DIY Cooking at Home

Hi there! With the new year well underway, I thought I'd take a look back at last year to see what projects we've completed around here. Forgive the tooting of my own horn, but we got a lot of s%!# done! :) From major DIY projects--like our open kitchen shelving--to small handcrafted accessories, these are the projects I'm most proud of...the ones I still look at and think, "Hey, I/we did that!" So without further shameless self-promotion, here are my favorite DIY decor posts of 2015. Open Kitchen Shelving Anthropologie Knock-Off Terrarium DIY Drum Shade Lighting Fixture IKEA Hack: Leksvik Hutch Turned TV Cabinet Z Gallerie Knockoff: Ming Box Kitchen Island Bookcase Rain Boot Wreath Upgrading a Builder-Grade Home with Trim West Elm Knockoff: Linework Vases Glass Drink Coasters

Hi there, friends! Have you been to your local Goodwill store lately? If not, I'm going to let you in on a secret: they get brand-new Target merchandise every week! Yep, you heard it here. You can find Target stuff for even cheaper than their clearance prices quite often, so what are you waiting for? And while you're there, check out their houseware section for things you can upcycle with spray paint. It's one of my favorite ways to add style to our home on the cheap! Here's my latest upcycle: a wine decanter! I picked up a glass decanter at Goodwill for $4 and it was such a good buy! It's made of really heavy glass, and I knew it would look great on our bar cart. To make it a little more interesting, I taped off and sprayed just the bottom with Looking Glass spray paint by Krylon (which I already had left over from another project). Then, I purchased a large wooden craft sphere to use as a stopper. The whole thing only cost $5.50!  Not to gloat, but you ca...

Hey there! Did you happen to see my tightwad tip last Tuesday? I made gift tags out of Christmas cards , helping me stock up on wrapping supplies for next year! I loved this idea so much, I rounded up 10 other ways to recycle Christmas cards into cute home accessories or gift items. Check it out over on About.com! 11 Ways to Upcycle Christmas Cards If you like this post, try one or more of these other projects using re-used and recycled stuff: 10 Things to Make with a Cardboard Box 8 Uses for Old Sweaters 10 Tin Can Projects

Hi there! Today I'm going to show you how easy it is to make a wreath from a placemat. I found two round cork placemats at a junk shop, and got them for free! The owner wanted/needed to clean things out, and I guess she thought a set of only two placemats would be hard to sell. (They probably are.) So I snagged them up before she could change her mind, and knew just what I wanted to do with one of them. I hot glued some picture hangers to the back like so: Then I tied on a pretty red ribbon and voila! A "wreath" that cost $1.29 (for the picture hangers) and took all of 5 minutes. Now this is the kind of craft I have time for lately. So what's hanging on your door this Christmas? Find more Christmas decorations for your front door, check this out: Front Door Decor for the Holidays

Hey, hey, how are ya? It's gettin' to be about that time to deck the halls! We typically get our tree right after Thanksgiving, how about you? I want to share my round-up of the prettiest tree skirts I could find over on About.com. Check out these gorgeous and unusual tree skirts here, but if you can't find one you like, consider these ideas: Make a Tree Skirt from a Tablecloth Basket Christmas Tree Skirt Rustic Crate Tree Skirt Wrapped Gift Tree Skirt Galvanized Tree Collar Red Plastic Tote Tree Skirt Happy tree hunting and decorating! You May Also Like: Magnetic Advent Calendar Christmas Countdown Cake Stand for $2

Hey guys! I'm excited to share with you my latest designer knockoff...these linework vases similar to West Elm's ! I shared the complete how-to over on About.com , so to find out how to make your own textured vases , head over there. Here are some pics of how mine turned out. They were cheap, easy, and fun to make! I especially love the honeycomb design, which is one of my favorite patterns right now. How to Make Your Own Textured Vases Here are some other ways to use dollar store or thrift store vases: Faux Milk Glass 9 Ways to Wrap a Cylinder Vases