Category: DIY Decor & Crafts

Lather, Rinse, Repeat

Published on by Our Humble Abode10 Comments

I know Friends has been over for years, but I still love it and watch the reruns.  When I sat down to write this post, I thought of Phoebe’s shower song and had a good laugh.  What do I have to share that would remind me of Friends?  A spiffy new set of soap pumps for the shower.  Remember Phoebe’s “Lather, Rinse, Repeat” song?

I started with two cheapie, $2.77 each, ceramic soap pumps from Wal Mart, a ceramic paint pen and an idea.  To limit guests searching through drawers or keeping ugly bottles out, I decided to make pretty pumps for shampoo and conditioner.

I made a template in Photoshop and printed several onto plain paper.  Then, taped over the bottle, placing my template over, to make a stencil.  It worked, looking like this:

Using the paint pen left over from these mugs, I filled in the exposed area and removed the tape.  Unfortunately, the ink didn’t blend well, so I nixed the filled in look.  I had hoped for something similar to Target’s line.

So, I thought of another way to make a pretty design.  Dots were the answer.  So, I carefully drew an S on one pump and a C on the other.

They letters are far from perfect, but our guests now know what they’re using.

Of course, if you want to do this at home, you could easily print off a letter to use as a template.  I used the Engravers MT font.  And, the ceramic fared just fine in the oven.  Just remove the pump part.

Don’t the new pumps look nice in the shower?

I’m considering making one for my face scrub.  But, these could look and work great for lotion in a bathroom, in the kitchen, you know, where ever a pump is necessary.  Or, mark salt and pepper shakers.  Pretty designs would look excellent and add a custom touch.

Want to make a set of your own?  Do you have a favorite bath set?  Have you used the porcelain pens?  If so, what did you make?  Do you use any Friends phrases?  My friend and I recently moved a piece of furniture and I yelled, “Pivvvvvvaaaaaat!  Pivvvvvaaaaaaat!”  We both started cracking up.

P.S.  We added a new tab including quick links to projects.  We’ll add this project soon, but check out the page for inspiration and projects to do this weekend.

Fold Over, and Over, and Over

Published on by Our Humble Abode28 Comments

So, this is by far the most earth-shattering post to date.  Not really, though.  Only my fellow OCD geeks will think it’s the coolest thing since sliced bread.  Today, kids, we will learn how to fold a fitted sheet!  See, I told you it was earth-shattering.  As in any class, some of you will already know how to do this, but for the rest of you, read carefully.  In today’s lesson, we’ll learn how to go from this:

To this:

Ready? Okay!  (That was by best, most obnoxious cheerleader impression to get you psyched.)  First, find one corner.  Place a finger in the right side of the sheet, so you see the inside.

Do this to the opposite corner, too.  Then, bring your hands together and touch your fingertips together.

Keeping your hands together, roll one of the corners over the other.

Allign the seams according to your OCD specifications.  Then, do this to the other two corners.

Once you’ve done that, keep your corners together and lay the sheet on a flat surface.

Straighten the elastic some.  Then, fold into thirds or quarters.

I fold my outer edges toward the center, just so the outside edges aren’t showing.

And finally, into thirds or quarters again, or whatever size will fit in your closet.

Now, wasn’t that fun?!?  More fun than a barrel of monkeys.  For extra credit (and even more folding fun) try folding your plastic bags to save space.

Did you already know how to fold a fitted sheet?  Or do you already fold your plastic bags?  Got any other space-saving tips you’d like to share?  Are you crazy like I am and have to have all towels, sheets and blankets folded the same way?  Please tell me I’m not alone.

Thread House Numbers

Published on by Our Humble Abode43 Comments

I don’t know what I did before Pinterest.  So many fantastic ideas in one place, I finally have a motivation to get things done.  I have Pinterest and Young House Love to thank for today’s post inspiration.  YHL offered up a Pinterest challenge, so I thought I’d take part.  What did I make?  Thread house numbers, inspired by this pin.  We have house numbers on our mailbox, but we’ve been told they’re hard to see.  To remedy that situation in a stylish, non-traditional way, I thought a DIY thread project was in order.

To start, I painted a scrap piece of MDF and created a template in Photoshop.  If you don’t have Photoshop, you could print large numbers and make dots with a pen to mark the nail holes.

Then, gather tons of one inch nails and pound them in.  Here’s a tip: to keep the nails the same depth, use a 1/2 inch piece of scrap lumber to pound against.  Here’s another tip: if you are terrible at pounding a nail in straight, try this around your husband.  If he’s anything like mine, he’ll get annoyed with your stupidity struggling and help finish pounding nails for you, at a much quicker rate, too.

Because the nails I used were white, the hammering scuffed up the surface.

With the nails in place, spray paint your MDF and nails for a crisp white look.  This is what happens when your three-year old steals your camera.  Apparently my spray painting is pretty interesting to Vincent and Jack.

Now, use a heavy-duty thread to wrap around.  If you’re keeping this inside, plain thread would probably work.  Start by cutting a long piece, tying one end to a nail and working from nail to nail in a criss-cross pattern.  I waited to wrap the edges until I had filled in the center.

Once wrapped, tie the loose end around another nail.  I wrapped several numbers and propped the board up to see if they showed up well.  I decided to add a second layer to darken the numbers.  It helped to make an even more random cross pattern to fill any gaps.

Much better.  It was time to hang my masterpiece.  I attached a picture hook to the back.  To keep the numbers from getting damaged, I placed several 3/4 inch thick pieces around the edges while hammering.  A three-inch wood screw holds tightly against the house.

I like the interest the depth adds.

The price wasn’t bad, either.  We had all the supplies on hand, making this project completely free.  MDF from our basement trim, white paint leftover, thick thread from Ben’s leather sewing machine and tons of nails left from the previous owners.

Good Wood

Published on by Our Humble Abode6 Comments

You know that cut out I gave to Ben for our anniversary?

To make a traditional five-year anniversary gift, wood, I placed it in a white-painted wooden frame.  Recently, I swapped out the grey card stock backing for a walnut stained thin piece of plywood.

The grain is subtle, which is perfect for such an intricate cut out design.

I’m starting a collection for another gallery wall.  Any guesses on where that will be?  This gallery won’t have a theme like our bird, feather, and tree collection in the basement.  This will be a random collection of favorite art including the Yellow Warbler painting, the boys’ Father’s day paintings, and the beautiful watercolor Patricia made for us.

We still have a way to go on our collection before we can really start hanging everything, but it’s been fun so far.  Have you seen any art you think we’d enjoy? Have a gallery wall in the works?  Still waiting to accumulate enough art to do something with?  Or, do you have oodles of art and not enough wall space?

Summer Swap

Published on by Our Humble Abode8 Comments

Typically, I’ll decorate the house for only a few holidays and seasons.  Nothing major, usually, just a few decorations.  We don’t have a mantle, so our decor switches are few and far between.  Fall and winter we have cozier, darker fabrics, blankets, and pillow covers.  Spring and summer require bright, cheerful colors and lighter weight bedding.

Our spring coverlet is from Ikea.  It’s not as heavy as our duvet, but not too light for the cool weather.

Our summer blanket is from Target.  It’s a simple, light weight knit blanket with a waffle weave texture.

You’ll also notice I swapped the green shams for pink ones for more color.

Because you can’t see the floor in these pictures, I thought I’d give you a glimpse into our daily lives.  Behold, Ben’s side of the bed.

Yep, a shirt, shorts, green circle toy (one of the boys brought that in, not Ben), small bowl, phone charger and unplugged alarm clock.  Ev likes to turn the music on and off and usually sets an alarm to go off at midnight while playing around.  And, I’m too lazy to tuck his bedding in every day.  Somethings just aren’t worth it.

What seasonal changes do you make?  Just bedding?  What do you have on your side of the bed?  Tons of junk like Ben?