Baking, Building and Raising Babies We are tackling life one DIY at a time while balancing a family, a budget and a hectic daily life.
We’ve all been going a little stir crazy around here and the normal tricks I keep up my sleeve for my toddler were all missing the mark, today. There’s nothing like a yummy 30 minute distraction when you’re looking for a pick me up… especially one full of chocolate!
The holidays are upon us and while we dig our Artificial Trees out of our storage units, attics or basements, many of us find the tree damaged and not up to the task of holding our ornaments or lighting up our home. Before you go to toss that tree, though, here are some GREAT DIY Upcycles you could try!
Being a maker means I’m always holding onto things. Good looking coffee cans? I’ll repurpose them in the shop. Toilet paper rolls? I’ll turn those puppies into binoculars before you can even bat an eye. We go through a LOT of oatmeal in this house between cookies, granola bars, and breakfasts, and those containers get used for a lot of storage. If you double them up, they also happen to be the perfect shape and height for a decorative vase of dried Pampas Grass.
Halloween and costumes have never been my favorite. However, seeing the holiday through the eyes of my Two Year Old has been pretty fun this year. When we started asking him at the beginning of the month what he’d like to be for Halloween, he hesitated exactly 2 seconds before explaining he wanted to be a Yellow Monster. Where this conviction and idea came from, I’ve yet to discover, but, he had a clear vision in mind for a Yellow Monster Costume, and I was thrilled to help bring his vision to life.
I’m not a Halloween person. The last time I dressed up for Halloween was the weekend I met my husband 8 years ago. I love Autumn and October, but, Halloween has never been my jam. Having a two year old, however, overrides my aversions to costumes and spooky themes. This kiddo is digging all the Festivities and Decorations surrounding All Hallow’s Eve. This Ghost Garland craft was one that ticked the boxes on my list (cute, yarn, simple) and was a fun way to celebrate the upcoming Holiday with the kiddo.
The front door of our house has been visited by more delivery drivers this year than I care to admit. We primarily use the back patio doors when we come and go, so, I don’t often think about the decor or functionality of the front stoop. For the past few years, we’ve had a simple TV Tray sitting next to the door for drivers to leave food and pick up their tip, and the poor tray has taken a beating.
It’s finally September and with that comes a slew of delicious new recipe options! For us, it means harvesting the carrots from our garden and finding delicious ways to eat them up. This recipe has the texture of a Pumpkin Bread with the delicate sweetness of Carrot Cake, all topped off with a delicious Cream Cheese Glaze. What could be better?
The furniture suite we have in our Master Bedroom has belonged to my husband since he was a kid and I’m crazy about it. It’s built with solid pieces of 2×3 lumber and stained a lovely shade of Walnut. It’s sturdy and timeless, and I recently discovered, very expensive to purchase! We needed a piece for the room that would function as both a TV stand and a Bookshelf, and when I began looking for something to match the rest of our furniture, I couldn’t believe the sticker shock.
My sister spotted these gorgeous Vintage Deck Chairs in my Dad’s Barn last Summer and I’m so glad she salvaged them for me! They had scraps of the original seat canvas BARELY holding on, but, the frames on them still seemed pretty sturdy. I have looked these chairs up on line and most of the ones I’ve found for sale run anywhere between $150 – $300. They seemed a bit intimidating at first, but, these are actually the simplest DIY I’ve tackled all Summer while we Update our Patio.
Today was meant to be a day spent catching up on chores. There was this cute little pile of scrap pallets sitting in the shop, however, that I’ve been eyeing for a week now, and I couldn’t wait any longer. This Rustic Table was a nap time project that turned out way better than I expected.