August 2013

Gimme a Giveaway Winner & Top Twelve: DIY Furniture

Published on August 30, 2013September 27, 2013 by Our Humble Abode1 Comment

Well happy Friday! And upcoming long weekend. September, please bring us some nice, cool(ish) fall weather. Before I share some cool weather project inspiration, let’s get to the Juneberry Stitches giveaway winner. It’s Christy, who has a costume jewelry collection from her grandma.

When the weather cools down and you’re stuck inside, here are twelve furniture projects to keep you busy:

1. DIY Upholstered Couch by The Chronicles of Home

2. Driftwood Herringbone Table at Sarah M. Dorsey Designs

3. Spearmint Color Blocked Wicker Headboard from Vintage Revivals

4. Spray Painted Vinyl Desk Chair at Little Green Notebook

5. Fabric Wrapped Table from Bliss At Home

6. DIY Console Table by The Hunted Interior

7. DIY Pet Food Station at Yellow Brick Home

8. DIY Daybed from The Handmade Home

9. Customized Ikea Frames at 6th Street Design School

10. Brass and Glass Shelf Makeover by Cuckoo 4 Design

11. Industrial Wood and Pipe Hanging Beds from Infarrantly Creative

12. And our Bed Surround Book Shelves

Be sure to check out our sponsors, too!

Vol. 25 has so many great prints to fill your empty walls.

The large and new mini science posters are hands down my favorites though.

This month’s giveaway partner, Juneberry Stitches is also a sponsor with just about any burlap bag you’d like.

Clutches, large totes, even bridesmaids sets. All beyond adorable.

Montana Photo Journal has so many beautiful photograph prints, you’ll have a hard time deciding on your favorite.

Scenic landscapes, wildlife, and florals abound.

School is back in session and the family is busier than ever. Make dinner easier with E Meals. So many plan options, including Paleo, gluten-free, and vegetarian.

Last but not least, we’re celebrating back to school and Labor Day with a big shop sale. For every item purchased, you’ll also get to pick an item of equal or lesser value, free. Mix and match or get a set. Check out as usual, and leave a note in the message to seller section including your purchase details as well as which item you’d like free. It’s that simple! That includes all cut out art, prints, and pillow covers currently listed in our shop. Act fast, because this sale ends Friday, September 6th.

Thrifty Finds and Mini Tools

Published on August 28, 2013August 28, 2013 by Our Humble Abode8 Comments

For the past few weeks, we’ve been prepping V for kindergarten. He started today. So crazy! Between our prep, we made a few stops to thrift stores and a garage sale. At said garage sale, I found a cane arm-chair with decent upholstery for 8 bucks. Had to get it.

I’m really hoping to find another similar chair to make a pair for the living room. Until then, this lady is in our bedroom, hanging out next to the little cane ottoman.

I also found these cute wicker and glass cups. (Notice my new obsession?!) Two bucks for the set of four! And V picked out the brass apple that is also a bell.

Last week, Emily Henderson shared a picture of a mini tool set. And I fell in love with it. Had to have a mini gold something.

At Hobby Lobby, we always have to stop to look at the doll house stuff. Not only for me, the boys love it, too. I wanted to get a mini office or kitchen supply set, but didn’t see anything I liked. But the boys found a…mini tool set. So that’s what we got. A quick coat of gold spray paint and my tools look nearly identical to Emily’s set.

Unfortunately the boys lost the little scissors, but I’ve got four cute gold tools mounted to a painted scrap of MDF.

And admire it while working at my desk, along with my tiny silhouettes and mini sea shells.

Are you becoming a wicker hoarder? Perhaps a miniature collector? What’s your decor soft spot?

Stair Master

Published on August 26, 2013August 26, 2013 by Our Humble Abode10 Comments

I’ve called Ben the Stair Master all weekend because he built this:

Yes folks, you are looking at a very beefy set of stairs made from more reclaimed beams. These steps connect the driveway to the back of the house, covering about six feet of elevation change. Also remarkably easier and cleaner to climb than the dirt hill. Obviously we’ve still got landscaping to finish, but let’s celebrate the individual victories.

And while he was at it, he made a beam walkway, connecting the new stairs to the deck.

Ben moved and sanded four more of the biggest guys. The stack is finally dwindling and we’re slowly gaining our driveway back.

These beams just rest on a level bed of crushed rock, butting up to the deck.

Soon we’ll fill in the rest of the back with crushed limestone and we’ll be able to add plants come spring! Hootie hoo!!

Once the rock covers over the dirt, we can stain these pieces, too.

What we’re actually waiting on is the rest of the front walk. If you follow on Instagram, you know we had a trench dug over the weekend.

Within four hours, Ben had the pipes in place and filled back in, like it was never there. But we had, okay, wanted, to do this before placing the rest of the front beams. Eventually, we’d like to build a shop with living quarters above at the back corner of the driveway. We can either get everything in place for it now or wait until we’re ready to build. Problem with waiting is we’ll have to dig up anything we’ve already finished. Now we can get the walkway done and perhaps pour a concrete pad in front of the garage.

On the Plus Side

Published on August 23, 2013August 23, 2013 by Our Humble Abode11 Comments

I’ve hoarded a few art pieces to hang in our bedroom. Nothing new, just things I liked that didn’t fit anywhere else in the house. But the group seemed incomplete. So I made another nail and string dude. Because I wanted gold, I spray painted some nails. And a chunk of scrap MDF black.

Using an old envelope with marks as my template, I made a plus sign. To keep the painted nails, well, painted, I covered my hammer with a scrap of leather.

Then went crazy with gold embroidery floss, covering the center, then wrapping around the outside twice.

A mismatched, mixed bag of favorites is now a gallery wall in our bedroom.

Very, very slowly our room is starting to feel lived in. Sheesh, only a year and a half later. And we’re covering up the awful orange peel texture and spotty cobalt blue walls.

Oh I can’t wait to scrape the popcorn off the ceiling, replace the old windows, and finally repaint this room.

What do you think of the new art? Have a happy Friday and weekend, everyone!

Gold and Emeralds

Published on August 21, 2013August 21, 2013 by Our Humble Abode8 Comments

Sometimes I feel super overwhelmed by the things in our house. The stuff that accumulates little by little. When I look at a place that was once organized, I freak out, clear everything out and start fresh. Well, that happened last week when I put towels away in our linen closet. Here’s the before:

Sorry for the bad coloring in these. Overcast day + dark hall + bad flourescent light = terrible white balanced photos. Some things were still grouped together, but we had random toys, a light fixture, and stacks of pillows tossed around. About an hour of purging, grouping, and shuffling around, I had organized my way to happy.

I’ve wanted to add labels for a long time and thought about my best option for our bullnose shelf fronts. Something pliable seemed best, so I dug out a scrap of light cream leather. Cut 3/4 inches wide (to match the shelf thickness) I wrote with a plain Sharpie. Spray painted small gold nails hold each label in place.

Oh, and I painted the shelf fronts the color of the year, Emerald.

It’s just a fun splash of color to brighten up a dark utilitarian space.

While I had the gold spray paint out, I unified the small metal bins I had. Then used the bins to store pillow covers and cases. No more throwing old pillow covers to the top shelf.

Even this little hanging wire basket.

Now everything has a labeled place with room to spare. Least used items at the top, out of reach. I know this is a very small change, but fun little additions make me smile. And if I can smile while putting away laundry, it’s worth it, right?

Have you incorporated Emerald in your home? If so, how?