Sprucing Up Your Curb Appeal

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Scotts Miracle-Gro. All opinions are 100% mine.
Us home bloggers often spend a lot of time sharing all the great projects we do inside our home but the exterior often gets left to the back burner. Don't get me wrong, I've shared a lot of outdoor projects we've taken on, but there's still so much we can do, especially in regard to landscaping. I recently came across a great website from Scott's - Find beauty in the Fall where you can find fall project ideas specific to the region where you live. Yes, it's not too late to plant in the fall!
For my region, Fall gardening recommened mums and pansies. How perfect! They are both inexpensive plants and come in so many beautiful colors. I found this great pin on pinterest for mums in a planter.

Plants of varying heights is always a sure way to go and I love how these two work together. I'm not sure exactly what the center plant is called, but it looks like some relative of cattails. To be sure to get the best results with mums (and any plants and flowers), I always turn to Miracle-Gro. I've used their products before and will continue to use them because it's given me great results.

Miracle Gro makes so many amazing products whether you are using them in the ground or containers. For this container project, I would use a specialized potting medium such as Miracle-Gro® Potting Mix or Miracle-Gro® Moisture Control Potting Mix. Starting two weeks after they are planted and onward, you want to maintain your beautiful flowers by using  Miracle-Gro® LiquaFeed All Purpose Plant Food or LiquaFeed® Bloom Booster® Flower Food . This will produce beautiful blooms and healthy growth. And one more tip: your flowers will produce more blooms for a longer period if you remove flowers that have faded and started turning brown.

     

Be sure to check out the Miracle-Gro Facebook page for more tips and to share your beautiful fall flowers.

Happy planting!

DIY Wooden Book Crate

Have you ever completed a project and it turns out even better than you imagined? I just finished one of those and I am thrilled to share it with you.

My kids LOVE to read (even the little one who doesn't know how to!) and we have tons of books. Most of them are downstairs in the playroom, but we have a small collection of some of their favorites upstairs so we have easy access to them for bedtime stories. We also have a constant rotation of library books that I try to keep somewhat separate from our own books. Unfortunately, it was turning into a big jumble and something had to be done!

I saw this wooden crate from Michael's used as a shadow box on Emily's blog and I got inspired to use the same one to solve this book mess. These are the supplies I used:

crate • pre-stain • stain • stencils • paint (I actually ended up using craft paint and not wall paint) • casters • sanding block • polycrylic (I ended up using a spray version)

First thing to do is the prep work. Sand it down until it's nice and smooth. Then apply the pre-stain wood conditioner. You don't really see much of a difference, but it helps the wood take the color of the stain more evenly.

Read the directions on the can and wait the specified time and then apply the stain. I used Miniwax's walnut color, and used the same foam brush from the pre-stain. It's pretty liquidy so you really don't need to use that much. A little stain goes a long way.

After you let it sit for a while, wipe off the excess stain with a clean rag. It may look like there's nothing to wipe, but you'll see that there really is.

 Here it is all stained - already looking so much better!

I then took the letters and lined them up to space them properly before painting.

The stenciling itself was simple. I used Martha Stewart's foam stenciling brushes - just dip the brush into some craft paint, wipe off the excess and dab repeatedly in an up-and-down motion to avoid bleeding. I used some tape on the underside of the stencil to keep them from shifting and that worked out fine.

The bottom of the crate was slatted, just like the sides and I wanted a solid bottom, both for extra support for books and so they wouldn't slip through the cracks, and also to have something sturdier to screw the casters into. I happened to have some spare plywood the exact width (Divine providence!) and my dad helped me cut it down to size. We screwed the casters right through the crate and into the plywood.

The final step was to spray it with a clear protective coating. I was originally going to use the polycrylic pictured above, but I only had it in glossy and I didn't want a shiny finish. I had a can of a matte protective spray (Rustoleum) so that's what I used. (Beware, that stuff stinks!)

Here you can see the plywood on the bottom. Since I added it in after the fact, I forgot to sand it down first and it was hard to get a really smooth surface once it was screwed in. In order to protect the kids' fingers from splinters, I covered it with a layer of clear contact paper. Safety first! It's not as obvious in real life as it is here in this picture, but it'll always be covered with books anyway so I'm not too concerned.

The kids couldn't wait to fill it up with their books!

And now in its new location (subject to change, of course!).

I am so happy with how it turned out and it was a really easy project! The longest part was definitely just the waiting for the stain/paint/poly to dry. So tell me, how do you keep your kids' books organized?

Linking up:
At the Picket Fence | Serenity Now | It's Overflowing | DIY Showoff | DIY by Design | House of Hepworths | Craftionary | Creative Jewish Mom | Today's Creative Blog | Home Stories A to Z | House on the Way | Beneath My Heart |

We will never forget...

There's nothing to say, and yet there's so much to say. September 11, 2001 is our generation's "day that will live in infamy." Our grandparents had Pearl Harbor, our parents had JFK's assassination, and we have the tragedy of 9-11. I remember clearly where I was when I heard the news. I was sitting in my photography class in college listening to the professor lecture and the assistant to the dean of the department of art came in with a note for the teacher. You could see his face fall as he read the note. Needless to say, class was quickly dismissed as we all rushed home to figure out what was going on. I went to school about an hour outside of DC so it took on a more frightening feeling.

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The unity and sense of nationality that our country had that day was remarkable. We put aside our political differences and came together for one purpose. Never forget. God bless America.

Simple Ways to Update any Room (Part 4)

Welcome to Part 4 of the the "Simple Ways to Update any Room" series, inspired by House Beautiful. If you've missed any of the previous posts, check them out (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3).

 Just a reminder again to please pin from the original source.

• Buy a large map, poster, or print and cut it into equal parts. Frame all the sections and reassemble them on the wall. 

This is a perfect idea for large empty wall spaces. It's an easy way to add some dimension and interest, rather than one plain frame. Doing this with a map is a great way to add an educational element to a playroom and could also go really well in a boy's room - no matter what the age.

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• Pull apart a big inexpensive mixed bouquet from the supermarket. Group similar flowers and put them in small vases. You'll have some for every room.

This is an easy way to add some beauty to any room. Small groupings of similar flowers always look great and it's hard to mess up when you cut the stems short. Put the flowers in a short vase, pitcher, jar or anything!

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• Instead of buying complete matched sets of towels, buy different shades of one color and mix it up.

Apparently this isn't such a popular idea, as I had a really hard time finding any examples of this tip. I'm actually on the fence about it... Usually, designers would say to put matching towels in bathroom for consistency and uniformity, but there is something to be said for adding a little variety and changing the shade of color towels.

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• Gather all your accessories that are the same color from every room in your house. Don't worry how they relate or what you bought to go with what. Now...group all of them together on a tabletop.

Perfect for all the little "tchochkes"and nick-knacks that you have that don't necessarily have a good spot to go. Gathering many different pieces and arranging them as a collection always makes these items look more put together. And even if they have nothing to do with each other, the fact that they are in the some color family in one setting will make the group make sense. Arrange them on a table, mantel, or even a small shelf.

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• Buy a big modern shallow bowl, fill it with photos, and put it on your coffee table. An instant conversation starter. 

This is a great way to showcase vintage family photos and a really unique conversation piece. A big bowl of old photos is also a great centerpiece for a family gathering like Thanksgiving.

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So what do you think of today's round-up of ideas? What do you plan on incorporating into your home?

Linking up:
Home Stories A2Z | Today's Creative Blog | Not Just a Housewife |