DIY Giveaway

I am so happy to share.....and everyone knows how much I love a giveaway! 
When the 3M people sent me all these goodies, I wanted to share them with you.  I also added some of my personal favorites. There is enough stuff in this basket....basket included...for you to get some serious DIY on!

Now if this isn't motivation, I don't what is. Painting, furniture refinishing, Projects around the home....let's get it done. I lost count, but I think this totals around $75 in value?
How to enter......you must be a GFC Follower of my blog (up on the right...click it)
Here are all the ways you can enter...to increase your chances (one comment per action)
1. Be a GFC Follower of Calling it Home. 2. Follow me on Pinterest.  3. Like me on FB. 4. Follow me on Twitter. 5. Follow me on Instagram.
Make sure I have an email address for you.
Good luck everyone. This is for the US or Canada only.
This giveaway will end Sunday, July 28th at midnight.

My Summer Window Boxes

I was so excited when the people at 3M contacted me to see if I was working on any outdoor painting projects. It felt like the equivalent of Bruce Springsteen saying "Hey, want to sit in with the band?"....

.

slight exaggeration?...

.

I don't know....

.

Bruce, call me!

First, they sent me all these goodies.

This would probably not be the time to tell them that I am already addicted to many of these products. 

I used

this duct tape

when I created a

custom size rug

.

This is the only tape

I would use for

painting a rug

or transforming

an ugly threshold

.

I am always telling you that you need this mask when you spray paint.

But, I had no idea that

this existed

!

Noise reduction hearing protection....

.

with...

.

wait for it...

.

radio/MP3/iPod capabilities! Put this on your holiday shopping list for the

diy

-

er

in your life. In case you are not a

diy

-

er

, no you don't

need

this for an outdoor painting project...

.

but I am totally wearing them and singing out loud while I paint. Sorry, neighbors.

I couldn't find a supermodel to show you how I looked or the products I used

...

so I found the next best thing.

Project time...

.

my window boxes were in desperate need of a fresh coat of paint!

They look fine from the curb, right? Take a closer look.

Since these window boxes are a composite material...

.

the prep and paint is super easy. 

1. Protect the stone or wall using

this tape

.

2. Lightly sand any rough spots. I am in love with

this no slip sandpaper

.

3. Wipe down after sanding.

4. Prime & paint.

Here are my freshly painted and newly planted window boxes. 

I like to layer color and texture in my containers & window boxes. The dark colors are a nice contrast to the white boxes. Stay cool...

.

it's hot!

This has been a sponsored post from my friends at 

You can find them on

Twitter

&

Facebook

!

Meet Ozana

Well, when I asked you if you wanted to join in on the summer fun, I had no idea that message would reach Romania! I can't even tell you where Romania is on a map...ok, that's a lie...I know the general area . Let's go meet a new friend on the other side of the world...because that's where Romania is...right?

I would like you to meet Ozana. 

She is a fabulous DIY-er and she really knows what she is doing. Take a look at this adorable room she created.

Are you seeing that ombre chair? What about the pink headboard?

I think she even made the art....I can't remember.

Ne pare rău Nu-mi amintesc dacă ați făcut arta, Ozana  (Google Translator)

Hello, Calling it home readers!! I am Ozana from House@heart blog in Romania, and I'm super-duper-excited to get to know you! This is my first-time collaboration with another blog, and I can sincerely say that I am so honoured that Linda let me share one of my diy-s with you all!! The first time I noticed Linda was through her One Room Challenge series and fell in love with her style: collected, personal and elegant!

When it comes to doing it myself, I don't hold back and, having moved to our new house less than two months ago, I have a lot of work!! Today I am showing you the headboard I did for our master bedroom. I was going for a thick headboard and diamond tufting is a pain, but sooo rewarding!! I used a black drapery fabric, with a bit of sheen, but not as much as it shows in the pictures.

Here's how I did it:

1. Cut the particle board to the size and shape desired. For this I used a piece of cardboard to trace half of the shape, and then flipped it and used it to trace the other half. This ensures you have a symmetrical headboard. Then drill holes where you want the buttons to go. I measured 12 cm squares, and drilled holes  in order to create the diamond tufts:

2. Glue the foam to the board. Then, using a cutter, cut  the foam following the shape of the board. 

3. Pass the needle through the board and foam, marking the foam where the holes are.

4. Using a plastic pipe I cut holes in the foam, be sure to use a slightly bigger diameter than the buttons. Hard work here, my whole body ached after this step!! My headboard had 47 buttons!!

5.Now it's time to lay the padding on the foam. I chose a very thick padding, it worked great!!

6. Be sure to iron your fabric and then lay it on top of the padding. Now, use  an upholstery long needle and upholstery thread, starting from behind and through the hole; pass the thread through the button, then go back through the hole. This is frustrating and time-consuming, as you're going in blind, but suck it up and continue!! Staple after pulling really hard so the button touches the particle board!! Sooo hard!!:(( Staple in different directions and use a hammer to be sure the staples hold the thread good.

Work horizontally and start from the middle. After you finished doing the horizontal buttons continue with the ones in between, thus creating the diamond tufts. Use your hands to create the diamonds, the fabric helps you a lot, as it wants to sit in a diamond shape!!

7. Then  staple the padding and the fabric.

Done!!

Or:

8. Add those beautiful diamond-like nails. I would have liked to add them to the front of the headboard, but , because I chose a very thick foam (10 cm) they didn't work nicely. So I chose to nail them on the width of the particle board. I love them, they are just like a little hidden surprise!! 

Here is the finished diamond tufted headboard:

And here it is up in the bedroom:

For more pictures of the bedroom, click here: Master bedroom reveal

Thank you, Linda, once again, for having me on your blog, it is indeed a happy moment for me, and I hope you and your readers liked my diy headboard. I love doing different projects for my house, and I have done a few, because this way I feel the house we now live in slowly transitions into a real home, our home...

xoxo,

Ozana

Meet Stephanie

If you don't already know her, I would like you to meet Stephanie. She has an amazing eye for detail and puts together rooms like this one.

And then she layers it further.

I know, she's really good.

Hi there Calling it Home readers! Stephanie Kraus here from Stephanie Kraus Designs! 

Wow! I'm a huge fan of Linda's blog and her One Room Challenge series. So you can imagine how beyond honored I am that she chose me to include in her blog party (yeah me!). So I thought I'd share a mini before and after with you.

Okay, I really needed to spruce up my entrance. I was tired of the current look.

Here's the before

ehhh.

And here's the after...

Ok besides the top of the chest, are you able to notice the difference between the two photos?

Well, I sprayed the hardware with this guy.

here

And I fell in love with my entry chest all over again:)

Even my husband was amazed by the transformation and he doesn't know jack when it comes to design:)

Btw, he also asked me why I wasn't just polishing the hardware up with a little Brasso ?? (no way was that going to make this kind of impact!!)

Then I added the artichoke lamp from my office. The white west elm tray, some mercury glass and pink hydrangea from my garden and it all worked wouldn't you say?

Before

After

So take a look around your house --don't have time or want to paint out your furniture? Why not just spruce up the hardware with a little brass spray paint? hmmmmm.... what else can I transform???

Stephanie, you did an amazing job. Thanks for sharing this great fix with us. 

If you want to pop over and say 'Hi' to Stephanie, you can visit her here.

My Best Student.....EVER!

Alright, who stole my week? I was so busy being Mom and getting caught up in my own life....I forgot to blog. Yup, didn't even think about it. That's probably a good thing....you know....balance. So here we are and it's Friday! I'm sure you could use a relaxing weekend, too. Here's some inspiration for you.

I want to introduce you to Meg....my best student....EVER! A few weeks ago, I found 

Meg's blog 

and saw that she was using 

my wall specks

 to create this treatment in her living room. Meg and her husband did the entire treatment themselves.

It is amazing how much it looks like my wall.

Here's another view of Meg's room

My entry

Meg emailed me to ask me a few questions, and the next thing I know....BAM.

Her living room is done. To see more of this beautiful room and the "before",

you can go here

. Meg also had some great

tips for priming the boards

.

It was so fun for me to know that I inspired someone to make a change in their own home. 

Have a great weekend, friends!

One Light, Four Ways Giveaway!

Hello, and thanks for coming back to see my custom 

Rejuvenation light fixture

. In case you missed it, there are four of us

designing our own light fixture

s

. Here is my custom light.

It is lit with

this LED bulb

. That means the kids can forget to turn it off, and I won't get mad. #teenagers

Remember how the space started.

You can read about my

pillow puzzle here

 and you can find my

rug and Kantha quilt sources here

.

For the fixture, I chose the large

Merchant shade in unlacquered brass

. That way, she can age gracefully...wish I could say the same for moi.

I wrapped the cord with a nautical twisted rope. I bought it at a boating store, but I am sure you can find this stuff at a big hardware store. 

The tutorial for this toggle

can be found here

.

The view from my entry feels connected.

The pretty flower shot.

And now for the GIVEAWAY!!

Rejuvenation

is giving away a $100. gift certificate to one lucky reader.

You can use it for anything Rejuvenation sells. I am sure my savvy readers checked out the site last week.....and even practiced

custom designing a fixture

of your own. I am guessing you know how you would use this if you win?

If it were me, I would definitely consider

these brass locks

for my windows.

My husband would love a pair of

these hooks

in his closet.

Or a couple of

wire baskets

so the kids could throw their shoes in it.

Now for the rules:

If you are a GFC follower or a

Bloglovin'

follower of my blog, 

you have

3 chances to enter

Please make sure I have your email!

Follow

Rejuvenation on Pinterest

(one entry)

Follow

me on Pinterest

(one entry)

Pin something that you like from the

Rejuvenation site

. (include the pin in your entry)

This giveaway will end Sunday, May 12th at midnight (EST). The winner will be announced on Monday, May 13th. The gift certificate will be mailed directly to you from Rejuvenation.

There is also a coupon code for today only! You can get a

15% discount site-wide by using "MONDAY15"!

This is an on-line only discount code.

Now let's go see what the other ladies designed, and of course

enter their giveaway too!

Design Chic

Design Indulgence

Design Manifest

Good luck!