Garage Door Update!

The Garage door. For us, it is the entryway to our home. We enter and exit primarily from this door because that's how we get to the car and the car is how we get places! My question is: Why are garage doors so BLAH? They are the entryway to people's homes. I thought about this a lot. I think that is why I made over the laundry room; Because it was our "Entryway". You can check out the Laundry Room Makeover HERE  Now that the laundry room got some TLC, my attention was drawn to the "BLAH" garage door. Everything about it screamed for a makeover! The white paint was scratched and had all kids of stains, the steps- well the steps were a hot mess!  So here is what this hot mess Blah door looked like before!

 

Fortunately, you can't see all the ugly marks and scratches on that door! I know- That's bad! So with a little creativity and a little wandering around Home Depot, my husband and I came up with this!

 

It really looks so much better than before. I painted the door and the step a soft black, and the trim around the door a bright white. My husband cut the metal sheet we bought into strips with tin snips to fit the steps. Then we glued the pieces in place and tacked then in with little nails. We even found the matching switch plate covers! That's what I call garage chic! Ha!

 The best part is that a project like this is something that can be done in one afternoon and some of the materials we already had on hand like the paint! Now, I realize the rest of the garage is still just a garage... which just made my list of projects longer! I'm thinking Garage makeover in the future!! ;)

4th of July nails with chevron

Having some fun with the chevron trick!! Happy 4th!!

DIY: Chevron Nails!

Chevron is so popular right now! From home decor to clothing, you see it every where! Why not on Nails? 

Here is a very simple step by step on how to get this look for yourself!

Supplies:

Two different nail polish colors

Clear base coat and top coat

Invisible tape

Pinking shears

Step one:

Put on a base coat and let dry.

Step two:

Polish nails with your main color and let dry completely.

Step Three:

Use pinking shears to cut strips of the chevron. I did this before and cut a bunch of strips to have whenever I needed them.

Step four:

Place strips onto completely dry nail. Arrange as desired. Make sure you rub them on well, especially around the edges. Leave a bit hanging over the edge for easy removal.

Step five:

Paint a generous coat of your second color over the entire nail.

Step six:

After about a minute, remove the tape strips!

Step seven:

Let dry and give a layer of top coat!

Voila! Awesome Chevron nails that you did yourself!! The color possibilities are endless! I am having major fun with this idea.. :)

Leave a message and post a pic of your chevron nail creations! I'd love to see them!! Follow me on Bloglovin!

The Laundry Room to Mud Room Makeover! The Reveal!! Finally!!

My Laundry room makeover is finished! Summer is in full swing and I have been slacking on my projects; So, I mean, I have finally taken some pictures of the laundry room so I can reveal the final look!

Here is before-                                                                               And After!

Another Before-                                                                              And After!

The Wooden Shelf is a piece that we made very cheaply. The wooden part is a stair tread that  I stained and finished. The shelf brackets I bought at the local Hobby Lobby. Notice the sweet Mason Jar Pitcher that I bought from Cost Plus World Market! I fill it with laundry soap and use a cute baby mason jar as my measuring cup. I think it looks much better that having the value size plastic laundry soap container setting on the counter!!

Before-                                                                                         And After!

Before-                                                                                          After!

 

This is by far the most dramatic change of the room. This is the view that you get when you enter the house from the garage. We took down the utility style wire shelving, found a new home for the mini fridge, added a bench and a stylish shelf with storage. The door was taken off, painted and then rehung as a sliding door! Check out that step Here: Laundry Room Door

 

You can also check out the floor redo Here: Laundry Room Floor

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am so thrilled how it turned out. I feel like it looks more Foyer like rather than utility room. I am no longer embarrassed when people enter or exit the house through this room. (Well except when there are delicates hanging to dry over the sink! )

Let me know what you think of this laundry room transformation! Post a comment below! 

Be sure to follow me on this blog or on Bloglovin!!

A Mother's Day Gift!

My wonderful husband found this cute little statue by the dumpster in the alley at his work! He knows me too well and brought it home so I could give it some love! Thanks, Jim!!!

 

I showed this picture to my mom and she said' "No way! You are so lucky! I have been looking for a garden statue like that!". So, needless to say I just figured out what to give her for Mother's Day. 

It was a simple upcycle. First, I power washed it to remove all the crud and dirt. Then, I let it dry. Next, I spray painted it. Finally, I planted some flowers in the little buckets! And here it is!

 LOVE YOU MOM!!!!

A Pinterest-ing Idea! Upcycle Builder-Grade Doors!

Black doors.

Pinned Image

Yes, black interior doors. I have seen this on Pinterest a few times and have pinned them on my "For the Home" board. Black interior doors give much need character to my home. In a neighborhood like ours, the builders just threw the houses up as fast as can be and there is so little "character" or "charm" to them. Here is what one of the doors looked like before.

The funny thing is, "character" had nothing to do with the reason I decided to paint the doors in the first place. Because the builder painted all the trim work in the house with FLAT white paint, I decided to repaint all of the trim work with a semi-gloss white paint. Much, MUCH easier to keep clean. Little by little, I have been painting the trim. When I got to the first door jamb, I realized that the new white and the old white weren't the same because the door didn't match the trim anymore! If you really look close in the "before" picture, you can see the difference in paint colors. UGH! Light bulb moment... Black Doors! I knew I pinned that idea for a reason!! Love, Love, LOVE Pinterest!

I am so pleased with the way they turned out. It looks great!

Scarf Style!

Scarves are so my thing right now! Wearing a scarf  is a great way to dress up a plain shirt or dress. I am noticing that scarves can be worn on any season.

But the problem for me is: What do I do with them?

I see all these cute scarves and I think, "How will I tie that?"

Well, leave it to Pinterest to come to my rescue! There are so many cute ways to tie or knot a scarf and on Pinterest I have found the instructions on how to do a few of my favorite looks.

 

The Scarf Braid.

When I saw this I was like, "YES!" This is so cool! Braids are so in style for hair, why not for scarves? I found the instructions HERE

Very easy to follow instructions with pictures. (AWESOME)

Great idea, I love it! Thank you to  Krissa, the author of the blog I saw this on, for sharing this wonderful idea!

 

I don't know what to call this one but it looks like a Celtic Knot to me so...

The Celtic Knot

I saw this picture that was step by step on how to do this one here: Celtic Knot Pic

This was easier than I thought! :)

 

Sort of Infinity Scarf

This method turns any scarf into one of those cute infinity scarves! This opened up a whole new world for me :) How to tie a scarf.

After reading this, I hope you give one or all of these looks a try! Let me know what you think, I would love to see your scarf styles!

Men's T-shirt to Tank Top Refashion with Crochet!

I saw this idea on pintrest. The directions are HERE. From a blog called Designs by Studio C

This inspired me to make a new tank top from a men's t-shirt on this yucky April (Winter Go Away Already!!!) Day.

Things you will need:
Men's T-shirt
Good Fitting tank top- to use as pattern.
Scissors
Sewing Machine and Thread
Crochet hook
Needle and thread

(For a no sew option... just use a tank top that fits you and you can skip the first few steps, just go on to where you mark the design out on the tank!)

 First I found a tank that fits how I want this new tank to fit. I turned the t-shirt inside out. Next, lined up the tank to the men's shirt I had.

 Then, I started cutting the shape of the tank. First, I cut the bottom. Then, I cut the sides open and the arms off.

 Next, I cut the neck.  This is where the sewing comes in... Two quick seams up the sides to get the top to be fitted.

OK... Now you will have a basic tank, but this could be done on any style tank. Using a ruler, or your eye, mark lines to make the cuts.

You can go in any design pattern you like. I chose some straight lines.

 Cut slits along the lines, I made mine just under an inch wide and about a quarter of an inch apart.

Take your crochet hook and insert under 2 of the first slits. Pull the 2nd slit under the 1st.

Now you have a loop on your hook. Insert your hook under the next slit and pull it through the loop on your hook. Continue this until you get to the last slit. Stitch the last loop down to keep it from unraveling.

Do this to all of the slits you cut until you are finished with the entire design. Here is how mine turned out. I am going to make more!!! It was easy and I like how the design looks!

I am definitely going to be doing this again. I would not recommend crocheting all the way to the bottom as this has caused the edge of the tank not to lay just right.  Stopping the slits about 2 inches away from the edge will help it lay better!