All posts tagged: diy

Home :: Remedies

I’ve had the most productive sick day. And I don’t mean productive like most days, running around with errands and emails and checkups and deadlines. I mean, productively and proactively working with my body to fight the virus. It felt so good to stop everything and focus on my body’s needs, and I admit I was quite proud of myself for researching home remedies and concocting what I needed.  Saturday morning I hit the road with the Little Person to visit some good friends of ours with the intention of attending my other friend’s surprise 30th birthday party. But on the way there I felt a head cold coming on, which I tried my best to hope & pray away. It didn’t work. By that evening, I had to ask my friends for a decongestant and put myself to bed by 8pm. The next morning I packed up and headed back home. TLP was immune to my illness and delighted to have older kids dote on her and play dollhouse.  I arrived home groggy but …

DIY: Autumn Homemade

So Autumn is here and as my engineer astronomy-enthusiast father likes to remind me with the change of season, “The Autumnal Equinox will take place and then it will be officially Autumn. I will be happy to announce it to you the day it happens.” Thank you, Dad, for always staying in synch with the forces of nature, as it were. I am sort of “in touch” myself here on the other side of the mountain.

DIY: Plywood Painting

Two years ago when we were planning our wedding, I really wanted to have a personal painting displayed for our guests to sign. My original intent was to paint this design. Alas, I ran out of time due to my bridal haze and due to investing more energy in preparing our new abode. But, several months later, the plywood board that I swiped at Lowes for $6 became the inspiration for another abode project. While staring at the wood square and trying to imagine other possible potentials, I noticed that the grains and shades formed a picture. My imagination is quite vivid, and it seems in my dreams that I am drawn to places. I am always drawn to calm, serene places. What I envisioned in the wood was the sunset over the ocean… I started messing around with acrylics and water to create a stain wash. I didn’t sand or prime this plywood piece; I just wiped and pressed the stain onto the raw wood grain, which required several coats. Great ideas come to …

DIY: Nature's Scraps

Project reveal! I mentioned the other day in this post that I’d finally completed one of my little crafty endeavors… It’s a winter wreath made up of “nature’s scraps”: I picked a bunch of pine branches from the backyard; stuck in craft feathers; wrapped the center in floral tape (left over from my wedding); and used craft wire to secure it. Since I already had most of the supplies, I think the total cost was $5. Voila!