Tutorials & Tips

Terrific Terrarium

Published on August 18, 2010September 12, 2012 by Our Humble Abode6 Comments

To make a simple terrarium, find or buy pretty rocks, moss and a pretty, lidded jar. Place the rocks (I bought mine from Michael’s) at the bottom. Then add moss (we had some growing on our patio) on top, making it somewhat level. Simple as that. If you want to add some animal friends, continue reading.

I started out with little birds, inspired by these. I used polymer clay to make the little guys. I softened the clay before free forming my animals. I decided to make birds, eggs, hedgehogs, and a gnome.

Then, I cut 2 inches of wire, folded it in half and twisted the ends together. Insert the wire into our clay critter, but do not go completely through.

Follow the baking instructions on the package. Let your dudes cool. Now you’re ready to start painting. I used acrylic paints from Michael’s and gave the guys a few base coats of color. Add as much or as little detail as you’d like and let them dry.

Here are some of my birds. I added eyes, wings and dipped their beaks in orange to add more color.

I thought I finished with my terrarium, but wanted to add some height.

So, I made a wire nest by coiling wire around. Then, I needed a tree – do you see the “If you give a mouse a cookie” tendency I have? To make a tree, I took a dead branch from our tree and snipped it to fit. To attach the nest to the tree, uncoil the bird base. Insert the bird wires through the nest and twist around the branch. Push the tree firmly into the moss. Add the rest of your critters and admire.

I love the colors and interest the animals add. Aren’t they cute?

And, it’s cute from above!

I know it’s kitschy, but I think it’s charming and cute. AND, it should be one plant I can’t kill! Bonus! So, what house plants do you like? Any black thumb people out there? I’d love to know what plants you’ve had luck keeping alive.

Oh, Baby! Clutter?

Published on August 17, 2010September 9, 2010 by Our Humble Abode8 Comments

A few weeks ago, I touched on the subject of storing toys, but I’m back to give a few more tips, specifically baby related. How can someone so small have so much junk stuff? Clothes, blankets, baby bathtub, car seat, and toys!

Tip number 1: Stick to the basics and necessities. Let me start this off by telling you my little secret. When Vincent was an infant, we received a hand me down swing and bouncer seat from relatives. I think V used each item once in his first month, so I donated them. He didn’t seem to mind. If your baby never uses these items, he or she can’t miss having them. There are so many baby items being manufactured today that we never had as children, and we’re fine. I mean seriously, wipe warmers? By sticking to the essentials, you’ll have minimal baby junk to store.

I think an infant bathtub is an essential, so we keep ours in Everett’s side of the closet. Of course, he won’t use it forever, but it is so helpful. It’s relatively convenient to get it when preparing for a bath, seeing as we have to get an outfit, too.

Hang clothes and not fold. If you have floorspace, add a dresser to hold toys and smaller items.

Tip number 2. If you have the space, go vertically with your storage. The cubes in the closet were designed to hold shoes, but it turns out they are the perfect solution for storing diapers in storage totes. If you can’t build cubes, add a hanging shoe organizer, like this one. Get smaller items up and off the floor to make room for larger, harder to store items.

Tip number 3. Utilize under the bed storage. Don’t let valuable floor space go to waste under a bed. Buy totes to store clothes, toys or bedding to free up closet space. Vincent actually has a fleet of Tonka trucks and blocks stored under Everett’s crib.

Tip number 4. Buy tons of clear storage bins. Store larger clothes in clear bins with labels so you can see what you have. This will keep everything at hand, so you can quickly swap items out when the seasons change or baby gets bigger. We know they grow so quickly. Once you have a bin of too small clothes, label it and you can put it in the garage or basement to keep it out of the main storage areas.

Tip number 5. Don’t be afraid to store some items in more conveniently located closets. Store the car seat and diaper bag in the entry closet along with your shoes and purse. You know you’ll need the car seat when you’ll also need your purse, so keep it close.

The car seat is in clear view, but you can see the very bottom of the diaper bag on the upper shelf.

Some baby toys are awkward to store, so we keep those in our guest bedroom closet, which is just off the main living room. It keeps it out-of-the-way, but close by.

If you have a linen closet, keep baby blankets, sheets, burp cloths, towels, etc. along with everyday items. Storing some items in more logical closets will free up some nursery closet space, leaving room for toys!

Tip number 6. Choose items that can easily fold or be disassembled. Both of our boys love(d) the Graco jumper. I allow it because it doesn’t take up much space when it is out.

When it isn’t in use, we easily slide it over to the side.

If we have company, we pull the jumper off and slide it under the guest bed.

So, there you have it. These storage methods have worked for us, but I want to know what you do. I do plan to cover some kitchen ideas, too, so keep reading.

Weekend Painting: Chevron Rug

Published on August 16, 2010January 24, 2012 by Our Humble Abode39 Comments

As if painting a magnet board and making a piece of art wasn’t enough, I decided this was the perfect weekend to start mission rug redo. I bought a jute rug from a local thrift store recently and decided this would be the perfect chance to paint a rug. Martha Stewart did a segment on painting stripes on a sisal rug, so I used that as a starting point.

First, I created a template to use as a guide for my design. Starting in the dead center of the rug, I used painters tape to mask off a chevron design, placing my template down and taping around it. I also made a second template to use as a spacing guide. After I had my design completely taped off, I used the handle end of a screwdriver to rub the edge of the tape down.

I sent Ben off to the hardware store to get a quart of white oil based paint. He came back with this:

I started by ‘pouncing’ along the taped lines, just like stencling, to prevent the paint from seeping under the tape. Then Ev started crying, so I took a break to feed him. I let my first area of paint dry and peeled back part of the tape to check my lines.

Happily, the paint didn’t bleed under! So, I painted, and painted, and painted.

Then, I ran out of paint, so I bought a gallon. I returned home, full gallon in hand and painted some more. This was by no means a speedy process. It took about 4 hours to get everything painted. I let everything dry for 24 hours before removing the tape. Definitely do this outside, as the dry paint flakes off the tape, making one big mess.

I like the bold pattern. I think it’s just what this room needed.

In all honesty, I love the look of the painted rug, but not the feel. The paint does dry crunchy, BUT, a jute rug is never squishy and cushy, so it’s not that different than the unpainted rug. This would be much better in an outdoor setting, like a doormat or ourdoor living area. Until I can find a plush rug I can afford, this will stay in the boys’ room. I do think it will make an appearance outside at a later date.

Weekend Painting: Custom Artwork

Published on August 13, 2010September 9, 2010 by Our Humble Abode31 Comments

After spray painting a new magnet board for Vincent, I started creating a painting for our main bathroom. I looked in our garage and found a 13 inch by 31 inch scrap of 1/2 inch thick MDF. I really wanted something that was 12 by 36, but it was close enough. After a quick cleaning, I applied a coat of primer to all sides.

This is going in our bathroom, and I don’t want the MDF to swell in the humidity. Priming and painting all sides will seal the MDF, preventing any swelling.

I was inspired by the shadow of leaves the afternoon sun casts on the walls in our house, so I went out to take a picture of our tree.

After my primer and white paint dried, I began drawing leaves onto my ‘canvas’, using my photo as a guide. I lightly drew some of the leaves with pencil. Some areas where the leaves are more clustered together were difficult to recreate, so I took artistic freedom and drew some leaves as I liked. After 10 minutes or so, I had half of my template complete.

I mixed up a custom ‘greige’ color using a small amount of black, tons of white and some yellow. Then I started carefully filling everything in.

It was a little time-consuming, taking about one and a half hours, but I actually doing things like this. Call me crazy, but I’d rather spend an hour or so creating free art than buying something. Now we have a custom, one of a kind piece of art in our bathroom.

I like the long, rectangular shape and size. It definitely makes more of a statement than the smaller items that were there before.

How many of you make your own art? Whether it’s a painting, drawing or something else. Do share! I would love inspiration!!

Weekend Painting: Magnet Board

Published on August 11, 2010September 9, 2010 by Our Humble Abode6 Comments

We’re in painting moods lately! Last weekend, we repainted our dining room and over this past weekend, a little more painting took place. On Saturday, I painted a magnet board for Vincent’s room.

Before I had my office in the basement, I was using our little desk upstairs to run my stationery shop. I used this board to keep papers and track my current orders. Now that I have a magnetic backsplash, Vincent needs this board more than I do. He has been using the side of the refrigerator to play with his alphabet letters, but many of the letters get kicked under. Enter, the new magnet board. Here it was before I painted.

I picked up Valspar’s Bumblebee Spray paint to use on the frame and used a can of flat white spray paint to paint the metal.

I made a little set up of 5 gallon buckets outside and got ready to paint.

Pass about 10 minutes and I had one coat on the steel and frame.

After letting everything dry for several hours, I popped the steel back in the frame and hung it in the boys’ room. Vincent loves having this in his room and has proudly displayed some of his art.