Category Archives: DIY

A Long, Long Time Ago…

This gallery wall project happened so long ago, before Noah’s birthday, I hesitated to even share it with you but then I decided why not. I mentioned back in this post that am a procrastinator and as “they” say, “The proof is in the pudding.”

Our gallery wall started coming together almost six months ago… back when I shared this picture on Instagram.

At that point in the process we were moving templates around trying to figure out how the picture frames would work best. This really is the easiest method when trying to figure out how to hang a gallery wall. It helps keep those hundreds of guessing holes at bay.

This gallery wall is a result of the map picture looking visually too small hanging above the love seat. By creating a gallery wall it helped to add visual weight to the wall and balance out the large love seat underneath. This is an easy solution to any small pictures hanging (no pun intended) around your house or large areas of wall space that need to be filled.

Gallery walls work best when there is some underlying order to it. I’m not just talking about matching picture frames or a unifying color. It helps if all the pictures work as a group. In our case we created a boundary line that all the pictures would fit within.

border

Because this project leans more towards the perfectionist side ML did most of the work. You won’t find me complaining about that. To create our boundary line he started with the largest picture surrounding the map and worked with it until the spacing looked right.

Next he formed the four corners working out from his original picture. We actually drew a light pencil line outlining our boundary on the wall. It can easily be erased once the pictures are hung.

Once, the four corners were defined the rest of the pictures were placed along the outside border.

The not so fun part… according to Michael Luke was locating the nail hole locations. To do this measure the distance both horizontally and vertically to the hole on the back of the frame. Then locate this on the wall using your boundary pencil line as your starting point.

Finally, admire the gallery wall that you just created! Ta-da!

I wish I had a more completed pictures to show you. The one above was taken right after Christmas and then we immediately rearranged the living room. Yet another thing I have procrastinated showing y’all. My goal is to get some pictures taken of the new layout and share with you where our new gallery wall will go.

For anyone that may be curious and because the picture is a little blurry I created the diagram below with corresponding numbers describing the pictures. Once we get the gallery wall relocated to its new location I promise to come back with close-ups of the pictures.

Photo Listings:

Wall Plaque “As for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.” – At the top left hand corner it functions as our family motto and the theme of our gallery wall. Over time I hope to add new pictures… especially once we bring our second daughter home from Peru.
One of my favorite pictures of Noah from this Summer.
I found this quote on Pinterest and then added my life verse below it. It is such a great reminder of God’s timing as we journey through this adoption process.

Source: spiritualinspiration.tumblr.com viaKrystle @ Color Transformed Family on Pinterest
The map… is a gift I gave to Michael Luke for his birthday last year and the basis for the entire wall. A heart sticker will be added showing where each of children are born! When I saw it on Etsy I knew it was the perfect gift for him… and I was right. (If you would like your own world/state map clicking the image above will take you to the seller’s Etsy shop.)
Family portrait from last Summer.
Last picture of the beach on our honeymoon.
A great image of the Alabama Theatre, a historic landmark here in town.
Portrait of us on our honeymoon in Jamaica.
A beautiful picture of Noah just two days old. I love Michael Luke’s hands cradling her head. She was so tiny!
Mom + Dad = Me Michael Luke gave me this frame after our confirmation appointment for my pregnancy.
Noah as the flower girl at my sister’s wedding.
Family picture from last fall. It’s one of my favorite ones.
Another photo from our honeymoon.
This one is supposed to be a picture of Noah and Buddy, our cat but I have had a hard time getting it printed. I think I might just have to print it myself vs. paying to have it done.I’m kind of bummed that the gallery wall isn’t visible any more. I enjoyed having so many family pictures displayed for everyone to see. Eventually, we will get around to moving it though. Besides the rearrangement of the living room furniture I promise I am not hiding any more “procrastinated” projects.Are there any projects you have been procrastinating on? Do you find yourself regularly rearranging rooms? I can’t even remember how many furniture layouts we have had for our living room!

For more Color Transformed Family follow me on:

Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram, or RSS.

Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.

Let the Transformation Begin

6 Replies

Things have been a little quiet on the blog concerning our kitchen renovation but that doesn’t mean it has been moving forward or that we haven’t been working on it.

You may remember from this post that we had already bought our Whirlpool microwave but still needed to install it. Well consider it done! Thanks to Michael Luke.

DSCN4674 Yep. He removed our existing and installed our new one. And we are really thrilled to have it… especially since we scored such a great deal on it. We are only out of pocket $50 bucks for our new microwave with an MRSP of $209. That’s a savings of $159!

How did we do this? A couple of months ago we were at Lowe’s looking at counters, I decided to take a little bathroom break and passed by the returned and out of box section where a black microwave with a $50 price tag caught my eye. By caught I mean, I stopped walking instantly, showed it to ML, and then was afraid to leave it in fear that someone else might be looking for the same black microwave!

We inspected it and except for a few minor problems couldn’t find anything wrong with it. Michael Luke called an employee over to make sure there wasn’t anything wrong with it that we might have missed. Nope. Just a returned microwave marked down to $50.

It didn’t take us long at all to decided that this was the guy for our kitchen. So we loaded him up and headed home.

DSCN4103

We weren’t able to install the microwave immediately because it didn’t come with the mounting hardware. Michael Luke called around to a couple of stores and finally found one that had some extra mounting hardware on hand that they gave us for free!

After that we were in business and ready to install the microwave.

First the old one came out.

DSCN4101

New hardware went up.

DSCN4118

Then our new microwave was installed.

DSCN4674

It fits and works great and a plus is that the inside is larger than our previous one which allows for our less than small square dinner plates to rotate completely. Something that didn’t happen in our old microwave.

DSCN4657

The scratches are still there but are hardly noticeable… especially from a distance. And we figure with a little elbow grease we can get most of them out of there.

DSCN4672

Remember, our goal is to renovate this kitchen on a minimal budget with a maximum wow factor for resale in a few years. So, we think a few scratches on our “nicer than we would have originally purchased microwave” really won’t matter in the grand scheme of things. They don’t show up in pictures or while standing in the room until you are right up on the microwave. I don’t think something that minuscule will keep someone from buying the house.

DSCN4668

Michael Luke and I have also decided to match dollar for dollar what we spend on renovating the kitchen to pay down our current mortgage. We have hopes of paying that baby off way sooner than the the thirty years the bank is giving us to pay it off. The more we pay down now the more we will have for a down payment on our next house.

So where does this microwave leave us with our We Can Beat That estimates?

Operation Bring Sunshine to the Kitchen

(Estimated Pricing) Actual Amount Spent

new countertops- ($600 counters, $427 labor installation)
paint upper and lower cabinets - ($30)
under cabinet lighting- ($70)
new refrigerator- ($1,100)
new above range microwave oven-($150) $50 (actual cost will be lower once we sell the existing microwave currently on Craigslist.
paint walls- ($30)
tile backsplash- ($30 tile, $30 supplies)
add cut out to pantry door- ($20)
clean grout in tile floor- (10)
new hardware for cabinet doors and drawers- ($100)
replace ceiling fan and light- ($160)

Total Savings to Date: $100

Estimated Budget: $2,757

We Can Beat That Price: ???

After the new year I will be back to share with you our new refrigerator, counter demolition, and install of new counters!

What projects have you been up to lately? Have you been trying to wrap any up by the end of the year? Have you ever come across any great deals in the return section like our microwave?

For more Color Transformed Family follow me on:

Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter or RSS.

Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.

Christmas 2012: Glass Bead Ornament

10 Replies

Earlier this week I participated in a Secret Santa Cyber Ornament Swap. Using the website Elfster we were assigned a name and spending limit ($20) and given a few days to make an ornament. Our deadline was today so I haven’t received mine yet but I am looking forward to getting it in the mail.

Today, I thought I would share with you the glass bead ornament I made as my gift. The end result is really very pretty but the best part is that it takes around ten minutes to make.

Supplies:

shatterproof ornaments
glass jewelry beads (or plastic if you want to cut costs), I used various sizes
hot glue

I used red ornaments in case any of the background happened to be peeping through after I glued on the beads. To start with I applied a line of glue around the ornament. Then I started placing beads around.

For this particular ornament I worked in rows and alternating colors. You could use any pattern though. I think it would look pretty one solid color with beads of random size glued all over. It’s your ornament decorate it how you want to!I continued the banding around the ornament starting at the top and working my way down. Once I made it to the center, I reversed the pattern and worked my way to the bottom of the ornament. At this point the ornament was beginning to get a bit top heavy. The weight of those beads really start to add up!

You can see in the picture above that a tiny bit of the background does show through. So make sure whatever color ornament you use you don’t mind showing through. Might not look so hot if an orange background was peeking through.

I took a small strip of yarn and tied it on as a hanger and then gave it a test ~~drive~~ hang on the tree.

Quick. Easy. Beautiful.

Thats the way we roll around here.

I used the left over beads to decorate a few of the ornaments for the mantel. I like this look too and think I might have to make some more like this for next year!

So there you have it. A simple DIY glass bead ornament in under ten minutes (two if you use my simpler design above)!