50's Atomic Starburst Mirror

I love how this turned out. I followed this tutorial found HERE.

Total Cost:
$16.74

Wood Floor Cleaners

One thing about having a dark wood floor is that they are constantly dirty. Don't get me wrong, I love my floors, but you can see every hair and speck of dust deposited on the floor. So, up till now, I have been cleaning my wood floors with Swiffer's wet mop. Ya, I think is sucks (pardon the language...) This product does not clean my floor and It doesn't even have enough juice to clean my whole floor. While watching one of my favorite shows- HGTV's Get It Sold, Sabrina Soto suggested to use vinegar mixed with water. I couldn't remember the measurements, so I went to the web and found these. I haven't tried any yet, but I will...

1. One of the easiest and most basic solutions for homemade wood cleaners is a mixture of 1/2 cup white vinegar to 1 gallon of warm water. Dip a sponge mop in the floor cleaning solution, and squeeze it several times until the mop is almost dry. Rinse the mop out frequently. There is no need to rinse the floors, but you may want to take a clean cloth or towel and dry any damp areas.

2. 
   An old tried and true solution for cleaning wood floors is to brew 10 tea bags to 1/2 gallon of water. Let the mixture steep until very strong. As with the vinegar and water solution, use a sponge mop dampened with the mixture and wipe dry afterwards.
3. A great, easy, and gentle cleaner for wood floor laminate is a mixture of 2 tablespoons baby shampoo to 1 gallon of warm water. As with any wet solution, use a sponge mop that has been squeezed to the point of being almost dry before mopping the floor. Wipe the floor after mopping with a rag or old towel to soak up any excess water.
4. Another wood laminate cleaner is a mixture of 2 cups white vinegar, 2 cups water, 1 cup lemon juice, and 1/4 cup unscented, dye-free dish soap. As with any wet solution, use a sponge mop that has been squeezed to the point of being almost dry before mopping the floor. Wipe the floor after mopping with a rag or old towel to soak up any excess water.
5. Mix 1/4 cup of borax and 2 tablespoons baby shampoo with 1 gallon of water. This solution not only cleans well, but also smells nice when you've finished the cleaning job.
   
6. For another great wood floor cleaner, mix 1 part baby shampoo, 1 part alcohol, and 4 parts water. Using a sponge mop that has been squeezed to the point of being almost dry, mop the floor. Immediately wipe the floor after mopping with a rag or old towel to soak up any excess water.

found HERE

Make your own Duvet Cover

I don't know many people who use these, but I have been thinking about using one lately. This may be a coincidence, but I was painting yesterday, and I accidentally (I should have moved it) got paint on a comforter I had in the closet. By finding this tutorial, it saved me from DI-ing it or chucking the comforter.
1. lay 2 sheets of the same size facing each other.
2. lay an existing duvet cover/comforter of desired size on the sheets.
3. leave a .5" margin and mark a cutting line around 2 sides of the sheets (leave the top and one side uncut).

4. Pin all sides of sheets together and sew around 3 sides leaving the top (or bottom) uncut side open.

5. Fold the sewn sheets in half length wise so you can find the middle and mark it, open the fold and measure and mark 12" from the middle to each side and sew from the sides to the marking (see above).
6. Ta Da!!! your done, congratulations!

Tutorial found HERE.

Check THIS post out for another way to make a duvet cover:

Personalized Towels

If you did this plus added a hood, this towel would be out of this world!She used strips of Stitch Witchery under the letters (she bought the Stitch Witchery at Wal-Mart), ironed the letters on, then zig-zagged the edges. She then added strips of ribbon on both ends of towel and stitched those edges.

Found at The CreativeCrate

Tissue Paper Transfer Candles

This looks way cool and easy to do. You could do it for yourself, a neighbor or just about anyone. This fabulous idea was found HERE.

Fleece ragged quilt

SUPPLIES & TOOLS:
• 1 yd each of 4 fleece prints
• 2 yards fleece for back
• Basic sewing supplies
• Sewing machine
• Sharp scissors

DIRECTIONS:
1. Cut sixteen 9" squares from each print.
2. Cut sixty-three 9" squares of backing fabric.
3. Pair the prints with a backing square, wrong sides together.
4. With printed side up, arrange pairs in a pleasing pattern, laying out on a table or the floor with 7 squares across to form a row and 9 rows down.
5. Starting with the top row, sew the pairs together using a 1" seam allowance with wrong sides together so the seam allowances show on top. Sew the pairs together forming nine rows of seven squares.
6. Sew the nine rows together to form the quilt.
7. Clip seam allowances at 1/2" intervals being careful not to clip into seams.
8. Wash and dry quilt.

This is from Joann's

Pottery Barn Display

I saw this simple but elegant display in the Pottery Barn magazine. I decided to recreate it. I didn't have everything they had, but I improvised. I got all of the vases and all of the items in them at the DI.

Pottery Barn's display:


My Display:




Love it!

Stocking Holders

Look these cute stocking holders... Found HERE.

Always and Forever

I love to get the Pottery Barn Catalog. It's free, and it has some cute home decorating ideas. Once and a while you can find a DIY project.

In the Fall issue, I found this picture. I adore how they put "Always and Forever" on the wall. The A is 3-D and the rest is painted on the wall.

Love it!!!

DIY Necklaces

I have found some really cute necklaces that look simple to make. Here are a few:

Found HERE

Found HERE
Found HERE
Found HERE
Found HERE

Snow Flakes

I thought these were way cool! Find the tutorial HERE.

O Christmas Tree

I saw these Christmas trees at Dollar Tree and liked them, so I bought some.

I have also found some DIY trees around the net. Here are a few that I liked:
Twine trees. Tutorial found HERE.
Paper trees. Tutorial found HERE.
Felt trees. Tutorial found HERE.

Old John Meet new John...

We started this project in July. Here we are in December and we have finally finished the bathroom. We took this room down to the studs and even had to replace the outer wall due to water damage.

Here are some before shots:

Disgusting...

The new and improved bathroom:

The counter top is actually a butcher block from Ikea that we stained walnut. And of course the vessel sink. Love it!
New tile floor and cabinet from Ikea.
New window, tub, wall tile, and fixtures.

Advent Calendars Galore

I really really want to make an advent calendar for Christmas. I have seen many ideas around the web. Here are a few I like:


This one is from Pottery Barn Kids. I love this one the most!
This one is found here. I like it, but it needs to have a little more Christmas in it.
I like this one (found HERE), but I would tweak it. I would find something to put the boxes on instead of the wall. I like this one, because the blogger who posted this includes a scripture and a prize in each box. That way you get a thought about Christ (the reason for the season) and a goodie.

This ONE is cool too. You can find this box at Roberts.

Post It Note

Cute idea!

Found HERE

Nativity

What a cute idea!

Gobble Gobble

Here is one of my projects from craft night with my mom and sister.

Crackle Clocks

I want to make my own wall clock. I really like the antiqued look, so after looking around the internet, I found you have to use something called crackle finish. I found THIS website with some good ideas, and THIS website with directions on how to "crackle" something.

You can also go HERE, to found out how the crafters on this website made their own clock.

House Decorating for Fall and otherwise

Now that the disaster areas in my house have been cleaned up (minus the bathroom- that is a whole other story) , I have been able to decorate.

My new table
The DI wall art. In case you are wondering what the newspaper on the wall is for, that is where we are going to hang a T.V.

I got three of these mirrors a year ago for my birthday at Tai Pan for $12 each. I spray painted them black recently and hung them in my kitchen. They look awesome.

My front door area. I grew the pumpkins and corn. They make great decorations
mini-broom and ribbon. Total cost of craft $2.00. Thanks Dollar Tree.
I plan on decorating these trees for every holiday.
My table Decorations
These candle sticks were on clearance at Hobby Lobby and I couldn't pass them up. Since they were ugly, I spray painted them black, and I put three mini pumpkins on them as decoration.