Favorites of 2009: Room Re-do's

Once again, I'd like to thank you for linking up to our "Thrifty Tips" post yesterday. You guys sure know how to pinch pennies with panache!

Today's "Favorites" is about linking up to your favorite room re-do of the year. There's nothing like a seeing a great "before and after" is there? :-)

Remember these?



Move your mouse back and forth over the photo below to see Jennifer's amazing kitchen transformation!



Click HERE to read Jennifer's blog!

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Move your mouse back and forth over the photo below to see Melaine's lovely living room re-do!



Click HERE to read Melaine's blog!

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Move your mouse back and forth over the photo below to see Kim's kitchen makeover!



Click HERE to read Kim's blog!

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Move your mouse back and forth over the photo below to see Holly's handiwork!



Click HERE to visit Holly's blog!

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Now it's your turn!

If you've got a favorite room re-do you'd like to share, just create a link that leads to the specific post it can be found in. Give your link a descriptive title like, "Emily's Country Kitchen" so that we'll know what type of room we're about to see and who it belongs to. (It doesn't have to be a room in your own home, it could be one you saw on another blog)

And THANK YOU in advance for linking up! I can't wait to see all the terrific transformations everyone shares!

Also, as promised, tomorrow's "Favorites" is about our favorite blog posts of the year. The one you link can either be one you wrote, or one written by someone else that was so good you're still thinking about it.
I've got a few I can't wait to link to. You're going to LOVE them!
And don't forget, Random.org will be selecting the winner of our True Value Giveaway #2 at noon tomorrow, so if you entered, swing by for a visit to see if you've won!

Layla :-)

True Value DIY Squad Project #3: Installing A New Mailbox

It was gorgeous here in Alabama today. A sunny and crisp 50 degrees.



The perfect day to replace a broken-down mailbox that's located in the most peculiar place...



Isn't that weird? How it's just sitting out there in the middle of our yard? I've never understood why it's not next to the driveway.

There's no telling how long this old guy has been standing here...





But I do know that the door finally rusted off sometime last month...



Every time it rains our mail gets soaked. :-(

Anywho...Kevin started "Project Install-A-New-Mailbox" by raking the leaves in the front yard.

And by "started", I mean moved the rake in a sweeping motion one time before it decided to pull a "Mr. Mailbox Door"...



No biggie. Kevin didn't really feel like raking anyway. :-)

Instead, he got right to work on installing the new mailbox we got at True Value.

First, he had to pound a long, metal stake into the ground...



That's when Mr. Hammer decided to pull a "Mr. Rake"...



Poor Kevin couldn't help but smile...



So he made another trip to True Value to pick up a new hammer, and eventually he was able to drive the stake all the way into the ground...



Then he slid the first part of the post onto the stake...



Then he secured the second part of the post to the first part...



Then he attached two brackets to the post...





Next, he used the four nuts and bolts that came with our post kit to secure the mailbox to the brackets...



First he screwed each nut onto the end of each bolt. Then, while holding the nut snug against the inside wall of the mailbox, he used our electric screwdriver to tighten them all up...



Finally, once Kevin had the new guy in place...



...it was time to remove the old guy...



And when I say "remove" I mean barely push on one time.

Kev was still pretty proud of himself though. :-)



So long Mr. Rake, Mr. Hammer, Mr. Mailbox Door and Mr. Mailbox!



Hello new mailbox conveniently located right next to our driveway!



(move your mouse back and forth over the picture above to see me move faster than a speeding bullet, and to see how really far away our old mailbox used to be.)

We've had this project at the bottom of our mile long to-do list for the past couple of years because there is SO much work left to do on the inside of the house. So we want to send a big thanks to True Value for creating an opportunity for us to get a mailbox earlier than expected. We look very forward to receiving our issue of The Nest magazine in it this week!

Layla :-)

PS...There's still time to enter our True Value Giveaway #2!

This post brought to you by...

Favorites of 2009: Thrifty Tips

Thanks to everyone who linked up to the Favorites of 2009 "Tutorials" post. I love that I have a go-to post filled with TONS of links to awesome, informative ideas!

Today our Favorites is all about "Thrifty Tips". So I thought I'd invite the Queen of thrifty decor over for a visit to talk about her top 5 thriftiest tips of the year.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Sarah and her thrifty list....

1. Spray Away

"You can turn a thrift store find you would normally pass by, into something sophisticated and fun with just a few minutes and a can of spray paint."

Check out what she did with this old shelf:

Before

After


Click HERE to see how she transformed it from "teddy" to terrific!

2. Fix it up with Fabric

"I love to use fabric in unexpected places. Fabric can be a really inexpensive way to accent your home because you need very little of it for a small project. If you buy it on sale or with a coupon, it's really reasonable, and the selection is fantastic! You can even transform a piece of furniture without painting!"

Using fabric, Sarah enhanced the back of this little bookcase:

Before

After


Click HERE to see how she did it!

3. Add Pizazz with Paper

"Find unique ways to use paper in your decor. I'm not a scrapbooker, but I can never avoid the paper aisle at the craft store because I'm always thinking up ways to use it. One of my favorites was making art for the large spot over our mantel with a roll of wallpaper."



Click HERE for her step-by-step instructions!

4. Make Low Dough Drapes

"You don't need to buy expensive drapery panels or have window treatments custom made in order to get the look you want. I've made almost all of the drapes in our house. I've made some with a small sewing machine, but most are just made with hemming tape and an iron. When you shop for your own fabric you can spend a ton less (look for coupons!) and you can pick out a fabric you LOVE, in a length that is perfect for your particular window. Real decorators would faint at the thought of it...but sometimes I don't even hem all the edges. For shame!"



Click HERE or HERE to check out Sarah's cost effective curtains!

5. Add Miles of Molding

"If you've never been to my site, you don't know how insanely obsessed I am with molding. I luuuurve it. I do. It will transform your home. One of the best ways I've used it is on a massive, ginormous wall in our living room. I knew art for this space would be ridiculously expensive, so the color block on the wall with the added molding really filled it up and made "art" for very little money."





Click HERE or HERE or HERE to learn more about adding moulding!

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Thanks to Sarah for sharing all her great thrifty tips!

Now it's your turn!
If you blogged about a thrifty tip this year, we'd love it if you'd link it to this post for future reference. You know the drill- Just click on the "You are next: Click here to enter your link", title your link, then link it to the specific post you did about about your thrifty tip. And that's it!

Thanks guys! Have I told you how much you rule lately? :)

Ooh! And speaking of ruling, so does our NEW mailbox! Kevin will be back later tonight with all the details. Two things unexpectedly broke during the process of installing it, but I'm proud to report none of them were bones!

True Value Giveaway #2!

12-30-09: This giveaway has now ended. Thanks to all those who entered!

Hello! Tomorrow Kevin is going to tackle our third, and final, True Value DIY Squad project. Installing a new mailbox! The one that we've been calling a mailbox for the past two years is hanging on by a rusty thread, so we're going to use some of the dough True Value gave us to get one that looks a little more presentable, stands a little straighter, and actually has a door. If you'd like to see how it goes, check back tomorrow for Kevin's play-by-play. (I'm really hoping the ground isn't too terribly hard!)

In the meantime, we thought we'd host another True Value Giveaway. Our local True Value has a fantastic home decor section called, "Snooty Miss Moody's", and we picked up some great stuff to give away this week...

A burlap tote...





A couple of concrete candle holders...





And a sweet, little wire picture frame...






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So if you'd like to enter for a chance to win all of these lovely items, just leave one comment on this post by Thursday, December 31st (2009) at noon. (Central Time)



And Congratulations to Melissa Mautz, who won the DIY Drama Contest!



Her "Duct Taped Shower" drama won her the help of a local True Value handy man and a $5,000 shopping spree at True Value! Hopefully she'll be standing on tile instead of duct tape while she showers soon!