DIY Projects & Ideas

DIY Folding Display for Craft Shows and Markets

I participated in two vintage markets in 2016 and needed a place where I could hang things for buyers to see. I wanted something portable, inexpensive, and something that would let me hang something in multiple spots. A trip to Lowe's lumber department gave me an idea, I made a portable display using a privacy fence section.

Backyard Firepit

My friend bought a new home a couple years ago and today she put in her backyard firepit. She wanted a safe way to have family get togethers around the fire. The first step is to be sure your town allows firepits in the city limits and inquire if they require a permit for it. Check with your local fire station and / or city zoning departments.

Front Porch Privacy Screen

When our neighbours decided to store their garbage bins at the side of their house we had more than just a curb appeal problem. Every time we came and went out the front door we were met with an unappealing view of their trash.

DIY Garden Fence Using Picket Fence Panels

The deer were eating our tomatoes! We originally put a border around our garden using 2 x 8's, but we needed something more. Using picket fence panels to make a garden fence not only helped to protect our bounty from deer and such, but also added a pretty (and nostalgic) factor. Purchasing pre-assembled picket fence panels seemed the most cost effective way for us to fence in our vegetable garden area. Here's how we did it:

Our Homemade Firepit - From All Repurposed Materials

I grew up going to a cabin that had a firepit. It was the heart of the activities. Everyone came together around it and the best memories happened there. So, when my husband and I bought our own cabin (right next to the one I grew up going to), our top priority was building a firepit.

Charcoal Grill Fire Pit

My son’s and his wife have a sweet rental home. They can make small changes and are very creative.We helped them this weekend, July 4 th putting this together for our s’mores tonight.His weber grill that he tried to sell but no one wanted and he decided to turn it into a fire pit.

Christmas on My Mind

Are you crazy like me and already ready to start decorating for the holiday season? Do you change the look of your holiday mantel completely year-to-year? Please say yes to both and make me feel better! Wonder what I'll come up with this time ....

DIY Christmas Gift Idea- Peppermint Sugar Scrub

Did you know there are just two ingredients needed to make your own sugar scrub? Sugar and oil! That's it! For a scented scrub, add a few shakes of essential oil such as peppermint or lavender. Mix it all together and put it in a pretty container and you've got a great DIY gift for someone (or keep it for yourself!)
It's really that easy.

Glass Christmas Trees

What you will need for the project:
Styrofoam cones or stack trees.
Craft paint...

Make a Fresh Rosemary Wreath!

Just hauled the Rosemary in from the garden (tender perennial here in Delaware), gave it a haircut and made a wreath for the kitchen. Smells heavenly!

driftwood christmas trees

dreaming of a simple natural white christmas with driftwood trees i made and handstamped gift tags.

Snow Globe in Vintage Bottle

Handmade with ♥

Easy Grill Cleaning Hack by Recipe

This Grill Cleaning Hack Is Genius

How to Steam Clean the Microwave

(This is a summary only. Visit my blog for the complete tutorial for this plus so many more home related tips and ideas. Click the link at the bottom of the post.) Nobody wants to spend time or energy cleaning the microwave. Here's a quick, all-natural way to steam clean it. No scrubbing involved!
tricks

How to Clean and Deodorize Your Microwave

There is only one thing worse than a dirty microwave and that would be a dirty AND stinky microwave.
If you've ever burned popcorn in the microwave or heated up Italian food numerous times, then you know how smelly your microwave can get.
I don't like spraying chemicals into something that my food also goes into and besides, I think this non toxic method of cleaning and deodorizing is easy and fast.

How to Clean a Humidifier

With cold and flu season approaching, it may be time to pull out the humidifier. These are GREAT to use this time of year, but they do need to be cleaned. Follow these simple steps to get your humidifier ready to use! tips

Pallet LED Lamp

You can, too, build this beautiful lamp from free pallet wood.

How to Clean Your Dishwasher

My dishwasher is one of the hardest working things in my house (I basically run it everyday!), but it’s easy to forget that it needs a good cleaning too. When my dishwasher starts to smell, you know it's time to give it a good cleaning. With just two green ingredients you can have an Eco clean dishwasher (without using expensive dishwasher detergent).

Where Are My Keys ? NO MORE! $15 Solution

Ok.. It may be possible that I may be the only one… BUT I don't think so. I hate seeing keys on a counter rolling around with no assigned location. I also don't really like having them “exposed” on a key hanger. (specially since I don't have a “Mudroom” or something like it. I wish I did.) In my case they would just hang there in my middle of one of my entry ways, looking into my OCD soul. Too much? Ok.. well, you may be right, but I really don't like them just hanging there. Doesn’t really fit in the decor.. Sometimes I feel it take aways from the great looking key hanger out there.I ramble just to justify.. My great James Bond idea. HA! “Why don’t just hide them behind a frame.” The key (no pun intended) is finding the right frame. It’s has to be at least 1½ inches in depth. This way the keys will hide behind behind the frame without damaging it or not allowing the frame to close properly. The deeper/thicker the frame the better. It was really pretty easy and I think I may customize a bit more by adding fancier hooks, and maybe replacing the elastic with a small wood plate but I just couldn't wait to share. I hope you guys like it and maybe you can customize it to fit your needs, hopefully I gave you a head start. Check it out ! I had most of the materials which allowed my cost to be minimal.

6 Quick Fix-Facelift Ideas for Builder Grade Bathrooms ALL Under $120

I'd like to share some bathroom face-lift projects we tackled a few months ago. EACH can be done in 6-12 hours, some less some more (if paint is involved) but nothing over a day. When I know I can finish a project in a day (or so) I am definitely quicker to start/try it. Our '06 builders grade bathroom was plain old ugly and odd! They put carpet in the vanity area & a one piece "acrylic" counter with single sunken sink (should be two) plus oak dbl cabinets.We would rather go on vacation than fund a full remodel, so a face-lift was all we could do on our modest income. Everything we did was under $120 total...and that was spent mainly on flooring & paint. ( I wasn't planning to post. I had painted the cabinets before I took my BEFORE Photo.)

We Have Just One New Years Resolution for 2018...

Thank you for a year of inspiring, encouraging, sharing and creating together with us on Hometalk! We can't wait to reminisce about all the amazing things we've done together this year, but before we get carried away...Our New Year's Resolution:

Quickly Remove Heat Stains From Wood!

You’ve seen them before. White splotchy heat stains that cover what used to be perfectly pristine wood furniture, and if you’re reading this, you probably have one or two of these marks in your home right now.

How to Remove Dried Paint From Clothing

If you are a DIYer, you probably have some clothing with dried paint on them. Here's how to remove it - for real!

7 Amazing Upcycling Ideas

Literally transform trash into treasure with these easy upcycling ideas.

Repurposed Garden Bike

For the last few years I have been eyeing this old bike the previous owners left behind as garden art. It was a cute bike but she had glued massive fake flowers on both the seat and inside the adorable little wooden flower box.

DIY Decoupage Bird Feeder Planter

Made from recycled materials this bird feeder turned into bright spot in the garden, something the birds LOVE.

Quilt Rack Turned Outdoor Planter

This is a quick and easy project that will add a little something different to your backyard.

DIY Large Planters... From Trash Cans!

Want a set of large planters for the front door? Don't want to spend a lot of money? Then, I have the perfect project for you today! Take a look at these planters here! You will not believe what they are made of...

Garden Herbs

I've had these wagon wheels, bought on a whim, leaning against our storage shed in a small neglected area of our yard forever it seems. I knew it was time to do something here. For a few days I just starred at them and thought how much they looked like clocks, but, I sure didn't have a need for an outdoor clock, much less two clocks, then I remembered seeing various wall gardens online and in magazines. So I decided to give it a try.

DIY Pet Memorial Photo Bench

Build a Pet Memorial Bench that incorporates your pet's photo. Easy weekend project.

Prayer Garden

I was given a small check and asked to 'plant' a tree in memory of my mother in law when she passed away. It turned into our beautiful sanctuary. I hope you enjoy. First, I spent DAYS looking through Pinterest for inspiration. Given that I really didn't think a tree could do justice to her memory, I thought we could do a small, fenced garden. I had a spot of land at the end of my driveway and against the house where it would fit nicely. It is approximately 21' x 24'. First and foremost, I hit Craig's list and picked up any and all free stuff I could find that 'might' fit with my vision. I purchased old doors for $15 and found as many free bricks that I could haul. I found a concrete table and pedestal (free) as the owner simply wanted it hauled away. 3 guys later, it was in the truck.You can see 2017 Spring pics of this garden here: http://www.hometalk.com/28650560/prayer-garden-updates

Needed a Garden Bench

Out of necessity for deck furniture I made this garden bench. I started out with twelve cinder blocks.

Bench For Your Backyard

Edited: Thank you so much for the kind compliments! Some of you brought up some good questions and concerns... 1- we have never had an issue with the cinder blocks moving. Not to say it wouldn't happen, but just know that we have had countless parties and kids over and never had any issues with blocks shifting but if you want to play it safe you can definitely use an adhesive. What I kind of liked though was that this wasn't a permanent project so I can change my mind one day if we want to re-arrange the yard. 2- love the ideas to add some extra color by painting or staining the concrete cinder blocks, super tempted to even do tiles! great ideas and excited to inspire some backyard projects to you all!! 3- sadly Franklin is still gone roaming the wild! (at least one could hope! ha)thanks!! Sam ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Billy and I love to have people over and host, so with that we are constantly looking for ways to improve our yard and "hosting" space. We were super excited about our recent backyard transformation, we took out grass and installed some fake grass, plantings, decomposed granite and even poured some concrete. Amongst all these improvements we still wanted to create a fire pit area, but let's face it things can get pricey when it all adds up!! To save some bucks we were able to come up with a great alternative for our new and improved fire pit seating area. Rather than building some large wall with seating we were able to make our own and what's kind of nice is that it's not permanent so we can still have some flexibility with changing the yard up as our lifestyle changes.Original Blog Post

Part 2-directions for Concrete Bench Base

The base is not your customary 2 blocks under the bench-
I wanted something unique and to push my limits of creating a one of a kind concrete bench. I also thought this could be sturdier than the traditional type benches that can wobble if the ground is not stable. I will be working with other forms soon to create yet another bench base and inspire all of you to create your very own concrete bench.
The base takes a full 80lb bag of concrete mix and I would use the Sakrete 5000 plus or other concrete mix with fibers for durability and strength. I hope the directions are easy to understand and follow-if not please let me know so that I can 'tweak' them....

Potting Table From 100% Reclaimed Items

I turned an unused corner of my backyard from an eyesore to a usable potting area using 100% reclaimed items I've found along the way. The base of the table was created from a 6' x 4' pallet which I cut in half lengthwise to make my L-shaped table. The rest of the table was made using discarded barn wood, old barn gates and fence pieces, leftover galvanized sheets from a roofing project, chicken wire and even boxes of discarded nails and screws I found. Now the space I've avoided like the plague is used daily and now serves a purpose. All from free, recycled materials.

Painted Fingerprint Heart Pots

I made these sweet pots years ago, and they are still my absolute favorite holiday craft EVER. Every time I see my babies sweet little fingerprints as hearts, my heart melts. They are so easy to make. And just put a special someone's favorite plant in them and you have the perfect heartfelt Valentines gift! I happen to love mine so much, that I always have my pots out on display! decor

DiY: Flower Pot Makeover

I may not have a green thumb when it comes to keeping houseplants and flowers, but like all Turks, I love growing herbs around the house. From spring through summer, we Turks fill our balconies, terraces and tables with mint and globe basil. In Western Turkey, along the Mediterranean and Aegean coasts, you will find potted herbs growing almost everywhere you look: houses, offices, restaurants and bars. Not only do they look and smell nice, but the globe basil especially keeps mosquitoes at bay.

How to Easily Age Terra Cotta Pots

How To - Distress Pottery

Step by Step Instructions - How To Distress Pottery

Dry Herbs Without a Dehydrator

Herbs are great! They are easy to grow and easy to dry so you can enjoy them all year round. Grow perennial herbs like Oregano, Thyme, Mint and Lovage - they will die back in the fall and start growing again in the Spring.

Make a Clay Pot Garden Buddy

Gardeners have a wide variety of "tastes" when it comes to landscape decorations. If you are looking for directions to make a garden buddy out of flower pots, here's a good link:
http://www.realtor.com/home-garden/gardening/garden-landscape-ideas/pot-people.aspx

Decorative Mailbox

Set the street side tone for your home and add some simple DIY curb appeal with a decorative mailbox using ModPodge and fabric or special papers.
Mine features Mackenzie-Childs giftwrap and Richloom outdoor fabric on an oversized rural-sized mailbox.

Summertime Porch With A Vintage Flair

I added some vintage items to my front porch last year to give it a fun vibe. I don't normally do anything too stuffy out here.

Sail To Get Your Mail?!

Here in Florida, it's not uncommon to see fun and whimsical mailboxes. I just finished this custom Pirate Ship Mailbox and it's sailing all the way to Homestead, Fl. !!

Come Sit a Spell !

Before we even moved the furniture into the house, we hung the porch swing on the front porch! It was a dream realized for me. Morning coffee, chats with neighbors and a shady break spot when gardening, this is my favorite "room" in our home. Here are some pictures of our front porch over the seasons with more to come soon!

Mailbox Makeover

Mailboxes generally have the same look around where we live: a plain mailbox on a plain post which is so not my personality or style. After nearly 5 years of looking at our ratty mailbox and post, I decided to vamp it a little and I'm so pleased with how this fairly easy project came out!

My Front Porch Makeover

After two years of residing in our house our entry has finally received a makeover. I started with a design board where I gathered my ideas. Next I came across some great finds for unique pots and planters to use for decoration. Then new paint, a fancier header above the door, a new light fixture and I love it! Check out my whole makeover at the link below.

DIY Garden Hose Storage

It's the 4th month of our Home Depot Gift Challenge, where several other bloggers and I all take the same item from Home Depot and make a gift for someone specific out of it! This month our item was a 2x4. Let me tell you, there are WAY to many things you can do with a 2x4! But since our gift was supposed to be for a new homeowner, we thought making something to organize a hose would be perfect. Besides, our hose is totally thrown all around our yard and desperately needed somewhere to hang it!

Cupcake Love: Etched Glass Dog Treat Jar

For most animal lovers, their dogs, puppies, kitties and cats are not just pets...they are family! What better way to show your little fluff balls you love them than with a beautiful container for holding their delicious treats? With just a little bit of time, some etching cream and a simple glass jar you can make a beautiful and personalized treat jar for your favorite furry friend. Read more posts like this by Brit at www.diyjustcuz.com

Easy Organizer With Mason Jars and Scrap Wood

We can never have enough organizers! Especially something that uses mason jars! I came up with a fun mason jar idea that not only uses mason jars but also scrap wood! And the best part - it can be made to hole as many jars as you like and used in so many ways to organize so many things!

Very Sturdy But Cute Hose Guards

When I pull my hoses around a corner, invariably it drags right through my flowers and rips some out. To solve this problem I bought cheap plastic hose guards at the hardware store. Hubby hit them with the mower and several of them broke. So I went back to said hardware store and bought the expensive iron ones. Very cute but the screw-in part rusted through in one season. UGH! So I made these. After I collected all my supplies, they took about 45 minutes to make, including the time it took my handy husband to cut the pipe for me and including the time it took to pound ten of them into the ground.

Trash Bag Storage Dispenser/Container

Repurpose a bleach wipe container into a trash bag storage container. It's affordable, easy, cleans up all of those messy bags, and repurposes a container you might have recycled. You can see more of my crazy creations here

Hose Pot Without the Hose Pot Price!

I crafted my flower pot tower earlier this summer. I loved the look but hated the curled hose at the base. It just looked ugly, and it ruined the look! The cheapest hose pot I could find that was attractive and not plain was $50! I didn't want to spend that much, because I have a hose at the front and at the back. No, I'm not spending $100 just to hide hoses. So I put my crafter hat on and bought two large pots at the local home improvement store for $10 each! Check out the results below. MUCH better!

How to Stencil Drapes

I saved a bunch of $$ by stenciling some Ikea drapes & dressed 3 windows in my bedroom for $75. Can't beat that! Here are my how-to's on the project!

Painted Dandelion Wall Graphic Tutorial #WallCandy

I know some of you may be intimidated by painting something graphic on your walls. But, I'm hoping if I break it down for you it won't look so hard.
Start by sketching out your design using chalk or pencil. I personally prefer chalk, but if your walls are too light you can use pencil.
From here on I'll show you the design using black paint on white paper (because it will be easier for you to see.)

Faux Tile and Metallic Style

The super talented Kara Paslay created this innovative and unique space with Modern Masters Metallic Paints. This bath was updated for an upcoming TV show and we're so excited to give you a sneak peek!

Stenciled Rug!

I needed a new rug for my outdoor patio but didn't want to spend too much so I found a rug at Home Depot for $17, applied a stencil pattern to it and sealed it with spray on poly. Not sure how it will hold up but our weather in South Texas is mild so I'm curious to see how it does! At this price, I may make another one for the holidays!

Chalk Paint® Stenciled Floor Cloth

Painted and stenciled floorcloths have a rich history - used in homes throughout England and the United States prior to the invention of linoleum, they were often made from recycled canvas ship sails. For a quick and easy alternative floor covering we created this amazing stenciled vinyl floorcloth using Annie Sloan Chalk Paint on the BACK side of some pre-cut vinyl. Check out the full blog post for complete instructions and tips!
http://www.royaldesignstudio.com/blogs/how-to-stencil/5156302-chalk-paint-stenciled-floor-cloth

Stencil Your Floor with our Shipibo Stencil

We've gone absolutely gaga over this Shipibo Stenciled Floor! Jessica did a tremendous job with this DIY stencil project! Check it out on our blog below for details and in-process pics!
READ ME NOW: http://blog.cuttingedgestencils.com/painting-a-geometric-stenciled-floor-with-cutting-edge-stencils.html

Homemade Flea Repellent for Home

Get rid of those nasty fleas the healthy, natural way! Make an easy homemade flea repellent for your home with a few simple, inexpensive ingredients you most likely have on hand.

Terra Cotta Space Heater

Ok, I have to admit, this is pretty thrifty. This space heater is a clean and cheap energy alternative and also a pretty fun looking little piece. If you live in a place where one room tends to get colder than others, or you want to save a little cash money, or are like me and live in a space where you can't control your heat, this is great! This space heater is made from some simple terra cotta pots and hardware and can really heat up a space on the cheap.
We want to help you DIY, so some of the materials in this post are linked to sellers. Just so you know, Hometalk may collect a small share of sales from the links on this page.

Upcycled Denim Draught Excluders (door and Window)

Keep your home warm with these fun upcycled jeans draught excluders. The cheesy puns will also make you and your guests smile.
They are really easy to make, cost very little and are effective in keeping out the cold winter draughts.

Building a Cobblestone Path With Moss

Hubby and I poured a new cobblestone pathway. Then a slick recipe from Martha Stewart for growing your own moss..

How to Get Rid of Fruit Flies

Send fruit flies on a one way trip with this easy and effective solution using stuff you already have at home.

Backyard Makeover

We moved into our house in March of 2015 and we could not WAIT to start this transformation!

Learn to Tile Like a Pro

So Last week I had the amazing pleasure of hosting Hometalk’s DIY Facebook session. It was so much fun. put on safety gogglesI showed you how anyone could tile just about anything with these simple steps. Often we can become intimidated by the fear of the unknown. We went through a simple and easy manner in which anyone can complete their own tiling project using the SimpleMat by Custom Building and a premixed gout also by Custom Building.

How to Tile a Bathtub to Make It Look Like a Spa

When we were looking to buy our house one of the major things that we were looking for was an awesome master suite. And in that suite our master bathroom HAD to have a nice big tub. When we found our house I immediately fell in love with the corner tub and it was my favorite thing in the room. Well we decided to redo it and change out the tile and now I love the bathtub 10x more! I seriously cannot stop looking at it, it's so pretty and I love the outcome!

Warning (Still) Under Construction

Hello again! we finally took the next step in completing our walk in closet. We decided on a tile floor! We have been looking at the different types and styles at the local big box stores and decided on the aged wood look of these Ceramic tiles.

A Simple Hexagon Tile Hack

I fell in love with hexagon tile when we were building our house over four years ago. I loved the classic, small design and the visual interest it gave a small space and thought it would be perfect for our master bathroom. It wasn’t until I was in the design center months later that I realized that if we asked for the hexagon tile in the bathroom it was a huge upgrade and would add a sum to our budget that wasn’t worth the cost at the time. When you’re building a house you have to make decisions like that as those small details can add up so quickly. If you’ve been following along our journey on Instagram you may have noticed that we have been finishing our basement for some time now. We are getting SOOOO close and I cannot wait to share the end result with you. It has been a lot of fun to be able to pick the finishes I REALLY want and not have to worry about paying for those upgrades in a 30 year mortgage!

How to Make a Old Tile Grout Look Brand New

This is a Bathroom that will be transformed with the grout shield color seal

Master Bath Remodel Phase 1

Lived with this nightmare bath for nearly 11 years... FINALLY got it done (DIY)... LOVE IT NOW! I started collecting ideas for this two years ago, could not get hubs on-board. Finally threatened to rip the exhaust fan out and throw it thru the window, it sounded like a truck every morning when he would get in the shower and I was trying to sleep! He actually thanked me for "forcing him" to start the project when we took the old shower doors off, it was so awful... it should not have taken five months to complete but he's not getting any younger so it was a weekend job, and not every weekend... three Phases because I took a LOT of before/after pix!

Great idea for a wineglass rack!

An old rake.

Humming Bird Feeder planter and hanger

For more on this and how to you can make this go to
http://www.onemoretimeevents.com/2012/07/wall-planter-and-humming-bird-feeder.html

Industrial Mason Jar Light

I created an industrial Mason jar light fixture for above my kitchen sink. I got these Mason jars from my husband's grandmother about 25 years ago and have used them in my kitchen ever since. I thought this was a fun way to use them. http://froufrugal.blogspot.com/2011/11/mason-jar-light.html

Striking Wall Decor Using Old Wood Siding And A Ladder

I hated the big blank space over my stairway. I have the most perfect spot to relax and sip my coffee each morning upstairs on my landing. Out the window my view is a gorgeous windmill, a stone root cellar, and old barns. I can see down the stairs into our beautiful foyer. But that empty wall over the stairs... It was a big wall staring blankly at me each morning! I needed some wall candy!

An Old Ladder Gets Retired to My Closet as a Ladder Shoe Rack!

I'm sure I'm not the only one who has seen the amazing things done with old ladders on pinterest! My favorite of all time was an old ladder shoe rack and I just happened to have an old ladder myself! It was Grandpa's and was used out here on the farm for many decades before being hung up on the side of the old garage where it hung for years upon years, just waiting for retirement. I never have the heart to part with anything I can make use out of and, from day one upon seeing this ladder, I tucked it away for just this purpose in our master bedroom closet! I knew it would make a fantastic ladder shoe rack for all of my high heels and, not to mention, beautiful throws and scarfs that I keep collecting... Ok, maybe "hoarding" would be another way of putting it, but I love them! And, I'm certain, one day I will wear them all at some point...

Seashell Beeswax Tea Lights

These tea lights are a beautiful gift idea and look just beachy in glass candle bowls filled with sand and shells. From the eBook: Garden Therapy Handmade Gifts: How to Make Simple and Beautiful Skincare, Candles, Living Gifts, and More!