Yami

October 16, 2018 By Yami Leave a Comment

DIY Farmhouse Holiday Wreath

Hello friends! I am back with probably the easiest DIY I have ever made (you’re welcome 😉) and I couldn’t wait to share it with you. By now you should already know that I have a love affair with Dollar Tree… I mean how could you NOT!?

But what if I told you there are items just as nice out there for even less? (Insert gasp)… I know!

Alright, if you like farmhouse decor then you definitely know about lamb’s ear wreaths…. And you probably know that they can be expensive.

Well, I just happened to be taking a detour in my local Wal Mart (when I should have been grocery shopping) and found lamb’s ear bushes in their craft section. And for only $0.97 a piece (insert second gasp!)

Here’s the proof.

*Some of the links below are affiliate links. For full disclosure, please go here*

Now they are a little small, but for the price it was fine with me!

I picked up several and you might have already seen me use them around the house like in my flower arrangement on my Buffalo Check Dollar Tree Tray and on my Fall Tablescape, but this time I wanted to do something a little different.

So I found a couple of 8 inch wire wreaths at Dollar Tree (they come in a set of 2 so it’s an awesome deal) and thought I would make 2 matching wreaths.

***JUST a reminder you can always see the video tutorial on my Youtube channel! Video is included at the end of this post!*

Then I pulled all of the leaves off my bushes. I had 4 bushes total so I made sure to use 2 per wreath.

I cut the leaf trios into individual leaves.

And then I used my hot glue gun to apply the leaves on the middle wire, slightly overlapping them over each other.

I made sure to go all the way around and cover the wire completely.

Then I did the same thing with the inner and outer wires. The only different thing I did with the outer ring was I made the leaves a little more fanned out as I applied them on.

After I went around all 3 rings I still had a few leaves left over and I just added the rest in. I made 2 wreaths and 2 bushes apiece was enough to create them.

Now you can always make them larger or include more bushes per wreath to make them even more full. But I was totally happy with them!

Then simply add a ribbon and hang in your home. Add a neutral ribbon for Fall or a red one for Christmas!

Each wreath costs less than $2.50 to make.

Isn’t it darling?!

Video tutorial below!

I hope you enjoyed this simple holiday DIY!

See you back here soon!

October 2, 2018 By Yami 11 Comments

Neutral Farmhouse Fall Tablescape

Happy Tuesday! Today I am excited that I get to join in on another amazing blog hop with 24 other talented bloggers. As you may already know, my first time joining was this summer when Kendra over at Joy In Our Home invited me for the Summer Blog Hop. I decorated and shared my coastal mantle decor for it at the time.

This time we have another great line-up and today I am sharing my Neutral Farmhouse Fall Tablescape… with some seriously inexpensive items and some fun DIY’s.

But before I start, below is an overview of what is being shared this week.

Don’t forget to head to the end of my post so you know which blog to head over to next and see the rest of the line-up for this week!

Neutral Farmhouse Fall Tablescape

As for my table… I always remembered my mom having our dinner table set up perfectly for each season and I always wondered why. Now that I have my own home I can tell you it is so much fun to put these together and when I am done, a huge sense of satisfaction fills me and I feel so proud that I was able to create something so beautiful for such a fun occasion.

Thanks mom. I understand.

Now, I will say one thing I was never really into (unlike mom) was tablecloths. I find them to be unnecessary, too long and just outdated. However, there is something nice about going to an expensive restaurant with white linens on the tables.

So I decided to try my own hand at making one (that I would like of course). And I came up with this sweet version below.

It’s short and fits my table perfectly. And the cute ruffles give it that sweet country/farmhouse style.

Like it?

No worries! I will be sharing how you can make for yourself soon!

Some of the links below are affiliate links, for full disclosure go here

As for the place setting…. I have 2 words…. Dollar Tree.

Yup!

The white charger, the gray plate and the pumpkin were all from Dollar Tree. I actually used those chargers in my rustic glam Christmas table setting from last year.

The plates are new at Dollar Tree right now. That pumpkin was not so pretty. They used to look like this:

So I spray painted them in the same color I spray-painted my DIY Dollar Tree Buffalo Check Tray…. Rustoleum’s Metallic Series spray paint in Vintage Copper.

The napkins were from my mom (thanks mom!) and the striped fabric charger underneath the white charger I sewed just like the ones I did in this tutorial.

The water glasses were also from Dollar Tree, gosh I love that store!

Tip: If you like any of these Dollar Tree products, but haven’t seen them in your store, you can order them online and have them shipped to your store for FREE!

Recognize that little stand the white center pumpkin is on?

Yep, that was another one of my DIY’s. You can make one yourself here.

The candles and candlesticks were again from Dollar Tree. I got really lucky with those candles, they are the perfect color to match my pumpkins.

The greenery was a mix from Wal Mart and Dollar Tree and the pumpkins were accumulated over the years.

I am totally loving the grey and copper colors I picked this year. It seemed like a crazy color combo, but I think it totally works!

The entire table works with the new colors of my keeping room.

I will also be sharing my keep room transformation very soon!

I hope my tablescape gave you some unique & inexpensive ideas for yours this season…

I’m wondering, which one was your favorite detail?

Also, don’t forget to pin this and share it with your friends!

Wanna see me put everything together? I recorded my first “Decorate with Me” video and I walk you through everything I do to create this look. See it below!

There are some great tablescapes being shared today, so make sure you head on over to the next post with Lindsay over at My Creative Days and see what she has in store for you.

Mantles on Monday

Joy In Our Home | County Road 407 | Poofing the Pillows |

Follow The Yellow Brick Home | citygirlmeetsfarmboy

Tablescapes on Tuesday

The Latina Next Door | My Creative Days | Elizabeth Joan Designs |

The Crowned Goat | Farmhouse Flare Designs

Recipes on WednesdayCherished Bliss | Countryside Cravings | Love In My Oven |

Chocolate with Grace | Making It In The Mountains

Vignettes on Thursday anderson + grant | DIY Beautify | Timeless Creations |

The Painted Hinge | Rain & Pine

Front Porches on FridayLantern Lane Designs | Little Brags | Chatfield Court

Camelot Art Creations | R and R at Home

I hope you are enjoying your Fall season and I will see you soon!

September 28, 2018 By Yami 2 Comments

Coastal Farmhouse Master Bedroom Update

I partnered with Sherwin Williams and this is a sponsored post. All opinions are my own. Please see full disclosure here.

Okay, so I know this post should have come at you a lot sooner, and if you have been following along for a while, you know all about the horrible state my master bedroom was in when we moved in. I mean, who could forget those mustard walls?!?!?

However a few months ago I shared what I planned on doing to transform it.

I may need to refresh your memory a bit….

I created this pretty design board for what I had planned.

Well, I am glad to say we are much closer to what I thought up. And even though we are not 100% there yet, I am very happy with what we have done so far…

Here’s what we did:

Supplies for Coastal Farmhouse Master Bedroom

5.0mm underlayment in 4’ x 8’ sheet
Purdy Standard Paint Tray Liner
American Line Pro Mini Roller Trays
FrogTape Multi-Surface Painter’s Tape
ScotchBlue Pre-Taped Painter’s Plastic
Contractor Series Microfiber Mini Rollers
HANDy Paint Pail
HANDy Paint Pail Liners
3M Dual Grit All Purpose Sanding Sponge
Proval Angled Sash Brush
Purdy Marathon Rollers
950A Silicone Acrylic Latex Caulk
Wood Filler
Liquid Nails
Nail Gun with Finishing Nails

First, we removed as much furniture as we could. The only thing we kept were the mattresses.

Then we prepped the room and walls with painter’s tape and floor covering and covered the mattresses with old sheets.

Since the house is 21 years old we added caulk to fill any gaps around the windows. We also repaired holes in the walls with spackle and repaired any holes on molding and baseboards with wood filler.

Once we sanded everything smooth, we primed. ERRRRTHANG!

In order to add that coastal feel we added shiplap. You can purchase inexpensive 5.0mm underlayment in 4’ x 8’ sheets at your local home improvement store.

If you have a table saw you can cut them down to 6” slats. Or you can have the home improvement store make the cuts for you if you do not have one.

In order to install them we used liquid nails and a nail gun. We started from the top down so that there would be a complete shiplap board on the top.

The size of the bottom didn’t matter since most of it was going to be covered by the bed and side tables.

The nails held the boards in place while the glue dried.

We used pennies as spacers in between the boards.

We also used a miter saw or a jigsaw to make difficult cuts for the window frames.

After all the boards were installed, I sealed the shiplap with my favorite latex sealer, Polycrylic. I simply applied one coat of Satin finish.

You can see below that the shiplap on the bottom of the wall is sealed and the top is not.

I was going to paint the shiplap white at one point but then thought it looked good natural…. plus, I had so much white furniture anyway it would have been too much white.

Finally, we painted the rest of the walls a nice ocean greenish blue color – we had it color matched over at our local Sherwin Williams.

I even painted all of the baseboards and trim a nice crisp white. They were yellowed and worn over years of not being painted.

Tip: To avoid getting paint on the carpet when painting the baseboards, I add Frogtape on the carpet as close to the bottom of the baseboard as possible. Then I simply paint and remove the tape for a perfect application every time.

And we just brought everything back into the room.

Now I feel like I live at the beach!!!!

I love the way the white furniture looks against the natural shiplap wall and the greenish, blue/gray walls.

I really can’t explain that color. LOL!

I kept the same lamps that we had in our last house.

I kept everything really simple and white.

Of course I am still not done with the room.

I still have to add:

an area rug
art work
a bench
curtains
a chair
and possibly some greenery…

but for now, I am happy with our master bedroom and where it’s headed.

Let me know what you think!

September 17, 2018 By Yami Leave a Comment

5 Dollar Goodwill Challenge Fall Centerpiece 2018

So remember when I shared my last thrift store haul and I had purchased that obnoxiously red basket for $2.52?

Well, it was finally time to give it a facelift!

It was perfect timing too, because I was able to finish it just in time for the $5 Goodwill Seasonal Challenge hosted by Hillary at Old World Home. This challenge is always so fun because there are so many great videos on how to up-cycle thrift store items into beautiful pieces without spending more than $5 at the thrift store.

The best thing about this transformation is that it’s super easy and only required paint!

Paint I used:

some of the links are affiliate links

Here’s what I did:

So first, I used the Tilled Soil paint and gave the basket 2 coats, making sure the red was completely covered.

Then once the paint was fairly dry, I dry-brushed the Parisian Grey paint making light strokes all over the basket.I didn’t want the basket looking too brown.

By adding the gray throughout it gave it a more weathered look.

And finally I added my favorite paint, Linen White to give it that coastal driftwood feel.

I dry-brushed it on as well making sure to get both the inside and outside of the basket.

Then I had my little helper (aka 6 year old daughter, Natalia) help me decorate the basket with pumpkins I had from last year.

You can see her in the full tutorial below.

And that was basically it! Like my daughter says, “Easy peasy lemon squeezy!”

I love how it turned out and I am so happy that I was able to grab that basket before anyone else did. It was in perfect condition, it just needed a little TLC…

And it looks so good with my neutral pumpkins & fall decor this year.

Have you ever purchased a basket at Goodwill?

Let me know below!

September 12, 2018 By Yami Leave a Comment

Dollar Tree Buffalo Check Tray

I don’t think I have ever made so many Fall DIY’s in one season… and here’s another one!

I showed a sneak peak of this tray in my last post when I shared my Dollar Tree succulent pumpkin planters. I decided to continue a neutral color scheme for Fall this year, but at the same time I wanted to add a pop of copper which I find so elegant and really works well with the season.

Never did I imagine it would go so well with grey buffalo check! I mean, look how cute everything looks and how well my buffalo check mini stand goes with it!

And just like that little stand, I painted the buffalo check onto the glass of an 11 x 14 inch picture frame I got at the Dollar Tree. The only difference is that this time, I had to work backwards.

Some links below are affiliate links

And those little handles… they were made with some dowels I had leftover from my Pottery Barn Mirror Dupe.

The spray paint I used was Rustoleum’s Metallic Series spray paint in Vintage Copper.

And since I already shared the step by step for a traditional buffalo check paint I thought it would be best to share a video of this process since we do have to work backwards and it might get a little confusing…

So grab yourself a cup of coffee, tea, glass of wine (I won’t judge) and enjoy my video below!

Let me know what colors you would pick for your tray in the comment below!

See you back really soon,

September 7, 2018 By Yami 2 Comments

DIY Dollar Tree Fall Succulent Pumpkin Planter

*Some of the following links are affiliate links, go here for full disclosure*

Happy weekend everyone! I have another fall DIY for you all and I am really excited about this one. I made these DIY Dollar Tree Fall Succulent Pumpkin Planters and I couldn’t be happier with how they turned out.

Okay, so what better way to add some greenery to Fall than to add it to some Dollar Tree pumpkins… super inexpensive and easy to make… 2 things I love the most!

The main items you will need are:

Dollar Tree Carvable Pumpkins (they are out in stores right now, but you can always order them online and get them shipped to your local store for FREE)
Dollar Tree Succulents
A carving tool (but you can also use the little carving kits at Dollar Tree)
Paint of your choice – I used Rustoleum’s Chalked Paint in Linen White and Aged Gray (I use those a lot… like in my Pottery Barn mirror dupe and my Dollar Tree Pumpkin Topiaries
Floral Foam
Floral Moss
Hot Glue Gun and Glue

So the first thing you want to do is get a carvable pumpkin from Dollar Tree.

Oh and as always you can view the video tutorial here, if videos are your jam! 😉

I happened to have an unfinished one from last year that I had already started painting so I decided to use that one. I went ahead and carved out the top.

Then I painted it with my favorite white chalk paint and added floral foam to the inside. I made sure to secure it with hot glue.

I then added the floral moss, adhering it with hot glue as well.

Finally you just add your Dollar Tree succulents and arrange them whichever way you like! I used several I had from Dollar Tree and a few other from Michael’s that I was able to purchase during their 80% off end of summer floral sale. I even got some for only 80 cents!

Also, if you don’t have these carvable pumpkins you can also use regular foam ones and not even carve them.

Just paint them or leave them as is.

Glue the floral moss on the top and make a hole for your succulent picks (if the hole of the stem you removed is not large enough).

Then add your succulent picks!

I love how you can make them in all shapes, colors and sizes!

Eek! Now I want to fill my house with these! Which one is your fave? Would you leave the colors as is or would you paint yours as well?

Oh, and if you like that cute little buffalo check tray… stay tuned, cause I am going to show you how to make that next! It pairs so well with my mini buffalo check stand that you can display pumpkins on… like these!

Well, I will see you with another DIY very soon…

September 4, 2018 By Yami Leave a Comment

DIY Buffalo Check Mini Stand for Fall

Hello friends! Can you believe it is September already!??!? Holy moly! Before you know it we will be trick-or-treating and then saying “Thanks” and then opening presents….. Okay, I need to pace myself. Ha!

But you get the drift, time is flying!

And with that we need to start changing things up at home… and by that I mean we need to start our Fall decorating.

And what better way to display your Fall decor than on a cute buffalo check mini stand….

You know I love buffalo check, right? I mean I re-did my littlest’s bedroom and I painted one entire wall in buffalo check!If you haven’t seen that transformation you definitely must, cause you will be in buffalo check heaven, just sayin’!

Okay, this tutorial is much smaller in scale so I thought I would walk you through it again in case you have been dying to learn how to paint buffalo check…

Here goes!

DIY Buffalo Check Mini Stand for Fall

So, for this mini stand I got an unfinished candlestick from Michael’s and an unfinished wood round from Hobby Lobby.

I glued them together with wood glue. I made sure to hold the candlestick in place with painters tape to ensure it would stay put and in the center.

Once it was dry I painted the top with Rustoleum Chalked paint in White Linen (the same one I used for my Pottery Barn Mirror Dupe) and the base with Chalked paint in Aged Gray.

Once I did that I used painters tape to tape out the stripes.

For my daughter’s room I started from the middle and worked my way out with the stripes, but since this was so small and simple, I just placed a piece of tape at the end and with my fabric tape measure I measured the width of the tape and spaced out the rest of the stripes so they were all the same size.

Once all of the tape was on I painted the stripes with the Aged Gray.

I gave it 2 coats and removed the tape.

Once the paint was dry, I added painters tape in a perpendicular direction to the stripes already in place.

***Also, if at any point this seems a little confusing, you can always check out my video tutorial below…***

Once they were secure, I painted those stripes with the same gray paint.

This time you keep that tape in place. DO NOT remove it!

You will now place painters tape to the original vertical lines from before, but ON TOP of the existing tape. This will isolate the intersections (or squares) of both of the lines.

Then you will paint it a darker gray (or color of choice).

Once you are done, simply remove the tape one layer at a time and touch up any areas necessary. I like to use a small square artist brush.

And that’s it!

You now have a cute & neutral, DIY buffalo check mini stand for Fall! You can put pumpkins on it or any other Fall decor piece. If you don’t prefer gray, that’s okay, you can totally customize it to suit your decor color scheme.

I hope you enjoyed this little tutorial and I hope it has inspired you to create some custom buffalo check pieces this Fall.

You can share this with your friends by pinning to Pinterest!

See ya soon with more Fall DIY’s!

August 25, 2018 By Yami 5 Comments

DIY Farmhouse Pumpkin Topiaries

Some of the links below are affiliate links, for full disclosure please go here

Yesterday morning I woke up to a little bit cooler weather and I cannot say how excited I was… I’m sure it will go back up to hot summer temps in a couple of days, but the cooler morning breeze was so nice to get out to.

With that we are all getting ready to decorate for fall and enjoy those long awaited holidays we all love to celebrate.

I decided to get a head start and start creating some neutral fall decor for the house…. of course, sticking to a tight budget.

You know I love Dollar Tree (and even decorated an entire Thanksgiving tablescape last year with their items), so I was so excited because their decor just keeps getting better and better every year. I decided to create these cute little neutral DIY farmhouse pumpkin topiaries with some of their new fall decor and some items I had left over in my craft room.

Each one cost me less than $3 to make and they were so easy…

Here is what you will need:

Dollar Tree pumpkins in 3 different sizes
Dollar Tree terra-cotta pots
Paint of choice, I love this chalk paint for projects like this
Twine
Moss
Glue gun

I had this chalk paint leftover from my Look for Less DIY Pottery Barn mirror DUPE and a sample I purchased months ago.

As always you can view the tutorial below:

I painted the pots in the white chalk paint, making sure to paint the rims and then hot-glued the moss on the edges.

I removed the stems and tags from the 2 larger pumpkins.

I didn’t like the yellow tone of the white pumpkins so I painted them with the same white chalk paint and then I painted the small pumpkins as well. I made sure to apply at least 2 coats.

When all were dry I was ready to assemble my topiary. I started with the largest pumpkin…

Then before adding the white pumpkin I added some twine to give it more texture.

I then hot-glued it to the large pumpkin.

After that I glued the smallest pumpkin.

And then I added more moss to cover the gap between the white and blue pumpkin and also to tie it all together.

And that was it! I decided to create 2 topiaries since they were so inexpensive and I just love how they turned out.

They are about 10.5″ in height so they are perfect for placing on an entry table of coffee table or even on some shelves. Plus, the best thing about them is that you can make them in any color?

Which colors do you prefer for Fall? Are you going traditional or changing it up this year?

I would love to hear what you think about these little topiaries!

August 22, 2018 By Yami Leave a Comment

The Best Farmhouse Topiaries

This is a sponsored post but all opinions are my own. For full disclosure please go here.

>>Make sure to make it to the end of this post for a special treat just for my readers!<<

Okay, so I have a confession to make… I have a black thumb….

Like the worst, EVER!

So bad that my husband has to remind me to water my own plants. Maybe it’s because I have 3 kids and things just get busy, so I forget. Who knows!? And while I have always preferred the faux ones I don’t really have that many in my home either. Perhaps it’s because they always look so “fake” to me and I feel I would get called out by my guests, HA!

However, I do understand that greenery is nice to have around the home and I am slowly starting to incorporate more throughout, both real and faux plants.

If you recall, I created DIY floral farmhouse sconces and I made a coastal wreath for my summer mantle.

So you can imagine my delight when I had the opportunity to work with Plantscape Inc. , who offers an amazing variety of interior and exterior landscaping products and services. You can get florals, different types of plants and even faux trees from them!

They are best known for their commercial application of faux greenery with high quality interior landscaping.

As a former commercial property manager I can tell you that greenery is a huge part of office buildings and commercial office spaces. The nicer the the accents the more high end and welcoming a property feels. I cannot tell you how many times we had meetings with our landscapers throughout the course of the year.

It really is that important, which is no wonder why we should apply those same principles to our homes as well.

So, when it came time to test out one of Plantscape’s faux plants I really had to make the right decision as to what would suit my home best. As you know I love me some “Hamptons Farmhouse” style and something that will NEVER go out of style are topiaries.

They truly are versatile, but hard to replicate into a faux plant in my opinion, so I had to test them out…. and let me tell you how amazed I was when I got my package in the mail.

The were packaged so tightly with styrofoam and plastic, there was literally nothing you could do to that box that could have damaged these babies, so we were off to a good start right off the bat.

Cause you know those mail carriers can reek some havoc into those packages, amiriiiight!?

So once I pulled them out I noticed they did not leave out a single detail… just look at that bark!

It looks so real! And that soil! Just wow! I swear if I didn’t know they were fake, I would totally take some water and water that plant. LOL!

Then there is that cute galvanized pot that goes perfect with any farmhouse decor. I was in love!

And then there were those gorgeous boxwood leaves. They have a beautiful green color and were so full and luxurious.

Plus, they even had cute little branches like a real tree would, eek! The topiaries even looked great next to my DIY Pottery Barn vases.

I even loved the fact that they weren’t your average “ball” topiaries, because you can easily add fairy lights and use them for the holidays.

Seriously, the possibilities were endless and the attention to detail was second to none!

I love my little topiary trees – they really are the best farmhouse topiaries ever!

If you think these are as amazing I as I do you can purchase them here and if you use the discount code BLOGGER10 you will get 10% your order (except for custom orders). There are so many plants you can spend days just looking at them.

I am completely amazed and 100% recommend them with their prompt shipping, excellent packaging and amazing attention to detail with their faux plants. Please note I would never recommend something if I didn’t 100% believe it. I really hope you will give them a try!

Let me know in the comments what you love most about these. Were you as amazed as I was with the bark?!

August 21, 2018 By Yami Leave a Comment

DIY Pottery Barn Vases

Some of the links below may be affiliate links, for full disclosure please go here

Happy Hump day! I am so happy half the week is gone because I have been painting like crazy all week and I am determined to finish before the weekend approaches… I need a vacation!

So, if you recall I started my monthly Look for Less Challenge in July where I created a dupe for a Pottery Barn mirror. And it was finally time to do the challenge for this month, but unfortunately because of the water leak that I mentioned in my last post, I was not able to do what I had originally intended… so I opted for another Pottery Barn dupe!

And while it was not planned, I totally love how they turned out.

So it all began when I saw these beauties online…

Beautiful right?

Well the vases were, but the price not so much… the smallest was $49 and the tallest was $79!!!!! What in the world!?

Yeah no, that was NOT going to happen…

So I remembered I had these not so lovely vases that I have been ~~hoarding~~ saving for about 10 years now, and I thought it was the right time to give them a facelift. I also went ahead and decided to makeover my large vase in my last thrift store hall as well…

Ick, I know! These were so outdated, but they had a great shape… reason why I just could never let them go.

Also, remember you can always view the tutorial below as well…

So, I took them and gave them several coats of white spray paint.

I added painter’s tape and painted the bottom portion with Martha Stewart’s Vintage Decor Paint in Tilled Soil.

I gave it at least 2 coats. I even took a fan artist brush and add little strokes throughout to resemble clay poking through the paint.

Then afterwards, I used Americana Acrylic Paint (from Hobby Lobby) by DecoArt in the color Prussian Blue along with 2 stencils I also purchased there with my 40% coupons., to add a pattern throughout.

I did a round stencil for the round vase and as you can see they didn’t turn out perfect because of the shape of the vase. I tried spray adhesive, but the stencil still wouldn’t stick very well.

I didn’t mind the messy look though, since I was trying to make these look kinda antique and old.

I used the other stencil pattern on both the other vases since they were a set. I purchased these.

I basically eye-balled the pattern… and worked my way around the vase.

The square vases were perfect as is, but the round vase looked little empty so I took a light blue acrylic paint and used craft match sticks to add more freehand dots on and around the original stencil and I love the final look!

Since I already had the paint and the 2 square vases, I only needed the stencils. The round vase only cost me $5.95 so I was all in for 3 vases at $11!

These are great for bookshelves:

On a mantle:

Or by themselves in a vignette:

Tell me, which style is your favorite?

Here is a look at them side-by-side…

I think I did pretty good! Do you have any vases that need a makeover at home?

Don’t forget to pin this and share with your friends!

Be back here very soon!

August 17, 2018 By Yami 1 Comment

Thrift Store Haul #2

Hello sweet friends! It has been a while since you have seen me and I am so sorry about that! The past couple of weeks have been super crazy with the start of school for my kids since they started on the 6th of August. Then we had a water leak in one of our drainage pipes from the upstairs that we had to repair.

Between that and getting rid of furniture to make room for new stuff, it has been complete chaos! I am ready for another vacation…

I put that in there in case my husband happens to read this. 🙂

Anyways, I wanted to share with you my latest thrift store haul since I have been finding some really fun items at my local Goodwill lately. I have been scoring some amazing deals and I wanted to share what I look for when I go there. Stick to the end to see my 3 rules!

Before we start, you always have the option of actually viewing the video where I share them below as well!

My first purchase was this (obnoxiously) red basket. I didn’t care for the color, BUT the reason I bought it was because it was in perfect condition. I loved how it had a little “base” to it at the bottom. And it serves perfectly as a bowl to put decorative spheres in.

It can be used to holiday decor or as a centerpiece as well. Plus all it really needs is a good coat of paint and perhaps some distressing. And at only $2.52, it was totally worth it!

My next piece was this small white milk jug looking thing and this tea light holder.

The milk jug was not that bad, but that’s not really my shade of blue so I will be changing that very soon. The tea light holder was nice in that it had a simple silhouette and could be easily painted to suit my color scheme…. plus, it has enough area to create some sort of detail pattern around it.

They both cost me $1.91 each.

The next items in my haul were these gems!!!!! At $1.91 each I don’t know why anyone would have gotten rid of these, but I swiped these up off the shelf so fast, you would have thought I was Speedy Gonzalez! Ha!

These candlesticks are perfect just as is. I cleaned them and they now sit next to one of my wedding photos (you will see just where soon!).

The next item was this metal dish stand thing-majiger.

I am a total professional here folks!

It was in perfect condition as well. Just needed to be cleaned. I thought this would look perfect on a shelf with perhaps more spheres or to use in the fall (which is almost here) with some pumpkin decor….

The price? $3.93! Love it!

And finally the last thing I bought was this large and not-so-pretty vase. This was actually my most expensive buy… at $4.54 check out this bad boy!

The artwork (on anything) does not scare me and it shouldn’t scare you either when you go to your local Goodwill. I checked it and it had no chips. It was heavy for its size so it was well made and it had a classic silhouette that I could work with.

If you have been following me on my YouTube channel you may have already seen its transformation. If not, no worries! I will be sharing it in the next couple of days here as well. But if you’re inpatient like me just go here. 😉

And that’s pretty much it for this haul! As you can see I didn’t spend that much at all (you’re welcome, hubby!).

So just remember if you are looking for some new items don’t forget to check out those thrift stores near you… and always remember the color you can ALWAYS change so never be taken aback by something that is not “pretty”.

Just make sure it’s:

1) not damaged

2) it has a classic shape that you can work into your current (or future) decor

3) it can be easily painted to match your color scheme.

Those are the 3 main rules I follow when I go to thrift stores.

It may be ugly when I bring it home, but it’s pretty when I display it in my home. Just sayin!

Well, I will be back here soon (promise!) with some great stuff so stay tuned!

July 19, 2018 By Yami 1 Comment

Pottery Barn Inspired Mirror DIY

Please note that some of the links below are affiliate links. For full disclosure, please go here

Hello dear friends! I am so excited because today is the first day of my new monthly Look for Less Challenge that I mentioned to you a couple of weeks ago. However, I must apologize right away because I only have the video tutorial ready for you (life happened this week and I am a little behind), but rest assured I will be updating this post in a couple of days in order to include the step by step blog post as well for those of you who prefer that method.

So…..I have been wanting to create a trellis mirror for a while now. They are not only gorgeous, but they are timeless as well. However, these mirrors can come with a hefty price tag.

I have been eyeing one particular mirror at Pottery Barn… the one below to be exact….

Isn’t she dreamy?

And while it’s currently on sale, it’s still too much for my budget!

So, I thought I would recreate it myself.

I headed off to my local Goodwill and with the help of some 3/8″ square dowels, a thrifted mirror that cost me $5.95, a hand saw (I recommend this one for dowels), some chalk paint in the color Linen White here is what I came up with…

and here is how I pulled it off!

Pottery Barn Inspired Mirror DIY – Video Tutorial

Don’t forget to make sure and check out the playlist of the other talented YouTubers who joined this challenge this month and see what amazing pieces they created!

Oh and my co-host Heidi Sonboul upholstered a thrifted chair to look like something you would buy at Pottery Barn as well. Definitely check her video out too!

I hope you enjoyed the tutorial above and I hope this inspired you to recreate something you have been eyeing that is totally out of your budget. Just because you can’t buy it doesn’t mean you can’t “have” it!

See you real soon!

July 12, 2018 By Yami 6 Comments

Summer Coastal Farmhouse Mantle

TGIF! It has been a crazy week as we are starting to work on updating our great room and we also found out about a leak in our home this week. I am exhausted, however, I wouldn’t leave you without a fun blog post this week!

I have joined 24 other lovely ladies in bringing you all some great summer decor inspiration. I was so excited when Kendra from Joy In Our Home invited me to be a part of this collab, and if you have not checked out her blog yet, definitely do!

If you are visiting from Jenna’s blog over at Lantern Lane Designs, welcome! So glad you are here!

Before I start on my mantle, I want to just give you a quick overview of all of the other topics that have been covered this week. See them below…..

Vignettes on Monday

Joy In Our Home | The Painted Hinge | Honey n Hydrangea

My Creative Days | Follow The Yellow Brick Home

Front Porches on Tuesday

Country Road 407 | Chatfield Court | Starfish Cottage

Noting Grace | Sanctuary Home Decor

Recipes on Wednesday

Live Laugh Rowe | Love In My Oven | The Sugar Coated Cottage

Countryside Cravings | Chocolate With Grace

Tablescapes on Thursday Hood Creek Log Cabin | Making It In The Mountains | The Crowned Goat

Timeless Creations | 2 Bees in a Pod

Mantles on Friday

DIY Beautify | White Arrows Home | Repurpose and Upcycle

Lantern Lane Designs | The Latina Next Door

Some of the links below are affiliate links, for full disclosure please go here.

Summer Coastal Farmhouse Mantle

You may not believe this, but mantles scare me… not that they are spooky, ha! But rather I have never been good and decorating them. In fact, I have never shared a “pretty” mantle post on my blog, because… well, I just never thought they were good enough.

Honestly, I was a little intimidated when I was asked to do a mantle for this blog hop. However, my good friend Cindy over at County Road 407 insisted I should give it a shot… yes, I totally called you out Cindy! LOL!

So, since my new home has 2 fireplaces, I figured it was as good a time as any to put my big girl panties on and give it a try.

Okay…

So as you know I have been incorporating more Navy into my decor with my DIY fabric paint chargers, my son’s bathroom makeover and the items I purchased in my latest Michael’s Store Haul. This was going to be no different.

Alas! My very first Summer Coastal Farmhouse Mantle!

I just threw confetti everywhere! Ha!

Since my fireplace is all stone, I needed to add more white to it to brighten it up (and I totally would have panned out more, but the walls have spackle spots everywhere since we are about to start painting this room). #thebloglife

Not too shabby if I say so myself…

So let’s start with the center of the mantle. This frame is so old! I have had it forever (like over 5 years) and never did anything with it. It was silver, but it wasn’t really doing much for me so I painted it with Rust-oleum chalk paint in White Linen and distressed it with some sandpaper to bring out the details.

I made a hoop wreath and added palms to give it that coastal look and hung it with some leftover navy ribbon from my DIY farmhouse inspired American Flag I made for 4th of July.

Next, I added a blue vase and topped it with a topiary ball. The carved frame was on clearance at Big Lots for $8! Say what!?!

That small white vase below was $3 on clearance at At Home and the candlestick was from my latest Thrift Store Haul that I will share soon (you won’t believe what it looked like before!).

On the right, I added a mirror to add more light and the greenery square is from my Michael’s Store Haul video. The bottles were also from Michael’s and the “Love” sign was from Dollar Tree.

I painted half of it white to give it more of a farmhouse feel (that part was burgundy).

Then finally, it felt like it need another detail so I added a simple burlap banner with navy and white ribbon to add that little extra touch.

It was so easy, I just needed a hot glue gun, ribbon and burlap that I had on hand.

And that’s pretty much it! I literally had everything I needed to put this together and I was pleased with how I was able to make them work.

I hope you enjoyed my first summer mantle post and I hope to share more as the seasons change.

Shop a similar look here:

Until my next post!

July 5, 2018 By Yami Leave a Comment

The Look for Less Challenge July 2018

Hello everyone! I am so excited because today I will be starting a new monthly Look for Less Challenge on my YouTube channel in hopes to provide even more great home design inspiration at a fraction of the cost.

I have joined in on other challenges in the past, but I have decided it was time to create my own.

I will still be sharing the projects here on my blog that way you will always be reminded to check out the tutorials.

What is the Look for Less Challenge?

Well, if you are like me, you probably go to home stores all the time and fall in love with home decor pieces UNTIL you see the price tag. Sometimes you can’t afford them and sometimes you just refuse to spend that much money… either way, this challenge is for you!

I will be inviting creative YouTubers every month to join in a recreate a home decor piece at a fraction of the cost – it could be as little as a napkin ring or as big as a piece of furniture! This will give a chance for us to see other creative DIYers share their tips and tricks to decorating their homes for as little as possible.

If you are creative and have a YouTube channel, I invite you to join in on the fun! My Look for Less Challenge invitation video just went live and is provided below with all of the rules…. plus, you get to hear about my monthly co-host as well!

If you are not a Youtuber, but are STILL looking for inspiration, check out the video as well and make sure to subscribe to my channel so you can be notified the minute the projects have been uploaded.

The deadline for this month’s challenge is in 2 weeks! July 19th will be the day to share your Look for Less!

I cannot wait to see what everyone creates and I hope you will love this new monthly addition to my blog!

Yami Signature The Look for Less Challenge July 2018

July 1, 2018 By Yami Leave a Comment

DIY American Flag for 4th of July

Some of the following links below may be affiliate links. For full disclosure, please go here.

Hello friends! I hope your weekend has been going well so far. Can you believe it is already July!? Time is flying! Before you know it, we will be decorating for Christmas!

Just kidding…. or am I???? 😏

Anyhoo! If you still need a 4th of July home decor piece for your get-together this week, continue reading cause the American flag that I just created is not only super simple, but ridiculously inexpensive to make!

I recently shared my latest Michael’s store haul, including the stash of patriotic ribbon I purchased for only $1 a roll during their lowest prices of the season sale. I thought I would create an American flag that I can hang inside my home for the upcoming holiday…. cause the rest of my patriotic decor already up is from Memorial Day .

With the ribbon I purchased, a dowel left over from my mini farmhouse ornament signs, and some other items I already had in my craft room, I was able to put together a gorgeous flag with a farmhouse touch.

I thought it would be best to share all of the steps in a video which I have included for you below. I even offer a really good tip on how to prevent your ribbon from fraying at the ends, so make sure to check that out.

DIY American Flag for 4th of July

And if you haven’t already, please make sure to subscribe to my channel as I share fun videos all the time and will have something fun coming up next week!

I would love to hear what you think about this DIY American Flag for 4th of July and let me know if you have ever created something similar!

Oh and stay tuned because I will be sharing Phase 1 of my master bedroom makeover very soon!

Don’t forget to pin this to share with your friends!

June 28, 2018 By Yami 12 Comments

How to Sew a Basket Liner

Happy Thursday dear friends! I am so excited today because I am joining in again on another thrift store upcycle project along with some other talented bloggers. Last month, I shared my farmhouse box makeover and previously I shared my Goodwill lamp makeover, and while I am sharing another coastal farmhouse themed project, this one will not require paint.

One of my earliest sewing projects was my extra long table runner and I just shared some navy and white round chargers that turned amazing (to my surprise) so I am trying to incorporate more sewing tutorials on my blog. However, please note, I am not in any way shape or form a seamstress. I am mediocre at best, but it is something I enjoy and the more I do it the more I like to challenge myself.

You’ve been warned! 😉

So if you haven’t seen this monthly thrift store upcycle challenge before here is what it’s all about!

The Rules:

Upcycle an item(s) from a thrift store, resale store, or garage sale into a new piece of decor.
There’s no monthly theme.
There’s no budget to stick to.

Meet this Month’s Hosts

Make sure you follow our board on Pinterest for more upcycled decor inspiration!

This post may contain affiliate links, please see full disclosure here.

My Project: How to Sew a Basket Liner (for my Goodwill Basket)

I recently shared my latest thrift store haul video and in it I scored a square basket at my local Goodwill for under $2.00. Click here to watch the video and see what else I scored.

Since I had a small amount of fabric from my craft room transformation I thought I would use it to create a liner. I was so happy I had just enough for it. Here’s a sneak peak!

I am sure there are better tutorials out there, but mine is a little different because I don’t use a tape measure. NOPE! I just eyeball everything, but it’s simple and it works every time. So here is how I do it.

First…

I take my fabric and cut the fabric for the sides of the basket. I make sure to leave about 1/2 inch allowance on the sides and that it will be tall enough to go over the sides of the basket. There is not exact measurement, just leave enough for however much fabric you want to come down and over the sides.

I cut the 2 longer sides first and then the 2 shorter sides.

Since I barely had any fabric left I had to use some leftover white denim from my last project for the base. I basically set the basket on top of it and cut around it leaving about another 1/2 inch seam allowance.

Then it was time to attach the sides to the base. I attached the shorter sides first. Make sure your fabric is facing in for this.

I sewed them together with my Singer (this is the one I own).

I attached the other short side.

Then it was time for the longer sides. Make sure to sew up until the shorter side seam (shown below). Not past.

You should have something that resembles a cross at this point.

Then it’s time to attach the sides. I do them all at once.

You will see that the bottom seam allowance (below) will be wider than the top. This is GOOD. This is what you want.

Go ahead and sew all 4 sides together. Once done, insert the liner and make sure it lines up nicely and make any adjustments if necessary.

Once I am happy with it, I run my serger on all of the seams, to prevent the fabric from fraying (here is the serger I use).

If you don’t have a serger you can use the zigzag stitch on your machine.

I even serge the boarder that goes over the basket.

Once I do this I decide how low I want my liner to come down on the basket and pin it.

Then I run it one last time through my machine.

And that’s it! Now I have a basket that looks like it came from Pottery Barn! 😉 And it has that perfect coastal farmhouse style I love so much!

I hope you like this thrift store transformation! The best thing about this, is that I can change the look of the fabric for different seasons and holidays just by changing the liner. I hope to get a lot of use out this little basket.

I will see you soon!

Shop this look!

And now for more thrifty goodness!

Check out what my fellow upcyclers created below!

An InLinkz Link-up

Yami

Neutral Farmhouse Fall Tablescape

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*I partnered with Sherwin Williams and this is a sponsored post. All opinions are my own. Please see full disclosure here.*

Supplies for Coastal Farmhouse Master Bedroom

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Dollar Tree Buffalo Check Tray

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DIY Buffalo Check Mini Stand for Fall

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*This is a sponsored post but all opinions are my own. For full disclosure please go here.*

>>Make sure to make it to the end of this post for a special treat just for my readers!<<

*Some of the links below may be affiliate links, for full disclosure please go here*

*Please note that some of the links below are affiliate links. For full disclosure, please go here*

Pottery Barn Inspired Mirror DIY – Video Tutorial

*Some of the links below are affiliate links, for full disclosure please go here.*

Summer Coastal Farmhouse Mantle

What is the Look for Less Challenge?

*Some of the following links below may be affiliate links. For full disclosure, please go here.*

DIY American Flag for 4th of July

The Rules:

Meet this Month’s Hosts

This post may contain affiliate links, please see full disclosure here.

My Project: How to Sew a Basket Liner (for my Goodwill Basket)

And now for more thrifty goodness!

Instagram

Some of the links below are affiliate links, for full disclosure go here

I partnered with Sherwin Williams and this is a sponsored post. All opinions are my own. Please see full disclosure here.

some of the links are affiliate links

Some links below are affiliate links

Some of the links below are affiliate links, for full disclosure please go here

This is a sponsored post but all opinions are my own. For full disclosure please go here.

Some of the links below may be affiliate links, for full disclosure please go here

Please note that some of the links below are affiliate links. For full disclosure, please go here

Some of the links below are affiliate links, for full disclosure please go here.

Some of the following links below may be affiliate links. For full disclosure, please go here.