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Category Archives: Contests
CHALLENGE RESULTS: No Money, Big Results
Well, it’s official, March is over and we’re already into April! Whew… that went fast! At the beginning of the month, I challenged myself to an entire month of projects without spending a dime! I am proud to say that I got quite a few things accomplished, but there are still tons of projects that can still be done for free that I just didn’t get a chance to get to. So how’d I do on money? Almost perfect! I spent a total of $30.50 for the entire month of March! Not bad right?!?!? I really did plan on spending no money at all, but when push came to shove, there were a couple things I needed. First, Target seduced me into purchasing five baskets for my office closet makeover! Though, in my defense, I knew that I would not be able to get comparable baskets for less than $7 a piece, so it was basically a 66% savings and something I just couldn’t pass up! Do you blame me? Second, I needed to come up with a fun DIY donation for a local charity, so I spent $20 for an Ikea Latt Kid’s Activity Table. Technically, I think this $20 shouldn’t count since it was for charity. Now, how’d I do on projects? I’ll let you be the judge… Biggest Impact: Building Custom Storage for my home office closet, and then using mostly items on hand to get everything organized! This has given me a ton of usable space, where I had none before. Now, all of my camera equipment, office/craft/art supplies, and electronics (including cords) have their very own basket to call home. After I’ve lived with this a bit, I will likely work on an inner-basket organization system to compartmentalize each basket to make them even more … Continue reading
Ikea Latt Children’s Activity Table Hack
I was recently asked to donate to a local children’s charity which includes a ball and an action. Fun stuff, right! So, of course, I went ahead with a donation. Keeping in mind that this is a children’s charity and there would be lots of parents and grandparents attending, I wanted to create something that would be both attractive and functional. My decision… the Ikea Latt Children’s Activity Table. I ran over to my local Ikea and picked one up, but the look left much to be desired… and honestly, what kind of DIYer would I be if I simply donated a store-bought table without putting my own spin on it. So, this is what I came up with: The process is very straight-forward and fairly simple, and since it really only involves paint, just about anyone should be able to DIY this project! To start, I pulled all of possible supplies together, knowing that I might not use them all, but wanted options. After the supplies were gathered, I pulled all of the pieces for the table and chairs out of the box and laid them out on the floor. I quickly was able to formulate my painting approach and settled on a soft, grey-blue as the main color, leaving all of the legs natural wood for texture and contrast to the grey-blue color and the black, chalkboard table-top. First, I painted the the first coat of chalkboard paint on the tabletop, knowing that it would require multiple coats. The next step was to paint all of the grey-blue accents on the table and chairs. I was immediately more in love with the blue I had chosen than I thought I would be! It played so well against the natural wood legs and the dark, charcoal-black chalkboard top. Score! … Continue reading
Posted in Art, Contests, DIY, Furniture, Get Inspired, Painting, Pinspiration
18 Comments
March 2012 Challenge: Month of Projects, NO Money!
That’s right! While I’m working through a whole bunch’o things here at DBL, I’m challenging myself to an entire month of projects without spending a dime! The reason why… cuz I wanna see if I can do it! The second reason why… we have developed a bit of a stock pile of miscellaneous supplies and I want to see how resourceful and creative I can get. The last reason why… I’ll reveal that on the blog at the end of the month, so you’ll just have to wait to see until then! Yay! Seriously, as weird as it sounds for me to be excited about no shopping for a month, I am! So, in an attempt at fairness and trying to give y’all a window into my brain, I thought I would share an exhaustive (but still probably not all-inclusive) list of random stuff we have around our house that might make their way into my projects! What am I working with? poplar wood stained baseboard and quarter round extra wood flooring shaved down 2x4s various plywood and OSB MDF sheet wood trimmings (basically small scraps) assorted leftover house paint chalkboard paint spray paint craft paint frog tape white and grey Ikea curtain fabric lots of “view” binders in assorted sizes old front door Ikea Bygel bar and clips (leftover from laundry room) assorted hooks and wall mounting hardware 2 large drum lamp shades gross old closet doors old (large) mirror from guest bathroom assorted picture frames in many sizes wall clock with pendulum wooden closet rod dresser wicker-ish-style blanket basket silver, metal picture tree wrought iron 3-plate rack assorted flower vases tissue paper ribbon and tulle printable label sheets Like I mentioned, there may be things that I’m missing and may just find around the house as I’m knee … Continue reading
Posted in Contests, DIY, Get Inspired, Get Organized
4 Comments
2012 1st Projects of the Year: Double Feature
Just wanted to give a quick shout-out and THANK YOU to Whisper Wood Cottage for featuring two of our recent projects!!! As part of their 2012 1st Project of the Year Party, they’ve featured both our Laundry Room Makeover (found here)… AND… our Vintage Window Picture Display using cut-up holiday card pictures (found here)! Make sure to head on over and check out Whisper Wood Cottage’s series! There are tons of amazing projects being featured and lots of inspiration to be had! Thanks again Whisper Wood!!! ~Ashley Blog this! Bookmark on Delicious Digg this post Recommend on Facebook Share on Linkedin Share on netvibes share via Reddit Share with Stumblers Tumblr it Tweet about it Buzz it up Subscribe to the comments on this post Print for later Bookmark in Browser Tell a friend
Posted in Art, Celebrations, Contests, DIY, Laundry Room, Wall Decor
2 Comments
Pinterest Partayy: Entire Room Makeover!!!
Well, today’s the day! Just a short two weeks from when Jami at What the Graham called a few of us blogging ladies together, it’s time to reveal your projects! In the announcement, we said that we weren’t sure what project we’d be doing, but after a bit of thought, Eric and I decided that this was the perfect opportunity to make over an entire room! We just figured… go big or go home!!! After deciding to do an entire room, we settled on our laundry room. Our laundry room is one of two main entries into our home. You see… our laundry room suffers from a case of the “pass-through’s”! What does that mean? That means that it is the narrow corridor that you pass through when entering our home from the garage and it dumps you into the kitchen! Because of this, the laundry room has been a horrible dumping ground for miscellaneous junk ever since we moved in, and it gets seen all the time since it’s right off our kitchen. On top of being very tight on usable space, the one shelf that was in the laundry room was literally out-of-reach for my 5’2″ frame, making its use nearly impossible! So, it was settled… LAUNDRY ROOM IT IS!!! Here’s my main inspiration for the laundry room makeover: {1, 2, 3} This is what I started with… Clearly the room is so small and awkward that it’s super hard to photograph! Please don’t judge the terribly difficult/awful pictures, but you get the gist! In the end, this is what I came up with: Painted herringbone, color-blocked accent wall Fresh paint for entire room Custom DIY-built shelves and brackets DIY’d wall art and shelf decor More efficient storage Easier access to frequently used items Tutorials for each part … Continue reading
Posted in Art, Contests, DIY, Get Inspired, Get Organized, Home Accessories, Laundry Room, Pinspiration, Wall Decor
50 Comments
Pinterest Partayy!!! Get out and Git’r Done…
Happy official 2012!!! I can’t believe another year has begun! To celebrate the new year and the many many many piles of inspiration we all seem to be accumulating on Pinterest, Jami at What the Graham has decided to speerhead a Pinterest Partayy and asked a few of us fellow bloggers to play along, and hopefully you will too!!! Here’s the deal: 1. Make a project based on some Pinterest inspiration and write about it on your blog (or some other internet format- i.e. Facebook) 2. The two weeks starts now! So pick your project and git’r done!!! 3. Come back here the week of January 15th and link up your project! And see other people’s projects- the handiwork will be amazing- you might even gain more pinspiration and motivation!!! And remember, you can also link up with the other lovely ladies’ pages (What the Graham, Baby Gators Den, Hernando House, Merrypad, Mrs Priss, and The Stucco Bungalow) As for me, no secret revealing at this point! I’ve got a few ideas floating around my brain and I just can’t fully decide which to tackle just yet… BUT, if you want to try and guess, head on over to my Pinterest boards and do some perusing!!! Sorry to keep you in total suspense, but you’ll just have to check back on the 15th to see what craziness I got myself (and Eric probably, too) into! So, without further ado… get your butts moving and git’r done!!! And make sure to check out the lovely ladies who are part of this New Years Pinterest Partayy!!! Jami from What the Graham Cait from Hernando House Emily from Merrypad Joanna at Baby Gators Den Morgan from Mrs Priss Erin at The Stucco Bungalow So, who’s with us?!?!?!? Blog this! Bookmark on Delicious Digg this post Recommend on Facebook Share on … Continue reading
Posted in Celebrations, Contests, Get Inspired
6 Comments
