Looking back at 2015

My people. My dear DEAR people.

Did you survive the holidays? Do you have even more family Christmas gatherings to attend? I feel that it would be in my best interest (and everyone elses?) to take a 2-day nap, followed by stripping the house of all Christmas décor, and finding a ‘home’ for every single new item acquired over the holidays.

THE CLUTTER.

It’s taking over my life. And my marriage. And my sanity.

I think it’s natural for us to all reflect on the year that we’ve had during that awkward week between Christmas and New Years. In fact, I found this meme to be particularly hilarious and true.

It’s been such a fun year, and I always look forward to this last week of December when I take some time to go back the posts from the whole year and reflect on all that has been accomplished!

Rather than choosing the ‘Top 10 Most Popular’ posts of 2015 like most bloggers do, I like to post every single project as a fun way to look back through the year, and make myself feel super productive. So for some of you, this will be a casual little walk down memory lane… and for the rest of you, it will be a small sampling of all the fun things we have in our Project Archives!

In no particular order whatsoever:

• Laundry Suite Transformation: this was a huuuuge undertaking (mostly on Nick’s part)… but now that it’s done, we LOVE IT SO HARD! Lots of DIY projects to click through! And I would almost say that a small part of me enjoys doing laundry now. On opposite day. Which is still never.
• Dipped Mini Paint Can Planters: I can’t believe this hasn’t been done before, because it’s such a simple project and it turns out so cute! I’m still using 2 of these as planters, and the other two for storing paint brushes and colored pencils (because let’s be honest, 2 of the 4 plants surviving is a win for me)
• Mid-Century-esque DIY Clock: I’m pretty proud of how this turned out to look so genuinely vintage-looking. Oxymoron?
• Mudroom Cubbies: You know how I love everything TO HAVE A PLACE, and this glorious organizational built-in has been so handy in keeping the mess of our mudroom area to a minimum.

• Spray Paint Organization Rack: What’s better than practical organization? COLOR CODED ORGANIZATION. I also find that it promotes creativity… just sayin.
• ‘Big Summer Blowout’ Fabric-Painted Onesies: I still chuckle about these. Especially when Cypress has an actual blowout. Because we need to search for ways to laugh when there’s poop everywhere. Can I get an amen, mamas?
• Faux-Planked Table: I wasn’t sure about how this technique would turn out in the beginning… but was in total shock by how awesome it looked when I was done!
• My First Quilting Project: It was so fun receiving scraps of fabric from you guys… and I learned so much throughout the quilt-making process! Cypress is just starting to pull herself up on the side of the crib, and loves feeling the different textures of her quilt that’s hanging on the wall behind her crib.

• Wrap-around Blouse or Dress: these are so simple to make, and require such little sewing knowledge… even the most novice sewist could pull this off. AND I WOULD KNOW.
• Modifying Bamboo Blinds to Fit your Windows: I still think about how awesome these look on our windows, and how much $$$ we saved by modifying them rather than buying expensive custom sizes.
• Children’s Profile Silhouette Cutouts: You should know by now that I look for reasons to use my scroll saw… and it was so fun cutting out the profiles of each of my girls! Not to mention simple enough that I can make another one when they get a little older. They grow so fast!
• Rainbow Tie-Dyed Layer Cake: It looks so complicated… but it’s not! I promise! And it’s such a fun way to celebrate someone’s birthday and make yourself look like a wizard in the kitchen. #realpriorities

• Kids Clubhouse / Playground: Ok, in the spirit of full disclosure, this thing isn’t fully finished. We still need to put a roof on it next spring, and I plan on adding some siding and maybe some cute window boxes and whathaveyou. We’re not beating ourselves up about it though.
• Easy LINED Dining Room Curtains: I waited a good long time to find the perfect fabric for these curtains, and I’m so glad I did. Because they look AWESOME (if I can say that about my own thing?) Isn’t it incredible how much of a difference curtains make in a room?!
• Palm Branch Art Panels: My elbow still hurts from jigsawing out all those cutouts, but the drama they add to this room makes it all worth it! My kind of drama! Also, make good decisions and use a sharp jigsaw blade my friends.
• Newborn Photography Prop Moon: I challenged myself to knock out this project by myself, with only my limited arsenal of woodworking skills. It turned out pretty fantastic and structurally stable! And I love that Molly Long Photography is capturing precious newborn moments with it now!

• Chartreuse Kitchen Cabinets: If this was a yearbook, and I was announcing the ‘Most Likely to Whatever’ winners, painting my cabinets chartreuse would HANDS DOWN win the title of ‘Most Likely to Cause Controversy’. But you don’t follow my blog because I’m shy and make ‘safe’ design decisions, right? Also, it’s my kitchen.
• Wooden Bowl Upgrade: This was such a fun collaboration and I loved coming up with my own unique way to make this simple wooden bowl my own!
• Wall Art from Repurposed Bamboo Blinds: I’m so glad Nick saved those scraps of leftover bamboo blinds, because they made for some fun wall art panels with just some painters tape and white spray paint!
• Geometric Wooden Mosaic Art: being challenged to make something out of just one board proved to be super fun after cutting my singular board into mannny pieces to make this fun wooden mosaic artwork. I still look at it and swear it’s 3D.

• How to PAINT your Mixer Tutorial:When I decided to paint my Kitchen Aid Mixer, I had no idea how much online buzz it would get. I guess I’m not the only one that changes my mind on colors frequently, and doesn’t have $300 to drop on a new small appliance every time.
• Vertical Wall Planter for Succulents or Herbs: This is one of those projects that came out of the depths of my very complicated brain, and turned out to be so sleek and gorgeous. High-fives brain!
• Diamond Tufted Leather Upholstered Storage Ottoman: I dare you to try and say that 10 times really fast with a mouthful of marshmallows. Jay Kay. This ottoman makes our living room look chic even when there are books and dolls and banana peels everywhere. Jay Kay about the banana peels… but you get the point, right? And I love that we can throw our blankets in it and whatever else we want to hide before the in-laws arrive.
• Embroidery Hoop Pendant Lights: Lighting can be sooooo expensive, so I whipped up my own custom ones with some embroidery hoops! I love the custom touch it adds to my ALREADY AWESOME KITCHEN.

• Children’s Wall Mounted Secretary Desk: This particular project might be my personal favorite thing I did all year (other than birth a little child). It’s just so functional, and pretty, and organizational! I love that the girls love it, and subsequently spend lots of time being silent and creative.
• Butterfly Cut-out Clock: This baby adds the perfect feminine touch to that wall in the girls’ room, and if you have a scroll saw, it’s simple to make! I love how it looks like the butterflies are flying up out of the circular part of the clock.
• Fall-Themed Wooden Monogram Wreath: Here’s another project that got some unexpected buzz in the world of social media. Sometimes you just need that little spark of an idea and the right tools! GO BUY A SCROLL SAW!
• Decorative Tray using Tile Mosaic: It’s true, I hate clutter. But sometimes there are things that I just can’t throw away because I know it will be PERFECT for something. Someday. This doesn’t always end well, but in this case, I’m so glad I kept those leftover sea glass tiles that were leftover from our laundry suite / bathroom backsplash! And the best part is you could use sooooo many different things for this project… broken mirror? Broken china? Pennies?

I never thought I would be known as ‘the one who came up with that staining technique’, but when a couple of my staining projects went viral on Facebook, and my following grew from 15,000 to 75,000… well I guess I had no choice! It’s been a fun little adventure, but not something I want to keep up by any means. I get bored if I’m not dabbling in all different aspects of DIY… building, sewing, painting, repurposing, organizing, BLOGGING, etc!

The best part of this crazy staining journey has been seeing YOU guys branch out and try something new. I can’t tell you how amazing it is to get emails from my readers who have done a project that was inspired by one of mine! Huge THANK YOU and sloppy kisses to those of you that took the time to send me pictures and super sweet notes and words of encouragement!

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As I mentioned earlier, my favorite accomplishment BY FAR is adding this fresh chub to our family unit this year (birth story here).

Things move a lot slower around these parts with this little busy-body around, but I wouldn’t have it any other way!

I’ve got some fun things brewing for 2016… which may or may not include a BRAND NEW blog name and site design being rolled out real soon! Don’t worry though, despite having a new blog name, all the content will be the same… complete with lots of sarcasm, DIY, parenting failures, and the occasional recipe.

Stay tuned!! And SEE YOU NEXT YEAR! (hehe! as in next week!)

PS! Be sure to check out our ‘Looking Back’ posts from previous years HERE!