DIY Archives - Page 2 of 9 - Average But Inspired

October 12, 2017 by Bre

It’s Not Me, It’s You: A Breakup Letter to HGTV

Dear HGTV:

I realize that what I’m about to say is putting my chance* of becoming your next home décor and DIY tv superstar at risk. (*A .0001% chance that has now been decreased to .00000000000000001%.) But I’m breaking up with you. And it’s not me, it’s you.

The time has come for me to lay it all out there. You see (though you might not know it), our love affair began years ago when I, on maternity leave, found myself spending hours on the couch nursing and rocking my newborn baby girl. In my half-alive state at that time, you took me off of that couch (in my spit-up covered shirt, messy ponytail hair, and makeup-less face), and put me in the middle of a world that was colorful, engaging, and exciting.

You put on your finest clothes and wooed me with shows like Curb Appeal, Selling New York, Bang for Your Buck, Design on a Dime, and Sarah’s House. Your hosts’ sparkling personalities and shows’ interesting topics made my long days and nights so much more bearable. The way John Gidding could turn the ugliest front yards into works of art on Curb Appeal was captivating! Suddenly I wanted to re-do my yard, too! And don’t even get me started with the adorable Sarah Richardson and her innate ability to mix pattern and color on Sarah’s House. (Plus, her sidekick, Tommy Smythe, was so cute I could pinch his cheeks.) Those two inspired me to start decorating my new/old home with quirky accents and things I loved.

In those days, you and your shows worked hard to fill me with hope and a desire to make the spaces around me more beautiful, but in an affordable and realistic way. Your programming was diverse and unique, and I was a self-proclaimed HGTV junkie. I’m sure you even had something to do with me starting this little blog.

But time has a way of changing things, and our relationship has soured. HGTV, you’ve let yourself go. You have lost yourself (or, at the very least, the “G” in HGTV – do you even have a show about gardens or landscaping anymore?). With yesterday’s announcement that you’ve added yet another house flipping show to your lineup (Windy City Flip, with the painfully bland host, Alison Victoria (does she not have a last name?)), I realized you have cheated on me and your other loyal viewers with the devil of cheap and formulaic programming.

By my count, you now have at least NINE house flipping shows that all follow the exact same formula: man and woman buy godforsaken home, gut it, find x amount of “awful problems,” install some cheap finishes, and then sell it two weeks later. Do you really have that many viewers who are out flipping houses? I don’t think so!

And don’t get me started on the FOURTEEN versions of House Hunters. At least with those you’ve tried to fool me into thinking you’re still interesting by giving some of them different names (like Beachfront Bargain Hunt, Caribbean Life, Island Hunters, Mexico Life, and Lakefront Bargain Hunt), and forsaking the trademark doorbell ringing sound in the opening credits.

Now that Chip & JoJo have jumped ship, you have nothing left to offer me. HGTV you are boring and unimaginative, and this is the end. It was good while it lasted, but now you can pack your boxes and exit stage left. Me – I’ll be fine sitting here on my couch with my messy ponytail and makeup-less face (the babies are grown so no spit-up anymore), watching another network.

-Bre

P.S. to any readers who feel the same way, please share this post on Facebook or Pin it! Maybe HGTV will see it and get it together! 🙂

September 13, 2017 by Bre

DIY Modern Desk – A Beginner Woodworking Project {Monthly DIY Challenge}

Thank you to Kreg Tool Company for sponsoring this post. The project and opinions are all my own! Also, this post contains affiliate links. Please see my full disclosure policy here.

Years ago when the ladies of the Monthly DIY Challenge and I started up this whole thing, I knew there would be times that I’d be pushed out of my comfort zone and forced to use a material, or work with a product, with which I was unfamiliar. The biggest challenge for me came this month, when we teamed up with Kreg Tool Company to use their Kreg Jig® R3 pocket hole system in our DIY projects. I used the Kreg Jig R3 to create a gorgeous DIY Modern Desk for my sister, and I am THRILLED to tell you that ANYONE can build this desk (I swear. I NEVER thought I could build something like this.)! Learn how to build a beautiful DIY Modern Desk! It's so easy and is a perfect beginner Kreg Jig project. No prior woodworking experience needed! This is an easy build for beginners.

I’m going to give you all of the details on how you (YES YOU) can build something similar in just a minute, but first, take a sneak peek at all of the projects my friends created with the Kreg Jig R3. You’ll find links to all of their projects at the bottom of this post – right before the entry form to win your own Kreg Jig R3!

The Plans

OK, so before I show you how I put this all together, let me tell you that I downloaded the plans for this desk from Ana White’s website, where she provides tons of FREE woodworking plans! I chose her Modern 2×2 Desk Base plan and her and her Desktop with Storage Compartments plan. If you want to build this desk, go to those links and download those plans. Then come back here and check out my process photos as they might help you a bit.

Anyway, once I was armed with those instructions and supply lists, I headed off to the store to buy my lumber and some other supplies. And I have a confession . . . I was actually really nervous to go buy the materials for this project! I was scared that I wouldn’t even be able to load the lumber into my cart or get it home. Once I purchased everything and got it into the car, I actually cried a tiny bit from relief. Can you believe it? That will tell you how much of a building novice I am!

The Process – Desk Base

With the scary supply shopping part finished, I felt a little bit better about the whole prospect of building a desk for my sister. Something about being in the comfort of my own home/garage made things seem a little better.

I decided to start by building the base of the desk. I grabbed my circular saw and cut the pieces for the base.

Next it was time to start putting the base together, and here’s where I started to get nervous again. I had to use my new Kreg Jig R3 pocket hole system to do this, and frankly, I didn’t know what I was doing! Once I watched this helpful video and practiced on a few scrap boards, I got the hang of it and instantly understood why people love their Kreg Jig systems so much!

Kreg Jig pocket hole systems let you create pocket hole joints (which are very strong joints), quickly and easily, by drilling an angled hole through one board, which allows you to then drill your screw through that hole and into the other board. In addition to pocket holes providing strong joints, they’re also really nice because you don’t have visible screws on your projects; they’re hidden!

See those holes in the wood pictured below? Those are the pocket holes that I drilled using my Kreg Jig R3 drill bit.

Once I had all of my pocket holes drilled, I fastened the base pieces together with the 2.5″ pocket hole screws that were recommended in my desk base plans. See how I drilled the pocket hole screw right through the pocket hole into the other piece of wood?

I put them all together, fastening them with my 2.5″ pocket hole screws and ended up with two base pieces that looked like this.

Following the desk base plans, I clamped these two pieces to my temporary work table, and screwed the top bar to both of the squares in order to attach them.

Next, I screwed the footrest bar 6″ from the bottom.

And with that, the base of my DIY modern desk was finished! Because this part went so smoothly, I decided to keep going and build the desktop in the same day. I was on a roll and had to keep my momentum going!

The Process – Desktop

The first thing I did for the desktop was cut 1×3 boards with my circular saw, per the desktop plans, in order to create storage compartments within the desktop. Then I drilled my pocket holes with my Kreg Jig R3 system, and attached the pieces together with my 1.25″ pocket hole screws.

Next, I laid those storage compartment pieces on top of the base piece of my desktop. I traced around them with a pencil and then drilled pilot holes in that piece of wood so that it would be easier to attach the compartment pieces to the desktop base.

Once I did that, the desktop looked like this.

I then took the other piece of plywood and cut it into three sections, per the desktop plans. I deviated slightly from the plans here, however, because they called for use of a circular saw to cut the top piece into three sections. If you’ve ever used a circular saw, however, you know that it’s not super easy to get a perfect cut – and I wanted this desktop to be perfect. My friend, who happens to be a skilled designer and craftsman, was over that afternoon hanging with my husband, and offered to bring his track saw over to help me get really straight cuts for the desktop. We used that and then I knew I had to have one for myself! I didn’t even know that Kreg has JUST come out with the Kreg Rip-Cut and the Kreg Accu-Cut circular saw track guide systems, which are exactly what I could have used to get straight lines on this desktop. One of those will be my next woodworking investment. 🙂

Anyway, after the desktop pieces were cut, I fastened the outer pieces to the top of the desk with hinges.

And then, not pictured here, I fastened the middle part of the desk with my super fun new brad nailer, which made attaching the desktop a breeze! That completed the building of the desktop!

The Process – Painting and Staining

The next day, I painted the base of the desk with matte black chalk paint. This made the legs look like they are metal!

Then I stained the top of the desk with my new favorite stain color. (I first used this stain on the over-the-toilet storage I made for my Master Bathroom Makeover and fell in love!)

I gave it two coats of poly on top to protect it, and after it dried, I added decorative hardware to the front and screwed the desktop onto the base to fasten it all together!

The Finished Product – DIY Modern Desk

Once I finished building this desk, I had a sense of accomplishment unlike anything I’ve felt before. It may sound crazy, but building this desk made me prouder than graduating from law school! I think it’s because I didn’t really know if I could actually pull this off or not. And when I did, it gave me so much confidence and determination to take on another building project.

If you’ve ever thought that you want to try building something, I really encourage you to do it. It is so gratifying to see the results of your work come together in a finished piece like this!

I have to be honest, it made me so proud to see the way my kids reacted to my DIY desk, too. Every time someone came over to our house, my daughter would bring them to the garage to see what I built. That is an immense sense of pride and accomplishment to know that my kids are watching and excited about what I’m doing, too.

And, it felt really good to bring my sister her desk and see how perfectly it fits in her apartment.

I’m so thankful for the opportunity to have been pushed out of my comfort zone and learned how to use the Kreg Jig R3. Not only did my sister gain a beautiful piece of furniture that is well-constructed with strong joints, but I gained a sense of accomplishment that has me dreaming up my next DIY project!

My Friends’ Kreg Jig Projects

Now that you’ve seen what I made with the Kreg Jig R3, please make sure to visit my friends’ projects, too! You are going to be AMAZED at what you can do with this handy tool!

Got Scrap Wood? You Might Like To Make These DIY Scrap Wood Nesting Houses!

February 8, 2017 by Bre

How to Make an American Girl Doll Bed

As part of a monthly challenge with some friends, I stepped out of my crafting comfort zone and into the power tools / DIY zone, and I LOVED it! I used by 1 x 2 lumber and other supplies to build an American Girl Doll Bed for my daughter’s doll, Cailyn.

It was such a fun project that saved me a lot of money! (Beds on the American Girl website start at $85; this bed cost me under $20 to make!) Also, this is an awesome beginner woodworking / power tool project because I got really comfortable with my tools and cannot wait to build something else!

I’ll be giving you all the details on how I built this DIY 18 inch doll bed later in this post, but first, here’s a sneak peek of the fabulous projects my friends came up with (you’ll find direct links to all of the projects at the bottom of this post).

Before you go check out all of the amazing things you can build with 1 x 2 lumber, let me show you how to build an American Girl Doll Bed for any girl in your life!

Supplies Needed to Build an American Girl Doll Bed

Some of these links are affiliate links, which means I earn a small commission at no added cost to you if you purchase through them. To read my full disclosure policy, click here.

1 x 2 lumber (you’ll need 68″ minimum)
3/4″ thick plywood (approximately 21″ long x 10″ wide)
2 x wood balusters (52″ long)
.5″ trim strip
Circular Saw
Impact Driver
Wood screws (1 1/4″ long)
Wood screws (1″ long)
Wood glue
1.5″ Ball Knobs with Flat Bottoms
Poster board

Instructions for Building an American Girl Doll Bed

For this doll bed DIY, I began by drawing a really rough sketch of my plan. Can you tell I’ve never done this before? (Note: don’t follow this plan. I changed some of it along the way.)

After that, here’s how this project went down. I started by cutting the little nubs off the end of the wood balusters.

Next, I cut the balusters so that they each measured 13″ long.

After that, I cut my 1 x 2 lumber into four pieces: two 21″ long pieces and two 9″ long pieces. (I don’t recommend using paint buckets as sawhorses, but it was freezing outside and our sawhorses don’t fit in our tiny work room!) At first I was really scared to use this saw, but it was actually SUPER easy. It has a laser on it, which made keeping a straight line simple, and it was so easy to use. Plus I felt like a total bada** working this thing like a boss.

Once all the wood was cut, I measured where I wanted to screw the pieces together.

I drilled pilot holes and then used my new impact driver to begin putting it all together! (Super relieved you can’t see my gray hairs in this extreme closeup.)

I started with a side railing of the bed, and once that was in, I screwed the end of the bed onto the baluster. Notice how I offset the placement of the screws so that the side rail screw is lower than the screw for the piece at the end of the bed. This was so that the screws wouldn’t hit each other in the baluster.

I repeated this process until the entire frame of the doll bed was complete.

Then, I cut thin trim strips to just slightly shorter than the length of the side rails of the bed (approximately 20.5″ long). These strips will be holding the bed’s base in place.

I fastened them to the inside side rails of the bed with the shorter screws, placing them about 1/4 of the way down the side rail.

Then, I measured the inside area of the bed so that I could cut the plywood base. This was important because it wasn’t exactly equal on both ends. I cut a piece of poster board into the less-than-perfect rectangle shape, and then traced that onto the piece of plywood. I cut that shape out and laid the plywood onto the attached trim strips with a thin layer of wood glue. It fit perfectly! (Sorry I forgot to photograph this step!)

Then I decided that the bed needed a headboard. (Well, truthfully, my daughter made this decision because she was worried her doll would fall out of bed. I’m glad she spoke up because the bed definitely needed a headboard.) So, I measured the space in between the balusters at the front of the bed and cut a piece of wood to that size (it was about 9 5/8″ wide). I screwed it in to the balusters.

Finally, I used wood glue to attach the 1.5″ ball knobs to the balusters. This was the finishing touch on my simple DIY American Girl Doll bed!

After I gave the bed a coat of white paint and sewed some simple bedding in fabric that my daughter chose (she has good taste!), I put it in her room and was so happy that she LOVED it!

I’m telling you that building this doll bed was the best way for me to get comfortable with some easy building projects.

Plus, my daughter’s excitement over having a “real” bed for her doll made this whole thing worthwhile.

Not gonna lie – I’m also really happy that I spent a fraction of what it would cost to buy a real American Girl doll bed!

If you have a little girl or know someone who does, make them a doll bed! If I could do this, so can you! And please “pin” this post to share the idea!

Now that you’ve seen how I used 1 x 2 lumber, check out these incredible projects from my friends! I have a feeling you’ll be rushing out to Home Depot after you see these!

July 8, 2016 by Bre

How to Paint a Radiator the Easy Way!

My old house has many enormous, clunky, old, and disgusting radiators. Slowly but surely over the past couple of years, I’ve been painting them to hide years of neglect (think chipping paint and/or rust spots), or poor paint color choices from previous owners (think mustard yellow). I can honestly say that, until recently, radiator painting was my LEAST FAVORITE JOB IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD.

I’m not being dramatic. It was tedious work that provided little visual impact, especially for the amount of time it took to complete a single radiator. Each of the medium-sized radiators I brush painted took about a week of half-day painting sessions to complete. A week of stinky oil-based paint smell in my house, blocked off areas so that paint would not get smudged, and the mess that accompanies any painting job.

Needless to say, I was really dreading painting the radiators in my living room, which were gigantic yellow monstrosities. Here’s one . . .

And here’s the other. . .

I figured that each of these yellow beasts would take me about two weeks to refinish. And that’s why painting these radiators kept getting pushed to the bottom of the to-do list.

But now I know the SECRET of how to paint a radiator the easy way, and I am so glad to tell you that this method is life changing. Seriously!

Supplies Needed to Paint a Radiator the Easy Way

Thank you to HomeRight for providing product used in this post. The project and opinions are all my own. Also, this post contains affiliate links. To read my full disclosure policy, please click here.

The KEY to painting a radiator is a spray painter. I am telling you that it makes all the difference in the world (and is MUCH cheaper than hiring a painter to tackle your radiators). I used the HomeRight Finish Max Fine Finish Sprayer for the first radiator I refinished in this room, and the HomeRight Finish Max Extra Fine Finish Sprayer for the second radiator I refinished in this room. Both sprayers worked great for refinishing radiators, but you can read about why I liked the Finish Max Extra Fine Finish Sprayer more in the update portion of this post near the end!
3M Advanced Masking Film
Scotch Blue Painter’s Tape
Spray Painting Mask (I wore a head sock like this; no joke. I didn’t post a photo of myself in it because I looked a little bit like a murderer or a terrorist.)
Rustoleum Metal Primer
Rustoleum Protective Enamel (I used a Satin finish)
Acetone (for thinning the oil-based paint to use in the sprayer) (NOTE: if you use the HomeRight Finish Max Extra Fine Finish Sprayer I talk about in the updated section of this post below, you will not need Acetone.)
Mineral spirits (for cleaning up the sprayer once you’re finished)
Wire brush
TSP
Vacuum with hose extension or long feather dusters

Instructions for How to Paint a Radiator the Easy Way

Begin by scraping any loose paint areas from the radiator by using the metal brush. (VERY IMPORTANT: YOUR RADIATOR COULD HAVE LEAD PAINT ON IT. MAKE SURE TO USE ALL PROPER PRECAUTIONS BEFORE SCRAPING PAINT, AS INHALATION OF LEAD PAINT CAN HAVE SERIOUS HEALTH CONSEQUENCES. TO LEARN MORE, PLEASE VISIT THIS LINK.)

(TIP 1: Make sure to do this job at a time of year you’re not using the radiators.)

Next, clean the radiator like the Queen of England is coming to visit and her butler will be giving the place a white glove inspection. Begin by vacuuming as much dust off of it as you can, and then washing it down with TSP. Once it’s dry, dust it again. I promise you, it will still be dirty.

After you’ve cleaned the radiator, protect the entire area around the radiator with the masking film. Tape it everywhere. The last thing you want is oil-based paint all over your walls or floors. The masking film is actually really easy to hang and goes up pretty quickly. I told my kids it was our new curtains; they were not impressed.

Once you have the entire area protected, set up your sprayer and thin the primer according to the manufacturer’s directions. (NOTE: if you use the Finish Max Extra Fine Finish Sprayer I talk about in the updated section of this post below, you will not need to thin the primer.) Then spray the entire radiator with primer. It will already look a million times better!

(TIP 2: If you’ve never before used the sprayer you’ll be using for this job, you should test it out on a piece of cardboard first.)

(TIP 3: Oil-based paint smells REALLY really bad. Make sure you have the windows open and a fan going when you do this.)

Let the primer dry according to the manufacturer’s directions, and then spray the protective enamel on as the topcoat. Smile at your spouse or significant other because you’re so happy with the way this project is going! Seriously – you will not believe how much time you’re saving because of using the paint sprayer.

Once the entire radiator is sufficiently covered, clean the paint sprayer like the Queen’s butler will also be giving it the white glove inspection. Prepare yourself that it will be a pain, simply because you’ve used oil-based paint for your radiator painting project, and oil-based paint is chronically frustrating and time consuming to clean up. Still, even though the clean up process is a bit involved, the entire project can be completed in less than a day, which is SO MUCH FASTER than hand brushing a radiator.

The finish is SO smooth (unlike the finish on the radiators that I hand brushed), and I am thrilled with the result! I vow to NEVER paint a radiator by hand again. Never.

Thank goodness the mustard yellow radiator paint is gone!

I still have one of the radiators in my living room left to paint, but I’ll get that done in the next month or so. I wanted to make sure this method actually worked before I tackled both of the yellow beasts at once!

UPDATE: AUGUST 2017

Although I planned to spray paint that second radiator last fall, I didn’t get around to it before we turned the heat back on. It all worked out in the end, however, because HomeRight came out with a brand new version of the Finish Max Sprayer, the HomeRight Finish Max Extra Fine Finish Sprayer, which has a few more features that made radiator painting even easier!

The feature I liked best about this new version of the sprayer is that I didn’t have to thin the primer, and I only thinned the radiator paint a tiny bit (and just as a precaution). I don’t even think thinning the paint was necessary; I only thinned it a little because I still had acetone left from the radiator I spray painted last year. Not having to thin the paint and do straining tests to see if it will work in the sprayer was a huge timesaver!

I also really liked that this new version of the sprayer has a flow control dial built right in, so I could easily adjust the amount of paint coming out of the sprayer depending on which part of the radiator I was working on. The Finish Max Extra Fine Finish Sprayer also comes with different nozzles and air caps so it can be used on a wide array of projects like cabinets, furniture, fences, decks, and more. It is definitely versatile!

I took my yellow radiator from this . . .

to this . . .

even faster than I did the first time around.

I cannot emphasize how much easier the the HomeRight Finish Max Fine Finish Sprayer and the HomeRight Finish Max Extra Fine Finish Sprayer made this job. Anyone who knows me heard me complain about hand painting my radiators in the past. I promise that all anyone’s heard about this project is how wonderfully easy it was! If you have any radiators to paint in your home, I would absolutely recommend that you use this approach to paint them – do not hand paint them. You will want to pull your hair out!

Have you ever painted a radiator? Did you think it was a terrible job, too?

Bre

March 4, 2016 by Bre

11 Rustic Chic Projects to Try This Spring

The farmhouse decor trend does not seem to be going anywhere anytime soon, thanks to America’s sweethearts, Chip and Joanna Gaines of HGTV’s Fixer Upper. While the farmhouse style is not one that I use in my own home, I do like it and appreciate its simplicity and charm.

During the month of February, many rustic chic projects were shared at the weekly link party I co-host, The DIY Collective, and these projects were simply too good to not share again! They’re all totally DIY-able! If you want the tutorial for any of these projects, please click through to visit the original post. In the meantime, enjoy these gorgeous rustic chic projects and think about incorporating some of these ideas into your own home!

DIY Wood Accent Wall by Design Life Diaries

Farmhouse Tea Towels by Making it in the mountains

Framed Wooden Sign by Little Bits of Home

Rustic House Numbers Sign by The Honeycomb Home

DIY Sliding Barn Doors by Fun Home Things

Barn Wood and Chicken Wire USA by Tinsel and Wheat

DIY Bathroom Shelves by Seeking Lavender Lane

Dutch Tulip Tray by Table & Hearth

Pallets and Patents Wall Art by Scavenger Chic

Rustic Woven Bench Makeover by Refresh Living

DIY Pendant Light by Love Create Celebrate

I can’t get over the talent that these ladies, as well as so many others, bring to The DIY Collective each week! Please make sure to visit us on Thursdays right here to link up your own posts (if you’re a blogger), or to get a fresh dose of inspiration!