In this post, I will show you how to transform a storage closet to a mini home office with just a few simple changes and additions!
I can’t believe I haven’t posted in OVER A YEAR! Life is always busy with two little ones. It feels good to be back though, sharing yet another project we took on this past year (yes, PAST year. Sad.)
While I love to clean, I’mĀ not always the best at organizing. Take our under-the-stairs-closet for example.
When we moved in, weĀ decided to use it as my craft/random storage. It started out nice and neat, but overtime, things started to get thrown in there and it became the “overflow” closet. You can see for yourself…
Yikes. Guys, it was BAD. So bad, that I couldn’t even walk into it. Obviously..
But then, I had a vision. I wanted a space I could call my own. An office. A reading area. A quiet space AWAY from the kids that I could escape to and close the door (yes, even though it’s technically a closet).Ā My wonderful hubby was on board too, so together we came up with a plan for the space.
First, we emptied everything out and went through it all. This part took the longest, as we (I..?) had a LOT of stuff in there. Oops!
Once it was cleared out, we took out the little shelf in the front, so it would open up the space more. We also took off the ugly light fixture so we could get an updated, brighter one.
I then decided I wanted to paint it white. Our whole house is a beige/tan color, and it’s darker than I’d like. Since it’s a small closet, I felt painting it white would brighten the space up and make it look a tad bigger. It really helped!
I wanted some kind of shelving in the back to store craft/office items, so David made some custom wooden shelves to fit in the awkward angled space. It was a family affair one Saturday morning! š
My vision also included some kind of fold-down desk since there isn’t a lot of space in there for one. I found these plans on Pinterest to follow, and we tweaked it a bit to make it our own. We just left off the storage part inside. It’s absolutely perfect, and I love that it can fold back up and still gives a lot of space in the closet!
I painted the outside with chalkboard paint, and the inside is a white board for notes, Bible verses, and little reminders. It has become my favorite place to sit and work on my blog, read, or journal.
I wanted this space to feel bright, cozy, and be functional. I think we achieved my goal and vision!
My kids often know if they can’t find me, that’s where I am. I love having some quiet time during my kiddos’ afternoon nap/rest time, reading or praying.
David comes in and uses the space when he works from home. It’s an ideal quiet spot to get work done with no interruptions or distractions.
Can you even believe the difference?! It is literally night and day in there. I can actually WALK IN and sit down at a DESK! Never would I have thought it could look like this, but all I needed was a vision. Thankful for a hubby that helps me make those visions come to life! Here’s a little before and after for you…
Blows. my. mind. And also, I’m just embarrassed at the before. I can’t even.
Have you ever transformed a small space/closet into an office or more functional space? It feels SO good when it’s all done!
Have a fabulous week, friends!
And the rug. We had carpet throughout our old home, and never had to worry about buying area rugs. When we moved into our new home with the whole downstairs being hardwood, I quickly bought the cheapest and simplest rug I could find from Target. It was fine for the time being, but the cats sure did a number on it and it was not soft at all, meaning my kids never wanted to sit and play on it. Boo.
We are huge Costco fans and when we saw a charcoal gray comfy couch and chair set, we knew it was time to say bye-bye to our old sectional.
And of course, if we were getting a new couch, it was time for a new rug, too. A much prettier and softer one. That’s when we turned to 
This 
It comes in 3 sizes; we chose the 7’10″x10’5″. They don’t only have shag rugs however, they have beautiful sisal, grass, jute, etc. Some for every style, andĀ they are eco-friendly and natural. I actually feel good about my kids wanting to play and lay all over it!
It arrived neatly rolled up, and we let it sit unrolled for a day or so and it was nice and flat. All rugs even come with a rug pad! Oh, and did I mention how soft it is?!
Our old couch had an ottoman that we used as our coffee table since our kids were little which worked perfectly. But when we got rid of the couch, the ottoman went too. So, time for a new coffee table!
I fell in loveĀ with this fun industrial farmhouse style table from Wayfair. The metal hairpin-style legs matched perfectly with my fun mailbox redo (you can check that out 
I also got a simple little round side table to go between the couch and chair from my local Facebook swap for cheap, and spray painted the legs to match the coffee table.
I kept the decor simple by adding a little greenery and some vintage books. I can’t get enough vintage books! I have a slight obsession.
I still love how our DIY orb chandelier looks hanging over the couch, too! You can see the tutorial for how to make your own 
Our “new” living room is SO much more open, spacious, and cozy (thanks to the perfect rug!). I love that I can see right into the kitchen without it feel closed off. Before, we’d prefer to hang out upstairs with the kiddos in our bonus room (which we still do daily), but we find ourselves wanting to relax and spend time in the living room more often now!
Do you do any spring cleaning, rearranging, or “sprucing up”?
Guys, Christmas is only a few days away. If you’re like me at all, you’ve probably forgotten to buy a gift for someoneĀ in all the craziness of shopping and the hustle and bustle of the season. Panic sets in when you realize its only a day or two until Christmas. Ah! I so know the feeling!
Stamped Leather Coasters // 
La Pouchette // 
DIY Leather Bookmarks // 
Suede Tassel Bracelet // 
Leather Feather Earrings // 
DIY Leather Sunglasses Case // 
DIY Leather Hair Bows // 
Minute Leather Belt // 
DIY Keychains // 
DIY Leather Luggage Tags // 
Hi, friends! Somehow this month is already half over. How did that happen? Is Christmas really only 2 weeks away?!
For my project this month, I made a winter wreath. My front door was looking bare, and I wanted something I would be able to keep up all winter and not just for Christmas.
To make your own, you’ll need:
I was looking for a thick white and black checkered/plaid ribbon, but couldn’t find any. So, I found this cozy plaid at Joann’s, and cute it into strips. It worked great! I started by gluing down the end of one strip onto the wreath form.
I just kept rolling the strips around and gluing the end down, then gluing a new strip on top and rolling until all the wreath form was covered.
I trimmed the ends of the eucalyptus stems, and layered them how I wanted them to look on the wreath.
Using my floral wire, I wrapped them together in the middle onto the wreath a few times to keep them in place. Before securing the wire completely, I also stuck in the picks on either end of the eucalyptus under the wire.
I used thick silver ribbon to cover the stems and wire. I glued it in the back of the wreath and wrapped it aroundĀ a couple times.
As for the metal label holder, I used thin silver ribbon to attach it to the wreath. I threaded it through the holes, wrapped it around a few times and tied it in the back. The label holder is thin, so I was able to bend it slightly to fit around the wreath form better.
I cut a thick piece of card stock to fit and wrote “Merry Christmas” on it. I’ll be able to change this as soon as Christmas is over!
I love that it’s neutral and can be used until spring. I could just take out the picks and change the label!
I had seen a bunch of beautiful orb chandeliers online, but all were expensive and definitely more than I wanted to pay. Making our own was the bestĀ and cheapest solution! The twine was about $6 on Amazon, the embroidery hoops I found at a thrift store for $1.50 each, and the spray paint was about $4. I already had the glue gun and drill bit, so this whole chandelier cost me under $20 to make!
Using our drill and drill bit that would be big enough to fit the top bolt of the lighting, we overlapped the ends of two of the hoops (the two “outer” hoops of each pair since they would be just a tad bigger than the inside ones) and drilled a hole through. We taped them together to make it easier to drill (as shown above).
After all holes were drilled, we made sure the wires all fit through for hanging.
Then we overlapped both of the outer embroidery hoops and made sure everything fit together nice and snug with the bolts. The two outer hoops will criss-cross to create the starting of an “orb.”
We then took everything back apart, and I spray painted all of the lighting pieces with a satin black spray paint to give it a nice, new finish.
While the paint dried, I set to the task of wrapping the embroidery hoops with the twine. This part was time consuming, and I ended up taking two evenings to finish it. To wrap, I just used some hot glue to glue the end of the twine to the hoop, and then I just started wrapping it around! I’d occasionally put a little hot glue on the wood as I went to make sure it stayed snug and in place.
We fed all the wires through the holes of both outer hoops, tightened all bolts in place, and made sure the hoops were criss-crossed.Ā Ā 
On the bottom where the hoops intersect, I used just a little bit of hot glue to secure them together. I then took some extra twine and after gluing down the end, I wrapped it around the intersection a few times to form an “X.” I then hot glued the end down discretely under part of the “X” so it wasn’t too visible.
Now, we’ve been working with the outer two embroidery hoops this whole time. For the other two slightly smaller hoops, they will go inside the orb and be horizontal, parallel to each other. Since they are a tad smaller (because they were originally the “inside” of the embroidery hoops), they should fit in just fine and be snug. Once I got them both inside and somewhat even, I hot glued them to the inside of the outer orb hoops. Then I did the same as I did with the bottom of the orb and wrapped twine around each intersection to create that “X.”
This took a little while since I had to do this 8 times. It was tricky to keep the inner hoop straight, which is why I tried to hot glue them in quickly first before wrapping the twine.
The top was a bit tricky, but I just used the same method again and after gluing down the end of the twine, I wrapped it around the top to hide the wooden overlapped part and still keep that “X.” It doesn’t matter too much if it isn’t beautiful on the top since no one will reallyĀ be seeing this as it’ll be high up close to the ceiling.
It really is SO much better than our previous amber-lighted fan that was in our living room.
It’s definitely unique from other orbs I’ve seen, as most only have one horizontal ring, but we wanted to make ours a little different. I’m so glad we did!
My favorite part of the light is how much my son loves it. Every time we walk downstairs and through the living room he points to it and shouts, “ball!!” It makes me smile!
I was slightly intimidated to make my own lighting at first, but after we got all the supplies and started working, it turned out to be quite easy and so much fun!
I’ll be honest; when this came in the mail, I was slightly intimidated. I’m not a woodworker and I haven’t built many things. But once I tried it out, it was so easy I was shocked! You literally put it on the wood where you want it, clamp it, and use your drill with the drill bit it came with and drill your holes. That’s it!
The Kreg Jig R3 comes with everything you need (all shown in the above picture), including the kreg jig, drill bit, several screws, and more.
After we cut our wood, we got to work on drilling the holes for the pendent light cord to hang through.
Then we got our pocket holes in by using our Kreg Jig R3! This was the funnest part out of the whole project. The Kreg Jig was so easy to use too, you just use your clamp to secure it down to the wood (we used this 
I mentioned above I am notĀ woodworker by any means. But y’all, if I can use this successfully to build something, you can too!
Even my hubby got in on the building, and had to try it out too. He was in love! And of course, he really wanted to help make the corbels, too. š
Drilling the pocket hole screws in was even easier! The Kreg Jig R3 came with the drill bit needed to drill them right in. It’s such an easy and clean way to attach your wood together without needing any wood glue.
We whipped up these corbel sconces in just 2 days (with drying time!)! Seriously, so easy to make with just a few pieces of wood, a few holes and pocket screws, stain, and pendent lights. Don’t forget to find the plans to make these sconces 
I love the contrast of the dark corbels and pendents with the white bed and nightstands! I still have a lot of work to do in our master bedroom, but it’s getting there slowly.
It’s been hit-or-miss with my posting around here, and I apologize for that! Summer gets so busy. I can’t even believe we are almost in August!
I like to let the water cool for about 10 to 15 minutes before adding in anything else.
Then twist the paper towel roll inside of one half and pull it out of the middle.
To make it easier to put it into the jar, fold the half-roll of paper towels in half and squeeze down into the jar. It takes a little finagling, but it’ll fit!
Pull out the very center piece to start the roll.
Time to go back to the coconut oil and water mixture! It should be cool enough now. Add in 1 Tbsp unscented bath gel and stir.
Add in 15 drops of lavender essential oil (I love Young Living essential oils, they are 100% pure! Nothing but the best for my baby’s squishy tushy!).
Stir all together, and then gently pour into the glass jar over the paper towels. I like to pour it into a glass measuring cup to easily pour.
Put the lid on the jar, and let the wipes sit for about an hour so and the paper towels will absorb all of the liquid mixture. Then they’re ready to use!
These wipes are the perfect size! And they smell amaaaazing.
I love knowing what I’m wiping my baby’s rear with, and that I’m using safe and gentle ingredients for their sensitive skin.
And bonus, they’re really easy to make! They last us about 2 weeks, and we’ve never had any mold issues. I used them with Jade, and now with Landon.
Make sure the lid is on tight after you use them, too, so they don’t dry out.
Lavender essential oil is really soothing and great for sweet sensitive baby skin, so it’s the perfect addition to these wipes.
And that faaaaaaace! I can’t even.
The smile on this kiddo’s face shows how much he loves those wipes! š
I have to say, at first I was definitely challenged trying to figure out what to use the burlap ribbon for. It’s much easier to use regular burlap for projects than a smaller roll of it. But, I never back down from a challenge!
I rolled the burlap ribbon around the shade, then pulled it tight and cut it right where I needed to glue it down at the seam.Ā 
I then rolled out my teal ribbon and did the same, measuring it around the lampshade and then gluing the end down right in the middle of the burlap at the seam of the shade.
I did the same as above for the lace, making sure it was centered on the ribbon.
That’s it! I told you it was quick and easy, right?! I don’t lie.
Such a simple way to get that pretty farmhouse style I love! And, to cover up an ugly lamp I didn’t like. š
It sits on this cute little antique table that was my grandmother’s. I love it!
Don’t forget to check out the other fabulous burlap ribbon projects from my bloggy friends below!
Not terrible, but again just not what I wanted in our entryway, so I started searching for a new chandelier. I wanted something metal for an industrial look, but I also really loved the orb-style pendants, too. I’m also intrigued with geometrical lights, so that was one of my search criteria, as well.
It was the exact size we needed for the space, and the 5 lights give off just enough light. We had to hire someone to install it, as our entryway is super high up and we don’t have the right kind of ladder. It was a little scary watching them put it all the way up!!
It arrived in just a few days, with everything we needed. I just had to get a few candelabra bulbs, and we were set!
While I was searching around for the perfect chandelier, there were lots of others I came across that I also loved. Geometric-style is really popular right now, so there were a tonĀ I found and bookmarked. There are some for every style!
I used my paint brush to very very faintly write “hello” in cursive. I had a wet paper towel right next to me just in case I needed to wipe it off quickly, but didn’t need it! If you don’t feel comfortable just free-handing, you could try writing it in chalk first and then painting over it.
I then went back over my painted “hello” again with more paint to darken it.
After finishing, I did the same on the other side with the word “goodbye.”
All done! Easy, right?!
It’s so cute! You could also just print the words “hello” and “goodbye” instead of cursive, too.
This doormat lasts so long too, you could even touch the paint up each season! Just think of the money you’ll save, not having to buy a new doormat every year.