Be Our Guest

       So it's been a crazy month around here! We have tons of guests coming to stay with us for a family wedding in the next couple weeks, I went crazy into project mode wanting to completely re-do our guest room before the flood of people. My vision is finally coming together and I am excited! I have a sneak peek project to share with all of you before I reveal the before/after of the entire room. My afternoon accomplishment today was the "Be Our Guest" sign that will hang above the guest bed. Such a simple and cute way to greet your guest into their room. 

Here is what you need to make your own sign:

7-1x4 cut at 24" long

4-1/4" slats cut at 23" long

Nail gun

3/4" finish nails

Wood glue

Stain color of your choice

       To start this project, make all of your cuts using a miter saw or a hand saw. Then line them all up together on a flat surface.  I chose to stagger the ends of mine just for more interest and to make it a little different than the other signs in my house. Turn them face down now. We are going to work on the backside. You don't want to see nail holes!! Now lay your 1/4" thick slat pieces vertically down all the 1x4 cuts (see pic below). This will secure the sign and make it sturdy! Apply wood glue to the slat pieces, then nail them to the 1x4's. Two nails in each 1x4 on every slat (so u will have 14 nails from top to bottom). Here is a pic of the back:

       Now it's time to apply stain! Choose the stain color that's best for you. I decided to use weathered grey by Rustoleum. Loooove this stain. It dries in an hour and has beautiful color! I applied two coats and let it sit for an hour. 

       Lastly, the fun part!! Making the words to complete the sign. I have an amazing machine, the silhouette cameo. If you haven't heard of this you have to google it and see what it does. I use it mostly to cut vinyl but it can do so much more! I designed my template and cut it out, applied my words and....here it is!

       I am SO pleased with how it turned out. One of my favorite things about this project is that it cost me nothing! I used scrap material for all of it! Even if you did pay for wood, it wouldn't cost you more than $15 at the most. It looks great in the space over the bed. Nice and soothing and welcoming for our guests. I hope they enjoy staying as much as I'm enjoying re-doing the room! Stay tuned to see the final guest room before/after in a future posting! I can't wait to show you the dramatic changes!

Xoxo,

         Katie

P.S. Don't forget adding hardware to hang it. It will be a heavier sign so make sure the hardware is sturdy!

$50 Laundry Room Make-over

If I would have known $50 could completely transform my laundry room I would have done it a looong time ago! But I had my sights set on ‘bigger and better’ rooms, until recently when I realized the laundry room is important too! It is connected to an entry way into our home, people definitely see it and I spend a fair amount of time in there, so why not spruce it up!? With that said, I still didn’t want to (and didn’t have) the funds to pour into it, so I did all I could, and can honestly say I am surprised with how happy my laundry room now makes me! Here are the before pictures...

Here’s the cost breakdown:

-         $3.00 Paint- Sample size container from Lowes

-         $7.00 Wood- Shelf/Ledge above washer & dryer

-         $15.00 Dispenser- Using for Detergent

-         $20.00 Storage- Three decorative boxes and basket

-         $5.00 Shoe rack- See picture at the end of this post

I only painted the upper half of the wall behind the washer and dryer, so a sample size container of paint was all I needed, I chose a light gray- which seems to be my go to color. We used the two pieces of wood from Lowes to build an additional shelf that sits right above the machines, and I gave both shelves a fresh coat of white paint using paint I had leftover from another project. I also used left over supplies to make the “wash” sign for the upper shelf. All it took was a little paint, hot glue and handful of wood shims (I buy them in contractor’s packs because I can always use them for something, and they’re only $5 a pack). Lastly I added a few things from around the house to make the room feel homier.

         Inside the boxes I organized light bulbs, batteries, flash lights, tissue, dusting supplies, and of course, extra detergent, bleach, spray and wash, fabric softener, etc. I took all of the other cleaning products that were cluttering up the shelf and used a plastic door hanging shoe rack to organize them and get them out of sight.

What a huge difference a half days work made to that little room! I don’t shut the door to hide the ugly clutter anymore and I actually like doing laundry because the room is calming and everything has a place. A little goes a long ways! Share your organization tricks and mini make-overs with me, I’d love some inspiration for all areas of the house!

     xoxo,

              Rachele

Eat & Drink in the kitchen!!

     These little cuties were SO easy to make! Unfortunately, I don't have a lot of pictures of the building process for this project. Thankfully it is fairly simple to put together!  And I love the way they add to the kitchen and dining area. Such a simple idea but it really adds to the decor!

Materials (for one sign):

2-1x3 cut @ 24"

2-1x2 cut @ 24"

2-1x2 cut @ 7"

Wood stain

Wood glue

Chop saw (or hand saw)

Nail gun (or nail punch)

2 brackets to hang on the wall. (These are from michaels)

Stencil to make your words

      The first step will be to cut your pieces of wood. Cut all of them and sand (if necessary) then get ready to stain. I chose to use Rustoleum in dark walnut. Apply one coat of stain and wait and hour for it to dry, then line them up and get ready to put them together! Make sure when you line the boards up, the side you want the words on is facing down (which should also be the side you stained). You are going to make the unstained part the back. Then take your small 7" piece, add wood glue to one side and center it between your boards. I would place one 7" piece on either end of the boards to keep them sturdy and strong for your sign. Glue the second piece to the other end and nail it down! Make sure to put nails in each of the four boards as you nail into your 7" piece. This will hold it all together!!  Next I used my silhouette cameo to make a template for the words "eat" and "drink." This is so easy with the cameo but if you have a computer and printer you can pick the font you want, print it, and cut it out. Then trace it onto your sign and paint inside the lines! Once my words were dry I flipped the whole thing back over and added the brackets to hang it up. Done! 

 

                 xoxo,

                            Katie