Author Archives: Lisa

About Lisa

Pinning the wilderness of my imagination, one Pin at a time. I love hiking, camping, watching my boys fish, and taking long walks with my yellow labs, Taylor and Mandi. I enjoy cooking when the mood hits, and not only have I published novels, but I'm the master of redesigning just about anything. I’m the DIY author who has made Idaho her home for 27 years, and I can't wait to spend another 27 years here.

Homemade Vanilla Creamer

I’m not gonna lie as this video about sums it up! lol

I know it’s been a while since I’ve done a food post, but this one is worth it. About a year ago I went on a search for recipes for homemade creamer for a very specific reason. The hubby and I were making lifestyle changes, i.e., cutting out excess sugars and replacing what we could with natural sugars instead of overly processed sugars. And the number one big thing that I was giving up were my coffee Frappes…*gasp* I don’t know if you realize how big a deal this was for me, it was HUGE.

You see, I love to blame this frappe addiction on my lovely sister-in-law, Kelli, with her “try it, you’ll like it” words I was almost instantly addicted! I was never a coffee drinker before her suggestion–notta even once. In general, I’m not a hot drink lover–at all. I’ve always had a tendency to burn my tongue with hot drinks and had to be pretty desperate to drink hot tea…very desperate like I was so sick and couldn’t stop coughing or out camping and I was freezing my butt off. I mean, even in the dead of winter with negative temperature numbers, I’d still have a cold drink. Crazy, I know.

So I got hooked on Frappuccinos in my thirties and every day before I’d head off to work I’d stop and get one. That habit cost me $25 per week. You add that up for a year, and that’s $1,300! And you take that times seven years–a whopping $9,100!

Now granted I owned my own accounting business and was making a decent income, but I should have been wiser with my money–a lot wiser.

Then came the lovely decline in 2008 and I lost a lot of business which meant I had to cut back in a lot of areas, dining out for starters. I began making my own frappes at home with a mix I’d buy from Cash & Carry and even purchased the fancy cups and domed lids so I’d feel special. I saved a bundle considering a bag of the vanilla frappe mix would only cost me about $18 per month and the cups would last a good 2-3 months.

So I went from $1,300 a month in coffee drinks down to around $50. Makes me wish I’d done it sooner, lesson learned.

But then came the lesson about lifestyle changes and reading the package labeling to see how much added sugar I was putting in my body and there was a lot of extra sugar in my beloved Frappe.

So long story short, I didn’t like the creamer recipes on Pinterest because they used condensed sweetened mix which I will attest to that they don’t stay mixed with your milk product and the fact that it wasn’t a natural organic sugar kind of put me off.

So I’m going to share with you my go-to vanilla creamer recipe and let you taste the difference for yourself along with the cost savings instead of buying the prepackaged store creamers.

[supsystic-gallery id=4 position=center]

[yumprint-recipe id=’3′]

One Jaw-dropping Dresser Makeover – French Country Style

That’s one snazzy title, right? Well, it’s just that epic! This French Country Dresser makeover will give jaw-dropping results. Want to do something similar? Yeah, well be prepared for words like; gorgeous, beautiful, amazing and unbelievable…because that’s what you’ll hear!

Let’s get started then…

I’m a hand-me-down lover — of furniture that is. Anything old I’ll gladly take it off your hands and repurpose or create into something new. These beauties were handed down to me from my Grandparents after they passed away. They came all the way from Ohio, made a stop in Colorado for a few years till my parents moved here to Idaho and kindly delivered them. They’ve been sitting in my bedroom untouched for the last two years until I could come to a decision on how I wanted to make them over. And let me tell you, the wait was worth it!

I think what drew me to the pieces were the detailed designs.

Let’s just say they had curves in all the right places.

And those bun feet? Love!

Character all the way around that was screaming to be seen.

I did something unusual this time around, I asked my husband what color he’d like to see them since we’d be using them in our master bedroom. Now I didn’t just give him free reign here, I gave him a selection of pictures from Pinterest on dresser makeovers and we came to agreement on an Annie Sloan color named Napoleonic Blue. Typically I make my own chalk paint, why? Because it’s a lot less expensive and I can custom-create a color I really like with little effort. But this time around? I liked the color, knew I’d have a hard time matching it up, and just went for it.

Overall the dressers were in fairly good shape, just a few water rings, scratches and a little chip missing on the bottom of the smaller chest of drawers. A little wood putty went a long way to filling in those gaps. And before all you antique lovers go crazy on me and tell me I ruined such a beautiful set…they’re not antiques. They were made with quality, but I checked and doubled checked to make sure before I took on a project like this, so rest assured they’re not antiques.

Moving on…

A little water stain here…

A few discoloration spots there…

A little wood putty to fill in those scratches…

And some Annie Sloan Napoleonic Blue to make everything pretty.

That first pass with the chalk paint went on a bit thin.

But by the second coat everything was looking great. And the best part? No sanding involved!

It’s a bit bright, right? Well don’t worry, it’ll all change up by the end. The first thing I did was apply a clear wax.

A little wax on, a little wax off…seriously. You rub some on to ensure coverage and then you wipe it off. Easy peasy. After I applied the wax I went in search of a french styled graphic to add the perfect touch. The Graphic’s Fairy is one of my favorite places to find french themed transfers, you seriously need to go and look at Karen’s page, it’s amazing! Visit her printable transfers page here: The Graphics Fairy . On her site she offers various ways to help you transfer your graphic to your furniture, small project, and or fabric, all of which are amazing, but this time around I did it differently than most might think of. I used my Cameo Silhouette to create a stencil. Why? Because after painting, waxing and various other tasks that put wear and tear on my arms I wanted to simplify it for myself. And I did!

Karen offers her printable as PDF files, which I then converted to a PNG file and opened it up in my Silhouette Studio. From there I used the trace function and wahlaa! I got myself a simple super easy stencil that can be reduced or enlarged to fit my projects need!

One note, I didn’t figure this out on my own. I researched online and found most of them to be really complicated and almost gave up until I found this lovely little website, Maya Road Classic Card Kits. She goes into details on how to convert the PNG file in your Silhouette Studio using the trace function. You can see it here: Using PNG Files for your Silhouette.

After removing the lettering to create the stencil, I used contact paper as my transfer method. You don’t want to try and apply this vinyl stencil without it, it’s too flimsy.

I then smoothed it out to remove any air bubbles. Now don’t worry, it doesn’t have to be perfect as you’re just using it as a transfer method to get it on the project.

Your next step is to remove the vinyl backing. Peel it away slowly, seriously, because there are small letters involved and you could accidently remove the inside of an R or E if you’re not too careful.

Nice and sticky and ready to be applied to your project.

Be sure to choose your location of the stencil before hand and make sure you’ve measured to ensure it’s centered. Nothing looks worse than going through all this hard work to find out that your graphic is crooked. Kinda ruins the moment.

Once you’ve applied your stencil, use your spreader to push out the air bubbles and try and get the smoothest finish you can. Don’t worry if you can’t seem to get rid of them all, you can use your fingers later.

Now carefully peel away the contact paper.

And when I say carefully, this is why. Sometimes those interior parts of the outlined letter like to stick to the adhesive. If this happens just gently press it back into place and rub it with your finger or spreader and try peeling it back again. Sometimes it takes a few times to get it loose, but it’s okay, you’ll get it.

Next be sure to smooth out any air bubles with your fingers. You want to gently press them out so you don’t rip the vinyl and have your paint leak through underneath.

I then chose to grab some acrylic black paint and my handy dandy sponge dabber to fill in those letters on the stencil.

Be sure to not add too much paint onto the dabber, unless of course you want a dark finish on the project. I wanted something that looked time worn, so I used it lightly to fill in the stencil.

Once you’ve filled it all in…LET IT DRY! Yup, don’t try and peel it off now, you’ll just spread all that wet paint around and ruin your lovely piece.

After the paint has dried, peel away the vinyl to expose your graphic.

I started with a corner and worked my way down. And FYI, it doesn’t all come off in one piece.

A little tug here and there…

And then some detailed work on peeling it back from all those smaller spaces.

But in the end this is what you’re left with!

But you’re not finished yet… Here comes the really fun part! This is when you apply the dark wax and give it that aged, well worn appearance that its been sitting in a French countryside villa just waiting for you to take it home!

Again…wax on, wax off!

I know it looks a little messy, and it is, but oh so worth it in the end.

Here is is with the dark wax rubbed into all those lovely details of the dresser.

And if it got too dark? Just use a little clear wax to tone it down a bit.

Just right for me…and please excuse the messy basket to the side. Those baskets held all my drawers contents while it was being reworked. lol

Pretty snazzy, huh?

And that wood on top? It never looked better with a little sanding and gel stain!

Look at those bun feet!

And all the detailed woodwork just popping now!

And the long short dresser? It wasn’t forgotten either!

Now off you go to create your own masterpiece! And keep watch here for my master bedroom makeover! You won’t want to miss that one!

Toodles!

Cabinet & Bookshelf Makeover on a Budget

I’m the type of person that’s constantly changing things up, especially in the decor department. Adding, taking away, repurposing…you never know what’s going to change when you come over next. It’s a creative release that carries over from my novel-writing. Most of the time I like the change, and sometimes it takes me a while to figure out exactly what else is needed to finish it off to my liking. Take this bookshelf and amoire that I turned into additional kitchen storage. While I love the way the bookshelf turned out, I’m not so happy with the storage cabinet and will probably tweak it a little more once my tendonitis stops flaring up.

This is what I started with, at one time it was an oak bookshelf that I painted black and then changed it again.

Nothing too fancy about it, but I still liked the lines of it.

And here we have our basic amoire/storage cabinet that I changed up the doors on so I could have more interior storage. They used to slide inside the cabinet, but that didn’t work for me.

It too once had an oak finish that I painted black and decided it needed a color overhaul.

Huge difference with the chalk paint color, it now stands out instead of blending into the background with all the other dark colors.

And the bookshelves? I’m really loving them again.

I added an additional finish to this chalk paint project by using dark wax, and it turned out great.

And you see that lovely little graphic addition to the top shelf?

I think it adds to the details of it and gives it the vintage look that I was going for…and the bonus? I printed it from The Graphics Fairy’s website! And the overall cost of this project? Under $20!

Now while the storage cabinet looks fine in the living room, I’m thinking of adding the same dark wax finish over the chalk paint, along with a vintage graphic…as soon as my arm decides to cooperate.

Creating an Inviting Entry on a Budget

So we all have seen the front entrance that looks grand and we oh and ah over it wishing we could create that same look…and then we have that rear entry that needs a little help because we want it to be inviting too not to mention a tight budget. Well lucky you! I’m going to show you both a cute front entrance and rear at different houses using the same method, but a little differently and all for under $20!

Let’s start with my Wanna Be Remodel from 2014. It was a rental we’d owned for a long time and needed some serious work–more than just an update. So before we sold it we overhauled the entire house, and me being me, I wanted to leave my own special touch for the new owners, and that came in the way of a cute and inviting entry for this lovely little ranch.

Here’s what I started with, your basic plain boring hallway. It was on the dark side too since the door didn’t have a window.

The overall process was pretty easy and cheap, like in it only costing around $20 for the materials. Now keep in mind I already had the paint, nails etc. I started off with a pile of lumber, pine or common wood and furring strips.

I cut to length and tacked them up using a nail gun, and level. I did not glue. Why? Because I wanted it to be easy for the new owner to change things out later down the road if they wanted to. Nothing like having drywall come off with the boards and being frustrated, believe me I know that feeling.

I know you’re probably noticing that I used the furring strips all the way down and cut my baseboards to fit it. There’s no special reason for me doing this then it’s what I wanted since the two surfaces would have had different thicknesses. I wanted it to be somewhat smooth, and this was the way I could achieve it.

Again adding my own special touch to the project, I purchased the precut letters from Hobby Lobby and painted them black. Cute right? I then caulked and finished painting out the wall in a white gloss, and stood back to enjoy the view. Warm, inviting, and I left them with a good start to add hooks or a bench.

I’d come in if they offered.

Since I did this at the Wanna be Remodel and liked it so much, I decided to add this same theme to my back entry.

This time, I chose not to paint it all, just the furring strips and top modelings. I also added hooks and this has become a well-used stop to hang coats, purses, backpacks and whatever else needs to be hung!

I only added the batten board look to the one wall because I have a hall bath on the opposite side with a pocket door. I thought it best not to nail the pocket door in place as it might make it a little embarrassing when guests were over and wanted to use the toilet. Smart choice I think. 😛

Staining Laminate – Yes, it can be done!

So about 2 years ago I felt a little ambitious and decided to take on my office cabinets, the orange-ish color laminate that wasn’t offensive, but just wasn’t my style or taste. I’d painted laminate in the past and had what I’d call so-so results. Yes, they look great right after I’d done them, but the results never lasted. What do I mean when I say the results never lasted? Always, every single time they’d end up peeling later down the road. User error? Possibly, but not likely. I know some have had success, but not me.

I decided to try something a little different by using a gel stain on the laminate and boy was I surprised at the results…2 years later!

You see the date on the calendar? October 2014, that’s when I first took on the project, and yes it took a while to finish up the office because I had a big load on my plate at the time. Here’s the pic from just the other day, January 2016, and the cabinets have held up great!

Since the office was on the project list for 2016, yes I make project lists, I decided it was as good a time to finally finish it up. You’re going to be amazed at the difference a little Java gel stain can accomplish.

Before; your basic stock laminate cabinets with an orangish color to them. They weren’t awful, I did live with them for many years like this and was content until the idea of mixing it up came to the forefront.

It was pretty easy too, no real prep work other than making sure they were clean. One thick coat and they were done. Yup, that easy.

I’d highly recommend using gloves when working with this gel stain. It’s sticky, and the only way to get it off your skin is by using paint thinner or nail polish remover. I just bought a large box at Costco because I tend to go through them fast.

My favorite gel stain is the General Finishes brand. They’ve got great colors to choose from and a quart will go a long way. I probably used about half a can with this project, but that’s because I brushed it on thick. How you use it will vary on how much you need. You can purchase it from Amazon (yes, this is an affiliate link), but I found it cheaper locally at a wood working store.

I put it on like paint, and with a light touch. I found working with laminate if I over brushed it the orange color would show through, and I didn’t want that. So light easy strokes is the best method, and even though this technically doesn’t have a true grain, you can create one by making sure your brush strokes are all in the same direction.

I also found that when working with glass on the doors, it was okay to get a little stain on the glass. I later went back and used a razor to scrape it off.

While the doors and shelves were drying, I stained out the wall cabinets.

I even restained the dry erase board to match the cabinets as well.

Turned out pretty nice I’d say. It gives the office a nice rich feel that makes me want to be productive while I spend 8+ hours a day in there writing.

This bench was done 2 years ago using a slightly different method. I did more of a dry brushing to give it a grained look like real wood.

Looks like real wood, doesn’t it?

And here it is 2 years later…a little dirty, but holding up strong.

One note, it takes about 5-10 days for the gel to fully cure. What I mean by that is once it’s not tacky, you can put things back together, but take care that you don’t scratch the finish. You can retouch, and once it’s fully cured you shouldn’t have any issues unless of course you accidently scrape it with something sharp, just like any other wood product.

Well, I’m off to be productive in my newly revamped office space. Wish me luck!

Toodles!

A Year in Review

Another year has come and gone, and with that passing, it’s fun to sit back and remember all the creativity that came to life. A year with ups and downs, and a year with loads of memories. So click the pictures and scroll through my year in review.