September Month In Review...

Hey Friends!

I hope you guys are having a fabulous weekend!

I don't usually post on Saturday or Sunday, but seeing as how it's the of the month and 

Monday is October 1st (what?!), I thought I would throw together a little recap for September!!

This was a pretty busy month on the blog!

 Just browse through the thumbnail pictures to see if you missed anything! 

All of the photos are numbered & the links are provided below!!

1. The Laundry Room Re-Visited or Rather, "Why I'm Making Over A Room I've Already Made Over.

2. How To Paint A Rug Using A Vinyl Flooring Remnant

3. Fall Wreath with Harvest Bunting {Pool Noodle Wreath} 

4. Happily Ever "Before" & After Week 2: Kitchen Makeover Via Our Fifth House 

5. DIY Painted Cafe Curtains {Tutorial}  

6. Carmel Apple Pizza Recipe 

7. Laundry Room Reveal {Take 2} 

8. Happily Ever "Before" & After Week 3: Nursery Makeover via Cozy.Cottage.Cute 

9. Teal & Yellow Fall Tablescape 

10. Fall Centerpiece & Burlap Napkin Ring Tutorials 

11. Happily Ever "Before" & After  Week 4: Dining Room Makeover Via The Frugal Homemaker

12. Teal (Aqua) & Yellow Fall Mantel  

13. Front Porch Decorate For Fall 

14. Fall Leaf Specimen Art Tutorial 

15.  Happily Ever "Before" & After Week 5: Kitchen Makeover Via It's Overflowing

  
Did you miss anything?!

Wishing you all a beautiful Sunday!!
Get out & enjoy this GORGEOUS weather!! :)

Happily Ever Before & After Week 5: Kitchen Makeover From It's Overflowing

 Happy Friday Y'all!!

What does everyone have planned for this weekend?!

After a few consecutive days of clouds & rain, I'm looking forward to some sunshine!! 

If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram, then you know that I picked up this roll of beadboard wallpaper a couple days ago.....

I bought it at Lowes for $19.00 and I'm thinking about giving it a whirl this weekend!

 I'll let you know how it goes! :)

Well, since it's Friday, it's time for another edition of Happily Ever "Before" & After!! 

I have an AMAZING kitchen makeover to share with you all today! 

This makeover is courtesy of Aimee from It's Overflowing.

Aimee's blog is full of wonderful decorating ideas, DIY projects, & yummy recipes!! She also shares a great deal of household/organizational tips & has a great photography page for anyone looking to learn more about using those complicated (but wonderful) DSLR cameras!! 

You'll definitely want to grab a cup of coffee, curl up in your favorite chair, & spend some time browsing around her blog.  You won't be disappointed!!

Okay....onto the Kitchen Makeover!!

 Wait....are you sitting down?!  

Cuz this one is a doozy folks!!

Aimee & her husband are in the process of remodeling their 1950's ranch home in Fort Worth, Texas. 

This is what their kitchen looked like on move-in day....

After trim, paint, hardware, sink, faucet, appliances, countertops, backsplash, furniture, flooring and accessories, Aimee now has the kitchen of her dreams.....

GAH!!! 

Can you believe it's the same room?!

I LOVE everything about this space!!

 First of all, I am sucker for white cabinetry.  I adore that white subway tile backsplash! And I love all the pops of yellow in the room! It's such a calm, but cheerful space!!

And because Aimee is so awesome, she has conveniently broken down this Kitchen Makeover in 20 steps....

Be sure to check out THIS POST for all the details on this room and for more GORGEOUS photos!!

If you are looking for inspiration for a room makeover of your own, you'll also want to check out my Happily Ever "Before" & After Page!!!  All of the makeovers from this series are located there for your browsing pleasure!!! Be inspired!!!

Got a makeover you would like to have featured?!

Email me: tdiehl2005 (at) yahoo (dot) com

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!!!

Don't Miss Out - DIY projects, home decorating, crafts & more by checking out my subscribe page

Fall Leaf Specimen Art (Tutorial)

Hey Friends!!

How's your week going?! 

Today I wanted to share a little tutorial on how I made the Fall Leaf Specimen Art for my Teal & Yellow Fall Mantel. This was a quick & easy little project and if you have an ounce of creativity, I'm certain you could make one of your own!

I just grabbed some left-over fabric from the window backdrop of my mantel display and dug out some old leaf cookie cutters to use for my pattern. 

Then, I turned the fabric over & used the back side to trace my leaf shape.....

Once I had my leaves all traced, I grabbed the scissors & starting cutting them out one by one...

To give the leaves a little dimension, my mom suggested folding them in half & putting a small running stitch up the center of each leave. This just consisted of 3-4 stitches per leaf.

Then I grabbed some tan fabric I already had on hand & cut it to fit the 8x10 frame I would be using. I also cut a piece of white cardstock to go behind the fabric to prevent being able to see through it. 

I grabbed some brown cardstock that I already had in my stash & cut out the word "FALL" with my cricut machine to go inside my frame.  If you don't have a cricut machine, you could use a stencil to trace & cut out your letters.

I just used a glue stick (you could also use hot glue) to secure my letters to the fabric. Granted, this isn't the strongest glue in the world, but I knew that the glass from the frame would more than likely hold the letters in place. I just wanted something to make the letters a little bit tacky to secure them a tad bit more. 

Once I had the letters secure on the fabric, I place the fabric & cardstock backing back into the frame with the glass in place on the front side of the frame as normal. Then, I ran a small bead of hot glue down the backside of each leaf & start placing them here & there on top of  the glass.

Here is a close-up shot of one of the leaves. You can see the running stitch going down the center giving it a 3D effect.

Cute, right?! All of the leaves were attached to the glass with the exception of one. You can see one leaf in the upper right hand corner that was actually glued to the frame itself. 

Most specimen art that I've seen consists of the items being placed in straight lines or rows inside the frame. With this one, I wanted the leaves to look like they were falling through the air, so I opted for a more sporadic placement instead.

This was a fun little project to complete & since I had everything on hand, it ended up being a free little piece of art to add to my fall mantel....

And we all know that FREE makes it that much cuter, right?!

Have you ever made Specimen Art?!

I'll be linking this project up over at Thrifty Decor Chick's Blog today. She is having an linky party for "Easy Fall Decor." If you are looking for some easy ways to spruce up your home for the fall season, head on over to Sarah's place for load & loads of inspiration!!

Wishing you all a wonderful Thursday!!

Be sure to come back tomorrow for another segment of 

Happily Ever "Before" & After!!

 I've got another fabulous room makeover to share!! :)

Also linking up here....
Weekend Wrap-Up Party at Tatertots & Jello

Tips & Tutorials Tuesday at Home Stories A to Z

Don't Miss Out - DIY projects, home decorating, crafts & more by checking out my subscribe page

Front Porch Decorated For Fall....

Hey Friends!!

Are you all LOVING this weather as much as I am?!  Seriously, why can't it be this beautiful all year round?!

Last Thursday evening we spent a few hours hanging outside as a family & I  FINALLY got my (very small) porch decorated for Fall....

What do you think?!

 I thought it turned out pretty cute!!

There are lots of fabulous fall goodies packed in to this small space, but my favorite by far, is this adorable scarecrow bench that my mom gave me a few years back....

Isn't he just too cute?!

And what would a fall porch be without some big & beautiful fall mums?!

Or some cute little pumpkins?!

The larger orange pumpkin on the left is actually fake, but the trio of smaller pumpkins are real. I bought them in the produce section of Walmart for around $3.00.

I may have gone overboard with the mum photos, but I honestly couldn't help it!  I mean, just look at how GORGEOUS these babies are!!

I bought all of my mums at Rural King. The two larger ones were $5.99 a piece & the smaller one was $7.99 (because it came in that cute little basket.....totally worth the extra 2 bucks!)

I've had this rug since the beginning of the summer. I think I bought it at Lowes.....sorry it's been a few months ago and my brain just isn't what it used to be!! I'm blaming it on the kids! Anyone else?!

And of course, my front door is decorated with my DIY Fall Yarn Wreath that I made a couple weeks back....

I think the bunting is my favorite part....

In case you missed it, you can see the full wreath tutorial HERE.

So, that pretty much concludes the tour!

Doesn't take too long to see everything in this small space!! :)

Have you decorated your porch for Fall yet?!

Do you primarily decorate with pumpkins & mums or do you incorporate other fall elements into your decor?! 

If you have a fall porch that you would like for me to see, just leave a link in the comments section! I would LOVE to see it!

Linking up here...
Weekend Wrap-Up Party at Tatertots & Jello

Tutorials & Tips Tuesday at Home Stories A to Z

Don't Miss Out - DIY projects, home decorating, crafts & more by checking out my subscribe page

Teal (Aqua) & Yellow Fall Mantel

Hey Everyone!!

I hope you guys had a great weekend!!

I wanted to share one of the projects I've been working on the past couple of days! There is a little Fall Mantel Party going on at Centsational Girl's Blog today, so I've been busy getting my mantel camera ready!  If you are looking for some inspiration for your fall mantel, you'll want to be sure to head on over to Kate's blog for loads & loads of fall eye candy! :)

My fall mantel this year was inspired by my Fall Tablescape. Many of you know that I do not have an actual fireplace mantel to decorate, but instead I always decorate a little shelf in my kitchen from season to season. Since my table & the shelf are in the same room, I carried the teal (aqua) & yellow color scheme on over to my mantel display...

What do you think?!

If you remember the napkins I used in my tablescape, then you probably recognize this fabric!

I actually went back to TJ Maxx hoping to find more napkins to use as the background fabric on my old window. Instead, I found the matching placemats (set of 4) for $9.99. The placemats were two-sided. One side had the fabric you see above, the other side was the fabric used in the center pane of my window. I basically took the placemats apart & hot glued the fabric to the back side of the window to create the back drop for my mantel display. If you remember correctly, I did the same thing when creating my summer mantel. 

I had quite a bit of fabric left over, so I used it in other areas of the display to tie everything together. 

My mom actually used some of my scrap fabric to create the little pumpkin you see on the right! 

Isn't it cute?! 

The stem was made with a stick from my backyard & then we just wrapped some yarn around it for a little added touch. The yellow pumpkin was purchased at Walmart for $1.00 & the aqua Ball jar was one I already had on hand...

I also had the larger Ball jar you see in this picture below.....

I just added some burlap around the center of it along with some left over fabric from the window to cutesey it up a bit! Then I added some wheat & baby's breath that I had left over from my fall centerpiece.  The white owl was also a TJ Maxx find a few weeks back for $5.99.

My mom stopped by while I was in the middle of working on the mantel display & she suggested adding a mini bunting to the owl. At first, I thought she was goofy, but turns out, it actually looks pretty cute!

Wouldn't you agree?! I just made cut some little triangles out of the fabric & hot glued them onto a piece of jute. Then, I added a small bead of hot glue to each of the owl's wings and attached the bunting! 

On the opposite corner of the display, I have a yellow mum inside of a white pot that I purchased at IKEA. 

The yellow squash was another $1.00 Walmart purchase...

I used some old books from Goodwill on each end of the display to add height & visual interest to the mantel.  Books area great way to achieve this look & they are inexpensive too! 

My mom & I whipped up this ruffly burlap wreath to hang from the window.....

We just cut strips of burlap, gathered it to create the ruffle with a needle & thread, and then hot glued the ruffled burlap to a cardboard backing to create the wreath.

Using some scrap fabric, my mom whipped up a few rosettes to adorn my wreath. We also added some miniature pinecones that I had leftover from my napkin rings. 

And last, but not least, I made a little framed fall artwork to add to the mantel....

I cut out the word "Fall" using my Cricut machine. 

Then, I cut some leaves out of the scrap fabric and added them to the frame....

 I will share a full tutorial later this week! :)

So, that's it!!

My Teal & Yellow Fall Mantel.....

I hope you enjoyed!!

As always, thanks so much for stopping by!!!

Linking up here....
Weekend Wrap-Up Party at Tatertots & Jello

Tutorials & Tips Tuesday at Home Stories A to Z

Don't Miss Out - DIY projects, home decorating, crafts & more by checking out my subscribe page