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The Real Housewives of DIY with Holley from Lunges and Lashes

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I am SO excited to have the wonderful Holley from Lunges and Lashes doing this weeks Real Housewives post!! Holley has been a sweet friend since Jake and I got married and she is such an inspiration to me. Check out her blog to see why. :)

So without further adieu...Holley!

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This is how I have made MY space mine during the "transition" time of temporary housing so many of us often find ourselves in.

When living in temporary housing accommodations, it can be really hard to feel like you surroundings reflect you and contain a feeling of your personality. This girl (Me!) has some major house fever when it comes to having our own space, decorating and organizing my home. I just can't wait!
So living a college lifestyle can be hard when you know you are only somewhere temporarily and funds are tight already. I have held back from spending a lot of money on decorations or furniture knowing that our time here is short. I would so much rather wait and invest that money on pieces I KNOW will fit our future home's set-up instead of getting something now and regretting it. 
I have issues I know. Square dining table or a round one!?! So many questions!

And who doesn't love our funky crazy furniture! Right?!


I realize it's not that big of a deal but I have just decided to hold off on most things and just placed a few items around the house to give the house a little feel of us. We are lucky enough to live in a BEAUTIFUL older home so you don't need much to add to it's natural beauty. 
I am addicted to hardwood floors now. I have been spoiled. 

Despite my commitment issues on decor and knowing my taste will probably totally change by the time we are in a house of our own... I did put a lot of work in putting 1 room together. 

A necessity for me, A SALON.


I am a hairdresser and needed a little room to have my clients in! With a little work... well... maybe a little bit more work than that... and a small budget I was able to put together a great space!
The room was originally just a mud room that was an addition to the back of the house after the original construction. When we moved in the walls were off white and pretty dirty and had some terribly worn carpet.

So we painted the walls a cheery blue color and ripped up the carpet and put in some cheap linoleum. Since this is STILL a temporary situation we wanted to keep the expenses low.
I found this cute lime green retro chair online for $5! In the for sale photo it was pretty dirty but after a good scrub it was good as new! I couldn't turn down such a deal! Plus it was the perfect feel I was looking for.

I also snagged a great magazine rack from IKEA for $10 and the mirror at Target for $10 as well. The Japanese lantern hanging from the ceiling was a souvenir from a trip to Hawaii. It turned out to be a great extra source of light and it was something I already owned!

I found frames at the thrift store for $1 a piece and spray painted them yellow as my accent color to match the curtains that you can see in the next photo.

The curtains were already here in the home so that was a score.
I also found a little coat hanger at IKEA for $5 that I spray painted and use to hold all of my capes. 

A snagged a couple storage pieces from Ikea and Target and I had the room I needed!


Lots of little touches make a big improvement.

Including the little functional pieces I bought the price tag on this came in about $150 dollars. TOTALLY worth it in my book. I have used this space so much, and every time I am so glad i have it.

I love having my OWN little space in my house that I feel represents my personality and welcomes my clients into my home.

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Love Holley's style? Leave a comment and let her know! :)

Just call me Sandy

Sanding. We all got to do it at some point. 

But who am I kidding...I actually really enjoy it!

Before we left for North Carolina I went on a power sanding marathon, sanding my hutch, dresser, and a changing table for a client. 

And pathetic as it is, I was SUPER sore when I was done. 

So I thought that we should do a Sanding 101 post. 

Sanding isn't super difficult, but there are a few tricks that make it easier.

Sanding 101
  
The first thing you need to know when sanding is understanding the "grit" of sandpaper. Grit is a reference to the number of abrasive particles per inch of sandpaper. The lower the grit the rougher the sandpaper and conversely, the higher the grit number the smoother the sandpaper.The grit you use depends on what you are trying to do.

Here's a chart describing various grits/grades of sandpaper and their uses:




30 grit
extremely coarse
60 grit
80 grit
100 grit
recommended for general purpose, drywall patches, furniture re-finishing
120 grit
180 grit
220 grit
recommended for general purpose, furniture
240 grit
320 grit
400 grit
recommended for fine finishing, polishing, gilding
600 grit
800 grit
recommended for fine polishing, hand rubbed finishes and gilding
1000 grit
1200 grit
1600 grit
extremely fine. Polishing, jewelry

I prefer a 60 grit for removing old stain/paint and a 220 grit for buffing.

Once you have the sandpaper you need, make sure you've removed all existing hardware, screws etc from the furniture. Side note: It is SUPER frustrating to misplace screws, nuts, bolts, hardware etc. Make sure you put all hardware in some form of container. This is ESPECIALLY important if you are reusing the original hardware on an older piece.  Sometimes old hardware isn't produced anymore. SO DON"T LOSE IT!!

Now it's time to sand. Hopefully you've already decided if you want to stain or paint your furniture. If you are wanting to stain the piece, sanding is going to be a little more time consuming. Staining is much more difficult than painting...it requires ALL the old stain to be removed. If you try to stain over existing stain, the new stain will be darker in the places where the two overlap, producing an uneven color.  

With painting, just the varnish needs to be sanded off before it is painted. You don't need to sand it down to the original wood.  And there are some new lines of paint that don't even require you to prime or prep your wood before painting. Seriously amazing!! (See Annie Sloans website for more info) Another tip: I find it easiest to sand horizontal surfaces as opposed to vertical ones. I usually rotate the piece as I sand.

It should look something like this. 
I did sand it down a little more after the picture but you get the idea. 


You will periodically need to replace your sandpaper as you sand. My general rule is one piece will last you 1/3 of your project's size for large projects. Does that make sense? I'm not sure how to explain it better. 

Essentially, if your sandpaper looks like this

it's time to replace it.

For sanding detail work, an electric sander usually won't be able to get in all the nooks and crannies. This little guy is great for such situations. It's called a sanding block.


They are about $6 at Home Depot.

Finally, how to sand and look good doing it. 
  1.  Don't wear anything you don't want to get dirty. I prefer a hoodie and sweats. They do wonders for my backside. :)

2. Make sure you wear some kind of protective eye wear. Sunglasses work fine.
        3.It is helpful to wear a mask so that you don't choke on all the dust. But I usually do fine                      without one so it's your call.
        4. Finally, it is SUPER helpful to either wear your hair pulled back or a bandanna etc.  Saw dust is actually really difficult to wash out of your hair, especially if your hair is thick.  
Now go get to work!! :)

Christmas Outdoor Lighting Ideas

Perfect Christmas Light House Design Theme | Alinskie.
Christmas Light House
Perfect Christmas Light House Design Theme | Alinskie.
Fantastic Pictures: Christmas Outdoor Lighting Ideas
Christmas Outdoor Lighting
Fantastic Pictures: Christmas Outdoor Lighting Ideas
Outdoor Christmas Lights Ideas for the Roof
Outdoor Christmas Lights Ideas
Outdoor Christmas Lights Ideas for the Roof
C Style+Design: December 2012
Outdoor Christmas Lighting
C Style+Design: December 2012
Christmas Light Decorating Ideas
Clear C9 Christmas Lights on
Christmas Light Decorating Ideas

Lounge Furniture Walmart

Living Room Furniture - Walmart.
Living Room Furniture
Living Room Furniture - Walmart.
Living Room Furniture - Walmart.
Living Room Furniture
Living Room Furniture - Walmart.
Living Room Furniture - Walmart.
Living Room Furniture
Living Room Furniture - Walmart.
Patio Furniture - Walmart.
Patio Furniture - Walmart.com
Patio Furniture - Walmart.
Living Room Furniture - Walmart.
Living Room Furniture
Living Room Furniture - Walmart.

Going to find my Tara

I love Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind. I've read it every year since I was in 9th grade. I love Scarlet O'Hara and Rhett Butler. (Our son Rhett, is partially named after the character. I also once had a fish named Mr. Rhett Butler.) I love the tenacity of the characters and the descriptions of southern life. I love how much Scarlet loves Tara, her home.


We are flying to North Carolina tomorrow to explore and see if we want to move our little family so far away. I am so excited to go back south. I'm from Kentucky and I LOVE the greenness, the rolling hills, the gentle accents, the FOOD, the laid back "Come on in" southern hospitality.

Maybe I'll find my Tara while we're there. 

Maybe it'll look like this,


or like this.


And while I'm dreaming maybe I'll be standing on the front porch when Jake gets home in my hoop skirt that makes my waist look oh so tiny.

No-Sew Placemat Throw Pillows

I might have a small obsession with throw pillows. I love them on beds, chairs, couches. I love how comfy they make a bed look. Waiting for you to dive into their softness for a good nights sleep. Hmmmm.....to bad bed time is still several hours away. 
These are a few lovelies I found. 
source

source


My husband edited these and deleted the link to Etsy with the source for these two and I can't find them again in all of Etsy's vastness..  My apologizes to whoever made them!!
So cute right?!
When Jake and I make our first million I don't know if I'd rather buy a ton of shoes or throw pillows...tough choice. But for now, these lovelies are out of my price range so I came up with a more affordable alternative.

{ The No-Sew Placemat Throw Pillows }

Here's the tutorial.

What you'll need:
  • 2 placemats per pillow
  • batting
  • fabric glue
Here is one that I've made.

I started with these dinner napkins that were my grandmother's. I love them.



  • Because I used napkins and not placemats I made an X in the middle to hold both sides of the napkin together. 
  • If you are using placemats you can forgo the X in the middle.
  • Just apply glue to 3 sides of the placemat leaving one side unglued for the batting to go into. 



  • Once your glue is applied, spread it with a foam brush so that you don't get a glue line/mark on the finished product. 
  • Let it dry for at least 45minutes. You don't want to try stuffing before the glue is dry, otherwise you'll split the glue seams.
  • Once the glue is dry, stuff the pillow with the batting. To ensure that your pillow maintains shape during use, knead the pillow periodically while stuffing it. This will help the batting lie as it will while your using it and help ensure you don't end up with a flat pillow. My rule is that if I can still pinch the opening so that it closes, I can put more batting in.
  • Once all the batting is in, glue the remaining side. Since the pillow is now stuffed, it will be harder to glue the edge without it popping open so lay a heavy object on the final side to help it stayed glue.
And tada! A throw pillow!





The whole projects takes about 15 minutes of work and 45 minutes of wait time. 1 hour total.
Most placemats cost about $3 a piece and batting is usually about $7 for a large pad which will stuff 2 or 3 pillows. 

Not too shabby!!

I promise we're not rednecks.

If you walk past our house, 9 times out of 10 we'll have a half finished piece of furniture on our front porch.

I feel bad for our neighbors. 
I try to be a responsible DIY'er and not sand too early or too late in the day.
I try not to paint when kids are getting out of school, 
so I don't overwhelm them with paint fumes as they walk home. 

(And mom's you can stop giving me dirty looks if I'm painting...
I don't know of a more well ventilated place to paint.)

But this is what happens when you don't have a garage. 



There is saw dust over everything.





And maybe I accidentally painted our fence.
(Graffiti isn't one of my talents.)


 When you come to visit, don't trip on one of several power tools littering the porch.


And did you know, stroller cup holders also double as storage for furniture hardware?


At least our neighborhood doesn't have a homeowner's association.
I'm not sure if they would like us.

But I promise we're not rednecks.


The Real Housewives of DIY

I want to start a new weekly guest post segment featuring YOU!

I am often so impressed with the projects that you do and the ideas that you have and I want to feature them here. The idea is to show ideas that are budget friendly and not crazy difficult. 

I'm calling these posts "The Real Housewives of DIY"...but without the drama of other certain "housewives" shows. :)

So without further adieu the first post from my wonderful friend Jackie



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Pretty soon, in 2 weeks, I will be an official "Stay at Home Mom." I capitalize it because it is a job title. I pretend to think that Sofia is going to take all her naps and let mom clean and start some projects. I know it's not going to happen, but a girl can dream right? I HOPE I can do something good with my time, rather than sit and watch Oprah while eating bon bons. (p.s. anyone else so depressed it's her lastseason...yeah, right when I'm finally home to watch it!)

I've looked around my house and asked myself "what could I take and make better?" Ummmm, a lot. So here is a picture of Sofia's little dresser. Maybe some cute knobs to add to it? (Did you notice the bottom knob broke off?? Oh wait, I cut that out of the picture on purpose. The knob is sitting there, on the top. See it?).



I feel that I am pretty good at decorating my very little home. I do what I can with what I have.  So here are some pictures to show off, and prove that I do have a little bit of talent...(btw, my house is so dark and has lots of brown, so I really want to bring out the blue this summer).





I'm thinking of adding blue toned pillows to my brown couch, and replacing my brown curtains with some other color. Suggestions??

Another talent...I am also really, really good at dressing my daughter. (But I can't sew a button).


(Isn't her little lady the cutest!)

Email me your projects/ideas for next week!

My Home this Morning (and a little announcement)

Let's start with the little announcement first.

I've had a lot of people tell me that they have furniture that just needs a little bit of love and they don't have the tools or time to work on it. 

So here's a possible solution. :)

If you live in the Utah valley/ Salt Lake area, I would be more than happy to come and pick up your piece, paint it/stain it, whatever you want!

Rates are listed under the tab at the top of the page and you can email me if you want to talk shop. :)

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Now on to something beautiful.

The lovely Jessica emailed me some pictures she had found of absolutely stunning bathrooms.

Is anyone else grateful to live in the 21st century and not have to use a latrine?

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Hello. My name is Jessica and I am what you would call a timid DIY gal. When I say timid, I mean I do small (very small) projects that don’t require as much time and effort as say, restoring or giving beauty to an unwanted piece of furniture like our dear Julia. I can make simple party decorations, a hair bow board, and do silly quick crafts. However, since talking with Julia, my wheels have been turning and I just love how DIY projects can give your home a special touch that no one else has. Instead of a cookie cut piece of furniture, you have one that is uniquely you. This is why I’ve decided that this summer I am totally redoing my bedroom dresser.  This thing is massive! And the poor thing has been neglected, but lucky for my husband and me, we only paid $20 for it. $20 for a dresser that is wood (and heavy mind you), 4 feet tall, and almost 6 feet wide, we definitely got a steal!  So this may very well be part one of two posts cause I’m turning this ugly beast into something grand. Can a dresser be grand? I guess there is only one way to find out!

But until then, I have been thinking about bathrooms. It’s not hard to do, I curse at the very small bathroom we currently have and think often of the day when I will have one that is 20x the size. Ok, maybe not 20 times, but definitely something a lot bigger! Two things I loved to do growing up was to dance and sing in my bathroom, but how can one do that when you stand in the middle of your tiny one with your arms outstretched and you touch each wall with your fingertips. I love me some dancing space! But you know what I also love, room to move! I can’t stand getting ready for bed in our bathroom with my husband at the same time, because we’re always bumping elbows and getting in each other’s way  so we just go in there one at a time, not to mention that my tub is not conducive for anyone over  5 ft. 5 in.  So my 5 ft. 10 in. frame feels so cramped in my bathtub that it’s not even a relaxing experience. Aren’t baths supposed to be relaxing?
So here is my must have checklist for my bathroom in no particular order because really, I want them all.
  •   Lots of counter space with his or her sinks
  • A lot of storage space that allows for easy organization
  •  A large jetted tub
  • A vanity (oh my word, can you imagine getting ready in front of one of these?!)
  • A large shower so that when I bend down to shave my legs, my butt doesn’t hit the cold tile. You know what I mean?
  •  BIG!!!

As I was browsing the good old internet I found some pictures of Master baths that I really liked bits and pieces of. I looked through a lot of pictures and still haven’t found one that is exactly what I want. I guess that means I will have to custom build one. J So here are a few that caught my eye…




Let me just say first of all that the sink is not ideal for me (remember the lots of counter space)? I also am not a fan of beige/tan in my bathroom. Or at least that much of it…but don’t you just love the fireplace next to the built in tub? That just seems like the ultimate relaxing scene. I can imagine me in a nice bubbly tub listening to my yoga cd with the ambience of the fire crackling beside me. I wish I was there now. And if a fireplace isn’t desired (I don’t know why it wouldn’t be) you can always put some extra shelving in. 

I just think this is a prime example of using your space wisely. 

I’m still trying to decide if I want His/Her sinks next to each other like this or on opposite sides of the room like this one below.

It doesn’t have as much counter space as I would like but it’s just so classy and beautiful. And I could also design something to add a little more counter space right? And I love the dark wood floors with the white cabinets! (I think this color scheme is my favorite, but my husband is not a fan. Sad.)

But if I can’t have separate cabinets and sinks, I like the idea of a vanity putting some kind of separation in-between like this one.


What do you think? Do you like just one long sink along one side of the bathroom or do you prefer two counters and sinks on separate ends? Also, do you like the more traditional style or modern? I personally like traditional with a little flair. I am not a fan of some of the modern stuff. Like this bathroom…




What is that all about? But then again, futuristic things kind of freak me out so….


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Thanks Jessica!! 


Anyone up for a spa weekend? 
Or have a pedestal tub I can soak in for a couple hours?


Email me pictures of any inspiring rooms you find this week and I post them next Monday!
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