DIY Coat Rack

 You know how you get sick and tired of looking at the same thing everyday.  There is no zing or pizazz to it.  Well, this is how I felt about my mirror/coat rack in my entryway.  So I decided to fix that problem and gave my husband a list of things to pick up at The Home Depot.  Now, here's the tricky part... I forgot to right down the measurements of our cuts.  OOPS!  My bad.  However, I think you will get the idea of how we build this thing.  To be honest it was pretty easy and we didn't have any directions to go by.
 
  Disclaimer:  If you are going to be working with power tools (or any tools for that matter) you need to be extremely careful!  Make sure you use all safety precautions and that you are being responsible with your tools.  I am in no way, no how responsible for your actions or the results of anything. 
  Basically what we did was cut a 4x4 post to our desired height (5 foot) and then made our legs out of a 2x4 post.  Then we put a decorative topper you usually use on top of fence posts.  We put corner edging (I don't know the "technical" term for that piece but I will show you a picture) on the four corners of the post.  It adds dimension.

                                                         Above is a picture of the legs.  

                            This is the corner edging I was talking about.  This and the hardware were the most costly
                                                  thing of the project.  These bad boys were $10 a piece and I needed 4!  
                                  

  After we got all of that done we filled in all of the gaps and screw holes with wood filler.  We used Elmers wood filler.  This stuff dries pretty fast and its easy to sand.

                   We used the wood filler at the largest gaps and screw holes.  It was better to use our fingers to get the wood 
                                                                                  filler into the gaps.

  Once our wood filler was all dry we sanded the entire coat rack to make it smooth so when we painted it would have a nice finish.  Now, if you want more of a rustic look to yours honestly there is no point in sanding prior to painting.
  A satin finish for my paint is what I chose to use on the coat rack.  I wanted something with a slight glossy finish but nothing crazy.  You guessed it, I painted it in Antique Earth by Behr.  I just can't help myself.  I ordered the hooks off of Amazon.
  To make this a more budget friendly project (which is really what I was trying to do) you could leave off the corner edging.  As far as the hooks go, Cost Plus World Market have a great selection of hooks and knobs that you could use.  That was actually my first stop, but, I had this vision that I just couldn't shake.

  Well, there you have it... our glorious, customized masterpiece.  We are very proud of our handy work.  Now, onto my next project with the spare wood.  Look for an upcoming post of my entryway redo.  I just have one more thing that I need to complete it and I should be able to get it soon.  Then you can really see the full affect.

Nail Polish of the Day

  I love this color by Sinful Colors called Endless Blue. Bright and vibrant!  What a great summer blue. 

Hydrangeas in My Garden

  First I have to say, happy (official) first day of Summer!  One of my favorite things to do is to watch my garden grow. (I just aged myself by 30 years...oh well.)  Seeing everything start to take off and really flourish is so rewarding.
 
  Today I have two tips for planting or designing a flower bed that are really simple and will save you some headache (and heartache) later on.
1.  Look to see what kind of sunlight your garden gets.  Is it full sun (8 + hours) or part sun or both?  This will make a huge difference in the type of plants you get and where to place them.
2.  Once you purchase your plants place them in the spot where you want them while they are still in their buckets.  Don't plant them right away.  Sit back and see if the color goes, if it gets as much or as little sun as it needs.  Take a couple of days to decide.

  We mostly have full sun in our backyard.  While this is great for growing a vegetable garden it's not when you want to grow flowers and other more shade friendly plants.  After we trimmed up our lilac bushes we noticed that we had a part sun area!  WOOOOHOOOO!  See how excited I am.  Now I am finally able to have hydrangeas.

Here are the beauties in my cart at The Home Depot:

Here is a before:

  I really wanted to add some color to this area.

Here is after:

  Next to the giant lilac bushes they look dinky but they are actually quite huge.
Now I have some gorgeous flowers to look at after my lilacs are done blooming.

Happy Flag Day!

  Today is flag day. I just wanted to share a photo a took a few weeks ago. It was a memorial to our fallen soldiers. 

Bookcase Revamp

  One of my favorite tools to use to "revamp" something is paint.  I have talked about this before and believe I have shared something like this with you but I couldn't resist sharing this bookcase I repainted.
  I painted it in my all time favorite color Antique Earth by Behr.  First off, this color is amazing in all sources of light, it blends in with anything and can make something look like a classic piece of furniture.
  Before I get to the photos I wanted to share a few tips that I have picked up along the way from using this "revamp" method, and from painting my rooms a million times over.
 
 1.  When choosing a color whether you're pairing a piece of furniture or a room look to see what color "payoff" you are going to have.  What I mean by this is take something pink and something yellow and put them against your color swatch.  What comes out the most in it?  Do you want those colors coming through?  Then think of how much light you get in that room.  For instance, my office (where the bookcase is) gets a ton of a lot and sees the evening sun while it sets which generally gives off pink hues.  Some colors are very neutral and don't give off a particular color.
 2.  Think about the sheen you want your paint.  Flat, Eggshell, Gloss, etc. will make the color look different.  Ask your paint counter person at your Home Depot what would look best in the area or on the object you are painting.  They have been through class after class on these things and can give you great advise.
 3.  Don't skimp on brushes.  Yes, I know I am the cheap one saying this but it's true.  Especially if you are painting something in a glossy finish it will make the biggest difference.  Now, I am not saying you have to go and buy professional grade brushes however, buy something you will be able to wash and reuse.

  These are not "rules" by any means it's just a few things I have learned along the way after many many home improvement projects.  So, without further ado....


Before:

After:

  I love this bookcase and the color is incredible in my office.  Hope you enjoyed this post and my little tips to help you.

DIY Puff Flowers

  Recently I redecorated my office and I was going for a natural, laid back look.  Natural, earth tone colors have been my thing.  I love to change things so keeping things neutral makes it easy. 
  My shelf above my desk needed some sort of floral element but I didn't want a typical flower.  Does that make sense?   My husband and I have been obsessed trying to find these one kind of flowers to add into our garden.  They are round, purple, snowball like flowers.  Well, that was my inspiration with this project so I decided I would make my own version for my office but in my favorite colors, and this is how I did it.

  What you need:
1. Yarn 
2. Scissors
3. Sticks of some sort (I found some from my yard)
4. Hot glue

  How to make the puff ball:
1.  Start by wrapping your yarn around your fingers (see picture below)

2.  You want to wrap the yarn pretty thick so that you can have a nice full puff ball.
3.  Once you get it to your desired thickness remove it from your fingers and tie a piece of yarn in the middle making two ends with multiple loops like this...

4.  Now cut all the loops and then fluff!  You have now made a puff ball.  

5.  Glue the puff ball to the end of the stick and put them in a vase.  

  I really like the natural element from the twigs and that it's different from other flowers you would find in a store.  
  You can buy a tool that helps you make puff balls (which I do have) it works the same way.  
  I hope you enjoyed this project.  

Gardening Tip: Save Your Plant Tags

  When I was younger I always admired how my mom could tell me what a flower or plants name was.  Once I became a homeowner and started to garden and plant flowers I wanted to know what I was planting and know how to perfect my green thumb just like my mom.
  For quite some years now I have been saving my plant tags and journal where I planted things and how they did.  This is honestly one of the best tips I could ever give someone who is starting out gardening.  Whether it's a vegetable garden and/or a flower garden this is extremely helpful.  Now, I don't write in it every day, just when something happens...like when a plant dies, or seeing that my tomato plants are producing a lot.

  These tags are chalked full of information like where to plant, how often to water, etc.  I only save the ones that are new to me.  In other words, if I planted it last year and I saved the tag I don't keep it for this year.  How I journal each plant is really pretty simple.  I write down where I planted it (I even draw a chart, no it's not pretty but it does the trick), I keep track of it's behavior and I write down what type of fertilizer I use.  I will add pictures of my good work.  The dead ones don't make the cut.
  I hope this helps you in the future with anything you plant in your garden.  Every year I look forward to doing it all over again and looking at the previous years.  Now get out there and get in the dirt.