DIY Painted Feather Wall Art

May 5, 2017 By 11 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: , , ,

Farmhouse lantern gross to gorgeous!

March 5, 2017 By 6 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

How to make your own carpet cleaner

February 25, 2017 By 4 Comments

How to make carpet cleaner

 

I am probably a bit of a cleaning nerd but I like to clean.

Well, more the enjoyment over the end result perhaps than the process itself.

This last weekend I took full advantage of the 3 day weekend and did some serious deep cleaning in our home.

Lifting a layer of winter dirt and grime (and it never ceases to amaze me how bad it really is lol!) makes my house sparkle and my heart happy as I put my feet up and enjoy the end result.

This year I used a combination of store bought items and homemade cleaning supplies too. [Read more…]

Filed Under: DIY, Homemade Cleaning Supplies, Thrifty Living Tagged With: , , ,

Early spring flowers DIY

February 14, 2017 By 2 Comments

spring flower craft #spring #diy #craft #springdecor #twelveOeight #diywedding #budgetwedding

 

We have had a long winter for the Pacific Northwest, and I don’t know about you, but I am SO ready for Spring.

Everything coming to life, longer days, more sun and those first signs of blooms, little buds on the trees and beautiful blooms saying hello after so many months of being tucked away in the cold.

We have been noticing our days are a bit longer and enjoying a bit more daylight after 5pm than in weeks prior, another sign Spring surely can’t be too far behind.

 

Spring decorating #flowers #diy #knockoff #spring #wedding

 

I wanted to make something that was bright and pretty for my kitchen (but I will probably move it 10 more times) and as I looked at what I had on hand I found pretty pale orange, white and peach blooms along with a pretty green-blue ribbon I have had for a while.

I wasn’t sure what to use for a container and since we recycle and reuse much of what we buy I saw these two cans and thought they would make perfect vases.

A bit of flat white spray paint, some hot glue to secure the ribbon on the back of each can, and some moss tucked down to hold the flowers in place. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Decorating, DIY, Spring decor

Thrifted wood garden stool before + after!

February 12, 2017 By 10 Comments

I am SO excited to share this quick and easy before and after with you today.

Sometimes a dramatic change is simple and does not involve any fancy tools or lengthy amounts of time to complete.

And sometimes…

With a little paint, and some dry time…

Painted garden stool #diy #twelveOeight

 

A beautiful swan emerges from a dark old piece of furniture that is tired and in need of a refresh.

I found this wooden plant stand/garden stool piece for $9.99 at a little thrift store locally that I have not been to before.

It was nice and solid and initially I thought I would make a padded seat for the top, I love the direction it went once the paint began to dry.

Admittedly, I do paint a lot of things white.  But with grey walls and our larger pieces of furniture being fairly dark, a fresh, crisp white gives a space a whole new feel.

I love this Chalky Finish spray paint by Krylon.  I used less than one can and it covered over this dark wood very well. [Read more…]

Filed Under: DIY, home decor, Spray Paint 101

7 things you should buy at thrift stores

February 8, 2017 By 2 Comments

What are the best deals at thrift stores #thriftstore #secondhand #thrifting #thriftyliving

 

Walking around my home with my coffee recently I realized that I have more second hand items than not. 

If you have followed twelveOeight for a while or you are new here (yay thank you everyone for your love and support!) you will probably see that my PASSION is to turn nothing into something fabulous.

So…I began thinking that it would be fun to do a series on what a 30 year veteran of thrifting does to score those finds.  

When Macklemore came out with Thrift Shop a few years ago, I instantly loved the song, and him (ok there may be a secret crush going on too hee hee)  and listen to his music often.  While we don’t pop any tags lol, we do believe that paying full price or spending $50 on a t-shirt is getting swindled by an industry.  Not only that but look at how full our landfills would be if everyone just discarded their furniture, home goods, clothes etc… when they no longer wanted them.

YES!!! This is where it gets good.  One come up coming at you.  

I can remember the first yard sale in my neighborhood as a kid.  My family were not thrifters, in fact I was an only child for 15 years and my Mom loved her some Nordstrom.  So I was accustomed to all that came with having a Mom and Grandma to hang out with who LOVED to shop.  

I watched the neighbors set up their tables, then out came box after box full of dishes and lamps, and paintings, and some furniture.  After I could take it no longer (I am pretty sure this is the test for a lover of all things thrift.  Watch your heart rate and how fast you grab your wallet when you see a yard sale or new thrift shop.)  I had to see what they were doing. [Read more…]

Filed Under: DIY, How To Save Money, Thrifty Living

Lace + leather floral bohemian dream catcher

January 26, 2017 By 2 Comments

Leather and Lace DIY Boho Dream Catcher #boho #diy #howtomake #dreamcatcher

 

I must have a thing with strings of lights, layers of texture and dream catchers.  Or a variation of one like the one we are making today.

When I was sifting through my craft supplies and found this embroidery hoop, and a yard of lace fabric I begin thinking about some of the open centered dream catchers that I have seen and loved.

Some have dyed ombre’ yarn, others have lots of greenery and flowers, this turned out having a bit of everything I have seen and loved.

Strips of lace, a little yarn and a few wooden beads, a piece of leather and some white pom poms for good measure.

This dream catcher came together pretty quickly and since our bedrooms all have at least one (yes I suppose you could say I love to make them!) this one may end up in my office refresh. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Boho Style, DIY, home decor

DIY recycled t-shirt wall art

January 17, 2017 By 3 Comments

DIY tshirt wall art #upcycle #diy #wallart #twelveOeight

 

I graduated from High School in 1989.

That puts me at 45 today, and while some things have changed so much, my love of rock t-shirts, all things Stevie Nicks, and dreams of travelling Europe with a backpack and train pass have never changed.

I grew up on a small working farm, raised by my organic-gardening grandparents while my mom sorted fruit for a local orchard.

On sunny days you could find my running between the fruit trees and when the weather was cold, pouring over my mom’s impressive collection of records and deciding if I needed to sew a new halter top.

Years have passed and I think I still have her first Beatles record in my own collection buried between some New Order and the Doors.

Somewhere in my teens a love of thrifting and upcycling emerged, and I suppose some might say hoarding.  I have however purged collected items many times over, keeping a core group of treasures that I am sure I could not live without.  So we will not call it hoarding but curating a collection of things that bring us joy.

Yes, that sounds so much better.

Recently while trolling through my local Goodwill I came across a navy tank top that had an embroidery skull that caught my eye. [Read more…]

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

6 pretty home trends you will love for 2017

January 8, 2017 By Leave a Comment

2017-design-trend-collage

The Portland area has a wonderful mini blanket of snow this weekend topped by some dangerous ice that is keeping my inside enjoying my coffee and fireplace today.

So I have to admit, while I like to keep up on trends, my home is an eclectic mix of what I love.  A mish mash of farmhouse/boho/and lots of painted furniture.

I have forecasted trends that you may remember, most not brag-worthy but still worth mention:

  1. The Bomber jacket.  Long before Top Gun this girl rocked a leather bomber jacket.  It was not because I was cool or saw into the future, we lived in Minneapolis and my Step-dad had a sweet leather jacket from being overseas.  And it was really cold, the jacket kept me warm, more function than style.
  2. Skinny jeans. Any of you “peg” your jeans when you were younger perhaps? Then you nailed that trend long before it was mainstream.  We were soooooo cool.
  3. Ok last one, spray paint.  I spray painted all of my furniture and accessories forever before spray paint was cool.   I was a single mom trying to make her house look amazing on a zero budget so again, not about style as much as revamping what I had to last a little longer.  Funny thing some things stick as I am sure I have 75+ different colors and kinds of spray paint.  That is another day.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Decorating, DIY, Modern Decor

Painted mantel in the darkest of greys + Christmas sneak peak!

November 17, 2016 By 2 Comments

farmhouse-christmas-sign-barnwood-diy-twelveoeight

 

The painting bug seems to strike at unexpected times. 

I would think of spring and fall first, as one you are purging and refreshing your space for warmer weather and the other getting cozy and bringing in warmth all around you.

But right before Thanksgiving, not something I thought we would tackle.

Until I removed everything from our fireplace wall and hung a Barn Wood Christmas sign that I made.  Then I realized to really make the sign pop, the wall needed to be darker. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Christmas, DIY, Farmhouse Style
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