Re-purpose & Refinish Archives

{fireplace makeover using airstone: before & after}

May
24

This post was sponsored by AirStone. All opinions are 100% mine and mine alone. Please see full disclosure below. ----- When we bought our house the end of last summer, I knew right away that I wanted to re-do our fireplace. I did not like the small tiles--they just weren't my style at all.. However, it's awfully hard to justify spending money to change something in a brand new house, and I wasn't sure when we would be able to do it. So...when I was given the opportunity to try a new product called AirStone, I JUMPED at the chance. The results are amazing...I LOVE LOVE how it turned out!! What is AirStone?AirStone is an innovative, ultra-light product … [Read more...]

Filed Under: For the Home, Re-purpose & Refinish | 6 Comments

Pin It

{chalkboard & fence post family home evening board}

Apr
17

Family Home Evening Board | simplykierste.com

Every Monday night is a special one at our house...it's Family Night, or Family Home Evening as we like to call it. We put everything on hold, and don't put anything else on the schedule. Everyone stays home, and we enjoy some really fun and quality time together as a family. We do have a structure, not only to stay organized, but to also give each member of the family an opportunity to contribute. We sing songs, have a simple gospel lesson from the scriptures, pray, eat treats, play games, have a talent show (you should see some of the crazy talents my kids have, lol!), and do some kind of activity--whether it's playing games, going on a walk, bike ride, or to the park, bowling, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: All Crafts, Crafts, For the Home, Home & Family, Organization, Re-purpose & Refinish, Silhouette | 7 Comments

Pin It

{DIY shutters clipboard & monogrammed clothespins}

Feb
18

We have lived in this house for a little more than 6 months, and I FINALLY put something up on my girls' wall! When we found out we were expecting this baby, it put all of my decorating on hold, as we tried to decide where kids would go, and if rooms or bedrooms would be switched around. I didn't want to do anything to any room, until I knew it was staying put! Just this past week we made final decisions, and I was able to start with some darling shutters that I refinished, and turned into a clipboard for my girls' bedroom wall. It turned out to be the perfect thing for that wall, and they are so excited to be able to clip up their favorite pictures and artwork. I … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Crafts, DIY Decor, For the Home, Re-purpose & Refinish, Silhouette | 14 Comments

Pin It

{simple decorated clothespins}

Jan
02

Decorated clothespins aren't anything new--I've been making them for a long time, and actually first posted about them several years ago. However, my obsession with them hasn't changed much at all, and I love how they can transform an ordinary clothespin into the perfect accessory for magnet boards, clipboards, and more. I've used several different methods to cover them, including fabric, paper, paint and stamps. I'm going to share a method I tried this week--the easiest yet! It literally takes less than 1 minute to cover a clothespin! LOVE that! I'm all about things that are simple, don't take a lot of time, but make a huge difference. What makes these so easy? I used … [Read more...]

Filed Under: All Crafts, Crafts, DIY Decor, For the Home, Gift Ideas, Organization, Re-purpose & Refinish, Teachers | 9 Comments

Pin It

{front entry bench}

Oct
22

I love an organized garage, so lockers for the area next to the back door were high on my priority list when we moved in. While I was out of town for a few days, my cute hubby surprised me and built the cutest bench with a place for baskets, a planked back, and hooks for hanging coats and bags. He whitewashed it, which is one of my most favorite ways to refinish wood pieces. I LOVE it, and it was so fun to come home and see it in my garage. Except...it was way too cute for the garage. :) However, I had been looking for just the perfect thing to go in my front entry. My poor husband and dad had to move it again, so my mom and I could see what it looked like, and that was it...love … [Read more...]

Filed Under: DIY Decor, For the Home, Furniture, Re-purpose & Refinish | 14 Comments

Pin It

{halloween 4×4 post luminaries}

Oct
18

Who is excited for Halloween? ME!!! I wanted to make some Halloween luminaries for our front walk, and I wanted them to last for more than one night. So...with a 4x4 post and a little paint, I came up with something that I absolutely love! You will not believe how easy and inexpensive these are, so you can make as many or as few as you like. This would make a great Super Saturday project! In addition to lining a front walk or porch, they would be darling in a window, or lining a tablescape. I used them for a church Christmas party one year, and put them down the center of long tables, along with other decorations. They don't have to be for Halloween. Think Christmas---how about … [Read more...]

Filed Under: All Crafts, Christmas, Crafts, DIY Decor, For the Home, Gift Ideas, Halloween, Holiday Projects, Re-purpose & Refinish, Silhouette, Thanksgiving | 11 Comments

Pin It

{an old window turned dry erase weekly calendar!}

Oct
02

My calendar is my brain. Seriously. In my house, if it's not on the calendar, then it doesn't happen! I have a regular 12 month calendar that I keep track of everything on, but I LOVE having a weekly calendar. It is so helpful to see the week at a glance--with plenty of space to write everything that's going on--everything from things the kids need to bring to school, to the daily menu, to my exercise log. I had a smaller version in our old house, but in this house there is a small wall in the hallway to the back door, just above the kids' hooks that was the perfect spot for something a little bigger. I had a moment of inspiration when I saw one of the old windows I collected, and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: All Crafts, Crafts, DIY Decor, For the Home, Home & Family, Organization, Re-purpose & Refinish, Silhouette | 16 Comments

Pin It

{diy numbered barstools}

Jul
20

Comments Off

I really needed barstools for our new kitchen, but hated the price tags of all the ones I liked most--especially when I needed five of them. So, I made my own. ☺ I made them before we left Michigan, and I loved them then, but now that they are finally in our house, I love them even more! I found inexpenive, plain barstools at Target--only $15 a piece. You could do it even cheaper by looking on craigslist, at thrift stores, or garage sales. This is an easy, easy project, and I love the way it completely changed plain into fabulous! {SUPPLIES} *barstools *brown spray paint *white spray paint *black spray paint *vaseline *vinyl: negative space, or … [Read more...]

Filed Under: DIY Decor, For the Home, Furniture, Re-purpose & Refinish |

Pin It

{wood pallet bed}

Apr
25

Comments Off

In all our married life, we've never had a bed. Okay, so we've always had a bed, just not a headboard or foot board. There's just always been so many other places for money to go, and the bedroom always came last. For many years we couldn't even make one, because we were living in apartments/townhomes while we were in school and then while were building our house, and didn't have room for tools. When we finally moved into our house, and had all the tools we needed, there were always a million other projects, and the bed kept going lower on the list. When I found some wood pallets a couple months ago, I knew it was finally time!{BEFORE} {I actually forgot to take a before picture, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: For the Home, Furniture, Re-purpose & Refinish |

Pin It

{let’s talk sheet metal!} message center and more…

Mar
28

Comments Off

Sheet metal has been around forever, but that's because of its versatility and vast decor organizational possibilities. I have used it over and over in projects, and I'm never disappointed. This time around, I used it for a message center for my kitchen desk area, to replace a smaller version. I don't have much space, and I needed to have a place to clip up checks to be deposited, wedding announcements, cards, pictures, and all that kind of stuff. The one I was using just wasn't big enough, but I still needed something that would fit in my limited space. Well, you all know my love for old windows, and I seriously have about 10 of them in my garage, lol. Lo and behold, I had one that … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Crafts, DIY Decor, For the Home, Organization, Re-purpose & Refinish, Silhouette |

Pin It