DIY Bathroom Plank Wall

I declared 2015 the year of the bathroom projects around here and I've started off with a bang.  My first DIY project was to install a plank wall in our downstairs bathroom.  I took no pictures during the project, because I wasn't really sure how it was going to turn out.  I'll post my steps down below, but if you want a more in-depth tutorial, I recommend this one from Life, Crafts & Whatever, and this one from This Nest is Blessed.  It was much easier than I expected and turned out phenomenal, in my opinion. 

Start at your local home improvement store (we went to Home Depot).  You'll need some sheets of plywood.  I opted for the "nicer" plywood that was a little more expensive, but in the end I think it turned out better than the cheaper stuff would have.  Ask a nice employee to cut it into strips on their gigantic saw.  I had them do 6 inch strips.  

My next step was to gather up any leftover paint, stain, etc. I could find in the garage.  Every single color you see was created with something I already owned.  I also left a few planks untreated.  My project covered a pretty small area so I painted 2 of each of my 6" strips in each different color.  Then I sanded and distressed the crap out of them.

Then it was time to start installing.  I was originally going to make the studs and nail the board onto the wall.  But I'm lazy so I just went and bought some liquid nails and used that to adhere them.  I started at the bottom, checking every few rows to see if they were level.  If you're off a little, you can use a coin in between rows to prop the boards up a little while the glue dries.  This make it easy to keep working and keep everything looking like it was spaced correctly.

The hardest part of this project was working around the small lip of the sink and cutting an areas for the light fixture.  I had to do all that with a small hacksaw and it took FOREVER.  When I reached the top I had a small section left so I also had to cut my boards length-wise to make them fit.  

I finished it off with a new frame for the mirror.  I made this myself using 4 pieces of wood and adhered it with liquid nails again.  We also sprung for a new industrial looking light fixture that I found on ebay.

Here are some of the side-by-side before and after pics I took so you can get the full effect.

Now with Totally Awesome Distressed Pallet Sign

So I posted about my AirStone Fireplace remodel a few days ago.  You can view my before and after pics here, and my work in progress here.  Well, I knew that the fireplace needed something else.  So last weekend I rounded up some old pallets and got to work on a distressed pallet sign to go above the fireplace.  The project was far easier than I expected and it turned out even nicer than I thought it would.  What do you think?

Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures during the process so I can't really give you a tutorial.  But I can give you a few steps I followed…

1. Find an old pallet.  All the wood for this project came from just 1 pallet.

2. Pull the boards off the pallet.   I'm pretty sure this was the hardest part, I made my husband do it.  Some of the boards split or broke during the process.

3. Glue all your stuff together.  I put down 2 boards, about a foot apart and then layer the other ones (what you see in the front) across.  I used a crap-ton of wood glue to adhere them all together.  When it was dry I used some nails to make sure it was all held together.

4. Paint your background color.  I used a dark blue, light blue and lime green.  All of it was paint we had extra of in the garage.  I just went over it and kept mixing the colors on the pallet until it was just the way I liked it.

5. Now here is where it might get tricky for some of you.  I used my Silhouette Cameo to make a stencil for my letters.  You could also free hand it.  

6. Paint your letters and when everything is dry sand the crap out of it.  I sanded a bunch and then set it up on my mantel and realized I needed to sand some more because from far away you couldn't even tell I had sanded it.  

AirStone Fireplace Remodel

So yesterday I posted my before and after picture of my fireplace remodel.  Here are a few more pictures of the step-by-step process from beginning until the beautiful end.  I used AirStone, available from Lowes, in the Spring Creek color.  It took a few weekends to complete the entire thing; but that's because I had to cut & adhere stones between fetching popcicles for the kids.  

Here is my before picture.  Not bad, but so plain and uninteresting.

I started at the bottom (obviously).  The bottom part was easy because I could work with the concrete patio as my level surface to set the stones on.

When I got about half way up the sides of the fireplace I realized that I needed the top of the stones needed to be even with the top of the fireplace.   So I used duct tape and a really long level and placed my stones so that the next row up would stretch all the way across the top of the fireplace.

Here is the stone work all finished.

My final step was to build a mantel for the top of the stone.  I followed this tutorial and stained it to match our new pergola that sits off the porch.

AirStone Fireplace Remodel

I declared 2014 as the year of the outdoor projects.  We had a pergola and some stone work done back in January, but the fireplace was my baby to complete.  I decided to use AirStone, available at most Lowes stores.  Here's a quick before and after shot so you can see how it turned out.  My husband helped unload the boxes out of the car and made the cuts for the mantle that I built, but everything else I did all by myself!

I Love You Because... {write on frames}

I showed you how cute the I Love You Because frames are hanging in my house, but I also wanted to share the ones I made for my Sister-In-Law last year.  These make an easy and super cute gift.  You can download all the I Love You Because cards here.  You can order them as a 4x6 or a 5x7 print or print them out yourself at home.  Just add pictures of your own cute family.

I Love You Because Free Printables

One Month Until Valentine's Day {Free Printable}

It's only a month to Valentine's Day and if you're looking for a great gift idea for the entire family then look no further than these I Love You Because frames.  You can download my free printable here and then spend the entire year sharing what you love about your family.

A Purplicious Room

Since I shared Kiley's Upcycled Crib Rail Book Sling the other day I thought I'd share the rest of her purplicious room.  I painted the dresser myself using a can of white paint and a can of dark purple paint.  I mixed it myself adding more and more white with each drawer.

Upcycled Crib Rail Book Sling

Purple Ombre Dresser

Vinyl Butterflies cut with my Silhouette Cameo

Crib Rail Upcycled into a Book Sling

I wanted to share a project I finally completed last year.  I took the side rails from our old crib and upcycled them into a book sling for Kiley's room.  I started off strong taking pictures and documenting my process and then I was just winging it so I, of course, have no documentation of that.  

I started with 2 side rails from our old crib.

I used a screwdriver to pry the rails apart.  I left every third cross bar, but took the rest out.

Then I painted the entire thing white.  The fabric I used to make the sling part is from Ikea and it matches her bedspread.  I used big lag bolts to anchor it to the wall but before I did I put a large wooden bead between the 2 rails.  It's really hard to see in the picture, but there is a bead at each of the four corners where it is screwed into the wall.

Needless to say, the crib rail book sling is a huge hit.  She loves that she can access her books so easily.

Photo Mosaic

I wanted to share a little home project I've been working on.  This is a photo mosaic with pictures of the two kids that I put up in the hallway between their two rooms.  The wall decal came from Kohl's and the 5x5 photo plaques are from Shutterfly.

Ikea Hack {Rolling Train Table}

This is what our Ikea bookshelves looked like before the transformation.  I have no idea what they are called but we got them a few years ago.

I began by flipping the bookshelf on its side and coating it with some primer.  I also added 3 sets of casters to the bottom.  I started with just 2 sets of casters but because it's so long I added an additional set in the middle.

I painted the top of the bookcase green and then added some blue lakes and some road decals that I got at Target.

Here you can see it in the playroom.  We mounted the other bookcase above train/car table for additional storage.  The blue fabric bins were bought at Target and fit perfectly.  You can see the Ikea hack for Hot Wheels track holder here.

Playroom Scrabble Wall

This was another Pinterest find that I knew would be perfect for our playroom.  I order some 6 x 12 Birch Plywood and cut them in half to make 6 inch square pieces of wood.  I borrowed a friend's Cricut machine and cut vinyl letters and small numbers.  After sticking on the vinyl I modge podged the tops of them so that they were sealed up.  I adhered everything to the wall using some self adhesive velcro strips.  Once I got all the letters up I taped off around them and pulled everything down.  I painted with some blue paint we had left over from our bathroom.  After it dried I stuck the letters back up.  I absolutely love how this turned out.  They look like real scrabble letters in person.

I Love You Because Wall Art

Here's a little home project that I'd thought I'd share.  I know that Valentine's Day is right around the corner, but this is a lovely way to show your kids you love them the other 364 days a year.  I totally stole this idea from a pin I found on Pinterest.  I created my own signs and printed them as 5x7 pictures.  You can write on the glass with a dry erase marker and then wipe it off.  You can save my images below and use them for yourself or I've shared them on Shutterfly and you can order them through there if you would like.  Consider it my Valentine's Day gift to you, my loyal blog readers.

Under the Stairs Reading Nook

Hello, old friends!  I know, I know it's been a while.  A long while.  My only excuse is that in the last few months we moved into our new house, celebrated Halloween, my daughter's 2nd birthday, Thanksgiving & Christmas.  Factor into that getting our house unpacked and somewhat decorated and Christmas break from school and well, things just  got away from me.  

But I'm back... kind of.  I've been doing some blog soul searching and trying to decide if I should merge TP Craft with my other crafty From the Fence Post blog.  The jury is still out but for now you might see some projects that aren't exactly created with toilet paper rolls for a while.  

So here is a sneak peek of some of the awesome stuff I've been doing in the new house.  This is our under the stairs closet.  It was designed for storage and I think it might be my most favorite place in the entire house.  I transformed it into a hidden library for my kids.  I used rain gutters for the shelving and cut vinyl using a friend's Cricut machine (I borrowed one because I'm too frugal to buy one for myself).

I bought pet beds from Target for the floor pillows.  They are nice and large and have covers that unzip (and can be washed).  We added a few pillow pets and a blanket to make it nice and comfy.  In the 2 buckets at the back are their TAG & TAG Jr. Readers that they just love.  The quote is from Dr. Seuss.  Everyone who has come to visit so far has loved the transformation of this space and the kids love spending time in here.