DIY Coat Hooks

Upon arriving home from work I have gotten into the habit of bringing all my things (generally a purse, bag, lunch box and coat) into the kitchen and putting them all on the chairs and table... This greatly disrupts the functionality of my kitchen space, which is already small.

I have been considering the idea of a coat rack for a while but couldn't decide of I wanted one that was wall mounted or a more free standing one. One night during a Pintrest induced insomnia-- I found DIY coat hooks! Just what I need!

Here is what I used to create them:

Easy enough right! (Wood, scrap book paper, paint, metal hooks, spray paint and glue) I made 3-- because that is what Pintrest told me to do and Pintrest knows best right!

First I painted the wood brown, and let it dry. Then, I traced the size of the wood on the paper and cut it out, using Elmer's Glue All, I glued it to the wood, and used a credit card to make sure it was completely glued down with no air bubbles. (See ladies credit cards are good for more than just shoes!)

In the meantime I spray painted the hooks bronze to better match the decor in my living room-- I have grown very fond of spray paint!

Here is what they looked like all 'crafted':

Cute Right!? Well me being the planner that I am decided exactly where I wanted them--not considering practicality. I was brought back down to earth by my brother (who actually owns tools and assisted me in assembling these, and attaching them to the wall). Since coats can be heavy these should be attached to studs. Since I wanted them by the door (makes sense) this meant I was only able to use 2 of them. 

After much stress getting them on they wall here they are!

In the process of attaching them to the wall, we broke 2 screws off in the wall, resulting in them being a little bit uneven. Just tilt your head and they look fine. 

Now I just have to remember to use them when I come home-- not Friday afternoon when I am cleaning the house!

Tax Return Plans

2014 is passing quickly-- and before you know it the tax deadline will be here. If you're like me you have already filed your taxes and you are just waiting patiently for your money, and planning how to spend it (or maybe you have already spent it!)

Obviously some of the money will go to bills/debt, because I am responsible like that, but I want to have some fun too and spruce up the humble abode a little.

Since I moved in, in May I have been washing dishes by hand (cringe); some of you that know me personally may know that I despise cleaning. For this reason I typically wait until ALL the dishes are dirty before washing any of them, this looks tacky-- and makes for a long night. Therefore one of the things I want to do with my tax return is buy a dishwasher and get it installed (which is a little tricky because it will require taking out some cabinets--which I am already lacking).

Here is the space now:

(Ignore the dog food all over the floor Sunday is a very messy eater)

Seeing these cabinets go will mean finding a new place for my trashcan and indoor recycle container:

(Having them hidden away has been great! Sunday can't eat the trash and I don't have to look at them all the time!)

Moving to the outside. I want to get my privacy fence redone. We tend to have some strong winds here in St. Louis, and the last owners did a less than ideal job on my current fence resulting in pieces randomly falling off-- ALL the time.

Here is what the fence currently looks like:

As you can see there are gaps near the bottom (that Sunday frequently sicks her head in-- thank god she's big) The fence is tilted, and it only goes around 2/3's of the yard (although I am sure Weezy will miss talking to me if I enclose her side--Yes, my elderly neighbor goes by Weezy). 

What you can't see are the piece that I have propped up/ taped up to prevent Sunday from getting out-- talk about ghetto.

Finally-- I want to add paving rocks to my back patio. Possibly make it larger, and fix the concrete pad where my trashcans are.

Here is what I am working with for my back Patio:

(I think if I enlarged it-- adding furniture and eventually covering it would be more practical!)

(See How the concrete is broken under the trashcans-- I want to redo it so it is all one slab.

Here is what I am thinking for the paving rock patio (Thanks Google Images!):

If any of you has done any of these projects and has any tips or advice please let me know! Also advice for contractors is always welcome!

Check back later this summer to see home progress--hopefully!

Home Sweet Home; Monogrammed Burlap Wreath

Ever since I took my Christmas decorations down I have felt like my house is missing something. Christmas decorations are so Homey-- and warm.
I was so in love with the way the wreath looked on my front door as I pulled up to my house.
I wanted to have that same Welcome Home Feeling all year long.

When I was at Hobby Lobby today I had the urge to make a front door wreath (Hey haven't I seen some cool wreaths on Pintrest! I am sure I can figure out what they used!)

As it turns out I didn't buy the right 'form'--most of the Pintrest tutorials use metal and I bought foam...

Oh well, I'm innovative. And I made it work.

After painting my 'M', because 'M's are cuter than 'P's. I used my trusty (brand new- low temperature (because its foam) hot glue gun) and just glued the Burlap to the foam in a semi pleated fashion.

I made the best Bow I could-- and used a folded in half piece of ribbon glued on the back to hang from my already mounted command strip.

Cute. Personalized. and Homey. Perfect.

Cost (Minus the glue gun): about $25.00 (Less than my store bought Christmas Wreath)

So Many Beauty Products so Little Space

My Next Venture into DIY was more ambitious. I have a 2 bedroom, 1 bath house so with 2 of us living in it (as there was at that time) Bathroom space was limited.

When I bought the house I bought an over the toilet cabinet, (but go figure I have the one bathroom in the world that the cabinet doesn't fit in) so it has been moved downstairs for game and bedding storage.

The idea of bathroom cabinets/shelves had been on my mind since I moved in. One day the idea to use Pintrest to actually look up something SPECIFIC struck me; that's when I found these beauties!

Here's what I used:

I chose to just use a gray primer instead of a spray paint that would dry with a gloss to it.

The shelf in the right hand long one proved to be a challenge (again no tools) so we (myself and a male friend) used a knife to cut it (this too forrrevvver) and it still doesn't sit exactly right but it fits my hair straightener perfectly!

I chose to paint one purple (My bathroom's main color is a grayish purple) This Purple actually ended up being a PERFECT accent.

And I used Zebra scrapbook paper in the others... thanks to a credit card the paper worked well-- and is still going strong even right next to the shower!

Here is what the wall over the toilet looked like before the shelves.

Here is the finished product. Look how great everything fits into place!

     
       And I am so glad I added the mini shelf on this one! It really up the amount of storage space I have!

These were easy, practical and cost way less than 'traditional' shelving.

Painted Mirrors... Better late than never

This project was done before I even completely moved into my house, and was one of the first things I saw on Pintrest (that sweet time consuming creation) that I wanted to try.

There I was a new home owner, sitting on my kitchen floor (while a friend installed handles on my kitchen cabinets-- like the name states I don't own tools) painting mirrors.

Once I was done painting and they dried, I removed the tape. I was worried that some of the lines were off but being resourceful (and determined to be a successful DIY'er) I used windex and a napkin to carefully scrape the lines and make them a bit more even... Va-la.

Here they are all hung up (I used plate hangers-- they are adhesives and have a hook attached for easy hanging) This is probably the only time you will see my accent pillows on my couch that nicely!