the stone only going halfway, see, not so bad right??

But then the idea to go to the ceiling grew on me more and we ordered another box, paid more money to have it installed, and viola! Here is the end result! Just gorgeous if I do say so myself!!!!

The hubby put in new woodwork around the windows, ripped off the wood paneling on the walls, painted the walls and ceilings and bought new window treatments. Of course the carpet is new too and is sooo nice and soft. This room has totally transformed and is now our favorite room.

Now just for fun, a before and after:

The Yellow Brick House has been painted!

So remember when I talked about getting our yellow brick house painted?? Yeah, that was months ago and it has finally been painted and I am finally getting around to posting about it.

This is what we started out with.  A very old brick house, that at some point, was probably a completely different color, but with age, turned yellowish and just looked dirty and dingy.

We've done alot so far to the outside, as I mentioned before, we are doing a complete house reno inside but first wanted to focus on the outside.

Here is how our house looks now.....

It is like night and day!! At least I think so.  I could not be more happy with our white house! At first the hubby thought maybe it was too white, but after a few days his mind changed.  I think going from a dingy yellow to a bright white it such a huge change that some people need time to adjust.  Me? I loved it from the second I saw it.

Now time for the next project....a fireplace remodel!!