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Author: Hanna

Guest Bathroom Before & Afters + Giveaway!

posted in diy, giveaway, home by Hanna on
For those of you who missed it, I shared my inspiration board and the before pictures of our guest bathroom in my post “Turning Projects into Reality“.One month later–  after several trips to Home Depot, lots of painting and some help from the Mr.– my first home project is officially complete!

As I’ve mentioned before, with renting I never felt like it was worth my time and money to do something that I would have to walk away from. Now that I’m a home-owner I was itching to do my first home project. I decided to start with our guest bathroom.

While it wasn’t in the budget to do a complete rehaul I was able to find affordable ways to update and refresh the space. First while I was buying all the paint I was able to score a highly discounted gallon can of paint only because it didn’t come with a handle. So instead of paying $30 for it I got it for $10! Next time you’re buying paint make sure to see if they have any discounted cans of paint like this sitting behind the counter.

For the vanity, I knew it needed an update but new vanities can cost well over $300. Instead, I primed then painted the vanity itself and then just replaced the vanity top to a clean white one which only cost $74 at Home Depot. The fun mirror we also got from Home Depot. If you’re looking to update a mirror in your bathroom they have some of the most affordable options.

I think one of my favorite features in this bathroom update is the new faucet. It’s a Pfister faucet and while they have a wide selection of faucets, many that I really liked, I decided on the Ideal faucet because the top of it has the ability to pull out and extend around the sink. Not to mention, the faucet was super easy to install; or so Eric says since he was kind enough to do it for me.

After everything is said and done it’s nice to step back and admire the work we put into this bathroom while making it into something that fit our style. It will be exciting to see how other parts of our house come together over the years. As for now here’s a final look at the before and afters of this guest bathroom.
Sources:
Mirror, Wave Art Print, Barnwood picture frame/ Hobby Lobby, Shower Curtain, Faucet, Rugs/ TJ Max, Vanity Top, Towel Racks and Toilet Paper Holder/ Home Depot, Wall Paint Color/ Clark and Kensington Designer White, Vanity paint color/ Clark and Kensington Smooth Slate.
Now for all of you wanting to give a bathroom or kitchen a little update Pfister is going to give away a faucet to one of you!
One of our lucky readers will win a free Pfister faucet of their choice worth up to $300! That is pretty cool! The giveaway will last for one week and will end Wednesday, February 19th. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Linked To:
http://somedaycrafts.blogspot.com/2014/02/whatever-goes-wednesday-209.html
http://thediydreamer.com/from-dream-to-reality/104-link-up-your-projects/
http://sodapopave.com/soda-pop-ave/2014/2/11/what-we-love-wednesdays-26

Friday Finds #4 and GIVEAWAY!

posted in Friday Finds, giveaway, inspiration by Hanna on
Feew, it’s finally Friday! I don’t know about you, but I felt like this week would never end. Maybe it is because I’ve been so excited about my upcoming trip. Me and the baby are flying to Utah tomorrow to hang out with Hanna (my twin sister/blog partner) and her cute girls for a whole week! You can be sure that there will be lots of fun, yummy food, blogging, crafting, and chic flicks! But first, lets talk about Target. We love Target and we know you do too, so we’re helping to host a $100 Target Gift Card Giveaway! In light of this wonderful treat, we decided to feature some of our most loved Target products for today’s Friday Finds.
Once you’ve finished clicking through our favorite Target finds and inspiration, continue down to find out more about the giveaway and how to enter!
2.  Carlisle Metal Bar Stools |  inspiration from Emily McCall
3.  Round Metal Side Table | inspiration from House Made Home
7. Decorative Plastic Plates | inspiration from The Better Half

$100 target gift card giveaway from Pretty Providence & team!

Here is a little bit about each blog behind the giveaway; if you’re not already following these amazing women make sure you check them out!

Pretty ProvidenceMade to be a MommaThe Little ThingsNo Diets AllowedFrom Me, With LoveMy Life As MayaOur Thrifty IdeasStripes and Polka DotsTastes Better From ScratchRad Mom Cool Kid

Want a chance to win a $100 Target Gift Card? Enter below! Giveaway ends February 7th.

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Creating a Learning Environment at Home for your Kids

posted in inspiration, kids, motherhood, parenting by Hanna on

Since having my girls and getting the privilege of watching them grow I’ve started realizing how eager they are to learn and experience everything they can in life. It’s so inspiring to me how free-spirited and willing kids are to jump in and learn and try something new. I also noticed how children learn better in the safe environment of their home from people they love and trust. Seeing these things have made me want to create more opportunities for my girls to learn and experience new things at home in these younger years, especially for my 2 ½ year old daughter, Mia.

Learning through participating in the day-to-day things:

One simple solution I found is slowing down and taking the time to involve her more in the day-to-day things; like chores around the house, getting groceries at the store, or cooking something. I’ve never seen anyone more excited to learn how to set a table than Mia was the other night when I would hand her each dish and she would have to figure out where it should go.

I also often take the opportunity to let her help me with the cooking and measuring out ingredients. In fact one of our favorite things to make together are those healthy, chocolate chunk banana muffins from last week’s post.

All this things take extra time and effort, which is why I often have to remind myself that I’m doing it to help my girls, especially Mia. Not to mention, Mia simple loves the opportunities to do something new!

Learning through music:
Another great way I found to create learning opportunities is switching out my music for “kid-friendly” music or what I like to call the toddler station on Pandora. We also have the CD If You’re Happy & You Know It by Fisher Price in our car that we listen to when the girls are along the ride. Mia loves all the songs on it and after several months of listening to it I’ve noticed a lot of the words from the songs have become a part of Mia’s regular vocabulary. Needless to say, music has a huge presence in our home and it has been a big factor in helping Mia learn. Plus there is nothing cuter than hearing your kids sing!

Creative learning:

Finally, I’ve put my so-called “craftiness” to use to encourage Mia’s creative side but also use it as an opportunity to have Mia experience creating with different kinds of things. Sometimes I use different occasions and holidays to do projects. For example, last year for Valentines I had Mia stamp hearts on card stock and we made cards to send out to the Grandparents; or for Halloween Mia glued cotton balls on some paper ghosts I cut out. On a regular week I’ve done play dough, let her cut paper with scissors, paint, helped her build a snowman or whatever random thing I can come up with.

Even with my perfectionist side, I’ve learned nothing has to be super grand and planned out for Mia to learn something new and love doing it at the same time. She just wants the experience and the quality time spent with her mama!

Since the move and the holidays I haven’t been as good about some of these things as I should be. Mia is crazier than ever, getting into everything she can and is just down right bored! This post is a reminder to myself (and hopefully an inspiration to some of you others mom out there) to slow down, take some time away from all the things that need to be done and spend some time with the kiddos to create opportunities to help them to learn and experience new things.

-HANNA

Linked To:
http://www.trueaimeducation.com/2014/01/6-favorites-and-moms-library-80.html
http://sodapopave.com/soda-pop-ave/2014/1/27/what-we-love-wednesdays-24
http://www.familyhomeandlife.com/2014/01/wow-us-wednesday-link-party_28.html
http://www.keepingitsimplecrafts.com/2014/01/motivate-me-monday-210-block-party.html
http://www.carolynshomework.com/2014/01/the-inspiration-board-creative-party-139.html

Friday Finds #3: Decorating with Numbers

posted in diy, Friday Finds, home, inspiration Monday by Hanna on
To carry on with the theme from Wednesday’s post, we’re giving some inspiration when it comes to decorating with numbers. (In case you missed the post on the DIY Numbers Pouf check it out HERE!) We just love decorating with numbers, not to mention it’s a quick and easy way to give your stuff a new look. 
This week we decided to throw a few DIY numbered projects into the round-up so feel free to click through the links so you can see how to recreate some of these hot looks yourself!
1.  Numbered Mason Jars | by The Crafted Sparrow
2.  Numbered Counter Stools | by Elizabeth Joan Designs
3. Raindrop Numbers 1 to 10 |  LittleDesignHaus on Etsy
4. Vintage No. 8 Wrapped Canvas | Native Vermont Studio on Etsy 
5. Washable Numbered Stencil Mugs | by The 36th Avenue
7. Numbered Clothes Pin Magnets | Farmhouse Wares
8. Hanging Metal Numbers  | The Land of Nod
9. Touch Tone Numbered Wall Hanger | The Land of Nod
Linked To:
http://www.delineateyourdwelling.com/2014/01/linkn-blogs-9.html


DIY Numbers Pouf: Land of Nod Knock Off

posted in crafts, diy, home, sewing, tutorial by Hanna on

I have an on and off again relationship with floor poufs…or at least the idea of them. I see them all over and honestly I love the look and functionality but then I see that not so lovely price. I can already see my husband trying to figure out some rational explanation to why I need to spend so much on a pillow. By this point I begin to think of a way to make one. Quite frankly this is as far as I usually get until last week when I decided to kick it into gear and make one.

My inspiration came from Land of Nods own numbers pouf that I have had my eye on for quite sometime.

Is anyone else in love with Land of Nod or is just me?

I basically have been using their magazines as my inspiration book for future DIY projects.

Anyway, I used this super easy-to-follow tutorial from Living with Punks. Because there already is a tutorial listed there, I’m not going to do a full one. I, however, made my pouf bigger and stitched together the sides to make 9 panels for the corresponding numbers. I’ll guide you through the different things I did so you can create your own numbers pouf.

My material list:

– 3 yards of fabric
– 2 packages of pre-made pipping
– black fabric paint
– number stencils on cardstock (numbers 1 through 9)
– 50 oz. Fiberfill

I started by cutting 9 rectangle panels for the side of the pouf that were 8.875″ x 13″. Then I sewed all of them together using a straight stitch and 1/4 inch seam. After sewing all 9 panels together, I ironed all the seams open. *If there is one things I learned about sewing it’s that ironing everything you sew will make it look MUCH nicer.

For the number stencils I just made them using “Old Standard” font and printed them out on cardstock so they were about 6 inches tall. Once those were all cut out, I used the black fabric paint and a foam brush to stencil a number on each panel.

While that was drying I cut out the top and bottom circles for the pouf, measuring 23.75 inches in diameter and sewed on the piping. I’ll admit that this was my first time working with pipping and I was a little nervous about it. Come to find out, it’s one of the easiest things to add. I ended up laughing at myself for ever thinking it would be hard.

The finish pouf came out to be about 23 1/4 inches wide and 12 1/2 inches tall.

What I love most about this numbers pouf is that it’s clean and modern while still having a “kid” element with the numbers, so it could work in any room. Since I haven’t decided on a specific place for it yet, I’m thinking our floor pouf is going to float between our very bare and empty living room, our family room where it will could be used as a foot stool, and also the playroom to give the girls something to sit on.

– HANNA

Linked To:
http://www.sewmuchado.com/2014/01/we-did-it-wednesday-188.html
http://www.thethriftyhome.com/2014/01/221st-penny-pinching-party.html
http://somedaycrafts.blogspot.com/2014/01/whatever-goes-wednesday-206.html
http://thediydreamer.com/from-dream-to-reality/101-add-your-projects/
http://myfashionforwardblog.com/things-pretty-44/
http://staceyembracingchange.com/2014/01/23/creative-inspirations-linky-party-features-30/
http://www.thepinjunkie.com/2014/01/friday-link-party-51.html
http://www.delineateyourdwelling.com/2014/01/linkn-blogs-9.html
http://thewinthropchronicles.blogspot.com/2014/01/share-it-link-party-99.html

Friday Finds #2: Cold Weather

posted in Friday Finds, home, inspiration, shop, women's fashion by Hanna on

We may not love the cold weather so much, but we do love some of the things that go hand in hand when it’s chilly outside. What’s better than some cozy layering pieces to stay warm, a great read while you’re stuck inside and an oh so delicious cup of hot cocoa to go with it?

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 

Hope you’re staying warm! Have a great weekend!

Linked to:

How to Turn Project Dreaming into Reality

posted in home, inspiration by Hanna on
We recently became new homeowners! Our little family moved in just over a month ago and already there are so many thing we love about it.  Perhaps the thing I love most about our new house is the potential each room has in becoming a space of our own– a space where we will rise our children, welcome guests, and call home. The problem? With so many options and things to choose from, I’ve been getting so lost as to what it is I want to do with each space, and with a limited budget where should I even begin? New ideas and updates on the house are continually being added to my list and somehow I needed to find a way to get started.
Like me, I’m sure many of you have a growing wishlist that is just waiting to be tackled. Whether you’ve recently moved like me, or have lived in a place for years, I want to share a few tips I’ve learned on how you can start checking off some of those things on your list and finally create the space you’ve always wanted. Surprisingly, it’s quite similar to Sara’s steps in building a wardrobe. Who knew?!

1. Start by pin-pointing exactly what in your space isn’t working, what needs to go and what needs to be updated and/or fixed. I’m not talking about a major renovation here! Simple updates/fixes might include: organizing or rearranging a space; adding more personality and color with a coat of paint; or getting rid of an old piece of furniture and replacing it with something newer and of higher quality.

One of the first things on my project “to-do” list is our guest bathroom. There really isn’t anything horrible about it, but its a little out-dated and not really our style. I wanted something clean and sleek and something welcoming for guests.

2. Once you’ve identified the issues, start looking for inspiration and ideas for things you like or that would work in the space to fix the problem. As many of you already know, Pinterest is the #1 place to get great inspiration! I also like to look through different clips from magazines that I am always saving (ex. Do It Yourself, HGTV magazine, Better Home and Gardens). When using Pinterest or whatever else you use for inspiration, have a separate board/folder for each room to keep everything organized and easy to access.

3. Now that you know what direction you want to go in and some of the things you would like to get, start complying a shopping list and figuring out how much everything is going to cost.

Here is the board for the guest bathroom.

Notice once I found my inspiration photo I was able to start looking for things that went along those lines and I was able to start getting an idea of how much this was going to cost.

4. Lastly, figure out which project or space is at the top of your priority list and start there, working you’re way down the list until everything is eventually done.

 I like doing things this way because a) I have a clear vision of where I want the space to end up, and b) I can get things I actually want by taking the time to look around for the best deals even if it means getting things a little at a time. Sooner or later you’ll finally have the space you’ve always wanted that works!

Now just a few things to keep in mind:

Maybe the inspiration for your space would cost a lot more than you would like to pay, no worries! There is always something that looks similar or gives the same feel for a lot less if you’re willing to take the time and look around. Another option is to do it yourself.

As I mentioned above, having a laid out plan takes away the stress when it comes to buying the pieces and materials for the space your are creating; however, the big lesson is having PATIENCE. One thing I am still struggling to learn is that it’s not always realistic to have everything now. Over time a beautiful space is created.

I hope this post has inspired you to go tackle some of those awaiting projects! As for me, I already have the walls painted in the guest bathroom and plan on finishing up with the rest in the following weeks! Make sure to check back for the after photos!

I would love to hear some spaces you’ve wanted to revamp or projects you’ve been wanting to do but haven’t yet and what you’re plans are!

Linked To:
http://thediydreamer.com/from-dream-to-reality/100-share-projects/
http://www.thethriftyhome.com/2014/01/220th-penny-pinching-party.html
http://sodapopave.com/soda-pop-ave/2014/1/14/what-we-love-wednesdays-22