DIY, Oh How I've Missed You!

Four weeks of summer have already passed us by. It's been great to have Matt around during the day to help entertain and take care of Mason. We are so lucky to have the summers to spend together. So many people have told me how lucky I am to share the same teaching career (and schedule) as my husband. I agree. I'm lucky. We have had the best time spending this summer together as a family of three. With that said, we have been working like crazy to get some decorative projects completed around the house. Yes, this has become more difficult with an almost 8-month old baby squirming around on the floor, but we've made it work.

I have been searching like a mad woman to find a pair of end tables for our living room for almost a year. I've been extremely picky about the dimensions of the table because I didn't want them to take up too much floor space in our already cozy-sized living room. To me, less is more. You'd think that smaller tables would be cheaper. Not so. I really wasn't willing to spend a couple hundred dollars on a pair of end tables. Enter Matt. He loves carpentry work and never turns down a chance to build something. I showed him a few pictures of what I'd like and then we came up with the dimensions that would work for our space. We scoped out our basement lumber yard to see what kind of wood we had, and here's our final design project. Three days later, two beautiful, custom end tables. Absolutely free (we already had all the lumber, stain, and hardware). Can't beat it.

The other woodworking project that Matt has been exploring is a simple name carving piece. I sketched exactly what I wanted on a piece of 6" pine, and Matt sawed, sanded, and filed until it looked just right. These have become a go-to gift for both bridal showers and weddings. I love them and think they make great personalized gifts. Matt has made about 5 of them so far and has gotten a couple more orders to keep him busy. Of course I didn't think to get photos of the others before I gave them away, so here is the orginial -- ours.

The next project we tackled was a last minute idea. Matt came across a pile of old windows in front of someone's house with a a sign that said FREE. Since that's Matt's favorite word, it took his eye and he slowed down to get a better look. He called me up to ask if I would have any use for them. I told him to bring them home and I'd take a look at them. We threw away 3 of them because they weren't in great shape. The one that we saved I decided to turn into a chalkboard weekly menu/to do list. We sanded the wooden frame and to keep the window authentic and rustic. Then, we taped around the window panes and used chalkboard spray paint. We bought 3 small hooks and screwed them to the bottom to hang keys, sunglasses, etc. since it hangs next to the door to the garage. No more keys sitting on the breakfast bar...(cough) Matthew. I think it adds great character to the little hallway that leads to one of our big projects from last year -- our mudroom built-in. Total cost: $15 for hooks and chalkboard paint.

"I saw something on Pinterest that I'd like to try." This has become a frequent phrase in our house. So much so that I think Matt rolls his eyes every time he hears me say it. Don't deny it, Matt. You know you love these projects. I was intrigued to see that people had used large pallets (skids) as decorative pieces in their homes. I thought this might be a perfect way to fill the large empty wall space above the couch in the basement. I knew I could easily get my hands on one from Matt's brother, so I decided to give it a whirl. We sanded and painted the skid white. We found the studs in the wall, and screwed it in place above the couch. I had seen examples on Pinterest where people placed picture frames, knick knacks, and plates to display on the skid. I already have a ton of picture frames on the built-in shelves downstairs, so I didn't want to go overboard with photos. Knick knacks? I'm just not that into them. Ceramic plates? Not in a basement where I know basketballs and footballs will one day be flying through the air. Now that I had my shelf, I didn't know what I wanted to put on it. I even consulted my college friend Erin from her famous blog Domestic Adventure when she was in town in June. We threw around a few ideas and I kept an open mind. Unfortunately, I just didn't want to spend money on anything new. I finally just decided to make some custom artwork  - chevron style. I love all things chevron right now (can you tell from my blog?), so I went with it. I always scope out the discount paint shelf at Lowes. You can score major bargains when they discount any cans of paint that were previously returned by customers. I bought 5 sample size paint cans for 75 cents each. Obviously it's hit or miss depending on the colors you want, but lucky for me, these colors were perfect for our basement decor. Matt once again pulled out some wood pieces from the basement and cut them down to the sizes I needed. I spent several days of naptimes taping and painting away. So here it is. My attempt at custom wall art. Total cost: $3.75 for paint samples.

So that's what we've been up to. I will continue to search Pinterest for some more inspiration. I know Matt is eager to have a new To-Do List. I wouldn't want to disappoint him.