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

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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.  Craigslist 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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“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

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{photo credit modified by Jules}

The other day I told you How to Stage Your Home for Sale. That needs to be done before any advertise can take place. You’re going to want people driving by wondering why your home suddenly has so much curb appeal. You will want your rooms to be clean, de-cluttered, and be ready to show before you take any pictures. If you’re looking for a quick sale then you must be ready to show your home the day after you advertise it’s on the market!

Now, realtors have lots of connections but there are so many ways for us FSBO’s to advertise on our own now.

1.  Take pictures {making sure you take the best shot(s) of each room from a corner trying to get the biggest view of the entire room}
   *Use or borrow a  fancy camera with a wide-angle lens
   *Use an iPhone with a panoramic app
   *Use a nice quality camera
2. Signage
   *Quality Signs
   Use THIS
   
   NOT This
   
   The classier the sign the more interest you will get in your home.
   *Good Placement
   In front of your yard facing perpendicular to your home so those driving by can see it easily, not parallel.
   Place other signs at the entrance(s) to your neighborhood and/or busy intersections
   *Clear/Clean
   Make sure there is a least a clearly written phone number on your sign(s) with a BLACK, bold, permanent marker. If you have a nicer sign you can print information papers about your home for interested buyers to take with them {make sure these are in a nice, closed box to keep them clean and dry}.
3. Utilize Online Sites
   There are many sites online available for FREE or low-cost depending on length of listing or amount of pictures showing for your home. This is probably the most useful tool for potential buyers to view your home. Our culture LOVES buying things online and although they can’t purchase your home online they can view it at their convince in the comfort of their home {or ANYWHERE that the internet is available}.
   http://www.fsbo.com/home.aspx
   http://www.forsalebyowner.com/
   http://www.salebyownerrealty.com/
   http://www.owners.com/
   http://www.craigslist.org/about/sites
   http://www.ebayclassifieds.com/
   Example of FREE listing I’ve done for my home on Zillow, Owners,  Craig’s List, Ebay, and even Facebook. Facebook may seem to be an odd place to list a home for sale but most likely you are friends with lots of people who live near you. Lots of great home finds are found by word of mouth. This album of pictures will need to be set to “public” so people can share it and those who aren’t “friends” with you may view it. Just make sure not to list your exact address if you are uncomfortable with that.
4. Open House
   Plan to open your home on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon for prospective buyers to tour your home and ask questions with less pressure than a private showing.
5. Private Showings
   Some may prefer to view your home privately and you will need to make yourself {or a trusted friend or relative} available  to walk prospective buyers through your home at their convince.

We are still in this process as I am writing this but I faithing that I’ll be updating this status to SOLD soon. Let me know if you have any advise for other FSBOs or which of these suggestions have worked for you.

Video Tour Providers:

www.animoto.com
www. youtube.com
www.floorplanonline.com

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To our shock and dismay, we discovered that it doesn’t always look like the pages of a magazine! (We also discovered that a lot of men don’t like wicker furniture – even though it’s all over the pages of Victoria!)

But, from the pen of Emilie Barnes, I quickly learned that home “is as much a state of the heart and spirit as it is a specific place.” It didn’t matter if we lived in a borrowed room, a rented lower-level apartment, or a house of our own. Rick and I purposed to make whatever space we had into home. In those early years of marriage, I did my best to make our home into a welcoming refuge – first for our own family and then for others who would cross our threshold.

In her book, A Spirit of Loveliness (which was published in 1992 but I would still highly recommend), Emilie calls that The Spirit of Welcome.
She says this:

“A welcoming home is a place of refuge, a place where people worn down by the noise and turmoil and hostility of the outside world can find a safe resting place. A welcoming home is a place that you and others enjoy coming home to.”

A safe resting place. I love that vision for my homemaking. I feel like it breathes new life into the tired, old chores of housekeeping.

While it really is true that it just doesn’t matter how big your space is or how much money you spent on your love seat, I do think there are some practical but simple things that can help to cultivate this sort of attitude and atmosphere.

Here are a few things I do to make our home feel warm and welcoming:

• First, think first impressions. I try to keep my entry way tidy. Which actually starts outside where the patio is swept, the door is clean from obvious mud or cobwebs, and a wreath or potted plant offers an invitation to come in. Then, before Rick comes home each day, I usually make sure the entry area is picked up of clutter and the inside light is turned on.
• Second, what’s your house smell like? I think the scent of a home is important. Since I can’t always have yummy things baking in my oven, I have invested in a Wallflower from Bath & Body Works. I like them better than some of the grocery store versions because they smell more authentic. And, I like that they’re always plugged in – I don’t have to get home first to light a burner. (Yes, they are more expensive but I just watch for sales and stock-up semi-annually.) The scent of your home is especially important if you have pets or little ones still in diapers.
• Third, a little wax goes a long way! I often have a candle or two burning in the evenings when everyone is home. It’s a simple gesture that goes a long way toward softening the mood of your home. We found a battery-operated candle that hangs in the corner of our living room where I can’t reach to light a normal candle. It has a built-in timer and it’s nice to come home to when we’ve been out later.
• Fourth, beautiful music calms and nourishes the soul. Two of my favorite artists are David Nevue and Fernando Ortega. When I play those cds, my heart takes a deep breath. Sometimes when Rick, Caleb, and the dog are wrestling in living room, my sweet music is hard to hear. But, a man laughing with boy is its own kind of music, I suppose.
• Fifth, splurge on some fresh flowers now and then.  Or even stick some ivy cuttings in a glass bowl with water. Plants speak life.
• Sixth, always, always, always have the fixings for tea, hot cocoa, and coffee on hand. Even if you don’t drink them. It’s a very worthy sacrifice to cupboard space to be able to offer tea to a weary friend.
• And, finally, try using cloth napkins. I know it might seem like a small, even silly, thing. But, I have been using cloth napkins for all 20 years of our marriage. Sometimes, I make my own. Usually, I just watch for sales or coupons and buy them. (The trick is to try to find ones that don’t need ironed!)  This simple added touch has brought a lot of warmth to our mealtimes.

These are a few of the easy, practical ways I try to create refuge here. You might not take these specific steps. But, hopefully this will get your thoughts churning toward making your own home a safe haven for the people you love. Your home needs to be a reflection of your family and values, not mine.

No matter what you do, just taking the time to think and plan communicates welcome. It lets the people in your life know that you thought ahead and wanted to make room for them.

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You can find the directions for the All Wrapped Up In Chocolate and Pink cake here.  They tell you to do the whole cake with fondant, which I have little experience with – so I modified it a little bit.

Needs:

• 10″x2″ square pan (I used Wilton pans)
• 6″x2″ round pan
• 3 boxes cake mix
• 1 box rolled pink or blue fondant
• chocolate icing
• small amount of pink/blue buttercream icing

1. bake and cool all cakes.  {2 square cakes and 2 round cakes}.  I try to make them ahead of time and freeze so they’re easier to work with.
2. put ample filling on one layer of the square cakes, then top with second cake.  Apply a “crumb” coat of frosting to top and sides.
3. Keep the round cakes separate and repeat step 2.  Cut a circle of clean cardboard the same size as the round cakes and cover with plastic wrap.  Place these cakes on the cardboard.
4. make the “topper” – the fondant bow – so that it has time to set.  I followed the directions on the original recipe, but only used one shade of pink for the bow.  Instead of lining it with more fondant I used piping to decorate it (at the very end).
5. Ice the square cakes with lots of chocolate frosting and roll out fondant “ribbons” as directed in original recipe.  Apply ribbons as directed.  Pipe pink buttercream icing outline around all ribbons. 
6. Frost the round cakes and pipe dots using tip 3.
7. Center the round cakes on top of the square cakes.  Pipe small stars around bottom of round cakes to cover the cardboard.  Pipe a thick line around the bottom of the square cake.  Top with the bow.
8. Voila!  There’s your cake!  If you’re using it for a first birthday, you can make an additional round cake for the baby’s “personal” cake.The babies really like it!

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Then I read Good Girls Don’t Have to Dress Bad by Shari Braendel…and I loved it! It made all that body shape and color matching stuff make sense. She even had a whole chapter on bathing suits and another whole chapter on buying the right jeans! But what brought it all together for me was when she said “The key is not to look bigger or smaller when you dress; the key is to look like you know what you’re doing.” Wow! What an eye-opener!

So often we just buy or plan our clothes and outfits as individual pieces, we never imagine how they all come together into our personal style. If we wanted to describe our own personal style we would spend a few minutes hemming and hawing and um-ming a lot and finally say something like “I’m pretty casual.” But it doesn’t take much to get past that.

Here’s some ideas to help you determine your personal style:

Pinterest

Oh how I love thee, Pinterest! What could be easier than a virtual corkboard to collect all those miscellaneous images into a simple visual inspiration board? I have a specific Clothing Style/Idea board where I collect individual pieces and outfits that I really like. Looking at the whole board, a couple things immediately pop out. First, I like jeans (surprise!). Second, I like cardigans. Nearly everything I pin includes a cardigan. Something else I noticed? I’m not a fan of a lot of patterns and prints. Most of my pins were solid colors or very moderate stripes.

Polyvore

Most of the outfits pinned on Pinterest are originally created on Polyvore. It’s easy to set up a free account and start putting together your style creations. Polyvore has pages and pages of clothing and accessories pieces you can choose from to create outfits.

Magazines

You could create a real life inspiration board by clipping images you love from magazines and pasting them into a style journal or board.

Your Home

Look around your favorite rooms in your home and see how you would define the decor. Modern? Victorian and romantic? Country or filled with antiques? Do you love patterns and textures? A little zebra print here and there? Or do you prefer ruffles and pastels? What kind of art do you have up on your walls–abstract? Traditional? Your personal style is all over your home.

Spend a couple weeks (or a couple excited days!) pulling images together and see what you end up with. You’ll be able to start pulling out common themes and elements and start putting a name to your personal style. You could even write up a little one or two sentence “style mission statement.”

Then shop for your style.

Swap for your style.

Wear your style.

Don’t just wear clothes everyday, wear clothes you like. Clothes that make you feel good. The idea is for your outward appearance to reflect who you are inside. When you’re insides and your outsides match, you’re able to go through your days with a calm, confident smile that blesses everyone around you. And if you’re thinking that your home sweet home could use a little style make over, you can head right back to the beginning of this post and replace “clothes” with “home decor” and follow the same steps!

And be sure to stop by over at Walkin’ in High Cotton to enter to win your own copy of Good Girl’s Don’t Have to Dress Bad!!

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I would like to address one of the first questions you’re probably thinking, “Why would you sell your own home and why do you need to “Stage” your home?”

I personally wanted to sell my own home for a sense of accomplishment as well as to save some big money that would otherwise be going to a realtor. I can also come down on my listing price with more ease than if I had a realtor I had to pay high percentages to for their assistance.

Industry Survey show that staging your home can make it sell 3 months sooner and for 3% more!

I will now walk you through what I’ve done with our home so far.

PREP WORK

OUTSIDE

• Curb Appeal! As your potential buyers drive by sneaking a peek at your home or as they drive up into the driveway for an open house or private showing the front of your home is their vital first impression. Look at your home and imagine how to make it look like a picture of a dream home in a magazine. Try to use things you already own. Your looking to invest just enough in your house to sell it quickly and possibly make a profit!
• Well Manicured Yard!  Fresh cut grass, weeded flower beds, trimmed back bushes and trees, and many experts recommend colorful flowers that will bring warmth to your yard. If you live in a high maintenance neighborhood, then you may need to step up your game even more with your landscaping to set it apart from your neighbors.
• De-cluttering! This is not just for the interior. All sporting equipment, toys, yard tools, etc should be cleared out of sight and stored neatly somewhere other than the front porch or yard. If your yard has beautiful shade trees, then you will need to make sure the drive is cleared of all leaves and debris. There should be minimal cars in the drive or even garage. If possible, have all or all but one vehicle gone from the home.

INSIDE

All of the following tips need to be assessed in every room as you walk through it with fresh eyes. If you’re brave enough {eeek}, take a slightly critical friend through your home and make a list of their suggestions. I know some of these will not be practical for every day living in your home but are a necessity for an open house or any private showing of your home! Plus, if you learn to live this way it will be a quicker process prepping for a showing, you may enjoy your home better while you still live there and carry it over to your new home. 1st impression! Just like the exterior of your home, the first impression will stick leading them to not even schedule a viewing or at least will be there long after the rest of the tour. What is the first room the potential buyer will enter, an entry way, living room, hall-like foyer? This room needs to be one you pay a lot of attention to. It needs to be clean {hopefully that goes without saying for every room}, feel spacious, warm, and inviting.

• De-clutter- clear way ALL unnecessary items. I’m serious! I know it’s hard to live in your home while attempting to sell but pack away all unnecessary items and put them {neatly} in an attic, storage building, basement, or a family/friends house for a time {hehe}
• Organize- even if you are not normally an organized person now is the time to kick it into gear. Everyone would love to naturally be organized so when potential buyers sees an organized home it invokes that desire and indirectly the organized home would make them feel that if they lived their life would naturally be organized.
• Fix It- all those projects you’ve been meaning to do on an extra long weekends with nothing else to do…like those ever happen.
• Paint Neutral- this is a big one I’ve seen. Professionals suggest you paint one neutral color over the entire house to make it feel larger, cleaner, and generic for all potential buyers. A big portion of our home was already neutral but I LOVE color and couldn’t bring myself to live in a neutral colored house for the remaining months we are here.
• Clean Up- yep. All those weekly monthly things on your list as well as all those Spring cleaning items…all at once. This is tough!!! Cleaning everywhere and keeping it clean has been the hardest part for me and my family with 3 kids 3 and under. Some may suggest removing all person items. I would suggest hiding away things like toothbrushes and pot holders but frames and simple decorative pictures of your family I think helps potential buyers see themselves and their families living in your home.
• Fresh Flowers/Plants- professionals say that fresh flowers through out your home invokes a feeling of warmth. Plus, it’s a reward to yourself for all that prep work!

Good luck with in your season of selling your home. I hope these helpful hints save you the research time and help you sell quickly!

Stay tuned for “How to Advertise Your FSBO {for sale by owner} Home”!

Here is an article I found that addresses and helps with the Emotional side of selling your home.

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First of all, let me say that we rent our home. Our landlady has asked that we not paint due to a color catastrophe brought on by the previous tenants. The walls are all lovely, neutral shades of beige though, so I don’t mind as much as I would if they were stark white. I must have color in my house, and lots of it. When we moved in, I set up all my furniture and noticed a lack of color- everything was black! I desperately needed to start adding color, so I turned to Pinterest for inspiration. I found lots of tutorials on painting furniture and color pallet samples, which turned into action.

First, the front door. The entry door is the gateway to what your home holds inside. People get a small glimpse of your style and the mood of your home just by driving by. Guests’ moods are set as they walk your entryway and knock on your front door. It’s important.

I like to have a wreath decorated for whichever season we’re currently in on my front door. Like I said, it really sets the tone for guests.

Here’s my spring front door wreath.

Wreath: $4.99 at Hobby Lobby

Paper flowers: $2.00 each (normally more but these were on sale)

This is my handsome and terribly sweet husband, Brian, hard at work on some wall art I dreamed up. Thank you, sweetheart!

I found this fabric at Hobby Lobby for $8.99 a yard, but found out at check out that it was 40% off. Score! I bought about three yards to use on various projects around the house. This is just a large, cheap canvas wrapped in the fabric. Hubby used a staple gun to attach it. It was a two-minute project that filled up a large wall space that was really getting on my nerves.

There wasn’t anything hanging above my vintage sofa either. I inherited this lovely piece of furniture from my great-grandmother and it sits in my living room, which you can see into right when you walk through my front door. I wrapped more canvases in that beautiful fabric and voila! Another wall filled, for practically nothing.

Onto the family room…

I chose seafoam and deep teal as my colors. Nice and bright since I can’t paint the walls.

 This chest of drawers was given to us when we first got married.

{before}

{after}

Ahhh…much better!

 I got two of these little tables along with one long one for $50 at a garage sale last year. When my coffee table broke after our move, these became our new coffee tables. The problem? I think they were hideous. Shiny, white, boring. Hubby got the sander out…

Step 1: sand

Step 2: paint

Forgive me for the lack of color in this photo. I couldn’t get the seafoam to show up like it does in person.

 I wanted to bring my beautiful fabric into this room of the house, so I wrapped a clear vase with it using Mod Podge. Flowers didn’t look quite right in a floral vase, so I went out back and plucked some branches off an old tree from the foreclosed house’s yard next door.

My mantel is the center of attention in this area of the house. It’s big, high, and gorgeous, even when un-decorated. It’s lovely at Christmastime, but spring decor was a new challenge.

I picked up some paper flowers at Hobby Lobby (66% off) and stuck them in a wine bottle, which I spray painted. It ended up being a beautiful pop of color. I also stuck a couple paper flowers in my winter wreath to turn it into a spring wreath. I found a large “C” at Hobby Lobby for a couple bucks, spray painted it the same deep teal as my previously-black chest, and glued some tiny flowers on it. Goodbye winter, hello spring!

Next project area: the kitchen…

 There was this large blank spot above my stove, so I bought some cheap cardboard letters at Hobby Lobby ($1.50 each) and wrapped them in fabric using Mod Podge.

 My kitchen table was all black. The top had heat stains and paint chips on it, and I was dying to re-vamp it.

Hubby re-did the table with a fresh coat of glossy, black paint, and did the stools in the same seafoam as the coffee tables to tie the two areas together. I love it!

I made this yarn-wrapped wreath and glued some pre-made fabric flowers onto it to bring a touch of spring into my kitchen. I bought all the supplies for this at Hobby Lobby (where else??) and it cost me about $10.00 with my 40% coupon.

As homemakers, it’s our responsibility (and joy, hopefully!) to bring warmth and beauty to our homes. I hope the way I have brought that into my haven is inspiring to you to do it to yours. Happy homemaking!

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