DIY: Recipe Cards

I purchased this 3 ring Recipe book at Border's a million years ago.

I love the simple design of it. However the lined paper for your handwritten recipes was less than desirable. So I came up with my own DIY recipe cards on Microsoft Word.

I made them to fit 1/2 sheet of a standard printer paper, so I can get 2 per page. I spent Sunday afternoon retyping my recipes to fit into the new template. This helped me to have all my favorites orderly and neatly presented, but it also has the added bonus of having them all saved on my computer = easy access, so when a friend loves one of my creations I can easy email it to them!

One more thing off the never-ending To Do list. Actually there may be 100 more things, check back for details...

Colors & Labels

There are some new faces 'round here:

{ Phlox }

{ Snowball bush }

{ Creeping Jenny }

{ Geranium }

{ My camilia busting out! }

Erik and I are going to be making our first herb and veggie/fruit gardens this year. I'm excited to be able to pick out our own growin's for our dinners. Our planter box is almost complete for the herb garden that is going to be placed on our back porch for easy access. I wanted a DIY way to label all of my herbs. I found lots of cute ideas and products on Etsy, but I knew I could make something myself. I found plain metal stakes at Pike's for a couple bucks, and thank my lucky stars our neighbors happened to have metal stamps.

So my hand-punched garden labels were born. I couldn't be happier with them. Once we establish which veggies/fruits we're going to grow, I'm going to get copper ones for those beds. I can't wait!

Are you growing anything good this summer?

DIY: Chalkboard

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Nighttiming

Here is our new chandelier in all its beauty in the dark:

Thanks again to my lovely husband for doing the heavy lifting, and my mother-in-law for the string lights that brought it to life.

DIY: Natural Lighting

When I arrived home from work today, I was astounded by what I saw on my back porch. While I was away, my handsome, talented, strong and very manly husband had been building mama a rustic chandelier! It is very similar to something straight out of West Elm or Pottery Barn...

We were recently discussing the fact that we wanted a new light for our new back porch. Originally we had red lanterns hanging above, but after one good rain the color dye faded and we were left with ug-o shades. So since then we have just the bulbs hanging- not so chic. Erik's first idea was to weld an iron sphere that we would fill with bulbs for an industrial/modern light. Going with that theme, he decided to do some landscaping and lighting at the same time. He went in our overgrown back yard and cut down some hearty vines and wove them into the glorious sphere you see below for $0, yes it was absolutely FREE:

{ Doc & Uga love it too. }

All he did was cut the big vines first and he used some zip ties to make 2 circles. He put one circle inside the other and then used smaller vines to add more shape to it. Again, when discussing the iron idea, we wanted to paint it a fun bright color, but now I definitely want the rustic texture of the wood. I'll use twine to wrap around the zip ties to conceal them. As far as wiring goes, we are going to use big bulb string lights to fill the interior. I CANNOT wait to have it hanging on the porch. I'll keep you posted...

P.S. Did I mention how AWESOME my husband is?

P.S.S. And how I want him to make me 5 more?

DYI: Painting Bi-fold Doors

They are yucky, those folding doors, but most of the time they are a neccessity. There is either not enough room for a full door or not a full wall for a pocket door. But those bi-fold doors are soo ugly! Paint to the rescue! I have folding doors on my hallway laundry room. My walls are painted a beautiful bronze color and the white doors were way too white for the hallway.

Extra paint = chic, detailed doors!

Here's How:

1. I have to start with the fact that I HATE taping to paint, I happen to have a steady hand. So if you are like me, then no taping necessary, if you aren't then get the blue stuff and go!


2. Get to painting. Even for a small area, two coats are needed to ensure a smooth finish. Decide which areas to paint. You can do the raised square portion, or the recesses- I did the recesses for a frame look.


3. If you tape, I would pull it off ASAP. Interior paint is usually latex based and could peel off with the tape, so pull when it is still a little wet.


4. Finish the doors with some fancy hardware. I had cup pulls left over from our master bath switcheroo.


5. The result a not-so-ugly, classy bi-fold wonder!

DIY: Etched Glass Jars

    

As mentioned earlier, I love organizing my home and labels are my favorite part of it. However if you are working in the kitchen paper labels are not the best idea especially if your containers are ever going to need to be washed. Again, leave it to Martha to solve the problem. Here is her directions for putting glass etched labels on your glass storage containers:

   

     

1. Clean and dry the glass. Using painter's tape, mark off the area you want to etch. Attach vinyl stick-on letters and decorative tape; press hard to ensure they are attached firmly. 

2. Cover work surfaces (be sure to work in a well-ventilated area). Put on protective gloves and an old shirt with long sleeves. Paint an even layer of etching cream onto glass. Let stand for amount of time indicated by manufacturer's instructions. 

3. Rinse with warm water in a stainless steel sink. (Avoid porcelain sinks; the cream damages glazed surfaces.) Remove letters and tape.

© Martha Stewart.com

These glass jars from Ikea would be perfect for etching. 

I MUST do this immediately! Flour, brown sugar, powdered sugar, and chocolate chips here I come!

Martha's DIY Furniture

{courtesy of MarthaStewart.com }

Got to love her! Here is her way of making a bookcase into a craft station. I may be doing this to my office closet very soon...

copyright Simply Dwell

DIY: Paint Swatch Wall

{ courtesy of Design*Sponge }

Speaking of wall paint, I found this amazing DIY project on Design*Sponge. I have also seen the same project on the walls of David Bromstad's house- if it is his real house- on his HGTV show Color Splash. The paint chips are no longer just for choosing your paint color, they can serve as the wall color themselves!

copyright Simply Dwell