DIY Accomplished- Come Link Up!

May 17, 2012 By Laurie

How does the Homemaker’s Challenge: Accomplished blog hop work?

What homemaking challenges have you conquered and blogged about recently? We want you to share it with us. Did you figure out a way to repurpose something? Tackle a DIY project? Did you have a lightbulb moment about homemaking and care to share it with us?

Each Thursday we will host a link up. You may link up any post from your blog, past or present, that is about a challenge you are facing or have conquered. You must link back to Homemaker’s Challenge to participate.

Find us on Twitter using the hashtag: #homemakerschallenge . You can help spread the word via Twitter. Plus, if you need encouragement or want to dish some out throughout the week, use this hashtag so we can find one another.

Prefer Fac ebook? You can find us there, too! Homemakers Challenge on Facebook.

About Laurie

Laurie can be found most days creating in the kitchen. She is blessed to be Toby's wife for 21 wonderful years and the Mama of 4 (aged 9-18) amazing children God has entrusted her to raise for Him. She heartily welcomes you to visit her at her blog at Our Abundant Blessings and on Facebook ! This family of six makes their home on a small grass-finished beef farm, surrounded by many pets. Being together is the best part of life, making it all work and flow is a task that Laurie gladly welcomes, for she knows that the time is all too fleeting for homeschooling, and preparing her babes for life on their own.

Save Money by Determining Your Decorating Style

May 16, 2012 By JenSteed

I don’t know about you, but I am a sucker for cute. I cannot tell you how many “cute” things I’ve purchased, gotten them home, and sent them to Goodwill a year later because they didn’t work with anything else I had. I’ve gotten better at passing up “cute” by having a specific style in mind. Here is how to determine your decorating style.

1. Look at what you have.

Take a look at the items in your home. Which ones do you love? Which would you put out at the curb in an instant if a replacement came along? Why? What do the things you love have in common — a color, shape, a feeling that it evokes?

2. Create a wish list.

I don’t know about you, but I can come up with a 10-page wish list in 5 minutes. If you would like grown-up furniture or a whole IKEA set up, write it down by room. Want more throw pillows? Vases? A new fireplace? Storage? Write it down!

3. Consider colors.

Think about the color scheme you would like, preferably independent of your paint color. This will help guide a future accessory purchases. For instance, my kitchen colors are pink & aqua. I try not to buy anything not in those colors and when I find something in those colors, I buy it! I love those colors and so no matter where we are living, they will make me happy, even if it’s a bland white rental .

4. Find inspiration.

The best source for decorating inspiration is Pinterest. I have boards for each room in my house — dream bedroom, dream kitchen, etc. In my bedroom, for example, I picked a pale blue/pale yellow scheme years ago. I still like that, but want it to feel more South Pacific in my main furniture pieces. I’ve been pinning bedrooms from Bora Bora resorts, accessories I’ve found, anything to give me a good idea of what I really like. After a while, you will notice several similarities that will help you know when something you want to thrift or makeover will fit in your vision.

5. Save & Shop!

Save up some money and go shopping. We are entering prime yard sale season & thrift stores are usually bursting at the seams. Craigs list is also easier in summer since you can haul big pieces in open trailers. Flea markets, estate sales & auctions are good places to try, too.

If your list is unique, don’t be afraid to scour consignment shops or even actual furniture stores. Your perfect piece may be in a large metro area a day’s drive away so don’t discount eBay or CL with local pickup either if you are willing to drive.
Having a vision for your home can really help save you money. By only buying what fits the bigger picture, you can buy things that will stick around long term. It also will also enable you to buy a dream item or two — like a teak canopy bed. A girl can dream, right?

Do you have a vision for your home decorating? I’d love to hear about it!

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About JenSteed

From Oatmeal Canister to Toilet Paper Dispenser

May 15, 2012 By AnneSimpson

“Dispenser” is perhaps not the most accurate word to use, because it doesn’t actually dispense the toilet paper. Sorry. But it does neatly contain it for you, in a discreet yet visible way, so that no guest ever feels the need to rummage under your sink for an emergency re-stocking.

I have this thing for re-using empty food containers; it’s kind of an addicting habit. Egg cartons, coffee cans, and now oatmeal canisters. I’m always looking for ways to recycle and upcycle containers that would otherwise be thrown away.

Thankfully, it’s easy to do with a few simple supplies. For this particular container upcycle, all you need is:

an oatmeal canister (it’s the perfect diameter for double rolls of toilet paper)
wrapping paper (or 2 sheets of scrapbooking paper)
coordinating ribbon
scissors
glue stick

They say you should measure twice and cut once, which is great advice that I never follow. Instead, I just line up the top of the oatmeal canister against the edge of the wrapping paper. (By the way, I used a nice sturdy, good quality wrapping paper. Cheaper, thinner types might not work quite so well.) I made sure to tuck the paper right under the lip on top of the container to help hold it in place and hide the edge. Making sure the paper remained tucked under that lip, I rolled the canister until it was surrounded by paper. Making sure to add an extra inch or two, I cut the paper in a straight line down the side of the canister, past the bottom edge by a few inches.

Then I unrolled the paper from the canister, but kept it in place to help me measure the length properly. I wanted about an extra inch to fold over the bottom of the canister, so I used my fingers to mark that space while I cut off the rest of the square.

Then I just used a humble glue stick, spreading about an inch-thick strip of glue all the way down one side of the canister, and adhering the paper (making sure it was straight) to the glue. Then I wrapped the rest of the paper around the canister, and once again glued an inch-thick strip of glue all the way down, this time on top of the paper itself to form an overlap. I secured the last edge of the paper firmly, then set the canister upside down to fold the bottom edge neatly. I glued as I went along, making sure to glue all the pieces of paper both to the canister itself and to the paper, since the little folds all kind of overlap each other.

The final touch is to add a bow. I placed a couple rolls of toilet paper inside the canister to help stabilize it, because it was kind of tricky to try to tie a bow around the hollow canister.

And there you have it: a glammed up toilet paper holder made out of an empty food container, paper, ribbon and glue!