Showing posts with label diy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label diy. Show all posts

May 24, 2021

3 Ways To Improve Your Kitchen Layout

mercantile kitchen
The kitchen is truly the family hub of the home; it is where people come together to share food, catch up on their day, and make memories together. Your kitchen’s layout, however, could limit your ability to do these things if it is not arranged in an optimal way for your lifestyle. Here are some ideas on how to improve your kitchen’s layout with three easy steps.

May 16, 2021

Practical Ways to Enhance Your Home's Front Entry

carpet home entry
The front entry gives visitors an impression of your home. An excellent entryway welcomes visitors and family into your home, while separating it from the outside world. These four practical tips ensure you have a terrific entryway.

May 13, 2021

Easy Ways to Make Your Home Smell Amazing

lemongrasshouse
All of us want to live in homes that look, feel, and, yes smell great. So when you’re thinking about doing up the decor or focusing on those various little DIY projects that need to be done to make your home just perfect, don’t forget to think about making the place smell good too.

July 27, 2020

Attracting bees to the garden with these DIY bee hotels

bee hotel
Over the years, we have made our garden pollinator friendly by adding a variety of features! It is exciting to watch these homes and places being utilized by benefiting creatures. We have also seen the benefits of these features as they have encouraged different types of bees to come into the garden and help pollinate flowers - especially in our vegetable garden. 
The bee hotels we placed in our garden were made in a post or block style, and painted with acrylic paint for aesthetics. We leave these homes all year round in the garden. 

February 23, 2020

For our love of wood: Scroll Saw, Wood Burning, and Workshop Setup

wood burning book
Wood is one of our favourite material to work with! From making designs with the scroll saw, wood burning to making furniture and other home decor it seems like we are continuously buying wood. 

May 31, 2019

Attracting birds to our garden with Squirrel Buster Plus Bird feeder

Squirrel Buster Plus Bird feeder
Over the past few years, we have updated our garden to encourage pollinators such as bees and butterflies to visit by choosing plants and flowers that attract them. We also made structures where they can build their homes, and created water features like bird baths. We also have a pond area which the birds love coming to take a bath and to quench their thirst or to sit by the rocks and sun bathe.

May 1, 2019

Waterproofing our fence with Rust-Oleum RESTORE®

applying Rustoleum RESTORE® 12x Clear Coat Transparent Stain & Sealer to fence
We built a new wooden fence in our garden last summer using treated green wood, which has a bright refreshing feel. We gave the new fence boards time to dry out over the summer before applying a clear coat sealer to protect the wood from moisture. We used RESTORE® 12x Clear Coat Transparent Stain and SealerWe went with the clear finish because we liked the original colour of the fence boards. This sealer can be tinted into six different colours. 

March 30, 2019

Using Stencil and Textured Dimensional Paint for DIY Focal Wall

stencil art and deco art textured paint
Adding this textured stencil art instantly changed our space! We did this stencil art using the American decor tropical leaves and Americana Decor Texture in Meadow Green paint. Now, this space has a focal point and an added interest.

January 13, 2019

Sewing a Zipper Pouch

zipper pouch sewing DIY
This zipper pouch we sewn using our Brother sewing machine. It is a convenient way to store our game pieces in one easy to access place. Follow these steps and make your own zippered pouch to store anything you want. 

December 9, 2018

DIY Draft Stopper for windows and doors

DIY Draft Stopper
This DIY draft stopper is easy to make at home. It is very useful in keeping cold air from entering through windows and doors. This economical DIY is cheaper and easier to make at home, and it will save us a few dollars while keeping the cold air out.  

October 7, 2018

SoSoft Fabric Painted Water Lily pillowcases and bed sheet

I used the steps from the book Ten-Step Drawing: Flowers by Mary Woodin to draw the water lily flowers and customize pillowcases and a bed sheet. For the paint, I used the SoSoft Fabric paint from DecoArt. 

April 26, 2018

Poppy Flower Inspired Fabric Painted Cushion Cover

Poppy Flower Inspired Fabric painting Cushion Cover
Fabric painting is a fun technique to use on clothes to add unique designs. For this cushion cover project, I chose to do a bright poppy flower inspired cover.

March 24, 2018

DIY Embroidery Top Wooden Stool

We wanted to a customize and make our own DIY wooden stool with a soft cushion top that can be used as an extra seating, a table, or a footstool. The colours we used are inspired by our love for Moroccan and Bohemian designs and colours. We feel this gives the punch of colour we want to make the interior of our home feel brighter even during the long winter seasons!

March 13, 2018

Painting on Glass with Americana Gloss Enamels

decoart glass paint project
I thoroughly enjoyed doing this wall display on an old glass picture frame. Prior to starting the project, I cleaned the glass with rubbing alcohol. Once the surface air dried, I drew a Mandala themed design using a black DecoArt Glass paint marker

January 9, 2018

Cable Stitch Knit Scarf

cable stitch knit scarf
I love knitting cable stitch! It is easier than it looks. All you do is simply catch the knit stitches according to the pattern onto the cable needle and hold it either in the back or front then knit the stitches on the knitting needle, then knit the stitches you put on the cable needle. I find the knitted projects using cable stitch add elegance and a beautiful texture. 

January 4, 2018

DIY Stencil Wall Art

decoart stencil wall art
We changed a wall space in our home using the Moroccan Tile Stencil from DecoArt. These washable and reusable 18" x 18" stencils are a fun way to add colour to any surface from walls to rugs and furniture. The stencils are available in different sizes, so we can use it on different surfaces for both small and large projects.

November 20, 2017

Adding Colour using wall mural and canvas prints from Photowall

photowall
Photowall.com, a Swedish brand which has a selection of wall mural and canvas prints we can use to add a different decor to any area in our home. We really like how these murals and canvas prints add dimension to our wall and changes the focal point, and the interior design of the space. 

September 21, 2017

Fun Board Games to Encourage Learning

how to build a game cart
I believe playing board games with our children is a fun way for us to get involved in teaching lifelong skills such as problem solving, team playing, communication skills, and help in the development of cognitive thinking. It is so much easier to shop for these toys for children in all ages right from the comfort of our home through Amazon.ca.

August 23, 2017

Security Cameras from EZVIZ helps us keep an eye on our home

ezviz mini trooper camera
It is surprising how far technology has evolved, making it easy for us to keep an eye in our home and surroundings from far away through crystal clear quality video. As we travelled many places this summer, we are glad we installed a couple of security cameras from EZVIZ.

July 8, 2017

The Dewalt DCP580B 20V Max Brushless Planer #DIY tool

Dewalt Max Brushless Planer
We do a lot of DIY projects using wood and have a decent collection of tools to get the job done. The latest addition to our tools is the Dewalt DCP580B 20V Max Brushless planer. A planer is a really useful tool to have, as it has lots of varying uses. The DEWALT DCP580B 20V Max Brushless planer we are using is the cordless version, and it comes as a bare tool without any batteries. Since, most of our power tools are Dewalt we already have batteries to go with them. It is always best to use 3 Ah batteries or greater, so there is enough power to get the job done.