DIY #7

I have not posted hardly any DIY projects lately, partly because I already accomplished all the cheap ones and partly because with work I have less time to take care of projects around the house. Last week, though, I received my first royalty check from Family Home Evening Adventures (Yay!), so I decided to splurge a little on myself and bought a new lighting fixture for over the kitchen/dining room table. (Sorry I do not have a before picture to show--just imagine a very brown 1995 ceiling fan.)

Here it is!

Although I still need to repaint the ceiling, my husband installed it for me last night. I found this lamp on clearance online after clicking on a link from Tart House (a decorating blog). I wanted something with clean lines that was traditional, yet somewhat modern. I love how it looks, but now feel my kitchen looks all the more 1987-ish. I guess that just means I have more projects to add to my DIY list.

Scripture of the Day: Moroni 9:25

DIY #6

A few weeks ago my DH took down part of my kitchen cabinets to open up the kitchen to the dining and family rooms. We still have a bit of trim to take care of, but it is 98% the way done and I am loving it. It is much better, although I have lost my built-in display area. But not to worry, I am working on that problem next.

Before

After

As you can see, we actually put half the cabinet back up against the wall with the window. The other half was put to use in the tool shed.

Total project cost: $10
Total project time: 2 hours (there was an issue with where the studs were in the wall)

Scripture of the Day: Alma 17:2

DIY #5

I have wanted to get a nice picture of the temple up in our family room for quite some time. I have little pictures elsewhere in the house, but a good size picture I had postponed buying for a two reasons:

1. I wanted something a little different than the standard photo or the current trend of purposefully aged pictures (although they are beautiful).

2. Large prints or pictures were a bit more costly than I wanted to pay.

But last week I was reading this blog and found a beautiful artistic rendition of the Mesa temple for sale. The picture was painted by Thomas Manning and is called Mesa AZ Temple by Moonlight. I love the blue sky (blue is my fave color) and the artist's style. And since the price was very affordable I ordered one. It came first thing this week so I found a frame yesterday and hung it up today. Even better is that the proceeds for buying the print go to help the artist's mother with her health condition.

Here is a better view of the picture:

I also have a wall plaque to make to go underneath it that reads "Temple: I am going there someday" (which has been on my laundry room counter unfinished for about two years). I think I will match the blue in the picture as the background for the plaque. What do you think?

Total project cost: $40
Total project time: maybe an hour

Scripture of the Day: Romans 1:16

DIY #4

(Above) Before, we had been grabbing the toilet paper from a shelf above and behind the toilet. This has been the case for about five years.


Now, we are NORMAL! And I installed this all myself. This is the first time I have been able to use a drill without causing damage rather than completing the task at hand. Yay for me!

Estimated project cost: $5 (I went with the cheapest version)

Estimated project time: 45 minutes (including trip to Home Depot to buy the holder)

Scripture of the Day: Mark 6:46

DIY #3

(Above) This is the before shot. The wallpaper has needed to be removed for some time. We did about a third of the kitchen two years ago. But that was on the heels of removing wallpaper in three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and the dining room. Needless to say we were burned out. So The kitchen has been half wallpapered ever since.

This being spring break I took advantage of having the kids home and had them all spend 10 minutes a day peeling wallpaper. They were then rewarded with a chocolate. They did not seem to mind helping and it made the work go faster.

(Above) This is the wall all stripped as of this morning. Next step: painting to match the rest of the kitchen.

(Above) As you can see, I have a boring "brown sugar" color in there. With the pink counter tops there is little leeway left for wall color. I am considering a stencil though. Any ideas?

(Above) And the finished product. Yay!

Estimated time: 5 hours

Estimated cost: $6 for 1/2 gallon of paint I bought more than 2 years ago.


And the bonus: I asked Steve to get the paint out and stir it for me so I could use it. He got the wrong can out (white, not brown sugar). When I pointed out the error he decided to take advantage of having the white paint out and do the hallway!! Yippee! This is the start of another item on my DIY list. He also did the wall in the bathroom where we had had to redo some drywall (also another item on my DIY list). So I am feeling great today about all the accomplishments we got done around here.

DIY #2

There is a 22' long plant shelf in my family room. For the past nine months the light up there has been burned out.

Before:

After:

I am not happy the light is more yellow there than on the sides. But at least it is working now. And, yes, that vase is the sole decoration I have up there.

Estimated project time: 1 hour

Estimated project cost: $9

Scripture of the Day: Malachi 3:1

DIY #1

A week or so ago I hosted some friends over for an evening soiree. A day or so before I started thinking of all the little things I wished I had time to do before the get-together. But of course with all the general life happenings and party preparation, I only had time to care care of one or two of them. What was most annoying was that a number of them were quick, inexpensive and easy items to do (when not preparing for an event, that is).

Afterward I sat down and wrote a list of ten more little DIY projects I needed to get done. And I have committed to myself to get busy. Now that 99% of my new book has been sent off to the publisher I have more time to think about such projects.

Today was project #1: The back door curtain

The problem with this project was that there is an auto-close feature on the top of the door that makes it so the curtain rod has to be hung slightly crooked. That bothered me. For a long time {4+ years} I had pillow cases tacked up with thumb tacks (sorry for the lack of a before picture). Something had to be there because the window caused a glare on the TV screen. But what to do about the curtain rod???

Finally, I decided I could live with it slightly crooked, but was unable to find the right size sheer to fit the window. According to the JC Penney window treatment specialist they do not make sheers for the half window door {what's up with that?}. So today I spent 45 minutes shortening an extra sheer I already had in my linen closet and then had Steve put up the hardware for it.

Total project cost was approximately $5.

Total project time was about 1 hour.

Scripture of the Day: Isaiah 2:2-3