However it has been fun and rewarding as well. I’ve completely redone my walls, my floors, light fixtures, and I’m about ready to do faucets in the kitchen and bathroom. Working on remodeling my home has inspired me to give some old furniture a facelift, and upcycle it into something totally brand new. Those projects are my absolute favorite. Because it is my own creation, custom, and fits right into my home decor. 

I had this ugly old nightstand, that is probably as old as I am, no joke. I grew up with it in my home as a kid and it has followed me since. It was one of those things that as I was doing my remodel, I had decided to get rid of. My husband didn’t want me to. 

We agreed to keep it for 30 days and if neither of us could find a place for it or a use, it was going away. Side note, this is an excellent habit to get into when you aren’t sure what to do with something, or you want to get rid of it and your spouse doesn’t. Give yourself a month to either find a place and a purpose for something, or it’s time to say goodbye. This helps de-clutter a home pretty easily. 

The nightstand sat in my way and annoyed me for a good two weeks. Then as I was puttering on Facebook, I found my inspiration. It was a pet bed made out of an old dresser. It was meant for a dog, so it was much taller and far more open than what mine would be, but that was fine. I had an idea that I could run with! 

I don’t know about any other cats, but Tigger loves to hang out in my dresser drawers or go hide in the empty space if I pull one out. He’s always trying to get in them if they are open. I did a cleanout of an entire dresser recently, and I kept finding him inside, just hanging out or taking a quick nap, like that was suddenly his space and I had cleaned it out just for him to take over. Since he loves drawers, I figured this would be the perfect project to create a space for him to enjoy whenever he wanted. 

I sat down one night with a screwdriver, a pry bar, and a handsaw and I went to work on this old nightstand and tore it apart. After I took the two drawers out of it, I quite honestly had no real idea if this was something that would work or not, or if I needed bigger tools, or what would happen. I half expected it to just fall apart on me the minute I took the first of two drawers out. Nope, it was still sturdy. Ugly, but sturdy. 

So I kept going. I took the drawers out, and removed the support beam in the middle, where the top drawer sat. Tore out all of the support beams and then made sure the bottom drawer would go back in. It fit beautifully. I was beyond excited! I took apart my first piece of furniture! Score one for me. 

From there, I had to paint it. I had to sand it a bit first, then apply several coats of primer. It has been wet at one point, and it is made of press board. This caused it to puff up in a couple places and needed some help. From there, I put a little joint compound (that stuff is gold, I’m here to tell you!) in one place where the side had torn out when I removed the support beams and it was funky-looking. I needed to fill in the gap and make it look good. The primer was soaked right up by the press board, and that is why I applied several coats. I knew it would do that.

Primer is cheaper than paint, so I was happy to use more primer than paint. Plus when using primer before paint, the paint lays down with a nicer, more even coating. This gives a more finished look. 

Once I had it painted, I put the bottom drawer back in. Followed by the handle, and I was done! I’ve been looking at other ways to decorate and add to it, like a painted “T” somewhere on it. This would personalize it for my little munchkin. I’ve thought about adding some LED lighting in it, maybe a motion-sensored one. The last thing I needed to do was make a blanket for my little guy. 

Now, my cat is spoiled. I will admit that my husband and I spoil that cat rotten. Tigger loves, and I mean loves my blanket that I use on the couch. He’s always trying to steal it when I get up to run to the kitchen or bathroom. I come back and he’s sitting on it. 

Tigger literally waits for me to get up, just so he can try to take my blanket. I find this amusing given he’s a male cat and the blanket is bright pink. He isn’t a fan of the one I made for my husband, it is always mine he wants. 

When I was deciding to make this nightstand into a bed for him, I knew he needed a blanket. This would make it more comfortable for him. I went to the fabric store and painstakingly picked out the fabric for him. Making sure it was exactly the same as mine, simply in a different color.

I cut it to fit, along with a layer of batting and sewed it all together, turned it right side out and was done. Boom. Cat has a blanket he can call his own. I know I sound like a crazy cat lady, and that’s ok. 

When I decided where to put this nightstand turned cat bed, I went looking for a place that would suit him, as well as be out of my way. I picked a spot under a window, so he could sit on top of it as well as inside, if he wanted to and either look out or just take a nap. He has choices. 

I also painted it the same accent color I’ve used around my house, that way it fits right in with the decor, and it is now a functional piece of furniture, as well as aesthetically pleasing for me. I fell in love with this project because it was fun. Seriously fun for me. 

I took something incredibly old and falling apart, and turned it into something completely different, made it functional, and fit into my house far better than it ever did as a simple nightstand. It is easily my favorite upcycle project so far. 

Have you done any up-cycle projects like this? If so, tell me about it in the comments!

I had my Christmas cards almost all filled out by Black Friday. I was pretty proud of myself on being ahead of schedule this year in my project. Well, then as many of my projects do, it turned into something bigger. I start out with simple intentions, and then it grows. I don’t know how it happens, but it always happens this way. My husband smiles and nods quite a bit in these instances.

My neighbor was over the other day, and she was telling me about a bunch of Christmas stamps she had found. My first thought was, I wonder what that would do for my Christmas cards to decorate the envelopes? Because quite honestly, envelopes are boring. The front is where you address them, maybe adding a fun postage stamp to them, but the back is plain. There is no customization to it, and the Post Office doesn’t use the back for anything either. I asked her what she thought of it, being my original thought was one simple stamp where the envelope seals. Like an old school seal on an envelope kind of idea. This would be where the idea grew and became dangerous for me. Lol. Because she brought the stamps over, and I suddenly had what seemed like a million choices.

My Christmas decorating theme has always been snowmen. I love everything about them and that is always the direction I’m attracted to. In this case, it was no different. I picked out two stamps I really liked and found a small one as well with a single snowflake. Once I knew what I liked, I tried it out on a notepad to see what it would look like, and kind of designed it out from there. I had honestly never really used stamps up until this point, so I was expecting it to be a total disaster and look terrible. That is also why I tried it out on a blank surface first to see what it would even look like.

I came up with the snowman family on the top. I fell in love with the details, their faces, their noses being slightly different shapes, and the scarves they were wearing. It was adorable to me. I also picked out a second one, of just a single snowman and some details around him, like snow and his broom. This became the top and bottom for the cards, and then I decorated each corner with a single snowflake stamp, to really complete the snowman themed cards and bring it all together. It really does look like it was an entire scene created by some professional who actually knew what they were doing. Instead it was created by a somewhat artistic person who is more clumsy than anything else.

Which being a bit clumsy, and I would never really call myself creative in this instance, can be brilliant at times. You know the moments of accidental genius? That is exactly what I call this. It is perfect, and really easy to do. I managed to stamp and finish 142 cards in about an hour, using three stamps and an ink pad.

What I love so much about this project is not only the fact it was accidentally genius, it was simple and pretty quick. But the outcome is amazing, and it is something people will not forget when they see and open my Christmas cards.

You can also customize your own cards to be anything you want. The back of a card envelope is boring, and just a perfect blank canvas. We have to turn envelopes over to open them, why not give something cute or fun to see before they open the card? This is a fairly large area of empty space, making it the perfect place to add in something fun and memorable. This makes it memorable, in my opinion as well.

This really got me thinking about other holidays, or even birthdays. I am making it a point to start sending out birthday cards in the upcoming year, and really reaching out to those I care about in the form of cards and not just a fun graphic on social media. Because I feel like cards have a more personal touch to them, and are far more memorable. Maybe I am becoming more old fashioned as I get a bit older, but I’ve decided to embrace that and enjoy it. I feel like I need to go visit a craft store and find some lovely stamps to start a collection for this, and a good birthday one as well since I am making it a point to send out cards more often now.

Stamping envelopes when I send out cards could easily become my signature thing. I can see it, because I had such fun doing it with the Christmas cards. Don’t be afraid to give it a try! I think you will enjoy it as much as I did, and add those perfect personal touches to holiday cards. Did you or are you planning on doing anything special with your Christmas cards? Tell me about it in the comments!

He loves to spoil me and it is so sweet. But I wanted to do something bigger and better besides that. Don’t get me wrong, I love it when he spoils me, but I also wanted to find something for our home to celebrate it. As I’ve said before, we’ve been slowly remodeling our home over the last couple of years, and I’m decorating. Which is where this inspiration came from. This anniversary sign is such a perfect addition to our home!

I happened to putter on Instagram not too long ago and I saw the cutest sign someone had made for their home. It was two puppies kissing with a heart above their heads, and the couple’s initials underneath, with the words, “est. 2016” and I thought it was amazing.

Now the medium this person used is not something that I am familiar with. She used string and nails to put all of this together, which is pretty impressive, if you ask me. But, I’d have to practice a lot before even trying something like that. But, the inspiration for what I created was there. The best part of this is the fact it was not an expensive project. Between buying the materials I needed and using some I already had at home, I spent $26.

Given that it was inexpensive and easy to make, it would make a great gift for someone as well. I love handmade gifts, that someone put their own time and effort into creating especially for me. It is a very special thing, in my opinion. That is what makes this an excellent project for that too. I am debating making something similar for others soon.

I picked up everything I needed at Hobby Lobby, which is part of what made it so inexpensive. Side note here, if you download their app, it gives you a 40% off coupon to use any time. It gives an expiration date every time, but it’s always there. I’ve never gone in without using it. I picked up the wooden board that I used as the sign, the lettering, and glue for it. The paint I used I had at home already, and that was perfect because I was able to use the exact paint I’m currently using on my walls. Bonus that I was able to make it fit into my home decor perfectly!

I started with painting everything. I recommend a bunch of newspapers being put down on whatever surface you are painting this on because I made a bit of a mess, plus the glue leaked out of the container too. Luckily, the newspaper saved the day. It is my best friend when I am doing any craft project. Thankfully I keep a small stack of them on hand at all times. I used 2 coats on everything.

The lettering is obnoxious simply because it is time consuming to paint. I am a bit messy when it comes to painting and I ended up with a bunch on the back of the letters as I was trying to paint the edges. I would probably use a small brush the next time. Think almost like an eye shadow sized brush. In fact, the slanted one I have for that would’ve been the perfect size and shape. But, I didn’t do that. I simply painted everything with a 1 inch regular paint brush.

Once painting was done and dry, I started to arrange the letters and hearts. One of the things I absolutely love about this project is the fact the wooden sign board that I picked has borders around it and are raised. The beauty of this is the fact I could simply put the letters in each corner. There was no attempting to adjust or taking them off and putting them back on because they were crooked.

It was almost like having tracing lines on a piece of paper. Or a paint by number grid. This added to the ease of this project. The big letter R and the numbers were the only thing I had to worry about being perfect. Everything else was easy because it was in the corners. The numbers on the bottom I lined up before gluing them down, and then started in the middle and worked my way out. That way if I bumped one, it didn’t throw off the entire project.

One of the joys of buying things at Hobby Lobby is the fact it is inexpensive. However there is some sacrificing of the quality when you are buying here. In some cases, this can be a problem. In other cases, I can work with it. Luckily in my case here, I could work with it.

The “R” I bought did not sit flat on the board unless I was using both hands to hold it down at all times. Because I don’t have the hands or the time to babysit that to let it dry and dry correctly, I ended up having to weigh it down pretty significantly. Luckily this was easy for me to do, and I left it there for 48 hours. The more weight I could keep on it, the happier I was. I sent my husband a picture of what I had to do (I’m posting it here as well) and I had to kind of laugh at how creative I had to be just to weigh it all down.

Another thing I noticed is that the glue I used completely reeked. It smelled up the entire house, and I had to turn on fans in the kitchen and bathroom to take out the smell. This didn’t affect me, like no headaches or anything like that. It simply didn’t smell pleasant and it was a very strong smell. Which is why I recommend doing this in a well ventilated area. Because otherwise you’ll be smelling glue for a couple of hours.

This was such an amazing project for me to do because it holds a very special value to Nathan and me. This is the perfect way to help celebrate ten years together. I had a lot of fun doing it too. Nathan grumbled at the idea of traipsing around Hobby Lobby with me, but he still went along. Once I explained what I wanted to do, he actually got involved by helping me pick everything out. That for me is so worth it, when he gets excited and wants to be involved in a project with me.