Whyyyy do I have the most motivation and inspiration to do home projects when I'm stuck at work?  I blame this Diply article I clickbaited my way into this morning as I was lying in bed, cursing at the alarm.  The looming holidays make the itch that much worse - I want to finish these tasks and be able to show off our home to our guests and enjoy it to the fullest!

While there are so many I could illustrate, let's start with this stack of crown molding that's been waiting in our garage for well over a year (closer to 2?  I've lost track).  We just have to slap a fresh coat of paint on 'em and put 'em up (with some help from some adultier adults who have done that sort of thing before).


Also?  this ivory fireplace insert is driving me batty....I bought black high-heat spray paint long ago to take care of it, I just have to put forth the energy (and bravery) to do it.


It looks like it was spray painted previously, so maybe it used to be brass?  I thought I'd be able to take it out but I'm not sure I can, so that means taping and papering and plastic-ing like this tutorial from Bright Green Door.  Not hard, just time consuming, and something you can't un-do if you screw it up.  Ooooh, also - WE NEED A MANTEL.

In our hall bath that gets the most use when we have company over, we're not at a point where we're ready to rip out and re-do the sink and countertop, but they're so fugly.... I want to give the cabinets a mini-makeover with paint in the meantime (hello lipstick-on-a-pig technique!) and have been drooling over Urbane Bronze by Sherwin-Williams or something in that family.

I have the most drive to do these kinds of small-ish projects when I am wholly unable to...does anyone else have that problem?!

A few days ago I made a couple banners for our upcoming Stranger Things premiere party!

Source

I used my Cricut to cut out chipboard letters, then strung them together with this neat baker's twine I found somewhere a few years ago.

We're throwing together a low-key wine tasting get-together for Friday night, and since I just don't know the meaning of the phrase "low-key," I'm already working on some crafts for it.

First up, I got this sweet little wooden garden caddy at Target's Dollar Spot a few weeks ago.  It was one of those impulse buys that I just "had to have" until I got home with it and was all, "....well now what?"  Always eager to spraypaint that which does not move (and, let's be honest, sometimes that which does), I forgot to take a full-on "before."  Here's a "during," though:


I lucked up on a really great deal on some jumbo cans of black spray paint at Ollie's on Friday (I find myself using it a lot on household projects), so I coated the entire interior and exterior of the caddy first.

I've been using this cardboard as a dropcloth for awhile....toldja I use a lot of black spray paint!

Then once the first coat was dry, I put a coat of Krylon's Chalkboard paint on the outside surfaces.  It's a great way to store utensils (business end up, of course, unless I put some sort of liner in), or pens and paper for voting or taking notes, and I tend to use chalkboard signs and serving pieces a lot because they're just so versatile.  Here it is in its finished useful glory!

Been saving these babies for a special project.