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

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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)

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.

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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.

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.

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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...

Easy Updating Magic Using Gel Stain

Today I am going to show you how easy it is to update furniture, or other woodwork, (that is no longer the "in" stain,) with only 1 coat of General Finishes Java Gel Stain.

Two DIY Family Signs

I came across this picture of two personalized gifts I made last year, but couldn't share since I hadn't given them away yet. In case any of you are still looking for things to give this holiday season, or have run out of money and still have a few more on your list to get gifts for, here are two wooden signs with one's family's pictures you can make too. And even if you aren't of the same faith as me, you can easily tailor the message or picture to something your family is all about.

Items You Need:

1. Wood piece (varying sizes work)
2. Paint, stain, sharpies, whatever...I used latex paint for the top sign, sharpie for the letters, and watercolors for the flowers. For the bottom sign I stained the wood, then a whitewash for the temple silhouette, and a silver paint pen for "eternity"
3. Drill - to drill two holes toward the bottom corners
4. Thin rope/string to go through the holes, and tie in the back
5. Mini clothespins--to clip on the rope
6. Mini photos of family members--I copied and pasted pictures on an 8.5x11 cardstock, printed it out, and then cut out each picture
7. Picture hanging hardware

That's it! For less than a few bucks you can make a thoughtful gift they are sure to love!

Not Artistic but want to make your own Art? Stencils are the Solution!

One of my main purposes of having this website is to help others realize they can make and create things they never thought they could, and have the happiness and fulfillment that comes when they can step back and look at what they were able to do. Because of this goal, most of my DIY tutorials on here do not include anything that requires artistic ability.

Drawing has always come naturally to me, so when growing up I remember assuming it did for others too; however I remember in 7th grade in my Speech and Debate class, I taught my class how to draw a simple step by step penguin. My teacher's penguin looked awful, and she was the first to admit it. I then learned that drawing, even when simplified, can still be very difficult.

So I don't want any of you to discount yourselves when looking at the wood signs below, because I am here to tell you that YOU can make art that speaks to you for your own home (or to sell), and you don't need to have artistic abilities!

Note: Although this is a sponsored post, courtesy of Stencil Revolution, it provides honest feedback on the product, and provides helpful tips and tricks when working with stencils.

Cheap and Easy, Natural Pond Liner

One of the first things we noticed when considering whether to buy the home we are now in, was the waterfall/pond in the backyard. Ever since I had a blast catching tadpoles in a childhood friend's backyard stream, I wanted some water feature for my kids to enjoy. This pond was not a naturally occurring water feature, but still it was exciting. What wasn't exciting was that it did NOT look natural. The "black tarp look" made it an eyesore, and although we enjoyed the sound of the running water, we knew we had to give this waterfall/pond a facelift. Solution: Rock on a Roll. 

Rock on a Roll is an awesome product that was designed by Minnesota based landscaping company, Aquatica Water Gardens. They saw a need when helping their customers with their ponds, and thankfully created a product that solved that need, which they now share with everyone else. Updating or building ponds can be labor intensive and expensive, but Rock on a Roll takes most of the effort and high price out of the equation. 

Let me share how cheap and simple this pond liner cover truly is...

(This is NOT a paid advertisement. Instead it is just one happy customer wanting to share a cheap & easy DIY solution) 

Old Lady Dresser to Rustic Boy Dresser

Right before we moved, our neighbor put a dresser out on the curb with a "Free" sign.  By now, I've learned to not judge a furniture's outward appearance, but to judge a piece based on it's bones and potential. Even though I really did not want to acquire anything additional to move with us, I did hate one of the dressers my boys had, and had to at least look. What I found was what looked like an old lady's dresser, but there were solid wood dovetail drawers, and a sturdy, solid structure. Everything was in good shape, except the outside appearance, so I had to have it. Once again the power of paint and hardware came to the rescue. 

Hall Decor that Brings Generations Together with FREE Printable

When we moved into our home there were so many blank walls everywhere. Surprisingly we didn't need much more furniture, but we definitely didn't have enough decor for all of the walls. One of the most challenging areas for me to fill, were the four walls leading to our three upstairs bedrooms. Since our family would see these walls all the time, I wanted to put something important up. Even after months of shopping around, nothing seemed quite right. It wasn't until I felt the excitement in starting to figure out my family's ancestry, that the idea came. After asking my mom and mother-in-law for pictures of our family's ancestors, our "memory lane" started to come together. Then, with another section of the hallway to fill, the rest of the idea came to put pictures up of our family now, as well as finish off the hallway with a 24" x 30" print of the Family Proclamation.

Read on to hear more about what the Family Proclamation is, as well as get your own large FREE printable (that can be printed as an Engineering Print for $3).

How Gel Stain Makes Painted Wood Beams Rustic (Again)

Let me start off by saying that I already knew that General Finishes gel stain is one amazing product that transforms furniture quickly, easily, and is a lot of fun to work with. However, I didn't know that it worked over paint, let alone could bring back some rustic glory to the painted beams in our new home. We have learned some tips and tricks in the process that I thought I would share with all of you. Whether you want to stain painted wood beams, or want to try staining over a piece of furniture that is painted, these tips and tricks should help you...

A Record Notebook in 3 Steps

Are you a lover of music? Or looking for a thoughtful gift for someone who lives and breathes music? Here is a simple DIY cheap project almost anyone can do....

How to Make Simple Frames for Mirrors of almost any Size

 Before I get to why it has been so long since I have posted a project, I want to share a simple tutorial that a wonderful Home Depot employee taught me. I planned on buying a ton of materials and spending countless hours framing 3 basic mirrors a friend gave to me after taking apart a mirrored cabinet. Fortunately I happened to ask this employee where to find all of these materials and he simply asked, "Well do you have a table saw?" I said yes. Then he responded, "Then here is how you do it..." In less than a minute he explained how to more simply construct these frames, so let's see if I can do it as simply and as quickly as he did...

How to Fix Hanging and Wiggly Drawers in 3 Steps

Today's post will be a shorty but a goody. A few weeks ago I totally transformed a dresser from awful to awesome, and at first couldn't figure out how to fix the drawers and their wiggle and their droop. When a potential buyer came to look at the dresser/bookshelf they loved the look, but when they opened the drawers they were turned off from the sale. After she left I had an "aha" moment as to how to fix this problem. Let me show you how a few dollars can totally fix this aggravating drawer problem...