Running to the store, I take a quick look in the mirror – smoothing my hair, making sure I don’t have anything in my teeth, checking for food stains on my shirt (toddlers…) because when I go out, I’m on display.
Well, our homes are on display all of the time. If you think about it, people actually see the outside of your home more often than the inside.
When there are twigs all over the yard days after a storm or a rusting mailbox, that’s like having a big chunk of spinach in your teeth when you smile at the store clerk.
Not only is maintaining and updating your home’s exterior aesthetically pleasing, but outdoor projects can tremendously escalate the value of your home.
The following projects are simple DIYs and will undoubtedly increase your home’s curb appeal.
1. Add Porch Railings
Porch railings provide a myriad of benefits. They increase the value of your home, provide a safe place for kids and pets to play, and bring a certain charm to your home.
With selling our first home, Ash and I looked for ways to make our townhouse stand out amidst a large neighborhood of very similar looking houses.
Ash installed white porch railings – and we loved the value they brought.
With the new porch railings, we found ourselves spending more time on the porch. Our dog had a safe place to run back and forth without darting into the road, we loved the porch railings upgraded the look of our home, and our realtor was most pleased to see such a worthwhile update.
For only a weekend of work, we sure reaped the benefits of that project.
If you don’t have a porch area on your home, you can add railings to your steps and entry area. I’ve seen this work wonders on a home’s curb appeal.
Check out how Ash built these porch railings.
2. Paint the Front Door
Doors can get pretty banged up over the years – and a fresh on the front door gives your entry look fresh and inviting.
It’s very trendy nowadays to see brightly colored doors – such as yellow or bright green. Red can be really common. It’s awesome if you can make a blast of color work. Yet, you don’t have to go that way if you aren’t sure that it will work for you and your home.
Even just a fresh coat of paint also goes a long way. Before we moved out of our previous home, I painted a fresh coat of white paint on our front and back doors. It made a huge difference. It got rid of any marks that accumulated over the years and gave the door a brighter, fresh appearance.
Painting your front door is a quick, inexpensive, and easy way to make your home more attractive. It’s another simple project that yields great benefits.
3. Install a Walkway
Another way to pump up your curb appeal is by having a direct and well-maintained pathway to your home. A clear front walk not only leads one in, but it shows that your home is inviting, bringing warmth, character, and direction to your home.
Ash and I put a walkway in our first home, digging up the ground and laying down the rocks to make this stony pathway. We actually built this in our backyard – to connect our back patio to our floating deck; however, this would work as a great front walk too.
It was an easy project – lots of digging and carrying stones. Yet, in just two weekends, we had a fabulous stone walkway. The hardest part of the project wasn’t the labor involved in making the path but carrying all those stones.
Additionally, other ways to dress up these walkways is with bright lighting and pretty landscaping. You want your home to be well-lit at night, and beautifully spaced plants highlight the pathway.
If your home is missing a direct path to your front door, or if you are looking for a pathway that’s simple to maintain, check out our stone walkway tutorial for step by step instructions.
4. Fix Up Your Mailbox
Last, and my personal favorite – the mailbox. Sprucing up your mailbox is an easy project that really escalates your curb appeal. Fixing up your box with either a new post or even a fresh coat of paint goes a long way. Plant a few flowers around it, and you’ll have the prettiest box on the street.
When we moved into our new home, our mailbox was an eyesore. For one, it was rotting. Not to mention its terrible slant. It leaned so far toward the road that when getting the mail, it would practically fall out.
In looking around the neighborhood, the neighbors’ boxes weren’t much better. Many boxes were slanted – some had splints to hold the post up. One neighbor even had duct tape wrapped around his mailbox to keep in on its post.
In fixing ours, we realized just how straightforward it was – and what a huge impact it had on our curb appeal. A little fresh paint and a brand new post made our beautiful orange tulips finally feel at home. A mailbox makeover is a simple project that you can do in a weekend, and it will definitely impress the neighborhood.
And, if your mailbox looked anything like ours did, I’m sure your mailman will be a happy camper.
Check out our mailbox makeover tutorial.
Just as you want to look your best before a party or before leaving for work, your home’s appearance is important too. Your house’s façade is always on display for everyone to see.
This spring, it might be time to take care of that leaning mailbox or give your front door a fresh coat of paint.
If you aren’t sure where to start, choose one project and set aside one weekend. With our step-by-step tutorials, we guide you through these DIY outdoor projects, sharing tips, tricks, and what worked for us.
You may even be surprised at the massive impact it has on your home’s curb appeal.
Check out our four favorites – a photobook of commonly-used sayings, quotations from various countries of travel, a Seinfeld-themed book, and special occasion photobooks. Then, see how you can easily make a DIY photo book for the ones you love.
The sayings were so funny to hear. I mean Ash talking in a Jamaican accent alone was cracking me up.
Here are a few from Jamaica – Ash loves the picture on the right of the photo book. He’s climbing a fallen tree after a huge hurricane hit.
The DIY photo book went all the way to present day in New York. I just adore the wedding picture of my sister-in-law and father-in-law with the phrase, “Anything can happen in a New York minute.” So beautiful and true 🙂
We included photos with all the grandchildren and phrases like “hold your horses” and “pretty darn quick” that are unique to the United States.
The photo below is one of my favorites. We were at a family get together and someone took this candid shot of us. I mean, look at each of those faces! After all these years, we finally found the perfect Seinfeld quote to go with it.
And, of course, we had to include “close-talker” in the DIY photo book.
We tried to limit the quotes and photos in the picture book to 30 in honor of 30 years. Yet, with all of the funny Seinfeld quotes and pictures we had collected, 30 was a drop in the bucket. The Seinfeld DIY photo book ended up being much longer (and hilarious).
To keep everything organized in the DIY photo books, as far as quotes and pictures, we used Google docs. You can easily share this with others. So, we made a simple spreadsheet of quotes and then wrote a description of picture we planned to use. This kept everything organized and sequenced properly.
I love having my son make things for others. Even more, I love having him create something with a specific person in mind – say Nana – he’ll pick out all of the colors Nana likes, the stickers she likes, and create something special with her in mind. I think it teaches such an important lesson.
How to Make Tissue Paper Suncatchers
Materials for Tissue Paper Suncatchers
I usually keep a stack of small dollar store bins or buckets in my office/craft room. I use these to organize our kids crafts as they are happening. For example, I’ll have scissors/pens in one bin, tissue paper in another bin, etc.
Preparation
Next, you will need two pieces of contact paper of roughly the same size for each suncatcher. You can prepare these ahead of time or cut as you go.
You can turn this into a fun sorting activity – and have your child sort the colors into piles.
Oddly enough, my son’s favorite colors are brown and black. Every time he goes to make a card for someone, he colors in brown or black marker. His Easter cards featured a cute pastel bunny with black and brown scribbles across it. 😉
After we covered enough of the surface of the contact paper with tissue, it was time to put the second sheet of contact paper down.
I used a regular pen and drew lightly, in case any lines were still there after I cut.
As an alternative to this, you can draw your shape or picture right onto the contact paper. I freehanded a train for his train-loving Pop.
Once we were finished drawing the shape, I cut it out. While I cut, my son picked the next cookie cutter shape. Then, we taped each one to the window.
Depending upon how old your children are, they might be able to do most of this themselves, and you can just supervise. My son is still little, but I very much made him a part of every step.
We are giving them to family members to go with the thank you notes for my son’s Easter goodies; yet, the tissue paper suncatchers would also serve as a perfect mother’s day gift for mom or grandma or a father’s day gift, too.
1. Choose 3-5 DIY party ideas and that’s it.
For my friend’s son’s 
Definitely browse Pinterest or Google images to see what’s been done before. This will help you to brainstorm or even emulate ideas.
Also, prioritize your list, so that if you don’t get to everything, you aren’t disappointed.
For kids’ DIY parties, think easy. Kids love coloring or craft stations, playing with trucks in the sand, or having an egg race.
I had all of the decorations and games finished early, so the week of the party, I could focus on cooking and cleaning.
Speaking of the Dollar Tree, it wouldn’t be a section on shopping smart without mentioning that this chain has the best selection of all the dollar stores. Dollar Tree has all kinds of books and games. Their party section doesn’t disappoint: table cloths, paper products in various colors, pom-poms, and all kinds of other party goodies.
Bunny Bag Materials:
Burlap Banner Materials:
You could also use the popsicle stick markers to create little signs for the hunt – such as follow the path to the backyard signs or “Bunny Crossing” signs. They are another easy Easter craft that you could do with your kids.
5. Popsicle Stick Bunny Easter Crafts
6. Card Stock Banner
Card Stock Banner Materials:
1. Raised Planter Box with a Rain Barrel
With the gardening tools, outdoor toys and furniture, and riding mower moved to the shed, our garage is much more organized.
In our second home, we had no direct path from our patio into the yard. It was more like a downhill, rocky nature walk.
Both backyard projects took a weekend or less and definitely had impacting results.
If you are looking to make your life a little easier throughout the warmer months, think about undertaking one of these DIY backyard projects.
Materials for the Burlap Banner:
How to Make a Burlap Banner
Making the Stencil
For the stripes, I used strips of scotch tape to create the lines. Then, I just dabbed on the green paint onto the burlap.
I also recommend doing a test with the colors/stencils you will be using. I tried a few different shades of green to see what would work best – and a few different shapes to see how they would look. 
Pictured below is the edge of my desk, with my stencil and scotch tape strips. Rather than use a ridiculous amount of tape, I used the same four strips over and over, and I hung them here while not in use.
I also went back and forth with painting a shamrock, then stripes – this gave the stencils/tape a little dry time before more use.
Connecting the Pennants
So, I lined up my stripes and shamrocks in the order I liked and flipped them over for gluing.
I LOVED the way the sign turned out – it was so festive and added much more to our mantel than some of the store-bought St. Patrick’s Day decorations.
It was a total naptime creation, with time to spare 🙂
So, when my sister suggested making a real Mr. Potato Head craft as a St. Patrick’s Day activity, I knew he would love it!
Decorating the Mr. Potato Head Craft
For the St. Patrick’s Day hat, I simply used card stock. I cut a circle for the best, and then I rolled another piece into a cylinder. I centered the cylinder on the base and taped it on top.
Then, we decided to paint the cotton orange, in an effort to make our Mr. Potato Head craft look more like a leprechaun.
I did have trouble getting the potatoes to stand up straight. I had wished I cut off the bottom to make a flat surface, but I’m sure this would have shortened their shelf life.
Overall, our Mr. Real Potato Head craft was definitely a success. My son had a ball preparing for the craft, making REAL potato heads, and playing with his new, clumsy figures.
For the truck, I picked bright colors to contrast the blue background. Then, I found a clipart truck that looked like it had simple angles and cuts and then I draw it freehand on felt.
Truck Photo Booth Prop
For the paints, I used the below acrylic paints. I loved the colors together.
I did two quick coats of paint – so you couldn’t see the cardboard anymore. Two coats also made the colors pop.
Last, Ash made the adorable license plate – by simply grabbing a license plate image and using Photoshop (you can use paint too) to write on it.
If you’re still wondering what kind of party to throw your little guy, don’t overlook a truck party. These simple DIYs were easy to make, cost little-to-nothing, and blew the guests away!