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Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Projects I’d Love the Nerve to Tackle

Maybe I should have titled this “projects I’d love to attempt but don’t have the nerve”. I think with a little help, encouragement, and guidance from some experts I can tackle most of these.

Centsational Girl made these adorable Crate & Barrel like poinsetta pillows for Christmas. I know it’s mid-January, but it’s never to early to start making them now for Christmas presents in December – right?

I think I’ll need my mom’s help with this one given she’s the quilting and sewing guru of the family. Interested in attempting this project – here’s the details.

familyroomcloseup_thumb redpoinsettiafinal_thumb

A Soft Place to Land created the coolest Board and Batten treatment to the walls in their living room. I would love to have the guts to try something like this in our basement family room to give it some architectural detail it’s lacking.

Curious how to create this on your walls, the cost, and the amount of time? Click here for details.

board batten family room

Elizabeth Kartchner from Just Us created these super cool embellished tees using old tee-shirts and some fabric scraps. She shared her how-to’s on a local TV station and I’m really eager to try this one out. She even used a scrapbooking tool, Sissix, to cut the flowers out of fabric.

liz shirt

Susie over at Susie Harris’s blog created these DIY flower pillows on the cheap. Again I’d love to tackle this but I need a sewing machine and a little guidance from my mom too. Are you starting to see a theme? I love pillows, fabric flowers, and projects that are easy.

flower 007 

My new favorite DIY blog is Knock Off Wood and a special shout-out to Sherry at Young House Love for sharing this blog with all of us. Ana at Knock Off Wood has me thinking that I really can build furniture for the cost of peanuts that are sold at Pottery Barn, Crate & Barrel, and West Elm. I am determined to make this coffee table when the weather warms up a bit. Intrigued by the idea of making your own coffee table – step by step drawings and instructions are here along with some testimonials from people who have built this in 2 hours and under $50 – yes that’s not a typo.

There are tons of detailed plans on how to build anything from a square dining room table, nightstands, beds, or entertainment centers. She creates plans that are easy to follow and people are always sending in pictures of their creations along with some tid-bit’s of advice that would be helpful to anyone else looking to build the same thing.

Honey, if you are reading this, will you help me make this coffee table pretty please? I promise not to yell or get bad if you make a few mistakes along the way – promise! I’ll even buy extra wood in case of any boo-boo’s.

BethHydeCoffeeTable1

Are there any projects that you want to tackle but are scared to use a jigsaw, table saw, or sewing machine? Did you end up with all of your fingers afterwards and a pretty cool project? Do share. I’m looking for the confidence I need to venture into unchartered waters.

3 comments:

Miquel said...

Love the Knock on Wood blog! I am putting Chad to work ASAP! Thanks for sharing!

Brooke said...

If anyone could do it, YOU COULD :) You are sooo crafty - I am certain you could do any one of those :) My MIL just handed down a sewing machine to me but I have only used it so far for scrapping - HA HA!!!

PS- Buy enough wood for Dave to make us one of those coffee tables also
:) j/k!

Fryer Family said...

I don't know how I missed this post! Maybe next time you are home your mom can give us a group sewing lesson:)