My Creative Blog [Search results for outdoor DIY] 

While Jess has been working on some indoor projects, I've been focused on our patio, and today's tutorial actually had me fist pumping quite a bit while I was doing it. Now, you're getting a sneak peak of the patio, but I'm not doing a real reveal until it's 100% finished (We're waiting on the lights we ordered and we've already started on a little addition!) So, don't focus on the patio, just the DIY project okay?

I knew that spray painting my outdoor rug, rather than hand painting it, would save me time, but I
had no idea just how simple it would be and how much I was going to love it! I wanted an awesome outdoor rug for the sitting area, but man alive, are they pricey! Jess actually found this insanely cheap outdoor rug at Home Depot for a project at her house, so I jumped on the cheap rug bandwagon and got one too! Check out that price… $17.88!!

I did a project on one of our Nate Show episodes last Christmas, and it got me thinking… I really didn't want to spend a long time painting a rug, perhaps I could try something a little easier (I'm all about the lazy-man's DIY).

To make those canvases, I just laid a reindeer template on the canvas and spray painted over it. When I peeled the template off, I was left with pure awesomeness! I decided to give that method a whirl with the rug.

Materials:
Plain outdoor rug Stencil Spray Adhesive Spray Paint (6x8 required 3 cans) Scrap or Newspaper

1- Spray the back of your high quality stencil with spray adhesive (I only sprayed it 2x for the whole rug). I had this Chez Sheik Moroccan Stencil already from Royal Design Studios (they're our favorite!). Then, choose one corner of the rug to place your stencil in. I honestly only leveled and squared by eye and it worked out perfectly.
2- Use scrap or newspaper to cover the area around the stencil.
3- Spray the stencil with your paint. I used Valspar's Outdoor White so that it will hold up against all kinds of weather (including the million degree heat we're having right now!)
When you're spraying, you'll want to spray directly down onto the rug, to prevent any bleeding, and hold your can a lot closer than you normally would. I found about 4 inches gave me quick, solid coverage.

As soon as I was done with one section, I moved onto the next. I didn't have to wait for any drying time etc.

Here's some evidence of how fast and easy this project is… Each star represents something (from bottom left) 1- I didn't bother with a drop cloth. 2- I just moved the sticks from the thunder storm to the side. 3- Child #3's scooter 4- Child #2's skateboard (I knew I'd be out of their way fast!) 5- Plywood from another DIY 6- Recycling bins I was supposed to take to the street, but hey they can wait 20 minutes for this project right?
Here's the patio sitting area before…

And after…

If you're anything like me, you're wondering, But how crisp are the lines? Does it really look good or does it look like a sloppy 20 minute project?? I'll let you be the judge. I'm crazy picky and this meets the Monica standard.

After hauling 40 tons of stone and working for weeks on this patio, I needed a quick and simple DIY. This outdoor stenciled rug cost me under $30 and completely helps bring the space together. I can't wait for cool, crisp fall evenings, when I plan on spending a lot of time outside in my new space!
What do you think of it?

I'm so excited to introduce you to one of our biggest DIY Projects ever! Over the next weeks we're going to be taking you step-by-step through our DIY Patio Project. I was thrilled when Stone Depot and EP Henry decided to partner with us on this crazy adventure.

So, here's the plan, each week I'll be giving you an update with info and tips on what we've completed. You're going to be amazed at how do-able this DIY really is (just LOTS and LOTS of work- husbands, please don't send me hate mail!) and don't worry, for those of you that definitely don't want to tackle this as a DIY, I'll hook you up with the pros at Stone Depot and they can help you out.
I'm way impulsive, so for a Big-Mama DIY, I needed a plan to keep me focused and doing things in the right order (or I would drive my hubs nuts!)

Step #1- Plan Patio Layout This was honestly very, very tricky. I learned a few things… As I planned, my patio mysteriously got BIGGER and BIGGER and planning is not as easy as I thought it would be. I had a few requirements 1- A large space for a BIG Dining Table (I feel another DIY table coming soon!) and 2- An area for a fire pit and sitting. Here was brainstorm number one… Now, remember I'm NOT an artist or a landscape designer. This looked pretty on paper, but having an opening for stairs off the patio only about 3 feet away from the opening for the walkway was weird.

Brainstorm Number Two looked like this… Still had the weird stairs/walkway combo and I also added a bump out area. Why you ask? Well, I love sitting in the sun! The way the sun crosses our house, that little area would have sun 24-7 (Well, not really, but you get the idea). Eventually I talked myself out of that because it was weird and made me seem a tad vain (enter the Carly Simon music).

The Final Plan is different than both of our initial ideas, but it's clean, simple, and big enough for all my requirements!

Now, it looks kind of small in these pictures, but it's about 600sq/ft and will be perfect for parties and lots of outdoor fun.
DIY PATIO TIP: Use leftover spray paint to draw out your design on the grass to make sure it's what you really want. I had about 7 colors going on at one point.

Step #2- Choose EP Henry Stone from Stone Depot Once we had our plan, we headed off to Stone Depot in Perkasie. They have a HUGE selection and their guys know their stuff! We were able to walk around outside and see actual patios and samples of each of the different paver options and colors.

Here's what we picked! Bristol Stone in Blue Spruce. I think the color will go really well with our house.

Here's a better picture, but in a different color. We're going to have sitting wall, like this, along the back and we're going to add fun lighting too!

I love how the stone sizes are varied and I like that they're larger than traditional pavers. At our old house we had Old Town Cobble, which is nice, but the Bristol Stone has a more contemporary feel to me.
The next step is measuring and planning outside the house. Here's a picture to give you a general idea. Next week I'll give you all of our tips for the measuring, trust me we learned a thing or two along the way! DIYing with my hubby is a tad different than DIYing with Jess! HA!

So be honest, are we CRAZY for taking on this DIY? Any tips or advice?

I didn't know Jess was going to mention one of our favorite blogs yesterday, but it was the perfect lead-in for my post today. Layla and Kevin from The Lettered Cottage have a wall that I love and want to create something similar to.

Now, their wooden walls were hiding out under the drywall, because they have an old home, but I'm going to have to bring in wood to create this look. Eric and I were talking about where to get inexpensive old, wood flooring, but then we thought about pallets. They're free, they're easy to aquire, and I think they just might work. Thus began my search for pallet inspiration.

This wall is not my style and I think the TV is completely out of place, but I was able to get some good tips from this DIY project. I'm pretty sure I want to whitewash or colorwash my wood.

Moma and Her Drill During my pallet search I found tons of other ideas and creative uses for pallets… I'm learning that they're all the rage right now! Children's Headboard

Apartment Therapy I really love this headboard. I'm not sure if I love the headboard or just the fact that it's in my favorite colors and my style bedding.

House Tweaking This reading nook is adorable! I need to find a spot in my house to create one for my kiddos! I might need to wait until we finish the basement, but I'm saving this project idea for sure!

Kojo Designs I'm not a big coffee table fan (perhaps because we have four kids and have had a toddler around for the last 9 years) but this is a cool idea and I think you could give it a rustic or very polished look.

DIY Ideas A Sweedish company makes interrlocking furniture that doubles as art. This is just a sample of their colors, but check out the link below to see how it's used functionally. So cool!

Sibylle Stœckli How fun are these bright outdoor chairs? This company sells them, but there are tons of DIY directions online. They would be fabulous in an urban backyard or patio.

Inhabitat Lastly, an adorable idea that my kids would love! Seriously, what little kid wouldn't love to play inside this… of course I'd add some fun accessories and a pop of color, but the idea is awesome.

Tiny Pallet House
What do you think of these Green building ideas? I think I'm all about it and I just need to decide which room I'm going to attempt it in… I'm between Callen's bedroom and the Master Bathroom. We're leaning towards Cal's room because the master bathroom has really high ceilings and is a much bigger project for the hubs. Currently"Pallet Wall" is about # 4 or 5 on the Honey-do-list… Eric's Honey-do-list… 1. Hang DIY hardware in kids bathroom (I'm pretty sure he's doing that now. I hear banging!) 2. Build Dining Room Table (we're in the planning and researching stage still, but making progress) 3. Assemble the kids' new swingset (a Christmas present, but we've been waiting for grass to grow) 4. LANDSCAPE this crazy yard (the builder is re-seeding this week and then we can start!) 5. Create Pallet Wall I'll keep you posted on our projects, and until we get to #5 on the list, I'll just keep being inspired by other people's DIY ideas. What cool Pallet Possibilies can you think of?

Outdoor furniture can cost an arm and a leg. Since I'm not interested in selling my firstborn to afford nice furniture, we often build it ourselves- and we do the same thing with homeowners on Knock It Off. We wanted to build Barb and Derek a sectional for their sunroom that would have a high end feel and not the price tag.

Doesn't it look great in their finished sunroom?

We are huge fans of giving credit where credit is due- Ana White is the queen extraordinaire of all things DIY furniture! Her blog is full of FREE furniture plans and one of her projects inspired our outdoor sectional.

We didn't use Ana's plans exactly, because we wanted it a certain size for Derek and Barb's room, so we came up with our own version, but if you want to make one, you should follow her step by step directions with awesome pictures!

Ana's plans for an outdoor sectional can be found HERE and you can download a PDF with everything you'll need.
A few tips for making one of your own…
# 1- Have the right tools! You don't need anything extravagant to build this sectional, but a strong drill, a Kreg Jig, and a Chop Saw are essential.

A Kreg Jig is a great, inexpensive tool for building furniture. We used one when we built our farmhouse table, outdoor table, garage lockers and so much more.

It creates a pocket hole to hide your screws.

You can check out Kreg's website here (and no, this isn't sponsored, I just really love this tool!!)
# 2- Have a friend to help! this is a two person job. There are lots of times where you'll need one person to hold and the other to attach something.

# 3- Use Exterior paint or Stain with a Sealant For our sectional, we used exterior paint, but watered it down a bit, so we could still see some of the wood grain. It's a little trick if you're in a time crunch. It spreads easily, like a stain, but you don't have to do an extra coat of sealant. We've learned lots of quick trips doing rooms for Knock It Off.

This project looks amazing and expensive, but it's really simple and a good first project if you're wanting to try your hand at building. All the cuts are straight and the plans are simple (you can thank Ana White for that!)

If you want to see how this sectional looks in the room, click HERE to watch the full episode online.

Hopefully this project encourages you to take that first step and give building your own furniture a try! It will save you a ton of money (maybe even your firstborn!!)

We'll admit we're not the first ones to DIY a headboard…there are so many awesomely creative headboard ideas out there! What we wanted most for this headboard was to create a juxtaposition of old and new. You might remember the accent wall- a classic houndstooth, with a modern multi-colored flare… well, we felt like it needed a fabulous antique headboard.

What do you think? We love the end result. But guess what?? It was actually our Plan B… Plan A was a flop. And because we're all about keeping it real, we're going to show you the Plan A.

This door is amazing. The layers and layers of old, chippy paint are incredible. As soon as we saw it at Architectural Antiques we knew we had to have it. We hoped it would be enough of a contrast on the wall, but we wrong. It got completely lost with the stencil.

We headed back to Architectural Antiques and walked around their huge outdoor salvage yard. The bold blue color of the shutters jumped out at us. We loved how we'd be able to use three panels to create a solid look. We were back in business! Of course the blue wasn't the right color… Boo! That just meant we needed to DIY the doors a bit. We simply dry brushed the blue color we used in the room over the existing blue.

How To Dry Brush: 1-Put a small amount of paint on your brushDab most of it off on a paper towel 3- Quickly sweep the"dry brush" over the surface

(Late night phone picture FAIL. Sorry!) We also rubbed the paint in with a paper towel because we wanted to preserve as much of the original character of the shutters as we could. It gave just enough of the new color to make it work in the room. Installing a shutter or door headboard is really simple. So simple even a rookie DIYer can do it! Jess used this method when installing her door headboard and it worked like a charm! How to Install a Headboard: 1- Get a 2x4 piece of wood2- Cut the wood about 6 inches shorter than the width of the bed (you don't want to see the board)3- Determine the height you want your headboard and mark the bottom4- Use a level to straighten the 2x4 on the wall, where you marked it5- Find your studs and screw it in

6- Rest your headboard on the 2x47- Put a few screws in the headboard for extra stability

It took us all of about 10 minutes to get ours installed. We love an easy DIY!

So what do you think of our Plan B? --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Ok, so there are a TON of Shabby Apple lovers out there (we told you that would happen!), and we're thrilled to announce that the winner is:

It's your lucky day, April G.! Email us to claim your prize.: ) For the rest of you, don't forget to use the code EASTCOAST10OFF to receive 10% off your order at Shabby Apple. Thanks to everyone who entered! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Holy Cannoli Batman… could Spring have taken any longer to come this year? Finally, we're getting some warmth up in here!

I really love spring (once it gets here)… it means flowers, outdoor projects, and flip-flops (do you remember those days in college, when you'd have a warm-ish spring day, so you'd put on flip-flops, a tank, shorts, and act like it was 100 degrees out? Yup, that was me!)
This Spring, I have a ton of projects I want to work on in our yard. Last summer we finished up our huge patio project, but we didn't have much time or budget left to tackle the landscaping and some other fun projects to make the space complete!

Landscaping around the patio and building a shed are our first two orders of business! I've successfully taken over 3/4s of our huge garage with all my DIY projects and materials, so the hubs has decided it's time for a shed for our mower, yard tools, etc.

Since these are two pretty hefty sized projects, I need all the help and advice I can get. I visited the Garden Club on The Home Depot's website to get some expert advice, inspiration, and I got an awesome coupon just for signing up as part of the community. SCORE!

Check out who else is part of the Garden Club Community…

I mean if Martha is doing it… I'm so there!

I was browsing the site looking for landscaping ideas, but got completely distracted by all the awesome project inspiration ideas! Have you heard of Envirotile? If I had an old, cement slab patio, I would do this in an instant… I found an awesome step-by-step guide that seemed so simple!

One of the other things I loved once I became a member of the Garden Club community, was their Monthly to-do lists! Once I click on where I live on the map, it provides me with a list of what I should be doing when, based on my zone!

Especially with how cool this spring has been, it's easy to forget about some of the outdoor things I need to be taking care of now! I printed out my list for March and it's right on the fridge for the hubs and me to tackle! (Actually, he's outside working in the yard, as I'm writing this!)

We love the Home Depot (and not just because they're one of our CWTS sponsors!!), and I'm so glad I checked out their site and became a member of the Garden Club

To join yourself & get your coupon (c'mon, all the cool kids are doing it)- click HERE

Happy Spring and Happy Gardening!!

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It's home improvement time, and The Home Depot has everything you need for spring. No matter what projects you want to tackle, The Home Depot has you covered and can help you #DigIn to spring.

Spring is the perfect time for all your outdoor home renovations. Shop The Home Depot for terrific values on new patio furniture, landscape supplies such as fertilizer and potting soil and outdoor grills. Keep your lawn and garden looking great, too, with the huge selection of lawn mowers, edgers and trimmers, and garden tools.

Visit The Home Depot Garden Club for product ideas from kick-starting your Spring with seed starter kits to building a window birdfeeder.

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of The Home Depot.

From time to time we talk here on the blog about how we try to make sure that we don't become self-absorbed or too focused on our own homes and stuff etc… It's a fine line when you're a home blogger. One way that we try to do this is by using our skills to help others! You might remember our first"Design it Forward Project"
I've decided that I'm a DIYer, but I like to DIY-FO too… Do-It-Yourself-For-Others And just because I'm a little gangsta, I've now coined it…

Wouldn't it be so cool if we all became more than just DIYers, if we also loved to DIY-FO-SHO!! (If you're really, really not gangsta it's a play on words"fo sho"= For Sure) I don't know about you, but I LOVE doing what I love to make someone else's day awesome!
Here's the story behind the bench pictured above! So my Kenzie girl is obsessed with animals- I mean she really likes them more than people!

She has been taking horseback riding lessons from an awesome trainer (Katrina) at All Seasons Stables for the last year. If you're local we totally recommend them for lessons (tell them we sent you!)
Anyhow, near the riding ring, there was this oh-so-sad looking bench that I sat on or near for about 9 months before it occurred to me that I needed to give it a little love (okay maybe a lot of love!)

I told Katrina I was going to borrow her bench and I'd have it back the next day… she kind of looked at me like I had 3 heads as I dragged it over to my car and loaded it into the trunk. I promised her it would be worth it!
The hubs was 100% on board and we got right to work.

The screws were crazy rusted, so we had to use our jigsaw to cut the boards in half…

Once they were split down the center, we took a hammer and literally banged them off!

See! I wasn't kidding. I sent Katrina a picture of the bench like this just to mess with her head a little! lol

I worked on spray painting the metal frame with outdoor paint, and while it dried, we worked on the new seat and backrest.

We replaced the old, rotten wood with new 1x3s.

Instantly it was looking better!

We painted all the wood a classic barn red to match the stables, and I decided it needed a little personalization. Using my Silhouette I added their name.

I taped around the edges to avoid bleeding and then got to work with my favorite Royal Design Studio stencil brush (I swear by this thing!)

After letting it dry, Kira and I headed back to the farm to make our special delivery. She hung out with a pony named Peaches, while I set up the bench.

I think it looks a WHOLE lot better and Katrina and her family were really surprised and appreciated it so much.

It's awesome to do a simple, little project that really makes someone else's day! It doesn't have to be a huge project, but it could still make a huge impact on someone else!

So, what do you think of my new phrase? Are you ready to DIY-FO-SHO???

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Psssst. Did you hear our BIG NEWS?

Click here for our announcement post with all the fun details!!
We can't wait for July 7th!!

Early in the summer we started what will go down as our biggest DIY project of the year … We decided to build our own brick paver patio! (Check out the process posts 1,2,3,4) With my creative ideas and my amazing husband that has an un-human work ethic we knew would could handle it! We teamed up with two amazing companies to make it happen, and we loved working with Stone Depot and EP Henry throughout the process.

Drum-roll Please…
Presenting My DIY Patio…

Let's take a closer look at this bad boy
Here's a quick peek back to where we started…

And now, for where we are now!

I couldn't be happier with the results and none of it would have happened without this fella. I won't get all sappy, but he's the hardest worker I've ever met. Our friends have affectionately coined the phrase"Mangin to the Max" when he's in his crazy hardworking mode. So, thanks for all your tireless hours, love- you're the best! View from the door before…

And After…

I love the sitting area and have spent tons of hours working from there the last few months. I can't get enough of all the fall foliage this year- almost makes me feel like I'm back in New England.

We made a last minute decision to add this little area off of the main patio. We wanted a place to be able to grill and where we could put a kids' table when we have a crowd, although I think the fire pit looks pretty cute there too!

Eric and I built a huge farmhouse table using Ana White plans after we were inspired by the Shanty 2 Chic sisters (Full table post coming soon!) For now we're using the chairs I painted back in the spring, but we plan to build long benches this weekend!

I know it sounds cheesy, but I sort of think the patio reminds me of the big family dinners they always have on Parenthood. Do you see it too? (Man, I love that show!)

Here's a peek at some of the fun details I love… Remember this upcycle?

We have fun cattails in our pond (it's more of a swamp, but come on, pond sounds so much nicer!) and they look so cool!

Eric was pretty proud of the stairs… the EP Henry stone was too nice to just do plain, basic steps. I love the tiered look he built!

I plan on having tons and tons of awesome meals out here with family and friends!

It's the perfect place to sit down and browse through one of my favorite magazines… I suggest checking out page 92… Did you know we were featured this month? It pretty much rocked our world!

We got all of our EP Henry stone from Stone Depot in Perkaise, PA and it's top quality for sure. I love the look of the pillars with the huge caps (which are crazy heavy btw- I spent so many hours just carrying brick from the driveway to the backyard.)

The guys at Stone Depot recommended slate for the sitting wall and I'm so glad they knew what would look best- the slate is one of my favorite parts of the whole project.

I had to share this picture with you because you've got to check out the pumpkin on the left… doesn't it look like he's eating the green goose gourd? We grew tons of gourds this year and my kids love the goose ones!

Pennlyn loves that she can go out the sliding door now- it's so nice to be able to easily let her in and out.

We only have two things left on the Patio-To-Do-List… 1- Finish the landscaping (we need mulch and plants)

2- We need outdoor pillar lighting. I ordered 4 lights that I really liked, but they ended up being discontinued. Boo! Our blog sponsor Brad from Lucent Lampworks is going to help me come up with some cool ideas, so I'm excited to get that final detail taken care of!

So, there you have it! Our Big Old DIY project is done!

What do you think of my new outdoor oasis? Do you have any awesome lighting suggestions or just any ideas to make the space even better?

Phew! Can you believe that 2012 is over already? We are gearing up for an unbelievably awesome 2013 filled with lots of fun and exciting things for this little blog (we'll share those with you tomorrow!), but we thought we'd take some time to round up our favorite projects from each month in 2012. Take a look, let us know what you think, and pin it if you like it!

January Monica's Fav: I loved going green in 2012! Not really in the earthy-crunchy way, but by adding a pop of color to my collection of ornate frames. These Green Granny Frames had a fun impact on my dining room!

Jess's Fav: I breathed some new life into our New and Improved Entryway by adding a striped accent wall and a big gallery wall.

February:
Jess' Fav: This project injected what can only be called Stencil Happiness into my kitchen renovation. Thanks to an awesome stencil from Royal Design Studio, my kitchen now has style for miles!

Monica's Fav: I took a bit of a risk and got personal with all of you by sharing my Game of Love Perfect Valentine's Gift. You ladies sure loved it, because it became our #1 post of 2012! Stay tuned for this year's version- it'll be on the blog on Monday!

Since 2012 was a leap year, I get to add another for February! This post went live on 2/29 and it's such a time saver in our house! Once a Month Sandwiches

March
Jess' Fav: This Giant Shaped Frame is by far my favorite project from 2012! I'm pretty sure there is no better way to dress up your wall for this crazy low price. This is a big impact project, people. *I also have to nominate this one too! Jess and I had no idea how successful this project was going to be when we created it- we sure love Staples Prints! -Mon*

Monica's Fav: I love the BIG impact my Chevron Wall made in my kitchen. It's packed with personality and was pretty easy to paint!

April
Jess' Fav: My hubs and I surprised my daughter with this Playhouse Loft Bed for her fourth birthday. It was totally worth it, because she and my son play in it all the time. I'm all for a DIY project that keeps the kids happy and occupied! *wink*

Monica's Fav: My Front Door got a major face lift with a super cool color and house numbers that are so my style!

May
Jess' Fav: We started our kitchen renovation in December and were finally ready to do the big Kitchen Reveal in May. Of course, I'm still tweaking it, but this room makes me super happy. It's filled with tons of DIYs like painting the cabinets, stenciling the wall, making a fabric shade pendant light, painting color-blocked curtains and adding a fab rug.

Monica's Fav: Warm weather meant it was time for some outdoor projects! I loved how simple and inexpensive these DIY Planters were. Even now, they have winter pansies and look great on my front porch!

June Jess's Fav: I love the ability to customize things and this Fabric Floorcloth let me create the perfect mat for my entryway!

Monica's Fav: Jess and I completed our Super-Fab Guest Room Makover. We loved everything from the shutter headboard, fun accessories, and of course the houndstooth stenciled wall! We also had a blogger's dream come true when Young House Love featured our makeover!

July
Jess: My son turned 2 this month so I showed you how I made his custom invitations using digital scrapbook paper and picmonkey. How to Make Custom Printables became one of our top posts- you guys obviously love free things!: )

Monica's Fav: While we were busy finishing up our patio project, I also worked on an Outdoor Furniture Upcycle

August
Jess' Fav: We took our house exterior from boring to awesome by painting the front door and shutters. Hello Curb Appeal!

Monica's Fav: August was when I pulled off a birthday surprise for my hubs with a Garage Mudroom Makover I'm still loving the organization and how it's actually functional for this family of 6!

September
Jess: It's a tie! I just can't decide between Stenciled Faux-Tile Fireplace & Planked Wall with Exposed"Stud' Shelves. Both of these guys transformed the room and I'm in love with them!

Monica's Fav: I went a little outside the box with my Shut the Front Door — Foyer Update. It's still one of my favorite things in my house.

October Jess: Our dining room has been slowly undergoing a transformation and my refinished dining table fits perfectly in the new space! Refinished Dining Room Table

Monica's Fav: In October, we had our DIY Patio Reveal! It was a HUGE DIY project, but we saved tons of money doing it ourselves and the end result was pretty awesome!

November
Jess's Fav: I love Mr. Berkus and didn't think he would mind me knocking off one of the items from his new line- the Rope-Wrapped Hurricane Vase. Want to know a secret? I like mine better.: )

Monica's Fav: During a road trip to visit one of my best gal pals, I whipped up a Fireplace Makeover in her new house. It's a super-simple way to get rid of that brass fast!

December
Jess: This project was honestly a surprise to me. It came out so much better than I ever thought it would! The Wood Slice Wreath is the perfect winter decoration.

Monica's Fav: Just in time for Christmas Jess and I made this Illuminated Silhouette Art. It looked great next to my Christmas tree, and now I'll be swapping out the silhouette for a lovey-dovey Valentine's quote!

One thing that stands out to us the most this year is how thankful we are for YOU! We so appreciate your comments, emails and faithful visits to our blog. Here's to another crazy, fun year!

Psssst! We're guest-posting today over at Home Stories A to Z for our bloggy friend, Beth. Head on over to see what we did with an old cabinet!
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We love when a DIY project just kind of pops onto our laps. This Solar Terrarium was just that way. We were working on a succulent planter that was really flopping and suddenly came up with this project as a Plan B, and we sure love it!

Solar Terrarium Materials List Solar Light Succulent Plant Lantern from Lowe's Scotch Double sided Mounting Tape River Rocks

Did you see this great project on Pinterest from The Shabby Creek Cottage? I had seen it earlier in the week and was so glad I did. It inspired me to grab a few solar lights at Lowes.

Inspired to get creative with the solar lights, we first took the light apart to figure it out.

I had picked up this lantern at Lowe's a while back and it was perfect to let sunlight shine through the top. They come in black and silver.

We used Scotch double sided mounting tape because we needed it to really stick to the top of the lantern. This is intended for heavy mounting, so it did the trick!

Flip the lantern over to make sure it adheres really well.

All that was left was adding stones and a succulent plant. We even kept the succulent in it's plastic planter. It's really that simple! (And what's a blog post from us without a sweet cheesy picture?)

We dimmed the lights and voila!

Now, you might wonder what we have planned for our Solar Terrarium… I plan to give it a home on our new patio and DIY outdoor table (coming soon).

I have visions of 3 or 4 of these lanterns going down the center of the table during a nice evening dinner party! Until then, it's temporary residence is the accent table on my front porch. It looks so awesome at night!
So for under $10 we have a unique Solar Terrarium that took less than 15 minutes to make. It doesn't get much better than that!

Hey all! Since we're already three-quarters of the way through 2012, we thought it would be really fun to look back at our most popular posts so far this year. We have so many projects up our sleeves for this upcoming Fall and Winter, but it's encouraging to know that we've already accomplished so much in our homes in the last nine months!
One of the biggest changes in Jessica's living room was her labor-of-love fireplace makeover using a honeycomb stencil from Royal Design Studio.

Another big statement piece that got rave reviews was the Gigantic Framed Photo we created for under $20. Seriously, this project was super easy and is a show-stopper!

Outside, Jess added some much-needed curb appeal to her house by painting her shutters and front door a happy blue, and Monica's front door facelift and tiered planters finally have the outside of her house reflecting her style.

Jess' kitchen was a major priority the past few months. She knocked down a wall, added a gorgeous wall stencil and painted the cabinets during her Kitchen Renovation.

And Monica made an impromptu decision to add a bold Chevron Accent Wall in hers…

We both went nuts with DIY rugs and saved ourselves a bundle in the process!

Stenciled Outdoor Rug

DIY Fabric Floorcloth

Monica showed how she's not afraid to design it how she likes it and added some serious personality to her foyer.

Monica's Foyer Tour

We were pretty thrilled that together we were able to pull off a surprise garage mudroom makeover!

Garage Mudroom Makeover

You know we like to keep it real here, and Monica kept it really real with her now-you-know-way more-than-you-want-to-about-her-love-life Game of Love.

Game of Love Tutorial

And finally, we're getting ready to share some awesome pumpkin ideas for 2012, but if you're itching to get started with your Fall decorations, check out our fab pumpkins from last year!

Thanks for hanging out with us so far this year! We have SO much more in store, and can't wait to share it all with you.: ) And don't forget that Monica is in the running to be the New Face of Proctor & Gamble Home! Please head over and vote for her. You can vote once a day, now through October 3rd. We know voting things can be a pain, but this one is simple and man, winning would Rock our World! So thanks so much!
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A few months back I partnered with 3M Scotch Blue to work on a fun project. I had to wait to share it with you guys, but I finally can spill the beans and show you the coolest planters ever! Now that it's summer, it matches with my outdoor decor and the flowers are thriving!! Enjoy!
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We had a 60 degree day this weekend and it totally put me in the mood to get ready for Spring! It was perfect timing because I teamed up with 3M ScotchBlue and had a super simple, and fun project to work on.

Southwest decor is all the rage this year, so I wanted to bring a touch of this trendy style to my outdoor living space this Spring. Here's what you need to make your own: 2-3 Planters in a variety of sizes 3M ScotchBlue tape Craft Knife Spray Paint Dirt Flowers or Plants
I found these planters at my local Target and immediately thought the colors went perfectly with my outdoor cushions.

See the red, aqua, and grey? It was like a match made in Heaven!

Step 1- Cover the surface of your planters where you plan to add your Southwestern flair. I totally knew ScotchBlue tape would seal tightly and prevent any dripping.

Step 2- Trace your pattern. I printed out a steer head and traced it with a pen, so I could see where to cut. It doesn't actually make a clear line, but more of an indent in the tape, that you can see.

I used the exact same process for the arrows on the other planter.

Step 3- Use a craft knife to cut the outline of your shape.

Step 4- Remove the shape cutout. Use the edge of your craft knife to get under the tape and peel away only the inside of your shape.

You'll be left with perfectly crisp lines ready for some paint!

Step 5- Spray paint your shape. Now, make sure you tape off any area that might get paint on it. See the top there… it would be blue, if I didn't tape it off.

ScotchBlue tape is the perfect seal while you paint. Use two thin coats of spray paint and then allow it to dry for about 30 minutes before removing the tape.

To add a little more color, I popped the bottoms off the planters and gave them two coats of spray paint as well.

Step 6- Plant & Enjoy! After everything has dried for 24 hours, you can plant and stack your planters. Just remember to leave enough space to stack the upper planter on top, as you plant the lower one.

I'm hoping for plenty more warm days ahead, so I can enjoy hanging outside and relaxing near my super-cute Southwest planters!

Apparently I have a thing for cool planters- if you missed my original tiered planters you can check them out HERE. (They were featured by Apartment Therapy last month- So exciting! woohoo!!!)

So are you digging the southwest trend or are you ready for it to take a hike??

**This post was sponsored by 3M, but all opinions belong 100% to yours truly! **

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If you're new around here, let me catch you up a bit… We're partnering with Stone Depot and EP Henry and building a patio DIY style-we're crazy and we know it…(sing to the tune of LMFAO). You can catch up on the progress posts here, here, and here.

So, here's where we were when we left off last week…

We had finished the base wall and we could finally move onto the patio pavers and the sitting wall. Speaking of the sitting wall…Take a look at that beauty! We're waiting on a few more wall blocks to be in stock and then it will be finished.

Okay, so after the base wall was done it was time to get moving on the patio itself. This post is going to be chock full of DIY Patio tips, because we learned a lot along the way! We laid down the geofabric and then we needed to fill the entire patio with stone.

See all that stone? Well, multiply it times four! We needed over 35 TONS of stone and yes, we carried it one wheelbarrow at a time.

I had thought Eric dropped a pile of stone on the grass and the wall, until he explained this little trick. Worked like a charm!

When you need to work on a patio for 5 weeks and you have to move 35 tons of stone, it's important to have help…

This picture gives you an idea of what the stone was used for. We needed to apply it two inches at a time, run the tamp, and repeat until we raised it up the 20ish inches that we needed.

This is more than a tip, it's a must. There's no way a patio of this size can be done by hand. Time for the heavy equipment!

The stone needed to be 3" below the height of the wall caps. That's tricky to do everywhere, but there's a trick that works really well… although it is tedious!
(**Please ignore the spelling error below! I do know how to spell achieve. Thanks!**)

I also should mention that we had to be creative with ways to entertain the kids while we spent so many hours working… The"tractor"-waterfall-rides were a huge hit. Let me just tell you that never in my life did I imagine I'd own anything made by John Deere and I especially didn't foresee having kids that love driving it around the yard! lol

Alright, back to business. I thought this was a great idea and it helped keep all the leveled stone in place while we moved to the sand.

Leveling the sand it a two person job, but it was quick and easy using this pro method. You lay down 1 inch pipes, fill the area with sand, drag a leveled board across the pipes, and it smoothly levels the area between the pipes.

Look at that smooth sand! Nice work boys! (and yes, I still refer to my hubs as a boy even after 10yrs of marriage)

After the sand, it was the moment we'd all been waiting for and I was ready with camera in hand!

I'll be back next week with our final update before the grand reveal, but until then, I need some help in the lighting department. I plan to have two lights flanking the door and then I need four pillar lights as well. I definitely want an industrial feel. So, can you help a sister out and leave any recommendations in the comments? THANKS!

Wondering about the flowers on the steps? They're wildflowers that my kiddos had picked for me as a surprise when I got home from the Haven Conference. I'm a lucky gal.

The patio is so close to being finished, I can almost taste it (or perhaps that's just the black lung from all the stone and dust!) Can't wait to show you the finished product!

P.S. If you missed our Haven Conference Recap you can check it out HERE- it was awesome!

The other day I mentioned that my favorite decoration from Charlie's All-American boy party was this super easy paper table runner. It's almost laughable how easy this thing was to make, but I figured that some of you like a simple DIY as much as I do, right? In less than 15 minutes, you can make a completely custom table runner for any occasion- the possibilities are endless with this thing! Plus, a paper runner is perfect for something like a kid's birthday party or an outdoor BBQ because it adds some color to your table, but can be thrown out if it gets messy.

Last week I bought a huge roll of drawing paper from Ikea for $4.99. I measured 7 feet of paper, grabbed red and navy paint that I had on hand (I used regular latex paint, but you could easily use acrylic paint-actually that would be easier!), and then used a chalk line to create a straight line on either side of the paper for my stripes. We didn't worry at all about painting a crisp line, because I was going for a rustic feel (that's imperfect, in layman's terms: ).

I also bought a wooden star at Michael's for about 50 cents. Buying an actual stamp that was the right size would have been expensive, and I knew this would work just as well. I hot-glued a stone onto the back for a handle- it's all about using stuff you have! You can find these wooden things in any shape you want so making a runner that fits your theme is easy!

I painted one side of the star…

…and rocked the stamp all around to get full coverage…

…and when I lifted my stamp, this is what I had:

I love the wood grain affect this created!

That's it! I love my paper table runner, and the fact that it took me less than 15 minutes to make allowed me to not feel bad at all to throw it out without batting an eye!

I thought it would be fun to see some other paper table runners people have created around blogland. Some of these things put my little table runner to shame!: )

Pinwheel table runner from Green Wedding Shoes

Crepe Paper runner from Good Housekeeping

DIY Wrapping Paper Runner fromMartha Stewart Weddings
Cheap and cute- just my style!; ) Have a great weekend!

We weren't lying when we said we were floored by the all of the talent that showed up in our Creating with the Stars submissions post. Seriously, you all made us feel a little bad about ourselves.; ) Every single one of the stars said they had a terrible time narrowing their favorites down to the top 11, and we agreed wholeheartedly! So, while there are only 12 contestants vying for the CWTS title this year (you can see them here!), we thought it would be fun to highlight a few of our favorite submissions that didn't quite make the cut.
DIY Chunky Floating Shelves by Desert Domicile These babies are gorgeous, and just look at how beautifully they're styled!! We're definitely taking some notes.

Beaded Chandelier by My Simple Obsession Ack, the time and patience that must have gone into this amazing chandelier! Will you make us one…please?

Custom Painted French Provencal Dresser by J.Rox Designs Hot pink, curvy furniture? Never thought I'd say this, but sign me up! I loooooove this dresser.


Painted Dresser (and that fabulous pallet wall!) by Cape 27 You know we love a good pallet wall, and this one is no exception. Plus, that dresser reminds us of Monica's outdoor furniture upcycle, and we're totally digging the fun art!

.and because we apparently have a thing for painted dressers, this Woodland Dresser makeover by The DIY Village is so sweet and woodsy that it caught our eye right away.

We just didn't want all the fun and inspiration to end for all of you talented bloggers out there that didn't make it as contestants this year, so we're hosting a weekly linkup party throughout the entire contest. Basically, that means you get to play along and win great prizes!

Here's how it will work: Every Tuesday Monica and I will be revealing our project for that week's theme. Woohoo! We have some good projects up our sleeves.: ) That same day you can submit your own project that meets the criteria for that week (For example, week one is Upcycle, so anything that you've given new life or repurposed in some way in the last year is game). The winner will receive an awesome prize package from Belmonili and Perfectly Imperfect Shop! So fun! We can't wait to be inspired by your creativity each week.; )
Don't forget to mark your calendars for these important dates next week when things really get moving!

Have an awesome weekend!
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Garage Makeover Tutorial # 1- Custom Painted Rugs!

Hopefully you got to see my Garage Mudroom Makeover. If you missed the reveal, you can check out the full post here.

Today I'm giving you the inside scoop on the fun rugs I made. I'll be sharing the other tutorials over the next few days.

I used the same Home Depot rugs that I used for my stenciled outdoor rug. Check out that post for all the details on where to buy them. They were under $20 each!

Instead of one big rug, I wanted two runners, so I folded it in half and cut it.

For the first runner, I decided I wanted some graphic arrows going in and out. I measured from the side, and used chalk marks to keep my lines straight.

Scotch Blue tape worked like a charm for really well sealed lines.

Once it was all taped off, I had to cover the rest of the rug. I had a pile of old circulars around, and they did the trick!

It was a tad windy, so the hubs helped by holding up a piece of foam core (we had used it as a target at Kira's Brave Party) so the spray paint wouldn't get all over the rug.

Because of the wind, some of the paper lifted and I had some bleeding. Thankfully, soap and water removed it all and I was left with crisp lines.

For the second rug, I was excited to use our new Silhouette Cameo. I wanted to write the word shoes nice and large so that my crazy kids just might happen to remember to put them away! So far it's working!

For this rug, I wanted to have the letters be negative space, so I taped off the area to be painted and then used spray adhesive to attach the letters to the rug.

I used the same method of covering up the rest of the rug so that I could spray paint it.

I was so excited to see how crisp the letters turned out!

I'm such a fan of graphic word art and these rugs make me excited every time I walk in the door.

What do you think? Will you be trying out some DIY Rugs anytime soon?

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Want to hear a sad story? Jess and I were supposed to be in NYC this afternoon having lunch with the fabulous Mandy from Vintage Revivals and Emily, one of our favorite Nate Show producers, BUT… my oldest is really, really sick. I fear it might have turned into pneumonia, so we're headed to the pediatrician instead of the Big Apple. Boo! I'm bummed about our trip, but even more so I just want my little lady to feel better!

(Pic courtesy of Salvatori Photography)
Anyhow… Can you believe today marks the final weekend before Christmas? I seriously can't! I still have a few gifts to buy, some serious wrapping to do, and lots of fun holiday festivities to partake in!
I guess we should get on with it shouldn't we? Today the girl that can barely sew a button is going to blog about pillows. Oh boy, this should be fun! I saw this Pottery Barn Pillow and thought it was pretty adorable. I have no idea why it popped into my head during the challenge, but it did and I figured that I could DIY it without any sewing.

To be completely honest it was one of my LEAST favorite projects in the room and then good old Mr. Berkus had to talk on air about how much he liked it and how he wished he could buy one. All the while I'm thinking, Oh my word. It's a Pottery Barn knock off, just go to the mall, but I can't say that because we have to be super careful about using brand names! I was sweating it big time! They even asked me to write a tutorial for their website, so if you want the directions you can head over to Nate's site for the steps.
Here's my finished product, but don't look at it too long or you'll see some of the effects of only having a few hours to do a whole room (and yes, I know my stockings look more like hockey sticks!)

Ugh! It pains me to show you this! Ha! It's good to keep away the pride I guess!
Since it's Friday, I also have a Fab Find for you! Woohoo!

Fab Find Friday- Journey through Bethlehem

Living Hope Church in Dublin, PA hosts an amazing semi-annual event and it's this weekend! A huge field is transformed into the town of Bethlehem. It's an incredible experience for your whole family. 2 Christmases ago my kids went with their grandparents and they talked about it for weeks! It's an amazing way to remind ourselves about the true reason for Christmas. Here's the info directly from Living Hope's website

Come. Experience. A Journey through Bethlehem. Follow the path that Joseph & Mary walked in a dramatic outdoor presentation of the original Christmas Story.
Show start promptly* Fri, Dec 16 5 6:30 8pm Sat, Dec 17 5 6:30 8pm Sun, Dec 18 5 6:30pm *Dress appropriately for the weather. It is an outdoor 45 minute presentation.

Jess and I will be there with our families and friends on Sunday at 6:30pm.
We hope to see you there!

We were really excited when we heard about this screened in sunroom needed a makeover! We hadn't tackled an outdoor space yet for Knock It Off, and we were bursting with ideas. Here's where things started…

And here's where we ended up… We created a space that was fully comfortable, much more weather-proof, and filled with style- all on a small budget!

Soon we'll post tutorials for the sectional, plant wall, how to paint siding, and the painted rug, but for now, here's some eye candy from the makeover!
This drink station is actually a fold down table. When it's not in use, you can attach it to the wall and it looks like artwork. It was incredibly simple to make and such a great thing to have for entertaining.

We wanted to set this space off as a room of it's own, so we went bold by painting stripes on the exterior siding. It added a huge pop of color and just made the space super cheery (and I know that sounds cheesy, but it's true!). The plant wall was much cheaper than large artwork and also helped with our goal of bringing the outside in!

We were excited that we not only gave the homeowners an entire sitting area with the sectional, but we were also able to give them a little dinette where they could enjoy a meal (or soft pretzel!) outside!

These solar lanterns are from Ikea and you should see how fun they look at night! We added so much mood lighting that we almost wished we could have revealed the room at night! Our producers told us night reveals are a no no: )

And the sectional… ahh we loved how this turned out!! We know many bloggers have built outdoor furniture, but this was our first attempt at it (we didn't mention that to the homeowners of course!!) We basically decided how large we wanted the sectional, did a lot of math to determine how big each piece should be, and then crossed our fingers. Amazingly, it was really simple to build once we had a plan! We'll write a full post on our build within the next week!

If you missed this episode, head over to The Live Well Network for our Knock It Off Page. You can watch the full episodes online HERE.

Stay tuned for all the tutorials coming to EC2 in the next week or so!!
Do tell, what was your favorite part of this Sunroom Makeover?

Got an old dresser that needs some love and attention? Don’t kick it to the curb just yet! Try out this ombre paint method for a fun, modern design that will give your dresser new life!

*Insider tip: When we're looking for furniture to upcycle, we make sure that the piece is in relatively good condition. That doesn't mean it looks good, just that it's structurally sound. Ideally, we love a piece with clean lines and a classic style, but don't overlook a piece just because it has scroll-work or is ornate. Oftentimes, those things can be removed easily with a jigsaw.
1. Prep the dresser by giving it a thorough sanding with an orbital sander to get rid of the old finish. Remove any hardware from the drawers for easy painting,, too! After sanding, wipe down the dresser with a damp cloth.

2. Choose your color and get to work! You can actually achieve the ombre effect two different ways- by buying three or four colors from the same paint swatch, or, if you’re trying to save money like we were, using one paint color and changing the color with white paint! We’ll explain this method, since it’s the one we used. Don’t worry, it’s not hard and it’s worth the little bit of extra work!

3. Go ahead and paint the bottom row of drawers using a small foam roller (designed for painting furniture) with the undiluted, fully-saturated color. The key to a nice finish is even long, even strokes and several light coats of paint. Set drawers aside.

4. To thin out your paint for the next color, pour three parts of the original paint color in a small paint tray and add one part white paint (3:1 ratio). Roll onto next row of drawers.

5. Using the same method, thin out the paint with a 2:2 ratio for the third row up from bottom and a 1:3 ratio for the top row of drawers. Paint and let dry the specified amount of time. 6. Add new hardware- we chose to bling out our dresser with clear, glass and gold knobs for this adorable little girl. Or, put the old hardware back on to save even more money!

Voila! You’ve easily accomplished the fabulous and trendy ombre effect on your dresser! This style is awesome for a nursery, but depending on the colors you choose, could really be used anywhere in your house!

We've tried our hand at lots of different dresser upcycles. Our absolute favorite is this Anthropologie- inspired dresser

But, we also kind of love this outdoor furniture upcycle:

So, please…for our sake…don't throw out your old furniture! Do something fun with it.: ) To watch the full episode of this nursery makeover, click Here! There were so many fun projects in this room!

It's officially spring! Although, it has been feeling like summer with the weather we're having in Bucks County lately! I'm loving it! We thought we'd take a few posts to get you all ready for the season. We're talking spring cleaning (gag), Spring decor, Spring mantles (mine is so NOT springy yet), Spring landscaping, and more ("more" means whatever we feel like on a given day!) So, whip out your flip-flops, pull on some cute crop jeans, and let's get moving with Spring Things! (and I by no means am trying to suggest that you only wear flip-flops and jeans… a shirt is highly recommended too!)

Spring Thing # 1: Outdoor Plans

As most of you know, we finished building our house 16 months ago. As with lots of BIG projects, when you're finally finished you're kind of ready to be done spending money for a while. So, we decided to wait until the fall to do landscaping. I'm not really sure what happened to that plan, I think it had something to do with the craziness of a certain show that rhymes with"Late Smirkus"… but the landscaping didn't get done. Now it's spring and we're ready to attack the front of the house with all things green and planty. (I'll talk more about landscaping for a serial plant killer next week)
Before the hubs breaks ground, I wanted to tackle the porch. Here's the sad looking state of my porch… (and no, my grass isn't that green yet, it's an old pic)

I have plans to add some fun furniture, but first there's a BIG question at hand…

Forgive my terrible sample pics, but I wanted to try and get an idea of how different colors would look. I think a pop of color on the door will look awesome and make me happy every time I come home! Here are some awesome inspiration pics that got me motivated to start with the door!

Source: centsationalgirl.com via The Real Housewives on Pinterest

I'm loving this color blue, but I'm not sure it would work with our sand/grey/blech siding. (FYI We couldn't pick our siding because we bought a partially started home from the bank and finished it. Siding was already on. Boo!))

Source: maisonsblanches.tumblr.com via The Real Housewives on Pinterest

Source: google.com via The Real Housewives on Pinterest

Source: number-2-pencil.blogspot.com via The Real Housewives on Pinterest
So, what do you think? I need some input on this one. I asked my hubs and he sarcastically said,"How about we paint, the door, then all the shutters, Oh, and add some chevron!" Grrr… I gave him the stink eye for sure! Since he's NO HELP, I'm leaning on all of you. Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey, the world's leading questionnaire tool.
Thanks for your help! I'm excited to get working on the door and the porch furniture this weekend. Here's a sneak peek at some bistro sets that are in the running. (I scoured craigslist and thrift stores for one I could DIY and people are just insane with their pricing. Most were more expensive than what I could buy new and they were hideous!) Now, don't be swayed by the yellow, these just happened to catch my eye!

Source: target.com via The Real Housewives on Pinterest

Source: target.com via The Real Housewives on Pinterest
Thanks for your help! I can't wait to share my NEW porch with you!

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