Cafe-Style Shutters

Pinching pennies, lately, has been hard for me.

I don't mind not shopping. That doesn't bug me at all.

It's the lack of having a project to work on that is driving me bonkers.

After a few days of moping around the house, I realized that I have a basement full of "eventually" projects.

I would go thrifting, love something, buy it, but never do anything with it.

I have tons of these "eventually" projects down there.

A long time ago, I bought three boxes of shutters at Goodwill.

I can't even remember what I paid.....but it was probably ridiculously cheap if I bought three boxes.

;)

I wanted to make sure they fit my daughter's windows right away, so I put them up right away.

I do have primer and paint, but I've hand-painted shutters before, and it's no picnic.

So I'm just going to wait until I can afford some spray stuff.

(Yes, I'm that broke right now.)

It's going to be white, just like the rest of the trim in her room.

Wouldn't that look great with her shutter headboard that I made her a year ago?

I'll post pictures as soon as I get it done!

Stay tuned for more "eventually" projects that I unearth, recipes, and hopefully news about my life getting back on track, haha!

PB Monkey's Fist

I recently came across a post at Meridian Road, where she knocked off this Pottery Barn monkey's fist nautical decor:

I thought it was so neat, and it would give a beautiful natural element to my new living room.

After watching the YouTube video on her post two seven times, I gave it a whirl.

After my 3rd 4th attempt at it, I finally had my monkey's fist knot.

Having 3 brothers in Boy Scouts had finally paid off ;)

And I just so happen to have a lovely ladder to put it on.

This ladder was one of the few things the old owners left behind. It is wood and VERY heavy. I made it into a plant stand only about a month after we moved in.

I love it!

And yet I will never do it again, because making that thing was one big pain in the ass!

Project cost = free!

I have tons of miscellaneous rope around the house.

Stick around for more free/low cost projects, recipes, ideas, and more!

Free Beach Decor

Yay! I finally have a project to post!

Though we are still not out of the woods, things just may turn around for us in the next few weeks. I'm crossing my fingers.

This whole experience has forced me to think of creative, free ideas for my home.

Old woodburning kit + driftwood from the beach = free beachy decor!

(Oh man did I get some odd looks while happily dragging my driftwood off the beach and tossing it in my car.)

This is the driftwood that I found:

But as you can see, some kids must have started using it as firewood, because there were a few crusty spots on it.

So I took it into the bath tub, sprayed it down to remove all the sand, and scrubbed those burn spots until it was as light as I could get them.

I cut out "<---- BEACH" with my Cricut.

LOVE that thing!

See how much lighter that burn spot is?

Anyways, I cut out the lettering on contact paper, then stuck them on the wood.

I traced around it with a pencil.

Can you see the pencil marks on that picture? I know it's a bit hard to see...

Then I carefully started burning on the pencil marks. Be very careful with a woodburner. I have accidentally burned myself, and it hurts 100x worse than burning yourself with a curling iron!

Then I decided that I didn't like this projection on the left.

So I placed that tip in my vice grip, and snapped it off.

Anyways, then I needed to make holes in the back to hang this up on a wall with.

I used 1/2" spade bit and bore into the wood about halfway through.

I did that on both sides...

Then I made all my measurements, marked where the nails would go, hammered them in, and placed the driftwood up on the wall.

Tip: When hanging anything on the wall where a stud is not present, angle the nail at 45 degrees. It increases the holding power. I've never had anything fall off the wall because of this trick!

I love adding to the beachy feeling of this room.

And you can't beat free, right?

And So It Begins...

We are finally back home, and I couldn't be more happy.

Our eldest and his All-Star team ended up getting 2nd place in the state tournament, which is AMAZING for our small little town.

After the 4.5 hour drive home, I spent the remainder of the night working on a 15 page book report.

This morning, I woke up at 2am to finish my book report.

At about 4am, I began to study for a huge exam that I needed to take at 7:30am. (Which I got a 91% on!! Woohoo!)

Once I got home, I made lunch and then brought my daughter to the doctor's office for some shots (she didn't even cry! Tough like her mama...)

Now I am making supper.

I haven't stopped moving. Ugh....but tonight I'm shooting for bed at 8pm, lol.

Anyways, we had a great time in the quaint city of Dodgeville, WI.

The Cave of the Mounds was amazing.

Anyways, I'm deciding to get off my mopey (mopie? mope-y? lol) butt and start being my old self again. I'm trying to find low/no cost projects for the house.

I already have one in mind, so stick around for that!

Now to just find the time....lol

Sunshine in the Storm

Things have been a little rough, lately, for my family.

You guys already know a bit of our troubles, and your support and encouraging words mean the world to me!

I just want everyone to peek at what we've been doing the past few days.

We've been down state for my eldest's All-Star State Tournament.

So far, our shining city hasn't lost!

Everyone's morale is high, and we are having a great time!

We also got to tour a plane for FREE.

And soon (depending on the tournament schedule and such), we will be touring a cave!

You see, times are rough for us, REALLY rough....but when the kids were very young, my husband and I said that our kids will never be deprived of experiences because of finances.

I want my kids to have every opportunity that every other kid has.

So, no, we can't take an awesome vacation this summer, but with very careful budgeting, I believe we have given our eldest a summer vacation worth remembering.

And I couldn't be more pleased ;)