cat litter solution - hidden cat litter box

When we adopted my brother-in-law's cat the first thing I wanted to do was come up with a solution for the litter box. She started out in the unfinished basement, but I hated having the door to the basement constantly open. At first we were thinking of cutting a home in either the basement or garage door for a cat door. I also hated the idea of such a permanent solution.

We then came up with the idea of having a cabinet for the litter box. We found the perfect furniture piece at Ikea for $100. I loved the look, and I LOVED  that I could lock the doors to keep Elle out. This particular cabinet was large enough for the litter box, a box of extra litter, and the scoop. The litter box was out of the way yet easy to access, didn't interfere with the decor of the room, and contained all of the litter sand. It was perfect!

To create our poop palace we cut a hole the same size at a cat door (a six inch square). We didn't want Kitty to get cut on the raw metal edges, so we wrapped the edges a couple of times with white duct tape. To train Kitty we left the doors open and put a treat on the ledge of the cabinet. When she got up into the cabinet I dropped a treat down the hole so she would go down and get it. Once she confidently used the hole I put one more treat inside and closed the doors. It was that simple for us. I have a nightlight plugged in behind the cabinet to help keep the area illuminated. 

The poop palace is a huge hit in our house. We were worried that it would get smelly, but we haven't had any issues. I usually put an scented oil diffuser on the side closest to the couch just to be safe. This cabinet is perfect for those with kiddos or are renting and can't cut holes for cat doors.

a year of printables

I have the hardest time with resolutions. I have no trouble deciding what I want to work on, but when it comes to actually sticking to them I s.t.r.u.g.g.l.e.  This year I decided to keep it simple. My resolution for 2017 is to have more fun. I feel like I always get caught up in the day to day, and get weighed down by my to-do lists. For my sake, and my family's sake, I vow to find fun moments during the sometimes seemingly mundane.

   

                      

On another note, I wanted to share one of my secrets for adding a little personality to home design. I love printables. You can switch them out easily, and it is a great way to show a little witty or clever personality without being too loud. I keep my printables stacked in the frame and rotate through them as the year and holidays progress.

                                

I just finished a new set of printables, and I love how simplistic they are. I have them available for download here if you'd like them. Here's a sneak peak of what they look like.  I absolutely love them. They fully incorporate my quirkiness.

dollar store gold vase tutorial

Gold is my thing. I love adding a pop of gold anywhere I can. These gold vases are the perfect touch to any room. I cannot wait to use these as part of my tablescape for Thanksgiving dinner. I think they will look absolutely gorgeous with some fresh flowers lining the middle of the table. It's hard to believe, but you can make this vase using the clear glass bowls at the Dollar Store in the floral section. You can make a gold vase just like this for a dollar and a bit of spray paint.

Small Gold Vase

Materials

Clear glass bowl (from the Dollar Store)
Primer spray paint
Gold metallic spray paint

Directions

Place the clear bowl bottom up on some cardboard or other surface you would like to paint on. Spray the bowl with a primer. Spray about 10" away from the bowl and use many light coats instead of one thick coat. This will help insure that the paint dries evenly and that it won't drip. If the paint does drip, wait for it to dry, and sand it a bit to smooth it out. Once your primer has dried, turn to bowl right side up, and make sure the top and rim of the bowl has primer on it as well. Once it dries again, turn the bowl back over and repeat the steps with the gold spray paint. Be sure your paint has sufficient time to dry before using the vase. Your can of spray paint will say on the back how long it takes to fully dry.


*Gold vases are not safe to handle food.*

elle's nursery

Elle is turning two today! In celebration, we are having a throwback to her nursery days. I loved her nursery. I was so cozy, and has so many tender memories attached. I didn't want to spend a lot of money decorating because I knew we would be spending of money on other things, so I reused a lot of things we had around the house.

The changing table and baskets are from Ikea. I made the artwork on the walls. We got the mirror from Tai-Pan awhile ago, but I thought it would look great in the nursery.

Jeremy owned that giant chair before we got married. Words cannot describe how comfortable that chair is. I'll tell you right now though, it is really hard to get out of when you pregnant with a giant stomach that likes to get in the way. The faux fur throw is from Ikea, and I made the pillow with scraps from the crib blanket.

I bought the mobile on Amazon. It was my big splurge. I couldn't help it though; it is simply adorable. I made the pennant banner, as well, out of left over fabric from the crib quilt.

I put my sewing skills to the test with this room. I made the crib quilt and the elephant pillow.

This cute rocking chair was given to us by Mister's mom. It was her's when she was a little girl. Elle absolutely loves it!

The rocking chair was a garage sale find for only $8. I painted it because it had definitely seen better days. I found the hamper at TJ Maxx, and the elephant mask I made in my high school ceramics class. This nursery was my favorite. I can't believe that my little babe has been around for two whole years!

farmhouse chalkboard tutorial

I made this. I'm so proud of myself. You can make one too. It cost me less than $15 to make this, and I love it. Did you know that you can buy a 2'x4' chalkboard for $10 at Home Depot? Well, you can and it's fabulous! This is how I made my chalkboard:

                                         

I bought some cedar posts from Home Depot, measured the inner corner to match up with the length of the chalkboard and cut a 45 degree angle. I did this a second board, then measured two boards to match the width of the chalkboard.

                                         

I used the router to cut into the board 1/4" so the chalkboard had somewhere to lay flush.

                            

                            

I stained each board with Minwax Jacobean stain, and dry brushed some white paint on to give them a weathered look.

                              

                                         

Once the stain and white paint dried, I taped off some stripes on the top and bottom board. I painted them gold because I love gold. When the gold paint was dry I flipped the boards upside down and put the corners together. I laid the chalkboard facing down into the groves that I made with the router and staple gunned the crap out of it. Before you draw on your chalkboard, make sure you prep your it by rubbing chalk all over it. If you skip this step you will forever have ghost lines when you erase what you write or draw on your board.

ikea hack - lätt table & chairs

                              

Have you seen Ikea's Lätt table and chairs? The thing I love about this set is it's only $25. That's a steal for a new table and chairs! The only problem is it's a little boring. To spice it up I painted the legs and frame of both the table and chairs (before assembling). I wanted to use multiple colors to make it really fun. I then added some foam and upholstered the chairs. I figured this would make them more comfortable, and make them look a little nicer. I used some fabric and foam that I had left over from other projects  and bought the vinyl (it's super cheap at Walmart).

                          

After the paint was dry, I assembled according to the Ikea instructions. I had to get a little creative and use some muscle on the chairs, but it came together perfectly. I love how they turned out!

                                           

elle's toddler room mood board

I am so excited to transform Elle's room from a nursery to a little girl's room! I have my Pinterest mood board and my inspiration. I have found that it is always easier to decorate a room and make it more cohesive if I start with a mood board.

Since I know the direction I want to go with her room, it is really easy to know what I want when I go shopping. Also, I know that if I stick to buying items that fit in the look and feel of my mood board then the room will fit together perfectly when I finally get around to decorating it.

When you are ready to start planning the decor for a room, check out Pinterest for ideas. For example, when I started looking for Elle's room I searched "little girl bedrooms". I started weeding through and saving the pins that I liked. Once I pinned a good amount of pictures I started going through them and deciding what I liked about them. I looked at the colors that seemed the same across the board. I then created a mood board with the pictures I liked, and pointed out the features in the pictures that I liked. This makes shopping a lot easier because you already know exactly what to look for. 

Let's be real though, I am a cheapskate, and a lot of the stuff I pin is really spendy. This is when I start thinking about how I can recreate the look with a smaller price tag. For example, I don't want to buy a brand new dresser for Elle. She will beat it up. I know she will. Instead, I will search thrift stores and yard sales for a solid wood dresser that has a similar shape. I will then sand it, paint it, and reknob (not a word) it. This will get me a similar look and save me buca bucks! I would love your thoughts and ideas on Elle's room. What do you like, what should I ditch?