build a backyard tiki bar in a sandbox!

you guys, i discovered that my kids actually listen to me!

i mentioned to two of my daughters that i was sad that i couldn't go to the beach (thank you, Covid19).

and do you know what they did? they sent me a backyard sandbox!

"now you can get your toes in the sand, Mom!" 

little did my darlings know that they were kicking off my first project of the summer...

one that caused us to re-think EVERYthing about our backyard.

because.... if you can't go TO Hawai'i, then bring Hawai'i to YOU!

 i recently shared my salvaged wood potting bench in this post. i built that last summer, 

then took it down and put all of the elements in other places.

well...... as the plan for the sandbox unfolded, i pulled all of it out again.

because you know me, i love to just keep making one thing into another....

continue reading to see how a sandbox and a potting bench became a TIKI BAR!

junk makeover: beachy wood signs

many many many vacations have been cancelled or rescheduled this year,

by many many disappointed people. myself included.

there were no planned excursions to Hawai'i this year for us,

but because it is a place that my Mom and Dad loved, and now i love,
it has a special place in our hearts. even if we can't GET there.

here's my take on that: if you can't go to the islands, then bring the islands to YOU!

and that's exactly what my Mom and i have been working on in our backyard.

continue reading to see just one of the recent projects we've undertaken
to add some tropical charm to our 'staycation location'...

updating old school clipboards

say 'clipboard' and everyone pictures part of a computer function.

in my office, it refers to the Old School style ACTUAL clipboards.

sure, i use digital photography, social media, web platforms, and digital files.

but in the course of blogging and designing spaces for retailers & show vendors,

i also use a lot of hand-drawn sketches, doodled/scribbled ideas, and notes.

a LOT of doodles and notes. and they pile up.

for years, i've used shallow wire baskets to corral the paper landslide. 

(another old school organization method) but it always looks messy.

 while cleaning, i spied several old wood clipboards that my Dad had used in his warehouse...

and an idea began percolating:

make these look good, and they'd sure come in handy for holding file folders.

and y'know, they really do! i use them every day now.

continue reading to see how fast this project was...

salvaged junk potting bench

spring and summer bring out my green thumb,

and having a potting bench to plant, replant, and putter around on is a necessity.

me being me, though, i'm not about to spend money on one!

i'd rather create something that is 'one of a kind' that no one else has,

re-using the junk and salvaged stuff that's already around the house...

so when i spied an unused plywood table extension in the garage, 

my mind saw it as a component of a potting bench for our backyard.

so last year, i got to work on it - and because i wasn't blogging then, i never shared it here.

with gardens on everyone's mind right now, i thought it was time to remedy that!

continue reading to see what ELSE i dragged out there to build this useful diy piece...

free weekend may-keover!

if this 'stay at home' order has done one thing, 

it has made many of us start looking more closely at the rooms we live our lives in. right?.

and that can reveal things that we tend to overlook...

like rooms that are looking a bit sad, and need some help.

now, you know me - i'm not gonna' spend money if i don't have to.

and i don't consider home decorating an 'essential' reason to head to the store right now.

so.... i shopped the house and pulled together stuff we have here already

and gave one of our rooms a simple makeover. FREE. in a weekend.
one day to paint two items, another day to swap out accessories and linens. easy-peasy. 

continue reading to see the details!

painting books... again!

this post wasn't planned and i am not on a book-painting bender.
(just in case you are concerned about where my creativity is taking me these days!)
but when the muse strikes, i try to comply...

i'm sending this book to my little sister (it's ok, she doesn't read my blog ;) )

and while the content of the book is encouraging, uplifting, and faith-building,

i didn't like the look of the dust jacket cover. so i took it off.

the plain white cover and dark burgundy binding weren't pretty, either.
not the mood i was going for.

so i decided to send my sister flowers... painted flowers... painted ON the book! 

continue reading for more of this creative MAYkeover... 

painted books?!

oh, yeah, you read that post title right... PAINTED books!

now, before the book-loving librarians, historians, and antiquarians

start ranting at me - lemme' 'splain:

i bought these six large encyclopedias from a thrift store

for ten cents each. three years ago.

miscellaneous volumes circa 1950, with covers that were yellowed, aged, cracked leather.

perfect for the store display i was using them as props in!

but since then, they've languished in a box in the garage. just gettin' older.

my decision was to either recycle them - seriously, the library does NOT want them donated - 

or do something creative with them to make them useful again.

so i turned to my trusty friend, Paint.
turns out a MAYkeover was exactly what they needed! 

continue reading to see where they live now...

colorful office makeover

i thought i'd start off the month with a #MAYkeover story!

a week ago, i undertook a massive purge / cleaning/ reorganization of my studio/office.

while it has needed a deep clean for over six months just to get rid of things i don't use anymore,
the truth is that this project was the result of color overload...

before we talk about how my creative space ended up having a BAD effect on me,

we need to go back a bit... to my 'neutral phase'....

if you've read my posts about office organization,

you've seen my neutral-tone studio that i created in my farmhouse on an island.

i loved that peaceful, serene room that allowed me to focus on my work,

and for over a decade now, i've embraced neutrals as the basis of my home decor.

sure, i sometimes add a small 'pop' of color each season to the porch or other rooms -

but i've kept my creative workspace neutral. it worked in the past, so i stuck with it.

until i realized something about myself...

continue reading for the story of how i got from there, to here, and what happened in between!