Thursday, September 5, 2013

Top DIY Projects (now that the kids are back to school)

Hello there! How has your week been? If you are at home and have kids that went off to school, are you missing them, or basking in the solitude? Mine went back Wednesday - kindergarten, 7th and 10th. I'm a little sad, cuz I miss their antics.

But since I have a little free time, I decided I'd look on the bright side and get busy!

But first, let me make a sandwich...

All summer I've been posting on my Pinterest boards. Every single time I pin something, I have every intention of creating that project or craft. Immediately. But you know - kids go with sunshine, the lake, and ice cream... However, kids, power tools, staple guns, and paint - don't mix. Now that they're all back to school, I have every intention of tackling all of the projects I've been putting off this summer.

Although I miss the kids being here with me, I am a tiny bit happy at having a little time for DIY (and maybe even dusting).

So, while trying to blow the cobwebs from my brain, and from the corners of my living room, I made a list of my favorite Pins that I promised myself I will do. None of them cost a lot more than a little time and effort, so I'm determined to get to one a week. Do you believe me? Let's just see how it goes, shall we?

The first one is at the top of my list. It's a fur covered chair. I'll be honest - I don't have a spare chair. I'll have to buy one at the Thrift Store or a garage sale. To add insult to injury, I don't have a place in mind for this chair. But I don't care. I want one.

Following the tutorial from The Nesting Place I don't see why I can't have one. And soon. Isn't it adorable?



Next in importance is a headboard. Can you believe we don't have a headboard? Just a big, blank wall. I've thought about headboards a lot - I've pinned, and I've read blogs, and browsed roundups. I've come to the conclusion that the following headboard I saw on
Campclem would look perfect in our room.

A piece of fencing, stain, and some twinkle lights. Do-able! And really gorgeous!

05 DIY headboard

Speaking of wall space, we have plenty of it in our (somewhat) new home. I'm always looking for ideas for wall art. Without breaking my piggy bank to smithereens.

The New England Southerner has the perfect idea for large walls. Even for small walls. Fabric covered foam board is genius.




The chairs below are from Ethan Allen. When I originally pinned the pic of these chairs, I posted "That's It! I'm painting my kitchen chairs black"! Uh, that was a year ago so I can't even blame the kids! The black just makes the simple chairs look more interesting.
That's it....I'm painting my kitchen chairs black.
The other day I wrote a post about trying to update boring lampshades. (In fact, I had a little issue). Time and again, I've seen tutorials on covering lampshades with twine. The Complete Guide to Imperfect Homemaking shares her lampshade makeover, making it impossible for me to procrastinate any longer. I even have the exact lampshade!




This next little project is the cutest thing I think I've ever seen. We have a large family, and we like to have everyone over for dinner and SNACKS. Ms. Smartie Pants had the best idea! The thrift stores are full of old cutting boards - why not put legs on them and turn them into serving trays. These would look awesome on the kitchen island full of yummy appetizers.



Deep in the fog of my brain, I remembered something - we have a stack of leftover wood floor planks that I do think about from time to time. I'd forgotten about them over the summer, because they're stored very carefully in the bottom of our closet, under a pile of old flip flops and winter boots. In the past I've had ideas for these babies - a headboard, a coffee table top, some sort of sign for the front porch... (and then they became a boot holder). But thankfully, I saw recently that 4 Men, 1 Lady used their floor planks for some awesome wall art - and it doesn't look too difficult to figure out!



Next, well, this is embarrassing - every single window in our house needs a valance. Oh, believe me, I've thought of making them out of foam board, or getting Big A to help with making them out of wood, and covering with batting and fabric... And then I saw the garland from Carissamiss.  And I thought, "THAT would be a great idea for a valance". Doesn't even require power tools! Yes. Please.

(I don't think I'd use this for more than one window, but still, it's a start!)



That's a pretty good start. I think I'll leave this here and see how the next few weeks go.

So tell me! What's on your to-do list? How are you getting along without your kiddos? I'd love to hear from you!

Julia

LINK PARTIES for each day of the week. I can't say I make it to every one of these, but I'd like to!

If you have a link party I haven't listed, please email me or comment below!


SUNDAY

 

Sunny Simple Sundays Party at Sunny Simple Life
Sundae Scoop at I Heart Naptime
Think Pink Sundays at Flamingo Toes
Nifty Thrifty Sunday at Nifty Thrifty Things
Restyled Sundays at Stylish Once Again
Silver Pennies Sundays at Silver Pennies
Frugal Crafty Home Blog Hop at A Blossoming Life

 
 
MONDAY

Before and After at Thrifty Decor Chick (first Monday of the month)
 
TUESDAY
 
WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY
FRIDAY
 
 
SATURDAY
 

9 comments:

Susan at TheBoredZombie.com said...

OMG @ the fur chair. Love. You must do - top of the list!

Unknown said...

Susan, LOL! It's awesome right?!?! J.

Holly Lefevre said...

Fun idea - love the headboard and the fabric panels!

Simply Simplisticated said...

LOVE LOVE LOVE all these beautiful ideas! Id better get busy now! lol thanks:)

Kim said...

Julia, can you believe that we don't have a headboard either? We traded in our antique double bed for a king and I just can't seem to find a headboard I love, but I am on the hunt! Love those little serving trays, too...pinned! My kids go back next week, so I thanks for the inspiration to fill my "missing moments"!

Unknown said...

Thank you all for stopping by! Julia

Unknown said...

What a fun list of projects!! I have a Furniture/Paint Party Everything Thursday which goes live Wednesday at 8 PM MST. I would Love for you to come link up!

Hope to see you soon,

Brooke
startathome.blogspot.com

DIY Vintage Chic said...

What a great collection! Thanks for sharing! Stop by my Friday's Five Features and link up this post (and others)! diy-vintage-chic.blogspot.com/2013/09/fridays-five-features-no-8.html

Danielle said...

Such great inspiration! Thanks for sharing at Silver Pennies Sundays. x