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9 DIY Font Wall Art Ideas

I have to admit something: I LOVE FONTS!  I guess being a graphic designer has a little to do with that. I’m always scoping out typeography posters online, vintage distressed signage, and cool magazine layouts using fonts in an unusual way.  One thing I’ve been noticing a lot of late are simple font posters in […]

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It’s a Hot One: Root Beer Home Brew

This hot weather is reminding me of the days of yore when my high school boyfriend’s parents decided they were going to brew their own root beer. Like most of their half-baked DIY schemes, it was a huge flop. Shell shocked after that fiasco, as well as a subsequent bad break-up, I never thought I’d […]

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Cliff May: The Father of the California Ranch

Ranch homes have experienced a rebirth as of late, and it’s no wonder. They are amenable to many different interior aesthetics, and, for homeowners who are also DIYers, they’re one of the easiest architectural styles to modify. Because of the ranch’s comeback, it’s high time we honor the father of the California Ranch, Cliff May.

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How To Drill a Drain Hole in a Ceramic Pot

Many a charming ceramic pots have been passed up due to the lack of a drainage hole. Sometimes I can’t resist and I buy them regardless, attempting to do the French Drain (where did that term come from?) where you spread rocks in the bottom to provide a reservoir for excess water. Also, many a […]

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The Ultimate Retro Kitchen Appliances

For retro kitchen enthusiasts, Big Chill is the holy grail. Their stoves, range hoods, refrigerators and dishwashers look as if they’ve just rolled off a 1950’s assembly line. They have all the character of vintage pieces

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Turn Your Home Sewing Machine Into a Commercial Workhorse

First of all, notice my aqua Singer, circa 1970’s, that I found a couple of months ago at the Salvation Army Superstore for $10.00. Serviced and cleaned up, it’s one of my favorites. Now, on to the matter at hand; one drawback to sewing home furnishings with a lightweight machine is that it’s difficult to […]

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How To Build a River Rock Fountain

Between flowers and vegetable garden tending, you’ll have a few weekends to build a zen like river rock fountain to make your backyard the tranquil envy of the neighbors (not that this is a competition, mind you). You can use just about any outdoor garden structure for a fountain, but you can’t beat the organic […]

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Clever Tissue Box Cover

I am LOVING this cute and clever tissue box cover. To make one, all you need is fabric–both for inside and outside, which makes the cover reversible–a couple of buttons and some elastic.

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How To Build Lawn Aerator Sandals

Here we go. Build your own lawn aerating sandals and take a laps around the yard to open up the thatch, let the air, water and sun in there. Better yet, make a few pairs for your your kids and pay them a quarter to stomp around out in the yard. You’ll be treating your […]

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AFTERNOON DELIGHT: Outdoor Daybeds

What more can you say about this dreamy, relaxing, chic daybed built for two? It’s the epitome of perfection for a double or single nap on a sunny, warm afternoon. What did you say, call in sick? 

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How to bind your favorite eBooks

So you’ve downloaded an eBook. Now what? Well, if you’re a bibliophile like me, you might want to print out the ones you love. Like Curbly’s new Make It! Secondhand Chic, for example. I’m lucky enough have the new edition to the Curbly Library in perfect-bound, so I’m set for hard copy. However, I had […]

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Frumpy Dresser Makeover

Good choice!  For $75.00 each, two outdated, chipped Bombay chests were converted into updated, reflective silver leaf stunners. This silver leafing process is not nearly as intimidating as it looks. See step by step how Jenny at Little Green Notebook de-frumped her bargain Bombays and turned them into glamorous showpieces

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How to: Salvage the Contents of a Rusty Paint Can

Don’t you HATE rusty paint cans? Especially when they’re almost full of perfectly good paint or polyurethane? I was confronted by such a thing last week. If the can would have been almost empty, I could see (maybe) disposing of it and buying new, but this can, as you can see, was nearly full. To […]

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Make It! Secondhand Chic: Quick & Easy Garden Decor

Looking for some simple, quick and CHEAP garden decor that the birdies will love? Check it out…with a few supplies you can make bird baths and feeders in less than a minute. Yes, you read that correctly. Less than a minute! Here’s what you’ll need to make ’em:

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How To Build a Backyard Tree House

Photos: Popluar Mechanics We’ve all seen photos of amazing tree house architecture, but nothing compares to this dad’s tender narrative of building his kids’ their own backyard tree fort. The next best thing to letting his kids build it themselves is reading about his recollection of the construction of his own childhood perch with his […]

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Make It! Secondhand Chic: Super Simple Floating Frames

So, have you heard? Curbly is releasing a new ebook next week, Make It! Secondhand Chic. In it Chrisjob, ModHomeEcTeacher and I scoured our favorite second-hand haunts and came up with 14 very cool and inspiring makeovers (if I do say so myself!) that will have you rummaging through rummage too! One of my projects […]

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Create Professional Design Elements Using Stock Wood Molding

Stock wood trim is one of the best kept secrets at the home improvement store. If you’ve seen the choices of wood molding available but you don’t really know how you can use it, check out these design and architectural elements for some DIY inspiration. All you’ll need to get started is an inexpensive miter […]

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