November before and after!

Welcome to NOVEMBER! What? I can’t even believe it. I gotta tell you – I’m SO excited about Christmas and I’m one of those who loves seeing the stuff out in the stores already. But I’m already feeling behind! My Instagram feed is full of holiday projects and decor already. It doesn’t help that everything I’m seeing is beautiful and cute and I want to make every single thing. :)

It’s time for another before and after link up! Before you check out the new links, I like to share a few that caught my eye from last month. Tami knocked it out of the park with this one – her knock off card catalog:

You won’t even believe how this one started out! (Hint: it wasn’t a card catalog.)

Here’s another brilliant project – Karen took a raised garden planter and turned it into a functional coffee table:

You guys are so smart!! That would look beautiful in a dark stain as well – and you can create storage inside. Awesome.

Joan DIY’d a countertop for her laundry room and it turned out so well:

Love that stain in combination with the black cabinets!

You know how much I love my black interior doors! I have always loved the look of a gray door too – Sarah shows just how good they can look:

It’s a beautifully neutral twist and still adds some dimension to the space.

There were some bigger projects shared last month as well – Hayley shared some GREAT tips on how to paint your cabinets:

And Jaime shared some as well – love her two toned look:

Laura’s bathroom renovation turned out beautifully:

That tub!! Love the smart hidden storage they added when the lost a linen closet in the space, be sure to check that out.

Karah’s new rustic bathroom is a beauty too:

I’ve always been drawn to an open shelving vanity like this. If you are a DIYer this is something you could definitely make yourself to fit your space perfectly. I’m considering something similar for when we redo our master bathroom…years from now. ;)

There you go – more fabulous projects! If you are linking up and would like to be considered for a highlight next month, go ahead and include a link to TDC or this code in your post:

<div align="center"><a href="http://www.thriftydecorchick.blogspot.com/" title="TDC Before and After" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.homestoriesatoz.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/beforeAndAfterButton_thumb1.gif" alt="TDC Before and After" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

And now let’s see what you’ve been up to lately! Link up your projects here:

Showing off Jenna Sue

OK everybody. Get ready. Sit down, busy the kids, turn off your phone. Cause I’m about to keep you occupied for hours. HOURS people.

I am introducing you to my latest blog crush today and if you are like me you’ll be hooked as well. This girl is good. I’ve been reading Jenna Sue’s blog for a while now and I keep going to back to read older posts because I love her style so much. Finding a blog that I love is so. much. fun. I am excited to share her with you today because I think you’ll love her home too!

Let’s start at the foyer of her California home, shall we?:

All I have to say is white planked walls, wood accents and a black door. That is all. No other words needed.

Jenna Sue runs her business from home and has pretty office with beautiful view. I love how she’s organized the space:

She has a lot of supplies but everything is put together so well! My drawers stuffed with crap are looking mighty sad in comparison. ;)

OK. The kitchen. You have to see the before pics to appreciate it. I take that back – you can appreciate it just fine as it is:

I love built in anything and but benches make my heart sing.

You’ll notice planked walls everywhere – the ceilings with wood beams as well. It adds so much warmth to her house:

I now want to plank ALL THE WALLS in our house.

I knew I would love her style when I saw the dark gray wall behind her bed. :) Love the mix of rustic and traditional in her master bedroom:

Love those bedside sconces!

Her family room is undergoing a renovation right now but this corner of the room is looking fantastic:

I’m usually a dark hardwood girl but those floors are so pretty! They serve as a perfect backdrop to her neutral decor.

I love the fall touches she’s been sharing lately as well:

You can see how she made over that cabinet here.

And last but certainly not least, you HAVE to see her deck:

Seriously dreamy. I mean, the views?

Ridiculous. Love it!:

So there you go! I told you her house was awesome. I love Jenna Sue’s style and am happy to share her with you today.

Blogs are awesome. :) So much free inspiration – it’s truly amazing the talent out there.

October before and after!

Hello everybody! How are you on this fine fall day?

It’s going to be a good week my friends – it’s my birthday week and today is the monthly before and after link up here on the blog. Both equally awesome. :)

As always I picked a few of the beautiful projects shared last month to show you here and then you can take a look at all the new links at the end of this post.

September was the month for pretty rooms for girls, that’s for sure! Anita’s redo is absolutely stunning:

I think the eggplant color is so sophisticated but still pretty – perfect for tween girls. And the origami art on the wall is just the coolest.

Amy also designed a sweet, fun room for her five-year-old:

The paper poofs and the vinyl dots are such inexpensive ways to make a big impact in a room – SO cute. (I shared how to make those poofs yourself here.)

And this gorgeous nursery belongs to Cristina’s niece – her mama is talented, yes?:

There are so many lovely little touches in this room, you have to go check it out. Love it!

Looking at this hutch now you would NEVER guess what it looked like before:

Hayley really did this piece justice – sometimes painting is definitely the right move for older furniture.

Jennifer tried something I’ve never attempted – using dye to change the color of a lampshade:

It came out so well, now my wheels are turning!

With all those girl rooms I couldn’t leave out the boys! I loved the inexpensive and easy touches Tamara added to her boys’ room:

Those headboards only cost $20 each to make – awesome! (You can see my tutorial for a tufted headboard here.)

Nicki’s paper bag floors are so cool looking!:

She shares how they have held up in that post – worth checking out if you are interested in trying this flooring treatment.

I have to say, I think this next makeover may be my favorite for the month! Julie helped out her music teacher friend by making over her room and it is AWESOME:

As a wife of a musician/composer/band director this room makes me SMILE big. Absolutely love it. Think my husband would want big piano keys on his office walls? ;) 

Well there you go! Now it’s time to see what you’ve all been up to over the past few weeks! If you’d like to be considered for a highlight next month, please link to TDC in your post or include this button:

<div align="center"><a href="http://www.thriftydecorchick.blogspot.com/" title="TDC Before and After" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.homestoriesatoz.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/beforeAndAfterButton_thumb1.gif" alt="TDC Before and After" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

You can link up here for the next week, share away!:

Free fall printables

Hey all! Are you ready for a lovely fall weekend? I hope to get some more done in the family room and have some fun. I’m working as fast as I can on getting it all done in the family room by the way – I know many of you have asked to see the whole space. There’s still a lot for me to do – some of the walls still aren’t painted, there’s trim to be fixed…but it’s close and I hope to share it in the next week or two. Until then you can go here to see the progress along the way. And thank you for all the ideas on the kitchen table yesterday!

The official start of fall isn’t till next week but it certainly feels like it’s already started here. The weather here in Indiana has been GLORIOUS. Oh my goodness, I can barely stand it. To celebrate the official kick off of the season I gathered some free fall printables from around blogland to share with you. All you need to do is save them to your computer and then print from home or send them off to be printed. Either way pretty cheap – and these are all super cute.

This autumn banner is absolutely adorable – so many pretty details. The hardest part for you will be to cut them out:

 

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Of course that’s just the first two letters – there are more at the link. :)

The chalkboard look is still very much in and I love the printables that are done with that look:

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You don’t even need a frame really – this would be lovely just hanging on the fridge. ;)

I thought these tags were really sweet – they would be a great addition to a little something for a neighbor or a friend this season:

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I shared this fall printable last year:

I added to it but I think it would be pretty all on it’s own too.

I loved this one because it’s neutral and could really be used any time of year:

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But it sure does feel fall, right?

I’m not a latte girl but otherwise this one nails it for me!:

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So cute!

This one is a little more graphic and they would look really stunning hung in a trio:

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These are available individually at the link.

This one has more of a modern vibe – antlers are everywhere right now:

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That one would work for Christmas too. ;)

I thought this one was just lovely:

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And this one…Lucy is SO talented! Gorgeous:

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Isn’t that beautiful?

There you go! Ten lovely, free fall printables – make sure to visit each site to get the high resolution versions. I always like to print pieces like this off on good cardstock paper – if you use a coupon or catch them half off at the craft store you can get them for a great price.

As always, I ask that you pin these from their respective sites. (I can’t remove my pin in button from specific images.)

Have you started any fall decorating? It’s still felt too early for me but I hope to get a few things our this weekend. Have a GREAT one!!

When you do what I do

The reason I blog (and love blogging) is to inspire others to try to do what I do. Not only for women to experiment with a tool and try something out for themselves, but just for everyone in general to love their homes and make them more “them” -- no matter what home they’re in.

So I LOVE getting photos from readers sharing the projects they’ve done that were inspired by one of mine. Of course it’s not always the exact project – I’d be thrilled if you hung a picture on the wall for the first time. Go ahead and send me a picture of that too. ;) But these are some that were inspired by specific projects I’ve done.

My DIY tufted headboard is king-sized and cost less than $100 to make:

I don’t think I have a full shot of it against the dark gray wall and I’m not going to make my bed this morning to take a picture so this is best I’ve got:

;) Have I mentioned I hate making the bed?

Mario used the tutorial and created this navy and white beauty for less than $60!:

Gorgeous! It’s hard to see but it’s tufted with navy buttons too – so pretty.

Lauren wrote all the way from Australia and shared her gorgeous version:

I’m going to see if I can get a better shot from her but I had to share it because it looks SO good. The rectangle shape and all those tufts give it a more modern look.

I hear from a lot of folks who use my bookcases made with kitchen cabinets as their inspiration:

Vicky’s husband made a similar set and they turned out so well!:

I LOVE the shelves trimmed out in the same stain as the butcher block and the beadboard on the backs. You can see more of their version on her blog here.

Tammy emailed me with her version recently and I fell in love with it. So many homes have the fireplace in the middle of the wall like hers:

Using the cabinets as bases they created a really beautiful wall with lots of storage:

She did such a lovely job decorating too!

A lot of you get the guts to tear your carpet off your stairs after you read how I did the same to mine:

Those are some of my favorite emails. ;) Jen has a very similar stair layout to ours and they look SO good:

Oh my – I will never tire of painted risers and stained treads. Classic.

She did the same wall treatment as mine on her big walls that are hard to figure out:

She sent this to me near Christmas by the way – she’s not decorating this early. At least I don’t think. ;)

Spray paint is one of the EASIEST and cheapest ways to update fixtures, accessories, whatever. Lynn saw how well the spray paint held up on my outdoor light fixtures:

And decided to try it out on her shower fixtures! Whoot!!:

She sanded, primed and then sprayed them oil rubbed bronze and said they are holding up well – at least as long as it had been since she emailed me. Lynn said she also let them sit out in the sun to “bake” after she sprayed them – good idea. I love how she used the rock tiles in her shower too!

Goodness, this kind of stuff makes me all puffy and proud for you all. LOVE it. I try to keep track of your projects that you send but if you’ve emailed me one and I didn’t share it, let me know!

Have you tried something inspired by a blog? If you have be sure to let them know – it’s such a huge compliment to hear from you! :)