Looking back at 2017

Well, 2017 has been a crazy year, full of love, family, and precious memories. We’ve been so blessed! Each December as I scroll through the projects from that year, I’m always surprised by how much we got done! It doesn’t seem like we’re THAT busy, because we’re doing what we love… and we’re doing it together. What more could anyone ask for?!

As a bit of a recap, I’m going to share the projects we tackled in 2017. If you’ve been around the blog for awhile, this will be a fun walk down memory lane with Reality Daydream… and you might even see a few that you missed along the way! And if you’re fairly new ‘round these parts, you’re in for a wide variety of inspiration, ideas, and step-by-step tutorials!

In no order whatsoever:

• Bentwood Shelf – This teardrop-shaped shelf was our first experience BENDING WOOD! It was so fun using a steamer, and it turned out so amazing!
• Wood Slice Floor Vase – We recycled some downed branches from the yard by cutting them into wood slices and affixing them to a cheapo tall floor vase to add some detail and texture!
• Cactus Coasters – This one might go down as my favorite project of the entire year. These wooden coasters connect together to look like a cactus when they aren’t in use!
• Gallery Wall – I struggled with how to style a gallery wall behind a piano, but figured out a special trick to make it a no-brainer and had SO MUCH FUN hanging all these family pics, memories, and handmade art!

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• Chalkboard Command Center – we desperately needed a place in our kitchen to organize our life, and so I dedicated this whole wall! We painted it with chalkboard paint, and added a DIY floating acrylic calendar!
• Playing Card Holders for Kids –  our family loves game night, but sometimes the littles have a hard time holding their cards just so. We designed this simple holder for the cards to help the kiddos be able to see their ‘hand’ without needing help!
• Stained Posterized Portrait – my sister Anna is the cutest, and I decided to paint a modern/artsy pic of her using colorful wood stain on a large wooden canvas. It turned out so edgy and fabulous!
• Acid Etched Skyline Stemware – this is a great gift idea for that person that has everything… use ANY skyline to make these wine glasses personalized and beautiful!

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• Turned Wooden Pendant Lights – use a lathe to make your own trendy wooden pendant lights! We used ours on either side of our master bed instead of having table lamps taking up room on our bedside tables.
• Wood Bowl Vertical Planter – I had an idea to use old wooden bowls to make this vertical wall planter by cutting them in half and affixing them to a wooden substrate. I’m so proud to share that every one of these plants is still alive!
• Botanical Trivets – These wooden trivets were cut out of inexpensive bamboo cutting boards using a scroll saw, and stained with green alcohol dye. I love the various leaf shapes!
• Add More Closet Shelving – the twins’ closet was small and had a single shelf with a clothes hanger bar below it. I got a wild hair one weekend while Nick was gone, and added SO MUCH SHELVING. I literally tripled the amount of usable space in this little closet, and it’s so functional now!

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• Faux Stained Glass Beauty and the Beast Rose – this project was so fun and simple, and was inexplicably popular on the interwebs in 2017. That tutorial was viewed 107,000 times on my blog, and the video went viral on Facebook with a reach of 42 Million! Insanity.
• Hanging Planters – my love for plants grew even deeper in the past year, and these teardrop-shaped planters were only one of several DIY planters I’ve made recently. Made from recycled wooden bowls!
• Oversized Pegboard Shelving – these hefty shelves were made out of PLYWOOD! And they turned out even more amazing that we expected. Beauty and organization collided with this project!
• Etched Photo Frame Wedding Gift Idea – we took an ordinary picture frame and acid etched the glass to be personalized and perfect for giving as a wedding gift or anniversary gift. Or even just for your own gallery wall!

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• Free-Standing Strawberry Patch – we decided to go vertical with our strawberry patch, and it turned out so cute! Especially with the ‘Strawberry Patch’ sign that was cut with a scroll saw!
• Patio Makeover – our patio got some special treatment with a new dining set, lots of plants, and some dreamy mood lighting. So much more fun for entertaining!
• Pattern-shaped Vessel Sconces – a slab of pine, a few mason jars, and strips of leather was all it took to make these pretty wall-hanging sconces that can hold anything from flowers to craft supplies to tea lights!
• Stained Wood Veneer Lampshade – I took my ‘Shading with Stain’ technique to a whole new level when I decided to stain my flower designs onto a suuuuper thin piece of wood veneer and make it into a lampshade!

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• Coffee Mug Planters – I love giving plants as gifts for teachers, neighbors, grandparents, etc. And when I found some cute mugs on clearance at Target, I snagged them for little planters and drilled my own drainage hole!
• Mid-Century Modern Inspired Bookshelf – Nick and I designed this little bookcase for our bedroom, and we love the clean lines and crisp modern feel of the white and raw wood together.Very Scandinavian!
• Baby Bibs – Cypress went through a REALLY drool-y stage every time she was teething, and I didn’t want to put the same nasty food-stained bibs on her all day. So I made some pretty ones using old bibs as a template.
• Chalkboard Meal Planning Menu Board – I snagged some dollar store frames and some chalkboard vinyl and made this fun menu board! I love the addition of the Scrabble pieces. Did you know you can buy those on Amazon? Details on that post!!

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• Halloween Sugar Skull – I know this one looks out of place, but this glow-in-the-dark paint was SO FUN to play with. And the eye-holes in the scull have a place for candy inside for the trick-or-treaters!
• Glass Tile Backsplash – we finally pulled the trigger on a real glass tile backsplash, and it’s SO PRETTY. A backsplash makes such a huge difference in a kitchen! And under-cabinet lighting doesn’t hurt either.
• Glossy Herringbone Dining Table – we made this chic table for Nick’s sister and her family, and the whole design was Nick’s brain-child. That candy-coat of epoxy is so choice!
• DIY Cribbage Boards – one of the homemade Christmas gifts we decided to tackle for the holidays was these Cribbage Game Boards made from assorted scrap wood using a template that made drilling all those holes far easier than you’d think!

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• Wood and Acrylic Animal Banks – these were another handmade gift idea for all our little nieces and nephews, and they turned out so cute! You could do literally any animal, and paint them any color!
• The Mother of all Potting Benches – having a potting bench always seemed like such a pipe dream and an unattainable luxury… but who knew I just needed to add it to the hubby’s to-do list! JK! Kinda! I freakin LOVE this thing.
• Wooden Nativity Puzzle – inspired by some Czech versions I saw when I visited my sister in Prague, this wooden nativity puzzle was a very quick scroll saw project that is so simple yet stunning! Can be painted or stained!
• Faux Fireplace Mantel Shelf for Stockings – shoutout to all those that have no obvious place to hang their Christmas stockings! This shelf has a place for a picture of each kiddo and a nob to hang their stocking! AND it resembles an actual fireplace mantel!

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• Scrap Wood Art Nesting Tables – These end tables were made with scraps from around our woodshop that were leftover from various projects. These were so fun to build, and turned out like a piece art!
• Teardrop-Shaped Sconce Planters – another recycled wooden bowl project… this version was inspired by the hanging planter version I had made earlier!
• Monogram Barn Wood Sign – I started out with brand new pine boards and used my ‘barn board technique’ to make them look aged and rugged! The ‘K’ was cut out with a jigsaw.
• Wooden Texture Effect Headboard – using various lengths and depths of wood, this headboard came together looking like a texture and having a very modern/masculine feel.

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• Beginner String Art – this simple heart-shaped string art project was so fun for the twins around Valentine’s Day! It was a little hard for their age group. I would say ages 7 and up would be perfect!
• Teacher’s Appreciation Gift Idea – using vinyl as a stencil, the girls painted these jars and used them as little pots for a plant to gift to their teacher on Teacher’s Appreciation Day! SO CUTE!
• Marble Painting Easter Craft – my Mom comes up with the cutest ideas! These Easter (or Spring) themed shapes got rolled over with paint covered marbles. Such a blast for the kiddos!
• Salt Dough Sun Catchers – one last kids craft… these sun catchers were made with salt dough and pony beads, and then baked in the oven! It’s so cute to see the creativity come out with the little ones!

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Here’s to making new memories and project in 2018! If you’re a really long-time reader of Reality Daydream, grab a cup of coffee and take a lonnnng walk down memory lane by looking through our yearly roundup posts from previous years!

~Bethany