easy craft idea {driftwood fish}

Who’s planning to spend some time at the beach this summer? Would you believe it if I told you that we moved to Key West in January and I haven’t been to the beach once?  True story. That could have something to do with the fact that we moved here from a Caribbean island with the most beautiful water on earth. Or, more accurately, that I’m not really the lay on the beach type … I’m more of a scour-the-beach-for-seaglass-and-driftwood girl so I can whip them into easy craft ideas.

upcycling ideas {8 ways to use regular things around your house in unique ways}

I promise.  There really was a plan.  It was well thought out.  And it was going to work. Just to recap, we have just relocated from Curacao to Key West and closed on our new-to-us-house. And when we moved to Curacao over three years ago we didn’t take much of our stuff with us.  We just didn’t really know what we were in for and didn’t want to get down there with a ton of things we not only wouldn’t need but couldn’t use, or wouldn’t have room for or whatever.  And it really was a great plan. We left 90% of our things in storage in our previous location in Maryland.  So, when we arrived here in Key West and found a house (that seriously is perfect for us in so many ways) we thought it made sense to get all of our things in one place again.  So, I trekked up to Maryland and sifted through our things and lo and behold we had another whole truck shipment arrive at our new-to-us little home last week. The well laid out, strategized and over analyzed plan was this: 1. Close on the house – check 2. Things from Curacao arrive – check 3. Settle into one bedroom, one bathroom and the kitchen with those things that we’ve been living with for the last three years – check (We will be remodeling/renovating the entire house, starting with the living/dining area and just wanted to create a few comfortable spots to be in during the whole process) 4. Things from Maryland arrive – check 5. Store all furniture pieces in the carport, tools in the shed and boxes in the guest bedroom and leave the furniture and boxes as is until we finish the living/dining area redo and have a need … continue reading

one of the easiest pallet projects ever

Do you remember the last time you moved?  When you unpacked your things in your new house and all these old memories flooded back of those same things on your old space? I’ve been relishing the nostalgia of it all for about a week.  With every new box I opened I would uncover some of my favorite upcycling ideas or pallet projects.  The palm frond pumpkin made it pretty much unscathed!  And all of the pallet art projects need to find a new home here. And then when I found the diy door trough, one of the easiest pallet projects ever, I thought the tutorial was worth resharing.  This little gem might just happens to be one of the first bits of pretty around here. After I shared this tutorial I also shared how to reverse image and text in Word and make an easy little Welcome sign for your pallet projects.

newspaper as a {creative wall covering}

Hello, hello!!  If you happen to follow along on Instagram you saw a little sneak peek of a creative wall covering idea I worked on with my bff at one of our rental houses in Maryland. I’m going to start by saying that I am seriously in love with how this little experiment turned out.  A $6 upcycling idea that I worked on for 2 hours with my bff and had no idea what to expect for a result … when something like that works out in the end what’s not to love, right?!?!

upcycling ideas {20 perfect pallet projects}

You know, I’ve never really been much of a magazine girl.  I don’t subscribe to any, they were just never my go to for inspiration. But let me tell you … that is a changin’.  I find myself engrossed in any kind of magazine these days just looking at the pictures and gleaning inspiration for our soon to be house renovation / remodel projects. And it’s no secret that I’m a fan of pallet projects.  And I’m finding myself drawn to all things pallet wood, or reclaimed wood, or barn wood.  The pictures just pop right out of the magazine and are just drooling with character and depth.  Pallet projects seem like such a great way to create a unique focal point in any room. Here are 20 of my favorite pallet projects I’ve seen around lately.

upcycling ideas {Valentine’s Day ice cubes}

*an explanation for this awesome graphic can be found at the bottom of this post Just because we’re living out of a hotel seemingly just waiting for the perfect house to come and find us so we can buy it already doesn’t mean I can’t get a little Valentine’s Day inspiration at the thrift store, right?!?!  And because I’m always looking for upcycling ideas for thrift store finds, when I came across this heart mini muffin tin for $0.49 when I was big thriftin’ my first thought was “ice cubes!”. More specifically I thought red, heart shaped ice cubes would be the perfect accompaniment to any Valentine’s Day beverage.

sea glass and driftwood Christmas craft

Is everyone all linked up to our crafty Christmas party already?  Don’t forget to link up your favorite Christmas craft from this year here … the party is open until Friday right here! Now, as you read this I am up in the stone cold north, working on projects that have absolutely nothing to do with the holidays, but I wanted to give you the rundown of this little sea glass and driftwood Christmas craft that you saw on my mantel. A great project for the kids big enough to use the glue gun, too.

joy to the world {simple Christmas wreath}

This time of year really is the best, isn’t it?!?! The holiday spirit is in the air, holiday decor is strewn about and holiday cheer is abundant.  :)  I practically hear carolers singing “Joy to the World” right now. I love that first delve into the Christmas decor and crafting.  I like to see what we’ve got from year’s past that still inspires me and try to come up with a few new ideas at the same time.  All while I watch my husband roll his eyes at me as I pace to and fro between him and his football, or futball, or whatever sport he’s watching at the time. Hey, this decor thing takes time.  You gotta step back, look at it from all angles, scootch it around a bit and then step back for another look … am I right!?! On my decor day we even had the island equivalent of what could be considered a winter storm.  Brrrrr! Just kidding I think it did get down to 79 degrees though … which is close to a record low.  And the perfect day for dilly dallying around with some Christmas decor I say. So I made a few new driftwood Christmas trees and gave our fall leaf wreath a winter makeover.