Do It Yourself Archives - Page 13 of 24

Before and After, Build It, built-in window seat, cabinet, demolition, desk, DIY, Do It Yourself, flooring, framing, habitat ReStore, hole filling, hole repair, Home Tour, kitchen, Kitchen Renovation

The Kitchen Renovation of 2013 – 1 Leak. 1 Year. 1 Woman.

2013 Could be called the year of the kitchen renovation in our house. Or the year that nearly killed me. Or the luckiest year of our lives. I’m still debating the title. What I do know is that, I decided to take on my biggest DIY project to date. I re-built my own kitchen from bare studs and subfloor.

It started one morning as I was confronted with a foul odor. It’s only describable as that odor that usually lives in the high school gym locker room. I thought my 9 year old son’s feet were starting to stink. Unfortunately a stinky pair of shoes wasn’t the culprit, it turned out to be a very minor leak that turned into a very big kitchen renovation. We persevered through 45 days without a washer and dryer and many months without a kitchen. But, it was like being a contestant in Survivor. I lasted the year of construction; the set backs and sore muscles; and in the end I was rewarded with a brand new kitchen!

Today, I walk into our beautiful kitchen and I know it was all worth it! It was worth all the sweat equity, the daily Advil doses, and the tree falling on the house. If you want to reminisce with me as I recap my kitchen renovation of 2013, here’s your ticket to all the tutorials and posts: Read more

January 17, 2014/38 Comments/by Brittany Bailey

arts and craft, Crafts, Do It Yourself, Gift Ideas, gifts, Home Decor, Painting & Antiquing Techniques, Très Frugal, Tutorial, Uncategorized

Faux Etched Glass Soap Dispenser Gift

Hi everyone! I’m so excited to show you a fun Très Frugal DIY gift idea today – a faux etched soap dispenser.

Of course you could use this paint technique on any glass item – a vase, votive, or pretty up a simple jar – but, to me, there’s something luxurious about dish soap in a beautiful decanter. Even if the actual process of using the soap isn’t quite so luxe.

Materials:

Glass dispenser (available at some dollar stores and most kitchen sections of large discount stores)
Rubbing alcohol
Cotton balls
“Frost” medium in either spray or liquid (*see below for types of frost paint)
Removable tape – you can use almost any type of masking tape, washi or even painter’s tape
Foam make up sponges

Optional: sticker shapes or stencils

*Types of Frost Paint:

Frost paint is simply a translucent white paint giving the appearance of etching without the chemical acid of true etching cream. It’s available as a spray paint, both by Krylon and Rustoleum, as well as others.

It’s also available as a liquid, made by Plaid, which is the product I used because I had it on hand. I’ve used it a few times with great results, most recently on some Pantry Jars. The tutorial below is for liquid frost medium.

The spray paint is definitely faster, however the liquid can be tinted with regular craft paint, which might be kind of fun.

Instructions: Read more

November 3, 2013/8 Comments/by Colleen Jorgensen

accessories, art, arts and craft, Build It, Crafts, decor, Do It Yourself, Holiday decorating, Home Decor, painting, priming, Tutorial

DIY a GIANT Artist Canvas

Have you ever yearned to own a giant piece of artwork but the cost was prohibitive? Or you knew you could create some awesome abstract paintings, but buying large canvases would cost too much. Well, for those hesitant artists, I have this quick tutorial for building your own GIANT canvas!

Materials:

2×2″ boards for frame supports (two sides, top, bottom and center support)
Kreg Jig and pocket hole screws
Drill
White fabric (canvas material would be best, but use what you have)
Staple gun and staples
Paint brush
Gesso (if you don’t have gesso, primer would probably work fine)

Instructions:

Cut your 2×2″ lumber down to size. Cut your top and bottom the full widths. Cut the two sides and the center support 3″ shorter to accommodate the height of the added top and bottom pieces. Note, if your canvas is portrait (instead of landscape), your support will be a center horizontal brace instead of vertical as shown. Read more

October 14, 2013/24 Comments/by Brittany Bailey

DIY, DIY tools, Do It Yourself, Electrical, renovation

DIY Cable Installation

It would seem that every time I’ve considered moving my TV to a new spot in the house, that there’s never a cable outlet where I need one. I recently remedied this issue and wanted to share with you how to tackle your own DIY Cable Installation!

This tutorial is specific to installing “through the wall” cable lines in houses with a crawl space. Since many cable customers have HD receivers, I think it’s important to install a home run aka an uninterrupted run of cable. Doing so will result in a higher signal and better quality picture. With that being said, let’s take a look at what you’ll need.

Materials List

(I’ve included affiliate links for your convenience. I earn a small percentage from a purchase using these links. There is no additional cost to you. You can read more about affiliate links here.)

Low Voltage Electrical Box
Keyhole Saw
RG6 Cable
3/8″ x 54″ Auger Drill Bit
3/8″ x 12″ Drill Bit
Drill
Cable Clips
Hammer
Coax Cable Receptacle Wall Plate
Coax Cable Stripper
Compression Tool w/ F-Connectors
Pencil
String
Fish Pole or Straightened Coat Hanger

Instructions for Installing Your Own Cable Outlet:

When you’ve decided where to install the new cable outlet, measure up 15″ and mark an area 1-1/2″ x 3-3/4″ .

Using a keyhole saw, cut through the drywall to create the opening for the installation of a low voltage electrical box.

Before you complete the next step, make sure that the area you plan on drilling into, doesn’t contain any hazards (i.e. electrical cable, duct work, gas lines, etc.) With open access into the wall, place the tip of the auger bit into the cutout and drill into the bottom of the stud wall to gain access into the crawlspace below. Read more

September 11, 2013/8 Comments/by Matt Knowlton

Aged, Build It, distressing, Do It Yourself, hole repair, kitchen, Kitchen Renovation

How to Build a Custom Wood Range Hood

Have you seen the beautiful custom range hoods on my Pinterest board? From the beginning of our kitchen planning sessions, I knew I wanted to put in a custom wood range hood. But, finding a tutorial to build one was tough. The one that helped me the most was Cristina’s how to build a range hood tutorial.

build custom range hood

I knew when I built our hood that I’d need to take detailed notes and photos to help you accomplish your own project. I hope this tutorial helps you build your own range hood!

Build Custom Range Hood Materials: Read more

August 30, 2013/54 Comments/by Brittany Bailey