The Christmas Light Updated

Nearly a decade ago, I awoke one early winter morning and was inspired to write a Christmas children's story that would appeal to all ages. I originally shared it here, and thanks to the recent development of ever-improving AI, I felt the urge to create illustrations and simplify the text for a more reader-friendly version. Below is the updated version of The Christmas Light to bless you and your families this holiday season. 

Interior Design Styles have been Changing--Does your Space need an Update? (Contributed Post)

Remember December 2019? Yeah, that was a more peaceful time for the interior design world. If you follow the scene, you will have known that an earthquake was occurring. It wasn’t a surprise at all, it was actually a changing of the guard. If you weren’t paying attention, the gist of it is, the sharp clean lines of the contemporary, minimalist, industrial and postmodern designs and styles, were going out the window. A return of more curves, complex shapes, form over pure function, and more personality was taking over. It had been 10 years at least since we saw the latter but it was a welcome revival of such styles. But, older styles weren’t coming back, we were in the midst of creating a new style, merely taking inspiration from the others. So, let’s get back to this task and finish the transition!

A new bathroom

The bathroom is very often, the last room to get updated. It's not really a showpiece room, is it? The family room, kitchen, and dining rooms always get more praise from guests, so that’s where we pour all of our creativity. But we cannot leave any room behind! 

Start off with new but cheap bathtubs which you can just drop in. These drop-in bathtubs, like the TOTO, KOHLER, and Mansfield are brilliant choices. The square and oval shapes can fit almost any room. The square gives you more room in the bath, but sharper edges so may feel it's easier to slide in. An oval shape is better for those that want more side support and can fit into small rooms.

4 Ways to Enhance your Kitchen (including one that can be done on a dime!)--Contributed Post

Improving your kitchen is something many people avoid. You need your kitchen to function every single day; preparing food, eating with your family, and catching up with each other about your day. The idea of a kitchen renovation can be stressful in itself for most people; the dust, the invasion of builders and contractors in your space… It’s enough to make anyone turn their back on the idea. But here’s the thing: kitchen improvements do not have to be huge, life-altering renovations which rip out your kitchen at its roots and start all over again. Making a noticeable difference to your kitchen does not necessarily need to involve huge disruptions or bank-breaking expenses.

Image credit.

During the winter, most of us need a pick-me-up. We all love our cozy nights with candles lit and a blanket, but the winter can make a lot of people feel down due to the darkness and cold weather. This isn’t to say that a kitchen renovation will fix all your problems, but making improvements to your space can vastly improve your mindset and make you feel a million times more revitalized.

1. Refacing Your Cabinets

Old, weathered looking cabinets can immediately age your kitchen and make it look out of date and shabby. If you are looking for an improvement to your kitchen that doesn’t involve ripping the cabinets out and replacing them, refacing the cabinets provides a fresh feeling which lasts a long time.

How does cabinet refacing work? You can attempt this yourself as a DIY project, or if you want the job done quickly and reliably, you can hire a professional. You can find well-reviewed companies who offer cabinet refacing in any major city in the US. 

Source

2. Going To Work On Your Floors

Flooring is an unmissable element of your home’s decor. Your home can be lovely, bright, homely and clean - but with shabby, stained or worn out flooring, nobody will notice the pretty parts. If you don’t want to replace your kitchen floors, though, that’s understandable. This takes some time and money, not to mention that floor replacement can be very disruptive to your home routine. 

Before

Instead, try waxing, varnishing or even repainting your wooden flooring. Wood is a great, classy and valuable choice for home flooring, but the downside is that it is very easily scratched and worn down. If your wooden kitchen floor is starting to age your kitchen, invest in a waxing or varnishing service which not only makes your kitchen floors look stunning, but it protects them against damage and scratching too.

After

3. Accessories To Elevate Your Kitchen Decor

One thing many people forget is that it doesn’t take a lot to transform a space. If your kitchen has a great base decor which is simple and elegant, but you feel it is a little boring or nondescript, you can easily jazz it up with some decorations. These decor tips are easy to implement and can also be very helpful to your cooking too!

• Growing herbs. If you have any natural light in your kitchen, you can grow herbs inside. If you often find yourself buying herbs in a supermarket, such as basil, rosemary or mint, why not save yourself the trouble and grow them yourselves? You can keep these in your kitchen on a shelf or windowsill, and they will add a drop of life into the room. Plus, if you are cooking and need a little extra something to flavor the food, you can go right ahead and cut a few sprigs from the plant growing in your kitchen.

  
  

  

  Source
  

  
  
  

• Brightly colored pots or accessories. Not everybody wants a bright, intensely colored kitchen which looks like it’s straight out of a Disney movie. That’s understandable. If you like an understated look in grey, brown or white tones, you might still want to consider a few brightly colored pieces to add to the space. These could be a bright casserole dish, a bunch of flowers on the counter or funky mugs. These simple changes can dramatically warm up your space 

Conclusion

Sprucing up your kitchen this winter does not have to cost your savings or disrupt your life. Use this helpful guide to pick up your kitchen and give your home the revitalization it needs!

3 Simple Home Changes that make a Big Impact--Contributed Post

Source 

If you are looking for ways to change up your home that don’t have to be a lot of work, then you’ve come to the right place. There are plenty of options when it comes to doing things differently. You don’t have to tear the whole place up and start from the beginning; instead, you can just do a couple of simple things to see the desired impact. If you want to know more about what kind of things I'm talking about, keep reading down below to find out.

Two Quick & Easy DIY Decor Changes to Spruce up the Walls in your Home -- Contributed Post

Chances are you’ve spent a whole lot of time in the four walls of your home lately. Social isolation and social distancing measures put in place to slow the spread of coronavirus and Covid-19 have meant that many of us have been stuck inside for months. When looking at the same four walls day after day, it is likely that you have grown tired of the "same old same old" and may be wanting to consider sprucing those walls up a bit. The good news is that stores are open and you can now get the supplies you need to make a significant change. If you don’t want to dedicate to a full scale home improvement project right now, but would like to see some positive change, here are two suggestions that will take less than one day to complete!

Painting an Accent Wall

Courtesy of @myhouseof8 (my sister Kelli's Instagram account)

Basic Invite, a Cool, Custom Company that is far from Basic--Sponsored Post

I love when a really neat company reaches out to me and asks me to check out their product and decide if it is something my readers would be interested in. When Basic Invite contacted me I had never heard of them before, but since I had never before looked into creating custom invitations, it made a lot of sense why I hadn't. When I looked over their website, customized a few things myself, and then received my creations in the mail, I was not only impressed with what they have to offer and how user friendly the whole experience is, but their products are top notch as well. So here are 3 reasons to LOVE and use Basic Invite...

Ways to Affordably Maximize your Garage - Contributed Post

Garages can provide incredibly useful storage, work and workout spaces, as well as offering a safe place to keep your car sheltered from the elements. If your garage has become a dumping ground, or you're not maximizing the space, here are some tips that can help you make better use of this valuable square footage without blowing the budget or devoting every second to DIY.

Image source

Tips for a Successful & Budget Friendly DIY Flagstone Patio AND Homemade Stream

Have you ever read, or watched, so many how-to articles or videos, and then tackled a project making your own rules thinking it would turn out ok in the end, only to realize that you should have taken the warnings and tips from others more seriously? I learned the hard way when I tackled our most recent project: our new flagstone patio. If I had taken the tips I learned from those videos and articles seriously, I would have saved myself 3x the effort I ended up having to expend, as well as some tears. Thankfully I followed the tips I learned on how to do a DIY stream, so that project went smoothly. 

Today I will share with you the articles and videos that I found to be incredibly helpful, as well as some tips I learned that can't be skipped, as well as how much we spent on the overall project. 

Free Restoration Proclamation Printable

I'd like to first start off today's post by saying how grateful I am to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I am grateful to be able to worship my Savior, learn of him and his teachings in the Bible and Book of Mormon, and to have his church (& thus teachings) to bless my life. One of the blessings of this church is that God continues to provide revelation to His sons and daughters, and He speaks through His living prophet when it comes to providing worldwide revelation. On April 5th, 2020, His prophet, President Russell M. Nelson, shared a new proclamation with the world. If you would like this historic document to put up in your home, I have created it to match the Family Proclamation, Articles of Faith and Living Christ documents that I have already made. This document, and the ones I made prior, are sized at 24"x 30," and can be printed affordably through Office Depot and Staples using their engineering prints. I have heard of others printing these files much much smaller, and you are welcome to use the JPEG file as you see fit.

Read on to see how to download this file, as well as get the links to the other free printables.

Restore your Wood Furniture in 15 Minutes and for only $15

I feel like I am copying Geico's ad campaign by using the 15 minutes slogan, but these products are so amazing, so easy, and so affordable, that I have to share them with all of you.

Reminder of how Awesome General Finishes Gel Stain truly is

Hello fellow DIY'ers, I was so excited to be contacted by one of you last night about my one of my post popular posts. Do you remember a couple years ago I shared how we not only removed the popcorn from our ceilings, but we used gel stain to cover the painted wood beams that were in our home?

Well, I was excited to get the following four pictures, and this message from one of you last night...

From $0 to $450 in a Few Days (How a simple coat of paint sold a Mid Century dresser that Goodwill wouldn't take)

Sorry for the long title, especially since this is going to be a very short post. But today I am writing about how finding someone's "junk" can sometimes require very little work to find the treasure hidden inside.

A Gift for Someone Else that became a Gift for Me

Many of you already know that I am a Christian, and belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Even though my religion is an integral part of my life, it isn't something I write about much. There have been a few posts recently that have offered free printables of The Family Proclamation, The Living Christ, and the Articles of Faith, each documents of my faith, but I typically write about how you can give new life to a piece of furniture, or a part of an outdated home.

However, I have had the opportunity to do several pictures of individuals with their Savior recently, and I have thoroughly enjoyed doing so. One in particular has made an impact on me, and helped me realize that I need to put this opportunity out there more for others to know about.

I was contacted by an individual who asked me if I could do a picture of her deceased grandfather with Christ, so she could surprise her grandmother on Christmas. I had done this once before for my own grandma when my grandpa passed away. My aunts went through family photos and found the best pictures they could find of his profile, and emailed them to me. It was a challenge, but so rewarding. Knowing this individual needed her grandfather's picture done in time for Christmas added to the pressure, but I felt I had help from the other side, and was able to get it done for her in record time. This is what I shared on Instagram, and wanted to share it with all of you:

I am grateful she gave me permission to share these pictures and her story with all of you, and am so grateful I had this opportunity to do this for her family. Being able to work so closely with the countenance of someone who has already passed on was a unique, and blessed gift.

I would love to be able to do a custom work of art (or two) for any of you that would be interested. If you would like to see more of these pictures I have done, click on the Art tab above. Also, on that same page, I have a link to my Etsy listing. Until the end of this year I am only charging $30 for a JPEG file of your custom art that you can then print at any size you'd like, and share as many times as you want with loved ones. At the beginning of January I will be raising the price to $50. Even though I need to raise the cost, I am still trying to keep this personalized gift affordable for all those who want one.

Thank you always for your encouragement and support along my many creative paths. I wish you and your loved ones a very Merry Christmas!

Functional and Beautiful DIY Wood and Bike Wall

These last few months have been filled with DIY home projects that I am excited to finally start sharing with all of you now that they are finally done. First I am going to share how I transformed a boring, old wall in our home, to an awesomely rustic bike wall on the cheap. This tutorial is also helpful if you have wanted to put up any kind of wood on your wall (shiplap, pallet wood, you name it), because the bikes are a last minute feature that are not necessary.

Three FREE Large Printables

To get your free printable downloads of The Family: A Proclamation to the World, The Living Christ, The Testimony of the Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and The Articles of Faith of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, please see links below:

FREE The Living Christ Large Printable

You asked and now it's here--The Living Christ free printable! Ever since I first offered The Family Proclamation printable back in April of 2017, many of you have requested that I also offer the Living Christ printable. To keep you all anxiously waiting, though I made the Articles of Faith printable next, and now finally have the Living Christ printable available for free. It is made to be printed as 24"x 30" to match the others of the trio but can be scaled down to print any size you need. Keep reading to get your free printable download of the Living Christ.

]

Fun and Free Website that Allows You to Change your Home's Exterior

Do you try and imagine what your house would look like in a different color? Or switching your siding, or roof, or even windows? Do you like to have creative control, and see your ideas turn into something you can actually see? Maybe you need to replace your home's siding, and want to see the options as they will actually look on your home. Who knew that we could do any of these things FOR FREE on an easy to use website, that is super fun to play around with. Let me tell you more about Dream Designer, a company I came across online the other day, since more people deserve to know they can now have this creative power...

Share Your Before & Afters

The #1 reason I started this blog was to share with others that you don't have to be creative or have artistic skills to create amazing things for your home. After gaining encouragement from other's how-to's or seeing cool things on Pinterest, I have tackled each of the projects that are showcased on here. What gives me great joy is hearing that you have gained encouragement from a tutorial on this site and tried and succeeded as well! So it is:

Before & After courtesy of Holly after following "Drab to Fab Piano Transformation"

Every now and then I get a message from my readers with pictures of their success. After getting their permission, I share their before & afters at the end of that specific tutorial to share with all of you that you too can do it.

So if you have tackled one of the projects featured on mimiberrycreations, please email me with your before and after pictures so that I can share them and give others the encouragement they need to try too!

Also, if you ever want to tackle a project, and have additional questions that are not answered in any of the tutorials, please do not hesitate to comment on that post or send me an email.

Thanks!

Are you Brave Enough to Pursue Your Idea/Dream?

I've been debating about writing this post for quite some time now, and decided that if I share what I've been working on with all of you, I will now be held more accountable to follow through with it. But before I get into what I have debated about sharing, let me ask you something...is there something you have always wanted to do/learn/be, that you talk yourself out of day after day, year after year? What is it? Why do you do keep yourself from doing/learning/being it?

Source

FREE Articles of Faith Large Printable

It's been almost a year since I posted this free printable of the Family Proclamation, and since then I have received so many requests for the Living Christ and the 13 Articles of Faith to go with it. Today I am giving you the FREE printable of the 13 Articles of Faith, of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It can be printed as small as you like, but is prepared for a 24"x30" engineering print via OfficeMax or Staples, which are only a few bucks. If "Family Proclamation" and "Articles of Faith" are things you've never heard of before, well then I encourage you to take a second and read them for the first time. I am assuming you've heard of "Mormons" before, and most likely have heard all kinds of things about who/what Mormons are, but equally likely they are untrue. Reading these documents will give you an idea of what Mormons truly are/what we believe, in a nutshell. And if you'd like to learn more, I encourage you to visit here.

To get your free printable, or to read what Mormon's, (members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,) believe, read on...