Faux Muntin windows!

Here's the big reveal!

I have wanted these windows on my house FOREVER! I finally got them for a fraction of buying a whole new window! This project cost me under $20!

This isn't the original window, but I didn't take a "before" picture, and this window is almost exactly like the one I redid. (Note the cute cottage shutters? How-To soon!)-----

After------

Cute, eh?

Faux Window Muntins (or Grilles)

------------------------------------

It used to be more economical to use smaller panes of glass in the old days. It was cheaper to manufacture and replace.

-1/2"x 3/4" trim

-Gorilla glue***

-stain

-polyurathane

1. Measure across your window and divide by 2. This is where you will make your mark on the top and bottom of the existing window frame.

2. Cut a piece of trim to the height of your window. Be precise!!

3. Follow the directions on the back of the bottle of Gorilla glue to prep the surfaces.

4. Glue the trim to your window, using a level to make sure everything's straight. You will need to tape the trim in place for 1-2 hours.

5. Take the height of the window and divide that # by 3. This measurement will be your new markings down the sides of the existing window's frame. (This way it cuts the window into 3rds)

6. Measure from the window frame to the first verticle trim for your measurements on the crossbars.

7. Repeat step 4.

8. Mask off the window and stain your trim, follow with a coat of polyurathane so that you're not replacing this trim years down the road. The hard coat will help a ton! (Or you can stain the wood before you glue, your choice!!)

9. Repeat this whole process on the inside of the window!

***You can also use automovite tape, but it's $10 for an 8' strip, and that's WAY out of my budget!

----------->

Here's a picture of the front of my house after the window was done. Doesn't seem like a big difference, but with the change to the outside AND my dining room, it really adds a lot of punch!

I will be continuing this project on my back window (the one pictured above), and my patio doors. I've always wanted french doors, and now I can have them!!

Stay tuned!

Stay tuned for a project (maybe tonight?) that will completely change the look of the outside of my house.
Okay okay, maybe not completely, but I've been wanting this certain "look" since I bought my house, and I finally stumbled on a way to get the look without going broke.
Stay tuned, you won't regret it!!

Chalkboard Cabinets

When I first bought my house, I painted the two inlaid panels of the "playroom (now my son's room)" with black chalkboard paint. I loved the idea of giving the kids a way to show their creativity while saving my walls.

Years down the road, I find my lonely can of chalkboard paint. My old dry-erase message board hit the dust about a year ago, and I've been dieing for something to put my never-ending lists on again. I have very little wall space in my kitchen (due to so many decorations), so I thought "why not inside the cabinet?"

This project only takes 10 minutes, but I will love it a lifetime. I love it so much, in fact, that I'm planning on doing it on the inside of all my kitchen cabinets!

Before----

After----

Some ideas of lists for your chalkboard cabinets:

1. Appointment reminders

2. Grocery lists

3. Shopping lists

4. Phone numbers

5. Birthdays or other yearly dates

6. Favorite recipes

7. Labels of the items that are supposed to go in that cabinet (great for when my husband puts away the clean dishes!)

8. Lock combonations for kids in school

9. Tune-up dates for vehicles (or milage of next tune-up)

10. Notes of endearment for anyone who reaches in <3

Spicey Honey Chicken, Veggie Medley

Spicy Honey Chicken
---------------------
Set your broiler to high while you're making the glaze.

Glaze
-------
-1 cup honey
-1/2 cup soy sauce
-1/4 chopped onions (put it in a processor to get it really fine)
-1/4 cup ketchup
-2 tbs veg oil
-2 cloves garlic (stick this in the processor with the onions)
-1/4 red pepper flakes (more if you want more kick)

Spread the chicken out on your broiler pan and coat the chicken with a layer of glaze with a pastry brush. Put under the broiler for 5 minutes. Take it out, layer some more glaze, put it in again for 5. Keep repeating this until you get to 20 minutes. Take it out, glaze it once more, sprinkle some sesame seeds over the top, put back under the broiler for 5 minutes. Then it's done!


I made a veggie medley to put the chicken on top of.
Veggie Medley
-------------------
Zuchinni
Yellow pepper
Mini spuds
Carrots
Rhutabaga
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Onion

Heat up some veggie oil in a skillet, chop up all the veggies. Toss it in and season with salt. It's done when the veggies turn soft

Decorative Solar Light

I would never say that I'm a pack rat. When I think of "pack rat" I think of someone that has to hang onto EVERYTHING because there is emotional value. I'm not one of them.

But I do believe that I'm part of a new breed of "pack rat" that I'll term as "store-for-the-future squirrel."

What's the difference, you ask? I will find something at a garage sale or auction that I MUST have, but I have no use for. So I buy it and tuck it away into any nook or cranny in my house, just as a squirrel prepares for the winter.

But I know, just like Mr. Squirrel, that I will use these found objects some day, whatever I may use them for.

Why the story? Because today's project cost me only 59 cents! That's just for the vines. Everything else, even the light, I had. The rope, though it was no longer usable, had a charm to it (and I have no idea where it came from), and I never throw away usable wood. I stored things that I love and turned it into something cute years down the road. Now that's thrifty!

Decorative Solar Light

------------------------------

3" Landscaping Timber, treated

Rope

Wood Glue

4" screws

Spade bit

Solar Light

Decorations

Staple gun

1. Cut your landscape timber into lengths of 21" 17" 13" and 9"

2.Glue and clamp all the timbers together in decending order (reference picture). Let that dry for a day.

3. Reinforce the wood by screwing the 4" screws through the wood. Plan this ahead so that the rope will cover the screws!

4. Check the pole of your solar light. Use a spade bit the same size as the pole. Drill down into the longest timber.

5. If you matched up the sizes correctly, then push your solar light on the top. It should fit snuggly. If you made the hole too large, just put some glue in the hole, put your light in, and let dry.

6. Staple one end of your rope to the back and wrap the rope around 3-4 times. Secure the end in the back with another staple.

7. Embellish as you please! I used some vines and the end of my rope had a cool clasp on it, so I used that. Wala!

Thank you Uncle Bart and Aunt Rita for coaching me through this one!