Tutorial: Washer and Ribbon Necklace

     School has been back for a month, which explains why I haven't been updating recently.  I have lots of projects in the works, but I haven't finished most of them yet.  Here is a fun 15 minute project.   Try it out and let me know how it goes!
  
     I love going to the local hardware store and looking for fun materials to use.  The other day I was on Pinterest and saw a cool jewelry idea.  This is cheap, easy and, most importantly, cute!  I have made two of them, but with all of the customization options (ribbon color, washer size, lengths, number of ribbons, etc) I know that I will be making many more in the future.


After the jump you can see the full tutorial.

Big Project News!

Drum roll, please.  I'm retiling my bathroom floor next week!  I'm so excited!

    My generous, wonderful, crafty, caring father will be coming out to Chicago next week to lead the project and help me learn about how to tile a floor.

Aren't my sister and dad cute?!

    Last year, Mike and I put up a tile backsplash in our kitchen, which you can see here.  It was our first semi-big project that we did together on our house.  Flooring, however, seems much more complicated with the whole "take off the toilet, disconnect your radiator, make the floor level" thing going on.

    Mike and I are going tile shopping tomorrow morning.  I will share all the details with you tomorrow.  Until then, here are some inspiration pictures.  I might not love the whole bathroom, but the tile is the focus of all of these pictures.

I love the pixelated look.  Ooo, and how it goes up the one wall.  I think it's a little complicated for me though.

Oh, how I love hexagon tile!  Don't be shocked if that's what we end up with tomorrow.

I love the herringbone pattern made with simple rectangular tiles.  

Yes, I really love the herringbone.

    You can see some more of my tile inspiration on my Pinterest board  appropriately named Bathroom Tile Inspiration.

What do you think?  Do you have a dream-tile for your bathroom?  Please share!

Time for a Deck Makeover

    I am always happy when deck season comes around.  This year is no exception.  The deck is a great escape from our sweltering house.  Recently, though, I have been feeling uninspired about the current set up.  Here is what we are currently working with:

Definitely nothing special in terms of design and decor.  Part of the reason for the bland set up is the gigantic chairs that we have with the table.  They are very comfortable and I like them, but they require a lot of space to push in and away from the table to move around.  They would be perfect on a giant patio.  They aren't great for our long skinny deck.  I don't want to just accept defeat, though.

    Here is my new plan.

    I have spent a long time looking for a cost effective option.  I wanted to get plain, picnic table benches, but those have proven difficult to find.  I was cruising around on Pinterest the other day and found my inspiration.  Here is what I will be trying to make my own version of.

 

    I won't be painting them like the first picture.  I want to make the posts look more like the second picture.  I think I will be going to Lowes this evening to get the supplies.  I will keep you updated with my progress.

Tutorial: Tile Coaster

This is a very easy, highly customizable, and super budget project.  Plus, now you won't have rings on your wood table from your sweating glasses and bottles.  Cheers to summer!  And to coasters!

I saw this project idea on Pinterest and decided to try it for myself.
After the jump, you can see the full tutorial.

Tutorial: Metal Milk Crate Coffee Table

   New coffee table for the living room: check.  Recognize those metal crates? They are from the Kane Country Flea Market from last month.  I got them for $5 each specifically to make a table like this.  This was my first time staining wood as well as my first time using polyurethane.  (Aww, she's growing up so fast.)

    I got this idea while I was on Pinterest a while ago.  It's from a great blog called A Beautiful Mess.  Once I found the metal milk crates, I knew that it was time to make this project a reality.  The full tutorial with lots of pictures and copious explanation about how to make this yourself is after the jump.  Enjoy!

Pinterest. Total time suck? Or best thing ever?

I am fully addicted to Pinterest.

I have had an account for almost 6 months, but I told myself that I should wait.  Keep waiting.
This week was the all important ISAT testing for our students.  I made it through that.
Now, it's Pinterest time.  I'm totally obsessed.  Yet, I feel like I am missing so much.  How do you use Pinterest?  Is there something amazing on there that I am missing?  I'm starting to get anxiety just thinking about all of the great ideas, design inspiration, and recipes that I am missing as I type this.

Help me!  Advise me! Follow me!