Hey, everyone!  Happy New Year!  Our 2014 is off to a rough start with sick kiddos, but we’re so excited for a fresh start.  While Ben and I both love projects, sometimes it’s tough.  Roadblocks hit, things take longer than anticipated, or just an itch to get started on a new project.  It can feel like treading water.  Plenty to keep busy, but you’re not getting anywhere.  A look back on what has been accomplished or finished is an easy way to feel better.  What better time to reminisce than a new year?  So, here are some of my favorite projects from 2013.

In January we: Built wood storage and shelving, organized the main bathroom, crafted tree slice art, and art for our freshly finished fireplace.

February included: A little demo, followed up with freshly painted walls (man is that a good feeling!), a thrifted dresser makeover and reveal, hey-o, a finished bathroom, then, of course, a toilet set back.

March was our guest room revamp month: Starting with cutting out the existing bookshelves, then styled shelves and a blue headboard, a DIY pendant with wrapped cord, finished off with warm yellow walls.  Hey, we finished a room in a month.  That has to be a record for us.

April we had less focus:  The beginnings of a waterfall and landscape filled summer, embroidered constellation art, modern rectangle quilt, and yet another thrifted dresser makeover.

May was furniture filled:  I crafted some cute hooks, found, refinished, upholstered, and revealed $5 thrifted chairs, made and installed a PVC pendant.

June was a little slower: Our biggest, most time-consuming project was building a reclaimed beam deck.  Between decking, I scraped off a popcorn ceiling and patched it, made a quick, rough (read, not museum quality…ever) large painting, cheaply and easily built canvas frames, and put a walnut to the test.

July was filled with landscape work and a fresh boys room: Ben finished the deck, built a bocce ball court, custom beds while I made text bubble pillow cases, and painted Green Eggs and Ham art.

August, another month of outdoor work: stained the deck, building beam stairs, turn a book into a game board, how to cut a round top for our thrifted table base, nail and string plus art, and surprise, another thrifted chair!

We wrapped up outdoor work and did small crafts in September: Finally painted over the crazy blue in our bedroom, cringed while our landscaping washed away (lesson learned.  If I declare a project finished, something will happen to prove me wrong), created a wheeled stump side table, initial bottle labels, wood wrapped planter, knock off clay wishbone, jewel toned fall scheme.

In October we: herringboned (now a verb) a table top, DIY’d an outdoor gas fire pit, fixed the damaged back yard, plotted our bathroom remodel, updated our coffee table top with V stripes, under $5 lyric art.

November was busy with family, but fewer projects: demoed the master bathroom, brought our MCM bench inside and gave it an update, sewed more pillows (shocker!) got crafty with paper mâché, built an entry console shelf, set a colorful Thanksgiving table with a painted plus table runner.

December had a lot of bathroom work and Christmas crafts: bought a real dining table, easiest way to sew in a zipper, got in the Christmas spirit with a colorful scheme and felt garland, tiled the heck outta the bathroom, planked the ceiling and walls, debated colors then painted the bathroom walls dark.  What a way to end the year.

Whew, makes me happy and exhausted going through it all again.  Now I’m even more excited to wrap up the bathroom and get started on another project.  What project have you tackled this year that makes you giddy?  Or makes you happy you’re done?