Hey there, besties! I know I've shared a ton of handmade gift ideas from over the years, but instead of making you sift through the 1,200 posts from my archives, I'm going to throw down 50 of my favorite handmade gift ideas right here to make it easy for you! Even if you don't end up making one of these specific DIY gifts, maybe at least you'll get some inspiration and try something new! We've ... [ Read More ]
The evolution of our fireplace
When we first bought our historic mansion, the entire house was frozen in time. Absolutely nothing had been updated since it was built. We knew this to be true, because we have the original blueprints and building supply list from the builder. The living room looked like this: *This post contains affiliate links" Of course this SCREAMED potential for me, and I couldn't wait to get my ... [ Read More ]
Kitchen Wall Reveal – at last!
Before I dive right into what we did to THE WALL, let's discuss how the wall came to be. It was once the entrance into the original kitchen. A very small, tragic kitchen that was all but falling off the house. *This post contains affiliate links.* Here's a view of the original kitchen from the outside. Yes, that little white box in the middle is the entire kitchen. When drawing up ... [ Read More ]
Large-Scale DIY Pixel Art Using Dowels
If you love unique art and have absolutely nothing to do with your time, come and be inspired by this enormous pixel art using thousands of chunks of wooden dowels! It's basically a large-scale diamond painting project, and is actually pretty fun if you love tedious/repetitive tasks. Our living room has really been coming together over the years, but one area that I've struggled to complete is ... [ Read More ]
Leaf-Shaped Modern Nesting Tables
Sometimes when I’m out and about shopping with a friend (or my toddler), I’ll see something I love but could TOTALLY make myself. For example, I saw these little tables that are nesting tables shaped like leaves at IKEA! I loved them. But I felt like the price tag was steep… almost laughable. And not only that, I knew I could make them even better. I’m sure you know what happens next. *This ... [ Read More ]
DIY Cactus Coasters
I usually avoid trendy things like the plague. I just don’t want my house to look like every other house on the block… which ironically, we live out in the country and literally don’t have any neighbors, so I’m in the clear, right?! But sometimes, WE LIKE WHAT WE LIKE… right? And I liked cacti long before they were trendy. Like, I have an actual cactus in my house that I nurture and keep alive. ... [ Read More ]
The Difference between Laminate and Wood Veneer Furniture {and how to PAINT them!}
One of the most common questions we get is this: What’s the difference between laminate and wood veneer? And can I paint it? You ask, we deliver: Now, we don't claim to be professionals by any means, but we've been around the block with ALL our furniture transformations... and we're happy to share what we've learned! Let’s start with the definitions of each… because they’re totally different ... [ Read More ]
Living Wall Vertical Planter from Wooden Bowls
Lately I’ve talked a lot about my love for plants, and how I’m so proud of myself for defeating the dreaded black thumb. I’ve gotten a LOT of questions about that, and what exactly I do to keep my plants alive, so I wrote a post sharing details about HOW I FOUND MY GREEN THUMB! But today, I want to show you a suuuuper fun Vertical ‘Living Wall’ Planter installation made from wooden bowls. It’s ... [ Read More ]
Posterized Art Portrait with Stain on a Wooden Canvas
My little sister and I are 10 years apart. I endured a lot of BROTHERS before I finally got a sister, and I’ve always cherished her so much, despite our age difference. We didn’t fight much growing up, because we weren’t interested in the same things. I liked boys and cheerleading, and she liked dressing up her doll. And that was okay! But my little sister Anna is alllll grown up now, at the ... [ Read More ]
Macrame Fringe Trim Pillow Tutorial
We’ve been slowly finishing projects and making updates to our Master Bedroom over the past few months, and I’m loving how it’s coming together! If you’ve been following along, you might remember how we painted the walls back to white, painstakingly scraped the popcorn ceilings, made a simple upholstered headboard with a round boho tapestry, used an old vanity chopped in two for identical night ... [ Read More ]