diy mama

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Top Posts of 2014

Hello lovelies! I wanted to do a summary post of all the awesomeness that was had in 2014 here at DIY Mama! I had a roller coaster of a year blog-wise. Some days I wanted to stay up til dawn writing and crafting while there were weeks of me not feeling motivated to share one thought. I hear this happens and that it’s ok.

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I’ve also learned a ton on the tech & social media side of things, although I feel I’ve only begun to scratch the surface. Let’s see what you all thought were the best posts! They were interesting to me because they weren’t all in my top 5 but I do remember really loving writing each of these. Here were your top posts for 2014:

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Top Adult Attractions

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jewelry-dish

organizebabyclothes

Now that I’ve had my first full year of blogging, I’ve realized there are two major things I need to work on for 2015: photography and branding. I was all over the place last year, mostly because I was learning how to use my DSLR (still am), editing programs and how I wanted DIY Mama to feel. I’m very thankful to all of you as readers and I’ve loved being able to share myself with you this past year! What was one post that stood out to you?

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Busy Board

Hello Mamas and Papas (or anyone looking to make an awesome Christmas gift for a lil one!) I had been struggling with the fact that we don’t have a basement or play room designated for Sophie to have as her ‘fun zone.’
busy-board

I’d bounced it off of you guys and you put it into perspective for me. Kids are going to play wherever they can. It doesn’t matter if there’s a whole room or if it’s under your feet…they’re not picky. Sophie is usually under my feet, but when she’s not, you can find her at the latch board/ busy board we made for her.

She’s too young to practice latching, turning a key, and pretty much everything else on the board, but she still LOVES playing around with all of the different tools. Her favorite thing is the peek-a-boo doors that hide her cousin, Fiona.

Materials Needed:

  • Wood board of any size (we got one cut down to 2×2)
  • Stain or paint for the board
  • Brush or rag for the stain
  • Sand paper or router to make the edges kid-friendly
  • Tons of latches
  • Drill
  • Picture hanging cleat
  • Thin strip of wood

stain-board

It was fun going to the hardware store to pick out all of the materials needed to make Sophie’s busy board. First, we got the board cut down to size so we could hold up the latches to gauge the number needed to fill the board. In hind sight, that would have been an awesome idea but when you have a crying baby, you kind of just grab what you think looks best and save the receipt.

latches

Several days later (because we know that’s how projects happen) we chose the best of the best for the latch board. Some of the things we thought we’d really want on there, didn’t turn out to be the best idea (a tap light that could blind her with it’s super-bright LEDs.)

lay-latchesHere you can see how we’ve spaced things according to size, what she’ll play with and where cords/chains will hang. We probably spent too long trying to figure this out but I don’t regret the placement of anything on the board! Everything we bought came with hardware and was super easy to drill a hole and screw through the board. We used a counter sink on the drill bit to ensure everything would lay flat against the wall. As you’ll see below, there were a couple things that stuck out (the buttons) but it doesn’t seem to effect the board being unstable.

picture-hanger

We used a thin strip of spare wood to attach the picture hanging cleat to the back of the board. We’ve used these cleats on very heavy frames and mirrors and knew it would stand up to Soph pulling and hitting the board. The board does come off from the wall if she pulls a latch hard but it hasn’t left any dents in the wall (yet.) Nothing a little spackle and paint won’t fix when we go to move.

helping-daddy

We couldn’t wait to see her reaction so we brought it in to hang before she went to bed. She was so curious about the board and wanted to play with it right away! As always, she had to help Daddy hang it on the wall.

latch-boardWe’re super in love with her board. I’ve put it on ‘her wall’ where I have art that I’ve made for her and a sweet Muppets Alphabet print that she likes to sing to.

gallery-wallHere’s how sweetly nestled it is on the gallery wall. I like the fact that it’s a toy that’s on the wall, meaning I don’t have to constantly be putting it away or tripping on it in the middle of the night.

fiona-doorHer, and my, favorite part of the board are the peek-a-boo doors. She’ll pretty much play peek-a-boo with anything, but curtains and these doors are her favorite. The other door hides a photo of Jeffrey and I which she always takes off to hand to me. I think she’s asking when Daddy’s getting home! I have the photos up with washi tape because I wanted to be able to switch out the people as a fun surprise or even add flash cards of words she’s learning. Like I said, she pulls down the photo of us, but she always leaves Fiona, so that one may just stay there forever.

sophie-playI’m excited to watch her as she becomes more interested in the different latches and begins to start playing with the more difficult gadgets. Some of the latches are for a much older Sophie, which I LOVE! For now, the door stop, peek-a-boo doors and mirror keep her entertained for at least a few minutes while Mommy cleans up her lunch from the floor.

I’m proud of her latch board for a few reasons. 1. It looks stellar and she’ll be able to use it for years to come. 2. It was a fun project for Jeffrey and I to design and build together for our sweet daughter. Win win! What else would you put on the board to keep a baby-toddler busy? I was wanting to add a zipper, buttons or ties but wasn’t sure how yet. Any ideas?

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Our Wedding

Hello lovers! Happy Fall! I know, my mind is supposed to be all things apple cider, pumpkin cookies, sweaters and colorful leaves but I’m feeling very nostalgic for my family. Not sure if it’s Sophie’s birthday coming up or our drawn out anniversary celebration but I am beyond thankful for the family that I get to spend my life with. I’ve been thinking about our beautiful wedding day where we were surrounded by all of our favorite people. Weddings are strange, there’s this feeling of stress for the bride to make sure everything is perfect, perhaps a bit of a grudge for the guests coming to spend their time and money and a touch of forced happiness for the big event that is supposed to be the happiest day of your life. I’ve felt all of these emotions regarding my wedding day and others weddings I’ve attended, but in the end, weddings rock and are a beautiful tradition that I’m grateful to experience.
BergmanWed-1078The day of my wedding started out strange. I was alone in our wedding suite for the morning while my friends and family went to get ready with their families. I was receiving phone calls of Uncles being rushed to the hospital, cousins missing flights and flowers being locked in the refrigerators. Wondering if all of my decorations were being laid out correctly, welcome bags being put in the correct rooms and whether my cake had arrived yet. This huge event that we had planned, prepped and paid big bucks for had finally come and I was alone in a hotel room worrying about it ALL.

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As the day went on, my bridesmaids and Mom got to the hotel room and started getting me primped for our photo shoot. Now I could relax and have fun! All my worries went away and I was beyond excited! My sister did my hair and I did my makeup so we weren’t worrying about dealing with any extra hands. We were extremely lucky to have teamed up with a great photographer and had a ton of great shots from our friends and family throughout the day.
Sneak first-lookWe wanted to do the ‘first look’ moment out on The Circle so that every time we visit we’ll remember the butterflies of anticipation. I’m a true Hoosier and love Indy so I’m so glad we got to spend our special day there.
BergmanWed-1116 BergmanWed-1128 BergmanWed-1134We got the normal ‘sweet family’ photos as well as the ‘ok, now be crazy’ photos before the 3,000 bikers swarmed our photo sesh!
BergmanWed-1286BergmanWed-1295BergmanWed-1229BergmanWed-1298BergmanWed-1307There was a motorcycle rally on the circle that made our day really fun! We felt like celebrities as bikers were honking, taking our photos, asking for us to pose with their bikes and giving us money! It was awesome.
BergmanWed-1235BergmanWed-1250Jessika did an amazing job of letting us do what we wanted and captured the exact feelings that we were having. She’d promp us on where to stand but let us do what we wanted for our photos, which I loved.
Jimmy-Johns-WeddingA lot of people have asked me about this photo from my About Me page. We were hungry and were missing out on the cocktail hour because of the shoot. Jeffrey works at the corporate headquarters for JJ and we’re big fans so we got JJ for our wedding party.
BergmanWed-1349The foyer of the reception had a baby grand piano that I had made a little vignette with wedding albums and framed wedding photos from our families. It was very special for our grandparents and family members to see their wedding photos.
wedding-decor1We bought our flowers in bulk through a local florist and divided them into all the vases I’d collected. The hotel let us store the flowers in the refrigerator for safe keeping (this might not happen at all hotels, I used to work at the Hilton where we got married.) The table centerpieces were made up of stacked white books to represent Jeffrey’s love of reading. We had Babies Breath as well as yellow and white Daisies in honor of my parent’s wedding flowers. My sister painted signs for our ceremony and reception to help guests not crash the wrong wedding. My cousin wrote the ‘photos’ poster last minute for our photo booth because I’d forgotten to write one! My family took all the vases and books and arranged them on all the tables for me while I was at the photo shoot. I had all the vases and books numbered and a photo of each arrangement as a guide. I didn’t care if they looked exactly like that but thought it would make it easier for them in the short amount of time they had to decorate. wedding-decor2I wrote out all the name cards in different fonts and printed them on card stock to match our color theme. I’d also printed the drinks banner and table numbers from a Martha Stewart template I’d found. I ordered a few props from Etsy for the photo booth which seemed to be a big hit according to the insane amount of photos we got from the booth!
BergmanWed-1452 Our ceremony was literally 5 minutes long; honest, meaningful and to the point!
BergmanWed-1489 BergmanWed-1495After the ceremony we had cocktail hour for our guests while we went outside to shoot a few more photos as a married couple. The photo above describes our relationship perfectly!
BergmanWed-1551Our Dads and wedding party all had awesome speeches and we gave a speech to thank everyone for sharing our special day with us. Our cake was yellow cake with fudge chocolate icing because that’s Jeffrey’s favorite cake combo. It was the best wedding cake I’ve ever had (and I’ve had at least 100 wedding cakes through working catering.)
BergmanWed-1612phtoto-booth1The evening wrapped up with hours of dancing, drinking and lots of inappropriateness in the photo booth. We only stopped dancing when they turned the lights on and started cleaning up. I’m so happy for the memories I have from our wedding day. I am forever grateful that all of our friends and family came to spend the day with us to make it absolutely perfect. I’d love to have another party without the pressure of a wedding but full of drinks, dancing and cake! What did you love about your wedding? Did you diy any part of your wedding? Anyone have 3,000 bikers to help celebrate their happy day? I’m going to go watch the video my Dad made for our wedding!

All photos were taken by Jessika Feltz Photography other than the last photo booth photo.

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DiY Terracotta Pots

Hidy ho crafters and green thumbers! Anyone else having beautiful weather today? It’s supposed to be nice here all week and I am extremely excited about that! I am still missing my lil bean but Lexi is getting better every day and today I was confident enough to run errands, which was a big boost to my mood (especially because I bought clothes for Soph!) I have been seeing pots on sale everywhere I go lately, which means it’s a great time to buy pots for next year’s spring lay-out OR to put some new greenery inside your home for the winter. I love how inexpensive terracotta is but never buy it because it cracks if left outside year round here in the midwest. I saw some small pots for $0.50 and couldn’t resist doing a little diy to bring some more green into our home.

pots-outside1Not pictured: me spray painting three coats of white Rustolium on the outsides of my pots. You never want to paint the insides of vases or pots where the dirt or water will get exposed to paint. The bare inside is never exposed once the plant is inside, so there’s no need to worry that it’ll look unfinished. Continue Reading about DiY Terracotta Pots →

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DiY Pergola Curtains

Yippeeeeeee! I’m finally finished with my one summer craft that I REALLY wanted to complete before summer was out. I made curtains for our pergola to make our deck feel more welcoming. The deck is very large and we Jeffrey added a privacy surround this summer in addition to the pergola. There was a lot of wood going on and I wanted to soften it up by using fabric. We had breezy sheers out there last year but it is insanely windy where we live and they were constantly tangling. I saw a tutorial on how to make your own pergola curtains on A Beautiful Mess and knew I had to give it a try.

Pergola CurtainsLaura did such a phenomenal job on her tutorial that I don’t think it warranted the ‘Epic Projects (Advanced)’ tag that it has. It was a long process, which would have been even longer if I was doing more than the two panels I did, but it was a very straight forward process. All of the materials were easy to find locally and much more inexpensive than buying heavy duty outdoor curtains. **UPDATE** If you live in a very windy area, these will still not be heavy enough curtains. I suggest adding more weights or figuring out a more permanent solution to softening up your area. I tried multiple tie-back methods, none of which worked permanently. Every few days I had to re-tie the curtains (especially during rainy season).

Materials Needed:
Heavy fabric -I used 6 yards* (depending on how windy it is where you’re located)
Fabric scissors
Grommet kit (total grommets used 14)
Cup hooks 7/8″ (14)
Safety cup hooks (4)
White chain
Hammer
Bolt Cutters (to cut the chain)
Sewing machine (unless you want to hand sew)
Waterproofing spray**

*You’ll want to measure the height and width of your pergola and determine how drapey you want your fabric before buying your fabric. You could also skip the waterproofing step and buy outdoor fabric but it will be more expensive. If you are doing many panels, you may have to order your fabric from your fabric store because they don’t often carry several bolts of the same fabric. **I used Scotch Guard but it has not been tested. The reviews on Amazon were all the research I did for choosing what type of fabric waterproofing spray to use.

Pergola CurtainsYou’ll likely need to sew hems on all sides of your fabric. If you are not confident with a sewing machine, I’ve used strong heat n’ bond on curtains before but never outside, so you’ll be taking a risk. I made all of the hems the same width other than the top hem where the grommets will go. I used a grommet to measure how wide I wanted the top hem.

Pergola CurtainsI’m not a numbers girl so I didn’t measure anything until it came to adding the grommets (only because I screwed up one section by not measuring.) A trick I used, to make sure it was an even hem all the way across, was to line up my first set of pins as shown.

Pergola CurtainsAdding the grommets was the most fun part. Follow the instructions on the back of your grommet kit (in case it’s different than mine.) Make a small X with your scissors in the location you want your grommet. Do not make your X too large, start small and make it larger if necessary. Be sure to use some force while hammering your anvil to get the grommet nice and snug. I found this part quite therapeutic!

Pergola CurtainsOnce all of the hems are sewn and the grommets are added, it’s time to add the cup hooks to the pergola. As I said before, I didn’t measure out where my grommets went, so I added the outside hooks first. I knew the area I wanted the curtain to span so I drilled tiny holes and screwed in the two outside cup hooks first.

Pergola Curtains

Once those were up I hung the curtain so I could hold up where the grommets met the board and used them as a template to drill my holes. If you measure out where you put your grommets, you’ll be able to measure where you should drill for your hooks.

Pergola Curtains

Things are looking amazing now! The next step was to figure out where I wanted the tie backs. Since I knew how windy it is, I chose to do my tiebacks a bit higher than I normally would, so there would be a lot of fabric hanging down under the chain. I drilled two small holes on either side of the 4×4, screwed in the safety hooks and hung the chain.

Pergola Curtains

Before cutting the chain, I let my curtains be outside all afternoon. I wanted to make sure the chain was going to be a good way to keep my curtains secure. I simply snipped the chain before repeating this step on the other curtain panel. You could also use rope or make a strip of fabric to bring in a pop of color. I think it would be cute to have a bright teal or yellow strip of fabric and use a grommet on each end to attach to the safety hooks.

Pergola CurtainsNow that the curtains are hung, I left them up to spray the waterproofing on each side of the panels. I left them flying in the wind for a day to dry out completely. This portion was difficult for me because of the wind. If you can, choose a day that’s not windy and not going to rain.

Pergola CurtainsPergola CurtainsI love it so much! I feel like it makes our area more welcoming and a bit more resort like. I am extremely excited to sit out on the deck in a few weeks once it cools off and into the fall when we’ll need sweaters and apple cider to keep warm. There’s still a bit more I’d like to do in the way of styling but that will have to wait until the fall flowers come to the nursery. How have you dressed up your outdoor area? Do you add fun pillows or rugs to bring in a pop of color? I love that!

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