The glamorous life of a DIY diva! What we do in the name of blogging.  This is my best friend at the moment, the wetsaw.

Are you ready for the how-to’s on the subway tile installation?

This is my dad’s wetsaw, which I borrowed last time I was home in Atlanta. I knew that I would need this nifty tool once I got started on this project and it truly is a lifesaver if you are doing a major tile project.  If you don’t have access to one of these, borrow or rent one! It will make your life SO much easier.  It sounds intimidating, but really it cuts like butter and works like a charm.  Just keep your fingers clear and you’ll be fine.  Let IT do the work for you.

These are the main things you’ll need too:  Adhesive to set the tiles, along with the notched trowel and colored grout for finishing the tile (I used Bright White non-sanded grout).  I will go back and do a sealer on the grout later, even though it will not get a lot of water and shouldn’t get very dirty at all.  I didn’t take a pic of the grout float, but it’s just a rubber applicator that pushes the grout into the seams and is about the same size as the notched trowel on the right.

I did a couple of short little videos on taking down the top row of tiles, along with that faux marble backsplash that was there. This will give you an idea of how things got started:

In case you missed it, I spent last week tiling around our masterbath tub with subway tile. And boy, and I’m glad to be done.  Mind you, it really wasn’t a hard project, just took some planning ahead and figuring things out before I actually got started, but the planning paid off and it came out beautifully, if I do say so myself.  This just might be my most proudest DIY moment EV-ah!

You’ll remember the view from the bedroom to the bathroom.  Notice the faux marble backsplash that was there, which had to be ripped out before I started the tile project.

Let’s pause a minute before we go to the AFTER pics.  Do you hear singing.  Ah, yes, it’s my celebration song of joy that this is all done and I LOVE IT!

See through that doorway to that beautiful white subway tile, along with some decorative border pieces.  I’ll tell you more about how I put it all together in a tutorial post.  For right now, let’s just enjoy the beauty of this amazing tile. 

I have to say, it came out exactly as I had hoped.  I spent 3 days of tiling and a couple of days of grouting, but overall it really wasn’t bad.  It totally changes the look of our bathroom to something much more high end.  Built in 1998, with all white tile, this was a cost effective solution to give this space a much more updated feel and look and I couldn’t be happier.

Yes, I love it.  Paint color here is Kilz Magellan, found at Walmart.

And I’m pretty darn proud of myself for doing this all alone.  Hubby thought it turned out great too, but then again, he is used to me tackling things like this and I haven’t ruined anything yet. Thank goodness.   I added the rope molding at the last minute and I’ll tell you why on my next post.  You probably won’t be surprised to know that I found that mosaic planter at a yardsale several years ago and it fits in here just great.

Added back in this yellow yardsale basket, which works perfectly in here for holding some pretty shells and decorative items.

This is the first area I started on and I took down the old row of tiles that were at the top of this ledge and that is where my new decorative tiles started.  I’ll be sure and tell you all about the process in my next post, so you can see how it all came together. 

It’s not a perfect job, but I’m perfectly happy with it.  Once you add the grout to a tile project, it wipes out the flaws that might have stuck out before that process.

The corner pieces are the hardest with a project like this.  I ran into the same issue when I was cutting the molding for my dining room. Those corners are tricky and I sure don’t have it all figured out.  I just did the best I could and then filled in with grout.  And you’d have to be this close to see it.  I used non-sanded grout, which is the norm for small joints like this.

I took lots of pics, so you could see it from every angle.

I love how it changed the look so much by getting rid of that old faux marble backsplash.  Update!

You’ve seen this shelf in here before, but thought I’d show it again.

This was a $5 yardsale find, years ago and I hauled it with me when we moved.

Perfect for a little bit of accessorizing in here. 

So, that’s all folks!  I hope you enjoyed this project, I know I did.  I’ve been dreaming of doing this for at least a year and talked my hubby into it.  He swears I’m trying to get rid of more of his blue, but I’m really not. The tile just enhances all that blue.

I’m still planning to add some of the beadboard wallpaper to the front of the tub (hope it will stick) as well as add chair rail and beadboard to the toilet room. And now that I’ve done all this work, I’m going to go back around the tub and shower and recaulk and grout some of the tile that’s looking pretty shabby.  Just regrouting an area can freshen it up.

Did you get inspired??  Would you ever try this yourself? I promise you, I am NOT an expert on all of this. I did help with some tile projects in my old house and did a lot of grouting there, but I never tackled anything like this by myself before.  I wasn’t even scared though!  Cause I know most anything can be fixed and I knew that I could do this.  You can too!

And you can find me soaking in the tub.

If you have any specific questions, ask away. I’ll be putting up a tutorial of sorts next, so I’ll try to answer all the questions in that post too.

Back in the summer, I picked up this luscious piece of upholstery fabric remnant (about 3 yards) for $10 at a yardsale.  I brought it home, sure I could find something to do with it and since I have golds and browns in my den, finally decided to make it into a throw.  It has that bit of aqua blue in the flower, which I love.

It took me awhile, but I got out the sewing machine (that little $45  yardsale find has really come in handy too) and just simply turned over the edges and stitched it up and I had picked up some brush trim to add to the ends, just to fancy it up a little.

With just a little sewing, I now have myself a nice and comfy throw for the sofas in the den.  I cut off 1 yard of and left the remaining 2 yards for the throw, so it’s plenty generous in size, especially since it’s fabric width,  more like a blanket.   

And the backside of the fabric is almost a chenille, so it’s really cozy and soft.  I wouldn’t want any professional seamstresses to examine it, but it’s just fine for my purposes.   I am not the best sewer in the world.

See how great it looks on the brown leather sofa and with the houndstooth pillows my mom sewed up for me?  I think I have about $22 total in this throw and if you price throws like this in the store, they can run over $100.  Not to mention this one is really big.

So, don’t overlook upholstery or fabric remnants when you’re out scouting the sales. You never know what you might run across.  I gave the other 1 yard piece of fabric to my friend, Debbie, and she made 2 pillows for her gold sofa.

So this 3 yard piece of remnant fabric really got stretched!

You’ve all probably figured out by now that I’m not too chicken to try something new.   And on that note,  I’m about to do a tile project in our master bath around the whirlpool tub.  I’ve tiled before, but never by myself, so this will be sort of a new thing for me.  But, I’m pretty sure I can do it.  And I’ll show you as I figure it out and get it done.  I do know how to grout, so that should be a piece of cake.

My plan is to take out the little backsplash that is currently above the tub. Hoping that the drywall doesn’t all rip apart when I take this out.  I’ve always thought that it would be really pretty to continue the line of white tile that you see on the right joining into our white tiled shower and continue that all around to the left 2 walls above the tub.  It’s about 18″ or so of tiling.   So that is my plan.

Since I tend to put a lot of projects on my plate every year, it isn’t too hard for me to come up with 10 things that I accomplished in 2009.  And I bet you have a lot too, when you went back through the months and looked at everything, didn’t you?  It’s fun to look back, pat yourself on the back and feel good about the rewards of DIY.

Several of you have asked me my methods for staying organized and storing the Christmas decor, as well as storing all the other things that come along with keeping a house and changing things out with the seasons.  So, I’ll attempt to explain what I do, in hopes that it might help you too.  I’ve always been pretty organized, that comes fairly naturally to me, but I’ve had to work at getting better organized for Christmas, as my collection has grown over the years.

Just about 5 years ago, I threw away my cardboard boxes and started using those plastic bins for storage and that has been a lifesaver.  These plastic bins are so versatile and I love those snap-on lids that keep things safe and sound up in the attic.

I’ve also been working on labeling those plastic boxes, so that the next year, it’s so much easier to find what I need.  I’ve found that keeping things together that go in one room really helps a lot.  So, my method has been to put everything from the mantel in one box, everything from the kitchen in another, and so on and so on.  That’s something I just started last year and this year streamlined it even more.

These are small little storage boxes and I use them to keep my small ornaments and things that I want protected. Then, these little boxes go inside the larger boxes for even more safety.

I can add small glass ornaments in here and just layer some paper in between.  I’ve never had a problem with any of them breaking like this.

I took all the ornaments off my white and gold tree in the foyer and put everything in this one bin and labeled it.  Now,  next year, I’ll know exactly where all of this is just by a glance at the label.

I will try to keep the original boxes for some items, just to further keep it safe.  Then I pack everything inside the storage bins as tightly as possible.

These divided bins for ornaments have been great for my breakable glass pieces.  I’ve been using these for a few years and they are just perfect.  Never had any break using these.  I have 2 of them to hold all the glass from my tree.

Another small box for the kitchen small items.

All labeled and ready to go to the attic.  We do not have a basement, so the attic is it.  Luckily it’s big.

Now, here’s the pull-down ladder which goes up to our spacious attic. I was so thrilled to have this since my last house attic was so small and there was not a drop-down ladder.  This makes it easy for me to scamper up and down to put things away.  All I do is flip on the light and climb.  My hubby hands up all the bins to me and I stack them away.  Do you  have a pull-down, walk up attic?? I am SO thankful to have this. 

It was already outfitted with plywood all across, sort of long and narrow, but plenty of space for all our storage needs.  I keep a path open to walk and stack all the boxes as high as I can next to the rafters. I still have my large tree box, but instead of cramming that tree back in there, I just lay all 3 pieces on the plywood floor and cover it with a big old tablecloth. 

Bins are stacked for the year.  I have about a dozen bins for the Christmas decor.

Easy to get to if I need too, not that I will until next year.  It does get hot up here, so I don’t leave anything in the boxes that can melt, like candles.  Ask me how I know that?! This is the other side of the attic and I have a few boxes stored up here that I’m not using right now, but want to keep.  So, we are very fortunate to have this much usable attic space for storage and I’m grateful for it.  We will keep our printer or computer boxes up here for awhile, just in case we might need them again.

I use every piece of furniture that I have with doors and drawers for storage too.   And I’ve got several pieces that hide a multitude of crap and junk decorative accessories.

Down in the foyer, this piece has 2 doors on either end (as well as 3 middle drawers) and I store my candles and candleholders in here when I’m not using them. That way, they are easily accessible for the occasions I do need them.  I wish I could say that all my drawers get cleaned out regularly and stay very neat and tidy, but well, that would just be a lie.  They don’t.  I struggle with that just like everyone else does.

Now, let’s move on to my own little storage room, that space under the stairs that is ALL mine. My hubby hardly ever even looks in here.

It’s right at the bottom of the stairs that goes into our den and has it’s own door, so closes away, thank goodness.  Now, I’m not claiming to have storage all figured out at all.  Just the opposite in fact, I tend to be a pack rat, so you might feel better about yourself after you see my closet.  I’ve managed to outfit it with all sorts of mismatched storage pieces, that mostly all came from yardsales.  But, it works to keep things somewhat in order and I can mostly find things when I need them.  I have to periodically clean this room out about twice a year, as it gets the overflow of pieces that I’m getting rid of and need to move out. 

There’s a small file cabinet in here and on top of that is a box with old photos, and on top of that is a plastic drawer unit that I found yardsaling.  It holds all my extra fringe and trims and other misc. stuff.  My goal in this room is to utilize every inch of space, so I’ve gone up high as much as possible.  That little wicker piece I trash-picked in my neighborhood and didn’t have anywhere to use it, so it works great on top of my boxes to add even more height for storage of candlesticks and other things.

You can see how tall it goes and all the extras here, like bunnies, candlesticks, and white pumpkins.  These are all things I get out during the year at different seasons, so I keep them all here in this room and handy to grab.

You can also see some silver piece here too.  These were used at Christmas, but I won’t need them again for awhile.

Think about wall space in an area like this too.  I added nails to the wall here and that top bag has my ornament wreath inside to keep it safe and it’s hanging from the shopping bag handle on the nail.  And I hang up all my wall pockets for my front door that I also change out for the seasons.  I can redo these whenever the mood strikes.

I’ve definitely got this room crammed full, but at least I can walk in here now.  That’s a bag full of pillows that I just can’t quite get rid of yet. I’m holding onto them for now and might use them again later.  That big basket holds my large collection of craft paints and to the left you can see a dried flower arrangement that I took apart and kept the remains for later use.  Those top boxes are holding gift bags that I’ve collected over the years. I’ll probably never use them all.

These boxes are all stored on a yardsale bookcase .  All those mismatched pieces work great in an area like this.  It doesn’t have to be pretty and you can see that it certainly isn’t.   Extension cords are in that plastic bin that I’ve had way too long, as you can tell by the mauve color.    Photo bins and albums are also stored in here.

An old mirror that I can’t get rid of, along with other pieces are sitting in here that I use periodically too along with some other faux forsythia that I’ve used during Spring.   Moss bunnies too as well as some remnants of beadboard wallpaper that I just might use somewhere.  Can’t throw that away.

There’s a small window in here that is fair game to sit things on the ledge.  I found that cute striped shade at a yardsale for 50 cents and here it sits.

The bookcase is the larges piece in here and it holds all my crafty stuff, things I’m not using at the moment, but might need.  Like the glue gun, spray paint, Rub N Buff, Mod Podge, all of that is on the shelves.

Again, I went up here to the ceiling and added those stacking plastic things for even more height.  Games and other things are up there. That wall pocket that I use on my front door is out of the way & up high on a nail.

More plastic drawers come in handy for small items and here’s all my birds and nests and all sorts of things.

Old yearbooks and Beth Moore study books are in here too.

And this last piece, is an old bakers rack I found for $5 at a yardsale and it was a good addition to this small space too.  I tend to hang on to fabric remnants and they are all here.   Oh, and bags.  I have a thing for bags.  If I get a nice shopping bag with those handy fabric handles, I will keep the bag for who knows how long. You never know when you might need a nice sturdy bag with fabric handles.  They can carry all sorts of things.  So, the bags get dumped in here too.   And at least I can hang them from this bakers rack, to get them up off the floor.

More books and more bags.  The Chicos bag holds all my paint decks and paint chips.

So, as you can see, I do NOT have this storage thing figured out completely.   This is just how I do it, so if you gained any inkling of new ideas for yourself, then I’m happy to share.  If you looked at my spaces and said, oh that poor thing, she is just drowning in clutter, then I totally understand.  It seems to be a constant struggle, trying to control the clutter.    I’ve gotten much better about giving things away and have to say, I’ve very rarely ever regretted giving anything away OR selling it in a yardsale.  There’s always something else to take the place of what goes out the door.  We all have way too much stuff as it is, myself included.  My clothes closet is a constant struggle too and that area is one I have to reorganize about 2 times a year.  It’s in dire need right now, so that will probably happen this month too.

Hope you weren’t too bored with this, since some asked how I store things and what I do to control the clutter.  This is it, nothing too exciting at all and probably very much what ya’ll do at your house.

Do you have any special tips to share about organizing the clutter?  We’d all benefit from hearing them if you do, so feel free to share away!

What do you get when you mix a roll of brown and white grosgrain ribbon with a waffle weave extra-long shower curtain?

Our neighborhood is literally surrounded by woods.  Deep and forestlike, those woods hold a lot of interesting views and nature scenes.  Me and the hubby enjoy walking in the woods and there are trails all over the place, so we could literally walk for hours, up and down the hills and valleys nestled back in those woods.  This one we drive to, even though it’s right next to our ‘hood, it’s easier to get to with a car.

This trail meanders right beside a pretty stream of water and with all the leaves changing colors for fall, made a wonderful place to walk.

I started noticing all this pretty green moss growing everywhere while we were walking, especially on the large granite rocks that were in abundance.  Take note of this, we’ll come back to it.

That pretty stream.

Now, this trail is straight into the woods literally at the end of our street.  We walk down the street, through a neighbor’s yard and into the woods and this is one of the big trails that is back here.  It’s all owned by a large corporation and hasn’t been developed, much to our delight.  We are technically trespassing, but that has never stopped us yet since we are surrounded by beauty, a big open sky, and mountains.

See our mountains?!  In case you didn’t realize this, Birmingham is at the foot of the Appalachian mountain range and our little mountains are quite impressive.  I had no idea until we moved over here that the terrain was this hilly at all and that was a pleasant surprise.  Alabama the beautiful!

The view from the top is amazing.  We sat up there and talked and rested a bit, me perched out on a BIG rock to take these pics.

And a little self-portrait since we climbed up so high to get here.  It was a warm semi-sunny fall day and I got so hot I had to take my sweatshirt off and cool off a bit.

I should have pointed the camera straight down, so you could see just what a drop-off this was where I was sitting.  Lots of granite rock formations are up  here too.

Anyway, this little walk in the woods was a sidenote, now let’s get on to the main thing I wanted to talk about…that MOSS!

Yep, that pretty moss caught my eye and I decided it was too special not to use, so I went back and dug up enough to make myself 2 wreaths.

OK, stop laughing, I know I could have gone to the craft store and bought a couple of bags and accomplished the same thing.  But, this was so much more fun!  How neat to gather your own moss!   I bought 2 of these smallish straw wreaths last year during the holidays on sale, with plans of doing something with them.  So, now I had my big plan.

I laid the moss out for several days and let it dry out well.  Yes, there is dirt on the back, but a lot of it will come off once it dries out, so let it dry for several days.  The best moss I gathered was growing right on top of the big rocks and came off in nice sheets without a lot of dirt.  But, yes, there is dirt.  And maybe a few bugs.  That’s why it’s a good idea to leave it out in the garage for several days, just in case some bugs come out.   I’m just sayin’.

I got out the hot glue gun and starting gluing away.  It really stayed on well.  It’s like filling in a puzzle, just keep adding bits and pieces all the way around the wreath until it is completely covered.

On the right, you’ll see the backside of the moss, lots of dirt.  I’m hoping that most of this will stay put after I glue it all down.   Some of it, I knocked off before I started gluing.

And here they are all finished.  I just love how natural and woodsy they look with the special moss from my nearby woods.

I think I’ll wrap some pretty green ribbon around them and keep them really natural and simple and find a special place to hang them.

So, do you think you’d ever try this too?  I know, it’s pretty crazy to dig up moss, but it was right there for the taking and I loved the texture and color of it.  If you’re out in the woods, take a look around and see what you can find, there’s so much beauty out there if you just look for it. The Lord is such a masterful Creator.

With a feature in the Birmingham News on Thanksgiving weekend for putting together a WOW tree topper,  I’m scanning the pic (excuse the poor scan), but not the complete article and the pic wasn’t in color anyway.  But, you will all get a first hand look at how to put a big tree topper together….all in living color.   It’s really easy, I promise!

Here’s another shot at the tree up close.

And a good look at the entire large and sparkly tree topper.  I’ve always admired these and just started doing this last year and it’s all in combining textures, sparkle and shapes to get a flowing topper that stands up and shouts, HELLO.

I had these bows made already (maybe I’ll do a bow tutorial too, if ya’ll would like to see that).  I could have used another bow, but I don’t worry too much about the backside of the tree that is not seen.  Here’s the breakdown:

• 3 Lime green leafy fronds with a little sparkle (from Hobby Lobby)
• Bows already made (2 or 3)
• 3 picks of faux greenery that has some different texture (already had)
• 3 pretty green feathers (found at Hobby Lobby)
• 3 bronze sparkly tapered fronds that curve out from the tree top (already had those)
• 3 gold berry pics (from Michaels)
• Around 8 sparkly gold pics with little ornaments attached, that’s the row you see around the bottom. (from Hobby Lobby)

I’m adding in a lot of close-ups so you can see all the elements in detail.

Note the green leafy fronds in the middle with a little sparkle.

Here you can see everything that I listed, in particular the pretty green feathers and the bronze glittery skinny fronds.  These are great for adding some volume.

These gold glittery picks I found at Hobby Lobby and they have pretty balls attached too which add a lot of sparkle.  This is the row that I added in below the bows, but really there is no right or wrong with this. You just have to play around with it all.

Here you can see the lime leafy fronds and the gold berry picks and the lime green feathers.  Love those and I found them at Hobby Lobby.

Closeup of the bronze skinny fronds and the gold berries.

Those green picks are just plastic greenery (3 of them) that add some additional texture to all of this.

I attached the bows first right below the very top of the tree, then all I did was start adding height and texture with all the other pieces.  You can stick these picks in and since they have long stems, they will pretty much stay where you place them.

Add in some wispy green picks, along with the feathers, gold berries, and those bronze long and skinny fronds really made the difference, I think.   If you look at all the shots of the closeups, I think you can see how I arranged everything from the description of it all.  There’s no right or wrong way to do this, just have fun with all the colors and textures until you get it looking the way you want it.

That’s it!  Pretty easy, so I hope you’ll give it a try!  Feel free to ask any questions on any of this if it’s clear as mud.