My Weekend Project

My Weekend Project

By   8:28:00 AM   No comments:

Being on a budget it can be hard to remodel your house!
So first I started working on the half bath. I'm ALMOST done. Just working on the last finishing touch up paint and decorations. Decor can be expensive! I found a great idea at the craft store but the "paint molding clay" they used was more than the canvas'! So I improvised!

Here is what I did this weekend to fill an empty wall and only spent about $20 total!

Supplies Needed
3 - 12"x12" blank painting canvas'

1 can of spray paint in your chioce of color

Leaves, ferns, etc. from you yard (you could also use flowers and rocks)
Newspaper
Rubber Gloves
Small putty knife

CrackSHOT ® Spackling Paste - you only need about 1 cup total so a small container will work (You can get at your home improvement store)

 1. Using the small putty knife apply Spackling Paste over entire canvas about 1/4" thick. It is ok if you can see lines in the spackle. It adds to the effect.

2. Make sure your gloves are on and press (vien side down) your leaves, ferns, flowers etc. on the  Spackling Paste.

3. Now starting on the edges spray paint the sides of the frame and then start spraying over your leaves and such. You can spray as much or as little as you would like. I sprayed the outter edge darker then in the inner part.

4. Immediatly remove your leaves rocks, flowers, etc. Again you can leave the spakle underneath white or lightly spray over it which is what I did.

5. Repeat with the other two canvas'.

6. Let is dry over night and voila! you have three great pices of art for under $10 EACH!

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Tiling is not for sissys! Lessons learned today...

Tiling is not for sissys! Lessons learned today...

By   7:35:00 PM   1 comment:

So being home since August I have started taking on some much needed home improvement projects, from moving light fixtures, to fixing leaky pipes and now onto removing the MOST disgusting CARPET in our bathrooms and replacing them with porcelain tile.

My husband's comment was, we can put linoleum in the small bathroom because I don't think you will have fun doing it. I of course then insisted I start with the small bathroom that way I would not give up and had to finish BOTH bathrooms!

Well whoever said a woman could single handly install tile with a 1-year old at home was sadly mistaken, oh wait that was me!

Tips:
#1 Do it nude, no I'm not joking. This will save you from ruining your favorite lounge wear while it is now caked with mortar!

#2 Whoever said you could mix mortar by hand was smokin' SOMETHING!

#3 Unless you lift weights daily do not even attempt to drive the heads of the screws flush with the backer board. If you don't believe then ask me why there is a drill bit holding in part of the junction box for our new bathroom light and not a screw, um because I don't have that upper body strength and no one would help me!

#4 Don't try this at home.

OH by the way did I mention all I did today was install the backerboard? I do have to say I was HIGHLY impressed with myself that I was able to cut the hole for the toilet waste pipe And that it all fit nicely back together once I had to take it all out and put mortar under the backer board, yes some people actually believe this is the correct way to install backer board!

Tonight, the dry run! Tomorrow.....

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Tips for Redecorating Your Living Room on a Budget

Tips for Redecorating Your Living Room on a Budget

By   9:03:00 AM   No comments:

The living room is frequently the focal point of a house, as far as entertaining is concerned. How it is decorated is important for many families because this is where the most time is spent. Fortunately, there are some easy ways to provide a new look without spending a lot of money.

Give new life to the old

While new furniture certainly gives a new look to the living room, purchasing many new pieces may not be in the budget. Instead, look at using current furnishings in different ways.

Rearrange it – Moving current furniture around the room can create a new ambience and might make better use of the space. This may even mean removing some clutter by getting rid of little-used pieces.

Cover it – If the furniture is still in pretty good shape but could use a new look, slipcovers are the way to go. They are available in a variety of fabrics and colors to fit most sofas, chairs and recliners. Slipcovers can be changed each season to redecorate the living room throughout the year.

Add to it – Fringe, ribbons, beads and felt patterns can be added to pillows to either make them more elegant or casual, depending on your personal tastes. Combined with new couch covers, you could completely change the look of your furniture in a few easy steps.

Paint it – While wallpaper comes in a variety of styles it can be expensive. Painting walls can add a fresh look at a much lower price, while meaning less maintenance on them in the long run.

Finding new pieces

There may be certain furnishings needed to finish off the redecorating process, but that still does not have to mean a lot of money has to be spent. There are several places to find furniture and accessories on a budget.

Classifieds – Local newspaper classified ads are great places to look for deals. The people selling the items are usually in the same area, so transportation is easier, and it can usually be seen before purchasing. Online classifieds, such as Craigslist and Freecycle, offer a wider range of goods but it may be harder to get them home.

Garage or Yard Sales – Just because people put out some of their older items for sale does not mean good quality items cannot be found. Often, people will try to sell their older furniture at a garage sale simply because they no longer have room or because they are going through their own remodeling. This means they may also be more likely to negotiate on price in order to make a quick sale.

Auctions – These are some of the best places to find secondhand furniture at bargain prices, providing you set a budget and stick to it. The pieces can be viewed before bidding and if the price gets too high, simply move on to the next item and try again.

Perhaps the most important thing about redecorating a living room on a budget is to have fun and use some imagination. This will ensure the room has its own unique style and nobody needs to know not a lot of money was spent.

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Glidden - Paint Your Way to Happy! #Get Color

Glidden - Paint Your Way to Happy! #Get Color

By   9:22:00 PM   No comments:

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Glidden. All opinions are 100% mine.

I love COLOR. And even more so when you get to chose it! One of my favorite stores is, yes I admit it, The Home Depot!

My favorite department in the whole store is the paint department. At least one wall in every room of our house is filled with color. Now I work for an interior design firm so I had some help choosing the right color scheme. But this also means when my husband asks me to bring some white paint home, I reply "What color white paint?" After all there are thousands of shades of white!

When I start a room I start at Glidden.com. Glidden has many user friendly tools on their site to help you choose just the right color for your project! They offer paint testers in EVERY color. Yes EVERY color not just a select few like MOST paint companies! They also have extra large paint chips and a ton of coordinating color ideas and pictures for your home!

One of my FAVORITE product from Glidden is their Ready-To-Go Paint Testers. This is very beneficial is you have children. Because I don't know about you but my walls can get scratched, scraped, colored on, and who else knows what! I found it is easier to paint over the black permanent marker my son decorated my office with than try to scrub it off with stinky rubbing alcohol! So another cool feature about the Ready-To-Go Paint Testers is you don't have to purchase an additional paint brush to test your color out! It comes with one attached to the lid! That is a great feature for a mom that seems to loose track of everything. And lastly my most favorite feature of all..small and easy to store! I cannot honestly tell you how many gallons of paint I have stored in my garage. Um let's say at LEAST a dozen, not to mention the 5 gallon buckets which realistically only have a half of paint left in them!

Glidden.com also offers a Room Painter feature on their website allowing you to visualize your color choice on your wall.

Visit Glidden.com today and start PaintingYour Way to Happy!

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Top Renovation Tips for a Happy Home

Top Renovation Tips for a Happy Home

By   9:09:00 AM   No comments:

Next week we will start talking about home renovations and repairs. As you all know we have started this at our house since moving in in October!

Here is a great guest article on "Top Renovation Tips for a Happy Home", from Ashton Mapletoft

Everybody’s idea of the “perfect home” differs. For this reason, you might not be able to find the house of your dreams. Even if this home did exist; it would no doubt cost a pretty penny. It might make more sense to purchase a house that best fits your aspirations and then shape it as you require. First-time buyers commonly buy a bare or run-down property and work away “doing it up”. Once work has completed, the first time buyer can sell the property and buy a more “fitting” house. Whatever your reason for home renovation, make sure that the project you are undertaking is well planned and thought out.

Normal buildings insurance may not cover the home during a renovation. Each insurance policy is different, so the terms and conditions should be read in their entirety before you decide whether or not your existing policy provides ample cover during work.

Always employ the services of builders, decorators and plumbers who have a good reputation. Receiving job quotations from more than two sources will help ensure that you don’t get overcharged for a particular job. You can always barter with each source; after receiving a new quote, describe the price and services on offer by other workmen, you will probably find that the new quote is revised and you may well end up saving money.

Although “adding your own touch” is an essential element in creating the home you desire, err on the side of caution when installing fixtures and decorating your home. You may wish to sell the property in the future, so you should try and ensure that personal touches are laced with neutrality. Painting the walls black and ceilings red may create the ambiance you are looking for, but when selling the property you would be likely to scare away any interested buyers.

Properly plan every detail of the renovation project and get advice from professionals whenever possible. Seek advice and the thoughts of close friends and family –they may come up with something you haven’t thought of. Don’t try to “reinvent the wheel” when building and decorating. Budget for every job – and adhere to it. Finally, if you don’t feel confident about carrying out a particular job yourself – call in the professionals.

About the author: Ashton Mapletoft is a freelance writer with a particular interest in buildings insurance.

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