How to Make a DIY Brass Pumpkin
I’ve found a gap in the decorative pumpkin market (gasp!), so today we are remedying that and I’ll show you how to create a DIY Brass Pumpkin. Move over, sweater pumpkins! This brass pumpkin is going to take over the world! What?!? It could happen. Here’s how to DIY a Brass Pumpkin: DIY Brass Pumpkin Step #1: Start with a rectangle of thin brass sheeting. Thin brass sheeting is available from Amazon. Once you buy a roll of this stuff, you’ll be hooked. It’s a gateway to all sorts of crafting shenanigans. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. I purchased this particular roll of brass sheeting. It is 1000mm long,…
8 Fresh Ways to Repurpose a Piano
As a pianist, it pains me to say this, but it can be hard and expensive to get rid of an old piano and you might need fresh ways to repurpose a piano. I truly wish everyone had the space for a piano and wanted to learn to play, but I also understand why this instrument can be a burden to move, maintain, and learn to play. We own a baby grand piano that I hope to pass down to my kids one day, but we unexpectedly became the owners of an old upright piano too. When we purchased our current home, the previous owners left their piano in the…
DIY Kitchen Cabinet Feet from Scrap Wood
One of the easiest ways to make basic kitchen cabinets look custom is by adding feet to the base cabinets. Here’s how we made DIY Kitchen Cabinet Feet from scrap wood. This is probably the best use of scrap wood we’ve come up with yet! Lumber is especially expensive right now, so not only do we not want to waste any of it, but we want to make it count when we do use it. Our old (Seriously, they are really old!) kitchen cabinets were just screaming for the upgrade and added detail that cabinet feet could provide. There is really no limit on the style of kitchen cabinet feet…
DIY Charging Bench for Electronic Devices
If charging all the electronic devices in your home has become a chaotic nightmare of jumbled cords, let me introduce you to my DIY charging bench for electronic devices. It’s a way to hide all of your charging cables and devices in plain sight. It’s my answer to the kitchen charging drawer because I’ve always wanted one of those, but we’ve never had a spare kitchen drawer with outlets in the back. I won’t promise this charging bench will eliminate all the cord chaos, but it can help you hide it. That’s half the battle! A charging bench can be made from any bench that has a hidden storage compartment. The…
9 Pumpkin Crafts to Make This Fall
I hope it’s not too soon in the year to publish this “9 Pumpkin Crafts to Make This Fall” post. I don’t want anyone pumpkin spicing my lawn in protest because summer isn’t over. Wait…maybe I do. Hmmm. This is the point in the year where I’m not ready for summer to end because summer is awesome! But everything feels a little wilted, including yours truly, because it is so dang hot and I’m looking forward to the more manageable temperatures of autumn. Please note I said I’m looking forward to autumn not winter. Winter can take a hike to get me more pumpkin spice. Now back to the program!…
How to Paint Metal Pool Coping with Marine Paint
This post is for a super small percentage of the population who have a really old pool with metal coping and are wondering if they can paint that metal pool coping. Yes! You can! (Editor’s Note: I wrote a blog post with an honest assessment about how the paint is holding up after 2 years. You can read that here. To find out how we painted the coping and the paint we used, continue reading this blog post.) If you aren’t familiar with the term, pool coping is what caps the edge of a pool. Modern pools are built with pool coping made out of concrete or stone, but some…
The Age Our Kids Start Doing Their Own Laundry Plus a Laundry Hamper Makeover
Our kids start doing their own laundry when they start middle school. Why? Why not? 11 and 12-year-olds are perfectly capable of starting the washing machine. It’s true! Psst! They can run the dishwasher and vacuum too! Plus, learning how to do laundry is a great way to teach kids responsibility and time management skills. If you want a clean shirt for school, then you need to plan ahead and wash and dry a load of clothes. It’s that simple. I did not do my own laundry until I went to college. COLLEGE! I can’t believe my mom didn’t even show me how to do laundry until then. Of course…
DIY Cabinet Door Tray
I am so happy to share a DIY Cabinet Door Tray project with you today because it’s not mine! No work was involved on my part. I just get to look at fun pictures, be inspired, and share them with you. It’s a good feeling. There’s even a twist in this project that I didn’t see coming. I love a good twist. Today’s DIY Cabinet Door Tray project comes from someone I affectionately refer to as The Junk Whisperer. Seeing what she’s created out of actual junk over the years has inspired me to take a second look at everyday objects and reimagine them in a new light. Ready to…
How to Add a Console Sink to a Vanity
Is it possible to add a console sink to a vanity? Yes it is! By doing so you get the style of a console sink or other wall-mounted sink without sacrificing storage. Whether you build a custom vanity like we did or retrofit an existing vanity, we will show you how to attach a console sink to a vanity so that it looks good. Spoiler: It’s all in the transition from sink to vanity. Add a Console Sink to a Vanity Step #1: Figure out what you are working with. Carefully flip the console sink or wall-mounted sink over so you can see the underside of the sink. We set…
Updating Our Home With Antique Hardware
We have been replacing “modern” door and cabinet hardware with antique hardware in our Colonial Farmhouse and it is surprising how big of a difference it makes to the overall look and style of our home. I’m using the term modern very loosely. In a house that is 240 years old, anything in the last 100 years could be considered modern. Most of the hardware we’ve replaced is probably 20 – 30 years old. I doubt it was installed as a style statement, but more of a practical response to a “this cabinet door no longer stays closed” situation. This modern hardware didn’t look bad. It didn’t look good. It…
