Category: Tutorials & Tips

Just Like Tom Sawyer

Published on by Our Humble Abode7 Comments

Our Montana summer seemed more like a Seattle summer thanks to the unusually frequent rainfall.  What does this mean?  We didn’t get many outdoor projects done this year.  Fortunately, we didn’t have many on our list.  We did, however, get our fence painted, finally!  Last summer, we primed it, but it didn’t hold up to the elements very well.  So, over the weekend, Ben used a pressure washer to remove any loose, chipping or peeling paint.

Isn’t this lovely?

After some reasearch, Ben decided to use an opaque white stain by Behr, specifically formulated for outdoor wood and siding.

Using a sprayer, Ben applied an even coat, then used a brush to smooth it all out.

We also closed the open area where we had planned to install a gate.

When we built the fence, we had large, communal garbage cans in the dead end alley.  I guess our garbage man ran into a few too many things while backing up, so the city gave us individual garbages.  Why am I telling you this?  Because we no longer needed access to the alley as our garbage is now up front.

Long story short, one more item has been checked off our to do list!

Paper Party Banner

Published on by Our Humble Abode5 Comments

Vincent’s third birthday is tomorrow!  I cannot believe he is already three; time flies.  We’re having a birthday for him on Saturday with friends and family, so I whipped up a simple, affordable and reusable party decoration. 

To make this banner, you’ll need paper or cardstock in any color(s) that tickle your fancy, a circle cutter or punch, string, glue or Mod Podge, and an old paint brush.

I used a handy-dandy adjustable circle cutter made by Making Memories.  I got this as a hand me down from a friend and never used it until now.  The beauty of this tool is the ability to cut circles from 2 inches to 9 inches in diameter, all with one tool.  I set the blade at three inches and started cutting.  It takes a few tries to get it to cut nicely, but after that, its smooth sailing.  The trick is to lightly run the blade around a few times, rather than one heavy round, which will tear the paper. 

So, cut out tons of circles. 

Then, fold in half, aligning the edges.  If you used cardstock, you may want to run a bone folder along the crease to make it sharp.

Gather your glue, paint brush and string and get ready to assemble. 

First, tie a loop in the string, to make it easy to hang.  Do not cut your string yet, unless you have a specific size you need.  Then, apply a thin layer of glue or Mod Podge to one side of the folded circle, adding a little more in the crease.  Try to keep the glue thin so it won’t spill over the edges.  

Place the string into the crease and fold the top over, pressing tight.  To make sure your spacing is even, cut a piece of scrap paper to the desired width and place between each circle. 

Continue gluing circles until the desired length has been reached.  Cut the string, leave about 6 inches from the end of a circle.  Make another loop for hanging.  You’re ready to decorate. 

I plan to hang these banners in the trees at the party, but I wanted to give you a sneak peek.  So, for now, the banners are hanging from the ceiling  in the boy’s room.  The colors of the party happen to be the same colors we chose for the boy’s room. 

Just a little note: if you are interested in this project, but don’t like the look of the half circles, you could do this with any shape.  You will have to cut twice as many shapes, then follow every step except the folding.  Instead, place another shape on the other side. 

What are your favorite DIY party decorations?  Cupcake toppers?  Tissue paper pom poms?  Do tell!

Green Equals Green: Cloth Napkins

Published on by Our Humble Abode6 Comments

Today is the start of a new series: tips and ideas to help you live a greener life style, while saving some green.  Some ideas are super simple to carry out and very cheap (level 1), while others are slightly more difficult, but a knowledgeable DIYer could tackle (level 2).  Others are best left to the professionals (level 3), but all showcase eco-friendly options. 

Our first idea is a level 1, so easy a cave man can do it.  Let’s say a family of four uses 1 roll of paper towels every two weeks, at the price of $1.17 per roll (if you buy the cheapest paper towels in bulk from Costco).  The total spent in one year on paper towels (used only as napkins) is $30.42.  If you want to do something a little more eco-friendly, but still use paper towels, you can  buy Seventh Generation Recycled paper towels.  If you opt for this route, you’ll spend $46.54 per year. 

Compare those prices to $1.99 for four cloth napkins from IKEA, ours are IRIS, but I can’t find them online.  Our napkins are white with a subtle checker board pattern.  I chose not to buy pretty napkins, as they’ll look ugly after one use, but I love not having to buy a ton of paper towels.  I think the Earth loves us, too. 

If you don’t have an IKEA, you can always buy fabric and make your own.  Definitely invest in at least 8, so you always have some on hand.  Just throw them in the wash with a full load and reuse!

How To: Update Brass

Published on by Our Humble Abode25 Comments

A few years ago, I saw a tutorial in which an ugly brass plated lamp was polished to look silver.  The transformation was dramatic.

Well, I remembered this post when I bought my brass leaf bowl and actually had some Blue Magic at home.  This is actually pretty simple.  All you need is Blue Magic cream, fine steel wool,  rubber gloves (optional), paper towels or rags and a well-ventilated area.  This stuff reeks!

Simply dip the steel wool in the polish cream and use a little elbow grease to rub your brass item.  Wipe off the residue to check the progress and continue buffing until you have the desired look.  You can turn this:

into this:

The leaf still has a gold tint to it, so I’m thinking its solid brass, not just brass plated.  Either way, I think it looks better now.

My bird keeps the leaf company on my nightstand.  You’ll notice he got a few coats of gloss white spray paint.  Better, right?

It’s a simple solution.  Have you given any small items a facelift recently?

Painted Pantry

Published on by Our Humble Abode10 Comments

As I recently showed, we did a little deep cleaning and organizing around the house.  Of course, I couldn’t stop obsessing over the great pantry update I saw over at House of Smith’s.  In true Amanda style, I really needed wanted our pantry to be pretty.  In true Ben style, he thought I was crazy.  Yep, that’s us; Amanda equals the desire for pretty, even in unseen places.  Ben equals utilitarian.  Well, I went ahead and spruced up our pantry anyway.

First, I removed everything and put it on the guest bed.

And the closet…

After turning our guest room into a make-shift pantry, I prepped the real pantry for paint.  Here’s a sneak peek inside.

Yeah, not that bad, but not great, either.  I don’t think the pantry has seen a paint brush since the house was built.  I started by giving the shelves and supports two coats of Vermont Cream, the same paint we’ve used for all the trim in our house. 

 

Now you can see just how ugly the color really was.  I had forgotten how much of a pain it is to paint shelves.  Yeah, it’s not just one side…  I let everything dry, then taped the white portions off to prepare for my accent color.

Then, I brushed the same paint we used in the dining room and basement on the walls of the pantry.  Two coats and we were in business.  Right after applying the second coat, I removed the tape and paper.  This is the trick to getting nice, crisp lines.

Voila!  A pretty pantry.  Now for the fun part, organizing.  Because I had recently organized everything, I had an idea of where things would go.  I didn’t, however, have pretty jars to store baking staples then.  Remember this post?  Well, I went back to Hobby Lobby and picked up six more of the tall guys.

Can you believe they were only $2.50 each?!  I know! 

Rather than keeping flour and such items in their bags, I filled the bad boys up.  Don’t they look pretty in their new home?  (The answer is yes).

Am I lame that they make me smile?  (The answer is yes).  I filled my canning jars with baking powder (blame Costco) and quick oats, getting rid of the ugly containers and freeing up valuable space.  I had a cute storage box (see on the top?) lying around, so I filled it with our abundance of straws (blame Costco again).

After sorting the canned goods, I grouped liked items, making stacks out of the items we had more of so we can see what we have.  Pasta and mac and cheese are in a little group, as well as the cereal and baby food.  We also have mass quantity of Salted Nut Rolls (blame my brother-in-law), so they are in the treat jar. 

My organization fixation doesn’t stop there, though.  Shelley over at Wonderfully Wordy (and House of Smith’s) hooked me up with this awesome set of custom vinyl labels. 

The labels are affordable and super easy to apply.  And they are the icing on my cake.  So, there you have it.  A few days, $15.00, and 5 labels later, our pantry is finally pretty.

How about you?  Have you ever had the itch to give a seldom seen place a make over?