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Everyday Originals


diy teacher survival kit

Home Decor & Crafts

I made this super easy, but amazingly cute, gift for my friend Kaitlin, who starts her first day as a 2nd grade teacher today! Being a teacher is not an easy job. I couldn't imagine being in charge of 25 children that are excited, energetic and eager. It takes a strong person to be able to teach and we all need to remember that. I put together this small kit for Kaitlin with some fun, neon colored desk supplies, neon pens, hand sanitizer, chocolates and Tylenol! I picked up the supplies at the Dollar Tree and Walgreens and the container at Hobby Lobby. The read more this way >>>

brass storage trunk

Home Decor & Crafts

I mentioned that we found this old trunk at a yard sale a few weeks ago. I had big plans to give it an awesome makeover. Some paint, maybe stripes, maybe two toned, or designs and patters. The sky was the limit and I've waited this long to act because I haven't made a decision. Well, then I started searching around for inspiration and what I found shocked me. Similar trunks are all over Etsy and Pinterest for hundreds of dollars! So then I started thinking that I should leave it as is, in its natural form. Which I don't hate at all. I think read more this way >>>

numbered canvases & free printable!

Home Decor & Crafts

These numbered canvases were super easy to make and are awesome for a kids room or playroom. I made these for a little girls room who is going for a science theme. Which, side note, how awesome is that for an 8 year olds room decor?! I created the numbers in PicMonkey, by playing around with backgrounds, numbers and colors. Once I landed on the final version I printed them on a standard printer. I used 8x10" canvases and mod podge to create the final look. I trimmed each sheet of paper to fit the canvases, as the paper was a tad larger. I decoupaged the read more this way >>>

fun city artwork

Home Decor & Crafts

About a month ago Zulily had featured an artist that I had originally found on Etsy about a year ago. I grabbed two city prints, one Denver and one Boston for about $15 each. I eagerly awaited their arrival as often times those daily deal sites can take longer for the product to ship. I am so entirely pleased with these prints! I picked up two frames at Ikea for $10 each and framed them. They hang on a tiny wall right at the end of our couch and they're perfect for the space. I wanted them hung a little further apart, but as I've mentioned before, our walls are not read more this way >>>

simple wedding photo collage

Home Decor & Crafts

I've wanted to hang some of our wedding photos in our bedroom for years and have just never got around to it. When I received a coupon for a super sale at Snapfish I figured I should jump on it. Most of the frames we already had and the two large ones I purchased with a Michael's gift card (thanks Mom!). So all in all this photo collage wall cost me very little. I also framed a greeting card and a free printable that I had found on Pinterest. Our wedding invitation is also up there. I laid out the frames on the floor so I could arrange and rearrange how read more this way >>>

diy shower curtain {with a bed sheet}

DIY & Projects, Home Decor & Crafts

Despite our apartment being this itsy bitsy place, we have really nice, high ceilings. Which can make any space feel larger. It’s also nice to live in a place where Al doesn't have to duck under light fixtures and door ways (our last place was made for short people). Since the ceilings are so high I couldn't find a shower curtain that wasn’t $50+ to accommodate the height. I wanted something very subtle and I just figured I’d wait until I found it. And then I did. For $4.99 at a thrift store near my work. This thrift store has 25% off on Thursdays so I pop in every read more this way >>>

how to create a bar area at home

Home Decor & Crafts

I love bar carts and bar cabinets and any space that suggests a bar area. Don't you think it just makes that glass of wine that much more fancy and appealing?! When we got married my bridesmaids gifted us this amazing wine rack from Crate & Barrel (no longer for sale). I carted this thing, alone, on a Southwest flight from Boston all the way to Denver. It breaks down but it was still huge and hilarious. It currently lives in our "dining room," which is approximately 4 feet x 4 feet, if you were wondering. I created a simple bar area on the lower shelf read more this way >>>

super simple diy wreath

Home Decor & Crafts

Late post! Lots of technical issues this AM! So I made a wreath. Which I mean if we're being honest it probably wouldn't even classify as a wreath. What I learned in the process was that I'm the worst wreath maker ever and frankly I did not like the act of making a wreath. However, our front door and hallway is so cold and uninviting, so I wanted something to brighten the day when I face that door.  And anything would be better than the three-month old holiday wreath on our neighbors door! I had the fabric on hand, picked up the wreath form for $2 at a read more this way >>>

west elm knockoff lacquer tray

Home Decor & Crafts

I've been on the hunt for the perfect tray for our huge coffee table. After looking for an inexpensive option for months I decided to crack and get this one from West Elm in the aqua color. source It was not cheap at all but it was the exact color and style that I was wanting. Not 20 minutes after making this decision (I hadn't ordered it yet) I walked to the TJ Maxx near our house and stumbled upon the exact same style tray for $7.99. It was kind of a no-brainer. I bought it and figured I'd find a similar paint color and give it a quick coat of paint. When I got read more this way >>>

no sew window cornice

Home Decor & Crafts

When you live smack in the middle of a city it’s bright and loud and bright all night long. And when you’re the worlds lightest sleeper like I am that becomes a problem. If you follow me on Instagram you would know that for a while this was our solution: While somewhat effective, it wasn’t very pretty. And it fell down constantly.  So for twenty bucks we grabbed this black out roller shade at Ikea. I question quality of some products from Ikea, but at twenty dollars I figured it wasn’t breaking the bank if it didn’t work out. Al hung it up and it read more this way >>>

handmade holidays: triple canvas whale painting

Home Decor & Crafts

This is another gift that could be for all ages depending on what you decide to paint. I chose to paint a whale as it’s a baby gift. Start by choosing three canvases in the same size - found in the painting section of a craft store. Chose the color paints you want as well. I was planning on shades of blue so I grabbed one navy blue and one white paint so I can mix to make different shades. Paint each canvas in the colors you chose and allow to dry fully. Using a pencil lightly sketch out what you plan to paint across the three canvases. You could also trace read more this way >>>

diy hanging corner shelves

Home Decor & Crafts

There's this one corner in our bedroom that was just blank and empty. And while we really didn't need the added storage of shelves I thought they'd look great in that space. So, one weekend while Al was out-of-town I took it upon myself to build some super simple shelves. I started with purchasing a 1"x4"x10' wood board at Home Depot. I had them cut it into six 18" pieces while I was in the store. When I got home I lightly sanded and stained each board. I used stain that I had leftover, I believe it was Minwax Jacobean. The easiest way to stain the boards was to read more this way >>>

colorful curtains

Home Decor & Crafts

I mentioned here and here about our new living room curtains. It was really hard for me to agree to those curtains. I love a color palette of neutrals and blues and greens. I don't often jump for brighter colors that really pop. However, Al's taste is completely different than mine. I've tried in the past to incorporate brighter colors and it only lasted a short while before I had to make a change. However, this time I thought instead of going big and bold with colored furniture I'd start small. So we agreed on the Ikea Lappljung curtains, which were a steal at read more this way >>>

yardstick wine cork pinboard

Home Decor & Crafts

I love this project because it's not time-consuming and can be done with your eyes closed. But I don't recommend that. My sister made this super easy and functional cork board. She used a yardstick, which you can grab for a few bucks at a hardware store, and wine corks, which in my family we have readily available and are willing to drink more wine if we need more corks. But you can also order them online and/or ask a local bar or restaurant to save for you. She painted the yardstick a shade of white and then glued the wine corks along the read more this way >>>

IKEA tidafors sofa review {and some new curtains too}

Home Decor & Crafts

We finally got a new, big, comfy sofa! Remember our first sofa, the one with the cup holders? It was a great starter sofa when we first got to Denver, but it was too small and not entirely comfy. We’ve been saving for a few months because we didn’t want to just purchase without the cash saved up. Sofa shopping is probably one of my top three things I hate doing.  It’s overwhelming, it’s boring, it’s expensive and it’s a big purchase.  This time it only took us a few hours to make a decision! Second store we went to we found the one we liked at a great price and read more this way >>>

covering an ugly window

Home Decor & Crafts

We have this window in our living room that is an old school, blurred tile window. That’s not the technical term, but I don’t really care what the technical term is since the window is the devil. When the sun hits the front of the building around mid-afternoon it basically shines through those terrible tiles and multiples it’s temperature by three and then makes our apartment a sauna. Worst part is that it’s right in front of our desk. I work from home one day and Al is home one day a week, which just makes it miserable. So I set out to find a solution and I read more this way >>>

hanging mason jar vase

Home Decor & Crafts

This was a project that I've seen on Pinterest in a few different styles. I thought we had the perfect space for it and it seemed fairly easy to make so I decided to try it out. The process was easy and inexpensive. I used the following: 1 sheet of scrapbook paper (may need more depending on your wood size) Piece of wood (could use any scrap wood you have lying around. I didn't have any so grabbed a scrap from Home Depot) Hose clamp (bring your jar with to make sure you get the right size) Mason jar Mod Podge I roughed up the piece of wood by lightly sanding, read more this way >>>

paint “dipped” birdhouse

Home Decor & Crafts

I'm loving the paint dipped look these days. It's all over Pinterest and the blogosphere - paint dipped wooden spoons, chair legs, table legs and more. I've also been really drawn to birdhouses lately and I thought a cute paint dipped one would be a great addition to my desk at home. I do find that the actual dipping process can be quite wasteful of paint so instead I hand painted my birdhouse to give it the same dipped look. I used paint that I already had and grabbed the birdhouse for a few bucks at Michael's, with a coupon. I taped off about where I wanted my color read more this way >>>

our custom, handmade desk

Home Decor & Crafts

It was a long while ago when I mentioned on a high five for Friday post about our new desk. I also even shared how I had lined the insides of the drawer. Our friend Joe is an amazing woodworker. He has built some unbelievably awesome things and he uses all different species of wood and then mixes them within a specific piece. It's so cool what he does. I had asked him about the possibility of building a desk for us that would fit the small space we had and he so kindly agreed to do so. I shared some ideas of the style we were looking for and the exact dimensions and no read more this way >>>

diy rustic headboard

Home Decor & Crafts

The headboard saga in our apartment has come to an end. Finally. But, let me back up. Way back in the winter I was doing my usual Sunday morning Craigslist perusing when I came across a cane headboard that was in perfect condition. I think it was 20 bucks or so and I needed to have it. So I convinced Al to get in the car and go get it now. It was the worst blizzard we’d had in Colorado thus far but it didn't matter, we had all wheel drive. So we set out. It took us over an hour to get 20 minutes away and when we got there it looked as pretty as it did in the photos. read more this way >>>