Blog - The Latina Next Door

June 21, 2018 By Yami 4 Comments

DIY Chargers & Coastal Tablescape

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

It’s June 21st and it cannot feel anymore like summer time! Nothing like beautiful long sunny days, fun at the beach and getting together with your close friends to enjoy some good ole summer parties! I’m ready to enjoy the outdoors and eat some great barbecue…

Which is why I have joined several other talented ladies in bringing you a Summer Party Crash Tour to give you some great inspiration and get you started on the right foot!

#SUMMERPARTYCRASHTOUR

If you are joining me from Monica’s blog, Monica Wants It, welcome!

Be sure to visit Tina at Electic Twist next!

So I was just having a conversation with some of my close girlfriends and we were talking about how expensive good looking chargers have gotten lately. And while I LOVE me some chargers, I can’t remember the last time I bought one for that very same reason.

Well, with summer get-togethers ahead I thought I would come up with an inexpensive solution to make my table settings that much more elegant for when I want to have more “grown up” parties this summer.

I mean we barely get to have those anymore with 3 kids, so might as well go all out when I do, amiriiight?

So I went to my craft room to see what I had and I came across some fabric that I had had for a while, but never really thought of what to do with it. I also had some white denim that I picked up on clearance at Hobby Lobby (I love going to their scrap section). I only had just under 1.5 yards of the chevron fabric. but I figured I could do something with it… so here it is!

DIY Chargers & Coastal Tablescape

I took some measurements and decided to cut 3.5 strips the long way on my fabric using my rotary cutter to get nice clean strips.

Then I took one of my plates and traced it out on the white denim.

Then I folded over one edge of the strips (I folded it twice over) and held it with my favorite fabric clips (these are a great alternate for some sewing projects cause you won’t get pricked!).

Then sewed that one end.

Afterwards, I began to attach the other end to the round denim piece. You will need pins for this one since you will need to create pleats as you go. I just eye-balled them. My fabric was just enough to get around the whole perimeter.

Before you add the last pin, you want to sew the 2 ends together. Then create one last pleat and hold down with another pin.

Next, sew both fabrics along that border together with your sewing machine (this is the one I own).

Then after that, use your serger machine (here is the one I use) to prevent those edges from fraying. If you don’t have a serger, you can use the zigzag stitch on your machine or even some fabric glue.

Sorry the image is so dark, it was night time. 🙂

Then you want to iron your charger. In order for it to lay flat, you want to iron it out towards the end like below.

And voila! You have a charger!

Now, these are just fabric and not stiff like a regular charger. You can always add stiff batting, or stiff felt to this to give it more weight.

However, since I am only using it as a decorative element to my table I am fine with this.

Then, to keep the inexpensive theme going, I simply used my every day white round corian plates, along with some patterned salad plates I purchased at Wal Mart for ONLY $1.34 a piece!

Then I used my wine glasses that I purchased at my local Dollar Tree.

Then I added some Dollar Tree candles and a DIY topiary and I had an amazing setting for a great summer party that did not break the bank!

I am so pleased with how they turned out!

I hope this inspired you to create something unique for your summer parties this year! Let me know what you think in the comments below! And don’t forget to pin this and share this with your friends!

I will see you back here soon!

June 15, 2018 By Yami 1 Comment

Coastal Farmhouse Thrift Store Haul

Hello friends!

I have been going to the thrift store more often lately to score some decor for my home and I am sharing my latest coastal farmhouse thrift store haul with you!

I love going to the thrift store and finding hidden gems like the trays I updated for my daughter and I, or the chalkboard serving dish I made a few years ago.

So I thought it would be fun to share what I found and talk about what I look for when shopping. Plus, stay tuned to see what I end up doing with them in my home.

I plan on making this a regular series as I go to the thrift store more and more. So if you like thrift hauls, check out my latest video below and let me know what you think about the items I found!

Related:

$5 Goodwill Challenge

Thrift Store Farmhouse Lamp Makeover

June 12, 2018 By Yami Leave a Comment

DIY Mason Jar Floral Sconce

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

Hello again! I am so excited to be bringing you this tutorial today! I have been wanting some of these mason jar sconces for a while. I am sure you have seen them on Pinterest. Well, while checking them out online I noticed that pretty much all of the pins were to Etsy shops and not tutorials. But I knew I could make it myself so I reached out to an Etsy shop owner to see where they got those pretty rustic hooks from and never got a response.

Nope! Nada!

Well, that only made me more determined to find them. So I searched the internet webs and after quite a bit of searching I was able to finally locate them! At a good price too! And I was even able to buy those fairy lights online as well (you can find them at Dollar Tree if you’re lucky but none of mine had them). So I was able to get them as low as $1.67 each for those of you who may not have a DT nearby!

Alright, so here is what you need:

2 pieces of wood 5 1/5″w x 12″l
Stain: Minwax Dark Walnut and Varathane Weathered Gray
Wax (I used both a white to distress and a clear to seal)
Rustic Wrought Iron Hooks with screws
Fairy Lights
Mason Jar
Flowers
Rubber Band (optional)
Ribbon (optional)
Cording (0r jute) OR you can use these pre-made mason jar hangers!
Wall Mount
Drill

So let’s get started!

DIY Mason Jar Floral Sconce

Did you know???? … you can always watch my tutorial on my YouTube channel if you prefer video instead!

Okay, so first you want to cut your wooden boards to 12″ in length. Make sure to sand them down to remove any splinters and smooth out the edges.

Next you can choose to stain or paint your boards. I used Dark Walnut by Minwax to darken them.

And then I used Varathane Weathered Gray to give it that Coastal Farmhouse feel I love so much.

Then I used white wax to give it more dimension and the same clear wax I used on my craft room shelves to seal them.

Next, I needed to add the hardware.

So, basically once I found where I wanted to install the Rustic Wrought Iron Hooks, I made sure they were centered and used the screws that come with them to make an indentation on the wood.

Then I used my drill to make pilot holes so I didn’t split my wood when installing the screws.

Then I attached the hooks. Super easy!

Then I made sure to add a wall mount on the back. You can use whichever style you prefer.

Next it was off to make the mason jars…

I had the white cording above left over from my rustic snowman ornament I made last year so I just used that. I cut the cording at 26.5 inches. It was the perfect length to tie it around the jar at one end and then at the other…

Be sure to tie your cording at the same length if you have more than one sconce.

Tip: If you want to secure the knots, just apply some hot glue to keep them from coming undone and also use it to prevent the cording from fraying.

Then get your flowers. I bought these at Michael’s on sale.

Simply cut the flowers off to fit the jar height and tie them together with a rubber band to hold in place.

Then cover the rubber band with a little bit of ribbon and hot glue.

Finally, place the fairy lights in the jar along with the flowers (make sure to hide the battery pack inside the floral arrangement) and hang on your wall!

I made 2 to hang in between my 3 windows in the great room. I just love how they turned out!

If you liked them too, please be sure to PIN them on Pinterest and share with your friends!

I’ll see back here soon!

June 9, 2018 By Yami 1 Comment

Coastal Farmhouse Master Bedroom

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

Hello again dear friends! If you have been following along you know I am in the beginning stages of giving my home that coastal farmhouse look I love so much. And I am so excited because I am about to transform another room in my house. I know, I must be nuts, cause I just finished my son’s farmhouse bathroom transformation.

I am really excited though because this time the transformation is for me! And yes, while I already gave “my” laundry room a facelift, at least in this room, I won’t have to work… I can actually rest and relax at the end of the day in it.

It was driving me nuts actually since we don’t do anything to a room until we paint the walls, cause I mean, think about it!? What’s the point in setting up all the furniture if you’re just going to have to move it again and paint the walls.

And of course while it sounds like decent reasoning, you end up sleeping on your mattress on the floor for longer than you want… ugh… and that is never fun.

Nope!

Not to mention you don’t want to show anyone a tour of your house! 🙈

But alas! I get my coastal farmhouse master bedroom, however, you need to see the BEFORE pictures.

Oh the horror!

I have been living inside these mustard yellow walls that remind me of the inside of our favorite local Mexican restaurant (which by the way has the best food!) and it’s hurting my eyes.

I wasn’t lying when I told you about sleeping on the floor… heck I was too lazy to put a cover on my duvet! Ha!

The view below is what you see when you walk in.

And what is up with those cornice boards!?

There were just too many when we moved in and they left them all there! Like we were going to use them or something… I am happy to report, those are outta there!

Here is the other side (where I was standing). The double-doors is the entrance into the room and the right doorway is my closet. The door all the way to the left is the entrance into the master bathroom.

This room is not as large as my last one, however, I actually like it that way because instead of having to have a sitting area and office area and entrance area like the last master bedroom we had, this will JUST be a master bedroom retreat.

So now for the plans…

The color on the walls has to go! I want a cool teal with grey undertones. And absolutely NO texture! And I plan on adding shiplap to the back focal wall.

Here is my vision…along with sources:

Coastal Farmhouse Master Bedroom

Pictured above:

Bed

The bed shown above is actually from Ashley Furniture. That was what our queen bed looked liked until we needed a King size one and found this similar one on Craigslist and gave it a makeover to match the rest of the furniture.

Bench – I have always wanted a bench at the foot of my bed. It will be great for storage and getting ready in the morning so I look forward to adding it to our bedroom.

Rug – I have been eyeing this rug FOREVER! It has this coastal blue pattern to it and it has that distressed look that gives it the farmhouse touch! I need a good size rug since I will be covering the yellow stain the original homeowners left behind on the carpet from the area rug they had in the room.

It won’t come out… we tried… with the best carpet cleaners in town…

I’m using Wikibuy to track the price of it online to make sure I get the best deal!

FYI… If you have not used Wikibuy on your computer, check it out! It is a new Chrome extension that finds the best prices for you online. And the coolest part is that it shows you past prices of that product, so you can see if the price will likely drop back down in the future!

It’s actually a pretty cool tool and now that I have started using it I will continue to do so for the best deals!

Lamp – I purchased these lamps for our master in the last house and will be using them in this one as well. I love how they look!

Carved Art – I also love how carved art looks and I hope to get a couple of pieces like this or perhaps a large one for above the bed.

Chair – I’m looking for an armchair as I have a small nook I think it would look nice in and the wicker gives the room more of the coastal feel. I just hope I can afford one since they are pretty pricey!

Curtains – I plan on creating the feel that we are near the coast by adding simple sheer white curtains.

Small Recycled Glass Vase – I love this kind of glass and already have a good size collection.

Tall Recycled Glass Vase

Faux Fiddle Leaf Fig Plant – I have a real fiddle leaf fig but it hasn’t grown much so I may resort to a faux plant like this one.

While not everything might be exactly the same when I actually transform the space (it all depends on the budget) this is pretty much my end goal for my space.

I hope to keep it light and airy and not too feminine for the hubby. I cannot wait to start putting it together.

I hope you like the plans for my coastal farmhouse master bedroom. I cannot wait to share the progress and keep you posted on updates.

Also, be sure to subscribe to my YouTube Channel so that you can actually watch the transformation videos and tours just like I did with my son’s bathroom.

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

If you are joining me from Monica’s blog, Monica Wants It, welcome!

Be sure to visit Tina at Electic Twist next!

DIY Chargers & Coastal Tablescape

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

DIY Mason Jar Floral Sconce

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

Coastal Farmhouse Master Bedroom

Pictured above:

Bed

Instagram

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 links below are affiliate links. For full disclosure please go here.