The past few weeks, we have been busy tackling some home improvements. We have been really wanting to paint an accent wall in our front room and kitchen. The rooms needed some serious color but I am always a bit nervous when it comes to picking the right color. So after going through many different colors we finally decided on a color called “Babbling Brook.” I then got to work on taping the walls and painting. I soon found out that doing big projects with three kids is quite hard and takes longer! It took me two days but the wait was worth it. The color turned out perfect! It gives the room just the right amount of color to make it pop. After some rest, I started my quest to find some fabric to recover the throw pillows. I found the perfect fabric at JoAnn’s and got to work on sewing them.
My next project was to redo the decor on top of the divider wall. I went through all my older decorations and rummaged through the house to collect items that would look good up there. I was able to find the perfect decor items and only added a few new things which kept the renovation cost to a minimum! I also finally made some new name tags for the FHE board. I had the tags since Logan and just haven’t made the time to get them done. I finally made the time to cut out some vinyl to stick on them. I love how they turned out! It looks much better than red hearts and yellow stars.
If I wasn’t already busy enough on that project, I decided that my pantry needed an overhaul! I got to work on painting the inside walls and shelves and then did some major organizing. I found the big containers at my local dollar store and used the containers I already had to create a masterpiece of organization! I found the labels online and then used Photoshop to personalized them to my pantry. They look great on the containers and labeling things really helps the panty took put together and organized. It’s amazing what just a bit of paper can do! It turned out LOVELY and I can’t help but get excited when I open the door to see it all organized. Can you say OCD? 
To put the finishing touches on the reno, I wanted the wanted the living room to display pictures of the kids. I saw an idea online where they arranged 12×12 canvas pictures of their kids and the letter of their last name on their wall. It looked super cute but would be super expensive to create. Canvas print photos are not the cheapest! My friend Rachel gave me the idea to use a 12×12 box frame and put a picture on it. We bought the supplies and Mark got to work cutting and building the box frames. While he was at work, i glued, sanded, and painted them. I then went to our local print shop and had them print 12×12 pictures of the kids that I previously Photoshopped. I was super excited to get home and finish the project! With substituting the box frames and pictures for the canvas prints, I saved a huge amount of money. The total cost for the project was right around $10! Yes! I love when I can create something for much less and still have it look GREAT! I really love how then turned out and the pictures really add dimension to the wall!
The 12×12 box frames painted black. Wood cost $2. I’m really bad at documenting things step by step. I just get too excited to finish the project!
Pictures printed on 12×12 cardstock. Cost $4.85
The finished product!
Wow! Just writing that was a lot of work! But there is more! We also got started on making a garden. We had to dig up some of our grass to make room for one. We thought it was going to take us just a few hours to do but we were way wrong. Digging up sod is tough! It took us two weekends and help from Mark’s dad to finish preparing it for plants. We still need to incorporate top soil just before we add the plants! We are so excited to start our own garden! The kids also love playing in the dirt. They have had quite the adventures already!
Our last home improvement was a much needed one! After finding our kids playing by the side of the road countless times, we finally decided that we needed to finish the fence in our backyard to keep our kids safe. Our neighbors to the north already have a vinyl fence so we just needed to close off that one side and fence and gate the south side. We contracted Lowe’s to do our fence and they had it up and built within two weeks! We are now enjoying an enclosed backyard and the peace of mind that comes with it that our kids are safe. In addition to the fence, Mark’s grandparents gave us their old swing set. The kids love it and have so much fun playing on it. It will definitely be a hit all Summer long!
