How to Make Cake Balls

Cake + Icing + Melted Chocolate = the glorious dessert invention that is… CAKE BALLS! Some people spend the holiday season making batches of cookies. I spend it rolling cake into balls and dipping them in chocolate. Ingredient List: Boxed... Continue reading →

Gingerbread House Construction Tips

LOVE GINGERBREAD? Join my Facebook Group, “Gingerbread Tips & Tricks”, where I post tutorials and videos for different techniques. It’s a great community of people talking about gingerbread! Share your project photos, ask questions, make suggestions, and laugh a little!... Continue reading →

Gingerbread Recipe

“Glue” Icing Recipe

Edible “Glass” Windows

Thanksgiving Signs

Get your fat pants ready! As you may have noticed from recent posts, I LOVE Halloween and I put a lot of effort into my decorations. When is comes to Thanksgiving, I fall a little flat. I usually just keep... Continue reading →

Graveyard

The DIY graveyard. The perfect addition to any yard for Halloween. I am still beaming with pride. You know you did something right when people are stopping outside your house to take pictures of your lawn. At least that’s how... Continue reading →

Wrought Iron Fence

This wrought iron fence was actually part of the mini graveyard I constructed on my front lawn. Materials: 1/2″ PVC Piping Miter Saw 1″ x 2″ x 6′ Lumber 1″ Wood Screws Power Drill 7/8″ Drill Bit Impact Driver Foam... Continue reading →

“Stone” Columns

These stone columns are a great Halloween decoration on their own. I created them as a part of a graveyard for my front yard, but they could just as easily host a gargoyle or apothecary setup like this one. Materials:... Continue reading →

Foam Tombstones

Tombstones are an easy, fun way to decorate for Halloween. This year, I created 2 tombstones that I actually put inside a graveyard. I created a quick tutorial with the materials and steps I used to make the tombstones. I... Continue reading →

Thrift Store Candelabras

Have you ever purchased anything that you intended to use for a project and then just let it sit around in your garage taking up valuable space? Story of my life… Like these cheap candelabras that I just had to... Continue reading →

Halloween Signs

Tis the season! I might be a little late to the game with this post, but I kind of got onto a Halloween/Fall sign kick the other day. So I figured I would just convert a few of them to... Continue reading →

Creating Graphic Signs in PicMonkey

UPDATE: Currently, this post is out of date, with regards to the PicMonkey instructions. PicMonkey has updated all their software and changed quite a bit. I plan to record a video with updated instructions soon, but until then, you can... Continue reading →

Harry Potter Wands

I was brainstorming some project ideas the other day and all I could think about was Harry Potter. I think one of the movies was on and I got to thinking that it was about time to re-read the entire... Continue reading →

Pallet Wood Pumpkin

Today’s post is my easy pallet wood pumpkin. The perfect piece to complete my fall lineup. I needed a little rustic to go with my modern look. Wooden fruit it is! Materials: Pallet Wood Jig Saw Paper & Pencil Paint... Continue reading →

Autumn Pallet Sign

In my recent post The Easy Way to Dismantle a Pallet, I provided a tutorial for salvaging wood from a pallet to use for other projects. For this one, I salvaged a large plank from a particularly old pallet. It... Continue reading →

Pallet Cat Lover Sign

Full disclosure, up front, total honesty… I am not a cat person. I’m allergic. Also… cats are crazy. Ain’t nobody got time for that. I realize the title of this post could seem a little deceiving given my intro. I... Continue reading →

The Easy Way to Dismantle a Pallet

Let’s talk about pallets. Like many I know, I have a love-hate relationship with them. PROS: Easily accessible, super useful, FREE CONS: Pain in my you-know-what to dismantle Hunting for pallets is a favorite past time of mine. The “Free... Continue reading →

Custom Old Bay Labels

IT’S WEDDING SEASON!!! I love DIY wedding gifts, favors, decorations, etc. This stuff is so much more fun when you don’t have to deal with the stress of planning a wedding. Been there, done that. Don’t wish to repeat. In... Continue reading →

French Provincial Dresser Makeover

This is my favorite project to date! I found this awesome French provincial dresser at my local Goodwill. It was $80 and there was no way I was going to let it get away. I had to put it on... Continue reading →

Chalk Paint Recipe

I’m not exactly sure when chalk paint made its debut, but it took the DIY world by storm. All sorts of traditional paint brands are making their own lines of chalk paint now. Naturally, as a DIYer, I decided I... Continue reading →

Restoring Old Hardware

Restoring your old hardware to its former glory is so simple! Materials: Bar Keepers Friend Cleanser Old Toothbrush Clear Lacquer Instructions: Remove all your hardware and rinse it off. (If you have hardware that’s been painted, you can use my... Continue reading →

Removing Paint from Hardware

Say hello to my recently acquired French provincial dresser from Goodwill. All she needs is a new paint job and a hardware update and she’ll be good as new. That’s where my handy tutorial for removing paint from hardware comes... Continue reading →

Tips for Outdoor Planters

Let me preface this post by saying that I have no gardening skills AT ALL. My husband, on the other hand, loves that stuff. He managed to grow several different types of vegetables in a tiny little space that only... Continue reading →

Decoupage Easter Eggs

Today’s post is another quick spring decor tutorial. Instead of buying new decorations, I like to put my spin on old ones. So why not decoupage some plastic Easter eggs? I have a very large supply of craft paper that... Continue reading →

Yarn Carrots

Today’s post is a quick tutorial for making yarn carrots. Easter decor is a favorite of mine. So many different color variations to choose from. I have a lot of plans for my Easter decorating game this season. Naturally, it... Continue reading →

Crown Canopy

I knew I wanted to do a crown canopy over the crib from the moment we found out we were having a girl. I specifically wanted to know the gender of the baby ahead of time so I could plan... Continue reading →

Mirror Makeover

Today’s post is a quick one. Another addition to the nursery that is finally finished! This great mirror that I found at a thrift store. It was gold when I originally bought it. Of course, I was so excited... Continue reading →

Nursery Closet Makeover

Back on track! After a few weeks of travel, holiday time, and overall exhaustion, I finally got back on the project train. First stop, nursery closet. I ripped all the stuff down from inside the closet months ago thinking I... Continue reading →

Gingerbread Birdhouse – Cardinal Family Christmas

This post is about the gingerbread house I entered in the Raleigh Winterfest contest. SPOILER ALERT: I did not take home first prize. I got second place. Being extremely competitive, I was naturally a little disappointed, but I got over... Continue reading →

Reupholstered Bench

This particular post is an exciting one for me. I always love a good challenge, and this project was definitely that. My friend, Suz, bought a cute little bench on Move Loot. She planned to get it reupholstered so that... Continue reading →

Magic Potion Bottles

DIY potion bottles! For Halloween this year, I wanted to make a display that would attract kids to our house and make them remember those awesome, if not a little weird, neighbors. I thought of the idea a while back... Continue reading →

Baby Globe Makeover

This is a quick post about this little globe I decorated for the nursery. I wish I could say it was an original idea, but I actually found a very similar, full-sized, globe on Etsy that someone was selling and... Continue reading →

Chevron Pallet Wall Art

Today’s post is another nursery decoration. I still haven’t managed to get any of the big nursery projects (changing table, closet, etc) done, but decorations I have. I should probably start worrying about those bigger projects soon. The third trimester... Continue reading →

Spider Web Lanterns

Halloween is the best. My husband hates that I love decorating our house for Halloween. Granted, I go a little overboard, so he isn’t without reason. But I just LOVE Halloween! Take these awesome Spider Web Lanterns for example. Really... Continue reading →

Glider Makeover

Finally! Now that the nursery walls are finished, I am getting around to putting the furniture in. I bought a few items from some Craigslist sellers, including this great glider. The original chair had seen better days, but the structure... Continue reading →

Easy Board and Batten

Ok, so it’s not exactly board and batten. It’s more like faux board and batten. Which is almost better, because it’s cheaper and easier. Who doesn’t like being able to use those two adjectives when it comes to home projects?... Continue reading →

Fall Cornucopia Makeover

More fall decor! This post is a quick one about updating some of your current decorations to give them a more modern look. In this case, we were given a cornucopia of fake corn and gourds by hubby’s mother that... Continue reading →

Tree Branch Mini Pumpkins

As you may have read from my Scrap Wood Candy Corn post, I tend to hoard scrap wood from prior projects in my garage. Since I recently started giving my garage a makeover, the many, many boxes of scrap... Continue reading →

Scrap Wood Candy Corn

I am always working on some sort of project in my garage. A lot of them involve using a miter saw to cut wood, and I tend to have a lot of scraps leftover. I have a bit of a... Continue reading →

Thrifty Nursery Decor

I’ve finally begun work on the nursery! Since we recently found our we are having a baby girl, I started narrowing down my options for the nursery. The walls are a baby blue, but I really don’t want to paint... Continue reading →

Garage Makeover: Drywall Installation

And the Garage Makeover Series continues! This week’s post (Step 4) is our drywall installation. It briefly crossed my mind to call this post a “tutorial”, but based on the mess we made of the installation process, I can certainly... Continue reading →

Garage Makeover: DIY Workbench

The Garage Makeover Series is back on track! Sort of. Once again, I am going a little out of order. Part 3 is the DIY Workbench. This particular workbench was inspired by Part 2 of the Series – Custom Shelving.... Continue reading →

Garage Makeover: Custom Shelving

This post is Part 2 in my “Garage Makeover Series”, Custom Shelving. Part 1 was my Garage Makeover: Preparing for Drywall post. The problem with our garage has nothing to do with the size. It’s made to fit two cars... Continue reading →

Garage Makeover: Preparing for Drywall

For my next few posts, I hope to make them a mini-series. Because what better way to force yourself to be productive than to tell the world you are working on a big project with a lot of moving parts... Continue reading →

Herringbone Buffet Table

You might remember that at the end of my Coffee Table Post I had a sneak peek of the buffet table that I was making from scratch. Well, it’s FINALLY done! Almost three months later. This particular project was inspired... Continue reading →

The Clutch Hutch

From the moment I first saw my kitchen, I thought to myself… “Poor thing, just needs a little love”. That being said, that “poor thing” has haunted me for the better part of a year and made it veeeeeery difficult... Continue reading →

Kitchen Cabinet Makeover

A kitchen cabinet makeover was one of my first BIG projects in the new house. It was my first real test as a DIYer. I talked about the endeavor for months. “My ugly cabinets this, my ugly cabinets that, my... Continue reading →

Coffee Table Built from Scratch

I generally try to be humble when it comes to most projects, but this was the first time I attempted to build a piece of furniture, and I was just too proud not to gush about it. Granted, I owe... Continue reading →

Side Table Pallet Makeover

A more accurate name for this post would be a “Makeover of a Makeover Side Table”, but that just didn’t seem as appealing. When we first bought our house, I was super excited to decorate it and make it look... Continue reading →