10 of The Best DIY, Home Decor and Craft Projects of 2017

Now that I am officially DONE with craft and DIY projects for this year, I thought I would take a look back and share my top 10 projects of 2017.   Days and months can pass by quickly and it's easy to feel like you haven't accomplished as much as you would have liked.   To think you didn't work hard enough or that you should have done more.   We tend to hold ourselves up to a much higher standard than what we expect of others and be harder on ourselves than what we should be.   Taking time to pause and reflect on the past year is a great way to summarize just how much you have accomplished.  It helps me realize that even though I may not have completed all that I planned, I did accomplish a lot and I should be proud.   ...

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Quick and Easy Hearth and Hand Inspired Dollar Tree Vase

Create the look of the Hearth and Hand brass wrapped glass vase for a fraction of the cost.  How many of you have checked out the Hearth & Hand by Magnolia line at Target ?  I've purchased quiet a few items, including the small glass vase with brass wrap ,  black and cream striped napkins ,  tin container candle , smoke glass jug ,  medium house lantern  and the wood nesting houses .   The line is super affordable and has some great pieces, but I still found a way to create the look for less.  I had the  small vase with brass wrap  on my nightstand for a few weeks when I realized I could easily create the look using a Dollar Tree vase I had in my craft stash.  This project took all of five minutes and is a super easy way to update a basic Dollar Tree vase. ...

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Easy Wood Ornament Decor From Dollar Tree

Add a bit of holiday cheer to your walls with this inexpensive wood ornament decor from Dollar Tree. First, I want to thank you for all your excitement and words of encouragement over  yesterday's post .  It truly blew me away and I am so incredibly lucky to have such amazing reader's and friends. I was hoping to get this project shared sooner in case any of you wanted to grab the same ornament from Dollar Tree, but I just have way too many holiday projects to share and not enough time to share them.  I'm hoping Dollar Tree still has some of the same oversized wood ornaments in stock.   If not, you can check out my other Dollar Tree makeovers for more inspiration and project ideas.  This is such a cute and simple project that would be perfect for dressing up your door or walls for the holidays.  It's also super affordable and nearly free if you have a nice stash of craft supplies.  ...

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A Major Life Change...

I am still in shock and a little terrified that I am writing this post. Just over 4 years ago, I followed my heart and started this little blog of mine.  It has allowed me to share my passion and love for DIY and decor and has given me the creative outlet that my day job lacked.   I have been fortunate to work with some amazing brands and create incredible friendships with some very talented bloggers.  Most importantly, it has given our family financial freedom that I never in a million years expected.  ...

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Modern Farmhouse Neutral Christmas Mantle

Neutral decor and fresh greenery make a beautiful combination for the perfect modern farmhouse Christmas mantel. I added lots of red to our Christmas mantel last year, but kept things simple and went neutral this year with fresh greenery,  cute miniature houses and new knit stockings.   I love the simplicity, especially since upstairs is filled with beautiful touches of red .        ...

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Free Printable to Make Easy Winter Tags

An easy tutorial for creating beautiful wood tags to add the perfect holiday touch to packages and decor. I heard you loud and clear.  You are having trouble finding the wood tags that I used in last week's Dollar Tree votive makeover.    I bought mine when Target first started bringing out their Dollar Spot holiday decor and apparently they were popular and sold out fast.  It's so disappointing when I share a project that is supposed to be easy for you to create, but ends up being impossible since supplies no longer exist.  Thankfully, I love a good challenge, so I created a free printable for you to make your own easy winter tags.  ...

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A Classic and Comfortable Holiday Home Tour

A beautiful and classic modern farmhouse decorated Christmas home tour. Who's up for a little Christmas home tour?  I've joined Jenna from Wife in Progress  and many other talented bloggers for a holiday home tour blog hop full of beautiful Christmas inspiration.  If you are stopping by from Aratari At Home , welcome!  I'm so glad you stopped by and I hope you enjoy the tour.   ...

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How to Make Inexpensive Dollar Tree Christmas Votive Holders

Beautiful Mercury glass votive holders from Dollar Tree get an inexpensive Christmas makeover. It's Dollar Store DIY time.  The first Monday of every month I share a Dollar Store makeover as a way of sharing simple ideas so you can create a beautiful home without spending a fortune.  Whether you need to organize, decorate or give a gift, you may be surprised what you can do with Dollar Tree items.  This month, I grabbed a couple glass votive holders and gave them an easy Christmas makeover.  The best part is, all the supplies for this project came from the Dollar Tree or Target's Dollar spot, making these little votive holders super affordable.   Can you believe these Mercury glass votive holders came from Dollar Tree?  They are so pretty (especially twinkling at night) and look just as nice as more expensive ones.  ...

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How to Make an Easy Wood Bead Christmas Garland

An easy and festive wood bead garland perfect for adding a touch of red and green to your Christmas decor.   Do you remember the wood bead tassel garland I made earlier this year?  It's one of my favorite DIY decor pieces and I use it all year long.  It's what inspired me (along with my favorite wool garland and many beautiful Christmas garlands at Michael's and Hobby Lobby) to make a holiday version perfect for adding a touch of red and green to our home.  ...

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Easy Burlap Sack Christmas Wall Art

Turning Christmas  sacks into holiday wall art is the fastest and easiest way to create beautiful holiday decor for less. I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  Have you pulled out the holiday decor and started decorating yet?  I've been dealing with a nasty cold, which means holiday decorating is happening pretty slow around here.  I did, however,  mange to make super easy (and inexpensive) holiday wall art for our mudroom that I wanted to share. A few weeks ago I went on a little Michael's shopping spree since I had a 20% off everything coupon.  Don't you just love those?  I mostly bought craft supplies and 50% off holiday decor for my daughters room, but I did pick up a super cute Christmas sack (50% off) and frame (also 50% off)  to make holiday art for our mudroom. (Make sure you stick around to the end of the post, because I'm also giving away a sack to one lucky reader!)   ...

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How to Make Vintage Inspired Bottle Brush Ornaments

Dollar Tree pint jar ornaments are filled with mini bottle brush trees for the perfect vintage inspired Christmas decor.  A few weeks ago, while on one of my many Dollar Tree runs, I came across the cutest little plastic pint size ornaments.  I imagined them filled with miniature bottle brush trees and turned into adorable vintage inspired ornaments, perfect for hanging on a tree or displaying as decor.         Lately, I've been using a technique of mixing paint mediums to create an aged look and it was just what these basic plastic ornaments needed.    ...

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12 of The Best Affordable Hostess Gifts

Tired of bringing a bottle of wine to every party and get together? How about bringing a stylish and affordable hostess gift instead?   Whether you travel near or far to visit family and friends, you're sure to have many social events to attend this holiday season.  Sure, you can bring a bottle of wine for your party hostess, but why not put a little more thought into a gift and make a lasting impression.  Not sure what to bring?  No problem.  I've gathered 12 of the best affordable gifts that any hostess will love. ...

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Christmas Entryway and Living Room Tour

Come take a peek into our entryway and living room all decked out in beautiful modern farmhouse Christmas decor! This post was written in collaboration with  Kirkland's .  Some affiliate links have been provided. It's nearly impossible to blog about home decor and wait until after Thanksgiving to pull out the Christmas bins, so I threw my "no decorating before Thanksgiving rule" out the window and here I am blogging about Christmas in November.   I promise, I still love decorating for fall and Thanksgiving is still one of my favorite holidays.   Can we still be friends? ...

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These Are a few of my Favorite Things...

Favorite things 2017! I'm thrilled to be joining 320 Sycamore for her annual Favorite Things series!  I'm not much of a shopper for myself (I'd much rather buy pretty things for my home), but there are a few things that I  love and wanted to share.   Hey, maybe you'll even get a Christmas idea or two.  ...

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Dark and Moody Modern Farmhouse Bedroom Update

I've been slowly chipping away at our dark and moody master bedroom makeover and wanted to share a few updates. ...

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How to Make Vintage Inspired Christmas bulbs

Get the look of vintage Christmas bulbs with a Dollar Tree light up Christmas bulb necklace. Who's ready for another Dollar Store DIY ? I stopped in our local Dollar Tree the other week and was excited to find a necklace made of large Christmas bulbs.   They instantly took me back to my childhood, when my parents would wrap the front bushes with these large glowing bulbs.   Although the Dollar Tree necklace wasn't quite the real thing, I knew I could give them a vintage-inspired makeover to fit my modern farmhouse style. ...

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Hearth & Hand with Magnolia at TARGET

Unless you have been living under a rock, you know that Magnolia has a new Hearth & Hand line premiering at Target!       Have you checked it out yet?  It's good, really really good.  The decor is on point and the prices are super reasonable.  I'll be doing a little online shopping (because waiting in line with a mob of people is not my idea of fun, ha) and thought I would share a few of my favorite items.  ...

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How to Make a Faux Card Catalog From a Hardware Organizer

An easy and inexpensive way to get the look of a vintage card catalog from a metal hardware organizer.  A few months ago, I went to a large flea market in our area and was lucky enough to find a few awesome deals.  One of the items I bought was an old metal hardware organizer that I snagged for a mere $3.00.  I knew right away it would be the perfect piece to turn into a faux card catalog. I've created many similar pieces in the past (including a  Dollar Tree makeover   and a  thrifted side table ), but this particular piece may be my new favorite!  SUPPLIES NEEDED  - 9 drawer metal hardware organizer (often found at thrift stores and yard sales) - 2 sheets of birch plywood (1/32 x 6 x 12 inch) - ORB spray paint - Minwax Special Walnut wood stain - 2 packs of metal label holders - Vintage scrapbook paper - DAP all-purpose glue - Utility knife - Needle nose pliers - Fine grit sandpaper - 9 wood buttons - ......

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Dining Room Updates: Painted Vintage Server and New Rug

Whenever my husband goes away I end up getting involved in some sort of painting project and this year was no different.  Maybe it's boredom, maybe it's the fact that he's not home to give his opinion or maybe I just can't leave well enough alone, haha.  He's always commenting on how I'm in the middle of 972 projects at once and I can't blame him.  I tend to get easily distracted with home projects, which results in many changes and half completed and decorated spaces.  That's what keeps things fun and interesting though, right? While my husband was away last week (he went on a 300 mile road bike tour in Texas) I was home manning the fort or should I say, painting and redecorating.  One of the spur of moment projects I tackled was repainting the vintage server in our dining room.   ...

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Stylish and Affordable Decor Essentials From IKEA

From farmhouse to modern, IKEA has a wide variety of affordable decor to create a beautiful and stylish home!  Last year, I shared a must buy decor list from IKEA  , but after visiting one of our local stores (we have two within 45 minutes!) and seeing so many new items I thought it was time to share an updated list.  Not only are these items stylish and perfect for any decor style, but they are also super affordable too!   Let's go shopping and I'll take you on a little tour of what caught my eye and what you might want to add to your next shopping list.  ...

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How to Make Vintage Inspired Ornament Candy Jars

Dollar Tree glass jars are beautifully transformed into vintage inspired glass ornaments.  I know, I know, it's not even Halloween and I'm over hear talking about Christmas.  Hear me out for a minute.  Do you remember the pumpkins I shared a few weeks ago that I made out of Dollar Tree glass jars ?  They have quickly become one of my most popular Dollar Tree makeovers .   So much so that I've been hearing from a lot of you that you're having trouble finding the jars or that you're local stores are completely sold out.  Crazy, right?   So, in an effort to make sure you'll be able to make both the pumpkins AND these vintage inspired ornaments I'm moving this project up a month.  I promise, I'm not rushing fall or Thanksgiving.  Can we still be friends?   ...

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10 of the Best DIY Tiered Tray and Organizer Ideas

Whether you use vintage tins, thrifted finds or salvaged wood, tiered organizers are a great way to create unique storage for your home.  You know what my favorite types of projects are?  Projects that are useful, inexpensive to create and involve thrifted finds or makeovers.  That doesn't mean all my projects are cheap (you gotta splurge every now and then, right?), but there's nothing more satisfying than creating a beautiful project that is both practical and easy on your wallet.  I'm not the most organized person, but I still love a good organizing project.  Lately, I've been really into all the unique tiered trays and organizers that I've stumbled upon using thrifted and repurposed items.    ...

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High Contrast, Dark and Moody Bedroom Update

A dark and moody bedroom update with Sherwin-Williams Iron Ore! I'm no stranger to painting our doors , windows and walls dark, so it should be of no surprise that I went dark and moody in our master bedroom too.   It's definetely moving in a slightly different direction than the mood board I shared, but I'm loving how this space is evolving.  ...

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Neutral Favorites: Affordable Decor for a Stylish Home

Beautiful neutral decor for creating a stylish and high contrast home.    It's no surprise that I love decorating my home with neutral decor, especially black, white and wood tones.  Keeping things neutral allows me to shop my home and switch things up from room to room without spending a dime.  Throws, pillows, mirrors and small decor are all great items to swap out and move around when spaces feel stale and boring.    VINTAGE MODERN BATHROOM MAKEOVER ...

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How to Decorate a Scary Halloween Home for Less

Tips and Tricks for creating a spooky Halloween home on a budget! I love swapping out decor and decorating my home for the changing seasons, but Halloween is definetely the time of year I have the most fun decking out my home.  From thrift store finds to easy DIY projects and printables, it's also the easiest holiday to decorate without spending a ton of money. Today, I'm not only sharing my spooky entryway, but I'm also sharing my favorite tips and ideas for creating a scary Halloween home for less. ...

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How to Make a Stainless and Wood Tiered Organizer

Thrift store stainless bowls and wood candle stick pieces come together to make a perfect two tier organizer.  I love the thrill of a hunt and always have my eye out for inexpensive items to update or use in future projects.  It's not uncommon for me to dig through thrift store shelves or scour Hobby Lobby looking for random hardware, wood pieces, and other unique items to update or have on hand for when an idea strikes.   On one of my latest Goodwill trips two stainless bowls struck an idea and I knew they would make the perfect tiered tray paired with candle stick pieces I had bought a few months prior. ...

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