Knockoff // DIY Glass Bottle Lamp

I've been such a procrastinator lately.  I've had all the supplies to make this lamp but just haven't gotten around to it.  And it's another one of those 30 second projects, like The World's EASIEST DIY Laundry Bag, that had me wondering why I had put it off so long.

I was inspired by these gorgeous Eva Colored Glass Table Lamps {$99} from Pottery Barn.

Not Your Ordinary Show & Tell Link Party

It's Monday! Which means it's time for the...

Not Your Ordinary Show & Tell Link Party

I'm so excited to be co-hosting this party with the wonderful Melissa from The Life of a Not So Ordinary Wife along with Jess @ Living on Sweet Tea and Melissa @ There's No Place Like Home.  Be sure to jump on over and check out each of these ladies' blogs. And if you're visiting mine I'd sure appreciate you becoming a follower!

Let's check out those featured projects!

My FAVORITE link up from last week was...

Refreshed Adirondack Chairs from Alderberry Hill.  I am a total sucker for adirondacks.  It's such a smart idea to paint two non-matching chairs the same color and did you see the stained & stenciled chairs that she linked to in her post?  OMG - love!

Melissa's FAVORITE link up from last week was...

LIGHTEN UP from The Consigner Designer. Didn't she do an AMAZING JOB? LOVE it!!

And Jess' FAVORITE link up from last week was....

None other than my very own Octopus Triptych.  Thanks, Jess!

And now onto the party!

The rules for linking up to this party are SIMPLE:

1. Follow your hosts below.

The Host:

Melissa @ The Life of a Not So Ordinary Wife

Co-Hosts: 

Me!  {Meg @ Revamp Homegoods}

Jess @ Living on Sweet Tea

Melissa @ There's No Place Like Home

2. Link up ANY blog post that you would like to Show & Tell. From crafts, diy projects, recipes, ANYTHING! 

3. Have Fun and Visit some of the other Link Ups :)

You can also grab a lovely button and help us spread the word!

<a href="http://www.thelifeofanotsoordinarywife.com/search/label/Show%20and%20Tell"> <img src="http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z237/melissaenault/linkpartybutton.gif" height=180 width=180 border="0" /></a>

If you would like to help Melissa co-host "Not Your Ordinary Show & Tell Link Party" next week, she'd love to have you! Email her at melissaenault@yahoo.com.

DIY // A Budget-Friendly and Quick Bathroom Makeover

I'm in a "lots of jobs started and not a single one finished" rut.  I'm still in the process of painting the accent wall {if you've liked me on Facebook then you've already seen some work in progress photos and if not, you'll just have to wait to see the big reveal}, which means the open shelving and trim have to wait and the hubs is still working on mounting the microwave and putting up the window trim since the nice weather has allowed him to work on the foundation beam and mudroom flooring.  With all these left-undone projects hanging over our head, I've been getting a little ants-in-my-pants anxious about getting something done.

The kitchen was out of the question.  I mean, I could have worked on the accent wall some more but I just couldn't bring myself to wrap my now-arthritic fingers around that damn paintbrush and paint the same form over and over.  A quick project was in order.  One that would go from Before to After in a matter of hours and not get stuck in that awful During trap.  The bathroom was the perfect small space where, with a few quick changes, I could transform it from Blah to Ahh...in under an hour.

The World's EASIEST DIY Laundry Bag

Have you ever wanted to make something but don't really want to put in the time that it usually takes a project to get completed?  Well, do this.  It's practical, cute and INCREDIBLY EASY!  All the hard work is already done for you and all you have to do is pick out a cute pillowcase and some corresponding ribbon.

I first stumbled upon this on Better Homes & Gardens.  I saw it, loved it and pinned it.  Then it sat on my board, nearly forgotten, until I was choosing a project for the Pinterest Challenge: Winter Edition but the Tin Can Man won out, so still it sat, uncompleted.

DIY // Homemade All-Natural Laundry Detergent

Our house is going au-naturel!  And no, that doesn't mean we'll be sitting around in our birthday suits (you're welcome.)  Along with eating more vegetables, I want to get as many harmful chemicals out of our house which means replacing all cleaning products with homemade all-natural versions. My first attempt at homemade cleaning products was laundry detergent.  We used to use Kirkland's (Costco) eco-friendly liquid detergent and when the giant bottle finally ran out we replaced it with an all-natural powdered detergent.

Here's how I made my own super inexpensive and HE safe (very low suds) homemade all-natural laundry detergent.

Supplies (these were found in our chain grocery store's laundry aisle):

Thrifting // Secondhand Scores!

Another successful trip to Goodwill in the bag...check out my finds.

3 yards of fabric

DIY // How To Paint Kitchen Cabinets White Update

With the cabinets in place we were on to the next step..."Painting the cabinets white, we're painting the cabinets white..." The Queen of Hearts would not be pleased with our cabinet transformation, but we sure are!  Simply changing the color and height of the cabinets (in addition to our changes with our windows & walls) has transformed our kitchen from a heavy and dark place we didn't want to spend much time in, to my favorite room in the house.  I love its bright and airy feel.  I can only imagine how amazing and open it will be when we finally have the walls taken down between the nook/mudroom/kitchen.  I'm never going to want to leave.

Now let's take a look at our Before photo with the addition of the stainless appliances.

DIY // A Spring Ready Yard Makeover

The weather the past few days has been pretty dang nice, which means that it wasn't raining...finally!  I swear, this year we've had the most rain in history.  That spells overly exhausted for this SAD sufferer.  Luckily, I was able to boost my mood and our curb appeal at the same time.

It wasn't much but I picked up two evergreen azaleas and three anemones at Costco yesterday.  Then we cleaned up the yard and dug out two flower beds, one around our pine tree and one around our oak-ish tree (still not sure what it is.  It might be a cherry? or dogwood?  I really have no freaking idea.)  I chose to plant all five of the plants under the pine since I wouldn't have to deal with any surface roots.  I also took the two creeping myrtles that I had planted in pots last year and re-planted them under the pine tree, as well as 4 dahlia bulbs.  I still need to add a few plants, but with the addition of the brick border (the bricks are from a patio we removed) this little flower bed is looking pretty damn good.

So, here's our before...

The pine tree is in the background.  The cherry(?) is in the foreground.

Knockoff: DIY Lord Bodner's Octopus Triptych

I about died when I first saw the Lord Bodner Octopus Triptych while I was feeding my brain...err, I mean, while watching Giuliana & Bill.  The original is a copperplate engraving by Lord Bodner and was published in 1826 in London as part of a series studying creatures of the deep.  You can purchase the framed triptych version from Natural Curiosities for $3550, a framed print from Outer Banks Trading Group for $1590 or there's another original artwork created by Julie Canale for $3550 that's just as swoon worthy as the Bodner triptych.  So, feel free to fork over your hard earned cash, but might I ask why, when you can make a smaller scaled version for pennies on the dollar?

Supplies:

DIY // Paint. The Choice That Never Ends

We're taking a little break from the kitchen redo.  We still have the cabinets to paint and all the trim to do, but we're tuckered out.  So we're moving on to something that still allows me to be a slug on the couch.  That's right, we're back to talking paint.

We've finally decided on a paint color and hopefully I don't have any color-remorse like I did for the interior paint...(although I am totally digging the taupe color, so maybe it wasn't so bad after all!  We're going with Behr (because that's what we have available in this rural community) and we've chosen Silver Hill for the body of the house.  We tested it outside in the natural light and it's the perfect blue/gray color we were looking for.  We've also chosen Behr's Flaming Torch for the door, which will give us that pop of color we were wanting.

Exterior House Paint - Behr Silver Hill

Door Color

We're still trying to figure out the complementary colors.  I did track down this on Behr's website which seems promising, but where would we use the colors?  Trim, porch, shutters...?

Or should we go with one darker hue for an accent, like black or these amazing charcoal colors from Behr?

Behr's "Sled"

Behr's "Deep Space"

I really struggle with choosing colors - one color is easy, but combinations...that's a tough one. So, feel free to share your suggestions and since I'm a visual type of person, pictures are ALWAYS encouraged!