DIY Security Sticks

There's been some robberies in our hood lately, which moved this DIY project to the top of the list.  Granted, I understand these sticks won't completely save the day, but they won't invite anyone in with open arms either.  But safety doesn't have to be boring, am I right? Break out the paints!

I don't know what these things are really called, so I'm gonna go ahead and name them Security Sticks, which is the best name ever.  This is an extremely easy DIY project that doesn't even warrant a tutorial.  You can look at them and already know what to do. So easy you can get the kids involved.  For the adults this project pairs nicely with beer, wine, and good music.

See? Simple.  We have the type of windows that those little screw locks BARELY hang onto, and ya know what? Those are a paint to screw and unscrew each day.  I like to have a little breathing room while we are gone at work, and these puppies fit the bill.  OK here's my super quick security stick project, that I think came out kinda cute.

1000+ Fans Giveaway WINNERS

Whoah, Memorial Day Weekend just flew by!  I fell off the bloggin' bandwagon since we were so busy not only prepping for a fun camping weekend, but then recovering! Hope you all had a great one too.

In other news, we have 11 winners from last weeks giveaway! Thanks to all who entered, and a big HELLO  and WELCOME to all the newbies who've joined us - so glad to have ya here.  If you won, check your inbox - I sent you an email with all the details.

And the winners are...

Free Custom String Art Winner:

Jennifer K. !

Coupon Codes for 50% off ANYTHING:

Stuff F.

Anacani 

Julia M.

Aunt S.

Jill Z.

Kelsey H.

Ashley E.

Jacki B.

Heather P.

Vidya S.

Congratulations everyone - again, you should have received an email from  me but if you didn't, get in touch with me for your prize: 9redinfo@gmail.com  I've heard from some of you but not everyone.

That's all for today, We decided on a whim to paint the living room which unleashed a whole world of projects, and we weren't even done with the front deck completely yet.  Balancing multiple projects seems to be the way around here...

Have a great one!

    -Jesse

Curb Appeal: Wonderful White Paint

In my past, white has been the most under appreciated paint color in my book. We totally fought.  I used to think it was boring, and just avoided it as much as possible.  Maybe that's because I always lived in apartments where I wasn't allowed to paint, so everything was stark white.  I was surrounded by it during a time when I craved color, big time.  Then in our last house, the landlord gave us the all clear to paint whatever we wanted, and I about exploded. Color everywhere, which you can see an example of in this old post.  And you can see even then, with the white trim, that I was just starting to embrace and appreciate white. That was a beach house in Santa Cruz, so wild colors went over real well & matched the 'hood.

Then I started to try white a little more. Now don't get me wrong, I LOVE color (yea, seen the guest room? hehe..) but I've really come to appreciate the difference a little white paint can make.  When we painted the pergola we constructed out front, we bought a gallon of that white, figuring we would use it all over the yard.  In attempts to make the house a bit more welcoming from the street, we decided to tackle this crazy retaining wall along our driveway:

Come on white paint, save the day, please.

Colorful Antique Crates

As soon as it started warming up, it seems like ALL the inside projects we had going on just dropped so we could get to the outdoor ones.  Can't help it, right? If it's gorgeous outside you don't want to be painting some closet or rebuilding a book shelf as the birds chirp by, you wanna be in the sun! So we've been working on our front deck big time.  I've built a few herb planters, we scored some furniture (CVS of all places!), and now it's time to cute-ify.  I saw these crates over at All Things Thrifty and knew they'd be perfect for the deck. Plus, versatile - they can hold stuff, or be a little end table, plant stand... I like that.
Take a look:

Looks great, right? But you may ask yourself, where will I find an assortment of antique crates in just my color scheme? Well, you'll make them of course.  I'm sure you've seen these bad boys 'round the craft store:

Mmhmm.  Mega easy tutorial over at All Things Thrifty, she did a great job of transforming an affordable lil crate into a piece that looks like it's been in the family a while. I need at least 6 of these, in assorted colors.  Scratch that, make it like 16, as I want to make a bookshelf out of crates someday. I love the wood look and the aged technique would totally match our "Modern Mountain" living room.... more on that later. We WERE going to do something like these OSB modular units inside, but I think they just got a run for their money...

What do you think? Is this your style? What colors would you do?  For our deck I'm leaning teals & yellows... we'll see.  Share what you're up to on Facebook, we all love to see projects!

Enjoy the day, it's another great one!

     -Jesse


Entered the String Art Giveaway? It ends tomorrow! Click here for details.

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Spotlight: Fan of Succulents

Get it? A Fan of Succulents? Because these are old fan covers! Now you see it, huh?  My sister Denise sent me this super cute planter the other morning and I fell in love! Pinned that right away. What a perfect succulent planter!  And surprisingly - I have actually brainstormed in the past uses for old fan covers, who knew I'd have enough dead fans to actually think this over?  I'd seen people make them into snazzy fruit bowls before, but really - you only need maybe one of those.  These? You could go on and on with this project and have them all over the place.

For the full project tutorial, pop over to Rancho Reubidoux.

I think you could do this with newer fan covers as well, as long as they are metal. Just pop any plastic parts out, and either give it a fresh coat of spray paint or distress it and let the weather do the work.  The metal will age well regardless and look really killer with the succulents. I wonder if you slightly sanded a the paint off the metal, then left the cover in a tub of water for a few days, what would happen? Anyone done this?

What do you think of this idea, you like? I love it. Next time I see a fan at a garage sale, that puppy is coming home!

Thanks Denise for sending the idea!
Got an idea to share? Submit it here.

Entered the String Art Giveaway? It ends Thursday! Click here for details.

     -Jesse

Linkies: Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, Subscribe & of course, Email me.

1000+ Fans String Art Giveaway

Whoah! 1000 fans on facebook? Aw shucks you guys... gonna make me blush. I'm so flattered and as a big THANK YOU to you all for hanging out here with me, I'm going to host a string giveaway as well as a mega discount giveaway.    One winner will get a free custom string art tablet. That's ANY string art.  Your name? Sure, let's do it.  An animal? Alright, those are great! Got a different idea? I love it.   On top of that, 10 winners will get a 50% off coupon for my etsy shop, good for half of of anything you see, or we can drum up something new together.

Click Here to Enter

4 ways to enter, as facebook fans that's a freebie - plus some other options for all you pinners & tweeters alike.  Each option gets you another entry.  This is open to everyone, so feel free to let your buddies know.  And again, HUMONGOUS thank you to you all, I love your comments, input and ideas - the pictures you've shared on facebook of all your amazing projects.. things just wouldn't be the same without ya.

Thanks again for all the love, and good luck in the giveaway!

Hugs!

-Jesse

If you feel like embedding this giveaway widget on your own blog or page, here's the link:

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/share-code/YjExZDcxMDNkMWEwODJhNzk5NTU2YTE2YWMxNTkxOjI=/

DIY Easy Bird Feeders

I love birds!  There, I said it.  And for some reason, I feel like it's my responsibility to fatten them up.  No joke - when we moved here I felt bad for not having a bird feeder out. Like every chirp would just pierce my heart, "we're starving".. Ok that's a little dramatic, but making a feeder DID stay on top of my to-do list for that reason.         And here it is!

From thrift store salad bowls to cute modern bird feeders, these babies can be done in a weekend.  Probably in a day if you start earlier than me.  Read on!

Life Update: Rubin the Maine Coon

I've been a little checked out lately, on the blog as well as in my mind.  It's taken a while to actually sit down and write this post. I debated whether or not I should, but they say talking about it helps.  Last weekend, (May 5) our youngest cat, Rubin, was hit by a car in front of our home.  You never expect these types of tragedies, of course, so it's needless to say this shocked us all to the core.  I could not believe it, it felt completely surreal.  In an instant, he was taken from us - by one speeding car.

We were hanging out on our deck, Rubin was coming and going as he always does, when it started to get a little late. We wondered where he was, and then Ralph saw him down at the bottom of our driveway.  I flew down, hoping he was in some deep sleep, but we knew.  He was dead, hit by a car.  Our street isn't necessarily busy, and Rubin had a deep fear of the road.  When a car would approach a few houses down, he'd sprint back up to the house.  Even if you were holding him, he'd climb out of your arms and run to safety. If anything we were more afraid of other animals than we were the road.

Rubin was an amazing cat.  He was the most social, loving, and affectionate cat I've known.  He behaved like a dog, and was social like a person.  He was extremely happy, carefree, and absolutely loved the outdoors, water, and playing "alarm clock".  He was a part of our little family, and he will never be forgotten.  We were with him for two amazing years, and while I wish it was 22 years before we had to say goodbye, I'm grateful nonetheless.  Rubin was a Maine Coon, and showed us both a whole different side to cats that we never knew about. So I'm very thankful.

I'm sure to some it's easy to think "It's just a cat" or that I'm being dramatic, but I  know many of you also understand that these animals we share our lives with become so close to our hearts, that losing them is extremely painful. 

So hug your animals a little tighter, appreciate them, spoil the hell out of them and do whatever you can to keep them safe.  They are all so special.

Rest in peace little guy, we love you and miss you so much.

How To: Flower Tower

Mother's Day is right around the corner! This weekend folks.  In our family, it became a tradition to get our Mom beautiful plants for her patio.  Each year my sister and I attend the Cabrillo College Plant Sale the day before Mothers Day, and pick out a ton of great plants for Mom. It's great- the College's horticulture program sells all the plants they've propagated all year to the public, in one massive Mothers Day fundraiser.  We have always found the most unique plants!

When I saw this tutorial on the Home Depot website (actually it was a commercial and I quickly scoured the internet for instructions. Hard to find!) I instantly thought we should try it one of these years.  If you are looking for a great Mother's Day gift, think about this:

Tah-dah! Wouldn't that be great?  It's not terribly challenging either, looks like they are using a simple wire cylinder frame lined in landscape fabric.  Simple yet sophisticated, consider making two to frame an entry.

Hop over to Home Depot's Garden Club for the full instructions. (Disclosure: This post was NOT sponsored by Home Depot, I just love this idea!)

What are your plans for Mothers Day? Do you make or buy your gifts for Mom?

Love hearing from you,
     -Jesse

**Here was last years post for a great Mothers Day Vase idea.. check it out.

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Spotlight: Straw Bale Gardens

I was way bored the other day and started browsin' around the internet... you know how it goes.  I came across this little gem of an article about making raised beds with straw bales.  My first reaction was NO WAY a million weeds will grow from the seeds! Right? Wrong.. I guess straw bales are different than hay bales, in that straw bales are the leftover stalk once the seed has been harvested.  And hay is full of grass& weed seeds.  Ahh.. I'm obviously no farmer.  See what you think:

 Source

That tomato looks delicious...What I love about this is how EASY it is.  The look is a little rougher than I'm used to seeing in raised beds, but I dunno - it looks kinda cool? Especially with the black bark around it.   Joel, of StrawBaleGardens.com explains that's it's pretty much lay it on it's side, plant your plants, keep it watered and enjoy your bounty.  The warmth of the decaying straw is great for the plants, as well as the nutrients it provides.  When the seasons over, it just turns into soil.  This would be perfect for those areas with poor soil or hard to dig.

Hop over to Joel's website Straw Bale Gardens  for more info, directions and a few videos.  What do you think of this idea?

     -Jesse

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Guest Room Tour: Finally!

Finally, now that the major projects are done - we can close the chapter (for now!) on this room!  I'm really happy with how it came out, especially when you compare how it was before.  Miscellaneous storage room no more! While it's set up to be a guest room, we do use it daily.  It's our dressing room.  Hahaha... I can hear your laughter from here! But hey - it's nice to have a separate spot to get ready in the morning, don't knock it til' you try it.

So here's how I'll do this, I'll run the first set of photos through for viewing, then the second set will have details and links to all the fun projects that took place in there.  A-here-we-go, I'm moving in a circle to my left:

Had to give a close up of that light, I love it (thanks Sarah!).  It got a little drowned out in the last photo, but it's above that dresser.

 

There she is! What do you think, not bad for a tiny room, huh? I know it seems odd to have a ginormous mirror in that tiny room, across from the bed, but whatever.  It does make the room look bigger, and remember this is our dressing room 75% of the time. So it works!

Alrighty - here are the project links, paint colors, etc. as promised:

1. One of my first Cut Canvas projects! See more here.
2. Coming soon: Adding an easy pull cord to absolutely any light.
3. DIY Floor Mirror: Tutorial here!

1. Decorating with Driftwood
2. New Room, New Paint! This paint was from our local Ace, called Soldier something..
3. Jute Wrapped Chandelier Tutorial
4. How To: Geometric Art Tutorial

1. This is a space heater. I've been asked so many times if it was a table with a radio or something. Nope! 
2. No room for a door? Hem a plain bedsheet to size and make it into a curtain. Add some rings and a tension rod. Done. No tutorial necessary.
3. This paint is by Behr, Paint & Primer in one, called Loft Space.

1. Message in a Bottle Tutorial: Hard to see in this, but it's there. Aging paper tutorial included.
2. Built in Shelf Tutorial: We took a weird space and made it super functional.
3. Cyan Chalk Paint Nightstand Tutorial: Recipe included.

1. American flag blanket that Ralph's Grandma made.
2. Reverse Tie-Dye Tutorial:  This is a fun one.

1. This is our new light fixture. Please ignore the unpainted ceiling, it's my least favorite job in the world. We got it at Home Depot, and here's the link.

There you have it! Any questions? Feel free to ask, I probably  may have left something out. As for the window, I just realized it's not in any of the pictures. Well it's there, it's just small. Left of the dresser, above the bed.  That's part of the reason we wanted the room to feel really cozy and interesting, because we knew there wouldn't be much gazing outside.. heh.

Thanks for touring our guest room! 

xoxo, 

     Jesse

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DIY Floor Mirror

I wonder if you've been in the same shoes as me on this one - you've always wanted one of those gigantic floor mirrors you see in stores, but did not want to pay that gigantic price! ($499!) After all, it's a giant mirror in a very simple giant wood frame - can't be that hard right? Well guess what, it wasn't. It was easy. I did it in an afternoon, and my total cost was under $25.

Gather round friends, this is an afternoon project that anyone with a few basic tools can do. Before we start with my usual step-by-step in pictures, here's a collage that's pin-worthy, for all you Pinterest addicts out there (guilty as charged!):

Let's get this done.