Shabby sewing table turned desk before + after!

August 13, 2017 by 12 Comments

 

You wouldn’t believe it, but this desk was a break-away top sewing table in her former life.  A giant hole in the center of the desk top with two sketchy pieces of wood sitting inside.

We drove out to check it out as it was for sale on Offer Up, and I thought we would be saying, thank you and heading back home.

That is not how things went down, and I should probably know that when an impossible challenge is in front of us, Troy goes into major trouble shooting mode.

Knowing that he loves an impossible challenge, we headed back to Vancouver from Portland with the questionable project in the truck bed. [Read more…]

Filed Under: DIY, Farmhouse Style, How to paint furniture Tagged With: , , ,

Chindi style no-sew area rag rug

August 7, 2017 by 12 Comments

 

I have had a stack of these Dollar Tree rag rugs FOREVER.

They are in the “bin of conviction” (the things I HAD TO HAVE to make something cool then they sit for a long time)

Yeah, that bin.

Tell me I’m not the only one who may have more than one of these had-to-have-it stashes?

Oh good.

I have down-sized a bit over time but I am glad I have the stash of supplies that I have collected (yes, it’s an official collection of amazing stuff) because you never know when inspiration is going to STRIKE!

Yep, sometimes you get an itch to make something cool and there you are, lots of ideas and no supplies.

So, that is exactly what happened in this case.

I loved the colors of these small rag rugs so of course, I cleaned the store out however many months ago. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Boho Style, DIY, home decor, Thrifty Living Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Painted herringbone coffee table

August 3, 2017 by 9 Comments

Hello friends!

I seem to be on a find-dated-furniture-and-paint-it-every-color-you-love kick the last few weeks.

But a solid piece of furniture that needs a facelift is so hard to pass up!

That may have something to do with the shrinking space to park my car in the garage, but that’s for another day.

Today we are PAINTING. And giving a sad, dated coffee table a new lease on life.

You can see the potential already but right now this coffee table is not-so-fabulous. YET!

This little gem was a Facebook find and while she was solid, the oak-ey finish was not going to work any longer.

Here is the before…..kind of sad.  BUT! I will show you how I took this tired coffee table…

 

 

And breathed some new life into her with paint! Here is the after, and next I will show you how I did it: [Read more…]

Filed Under: Decorating, DIY, Thrifty Finds Tagged With: , , ,

DIY geometric painted brick vase

July 27, 2017 by 8 Comments

 

I am so not ready for Fall.

Well, that’s not entirely true.

I do love Fall, and Fall decorating and thrifty Fall crafts, but before I am ready for PUMPKIN EVERYTHING I need some more summer.

This week I popped into JoAnn’s and saw this pretty faux bloom in soft pinks and tan with a touch of gold.  It was in with their Fall decor.  I held my breath by the cinnamon pinecones to protect myself from a full Fall takeover, grabbed my loot and headed home.

I wanted to do something pretty with this fluffy faux rose and it made me think of how pretty something soft like this looks with something more edgy or utilitarian.

Like a brick. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Craft Ideas, Decorating, DIY Tagged With: , , ,

How to update a 1970’s dresser

July 21, 2017 by 4 Comments

how to paint furniture twelveOeight

 

Sometimes a piece of furniture comes your way and it takes a while to decide what to do with it.

Should I re-stain it, maybe a darker cooler color like a walnut?

Should I white-wash it and put new, fun knobs on it?

But this dresser had it’s destiny before it became mine. [Read more…]

Filed Under: DIY, How to paint furniture, Thrifty Living

Cheapskate chic outdoor living room reveal!

July 16, 2017 by 17 Comments


How to make a patio table twelveOeight 

I cannot tell you how beyond excited I am about how our Outdoor Living Room turned out!!

Enter a squeal and a giant happy dance, and that is a start.

This space has been a project that has evolved over the span of three summers, and each summer we have accomplished a bit more.

But this year was more of the frosting on the cake, the super fun decorating part.

With life and bills and budgets, I knew I could not lose my ever loving mind out here and spend a small fortune on everything new.

And I really didn’t want to, I wanted our covered patio to have a warm eclectic vibe like the inside of our house.  And I didn’t want it to look like a showroom floor at our local outdoor furniture store.

Trust me, at times I wanted to as the weeks went on and I didn’t think the time spent scouring our local thrift stores and a neighborhood curbside find would happen and payoff.  The patience, elbow grease and some paint paid off! [Read more…]

Filed Under: Cheapskate chic, Decorating, DIY Tagged With: , ,

DIY Painted Feather Wall Art

May 5, 2017 by 12 Comments

How to paint watercolor feathers  

Well I wish I had a better reason than just being plain old crazy busy that this project has taken FOREVER to share….

but it’s here in your inbox now and I can’t wait to show you how EASY this was!!

I have had this piece of wood, which is actually a painted shelf that went in an old entertainment center on my mind for weeks.

I have used it in a variety of ways around my house, but I kept thinking that a giant watercolor feather would look amazing.

Having said that, and not being a trained painter by any stretch (literally, stick figures are pushing my drawing talent for real!)

 I was not really sure where to begin to get the gorgeous feather I wanted.

Our style (there really isn’t one so it’s funny to use the word “style” ha!) is a mix of Farmhouse, Bohemian, and stuff-I-like finds and DIY’s 

all seem to come together.

Until I get a wild hair and decide to switch it all up and move things around, and paint, and drive my family crazy during the oh my gosh Mom has lost it and is pulling furniture all over the place and we are concerned (CREATIVE) process.   [Read more…]

Filed Under: Boho Style, DIY, home decor, Modern Decor Tagged With: , , ,

Wake pray slay printable

March 14, 2017 by 13 Comments

 

Wake pray slay printable

click here to begin slaying it with your free printable

The balancing act of life/work/family/kids/money/and-everything-else has admittedly felt overwhelming to me many times.

More than I would like to admit.

But this is a keep it real zone and to pretend that I get up every day and feel like a rock star could not be further from reality.

I know I can’t do it all, at least on my own.  And to be honest the weight of thinking that I have to do everything effortlessly and flawlessly is just too much.

Enter…grace.

Grace to be imperfect, and very human.  

Grace is sufficient, and will help me see my humanity, and have grace with others as we bump into each other having a human experience.  

And we get to encourage each other.  I didn’t think writing a crafty DIY blog with my recipes and thrifty ideas would allow other people to be themselves and feel ok about having one clean room in their home.  Or one hot meal on the table that week.

There was a season I became very quiet on this space, where I didn’t have the energy to write, and my heart was heavy with fear. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Printables, Thoughts

Gluten Free Cheesy Pasta + Kielbasa Dinner

March 7, 2017 by 4 Comments

Oh yeah….

It’s about to get really cheesy up in here.

And…

Gluten free y’all!

 

Gluten Free dinner ideas

 

I LOVE THIS RECIPE, there I did my all caps and freaked out a teeny bit about how super easy and kid friendly this skillet dinner is.

I love pasta, but pasta does not always love me back so much.  So I use gluten free pasta, and make something sensitive tummies and hard-core-wheat-tummies can eat too.

This is a 30 minutes or less recipe and there were no traces of this cheesy goodness on my family’s plates when we finished.

That is always a good sign right?

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Gluten Free Recipes, Thrifty Living Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Farmhouse lantern gross to gorgeous!

March 5, 2017 by 11 Comments

Farmhouse lantern main #farmhouse #twelveOeight #diy

We almost missed this huge lantern when thrifting recently. 

There it sat, super dirty and full of cobwebs, looking sad and sitting on the dusty floor of our local thrift shop.

It was the price tag that got out attention, $6.99 at Goodwill for a huge metal and glass lantern that is screaming for a makeover.  For a minute I wondered if this was a joke because this was a seriously good deal.  This beauty is over 24″ tall and did she land in our cart fast, as we discussed what her new life was going to look like.

Here is the before…..EW. [Read more…]

Filed Under: DIY, Farmhouse Style, Thrifty Finds
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