Eileen

10 Day Living Room and Dining Room Makeover Reveal

September 3, 2017 by Eileen 52 Comments

Do you ever watch those HGTV shows just wishing they would come and make over your home? Well, have I got a story for you.

My parents recently went on vacation, and my sister decided to renovate their home while they were gone – in just 10 days. I’m talking ripping up the carpet, peeling the layers and layers of wall paper from the 1970s, painting the walls, and installing new flooring.

My sister’s timeline was a little crazy, so she had to have a little help from us – but the results were phenomenal.

When my parents returned, they were completely shocked. Of course, they loved it and were so happy to not have to tackle these projects themselves.

So, here are the before and afters, along with the details, of the 10-day home renovation challenge.

First up is the living room makeover. Below is a before picture, showing the view looking in from the hallway.

Such a difference, right?! Here’s another view of the living room before and after pictures.

Last, here are befores and afters of the dining room.

The difference is pretty incredible! In just 10 days, my sister, along with some help, was able to rip down layers and layers of wall paper, fix up the walls, paint the walls, rip up carpeting, and lay down new flooring during this dining and living room makeover project.

Preparing for the Renovation

The living room and dining room renovation was a complete surprise to my parents. After they left for their vacation, the first order of business was to prepare the rooms.

First, we took pictures of all of the photo arrangements and knick-knacks, so they could be placed back properly. This is a good idea even if you are working in your own house. This way you can put everything back exactly the way you had it.

Then, we moved most of the furniture out of the rooms. Any furniture that was too heavy got moved to the center of the room. It would also be a good idea to cover it with plastic.

Next, we removed the outlet and light switch covers – which were later replaced with clean white covers, as opposed to old gold ones. Small changes like this have a huge impact.

Since the plan was to first remove the wallpaper and then remove the old carpeting, the floors didn’t need to be covered.

It was then time to start ripping down the layers of wallpaper.

Removing the Wallpaper

The first, and most grueling task of the living room makeover project, was undoubtedly removing the wallpaper. The first layer came off in huge sheets, which was unfortunately not indicative of how the rest of the wallpaper peeling went.

It would have been magical if that was the only layer of wallpaper. However, underneath that top layer was more wallpaper – uneven, stubborn wallpaper.

Removing Stubborn Wallpaper

To remove the stubborn wallpaper, it was necessary to use a steamer. At first, we used a portable hand steamer, but it was taking too long. To make matters worse, the handheld steamer was cordless, so we kept having to take breaks to charge it.

Productivity was so slow that we looked into renting a bigger one from Home Depot. It turns out that it was cheaper just to buy a steamer than rent it.

And, it was totally worth it.

The wall steamer was much better than the portable one, and it came with an enclosure to confine the steam to the wall, which greatly improved the efficiency of removing the wallpaper.

As we were steaming, we used a paint scraper to get underneath the wallpaper and peel it off. Use a flat blade though, to avoid damaging the wall.

After all of the wallpaper was removed, we found any holes and cracks and filled them with dry wall compound.

Once the compound was dry, we went over the walls with the sander to smooth everything done and get the walls ready for painting.

As you can imagine, the sanding made a huge mess. So make sure you have things covered or completely moved.

Throughout the dining room and living room makeover, we used the Shop Vac to clean up all of the debris. It was great at getting the fine pieces (and came in handy later with the carpet removal too).

Removing the Carpet

Removing the wallpaper was eating up more of the timeline than we thought. How awful would it be if we hadn’t finished the dining and living room makeover before my parents came home?!

On top of that, trash day was coming, so we were anxious to get rid of all the garbage that we could. We didn’t want to leave heaps of trash for my parents.

So, Ash started removing the carpet while my sisters continued on with the wallpaper. Luck was on our side with the trash company too, as they took carpet in 4ft rolls. That greatly helped.

This old pink carpet that covered both the living and dining room had seen better days, and we couldn’t wait to get rid of it. Aside from the dust, the carpet removal wasn’t too bad.

Ash started with a corner and pulled it up with some vice grips. While pulling, he also started cutting it into strips to help with cleanup afterward.

The carpet was not too dusty, but the padding underneath was full of dust. So a dust mask was critical in the process. The padding was nailed down in numerous areas, so care had to be taken to remove all the nails.

Also, there were tacking strips along the perimeter of the rooms that needed removal as well. They were full of rusty nails so extra care was taken when removing them.

Ash found that a pry bar worked best to remove the tacking strips. After all the carpet, padding, tacking strips and nails were removed, the Shop Vac was used to give the floor a good cleaning.

Here is the dining room, minus the old carpeting.

Painting the Walls

While Ash was removing carpeting and my sisters were working on the walls, it was time to start thinking about painting. After all, the perfect color is one of the best things about room makeovers.

Choosing Paint Colors

So, my sweet little helper and I took a trip to our local paint store. We love Benjamin Moore paint – the odor is minimal and their colors are simply the best. My little guy loves our outings, especially loves the paint store – because if he’s a sweetheart, I let him choose a paint chip to take home 🙂

We brought a sample of the new floor along to the store, to hold up to various paint colors and help us determine the colors for the dining and living room makeover.

Not only are Benjamin Moore paint chips 100% representative of the color your wall will be (which unfortunately isn’t the case with all other paints) but the quality and sheen of their paint is amazing. We tend to go with the Natura collection because this puts the least amount of chemicals into the air.

If you think choosing paint colors is hard, imagine choosing them for someone else.

As if I’m not indecisive enough, I went back and forth trying to decide what colors to choose. The dining room had a chair rail, so I needed one color for the top and one for the bottom. The living room needed just one color, and the hallway didn’t need paint – as it was freshly painted a few summers ago.

Lucky for me, my parents love the color green, so I just needed to pick a shade. I went with Benjamin Moore Feather Green, which had more of a white base than a gray base. For the second color, I chose White Dove, which is my favorite of the whites that Benjamin Moore makes.

Priming and Painting the Walls

Once the wallpaper was finally down and the walls were patched, sanded, and ready to go, it was time to start painting. This was quite a milestone in the dining and living room makeover project!

So, after taping off the ceilings and the chair rail, my sisters painted a nice thick layer of primer.

After the primer in the living room and dining room, it was time to move onto painting the walls green. We did two coats of the green.
With the dining room chair rail, we decided to paint the lower portion White Dove and the higher portion Feather Green. It turned out really pretty.

The chair rail and tape didn’t leave the neatest edge, so in hindsight, we really should have pulled it off and then put it back.

Feather green already brightened the room so much. The dining room and living room makeover project was well on its way, with just a few days to spare.

Installing Laminate Flooring

To keep everything moving along during the dining and living room makeover, Ash started to work on the flooring in the dining room, while my sister finished painting the living room.

Ash loved working on the flooring – he found it really fun to work on. And, I love the way the laminate flooring turned out. It was so much prettier than carpet, and the white baseboard was the perfect touch. Now I’m thinking about where we can incorporate laminate flooring in our house 🙂

Laying Down the Laminate Flooring

As far as installation, the laminate was pretty easy to install. The pieces fit together like a large jigsaw puzzle.

Each alternating row was offset by half the length of a full piece. Not only did this add to the visual appeal, but it was essential for a rigid floor structure.

The laminate flooring tools (pull bars and tapping blocks) were heavily relied upon to get the pieces in place. 1/8″ spacers were also used along the perimeter of the wall to enforce a gap to allow for floor expansion during different times of the year.

The gaps were going to be covered by baseboard trim later on. Ash will have a full post on installing the laminate flooring soon. 🙂

Tackling the Tiles in the Hallway

The hallway tiles proved to be very labor intensive. The problem was that there was another layer of plywood sheathing nailed into the subfloor, followed by the vinyl tiles.

The plywood sheathing was there to raise the height of the floor so the tiles would be even with other room surfaces.

Unfortunately, it was a huge pain removing this second layer of plywood. It did not come up very easy. Yet, we endured and got all the plywood and tiles removed.

Installing Baseboard

Baseboard was the easiest part of this dining and living room makeover. It was just a matter of measuring all the walls that needed baseboard, and buying the appropriate amount from Home Depot.

We pre-painted all the baseboard pieces. Once they were dry, Ash used the miter saw to cut 45 degree angles on the ends of the pieces. These angled cuts would create scarf joints between the baseboard segments.

Scarf joints are ideal for trim because they hide the seam pretty well.

Finally, Ash attached the baseboard to the walls with some construction adhesive and a few taps from the finishing nail gun.

Cleaning Up and Organizing

From start to finish, the Shop Vac came in handy the whole project – from vacuuming up the dust and wallpaper scraps, to any nails left behind from the carpet removal.

After all of the work was done, we went over everything again with the Shop Vac. Then, we used a wet swiffer to get up more lingering dust. There was dust everywhere – so when preparing for the makeover, definitely move (or cover) everything really well.

While my sister and Ash were hard at work finishing up, I was looking for a way to organize the floor samples and paint colors for my parents.

Rather than toss them in an envelope, I created home improvement printables and placed them in a binder with the samples. This way, they knew exactly what paint color, floor, baseboard, etc that we used.

Get Your Free Home Improvement Printables

If you are thinking about a home renovation project, or are just trying to keep your projects organized, you can get your free home improvement printables below. They will undoubtedly help you keep track of your paint colors, cabinet choices, home repairs, and more.

The Moment of Truth

When my parents returned from their vacation, they were so amazed at their home. They loved the flooring, the walls, and they were happy to see that old carpet gone.

Moreover, they were ecstatic to come home to a completely updated living room and dining room. My mom has been enjoying going around with the swiffer, instead of the vaccum in the mornings. She had fun gathering braided rugs that my grandma made to compliment the new flooring. And, my dad said he feels like he wakes up in a dream 🙂 Isn’t that a sweet compliment?!

So, if you find yourself watching one of those HGTV shows wishing for your own renovation, know that you can do it yourself. Now is as good a time as ever to start working on those tasks.

Removing wallpaper, ripping up carpet, painting walls, and laying down new flooring are all things you can tackle yourself. And, you’ll be so happy that you did.

How to Make an Amazing DIY Lamp from Anything

July 23, 2017 by Eileen 51 Comments

I love when inspiration strikes – especially when it makes for an awesome DIY project.

When we put my grandma’s house on the market, we did a ton of cleaning, emptying, selling, and donating.

One of the last things left was a homemade fishing lamp that was set aside for my uncle who enjoyed fishing. He wasn’t interested in the lamp, so on closing day, my dad grabbed the lamp on his way out of the door. It was the very last item left.

That’s when the inspiration came.

My dad does not fish – however, he is a model train collector, and he noticed that the base of the lamp would perfectly fit one of his trains.

So, he repurposed the old fisherman’s lamp into a train lamp, rewiring it with a three-way light switch that toggles the main lamp light as well as a train cabin light.

How cool is that?!

My dad’s friends loved his repurposed lamp so much that my dad decided to make one from scratch for his friend’s birthday.

How to Make a Lamp

Today, we are sharing how to make this amazing DIY lamp. Ash made the base, and my dad did the rest. For clarity, we’ll state all the directions in first person point of view. Without further ado, here are all of the details on how you can make a DIY lamp too.

You can use any item or model that you’d like 🙂

DIY Lamp Materials

Model for lamp
Piece of 2 x 10 for base
2 x 1 ¼ wood for lamp pole
Electrical lamp components (3 way 2-circuit socket switch and threaded lamp pipe)
Lamp wiring, shade and bulbs

How to Make the Base of the DIY Lamp

First I started with the base of this DIY lamp. It is 15 ½” by 9.” Depending upon what model that you are putting on the lamp, it can be larger or smaller. I used a train that was nearly 12″ long so these measurements worked out perfectly.

To make the base, I started with a rectangular block of scrap wood (cut from a 2×10 board). My plan was to shape it into an oval, route a groove around the top perimeter and sand it smooth.

To get a perfect oval, I used the computer. I created an oval in software, printed it and laid the cutout on the scrap wood. I then outlined the cutout with a pencil.

With a perfect oval outline on the wood, I made a rough cut with the jigsaw. Then, I used an orbital sander to smooth the edges.

When I was happy with the result, I used my plunge router with a quarter round bit and cut a groove around the edge to give the oval a professional touch.

To finish the base, I used the orbital sander once again to smooth the flat surfaces.

Here is the completed base:

How to Make the Lamp Pole

Next was the lamp pole. The pole was 2 1/2″ by 1 1/2″ by 8 1/4″ high upright. So, 2″ by 1 ¼ ” wood could be used. When choosing your model to go on the base, keep in mind the height of the pole, as it might need to be greater to allow room above the model and below the shade in order to reach lamp switch.

First, mark the center of each end of the upright wood pole. Then carefully drill from both ends. Use a level, so that holes drilled closely align in the middle.

A small round file is helpful if the holes do not align.

I used 3/8″ drill, as it perfectly allowed for a standard threaded lamp pipe to fit snugly in the hole.

Here’s the threaded lamp pipe inserted into the pole.

Applying Finish

After that, stain and then polyurethane both pieces of wood. I did two coats of stain on the base and it was perfect.

I let the stain, and then polyurethane each dry overnight.

Additional Lamp Pole Work

Returning to the lamp pole, on the side that is to be the back of the lamp, I drilled a 5/16 hole. This hole was made at a 45 degree angle about 1” from the bottom. I drilled until it connected with the existing ⅜ hole.

Then, on the front side of the pole, drill a very similar hole, about 2″ from the bottom.

Here’s one of the 45 degree holes I made:

Assembling the Electrical Parts

Next, I threaded the electrical lamp cord (stranded) into both holes until there are a few inches of each above the top end of the wood.

Next, I aligned the electrical lamp components.

Note that the socket has to be the type with a three-way switch. This way it will work both it’s own socket and a remote one sequentially.

The spacer and the socket bottom will thread into the threaded lamp piece that will be inserted into the wood.

Attaching the Lamp Pole

Once that is done, I centered the upright wooden lamp pole at the rear of the base.

Then, trace the outline with a pencil. Divide that shape in two, and locate the center of each of the two halves.

Afterward, drill pilot holes through the base at those spots.

Next, turn the base over, and enlarge the holes. However, they should be a diameter less than that of the screws to be used. So, use a countersink drill bit so that the wood screw heads will be recessed.

Then, insert the screws until they protrude slightly from the top side.

Afterward, set the post in position so that the screw tips mark the underside of the post where the screws will enter the bottom of that post.

Next, drill screw holes in bottom of the post where marked, and hold the two pieces of wood together tightly while screws are tightened.

I used 2 1/2″ wood screws due to thickness of the base. If post is not level due to any warp in the base, insert a shim under the post or remove post and trim its bottom surface.

Assembling the Lamp Parts

Next, you want to very carefully read the instructions that came with the socket.

With both wires extended through the threaded lamp pipe and the socket base, push the pipe down into the wood base. If it doesn’t fit tightly, put some wood glue on the threads first.

Next, very neatly wire the socket exactly as the instructions state, noting which wire will go to the wall outlet and which to the model.

After, put the metal cover on the socket, and slowly pull the excess wires at both small holes at the base of the posts.

Then, I snapped the socket cover into its base. Make sure that the lamp switch is to the right side.

Customizing the Model

Next, I disassembled the model I was building into the lamp. I used the mounting holes in the small socket as a template for drilling holes in the floor of the model for screws to attach the socket.

Also, I drilled a hole for the electrical wire to enter the model.

With the small socket attached to the model with screws, washers, and nuts, use a pair of 5″ or longer twist ties to securely fasten the model’s axles to the rear rail of the track.

Next, I installed the small frosted light bulb into model’s socket. You could also consider taping thin yellow plastic sheet pieces over the insides of the model’s windows to dim glare.

Finishing the Lamp

After, install the lamp cord plug for wall outlet, allowing about 6′ of cord.

Then, reassemble the model, adding the lamp shade and a standard light bulb.

Here is the finished DIY lamp, featuring a model train.

Here is the finished DIY lamp along with the repurposed lamp that was previously a fishing lamp. Not bad, right?! The best part is that now that you know how to make a DIY lamp – you can make one with any kind of model. The sky’s the limit!

Beach Printables for Summertime Decor

July 13, 2017 by Eileen

We are in the midst of a heatwave over here – it’s hot, muggy, humid, and I’m trying to spend as much time as I can indoors – blasting the air conditioning. A better idea would be to head to the beach, as it’s perfect beach weather.

Today for our Summer Blog Hop, our friend Victoria at Dazzled While Frazzled is sharing her love and her printables for the beach. She created gorgeous summertime beach printables that she’s giving away on her blog that capture the true essence of beach season in the summertime.

Victoria used these summertime beach printables to create a seasonal gallery and even gives a few tips on how to create a theme wall. I LOVE her ideas – especially the baking tray one. Head on over to her blog to check out the printables and tips.

Be sure to hop on over to Victoria’s blog for her summer printables!

Here are some fun facts about Victoria:

Who is the most intelligent person you know? My husband is pretty street smart and has a great way of dealing with people. I admire his ease of making conversation with anyone and remaining calm in the face of *junk*.

If you could time travel, would you go to the past or the future? I’d love to go back to the Roaring ‘40s. I absolutely love how the women dressed.

If you are just joining us for our Summer Blog Hop, every summer Monday and Thursday we are sharing DIY inspiration from 10 awesome crafty bloggers. We’ve shared some great DIY projects so far and have a lot more coming!

2017 Summer Blog Hop Co-Hosts:

From Play Dates to Parties
JENerally Informed
Hey Fitzy
Dazzle While Frazzled
Just Measuring Up
Health, Home, and Heart
Crafting a Family
A Purdy Little House
Confessions of a Mommyaholic
The No Pressure Life
Flourish and Knot

If you missed any of our Summer Blog Hop posts, they are listed below! Remember to come back on Monday for more DIY inspiration.

10 Ways to Save on Amazon Prime Day

July 10, 2017 by Eileen 16 Comments

Over here, we a little Amazon-Prime-obsessed.

Our mudroom always has Amazon boxes in it, waiting to emptied or waiting to be recycled.

I mean, when you have two little kids in diapers with nap times that span the whole day, there’s no easier way to shop for what you need.

Not only that, we’ve gotten some pretty cool tools and DIY-related things on Amazon.

So, Prime Day is like our birthday.

And what better way to celebrate than to share with you 10 ways to save on Amazon Prime Day.

Be Prepared

Amazon Prime Day starts on July 16th at 3pm. Mark your calendar!

Think About How You Can Save

Think about things you need to buy now or in the future, so you can get the most out of the discounts. Is there a tool you’ve had your eye on? Are their Christmas present ideas that could help you with early shopping? Think about how you can best benefit from the deals.

Become a Prime Member

If you aren’t a Prime Member, you can sign up for a 30 day FREE trial. You can’t beat that!

Download the Amazon App for Automatic Discount

If you’ve never downloaded the Amazon app before (and you are a prime member), you’ll get a one-time $10 discount off your purchase.

Use the Amazon App to Unlock Discounts

If you’ve already downloaded the Amazon app, you won’t qualify for the above discount. However, there are more ways to save. For example, if you use the Camera Search within the app, you’ll get a $5 discount.

Take Advantage of Sneak Peeks

If you download the Amazon app, you can get sneak peeks on the deals and set up alerts ahead of time.

Install Amazon Assistant

If you’re a Prime member and you install Amazon Assistant (to get desktop notifications on deals), you’ll get $5 off your purchase of $25.

“Watch” the Deals

Once Prime Day starts, you’ll see tons of deals – some will be advertised before they start. You can click “watch” and then you’ll get notified right before the deal goes live.

Don’t Forget About Whole Foods

Not only will Whole Foods be offering some exclusive deals, but Prime members are getting 10% off their entire purchase at Whole Foods on Amazon Prime Day. Whoa!

Check Other Stores

Other big stores like Home Depot or Lowes tend to also run sales on Prime Day, so don’t forget to check out what they have to offer too, especially if you’re looking for a particular item.

There are definitely some awesome ways to save this year, so definitely try and take advantage of them. I know that we will be! And, come back to our blog on Amazon Prime Day because we will be sharing the best DIY deals with you!

Click here for even more Prime Day shopping tips.

The Secret to Organizing Home Projects & Repairs – Free Printables

June 29, 2017 by Eileen 48 Comments

While in the paint store the other day, a lady looked at my samples and said to me with a smile, “Choosing a paint color is more difficult than buying a car.”

I laughed, looking down at my dozens of shades of blues and greens.

I was sitting in the paint store with my toddler (who behaves perfectly when he gets to choose his own paint chip at the end) looking through samples of whites and greens, in an attempt to choose colors for my parents’ living and dining room.

Also in hand, I had a sample of the flooring we were putting in, and I was trying to envision the white chair rail running through the dining room. It was a little overwhelming!

You see, my sister decided to redo my parents living room and dining room while they were on vacation, so we were making all of the remodeling choices, leaving my desk looking like this:

Rather than dumping all the paint chips and floor samples in a drawer, I wanted to have everything organized for my parents – so they could see the exact paint colors and flooring sample we used, for their own reference. Thus, my DIY home improvement printables were born!

Wouldn’t it be nice to have a place to store your paint chips and room samples along with notes on the work you did or had done in your home? Heck yeah! And, I needed this organization for my own home too.

Keep Your Home Improvement Efforts Organized

I created these free DIY home improvement printables that I used for my parents house as well as my home – to store all of the home improvement updates in one, easy-to-access place.

Not only will the home improvement printables keep a reference of paint colors and floor samples, but it serves as a record for all of your house projects and repairs. I divided the worksheets into three categories – interior, exterior, and appliances.

You can keep a log of the home improvement work you or your contractor completed by room (including walls, floors, cabinets, countertops). This serves as your paint color reference too.

You can keep your exterior work organized (tree work, siding, roof, etc), and appliance maintenance (including when they were serviced/replaced and contractor information). The DIY home improvement printables keep all of these records organized in one place.

Also, you can download all of the worksheets in one download, or you can download just the pages you need, but these printables will have you organized in no time!

Simply hole punch them or put the printables in a sheet protector and place them in a binder, according to section. You can also keep contractor receipts and records, stored behind the log of the work done.

No more digging through file folders looking for the contractor that installed your fans. No more searching the garage for that leftover can of paint that may or may not exist.

And, the best part?

Down the road, when you go to put your house on the market, you can leave out the bound home improvement printables for your showings. It will show prospective buyers that you took great care of your home and are leaving them with information that goes above and beyond.

With all of the time you spend updating your home – choosing paint colors, installing new flooring, researching contractors, you owe it to yourself to keep all of this home improvement information in one easy-to-find place.

All of your home improvement updates, records, and files can be placed in this binder, in an organized, seamless fashion.

Easy DIY Wall Art for Kids Rooms

June 10, 2017 by Eileen 120 Comments

This post is sponsored by My Wonderful Walls. All opinions are entirely my own.

Recently, Ash and I have been getting a toddler room ready for our sweet little son, which means new furniture, new color schemes, and of course, new wall decorations. His nursery decorations were random things that I put together before he was born. So it was time to decorate with something he really enjoys. With all of the adorable (and expensive!) artwork out there for kids’ rooms, I decided to venture out and make my own.

My goal was to create something special to hang on his walls that he would treasure – and that I wouldn’t grow tired of later. So, with just a few key materials, I was able to create these adorable DIY canvas wraps. They are so simple to make! .

Giveaway has ended.

We are giving away a $50 gift card to My Wonderful Walls to one of our readers. The prize was provided by My Wonderful Walls.

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More Freebies

We love My Wonderful Walls products so much that we also have a 15% off coupon code for everyone. Just visit My Wonderful Walls and use JUNE15 at checkout (expiration June 30, 2017).

If you are the lucky winner of the giveaway, you can use the coupon code too. They have some awesome stickers, decals, and stencils 🙂

How to Make DIY Wall Art for Kids Rooms

I had this vision to create something with little effort that would also save others time and money on room decorations.

This vision included using gallery wraps or wrapped canvases. I wanted to avoid the hassle of frames – it’s a lot of work to pick out frames, mats, and work out sizing. As an added bonus, wrapped canvases are super easy to find at craft stores, usually are on sale, and definitely save money- as frames and mats are much more expensive. Plus, I was happy to avoid having a bunch of glass frames hanging in my son’s room.

Next, I searched high and low looking for wall stickers or wall decals that I liked. Yet, rather than stick these directly to the walls to create a mural-like piece, my thinking was that I could easily stick these wall decals to the canvases. It would certainly make for a really simple but elegant project.

The problem? A lot of wall decals for kids look really cartoony. I wanted to find something that looked more authentic and artistic.

Then, I stumbled across My Wonderful Walls and LOVED the vehicle stickers they had. Their vehicle stickers have so many colors and details – they look almost textured. I fell in love with this rusty truck (pictured below). Isn’t it adorable?!

Also, their wall stickers were a really nice size and would definitely fill 9×12 and 8×10 canvases.

Materials for DIY Wall Art

Canvas Wraps – easily found at craft stores
Acrylic Paint – found at craft stores
Painter’s tape – only if painting stripes or chevron designs
Washi tape, if desired
Alphabet stickers, if desired – easy to find at craft stores
Vehicle Wall Stickers – from My Wonderful Walls (15% off using JUNE15 – exp. June 30, 2017)

Budget-Friendly Tip – When buying the canvases, paint, and other materials from the craft stores, check for sales and coupons before going. A lot of times the craft stores run 40%-60% off canvases. You could also use a coupon and buy a pack in bulk. Some craft stores even have surveys you can fill out that gives you a discount off of your next purchase.

In order to get the sizes right on the canvases, I waited to purchase the canvases until I received the stickers. Then, I took the vehicle decals to the craft store with me, so that I would get the canvas sizes right. The wall decals came in one long roll, so it was easy to bring to the store with me.

Because the vehicle stickers from My Wonderful Walls were a really nice size (and this was their mini kit), most of the canvases I bought were 9×12, 8×10, and a few 8x8s.

I also picked up a few little 4×6 canvases for the road signs. With all of the stickers and canvases, I definitely had enough to decorate a large room.

Making the Wall Decorations

After I had my materials together, I first cut out each wall sticker and placed it on the canvas that it would go on. I also arranged groups of canvases together to visualize how they would look on the wall.

Painting the Canvases

Time to paint! You could do this in a few different ways – you could just paint a solid background or you could create a design with painters tape – like stripes or chevron. You could even do polka dots, if you have adhesive circles! It’s up to you how creative you’d like to be.

I decided to opt for mostly solid backgrounds with a few striped canvases too. The solid background was easy to do. It took me two coats of acrylic paint. Be sure to paint the sides too – to give it the gallery wrap look.

Making the Perfect Stripes

Painting the stripes was a little more difficult, but I eventually got a perfect technique down. I would highly recommend using painter’s tape and nothing else, as you will get the strongest stick.

On my first attempt, I used painter’s tape and then painted the blue stripes – and I got a very imperfect line. After a bunch of experimenting (even tried gesso – which made no impact), this is how I got perfect stripes.

Place your painter’s tape on the canvas.
Next, use white acyrlic paint to seal the edges of the painters tape to the canvas. You are essentially creating a seal, so the intended color (blue in my case) doesn’t leak under the tape.
Wait a minute or two – but don’t let the white dry completely, and paint the stripe your intended color. Do a even stroke, going only one direction, so that your intended color doesn’t get underneath the tape.
Peel the tape off right away (after you are done with the top and bottom line). Once acrylic paint dries, it’s very plastery, so you want to remove the tape before the paint dries.

In the below picture, you can see the first stripe painted, with a perfectly straight line. Above that, you can see the white sealed edges along the green painter’s tape.

Now, some of my blue stripes were streaked with white from the seal I painted, but I much preferred going over the stripe again rather than having a jagged edge.

I also recommend having a practice canvas and painting short stripes, before attempting a good canvas. Once I had the routine down, each of my canvases came out perfect.

Decorating the Canvases

Now for the fun part! It was time to stick the vehicle wall decals to the canvases. The wall stickers were such great quality and so easy to work with. The stick was perfect – and they were easy to move when I changed my mind on placement.

Adding a Few Extras

One of the things I definitely wanted on the canvases was the name of the vehicle. My son is very visual and has taught himself lower case letters just from observation, so I figured if I passively have the names of the vehicles on the canvases, he will learn to spell.

So, I labeled as many vehicles as I could with the alphabet stickers I had. (This involved getting a little creative and “making” some letters).

Last, I felt that some of the canvases needed a little extra touch. I saw some cool washi tape at the craft store and added it to the canvases.

I’ve never used washi tape before, but I’ve seen so many cute creations with it that I thought I could use the washi tape to give the look of roads, construction signs, and railroads. It was the perfect touch!

Time & Cost

After collecting the materials, the DIY wall canvases took about one to two days to make, including dry time for the coats of paint. It was a super quick project.

The cost really depends on how many of the materials you need to purchase. If you have paint and alphabet stickers, then you’ll just need the canvases and stickers.

And, if you are interested in FREE wall decals, enter our giveaway – and you’ll be well on your way to making these adorable room decorations. Free wall decals plus the coupon code (JUNE15) will definitely save you money on the project 🙂

If you are looking for a simple tutorial to make DIY wall art for kids rooms, definitely consider this one. The materials were easy, the canvases were simple to put together, and they turned out great. You’ll definitely save money while creating something your children will adore.

4 Proven Ways to Sharpen Your Home’s Curb Appeal

May 25, 2017 by Eileen 51 Comments

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.

Awesome Ideas for Making DIY Photo Books

May 18, 2017 by Eileen 32 Comments

I absolutely adore photographs. My walls are covered with galleries of pictures – whether they date back to when my parents and grandparents were young or when my siblings and I were growing up.

Not to mention, Ash’s childhood pictures which are just amazing.

And, I simply adore looking back at pictures of our sweet son. It’s funny how quickly kids change.

Whether it’s a look back on one’s life in pictures or a little memory book of a fun day trip, DIY photo books are simply the sweetest gifts.

They spread love and laughter, bringing back all those happy memories that are forgotten in the day-to-day.

My sisters share my love for photos, and we love making picture albums with all kinds of DIY photo book ideas.

We love to choose some kind of theme with funny, silly, or relevant sayings that accompany the pictures. These photobooks are so unique and such a hit, as they turn out amazing!

Keep reading for all of our DIY photo book ideas!

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.

60 Photos, 60 Catchphrases

The first photo book my sisters and I made was a scrapbook style album for our mom’s 60th birthday. Over the years, our mom has coined so many cliches and phrases, so we used these sayings in the DIY photo book gift. 🙂

She always says “I’ll let you get going” but keeps talking. When passing a hay truck, she always asks if we made a wish. When seeing something that reminds her of her parents – our nanny and poppy who have passed- she always says, “You know who would have loved this…” 🙂

And growing up, there was the saying I used to dread. At the end of the weekend or a vacation from school, she would always say in a bummed out tone, “Back to reality.” Boy did that snap us right back…

So, my sisters and I brainstormed all of the the phrases we could (this involved a few phone calls and visits to mom to jog our memories) and picked our favorite 60 phrases.

Then, we went through all of the photos – past and present – and matched the phrases with relevant pictures. This was especially entertaining. Looking through piles and albums of old photos was a blast – and we were cracking up matching photos with mom’s sayings.

We found one of mom cleaning the dishes for “The kitchen is closed,” a picture with all of us standing with our coats on for “I’ll let you get going,” an old first day of school picture for “Back to reality,” a picture of us playing in the hay for “Did you make a wish,” and many more.

Then, we put the pictures in chronological order, so it was like a real photo album, telling the story of the past 60 years in the DIY photo book.

As far as the design for the DIY photo book, we made this book like a scrapbook, printing the pictures and gluing them down.

We even printed each saying in a unique font. For example, the school pictures had a font made of pencils and the “Ok ty <3” text message was written in a typewritten font. I love how much character that fonts add, so this definitely made for a nice touch.

The DIY photo book turned out amazing. Not only does my mom treasure it, but the photo book always gives us a good laugh too. It’s such a fun way to put together a collection of photos from the past.

4 Countries, 40 Years of Marriage

With my in-law’s 40th anniversary coming up, my sister-in-law and I decided to make mom and dad a photo book too. Ash and his family have had the unique experience of living in four countries. Each of these places had their own sayings, dialects, and cliches.

Ash, my sister-in-law, and I picked out sayings that were common to those countries. Then, we paired them with pictures of his family at that time. I absolutely love the way this DIY photo book turned out!

The sayings were so funny to hear. I mean Ash talking in a Jamaican accent alone was cracking me up.

The DIY photo book started in Guyana, referring to spicy curry and roti.

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 DIY photo book turned out so cute – and was such a beautiful montage of all the experiences and memories of the past 40 years in four countries.

Seinfeld Quotes Paired with Pictures

With my sister turning 30, we planned a surprise party that was Seinfeld-themed. When discussing how to make it special, my mom said, “Why not make her one of those nice photobooks?”

So, we did exactly that.

We ran with the Seinfeld theme, using dozens of hilarious quotes from the television show and pairing them with pictures of Bridget over the years. The DIY picture book turned out awesome.

We started the photos chronologically, beginning with a baby picture of her and our Nanny, quoting the Seinfeld episode from The Hamptons.

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).

Special Occasion Books

As a thank you to grandparents or friends going on a day trip or vacation, I love making a cute book of the pictures we took.

We recently went on a trip to a train museum and petting zoo, and it was a really perfect day. To thank my parents, we made them a little memory photobook with our favorite pictures from the day. They LOVED it.

There weren’t any fancy quotes in this one – just some cute designs and fun pictures.

How to Make a DIY Photo Book

You have so many options when creating your DIY photo books. We have made so many of these, so we have plenty of tips to share!

Digital Photo Books or Scrapbook Photo Books

You can make your DIY books either digitally or scrap book style.

I find digitally to be a little faster. It takes a little bit of time to arrange layouts, but it’s fun to pick layouts and embellishments. And, my time is much better spent creating something cool rather than on my newsfeed 🙂

I like using Walgreens for photobooks. You can use same-day pickup on some items (check which items for your local store before starting your book). The hardcover photobooks tend to be better quality when you have them sent to your home instead of same-day. Yet, if you are running short on time, same-day pick up is a great option for your DIY photobooks.

If you are working on the project with someone else, like a sister or friend who doesn’t live close, you can both log in to work on the photo book before printing.

Also, definitely search google for a Walgreen’s coupon code. They always run deals, so you will do well with the price of photo books.

You can also make the book scrapbook style. Albums can be ordered on Amazon or picked up at a craft store with a coupon. We made my mom’s DIY photo book this way, and it was nice because each of my three sisters and me had a role.

One of my sisters printed the photos with her 4×6 photo printers. (It’s awesome!! We always have her printing pictures for us 🙂 One of us bought the stickers, album, and embellishments, one of us printed all the quotes in cool fonts, and another sister put everything together.

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.

DIY Photo Album Ideas

As far as themes for the sayings or quotations for your photobooks, you can be as creative as you want. Think about your recipient’s life and interests, and I’m sure something great will come to mind.

DIY photo books also make a great gift for father’s day and mother’s day. You could pair photos of your kids with funny things they say (I should make this for Ash!). It doesn’t have to be a grandiose book – a collection of 10-20 photographs in the picture album will turn out wonderfully.

Why You Should Make Photo Books

With today’s technology and everything being digital, it’s hard to find time to organize and print photo albums. Dropboxes and clouds (wherever they are) are filled with hundreds of pictures that aren’t looked at often.

This is exactly why I love making photo albums for others as gifts. And, exactly why these picture gifts are adored so much.

DIY photo book gifts are simply awesome presents to give. Not only will your recipients love the collection of pictures, but they’ll just adore the cute or funny sayings you included too. My mom, sister, and in-laws absolutely LOVED the photo books.

So much, that my sister is already asking for an addendum with more Seinfeld quotes and pictures 🙂

I can’t tell you how many laughs the Seinfeld book got – or how much my mom chuckles looking back at her photos and her sayings.

And who couldn’t use more laughter and love in their life?

For other gift ideas, check out our ice cream sundae gift basket and our Valentine’s Day Scavenger Hunt.

How to Make Tissue Paper Suncatchers

April 27, 2017 by Eileen 28 Comments

Do you ever try to do a craft with your kids and it ends up a complete fail? Either it doesn’t turn out anything like you pictured, or it was too complicated for your kids, or it was more work than it was worth?

Boy, have I been there. Having been an inner city teacher and now a mom of an active toddler, I have quickly learned to keep activities simple.

Today I’m sharing how to make tissue paper suncatchers with your kids. It’s an easy craft that turns out really cute! And, you can use cookie cutters – another favorite among kids.

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.

And the suncatcher activity was so great because he got to pick out a special shape for everyone – Nana got a cowgirl boot 🙂

As an added bonus, the tissue paper suncatchers are a cute little gift – not that I don’t love his usual scribbles on paper – I really, really do. I just don’t think others appreciate them like I do 😉

How to Make Tissue Paper Suncatchers

My quick cheat for this kids craft was using cookie cutters for the shapes. This saved a ton of time, which would have otherwise been spent drawing lopsided stars, and it added another element of fun to the project. It makes for an organized workspace.

Materials for Tissue Paper Suncatchers

Tissue Paper – I went to Dollar Tree – one of my favorite stores for crafts, holidays, and other $1 treasures and stocked up on some cool tissue paper. I got some basic colors as well as a few patterns and speckled ones.
Clear Contact Paper – You can probably get this a few dollars cheaper at the craft store with a coupon, but in a pinch, Amazon is amazing.
Cookie Cutters – optional – but they certainly made the project simple. Plus, you can use them for lots of other crafty projects. I got these cookie cutters as a Christmas gift from Ash when we were first dating, and I use them ALL the time for my crafts. There are so many shapes and choices, including holiday and every day items.
Scissors
Pen

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.

Instructions for Tissue Paper Suncatchers

The tissue paper suncatcher kids craft was very simple. Depending upon the age of your kids, you may be more of less involved. A toddler would need an adult to be hands on, whereas a grade schooler could work mainly independently.

Preparation

First, I cut tissue paper into strips. You don’t have to cut too much. I did one or two strips of each color. To include my toddler, I gave him his scissors and some strips of tissue paper.

I love these scissors because they have a little lever, which makes it easier for him to open and close the scissors. I cut his tissue strips extra narrow, so he could practice cutting.

He loves to use scissors because he doesn’t get to use them all the time. So, cutting just a few pieces made him super excited. 🙂

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.

Making the Suncatchers

I peeled the back off of just one sheet of contact paper, and taped all four sides down to the table. The reason I did this was because my son is young, and I didn’t want the contact paper constantly sticking to him and moving. I try to keep our crafts fun and frustration-free, so it was easier to tape it down.

After, we picked our shape. Using cookie cutters made this step so simple and fun 🙂 My son loved picking a special shape for each suncatcher. In addition to the cowgirl for Nana, he picked a butterfly for his Aunty, a heart for Grandma, and a doggie for Zeus our pup.

Then, it was time to apply the tissue paper.

You can turn this into a fun sorting activity – and have your child sort the colors into piles.

For kids a little older, you can work on patterns, lining up a pattern, asking what comes next, and then sticking them on.

My son and I picked a few colors to use on each suncatcher. For the car, we used two shades of blue. For the heart, we picked three colors. And, for quite a few of the shapes, we used all of the colors.

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. 😉

Lucky for him, I had one sheet of black tissue paper. So we mixed white in and made a black and white star. Of course, it was his favorite.

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 recommend the grown-up doing this part. Contact paper can be tricky to work with and if it ends up all blotchy, it doesn’t look nice. I made a bubbly blotchy one myself, tried to fix it, and ended up ripping the tissue paper.

So rather than cause frustration for the kids, I would just do this myself. Lay one side down first and then keep pressing until you get to the other side. So I had my son watch me lay it down and then help me pat it.

After you’ve covered it with contact paper, take the intended cookie cutter and trace it onto the contact paper.

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.

And, it just happened to be Ash’s birthday – so I also freehanded a hammer for him.

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.

He had a great time taping them to the window, adding each one as we finished it, and then admiring our work. When we were all done, he loved going outside and seeing the suncatchers we had made.

Even though I did a bunch of the cutting and drawing, my son couldn’t be prouder of the tissue paper suncatchers. He had so much involvement in the project and loved all of his important jobs.

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.

You can also make these as a holiday activity, using Christmas or Halloween shapes. The tissue paper suncatchers can be Valentine gifts from kids or St. Patrick’s Day decorations.

They really do look pretty, and they make for a nice gift for kids to make and give.

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.

If you are looking to keep a craft simple, follow these steps on how to make tissue paper suncatchers. Your kids will love making such an easy yet awesome creation, and you’ll be frustration-free 🙂

How to Throw a DIY Party (Without Going Crazy)

April 10, 2017 by Eileen 42 Comments

Washing the dishes at the end of a long day, you think about how you can barely keep up with the day-to-day routine.

There are crumbs all over the floor you just cleaned. You didn’t get to the overflowing laundry pile today. Lunches to pack, homework to check, kids to get to bed.

It’s endless.

On top of that, your child’s birthday is coming up, and you really want to throw a nice party.

But how can you handle party prep in addition to all the draining housework and all of the other things going on?

With these tips and tricks, you will be able to throw an awesome DIY party without going crazy.

1. Choose 3-5 DIY party ideas and that’s it.

With Pinterest being an easily accessible party-planning archive, it’s typical to feel overwhelmed with all of the ideas out there.

Instead of trying to do everything, which can end in half-hearted efforts or stress overload, just pick a few manageable party DIYs.

This will put a creative spin on the party, without all the pressure.

For my friend’s son’s truck party, we chose 3 party DIYs – a cardboard truck photo booth cut-out, truck goody bags, and a pin the wheel on the truck game.

It was a manageable amount of work, and it creatively tied in the theme of the DIY truck party.

Definitely browse Pinterest or Google images to see what’s been done before. This will help you to brainstorm or even emulate ideas.

And, there are lots of easy DIY party ideas out there.

2. Cut corners with your time, where you can.

Designing, ordering, stamping, and mailing an invitation too much? Save yourself time with an Evite.

Cooking not your forte? Do a few crockpot dishes or order a few dishes from a local restaurant. Baking a cake too time-consuming for you? Order it from the bakery.

Spend your time where YOU feel it is most valuable.

Remember, you can delegate tasks out to reliable family or friends.

For every family party, my sister’s job is to work with the photos – whether making a photobook, collage, or slideshow. She never lets us down, and it’s a task I don’t have to worry about.

Also, prioritize your list, so that if you don’t get to everything, you aren’t disappointed.

For my son’s Sesame party, we barely got to set up the last game “Grover’s Obstacle Course.” We literally threw some pool noodles on the ground along with some balls.

Of course, the toddlers didn’t mind, and I didn’t either because this was low on the priority list.

3. Keep entertainment simple but creative.

Whether it’s music that goes with the party’s theme or party games for kids, entertainment can bring a lot to a party.

Since it can be overwhelming to know where to start, look for what’s already been done. Lots of websites have free templates and printables that can make your planning a piece of cake.

For baby or bridal showers, pick a game or two where most of the work has already been done for you, a game with easy prep or free templates.

We played such a fun game at my friend Meg’s shower – Mustaches and Tiaras, where all of the prep work was done.

For kids’ DIY parties, think easy. Kids love coloring or craft stations, playing with trucks in the sand, or having an egg race.

These activities can easily be adjusted to go with the party’s theme. For example, if having a vehicle party, instead of an egg on a spoon, use a race car on a spoon.

Station games are also great – and they can be made from foam boards from the dollar store.

You can literally make a Pin the “Blank” on anything – characters, animals, trucks, etc. I personally love using felt for these – since felt sticks to felt.

If planning a DIY anniversary party, put together a soundtrack with popular songs from the year the couple married.

Entertainment doesn’t need to be elaborate, or even time-consuming. Think easy – and don’t forget you can also delegate.

4. Do as much as you can early.

Creating, making, and shopping without of stress of a deadline is much more fun.

So, choose a few things that you easily get done ahead of time – like shopping for decorations or working on some DIY party projects. Then, get these done as early as you can.

This will free up your time closer to the party for things like cooking, food shopping, and cleaning.

For my dad’s Beatles party, I started working on the decorations a month or two ahead of time. I would cut letters for banners while I was watching television or had a few minutes of downtime here and there.

I had all of the decorations and games finished early, so the week of the party, I could focus on cooking and cleaning.

Planning and creating are so much more fun when you aren’t working against the clock.

5. Shop smart.

Prior to the DIY party, as you are doing your regular shopping at the grocery stores or craft stores, keep your eyes peeled for party things you can stock up on.

For example, take advantage of sales on paper products – plates, plastic wear, napkins, etc – or even decorations. I bought an abundant supply of ribbon at Michaels at 70% off before the winter holidays.

Months later, I used the ribbon to make banners – and was so happy I didn’t have to make a special trip out to the store.

For kids’ goody bags, it might be smart to steer away from food with all of the allergies out there.

If you are wondering what to give, the Dollar Tree and A.C.Moore have great deals for just $1. You can find cute kids books, stickers, coloring books, and learning games.

Choose a few that go with the theme of your DIY party, and you’re all set.

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.

A few trips to Dollar Tree will definitely shorten your to do list – and not be a big hit to your wallet.

Remember, shopping early helps too. When shopping without the stress of a deadline, you tend to easily find the things you are looking for.

And the Housework…

Birthday parties are days that your child anxiously awaits. Even though a DIY party will make your to do list a little longer, following these 5 simple tricks will make the party planning more than manageable.

And, about the housework, no one will notice how clean the kitchen is or see the overflowing laundry baskets hidden away.

Of course, the floors will be dirty again in five minutes, whether or not you had guests over.

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Eileen

Preparing for the Renovation

Removing the Wallpaper

Removing Stubborn Wallpaper

Removing the Carpet

Painting the Walls

Choosing Paint Colors

Priming and Painting the Walls

Installing Laminate Flooring

Laying Down the Laminate Flooring

Tackling the Tiles in the Hallway

Installing Baseboard

Cleaning Up and Organizing

Get Your Free Home Improvement Printables

The Moment of Truth

How to Make a Lamp

DIY Lamp Materials

How to Make the Base of the DIY Lamp

How to Make the Lamp Pole

Applying Finish

Additional Lamp Pole Work

Assembling the Electrical Parts

Attaching the Lamp Pole

Assembling the Lamp Parts

Customizing the Model

Finishing the Lamp

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Install Amazon Assistant

“Watch” the Deals

Don’t Forget About Whole Foods

Check Other Stores

Keep Your Home Improvement Efforts Organized

And, the best part?

Giveaway has ended.

More Freebies

How to Make DIY Wall Art for Kids Rooms

Materials for DIY Wall Art

Making the Wall Decorations

Painting the Canvases

Making the Perfect Stripes

Decorating the Canvases

Adding a Few Extras

Time & Cost

1. Add Porch Railings

2. Paint the Front Door

3. Install a Walkway

4. Fix Up Your Mailbox

60 Photos, 60 Catchphrases

4 Countries, 40 Years of Marriage

Seinfeld Quotes Paired with Pictures

Special Occasion Books

How to Make a DIY Photo Book

Digital Photo Books or Scrapbook Photo Books

DIY Photo Album Ideas

Why You Should Make Photo Books

How to Make Tissue Paper Suncatchers

Materials for Tissue Paper Suncatchers

Instructions for Tissue Paper Suncatchers

Preparation

Making the Suncatchers

1. Choose 3-5 DIY party ideas and that’s it.

2. Cut corners with your time, where you can.

3. Keep entertainment simple but creative.

4. Do as much as you can early.

5. Shop smart.

And the Housework…