at home with H

Hunting for Camera Accessories

noreply@blogger.com (heather s.) — Wed, 30 May 2012 13:00:00 +0000

I’ve been checking out camera purses and besides being crazy expensive they are humongous. I looked at Cheeky Lime, Jo Totes, Epiphanie, Kelly Moore, Ketti, Jill-e (also on Amazon), and whatever random ones I could find on Amazon. Some that I briefly contemplated include:

(1) Greige Gracie from Jo Totes | (2) Ginger in blue from Epiphanie | (3) Posey2 in Mustard from Kelly Moore

I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around spending around $200 for a purse that I wouldn’t use daily, especially when I generally spend less than $40 on my purses. When I came across the camera insert on Amazon I got a little excited since it allows you to turn any purse/bag into a camera bag and honestly this appeals to me more than any of the bags I found online.

Then, of course there are straps. My camera came with a standard Nikon strap but I really want to upgrade it to something more ‘me.’ I still have $65 to spend from my brother’s birthday cash (from March!) so I splurged on #3 below. I love that the material is 30-40 year old vintage upholstery vinyl– how eco-friendly and cool is that?!?

(1) Dreamer Camera Strap | (2) iMo on Etsy | (3) Couch Guitar Straps on Etsy | (4) RhyahPapaya on Etsy

I took my new camera out this weekend to shoot some pictures of Memorial Day and while hiking at a local park. I haven’t uploaded them yet to see if they came out well or not but I enjoyed playing with the camera and now I’m looking at a good zoom lens. I think this camera is going to eat up all my extra cash.

Friday Finds

noreply@blogger.com (heather s.) — Fri, 25 May 2012 13:45:00 +0000

I love coming home from work to find boxes on my porch indicating that the UPS man has stopped by to visit. This week I received two packages: one from Amazon and one from REI. We have a program at work for awards in which you cash in your award for gift cards to use at various stores. I cashed in $650 for Amazon and $50 for REI. With my Amazon cash, I bought myself a fancy new DSLR – Nikon D3100 14.2MP Digital SLR Camera with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AF-S DX VR Nikkor Zoom Lens! Nothing like getting a $550 camera for free (I also get free shipping through Amazon).

When I was adding this to my cart I noticed that if you bought the camera from Amazon vs. one of their affiliates, you could also get a padded backpack for SLR cameras and 32GB SDHC memory card for FREE. This is a savings of $65.34!

Naturally I selected to receive the items even though the backpack isn’t exactly the cool camera bag I was hoping to get. I do have to say that the backpack is pretty cool, though – lots of compartments and the thing is padded like you wouldn’t believe.

It is definitely going to be used to transport my camera to the UP this summer and then I’ll just hang the camera from my neck when hiking. (I’ll be back with a post on camera bags and straps next week)

The second box left on my front step was from REI. The big REI Anniversary Sale was going on and I knew I wanted to get a new hydration backpack since my old Novara hydration pack leaked every time I used it. I also wanted a Camelbak so that I don’t have to juggle a water bottle and my fancy new camera when trying to take pictures of my MI hikes.

Happily, all Camelbaks are on sale through 5/28! I chose the CamelBak Aurora Hydration Pack - 70 fl. oz. for Women ($48.69) since women’s packs obviously fit me better and this was the perfect size for biking or for light hiking around MI. There are two zippered pockets and two side mesh pockets – I can hold my phone, keys, snack, camera, bike tools, etc. in there. This item was FREE for me thanks to my REI gift card from work!

I also bought the REI rolled-sleeve shirt in green with my member-only 20% off coupon. I bought this shirt in purple a month or so ago and this is my favorite new hiking shirt. The shirt has UPF protection and the sleeves cover my shoulders but they are short enough and hang down enough that they feel like a tank top since air can circulate without causing me to get too hot. My shoulders are the first area to burn (and I’m incredibly fair skinned so I burn quick and often) so I love that they will be protected without giving up comfort with this shirt.

That’s it – I still have $101 to use in Amazon cash so we’ll see what I get next…

Keeping the Bugs Out

noreply@blogger.com (heather s.) — Wed, 23 May 2012 14:58:00 +0000

The next part of my patio revamp includes a method to keep bugs out. Because of our mild winter this year, we are seeing mosquitos already in SE Michigan and they are out for blood! When I was power washing the patio, a good 20 mosquitos were lined up on the siding of the house just waiting for me to turn off the sprayer so they could get me. Mosquitos + patio ≠ my idea of a good time.

I searched online for some mosquito netting but I really didn’t want to spend much on this project and everywhere I found it, I would be spending a lot of cash. So, I looked at IKEA’s Lill curtains. Each panel is 110”x98” – nearly perfect for my patio.

I bought two packs (so four panels since each pack had two) at $4.99 each and a huge roll (30’) of sticky back Velcro from Amazon ($24). Why the Velcro? I had hoped to hang the hook strip to the patio panels and the loop strip to the curtains so that I could remove the curtains to wash them as needed.

You may wonder why I don’t just hang them on a suspension line or curtain rod. I thought about that but, since the panels were only 98” long and I needed them to be at least 100” to reach the patio floor, I cut the curtain panel pocket (where you would normally slide the panel over a curtain rod) so that I had the extra length.

I could still use clips to hang the curtain on a rod (like the office curtains) but I really wanted a ‘seal’ of sorts along the top so mosquitos couldn’t just fly into the patio. That’s where the Velcro came into play. I attached the loop strip to the top of the curtain panels and then attempted to sew them on. DON’T DO THIS. I got as far as sewing half of one curtain when I quit since I screwed up my sewing machine and now it is all sticky. I bought the sticky back stuff since I thought it might be easier to attach to the patio but I really wish one strip was sticky and the other ‘normal’ so that I could sew it. Lesson learned.

My original goal was to attach the Velcro to the horizontal wood beam behind the lattice panels (see picture below) but when I did that the curtains weren’t long enough to reach the floor. So, I stuck the hook strip along the top of the patio panels like this instead (knowing that now I’d get some mosquitos in the patio if they were smart enough to fly up and over the top of the lattice panels)…

…but when I hung the curtains, they still didn’t reach the ground. Odd since the length I needed was 100” and these were now over 100” long but it just didn’t reach. So, removed the strips and lowered them a bit.

I then tried to hang the curtains to the strips. FAIL. The curtains wouldn’t lay right and kept bunching up on the Velcro so I still had issues at the bottom of the panels. I decided at that point that I would just forego the Velcro and staple the suckers to the patio….so that’s what I did. The panels all fit perfectly but the top edges certainly aren’t nice.

The doorway was another issue. I used an entire panel to cover the door and I didn’t want to cut it since I was afraid it would unravel and make a mess like the top of the curtains did. So, I just hung it over the doorway the best that I could. The breeze makes the bottom blow out a bit but the bottom still drags on the floor so no bugs have gotten in that way yet.

I then added the Velcro along the right side of the doorway and to that section of the curtain so that I could close it tightly to keep out bugs.

When you are in the patio you can tell there is a nice, soft texture surrounding you due to the curtains and surprisingly despite all my issues and fear that it wouldn’t work the curtains have kept out the bugs so far. I’ve used it since Saturday and no issues yet.

So what did I learn?

The IKEA curtains are a great price and do a great job of keeping out bugs if you hang them correctly (which I didn’t but yet miraculously they are working so far).
DO NOT use sticky back velcro in your sewing machine.
Staple guns are awesome. I already knew that, though.

Making Cushions Fit

noreply@blogger.com (heather s.) — Mon, 21 May 2012 13:22:00 +0000

When I left off with the patio, I built a bench with my own two hands (can you tell I’m proud?). I knew I wanted a thick cushion to go on the bench seat since I’d be spending hours sitting on it and sitting on wood isn’t all that comfy. I looked everywhere and finally decided to buy an inexpensive beige cushion from Target to modify to fit my needs. Cushions are EXPENSIVE and I figured that this cushion (which I got on sale for $35) was inexpensive, a nice neutral color and really comfortable (I hate the ones with tufting, which is odd since I love tufting on furniture).

Yep – this is a chaise cushion but I knew that two ‘sections’ of the cushion would be the perfect fit for my bench. See:

I simply cut along the seam to remove one of the cushions…

…and was left with a perfectly sized cushion for my bench. I also removed the ties since they aren’t needed (and were in the wrong places to be useful) and jazzed up the couch with one of my existing green pillows (three years ago at HomeGoods) and a new bright yellow pillow from Cost Plus World Market (I got it on sale for $13 but it is currently on sale for $17.50). I’m in love with the yellow pillow.

The patio is quickly turning into my favorite place to spend time since after hiking this weekend, I spent the rest of the weekend on the patio either sleeping on the bench, eating at the table or making other small updates (to be posted later this week).

Bench? Love Seat? Outdoor Awesomeness.

noreply@blogger.com (heather s.) — Fri, 18 May 2012 12:59:00 +0000

Back in March I was patio furniture dreaming. I finally decided that I wanted a bench to go along with my already-owned table and chairs. It would be nice to have the table and chairs for eating outside but a bench would come in handy when I want to lie down outside to read some mindless summer novel on my Kindle while drinking a Woodchuck since let’s be honest – that’s how I usually spend time on the patio.

I’ve spent endless hours looking at patio benches online and in stores but I just never pulled the trigger to purchase one. The biggest issue I encountered (other than the high price for simple benches) was that the benches were kinda dinky for how much money the stores wanted for them. Then the idea of making a bench came to mind. The only problem was that I’ve never built a piece of furniture before and I wasn’t sure I was up to the challenge. Then I found instructions on Ana White’s site for a garden bench that seemed easy enough. I mean – just cutting and assembling. I was all in at this point. Last weekend after a trip to the farmer’s market I decided to swing by Home Depot to buy mulch for my flowerbeds and the wood I needed to make myself a bench.

Wood shopping list:
7 - 2x3x8
1 - 2x4x8
1 - 2x6x8
2 - 2x2x8
------
$23.38 at my local Home Depot!!!!! If you need to buy the screws the project requires it will add on around $13 for those.

After a long day doing yard work I finally decided to start building my bench. I laid out all my wood…

…and made all my cuts with my compound miter saw in the basement. Why yes, I cut wood in my basement for all of my projects. I don’t have a workbench in the garage but I do have a great work surface in the basement plus this sucker is HEAVY and I don’t want to carry it upstairs, outside and into the garage. Let’s just say that I’m clumsy so I left it where my ex put it when he gave it to me as a birthday present a few years ago. Back to the project. I’m not going to walk you through the steps since you can find them over on Ana White’s site so I’ll just give you a little info and a few pictures.

I don’t have pictures of me cutting the wood or assembling the seat since its hard to do when you are doing it all by yourself and I was so freaking excited that I didn’t stop to take a ton of pictures. Bad blogger – I know. Up until this point I didn’t pay much attention to the finished size of the bench (40" H x 50" W x 27" D) so imagine my surprise when the seat frame was this huge beast:

I read through the site again and noticed that the woman who made these plans based it off her love seat – well, that explained the large seat and as luck would have it, made me even happier. When it came time to attach the slats to the seat bottom, I tried to follow the instructions. They said to attach from the bottom (so you won’t see screws in the seat) but when I tried to do that…

…the screws didn’t pull the wood tight to the frame since the boards weren’t 100% straight (The pic just shows the slats as I was trying to space them out on the frame – nothing is attached at this point). This is a recurring issue with wood at the HD in my opinion and I need to start buying it elsewhere. The HD worker and I got all of the straightest boards we could find in the sizes I needed but there was still a little wave in a few pieces. So, I ended up flipping it all over and screwing my boards into the frame from the top. Oh well – a cushion will cover it anyway.

When I was finished with this part of the bench, I realized 1) this sucker is a beast and incredibly heavy and 2) if I finish building it in the basement there is no way I was going to get it up my stairs and outside by myself. So, I hauled this outside, cracked open a beer (as shown in the first picture) and called it a night. It took me two hours to cut the wood and build the seat.

The next morning I finished building the bench and was thrilled when I had a solid bench after two more hours (no that isn’t a crack on the far leg – that’s just the wood). You may notice some of the lumberyard stamping on the seat – I tried to put those on the bottom but in some cases, that side of the board was nicer than the other so I flipped those boards hoping that the sanding step would remove the markings.

I sanded everything (well, except the inside of the leg bottoms since I forgot those) and rounded the arms so I wouldn’t hurt myself on the sharp edges. I wasn’t too worried about covering the screws – I like the rustic feel of seeing screws so I left them as-is when I stained the piece.

The next step was to stain. I used the same stain I used for the wood stairs that lead into the house. I wanted a dark chocolate, semi-transparent stain since I love seeing the wood grain show through. It worked well since I had just enough to stain the bench and didn’t have to buy anything.

After letting that sit for two, long, agonizing days I applied my first coat of poly. Make sure you use a good brush for this (I don’t recommend a foam brush like some bloggers – a good, bristle brush does a much better job and is recommended by the manufacturer). You can see a little of the sheen the first coat of poly gave the wood in the pic below.

I have to lightly sand and then apply the next coat of poly. I will likely be done with that by the time you read this so that I can use the bench this weekend. Here’s your first glimpse of it in the space with the rest of my patio furniture.

A few more steps and the bench and patio will be finished!

Powering through it

noreply@blogger.com (heather s.) — Wed, 16 May 2012 13:36:00 +0000

One of the first things I fell in love with in my house is the back patio – I adored the lattice panels and the coziness of the space since I just love being outside. What I don’t love about the patio is cleaning those lattice panels. I’ve found the best way to do so is to clean each ‘line,’ one at a time to get in the little grooves of each panel.

I haven’t cleaned them in a couple of years so they were seriously disgusting and covered with slime, dirt, etc. I bought a dinky power washer from Home Depot five years ago for $99 (Husky 1550 psi Power washer, which is apparently no longer sold) and that little baby is a miracle worker. I specifically got this one since the psi was strong enough to clean the house but not so strong that it would rip holes in my siding like some stronger washers may.

I first sprayed the lattice with cleaner…

…then sprayed it with water.

Look at how everything just blasts right off and you can see the white lattice underneath! This started off as a fun project but when you have six panels that are each 100” tall and 51” wide to clean – and you are cleaning BOTH SIDES – it isn’t fun for long. I can barely lift my arms this week thanks to this ‘little’ project (as well as mulching, planting, mowing, trimming and building something) but it was the necessary first step in getting my patio ready for the summer. Next up – furniture!

Chalkboard Project

noreply@blogger.com (heather s.) — Mon, 14 May 2012 15:14:00 +0000

Does anyone else write messages to themselves on the bathroom mirror with lipstick? No – just me? Well, recently someone commented on my bright red messages that were spelled out for the world to see (or really, just the people who ask to use the bathroom) so I thought I’d do something about it.

I knew that the inside of the medicine cabinet door would be the perfect place for a chalkboard but I struggled with painting it or using the adhesive chalkboard that you can purchase nearly anywhere these days. I finally decided to use the adhesive stuff since, well, it would be easier and could be removed if I so desire down the line.

I went to JoAnn’s to hunt down a roll of the chalkboard when I came across the Domestic Bliss Décor adhesive chalkboard. This tube held two HUGE sheets (39.25” x 23.25”) and was a nice, chocolate brown vs. the standard black. The best part was that it was on clearance for $5 vs. the usual $20! (smaller rolls of the black stuff will cost around $8 depending on the store)

All I had to do was measure the inside of the door, make the same measurements on a sheet of the chalkboard, cut it out and then apply it to the back of the door.

I love that it plays nicely with the shelf liner I installed in the bathroom a few years ago and the chocolate is nice and warm. The chalkboard came with a piece of white chalk but I also bought a chalk marker (which are HARD to find!) in yellow – I love the marker since it is bright, writes nicely and you don’t have to deal with chalk dust.

Now my messages are hidden unless you are going into the medicine cabinet for something. I did change the ‘Good Morning’ message to a ‘Can I help you?’ message the other day for fun. Perhaps now I’ll know if people are going into my medicine cabinet when they visit.

Now I’m trying to decide where else I need chalkboard – I’m thinking labels for the kitchen!

Mini Update

noreply@blogger.com (heather s.) — Fri, 04 May 2012 12:26:00 +0000

So…my desktop computer isn’t booting and the pictures I had on there aren’t available to me at the moment so this will be a small update. Remember the teardrop vases in my kitchen? The tulips have died…

… so I replaced them with simple greenery cut from a bush by my side door. I love the greenery more than the tulips – so pretty and simple.

Happy Weekend!

Teardrops in the Kitchen

noreply@blogger.com (heather s.) — Wed, 02 May 2012 12:45:00 +0000

When I bought the glass tealight for my fake terrarium, I also bought three of the teardrop wall vases I’ve been coveting for a couple of years. When they arrived they were bigger than I was expecting but that made me happy since they’d fill up more of the wall space I had in mind for them. I always want to have plants in the kitchen but that room doesn’t get much natural light since the west window has the blinds partially closed at all times since it is right next to the sidewalk and I don’t like for people to look into the house and the other window is a north-facing window that doesn’t get much light. Enter wall vases.
I don’t have a lot of wall space in the kitchen since it is a tiny kitchen (around 7’x10’) and the walls are filled with cabinets but there is one wall where I could make a swap. I took down the memo board I made two years ago…

…and moved the recipe cards to the cork board I have in the kitchen cabinet.
I then filled in the nail hole from the memo board, sanded and repainted the area so that it was ready for me to make a thousand more nail holes. At first I wanted the vases to be placed in a more freeform pattern but I didn’t like how it turned out. Then I decided to line them up in a single line in the middle of the space but I felt it was too disconnected from the window and I just didn’t like how it looked. Finally, I lined them up about six inches from the window and I fell in love.
I cut some tulips I had in the yard to bring in some color and test out the vases. I’m thrilled with the purchase and the location since I finally have something living in the kitchen!
Naturally, any time I come into the kitchen Sami follows me in hopes that I will feed her.

Friday Finds (on Monday)

noreply@blogger.com (heather s.) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 13:26:00 +0000

While out browsing a week or so ago I came across a couple of things that I think may be added to the ol’ home. First up – a light! I’ve been pretty sold on a large drum shade for the dining room but I stopped in my tracks when I saw this light at Home Depot.

The price is perfect and I have dreams of dressing up the plain white shades. It has five bulbs so it will give off a good amount of light and I just can’t get the shape out of my head. The other chandeliers they had similar to this one were too ornate and girly. This feels more ‘me.’ I didn’t buy it…yet… but it is a strong contender for the dining room.

The second item I found was this gorgeous fabric at JoAnn’s fabric. I didn’t buy it since I’m entirely too wishy-washy when it comes to a project I’m going to hopefully complete soon. The colors are gorgeous but I was leaning towards a graphic print vs. a flowery one and this one is certainly flowery.

If only I could just make up my mind already on the direction I want to go in the dining room!

Finally I found these awesome knobs at Hobby Lobby – if only I had a reason to purchase them! They look like capiz shells (you know I love me some capiz) and would certainly lighten up some darker wood furniture.

I found lots of pretty things but didn’t buy anything (yea, me!), well, with the exception of the 4” stilettos I had to buy for my brother’s wedding. I may just finally be as tall as my nephew.

Urban Wood

noreply@blogger.com (heather s.) — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 13:13:00 +0000

I had some posts lined up for this week and then I just didn’t finish them since I needed to download the pictures from my iPhone. This was supposed to be Monday’s post. Better late than never, right?!?

Sunday was Earth Day so I thought a post about reclaimed wood would tie right in. There’s a store in Ann Arbor, MI called the ReUse Center that has more than 20,000 sq. feet of store space and sells a huge variety of household and building materials on the cheap. I bought the chandelier found in my home office there for $5. Luckily this is near my office so I stop in when I get a chance. I was looking for a picture frame two weeks ago when I noticed the large wood section at the front of the store. I usually walk right past this since when I need wood I stop in at Home Depot near my home, but this wood was different.

A few companies sell their wood at the store and the one I was drawn to is called the Urban Wood Marketplace, which is the retail outlet for the Urban Wood Project. Essentially they sell reclaimed wood. They have a huge selection of domestic urban salvaged hard and soft woods for sale at a variety of prices. I stood there trying to figure out where I could use a slab of wood in my home. Here, take a look. This piece caught my eye right away due to the color, shape and the grain. It was gorgeous in person and if I remember correctly was $16.

I was drawn to the section of thin wood as my mind started thinking of projects where I could use these inexpensive slices of wood.

I could see this slab as a tabletop with some metal legs. Gorgeous.

This was probably my favorite since it has worm holes. Cost was $35.

Anyone else a fan of reclaimed wood? I know it is extremely popular in home decor right now but I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for old stuff – wood included.

How To: Caulk a Tub

noreply@blogger.com (heather s.) — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 20:27:00 +0000

I’ve caulked every tub in every home I think I’ve lived in post-college. It is a simple process but does wonders for your bathroom. Seriously – a nice, clean line of caulk makes an old tub look 100x better. What will you need?

Needle nose pliers
Paper towel
Bathroom/Kitchen caulk
Painters tape
Optional: Caulk smoothing tool (I don’t use this but you can if you’d like)

Take a look at the before: Gross old caulk that has some black spots that never get clean no matter how much you scrub.

The process to replace this is quite easy. Here we go!

Step 1. Remove old caulk. I like to use a pair of needle nose pliers to grab the caulk so that I can eventually get ahold of it to pull it away from the tub/shower tiles.

Step 2. Clean tub/shower tiles to remove any old caulk residue.

Step 3. Once dry, apply painters tape to the tiles to mark the line where your caulk will end. You could also apply tape on the tub but I find that I only need it along the top since removing any extra caulk from the tub is much easier to do than from the tiles.

Step 4. Apply a thin line of caulk between the tile and the tub.

Step 5. Slightly wet your index finger (or use the caulk smoothing tool) and then lightly drag your index finger along the line of caulk to smooth it out. Wipe the extra caulk off on the paper towel as you go – you don’t want to drag a ton of caulk along the line since it will cause a mess along the non-taped edge.

Step 6. Let set for a little while (I let it set for about ten minutes) and then pull up the tape to expose your nice, sharp line of caulk.

That’s it! Let your caulk sit for the amount of time listed on the back of the tube before you use your tub/shower so that it fully cures.

Notice anything in the picture above? That darn cold water knob keeps coming off. I’ve replaced the parts inside the knob twice to no avail so I think I need to get a pro in here to take a look. I have other plans for the tub this year. Want a hint?

Exciting stuff!

Stenciling!

noreply@blogger.com (heather s.) — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 12:06:00 +0000

I remember when people used stencils when I was in grade school…back in the 80s. However, they’ve made a comeback in recent years and I’m finally jumping on the bandwagon. Would I stencil an entire room? No. Would I stencil a section of a room? Sure and I did. Back in October I hung a gallery wall in my bedroom.

I loved that gallery wall briefly but lately I’ve felt it was too busy at night when I was trying to unwind after a long day. My eyes just didn’t rest since it was visually stimulating and I decided with heavy heart to take it down (but it will come back elsewhere!). You may remember I’ve been hoarding pretty hooks from Anthropologie and I have a small collection of pretty necklaces that I had hanging behind the bedroom door. I’ve been trying to figure out where to hang my hooks when I stumbled on this image and I knew that it was perfect!

Source: housetohome.co.uk via Heather from on Pinterest

Once I removed all my pictures, I filled the small nail holes with spackle and then sanded it down so I had a blank slate on that wall. Next, I used a measuring tape, level and painters tape to mark a large rectangle on the wall.

Once the frame was marked, I took my wall paint and painted over the newly-spackled holes, making sure I feathered out the paint so that you couldn’t tell I made any touch-ups. I also took the time to paint over the inside edges of the frame so that the stencil paint wouldn’t bleed through since by doing this you are ‘sealing’ the edges. I’m not sure if you can tell but my walls are plaster so they have a slight texture to them and I was worried that the stencil paint would go into the small crevices, making my edges all wonky.

I then had to wait for the paint to dry so I could get started with the stencil. Speaking of the stencil – here’s what I bought from Michael’s: stencil, brushes (I only used the pouncer for this project), adhesive (not shown) and Martha Stewart paint in Satin finish.

The total cost for the supplies was around $12 after my 20% off entire purchase coupon was used. The stencil was $4 (I also saw this one at Home Depot for $3), $1.19 for the brushes (I got this set since I wanted the other brushes to replace others in my painting supplies), $1.59 for the paint and $4.79 for the stencil adhesive. By the way, for you Smart Phone users, I have the GeoQpons app on my iPhone which looks up coupons for local stores. I didn’t have to print or clip any coupons for Michaels since they could just scan the barcode from my phone. Awesome.

Back to the project. Once the paint was dry, I sprayed some stencil adhesive to the back of my stencil…

…and then placed the stencil in the lower right corner of my frame, making the stencil overlap the edge slightly. Normally I’d say you should start in the middle and work your way out but since my stencil isn’t a large pattern where you’d notice if it was lopsided, I started on an end since it was easier.

I squirted some paint on a disposable plate and then dipped my pouncer into the paint. I then gently tapped the pouncer on the plate to remove excess paint since you don’t want a ton of paint on the pouncer or you’ll get seepage. (sorry, no picture since I was so stinking excited) I then held the pouncer at a right angle to the wall and gently pressed it around the entire stencil.

After gently peeling the stencil from the wall, I had to figure out where to put the stencil next. Since this isn’t a large wall stencil there weren’t clues on the stencil as to where to position it so I just eyeballed it. I had to wait for the paint to dry a bit before I could start the second stencil so this project took 1.5 hours to stencil this small frame. I just repeated the process until I had a filled in frame.

I then peeled up the painters tape and was left with a rectangle of stenciled wall with crisp edges. Since there was a slight lip to the edge from painting over the edge of the paint, I simply lightly rubbed my hands over the line to make it go away. Worked like a charm.

If I noticed any large holes I simply filled them in with the stencil – this included along the edges (which meant I hung up small strips of new tape to fix the edges – you can see a couple of spots on the right edge above that needed fixing). The final step was to figure out where to hang my pretty hooks and then attach them to the wall so I could hang my necklaces from them.

It still has room to grow when I get more pretty hooks and of course this naturally makes me want to buy more pretty necklaces (must.resist.urge). I usually forget I have jewelry unless it is out so having the earrings in small dishes on my vanity plus this makes getting dressed in the morning much more fun.

On Air Alone

noreply@blogger.com (heather s.) — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 13:08:00 +0000

Remember the fruit terrariums I showed you two weeks ago? I debated buying the glass fruit to make my own and then I remembered that my house barely gets any natural light thanks to my large trees and I remembered that I have a habit of killing…well, most any plant that requires a certain amount of water.

Instead, I decided to go the air plant route. Apparently these hardy little plants just require a few mists of water once/twice a week to survive and that is a watering schedule I can get behind. Oh yeah, and they don’t require any soil – seriously, none. I found a few different air plants to choose from at my local nursery but I went with a larger plant that is all spiky and minty green ($6 – I think I overpaid but I was excited). You can put air plants in almost anything – shells, bowls, vases, whatever – but I went with the hanging candleholder from CB2 ($5).

I decided to simply place some play sand I already owned into the bottom ($0 for me but I bought my bag years ago at the Dollar Tree for you guessed it, $1) and pop the air plant inside. Easy and it took me two minutes to do.

No, mine isn’t hanging – I decided to plop it onto a stack of books in the living room near the window so it gets *some* natural light. I love how incredibly simple this is and yet how much joy it gives me when I walk into the room. Seriously – this can’t get any easier. For $11 I have a cool plant in a fun little sphere.

Lighting Fail

noreply@blogger.com (heather s.) — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 11:59:00 +0000

This past weekend I was browsing Lamp’s Plus Open Box site and came across the perfect light for the dining room deeply discounted. I quickly added it to my cart and checked out.

Fast forward to last night – I hung up the phone after fighting with my online pharmacy and opened my email only to find the sad news telling me that it was not in stock….despite that the site said there was one left when I placed my order. *sigh* They offered me 15% off to purchase the same light from their ‘normal’ store but 15% off $299 wasn’t a good enough deal for me so sadly the search for a dining room chandelier continues.

I also haven’t had any luck finding a new light for the bathroom. I think the universe is telling me something.

Blog Updates

noreply@blogger.com (heather s.) — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 14:55:00 +0000

As you likely have noticed I haven’t done much in terms of updating the house this year since every weekend has been spent exploring MI. I usually clean/run errands/relax one day and then spend another afternoon hiking through new-to-me parks in SE Michigan. If you remember, one of my goals this year was to explore MI more and I’m doing a good job of it so far. I’ve started uploading my pictures to Instagram so that I can have one place with all of my hiking pictures contained. I haven’t been uploading all of the pictures but rather my favorite picture from each hike…well, each hike that I actually took a picture of since the beginning of the year was cold and I didn’t feel like whipping out the camera. So what does that have to do with this blog? I’ve created a button on the sidebar and also on the top navigation bar so you can follow along!

The pictures are taken on my iPhone and uploaded to Instagram via the iPhone app. I’ve added some of Instagram’s filters to some of the pictures and others were left untouched. I then used another site, Instagrid, to make a fun grid of my pictures so I could link it here. I debated making a new site dedicated to hiking MI that includes links to the trail maps, pictures, info I found useful but that takes a LOT of time and effort that I don’t have at the moment so maybe later.

Another update I’ve made is that I’m using another new tool to make my Home Tour more interactive. Rather than have a page with the tour and a page listing my sources (i.e., where I bought things), I decided to utilize ThingLink to combine the two. If you see a picture with little balls in the upper left corner like this…

…just place your cursor over the image to see circles appear on the objects in the picture. If you then place your cursor over the circle, information pops up to tell you where I bought something, some have links to the item so you can see it yourself on the store website and others have links to the post where I made the project.

I need to go back and update some of the pictures and add more information to others but you get the idea. This makes maintaining the House Tour and Source List much easier and a little more fun to look at.

I’m itching to get busy on some outdoor house projects but its still too soon to plant in SE Michigan due to the danger of frost so I can’t go buy plants and its still a touch too cool to paint so I can’t do any outdoor painting projects yet but I can do a few clean-up projects so look for those soon. Hope everyone is enjoying spring thus far! And watch out for those MI mosquitoes – they have already been out during my weekend hikes!

Friday Finds

noreply@blogger.com (heather s.) — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 12:51:00 +0000

I actually bought this duvet cover back at the beginning of February…and I’m finally getting around to posting pictures of it. I had been wanting a navy duvet cover for a year or so but never saw one that I really wanted until I discovered this one at TJMaxx on clearance. It was love at first sight but the $45 price tag made me pause since I didn’t want to spend that much. However, after thinking about it for a week I finally went back and splurged on my new cover.

It gathers a bit which is hard to see until you’re close-up:

I also recently paid a visit to Anthropologie since I had a birthday coupon that I needed to use by the end of March. I finally got the fabric push pins that I’ve been coveting for a year and I love them. They’ve already found a home in my home office on my bulletin board.

DIY Easter Garland

noreply@blogger.com (heather s.) — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 15:30:00 +0000

I don’t typically decorate my home for Easter – in fact, the only holidays I decorate for are Halloween and Christmas since they are my favorites. This year I decided to make a simple egg garland for my dining room to have a little fun with the holiday.

What you’ll need:

plastic eggs (mine are from Target - .99 cents for a bag of 12. Each bag of 12 will make one strand in my example above)
twine (I ended up using the green twine below vs. the silver cording)
some way to hang it (aka tape)

Beware if you do this on the floor and you have a cat. Sami immediately curled up next to my supplies and started batting them around, especially once I opened the bags of eggs.

Step 1. Decide on your pattern and then marvel over the fact that plastic eggs have two holes on each end already punched for you. How did I not know this before this past weekend?!?

Step 2. Begin threading your eggs onto the twine. I started with the bottom of the egg, then thread through the hole in the top of the egg before snapping the two ends back together. Make sure you line up the holes when you snap the egg back together – see how my thread looks like it is straight across both pieces?

Step 3. Repeat until you have a colorful snake-like string of eggs. Then repeat again for any additional strands you want to make or you know, make one huge strand – whatever.

Step 4. Hang wherever you want it using tape. Realize you forgot to trim the extra twine once you have edited the picture to post to the internet.

I also made a simple bow by looping a piece of ribbon I had and then just taping it up on the mirror between the two strands.

My table got a little love as well in the form of some gorgeous tulips from Home Depot ($6), a ceramic white bird I already owned and some pastel egg-shaped Reese's Pieces in a couple of milk glass compotes from my collection.

Happy Easter! I don’t really celebrate the day much anymore since my family all lives far away so I’ll make myself a nice little (big) Easter dinner. Maybe I’ll even eat at the table vs. in front of the T.V.

Patio Furniture Dreaming

noreply@blogger.com (heather s.) — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 12:24:00 +0000

I keep going back and forth as to whether to keep my outdoor dining set on my back patio this summer. In the past I haven’t used it too often but already this spring I’ve spent nearly every night out there eating at the table. Of course I’ve been checking out patio furniture at local stores to see what they offer this year and man is that stuff expensive! I originally wanted a lounge set but I just can’t see shelling out the cash for one. Here are some that I’ve been eyeing:

IKEA AMMERÖ (as shown $298.98)

Cost Plus World Market’s Melbourne Chair ($249.99)

Cost Plus World Market’s Melbourne Bench ($299.99)

Cost Plus World Market’s Valencia collection (bench: $199.99, chair: $149.99, deep bench: $299.99)

Cost Plus World Market’s Large Greenport Garden bench ($219.99)

Target’s Home Belvedere Sofa ($472.50 – on sale)

Target’s Smith and Hawken Brooks Island Loveseat ($299.00 – on sale)

See? Pricey and they aren’t that long. I’m thinking of building my own bench/sofa for the patio so that I can lie down and yet still use the bench at the table to eat dinner. We’ll see where I end up!

Fruit Terrariums

noreply@blogger.com (heather s.) — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 12:59:00 +0000

While browsing the home goods section of TJMaxx recently I spied these cool glass fruit-shaped vessels.

I couldn’t figure out what you would use them for until that very same night when I was looking at the March/April 2012 issue of Lonny Mag. This article reminded me of those glass pieces…

…and you can make the same thing at a fraction of the cost! Did you notice that the ones in the article cost $200-$1500?!? The large pieces at TJMaxx were $16.99 and the smaller ones (which are still pretty big) were $7.99. I debated whether to buy one since I’ve been thinking of making a terrarium but I haven’t gone back yet. Anyone make a terrarium lately? The article says they require little maintenance – which is right up my alley!

34 Candles

noreply@blogger.com (heather s.) — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 12:22:00 +0000

My 34th birthday was on Sunday. Writing that just looks weird and saying it sounds even worse. My mom got me some great gifts that I wanted to share. She sent a ton of fun stuff but I thought I’d share some of my home-related gifts.

First up: Rubbermaid storage containers. I wanted these to organize my baking shelf. I store flour and sugars in round storage containers but I really wanted the rectangular ones since they stack, they all use the same lid and they just fit nicer in my cabinets.

Before…

…and now.

Second on the list are these gorgeous patent leather yellow napkin rings. They immediately make you smile since they are so shiny and pretty and the buckle is awesome.

Finally, this cute vase was a welcome surprise. I love the gold rim and the delicate flower print.

My 34th year started with a head cold that won’t go away so here’s hoping things turn around soon!

Curtain Swap

noreply@blogger.com (heather s.) — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 15:02:00 +0000

A week or so ago I was at Lowe’s just wandering the aisles as I sometimes do when a curtain caught my eye. It was bright, fun and colorful and had to come home with me. Initially I was going to use it in the dining room (not as a curtain) but last night I decided to hang it in my office instead. Since I only bought one curtain panel I had to go back to Lowe’s to find another as well as some larger ring clips. I hung up one panel to make sure I wasn’t just high on cold meds and I LOVED what the curtain did to the space.

The panel had back tabs to hang on the rod but I used nickel curtain clips instead ($5 for 7 if I remember correctly) since I needed the extra length and I love how casual the clips look.

The curtains make the room a little more fun and I actually like the wall color next to them. I may hate it in a week again but for now the paint brush is staying put.

The curtains are the Style Selections Bernard Floral ($15 per panel) and the ring clips are also by Style Selections in Nickel. Step 1 of the office update is complete!

Baby Gates – Not Just for Babies

noreply@blogger.com (heather s.) — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 13:04:00 +0000

I’ve had my fat cat for almost four years now. Not too long after I adopted Sami from a coworker I decided to put up a baby gate on my back patio so that she could enjoy the great outdoors – well, she could enjoy the fresh air/smells/sights but she was confined to my patio. I never really talked about what I did so I thought I’d touch on that now.

You’ve seen my back patio (or maybe you haven’t if you’re a new reader) but there are three walls of lattice with one large opening for the doorway.

I simply screwed some wood scraps to each side of the opening to make the opening a tad smaller. Why? Because I had an extended height baby gate that I wanted to use as a “door” to keep Sami on the patio. The gate was only 48.5” wide and the opening was around 52” so adding the two pieces of wood 1.5” thick (each) made the new opening the perfect size for my gate.

Before I could hang the gate, I painted all of the wood white with exterior white paint that matches the rest of the patio and I nailed the two sliding pieces of the gate together on the top and the bottom so that it was solid and so I wouldn’t have to deal with that stupid baby gate slider thingy that you use to open/close the gate normally – in fact, I removed that all together.

I then attached two hinges on the gate and simply attached the gate to one side of the doorway using screws. I made it so that the gate swings in towards the stairs that lead to the house since that made the most sense to me in terms of the layout of the patio.

I attached two eye hooks on the other side of the opening so that I could close the gate with the simple hooks. Yes, I need to repaint the patio – it is on the list for this summer.

That’s it! Surprisingly this keeps Sami on the patio since she only likes to jump if she can land on something – she has never tried to jump over the gate to escape since that’s just too much effort for my 15 lb. cat. A happy accident is that I’m just the right height to step over the gate (if I’m on my tippy toes and I step from the red stones to the lip of the patio and not down on the ground) so I don’t have to keep opening/closing it when I’m outside in the summer doing yard work.

Why am I showing you this four years later? Because I was asked about it recently and because it has been unseasonably warm in SE Michigan so I just hung the gate yesterday so that Sami could once again venture outside. Go here for instructions on installing the cat door (or in her case, dog door since she was too big for the cat door) – it makes my life so much easier since she can go in/out as much as she wants without me having to lift a finger.

I have the day off so now I think I’ll go enjoy the nice weather. Happy weekend!

Herringbone Art

noreply@blogger.com (heather s.) — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 12:22:00 +0000

It’s Pinterest Challenge time! Sherry of Young House Love and Katie from Bower Power have once again set out to create something that they’ve pinned on Pinterest (you can follow me here) and asked everyone to join in the fun. This time around I decided to make some art that was inspired by this herringbone paint chip art from ellementary home.

Source: ellementaryhome.blogspot.com via Heather from on Pinterest

It seems that a lot of people are making art out of paint chips and why not since they are free and the color selection is amazing. However, I wanted to put a different spin on it and decided to use craft paper that I already owned. I chose blue since it is my favorite color and I have a ton of blue scrapbook paper in my stash. This project was incredibly easy and I completed it at night while watching old Law and Order reruns – just cut out your pieces of paper….

…place them in the pattern you want (in this case herringbone though mine got slightly skewed – I blame the daiquiri(s) I was drinking while I did this. Don’t drink and craft, people!)…

…and then affix them to paper using double-sided tape. Trim any overhang and then slide your artwork into a frame (in my case a $4 frame I had lying around the basement).

I love that it has the herringbone pattern and reminds me of a quilt. I don’t know why but lately I’m drawn to quilts – maybe because of the random patterns on each piece of fabric…who knows. That’s it! Free art that takes an hour or so of television to complete. Um yes – I completed this at 10:38 p.m. on a week night.

Anyone else fall victim to paint chip art or the herringbone craze?

2012 House To-Do List

noreply@blogger.com (heather s.) — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 13:25:00 +0000

So yes, it is a week or so into March and I’m finally posting my house to-do list for the year. What can I say – I’m a bit behind and I really have no excuse.

Interior:

Repaint office – yes, I just painted it last year but I’m still not in love with the pale green so I’m finally going to tackle that. And with that comes a slight shift in the colors for the room – possibly. I can’t make up my mind.
Hang new bathroom light fixture - I hate the fixture that I have now but I’m not having any luck finding a suitable replacement. Hopefully I’ll find something this year.
Hang new dining room light fixture - The one I have now I hung with Dad when I bought the house (see pic of it here). It was a quick fix and I never loved it so it is time to upgrade to something that will actually make me smile when I walk in the door and see it.
Address the living room windows - I have a large picture window with awful vertical blinds. The problem is that my house is close to the street so I need some sort of window covering that will prevent people from looking in on me but the question is what. (wow were my pictures small back in the day – I need to update the old posts with bigger pics)
Frame out kitchen window
Hang shelf in kitchen
Reglaze bathroom tub – I’m leaving this one for the pros…I think.

Exterior:

Get new/paint fence - My fence was vandalized this winter which just makes me want a new one even more. I got a quote a few years ago to the tune of $3K for a 6’ privacy fence but I don’t have the dough to spend so I need to find another alternative.
Replace gutter in back of house – yep, meant to do this last year. Oops.
Maybe plant a veggie garden – this is a very tentative project
Do something different with patio – I don’t eat outside as much as I should and really I think I want the outside to be more of a lounge area so I may change things up a bit. Stay tuned.

The list isn’t that long but seeing as I’m incredibly lazy lately, I’m sure this will last me all year.