Today’s the day!! I’ve been telling you that I was working hard to not only get some major steps done in our kitchen remodel, but also create a video tutorial so you can do it too. {{applause}} I’m all about brick – old brick, new brick, brick on the walls, brick on the floors…I love it! So, without further adieu, here is my DIY faux brick tutorial and an update to my kitchen.
You are not going to believe how EASY this is. Seriously. When you take over 2 years to remodel your kitchen, laundry, and dining, and you’re like me, you tend to…ummm…keep adding to the project. ahem. Did we plan to cut open our doorway in the beginning? NO. Read more
It’s a new day and time for a new project, right? It is pure delight to get to share with you each time inspiration hits. This particular time,however, was a bit of a struggle to get to the end result, but I’m glad I stuck to it. A few months back I had this haul from the thrift store. Some I kept, some I gave away, and some I redid for my shop, like that footstool seen HERE. Today, I’m keeping my promise to some of you to do something with that Fleur de Lis wall art on the bench there. It only took me 8 months to get to them! haha.
Here’s a closer look at that Fleur de Lis wall art. It’s an imported metal set that is bent up a bit and has a few dings here and there, but otherwise fine. I felt just needed cleaning up and a new lease on life.
*affiliate links included in this post so you can find the products I love to use too. (see full disclosure)
I was hanging onto these to save as cold weather project and now it the perfect time. First, I kinda liked their dark color, but felt a change would be nice too. My original goal was to use my Patina Paint to create a weathered look to it, but that didn’t go quite as planned. Here’s what happened…the patina paint is awesome. It can take ANYTHING it turn it into an aged-to-perfection piece. You can see it in action in my video below as well as the end result in our DIY Arbor Tutorial.
I started out using the special primer so that my patina wouldn’t eventually eat through my metal. It’s easy to apply and works wonderfully.
Next, I applied the Iron Paint in two coats and sprayed with my patina spray. It’s at this point I realized I should have used a different metal paint in order for there to be more of a contrast. My vision wasn’t popping like I had hoped. To remedy that I decided to use a soft green “patina-ish” color to top the patina paint.
This wasn’t looking bad, but I just didn’t get that satisfied feeling that I normally do. It just needed something. I decided to skip my idea for patina and switch to a time-worn effect while still playing with the patina action going on . I added some Crackle Medium to spots I wanted to age, just like I did on my Cedar Chest Makeover (full tutorial how to use it here). Love this stuff!
Once the crackle was dry I applied Drop Cloth color paint – see the instant crackle?
Once the first coat was dry, I did another light coat and let cure. The cool thing is the patina was bleeding through the paint as I had hoped. To give it more dimension, I used my Brown Wax to make those painted details I added earlier really pop.
I just love how they came out!
They’ve got that little bit of rustic, paired with the timeless Fleur de Lis design that I love. You can see a bit of that aqua color I painted peeking out, a bit of patina action still going on, and an embossed look as all those designs I painted pop out.
Even David can’t take his eye off them. He thinks they’re cool. hahahaha!! This dude is my thrifted bust I only found because my toddler pointed him out and started to giggle. I almost walked right by him. Good score, girl!
I prefer my home to be filled with the things I create rather than coming from a box store. It makes a story that is unique to me and my family and is even a budget savvy way to be. I would do it even if I had ample money to spare. There’s nothing better than making your house your home yourself.
While this set of Fleur de Lis wall art looks good on my mantel, I’m parting with it as I have another mantel design in my mind to share with you soon. You can purchase this set along with many other of my creations and finds in my shop. (SOLD)
My goal is always to inspire you to see past the obvious and grab hold of the potential that is there. Do pin and share to inspire others to give DIY a try even when things don’t go as planned. Trying is key!
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Though many think Christmas is the time to go all out, I say, why wait? I mean, if you love to decorate, do it all the time. However, I don’t mean having a Christmas tree up all year (unless that floats your boat). What I do mean is decor can look awesome any time. I prefer to use elements that can be tweaked for any season or for any event. Today I’m sharing a new technique with heat gun wood burning. To give you an example, I’ve created this super easy craft for you to make. These Nordic wooden trees that are perfect for Christmas and all year long. All you need is one pine board. Woot!
You read it right, one pine board and a few extras to make these wonderful, whimsical trees. I’m so excited to show you a technique that I used to get the look of these trees using one of my favorite tools to create heat gun wood burning.
Do you have a green thumb? No worries if not because my project today will be perfect for fresh or faux displays. It’s all about getting crafty and I’m here to show you how in my latest video. We’re going to take our gardening to new heights by creating a DIY tiered planter that will give you the option to add French flair.
The best part about this entire project is it can be tweaked to your liking in oodles of ways. I am going to demonstrate an aged French finish in my latest video, but as you will see the options are limitless.
It’s truly a sad day when you actually have to throw something cherished away. This was one of my first every trashure finds on my very first city cleanup haul. You’re probably like…what is it?? ha! It was a broken down Conestoga wagon replica that has seen better days. I hated to say goodbye to this thing, but instead of goodbye it was time for new. Let me show you how I re-created this by building my own DIY crate wagon.
You should have seen JC’s face (aka. husband) when I brought this home over 4 years ago. He was of the mind I should have left it there. meh. It was still intact and chippy good with rusted bliss. How could I leave it there? I think he will never full understand me and that’s okay because that translates to MORE FOR ME! Read more
I have been having a blast making use of all the things that my dad brought to me from various places. First was my repurposed changing table cart, then my farmhouse side table, and next my piano bench lap desk. He knows me all too well, don’t you think? Well, today I’m making use of those couch parts left on the pile of stuff he brought, plus another curbside find from my stash. They’re going to become DIY candlesticks. {{fist pump action!!}}
Story goes like this, my dad has rentals and when someone leaves he has to clean out, refresh the home, and get it ready for the next person, right? Well, he gets left with all sorts of messes and one of them was an old couch that had cat yuck all over it. However, he thought that these Read more
Time for some fun! Today is Furniture Fixer Uppers day and you know this is right up my alley, right? I mean, what’s more fun than getting to get creative and share the projects done by my blogger friends? It’s all to inspire you. Today is all about this antique chest I found while thrifting.
This never fails to happen to me. I walk into the store knowing full well that I don’t need another piece to work on and am there on a solitary mission. Then, there it is…a big ol’ sign saying 50% off furniture. Well, any sane person couldn’t ignore that, right? Read more
If you are just joining in, we have been working in our back yard this summer giving it a much needed facelift. First, was our DIY compost bin, then our DIY fire pit. Today we are sharing the next stage of our renovations – our DIY garden arbor with play area. It began like this…
Yep, a hot mess. Each winter we run through a WHOLE LOTTA firewood. This is our wood pile that is normally full to the brim. However, I snapped this at the beginning of spring when we can break out of our cabin fever and get outside to clean up winter mess. Normally this is covered with a giant tarp, so my kids stick their bikes here to keep them out of the weather as our shed is full too. (next on my hit list)
Since 2003, I have had the pleasure of looking out our dining area and seeing this… Read more
Are you ready to take your outdoor (or indoor) decor to the next level? I’m here, as promised, to show you how to create the DIY concrete table that we built for our backyard fire pit reveal last week. Plus, I’m also going to share how I create two different solar lamps for a few dollars too. To make things even sweeter, I have yet another giveaway for you to help you get the job done right. So much to share, so let’s get started!
The best part about these concrete tables is that they are very versatile. You can size it to meet your needs and they even look wonderful in Read more
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