If they meet their goal of giving away 10,000 classes, Craftsy will donate $5,000 to DonorsChoose to fund arts education in public schools across the US. (Existing members are not eligible for the free course offer, but will still receive a special treat.)

Craftsy is one of my favourite places for DIY crafty knowledge! They have the best videos, indie patterns and tutorials on all sorts of things from cake decorating to fashion sewing.

One of the classes I’ve been ogling lately? This Sewing Texture Class:

Come get your FREE CLASS now by clicking here. Happy weekend, friends!

(Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you decide to purchase products via these links, a small percentage of the sale will be given to me at no extra cost to you. It’s a win-win – thanks for helping support thediymommy.com!)

Here are some of my favourite things to make with strawberries. Some I’ve tried, some are just pictures I’ve drooled over. Some are a little naughty, while others are more of a healthy snack. It was hard to pick only 9 of my favourite strawberry treats, but here they are! These all look like incredibly good & tasty things to make with my strawberry stash.

1. Strawberries and Cream Pie from Just Putzing Around the Kitchen
2. Strawberry Pretzel Salad from Paula Deen
3. Roasted Strawberry Muffins from Annie’s Eats
4. Fresh Strawberry Cake from My San Fransisco Kitchen
5. Whole Grain Strawberry Donuts from Eat Good 4 Life
6. Strawberry Rhubarb Pie from Smitten Kitchen
7. Strawberry Refrigerator Oatmeal from This Chick Cooks
8. Strawberry Cheesecake Muffins from Food Wanderings in Asia (these are GOOD!)
9. Strawberry Rhubarb Bars from Better Homes & Gardens

Which strawberry treat makes you say “YUM” the loudest?

Sleep is incredibly important to me. My children sleeping all through the night is also incredibly important to me. This is why I immediately started working on blackout blinds for my girls’ bedrooms in Our DIY House after our window casing was installed (did you see my DIY craftsman trim?).

Little C’s room was first on my DIY list because we already have all of her new room’s fabric (see Little C’s bedroom mood board and projects so far here).

I’ve seen several tutorials and YouTube videos on how to make no-sew fabric covered roller blinds, and I wanted to try to make some for Little C’s windows. I wanted the blinds to fit inside the windows so that they wouldn’t hide the casing. (If you want absolutely no sun peeking out the sides of the shade, I’d recommend hanging the blind over your casing.)

I also wanted a no-sew solution – I didn’t want needle holes poking through the vinyl on the blinds. I was skeptical about using spray adhesive to adhere fabric to roller shades. Would the shades still roll? Would the fabric lay flat?

I’m happy to say that the answers to both of these questions are a resounding “yes!” and I also have a happy little girl that thinks her window shades are “the beautifulest”.

Here’s how to make no-sew fabric covered blackout roller shades:

Materials:

• vinyl blackout roller blind
• fabric (enough to reach from the top of your window to the bottom + about 3″) – use nothing heavier than cotton quilting fabric
• ribbon (optional, for embellishment)
• spray adhesive
• tube of fabric glue
• fabric scissors
• ruler
• small saw
• mounting brackets, screws, screwdriver

Buy blackout roller blinds from a home improvement store that you can cut to fit your windows. Measure the inside (or the outside, if you’re mounting them on the outside of your casings) of your windows and cut the blinds to fit. I used fabric scissors on the vinyl (you should just be able to glide them along) and a Japanese saw to cut the thick cardboard tube (it’s that cute little handheld saw in the photo).

(I do as many DIY’s as I can outside on my deck in the spring and summer!)

There’s a little plastic cap that you’ll have to pop off the cut end of your roller shade and then pop back on the new end. I used my scissors to pry it of and banged it on the deck to fit it back on.

You’ll want to test your adhesive first. I used Elmer’s Multie Purpose Spray Adhesive. Using an extra piece of vinyl, spray it according to the glue’s directions and apply a scrap piece of fabric. Let it dry and ensure it bonds nicely. My combination of adhesive, blind and quilter’s cotton worked well!

I used just enough fabric to reach from the top of my window to the bottom with a few inches to spare. In my opinion, there’s no need to cover the entire roll of vinyl. Plus, it makes the shade heavier.

Unroll the vinyl shade. Lay your fabric over the vinyl shade, making sure that it’s centered if it has a pattern to it (mine did) and that it’s hanging over the bottom of the shade about 1″.

Lift up the bottom 6″ of the fabric, spray the blind beneath well, and then smooth that bit of fabric over the glue with your hands (I tried a ruler at first to smooth the fabric, but doing it by hand seemed to work much better). Now, flip down the top portion of fabric and spray the next 6″ of the blind and smooth the fabric over it. Repeat until you’ve adhered the full length of fabric to the blind.

(Don’t work in a wind storm like I did when I did the other two of these blinds – it was one of the most frustrating days of my life.)

Once the glue has dried, flip the blind over and spray the bottom piece of fabric and turn it over the bottom edge of the blind. Press it down to adhere it.

Trim both sides of fabric so that they reach about 1″ beyond the blind’s width. Spray glue on these pieces and turn them around the blind and press them down. Do about 6″ at a time (I found it best to work quickly with this glue).

If you want, you can decorate the bottom of the blind with ribbon, lace or trim. Little C picked out these sparkly, ruffly ribbons and I glued them on with fabric glue to the bottom of her blinds.

Ta-da! It’s a custom roller shade covered in pretty fabric that’s still functional and practical. I mounted these with sticky tack at fist to ensure they rolled up and down, and my goal this week is to mount them with real screws inside the windows.

I love these little DIY fabric covered shades! They’d make a great home decor project for any DIYer. Think of how cute they’d look covered in a damask fabric for a kitchen window or a pastel chevron fabric for a baby’s nursery!

This post is part of my “Our DIY House” series where I’ll share with you my most exciting DIY ever – building a country house from the foundation up with my talented hubby! We’re crazy, we’re creative, we’re on a limited budget and we’re planning on having it finished in the Spring of 2013.

Because Our DIY House is a very square, simple foursquare craftsman home I wanted our window and door trim inside to reflect that style.

After virtually rummaging through trim photos on Pinterest, I decided I wanted casings and baseboards that were quite square, and I wanted to keep the profile simple with just a bit of detail at the top and bottom. It had to be something we could DIY, but still add some character to our new home.

My mom enjoys doing finishing carpentry, and she’s a huge Windsor Plywood fan. She assured me our local West Edmonton store would have just the profile of MDF casing & baseboards that I was looking for to make our DIY simple craftsman / shaker trim and she was right!

Was I ever excited when Windsor Plywood West Edmonton wanted to partner with me on our trim project! Josh, the manager, knew exactly the right shaker-style casings and baseboards I was looking for after I emailed him a description and an inspiration photo of what we wanted. I was looking for MDF trim, because it was cost-effective and I was painting everything semi-gloss white anyhow.

This trim is super-duper simple and it’s a great price (plus, Windsor Plywood always has awesome sales!). It’s square and flat with a very slightly rounded edge.

I decided on having the tops and bottoms of my window casings jut out from the side casings 3/4″. The door frames will be the same. This makes for a lot of straight, easy cuts that I was able to do all by myself. Bonus!

Here’s how I installed our DIY simple crafstman trim:

I used a cross cut saw for all of the cuts. (Now I want to build all sorts of things after learning new tools!)

Since the casing is 3″ wide (the baseboards are 4″ wide) and we wanted a 1/4″ reveal of the window frame before the casing began, my formula was as follows:

Side casings = window inside height measurement + 1/2″ (x2 pieces)
Top casings = window inside width measurement + 8″ (6″ for the trim + 1/2″ reveal + 1 1/2″ jut-out) (x2 pieces)

I carefully measured and cut the windows one at a time, and if there were two or three the same I cut the pieces all together.

My wonderful little sis (and my brother too!) helped me paint the casing. We gave everything a light sand (and sanded the short ends of the top and bottom pieces) and then coated them once with our trim paint (with a foam roller – my favourite for a smooth finish).

I cut a “jig” out of a 1/4″ thick piece of plywood that I could use as a measuring stick when I placed the casings on the window (since they needed to be 1/4″ from the inside of the window). Once I had the casings placed, I nailed the top and the bottom to the wall with a nail gun (another awesome tool!), and then the middle once or twice (depending on the length of the casing).

I repeated with the second side.

(I forced Hubby to take these pictures of me doing this because I’m so terribly proud that I’ve done our trim myself… even though he’s built the rest of the house… )

Then the bottom (I eyeballed the 3/4″ on each side, mostly).

And finally, I nailed the top piece on. If there were any unsightly spaces due to my measurements being off, I filled those with caulking. Nothing was too off, thankfully!

Caulking is really a handy material. After I nailed the trim in place, I caulked around the inside edge (where the casing meets the window). The smaller the hole in your caulking tube, the better!

My mom taught me this trick: go over your caulking beads immediately with a damp cloth to clean away any excess right away. This goes for the nail hole filling, too!

The nail holes also need to be filled with caulking, as do the little indentations on the tops and bottom of the trim that you see.

I’ve left some of this fiddly work for later – along with a final coat of paint once the nail holes are sanded and the caulking is complete.

Aren’t they so simple and lovely?

I really think this trim gives off the vibe I was looking for: craftsman character, yet simple and modern.

I love how the trim around our transom windows by the fireplace made the windows really pop!

The contrast of the white trim with Little C’s electric purple room is wonderful! I’ve also made some easy DIY fabric-covered black out roller shades to hang in the windows and I’ll share that tutorial next.

Thanks for such a great product to work with, Windsor Plywood, and for all of your friendly help on this fun DIY. I feel like I can conquer the world now!

What do you think of our simple craftsman trim? Are you ready to master a saw and nail gun for your next home reno project?

(Disclosure: This post is sponsored in part by Windsor Plywood West Edmonton. The views and opinions expressed here are purely my own.)

This post is part of my “Our DIY House” series where I’ll share with you my most exciting DIY ever – building a country house from the foundation up with my talented hubby! We’re crazy, we’re creative, we’re on a limited budget and we’re planning on having it finished in the Spring of 2013.

I think I did fairly well! Here are my favourite dishes from last week’s meal plan (that I Instagrammed – if that’s a verb):

Buffalo Chicken Tacos (I reserved some of the chicken without sauce for the kids.)

Sausage & Veggie Skillet (I used plain garlic sausage.)

On the menu this week:

1. Chicken Crepes With Asparagus & Mushrooms (Tried Before) – OK, this one’s not as “simple” as I usually like to make, but it’s SO good. If you have a nice, non-stick pan crepes are easier than you might think to make!
2. Easy Barbequed Ribs (Tried Before) – These are easy and good. Plus, you can cook them in the crock pot for extra simplicity!
3. Chicken Spaghetti (Tried Before) – A tasty casserole that the kids love too!
4. Four Cheese Baked Skillet Rigatoni (Tried Before) – I actually made this one last week and then I’m making the alfredo spaghetti squash from last week’s meal plan this week (just to be extra confusing). We call this one “grown up mac & cheese” and I just use whatever cheeses we have on hand.
5. Double Crunch Honey Garlic Chicken Breasts (Tried Before) – This one is rich, but a tasty treat. We go easy on the sauce, and if I’m having a crazy day I just make the sauce and some frozen chicken strips to dip into it.
6. Homemade Pizza - I’ve wanted to try Natural Mommie’s easy homemade pizza crust for a long time. We’ll pile the pizza with veggies and ham.

Are you meal planning with me? Do you have a tasty recipe on your blog to share? Add your meal planning or recipe post link to the Meal Planning Monday link list below and grab the graphic to display on your site linking here (or a text link is fine too!). This link up is open until the end of the month.

Grab the button:

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I thought long and hard about the light fixtures for Our DIY House. To me, light fixtures are a huge part of the decor of a room. They can really set a mood!

We purchased most of our light fixtures through our account with Direct Buy. Want my honest opinion on this club? I think it’s completely worth purchasing a membership (which is very pricey!) if you like high end items for home improvement store prices AND if you’re planning on renovating in a big way or building. We purchased our membership in B.K. (“before kids”) when we had extra spending cash.

Here’s a peek at our light fixtures. My hubby is an electrician, so he’s installed them all himself (along with a parade of fancy plugs, dimmer switches, timers and all sorts of fun things). I stuck to oil rubbed bronze fixtures for most of the house, and polished chrome for the kitchen, laundry and bathrooms.

(Scroll to the end for a DIY on how to paint fan blades like a pro!)

Master Bedroom Fan (Kichler) (We debated long & hard over whether or not to have fans in our bedroom and breakfast nook because they are notoriously ugly. However, I actually loved the look of these fans. They have a neat “industrial seaside” air to them, and you can’t deny how awesome it is to have a breeze inside on a hot day!)

Master Bedroom Reading Lights (Z Lite) (We opted for pendants hanging in front of the windows on either side of our bed so that we could fit our King bed frame between the windows.) You can see our gorgeous DIY craftsman trim here too – I’ll post a tutorial for that later (I’m so happy with it)!

Master Bathroom Chandelier (Z Lite) (Don’t make fun – this is my favourite piece.)

Office (Lowe’s Canada)

Entry Chandelier (Z-Lite) (This was my big splurge, but I think our 3-story entry needs something substantial and gorgeous.)

Dining Room Chandelier (Kichler)

Laundry Room (Kichler)

Kitchen Island Pendants (Kichler)

Breakfast Nook Fan (Kichler)

The blades on this polished chrome fan for our breakfast nook didn’t match with any of our decor-to-be, so I painted them black (to match our cupboards and tie in with the oil rubbed bronze elements). It was easy and I loved the result!

To paint fan blades like a pro:

Sand the blades lightly (I used a block sander). This helps the paint adhere well.

Use a small foam roller (this is the trick!) to paint the sides first (I used a semi-gloss latex paint), and then the tops of the blades. A foam roller leaves a nice, smooth finish with no brush strokes. This is especially good if you’re using a semi-gloss paint like I did here.

Paint at least two coats of paint (make sure to let each coat dry thoroughly before applying the next). See? Even four-year-old C can paint smoothly with a foam roller.

That’s all! Now I have a fan that ties in beautifully with everything.

Next on our plate is laying our laminate flooring, tiling, and installing our cupboards. We’re exhausted, but Our DIY House is nearing it’s completion! Thank God.

What do you think of my lighting choices? What’s your favourite light fixture in your home?

This post is part of my “Our DIY House” series where I’ll share with you my most exciting DIY ever – building a country house from the foundation up with my talented hubby! We’re crazy, we’re creative, we’re on a limited budget and we’re planning on having it finished in the Spring of 2013.

Linked to: Sundae Scoop Link Party on I Heart Naptime

With the impending completion of Our DIY House arriving soon (I hope!), I’ve been trying to get as many decor things done in advance as I possibly can.

Little C’s room is one of the easier ones. She knows exactly what she wants, and I purchased coordinating fabrics for her new room before we ran out of funds (house building is expensive, FYI).

I wanted to make a DIY duvet cover for her that was fun and bright – just like she is. We both love fabric and patterns, so I decided on patching together a bunch of fun prints to make a unique duvet cover. It was easy and we both love the result!

Materials (for a twin bed sized duvet cover):

• 11 different coordinating quilting cotton fabrics (I used about 1/2 yard of each)
• twin sized flat sheet
• snaps or buttons (I chose snaps because I find them easier to work with)

Directions:

Cut 8 squares of each of the 11 different fabrics that measure 8 1/2″ x 8 1/2″. I used a ruler, cutting mat and rotary cutter to make this go nice and fast!

Arrange your first strip of squares in a pattern that’s pleasing to you. I laid them out on the floor and fiddled around until I came up with a pattern I liked. Then, I decided that my next row would follow the same order but I’d start on the 4th square of my 1st row (and continue the following rows the same way). Does that make sense?!

Sew your strips together one by one. I used a serger so that the reverse side would be finished nicely, but if you don’t have one I’d suggest zig-zagging the seams so that they fray less.

Now, sew your rows together. Pin them first (or do it the lazy way like I do – unpinned, very slow, and eyeballing it all the way!).

Cut off the bottom 6″ of your sheet. Make sure the cut is straight (use a ruler and cutting mat). You may need to cut off some length on the longer piece like I did to match the length of the patchy front of your duvet cover. Measure to check (measure both sheet pieces and subtract 2″ for your button/snap band overlap).

Pin the right side of the narrow piece you cut off to the right side of the longer piece of the sheet. Overlap them by 1″. The hemmed edges should be facing eachother as shown. If you do it this way, you don’t have to hem anything for the button band! It’s so convenient.

Pin the right side of the sheet to the right side of your duvet front. Sew around the entire perimeter.

Turn the duvet cover right side out (using the hole in the backside/sheet side). Fasten snaps about 6″ apart along the opening. You can also sew on buttons and sew button holes. Whatever you prefer!

Insert your duvet into the duvet cover, snap it up and you’re done!

Little C had to make it into a fort over our chairs for its initiation.

My purple, pink and turquoise loving girl is snug as a bug in a rug… and ready to bring her fancy new duvet to our new home!

I ended up cooking 4 of the 6 dinners I planned last week. Why only 4? On Tuesday, we heard the pitter patter of little mouse feet behind my sewing cabinet and I heard squeaks behind the stove. We set out traps and I was NOT in a million years going to cook dinner at home that night. We went out to eat. I’m happy to say the mice were caught and we are squeak free.

This weekend, my parents and siblings helped us work on Our DIY House and watch the girls. We had a simple BBQ one night, and I made a delicious pork tenderloin recipe the other night. I’ll include a link to that recipe in this week’s list so that you can try it too.

If you missed my inaugural Meal Planning Monday post last week with my rules and reasoning for doing this, you can read it here.

On the menu this week:

1. Chicken Broccoli Quinoa Casserole – We’re fans of  quinoa here, so I want to give this one a try!
2. Skinny Spaghetti Squash Alfredo – This looks really yummy. Spaghetti squash is so tasty and inexpensive.
3. Buffalo Chicken Tacos – Thanks for the link to this recipe, Jess of Save Your Fork There’s Pie! I want to try this out this week.
4. Summer Vegetables with Sausage and Potatoes – I’m a huge fan of one pot/skillet meals and this one looks unique and delicious.
5. Lemon Chicken Romano – Lemon + spring = the perfect combination. We’ll serve this with rice and a steamed veggie.
6. Brown Sugar Spiced Pork Tenderloin - (Tried Before) This is an amazing way to cook pork tenderloin (and this cut is far less fatty than a pork chop). We like it with The Pioneer Woman’s Crash Potatoes and Roasted Asparagus.

Are you meal planning with me? Do you have a tasty recipe on your blog to share? Add your meal planning or recipe post link to the Meal Planning Monday link list below and grab the graphic to display on your site linking here (or a text link is fine too!).

Grab the button:

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Moms love handmade gifts. I’ve scoured the web and found my favourite DIY tutorials for unique and special DIY Mother’s Day gift ideas that you could make for your mom to help show how much you care about her this Mother’s Day.

1. Rosette Pillow Tutorial by Thrifty & Chic
2. Tea Bag Wrappers Tutorial by The DIY Dreamer
3. Tissue Paper Flowers by Rust & Sunshine
4. DIY Bow Sandal by Swell Mayde
5. Free Amy Butler Blossom Bag Pattern from Sew Mama Sew
6. Jewelry Holder from a Cutlery Tray by The DIY Mommy
7. Easy Rosette Bib Necklace from Create. Craft. Love.
8. Tea & Crumpet Apron from Sewing in No Man’s Land
9. Mother’s Day Gift & Free Printable from Shanty 2 Chic

What will you be giving your mom this year for Mother’s Day?

I had the honour to be a featured resource website in the great new book “Mom Rules”. (I also got a chance to read this fun book – read my review here.)

The publisher of Mom Rules and I are teaming up to give you the chance to win a New Parents Prize Pack in celebration of Mother’s Day this month!

The winner of this giveaway will receive four organic cotton, fair trade manufactured snappy tees from Golly Gee Baby and both the “Mom Rules” and “Dad Rules” books from Rules4Families.

The soft and adorable 100% organic cotton snapped tees are perfect for a snuggly new baby (size 6 months) and both books are light, quick reads that will make you both laugh and smile knowingly. This is a fun gift pack for any new parent – whether it’s you or a dear friend!

To enter to win this prize pack, all you need to do is comment below and tell me which “Mom Rule” above speaks to you (click on the image to enlarge it).

Want a printable copy of this poster or the “Dad Rules” poster? Visit the Rules4Families site to download one for FREE!

If you’d like an extra entry, you can go “like” the Rules4Families page on Facebook and make an additional comment that you’ve done so (if you’re already a follower, that counts too)!

This contest closes on May 31, 2013 at 11:59 PM MST. The winner will be chosen randomly via random.org and will be emailed immediately. If they do not respond within 48 hours, another winner will be chosen and contacted. By commenting below, you are agreeing to my Giveaway Rules (please read them by clicking the link).

Good luck and thanks for entering!