Inspired DIY

Ice Luminaries for the Holiday DIY Home

cool pics via flickr

Ice luminaries are my favorite Winter DIY home decor. Everyone has some decorating they do for the Winter and this gorgeous tradition for us is simple and stunning for holiday parties or when family and friends visit. Here are some simple steps to creating some lovely ice candles of your own:


1.Find a bucket or large plastic container, smaller cup, and some pine cones, evergreen branches, and any other natural decorations.

2.Line the sides of bucket with natural decorations and place the smaller cup in the middle, securing with duct tape so it will not move.

3.Pour water so it fills the space between bucket and cup.

4.FREEZE!!!( outside or in freezer)

5.Use warm water to slip luminary from mold and remove duct tape.

6.Place small votive or other low burning candle in luminary and place outside.

7.ENJOY the gorgeous look of your driveway or front porch with ice luminaries glowing and sparkling!

(kids can make these with glitter and food coloring too!!!

What other free and beautiful ideas do you have for DIY Winter Home decor?

Notes From The Tub

When I take a soak nightly in the bathtub I look around and try and not get down at the fact that the bathroom has not been renovated yet. We will begin in January I know because my parents are giving us some Home Depot and Lowe's cards for Christmas!

I have decided that the only redeeming qualities of this old bathroom is the vintage glass doorknob and the kinda retro stainless exhaust fan.

I have not done much than clean the bathroom this year.

No new towels or a gorgeous rug. The only thing I did to the place was this. 

It made all the difference. I would not have ever had a bath otherwise.It would have been a showerful year.

I must remember that I need to be patient and have a plan. I need to have a budget and stick to it ( but perhaps allow myself to splash out when I must) and I need to relax. Even in an ugly tub.

Send me gorgeous bathrooms please? Show me? Inspire me?

cool art over on Etsy.

DIY in the Wee Ones Rooms!

When decorating and doing a bit of DIY in wee ones room it is not necessary to spend a fortune. Some of the best baby and kids rooms are done without purchasing the typical matching set of over priced bedroom set and matchy match themed accessories. I love a colorful and cheery room full of vintage hip modern touches. I hate a Winnie The Pooh fest! Let's see how it is done? What did you do for your little one?

Here are some cool rooms and some tips to creating a wonderful room with items you have or items that the child can keep as they grow.

1. When you are going to invest do it with style. Think about classic pieces like a cool dresser, sideboard, or full bed. Think about yr wee one growing up and taking these pieces with them.

2. Paint is the cheapest bang for your buck! Seriously go bold and bright and fun! Kids love it and it might be the only room in your home that you will let yourself go crazy. Don't we always wanna pick that bright crazy color chip, but never do? Do it!

3. Group items together for visual interest. Use color or items to build cool shrines on dressers, walls, or in the sky. I love the idea of hanging tons of the same kite from the ceiling! Collections can make a room! Think outside the box.

4. Install a wire across the room for the child to hang their ever changing
artwork and other such coolness. It keeps the room neater and looks so cool! ( Pottery Barn sell these- but the hardware store does too for cheap cheap).

5. Get thee to the vintage store, yard sales, and antique shops. The old mixed with the new is the chic way to go! Old chalkboards and daybeds mixed with cool new finds from main street and the web.

6. Just do it. I think teaching kids style and the art of DIY and resourcefulness is a gift!

The Cold Winter Landscape

What will your outdoor Winter landscape look like this year? This is my second Winter in this house and last year I was gloomy and bleak to say the least. I simply took the flower pots off the porch and never replaced them. I also dug out the window boxes and they sat vacant all season. This year I am interested in purchasing some plants that will look festive for the holidays and then look great all Winter long. I am thinking of some small evergreens in large pots and some Holly plants. I love holly and who doesn't love tiny white lights on dark dark nights? I am planting small winter resistant plants in the window boxes this year and even adding bows for the holidays. I think I will feel so much more festive this year!

Can a skylight be DIY? Oh for the love of natural light!

Bath skylight
Originally uploaded by *jenny b allsorts

Our bathroom that is slowly being renovated wants a skylight. It cries for one and I ran across a bit of information on Domino that shows how simple it could be for me to get one. The system they highlighted is the Solatube.
Domino says:  A rooftop dome captures and funnels rays inside via a reflective tube. Back inside, a diffuser in the ceiling spreads the light evenly (special lenses can make it look warmer, glowier, etc.).

I love the idea of natural light pouring over me in the morning. I like less use of electricity. I found this gorgeous bathroom on flickr. Would you love to get ready in there? Um, yes!

I am going to research skylights this Winter. If you have on in yr home tell me about it. Did you install it or did you call a contractor? I am hopeful that my husband and I could install ours, but I am interested in knowing how much time/effort/cost is involved.

And then tell me about how gorgeous you look while standing under the glow! :)

DIY Kitchen Inspiration

Cheapest bang for the Buck! Paint it baby!

Are you bold with color in your home? I love color and the magical transformations it makes. It really can do so much on a small budget. There are two really great color contests going on right now on the web.
1. The Ohdeedoh Color Contest for kiddos rooms!
2. Apartment Therapy Color Contest!

I want to enter the kid contest as my son has a bright and cheery room full of color and whimsy. I just might. Will you? Come on!

It really does look better! Caulk Yourself Out!

So I have been winterizing the house and working on my goal of lower heating bills! My husband told me to caulk around the windows and I wanted to share that it is a simple and easy way to make your home more efficient and your walls will look more finished and professional too. I used my old caulk singles that I used way back in June! I say Ha to to naysayers that think single use cannot be Eco friendly. I find that these small single use sizes are actually better as they do not dry up if you fold them and cover them as the large tubes do! Our old basement was littered with half used hard tubes of caulk when we moved! What a waste!

So, I used the caulk singles white paintable caulk to seal the crack between my window frame and the wall. I had no idea of what a large crack it was! Hello drafty drafterton!

If you have wooden windows in an older home go check your crack!
I simply took a damp rag and the caulk and taped off the portion I wanted to caulk and it was easy! I promise. My husband said it will keep out the draft and he was impressed with my skills. It took about an hour to do all of the windows and I think it is one more small step to making my home more efficient! I do have a few places I could touch up the paint, but honestly if I didn't notice the massive crack- will I really notice the few spots that need paint?

That  can go  on the someday list. The right now list is longer and more important.

Check out the crack:

The Fall Guide

I feel like I was just postponing Spring cleaning and now it is time for pumpkin and turkeys? I know there is a lot to do to get a home ready for the Winter! What do you do in the Fall to prepare?

I always try and clean the fridge coils, change filters in furnace/water, flip mattresses, and stock up on rock salt for icy weather.

I was reading on some other DIY blogs about outside preparations for the change of seasons and realized that there are a lot of things I need to do!

Organized Home has a great Autumn cleaning chore list and I posted some highlights:

And Soon We Shall Be Wearing Our Wool Socks!

• According to the DIY Network : Caulking around doors, windows, pipes, cables and vents can save up to 10% in heating and cooling costs.  I am working over this weekend on sealing cracks, crevices, doors, and windows. I bought this old house last year and did nothing and my bills were too high!

I am going to work hard at getting this old lady ready for the winter properly this year!