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Filed Away in the New Year
Happy New Year! I’ve got lots of great, easy (and some a tad more difficult) projects planned for this year. So I hope you’ll keep Checking In with me throughout the year for some inspiration and downright how-to information. But for now, your regularly scheduled program. It seems storage and organization are always trending topics this time of year. And for good reason. It’s always nice to have a catalyst to start fresh, whether it involves getting rid of stuff or organizing what you’ve got. So that’s why this month’s project falls into that category. But I’m not going to give you any tips on how to organize. Just a…
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Recycle Christmas Tree into Mulch
How to Recycle Your Christmas Tree Nothing compares to the scent of a fresh Christmas tree. Which is why my family always had one growing up and why I continue to buy a fresh one each Christmas season. Now I’ve got a way to make my dollar, and the fresh scent, stretch a little further. Mulch! I did it last year and I’ll do it again this year. It’s so easy to cut up your real tree and use the branches as mulch around the yard and the trunk as firewood! After you’ve removed and stored your ornaments and twinkling lights, drag it outside and grab a pair of loppers.
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Accented Living Room
It’s been a long while since our living room has gotten any love. Back in January of this year I posted a to-do list of everything I’d like to accomplish in there. And then I found out I was pregnant and the living room lost all of my attention. Now that the nursery is complete and the baby is here, it’s time our front room returned to the home improvement docket. One of the easiest ways to change the look of any room is with paint. And it’s been on the list to do so in this room. But I never thought of doing anything else to the walls until…
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A Very Merry Christmas Tray
Now that Thanksgiving has passed, I can wish you all a very, merry and magical Christmas! Part of the magic of Christmas is a child’s belief in Santa Claus. I know I was very reluctant to believe otherwise! So this month’s project is creating a tray to hold ole St. Nick’s cookies and milk on Christmas Eve. It all started with a $3 frame from a local thrift store. To make the frame look more like a tray, we picked up some decorative cabinet pulls from the hardware store. Before we got started on the real transformation with paint, we drilled the holes for our pulls, centering them on each…
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The Armchair Reimagined
I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving break with family and friends! My husband and I survived our first road trip with baby Mary Helen up to Indiana and back to visit his side of the family. Speaking of the baby, my latest project is all about rehabbing a piece of furniture that came out of her room at the beginning of its transformation. Exhibit A: This lovely, over 20-year-old wingback armchair was inherited from my parents after they remodeled and refurnished their living room. I bought a slipcover for it at one point, but it didn’t fit very well and was returned. When we moved everything out of the…
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Circle, Circle, Dot, Dot
A little less than a month before our sweet Mary Helen was born, Brandon and I were taping an episode of Today’s Homeowner that followed the installation of our new HVAC system. The episode aired across the country this past weekend. We thought having a baby was the perfect time to improve the efficiency of our home. So we also covered several other small projects that will help with energy efficiency besides a new HVAC. Don’t want the baby to be too hot or too cold! One of those projects was sewing some Roman shades for the nursery. Opening curtains/shades during the day in the winter allows the sun to…
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Chelsea’s Choice: Sense-able Keyless Security
**This giveaway has ended. Scroll down to see the winner and click over to my giveaway tab to see my current giveaway! I’ve had a keypad-style deadbolt on my house since we remodeled it in 2012. And it is the greatest thing ever. I can go for a walk or run without having a key bop around in my pocket. And my mom can drop by and water my plants when I’m out of town without having to hide a key or arrange a drop off. But now Schlage has taken it a step further with the new Schlage Sense. This sleek door lock can be controlled through Bluetooth technology…
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How To Paint An Exterior Door
Happy Fall Y’all! I love the cooler temperatures and lower humidity! And fall is a great time to head outside and paint! So that’s exactly what Amy and I did! Her front door wasn’t in the best shape and the color lacked…a lot. But have you seen the cost of a decent front door lately? Ouch. When you can’t replace, you improve! But before we could get to the fun part of painting, we had to get through the not so fun part of prepping the door for paint. We opted to remove the door from the hinges and work on it horizontally. We knew we’d be changing and adding…
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How to Create an Easy Cross on Canvas
DIY Shimmery, Gold Cross on Canvas that Pops! When I was putting together items to hang as part of the nursery gallery wall, I picked up some small 4×6 canvases with an idea to create my own art with some paint and gold leaf. It ended up being a super easy and quick project with pretty results! Materials gold leaf paper 5×7 canvas acrylic paint white glue* foam brush* The most expensive part of the project was of course the gold leaf paper, but I didn’t use all 25 sheets. So part of the cost of it can roll over into whatever future project I end up using it on.