New to Me Backyard Fire Pit

I was right.  Not a huge surprise, but the most important thing to remember is my bf was WRONG! Ha.  We have a lot of sticks in our backyard.  Not a couple here or there, it’s extreme, the entire yard is covered in sticks. Entirely.  Of course the dog loves it, but my paranoia only sees all the ways she can hurt her clumsy self.  So, I had the brilliant idea of buying or making a fire pit.  And I love having fires in the summer.  So, I started doing some cheapest options research.  Eventually we got our hands on a cast iron chiminea that someone was getting rid of.  They only wanted $30.  Nice!  Pitched the idea to the bf, he thought it looked like a piece of junk and no amount of DIY would make it look good. 

Loving: Old Windows

When we looked at the house for the first time,  I noticed big old windows in the back yard leaning against the garage.  After we left, instead of thinking about important questions to ask the landlord like the condition of the appliances or the insulation...I was trying to figure out a casual way to inquire about the windows. Here's the gem I came up with:

Cork Wall Art

I've had a vague idea of some sort of spherical cork wall art floating around in my brain for some time, so I asked family and friends to become alcoholics drink more wine and start collecting corks.  Luckily I also have connections to a wine maker, my grandpa. After a few months of collecting, I rolled up my sleeves, did some good ol' fashion paper mache and hot glued some corks.  Sounds simple, it was, and kind of fun.

Knit Knit Pouf

I’m a multi-tasker.  If I’m only doing 1 thing at a time I get antsy.  I’ve been known to watch a couple of shows at once during commercials, while also scouring pinterest, checking out the weather on my phone, reading the weekly flyers, cuddling a cat, and eating a sandwich.  That’s my normal down time.  For a change of pace, I wanted to take up knitting again as a new project to do while watching a movie or arguing debating with my BF, entertaining the dog, you get the idea. 

Chalkboard Kitchen Jars

I've been collecting random glass jars for a while.  Anything from jam to salsa,  tomato sauce to pickle.  I have a special place in my heart for glass. It is too useful to just get rid of and I’ve always rationalized that I’ll keep them for storage some day. Then, gasp, I actually did use them and gasp again, I combined my love of glass jars with my lust for chalkboard paint.  (Remember the chalkboard fridge)

Twine Jar Cover

I hated looking at our stupid change jar/piggy bank that used to sit on our coffee table, so I made a cover for it.  It is super easy and a quick project that can easily be re-sized to make larger storage baskets and they can even be used without an inner vessel because they support themselves.  So many possibilities to add a little natural texture to your decor.  Here's how to make one for yourself...

*P.S. I have never made, let alone shared, a crochet pattern in my life so your comments would be appreciated!! My grandmas would be so proud :)

Finally The Orange is GONE

I’ve left you hanging for weeks, but no more! The orange and grey Harley Davidson bathroom is gone.  It has become bright, modern, colourful…fresh.  For the last few months I’ve been working as a house painter and have learned a few things along the way.  This bathroom was my chance to finally use those new skills in our place.  We are only renting our place, so the possibilities of what we could do to the bathroom were quite limited, but the couple little changes we did make definitely had a dramatic effect.