{Small projects turn into big ones}

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We recently decided to embark on a bedroom makeover. If you remember here and here. The first thing that had to happen was the TV needed to be mounted on the wall. While Chris and I are kinda handy this was definitely a job that called for reinforcements. We are lucky enough to have free reinforcements (AKA: Brad my Step-Dad) but sometimes we have to wait for a weekend to free up for him. Which was the case, so two months later we finally secured a time for him to come over and help.

And just like any home improvement project, we ran into a "snag" or in this case a "cut". While cutting the drywall open Chris and Brad accidentally cut a wire in the wall. Doesn't it always happen like that? So instead of a tiny piece of drywall missing from my bedroom, they had to cut a giant piece to run the replacement wire in the wall.

But the final product turned out awesome, as you can see in the picture. Now we are ready to paint!

{New Feature}

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 I added some links under "Our Home" so you can easily access posts about our DIY room redos. I'm hoping to get some good pictures of the house soon.

{Personalized Rug Tutorial}

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When I bought this rug I knew exactly what I would do to jazz it up. Since I love putting our last name on everything (see our half bathroom) I thought this would be a fun little project.

What you'll need for this project:
1. Paint brush
2. Stencil
3. Paint
4. Level
5. Tape
6. Scissors

First, I put stencil letters on the rug. Then lined up the laser level. Once they were lined up I taped down the letters.

I used acrylic paint I got at Michael's on sale to stencil on our name.

The rug now sits at the front door to greet our visitors.

DIY Project Parade

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Do you love to DIY? Head on over to show off your projects to:

 

You can see me over there too ;)

DIY Raised Dog Bed

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This adorable little man chewed the last dog bed I bought him that cost me $30. After that I started trying to figure out a way to make a bed without the fuzz he enjoys to chew so much. Through my research I found a ton of different tutorials. I'm going to show you my modified version of all of them.

What you will need:
3-1 1/2 Inch PVC pipes

4-T Connector PVC fitting
4-Round PVC fitting
PVC Cement
Round Washer Head #8-18x1/2"
1 1/2 yards Outdoor Fabric

Washers to fit
Tape Measure
Saw
Marker
2 People

How to:

 1. Grab your first piece of PVC pipe and measure 25.5 inches, mark it and cut it with your saw.

2. Cut another piece the same size (25.5 inches)

3. Grab the rest of your PVC pipe. Measure 34.5 inches and cut with your saw. I personally had Chris do it because I'm too scared of cutting off my hand with the electric saw.

4. The piece left over should be 34.5 inches. Cool how that works out, isn't it?

5. Now we are going to cut the legs. Grab your second piece of PVC pipe. We need 4-4 inch pieces.

6. Now that we have all of our pieces cut. I laid everything out and put together the corners first.

I saw on some sites where they ordered a specialty T connector that has the round piece attached. I wasn't patient enough to order it and wait for it to come in. I went with this modified version because all these pieces were found at my local Home Depot. 

From the top

Sideways

7. Once I got the corners together, I connected the rest of the bed together.

8. I found it easy to then take the parts apart one piece at a time and use the PVC Cement in each connector. I saw some of the tutorials screw together each piece but I thought the PVC Cement would be easier. 

 9. Once you get the bed together and let the PVC Cement dry, your going to want to get the fabric screwed on. I laid out the fabric, then put the dog bed upside down on top of the fabric.

10. Then cut a small slit in the corner. (In the bottom left hand corner of the picture you can see where I started the slit)

11. Next we're going to get the Screws and the Washers. I bought #8 x 1/2". These worked really well with the 1 1/2 PVC Pipe.

12. We started in one corner and worked our way around.

 

Make sure as you go around that you are pulling the fabric tight. I trimmed the extra fabric around the corners once we were completely done. Also, we put about 4 to 5 screws in each side of the bed trying to get the screws more on the bottom than the side.







Now I'm sure your wanting to know how much this cost, right? It was cheaper than you think!

Breakdown:
3 yards of Outdoor Fabric ($6.00 per yard on sale) $18.00
3 PVC Pipes (3@$3.96) $11.88
PVC Fitting (8@$1.04) $8.32
PVC Corner (8@$1.72) $13.72
PVC Cement $3.91
Screws $3.92
Washers $0.98
Total = $60.82 for 2 Dog Beds

That leaves our total per bed = $30.41 and some blood and sweat!

Don't they look so happy?

I also bought some fleece because my dogs like to have a blanket to curl up with. I bought this for $4.99 a yard at Joann's.

We could not be happier with how these turned out. What do you think? Do you think you will try to make these beds for your dog?

Decorating: Coming Soon...

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Another room makeover.....don't those words just excite you?

We have a room, known as a bonus room by our builder, that we have nothing to do with. Currently, it was an extra living room but was more like a furniture holder.

We decided to make this into a gym.

When we painted the bathroom last year, we just used the extra paint and painted the bonus room also. So currently, its Sherwin Willams Relaxed Khaki and I'm pretty sure we are going to leave it the same color. I would like to get some DVD Storage to go under the tv we will mount on the wall. I was thinking something like this:

 

I've put all the funiture in the room up for sale on Craigslist and have started saving for a treadmill. Here is some inspiration for the room:

I wish I had that view in my backyard



I love how this one has storage on the left hand side


I love how sleek this one is

We can't forget the most important piece to my gym plans....a Treadmill. I'm on the hunt now for a good one and some storage. I have searched the 200 + websites that CSN Stores has looking for a reasonably priced treadmill. There are a couple that I really like:

Merit Fitness 725T

Gold's Gym 450

Both are in our price range and have everything we're looking for.

We will be working very hard to get everything together and I can't wait to show you the finished product.

Decorating: Pottery Barn Garden Stool

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I recently came across this stool at Big Lots for $20.

As soon as we spotted it, I knew exactly where I had seen it before: Pottery Barn. The biggest difference between them is Pottery Barn's version sells for $159. Yes, that's right I paid $20. 

Another Pottery Barn knockoff for the Princess. I think for now it will be used as a table on the front porch but it may end up in the backyard at some point.

 

One Year Ago

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We closed on our first house. I will never forget the amazing feeling we had as we walked out of the realtors office, knowing we were going to our first home. Chris and I were on cloud nine. Then we walked into the house and the chest pains began.  We remembered that we bought a work in progress. 

Here are some pictures of the house, the day we took ownership of it:

The Dining Room

The Kitchen

The Living Room

The Half Bath

The Hallway Bath

The Backyard

Click on the links and you'll see the current state of each room. It's amazing how far we've come in a year. We love living in our house and have already created such wonderful memories.

Do you remember how you felt when you bought your first home?

How To Do Military Corners

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This is a really simple and easy tutorial on how to do hospital/military corners. Also, you can play around with the size of the corners. In the video, the corner is bigger but if you wanted to can make them smaller.

I'd love to hear your thoughts/questions about the video.

Decorating: New Accessories

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I found these books at Garden Ridge for $7 a piece and knew they would be perfect for our guest bedroom.

As soon I bought these, I headed right over to Target because I knew I had the perfect topper for these books. I have been stalking this Eiffel Tower for months.

I'm in love with my new accessories. What do you think?

Decorating: Finished Bathroom

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We are reveling in our newly decorated bathroom. It took some time and money but I think we have finally settled on decorations that will last more than a few months.

We made alot of small changes that amounted to a big change.

Mirror

I DIY'ed this picture with scrapbook paper

The new shower curtain hooks

Here's the breakdown of what we changed:

Paint: Sherwin Williams Relaxed Khaki $30

Mirror: Kirklands $29.99

Shower Curtain: Target $10

Bathmat: Target $7

Picture Frame: Target $20

Flower: Target $7.99

Shower Curtain Hooks: Bed, Bath and Beyond $15

Scrapbook Paper: $1

Total Cost: $120.98

And just like with any renovation, it sparks more things that can be upgraded. So, I think we will probably get a new light fixture soon.

Let me know what you think. Do you love it or hate it?