Etsy Pillow Additions

I have added Valentine's Day and St. Patrick's Day pillows to my Etsy shop.

Valentine's Day Pillows:

St. Patrick's Day Pillows:

All pillows are available for purchase in my Etsy Shop.

Scripture Tote Bags

Matt and I were put back into the Primary teaching the 7-year olds. This time around we have all girls. As an incentive to them bringing their scriptures, I told them I would make them a tote/purse. Each of them got to pick three of their favorite colors.

I used this great tutorial. I made my bags 13"x13" and the strap 30". The strap turned out to be a little long for 7 year olds, but I figured that they could grow into them.

Inside each purse I added a pocket and a pen holder. One of my girls, Anna, told me that she was happy that I put the pen holder in... now she has a place for her lipstick. (I thought that was adorable.)

Ella made me some yummy cookies and a card, and Bridget drew Matt and I a picture.

I have used this tutorial before. You can find those bags in another post found HERE.

Living Room Updo

Since we moved in, our front living room has been Matt's office (aka The Man Cave). As people came into our home, they would see clutter and a mess. I was embarrassed, so we decided to move Matt to the spare bedroom.

Lately, I have been itchin' for a project, so Matt and I decided to class up the room by adding board and batten to the walls.

We bought the MDF Hook Board at Burton Lumber. They come in .5" thick, 3.25" wide by 17' long. Each board cost about $4.50. We had to go this route since our baseboard is .5" thick. Unfortunately, you can't buy that thickness at Home Depot.

Board and Batten How To:

Cut vertical boards to the length you want. Nail each board to the wall. Just make sure you get your spacing right.

Next, add a horizontal board on top of the vertical boards.

Instead of leaving the board and batten like the picture above, we added another layer of vertical boards.

Next, add another horizontal board on top of the smaller vertical boards.

We also trimmed around the window. We wanted the window trim to look like the door trim that is throughout our house. Again, we had to special order that trim as well. The special trim costs a little more, but it's worth having everything matching and looking good.

If using raw MDF, prime the board and batten before you paint.

Before, painting the board and batten the final color... CAULK. Believe me, it looks a lot better if you do this.

Finally, paint the wall above the board and batten. Fortunately, we kept the wall color the same (Garden Shed by Martha Stewart), so we only had to do touch ups.

I think the room turned out great! The board and batten definitely added class to the room. Honestly, I walk by just to stare at our new beautiful room...

Next up, curtains, furniture and decor.

My Sister's House: Before & After

My sister bought her first house last August. It was a short sale, so my sister got it for a steal. This house had a lot of cosmetic issues, but after two weeks of hard work, we updated most of the house.


Front door area before:

Front door area after:

Improvements:
-paint
-new baseboard/casing

Living Room area before:

Living Room area after:

Improvements:
-paint
-new baseboard
-new carpet

Kitchen before:

Kitchen after:

Improvements:
-took down horrendous plastic backsplash squares
-raised the cabinets above the mircrowave/fridge
-added crown molding (we are going to paint the cabinets once it gets warmer)
-paint
-added pendent lighting above the bar and sink
-new baseboards/casing

Stair area before:

Stair area after:

Improvements:
-paint
-new carpet

Dining area before:

Dining area after:

Improvements:
-paint
-new baseboards

Family Room before:

Family Room after:

Improvements:
-removed the tile
-installed new tile in the walkway from the backyard to the garage
-removed the door between laundry room and family room
-new baseboard/casing
-new carpet
-paint
-added built-ins from Ikea out of Billy Bookcases

Laundry Room before:

Laundry Room after:

Improvements:
-new baseboard/casing
-paint
-added a wide board to the wall. Eventually, hooks will be added to hang coats on.
-painted the doors white (they used to be black... ya I know, who does that?!?)

Girl Room before:

Girl Room after:

Improvements:
-added board and batten
-new carpet
-paint

Boy Room before:

Boy Room after:

Improvements:
-new light/fan
-new carpet
-paint

Master Bedroom before:

Master Bedroom after:

Improvements:
-added board and batten
-new paint
-new carpet

It's amazing what some paint and new carpet can do for a place. This house went from yucky, don't touch the walls to bright, happy, and homey. I hope you enjoyed the tour....