Vintage Revivals • Page 100 of 120 • Fearless DIY

Calling All Pinterest Junkies!!

By Mandi | 06/10/2013 | 8 Comments

Gooooood MORNING!

We’ve got a special surprise for you today… who doesn’t love a little friendly competition and GIVEAWAY?!?! (there will be a randomly drawn winner in addition to the winner of the contest, so you should enter both ways!)

The premise of this contest stems from the fact that ALL OF US are guilty of Pinning an idea without ever checking the source… guilty as charged! But there are likely pins on your boards that are from your favorite bloggers, and you don’t even KNOW it! (amiright?)

And that’s where the contest comes in:

Here’s the line-up! SUCH an amazing group of bloggers that we wrangled!!

And below are projects from each blogger (including ME!) that you’ve likely seen viral all over Pinterest!

Before we get to the rules, can we talk about how

RYOBI is giving away $800 worth of POWER TOOLS?

Just… in time for Father’s Day!

Perfect timing if you ask me.

$400 RYOBI Giftcard goes to our randomly selected winner, and $400 RYOBI Giftcard goes to the first person to correctly match up all 16 bloggers with the correct projects!

SO!

When you click on the Contest Form (at the bottom of this post), it will direct you to a page that will show you an image of the project, and a drop-down menu of bloggers. You just go down the line and select away! Some projects you probably know already, but some you may need to SNOOP AROUND blog-land to find!

We call this BLOG-HOPPING. And it’s highly encouraged in the blogging world.

Here’s the links to the home page of each blog (in no particular order). Now get busy!

CLICK HERE TO ENTER THE CONTEST!!

(My pin it hover button is blocking the link!)

Entry #1

(Randomly drawn)

‘Like’ us ALL on Facebook, and let us know that you did on the Rafflecopter form below!

Entry #2

(Contest!)

Click below to match up each blogger with their amazing project!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

One entry per person, per entry method.
Winner of matching contest will be emailed, and publicly announced on Facebook.
Winner of random-drawing giveaway will be announced on Father’s Day here on the blog, as well as Facebook.
Be sure to hop over to RYOBI Nation and check out some amazing inspirational projects!
Be AWESOME today (that’s a given)

This contest/giveaway is in NO WAY affiliated with Pinterest or Facebook, and we hereby release them of any liability related to this promotion, the receipt of prize winnings, etc. The giveaway prize has been generously provided by RYOBI Nation. All prizes will be mailed by the sponsor and all participating blog owners are not held responsible if the prize is not fulfilled. Giveaway starts Monday 6/10/13 at 5am est and ends at midnight on Saturday 6/15/13. Alternate entry available by sending your entry via email to [email protected]. Winner will be announced on Sunday 6/16/13 and will need to respond within 48 hours to claim their prize, or another winner will be chosen.Winner must be 18 years of age or older and a US citizen in order to win. May the force be with you.

My 8 Favorite Outdoor Sprucing Tips #readydoneclean

By Mandi | 06/07/2013 | 257 Comments

On the scale of 1-10 ten being my favorite thing (going to the thrift store) I put cleaning at about a 4… ok a 3. And cleaning stuff that is not normal everyday cleaning? How about a .75.

But it has to be done, so we are chatting tips and tricks to sprucing up your outdoor space.

1. Move Your Stuff. This one might be a little forehead slapping good but it is AMAZING the things that can secretly build up behind the things we put in our yard. Check out the corner of my porch…its a little embarrassing. I never would have seen it, if I didn’t move the giant pot.

2. Get Rid Of Broken or Dysfunctional Items. In my case, this vinyl no solicitors sign. Every time I come in my front door I look at it and grimace. It is CLEARLY not functional. Which also explains my new vacuum, security system, and the stack of religious pamphlets that are accumulating in my entryway. Hmmm.

3. Wipe Down Your Front Door. Sometimes we forget how with looks without a layer of dust/pollen on it. If it especially grimy or water spot laden use Mr. Clean Outdoor Pro Spray. I gave mine a good scrub with a Magic Eraser and then a coat of Danish Oil.

4. Scrub Your Floor. Whether you have concrete or wood or both, they can each use a good scrub down. I prefer using a deck brush, but if you have a power washer that is awesome too.

5. Get The Paint Off Of Your Driveway. Who me? Pssh.

Ok fine.

I always seem to have overspray on my concrete. Throw down a thick layer of Citristrip and let it sit for 15 minutes. Then use a deck brush to scrub the paint. The reason I use Citristrip is because it doesn’t discolor the concrete like an acid wash or harsher paint strippers can.

6. Bust Out The Magic Eraser. Remember when I proclaimed my love and devotion of Magic Erasers for paint prep? Well guess what? They make outdoor ones. BAM. If I had to have one of my hands transformed into a cleaning tool for the rest of my life, it would be a Magic Eraser. THAT is how much I love them. I use mine to scrub everything from the BBQ to my furniture. And because its outdoor, the durability is through the roof.

7. Get Ready To Paint! Now that you have cleaned and prepped your old furniture, give it a coat of color with your favorite can of spray paint!! Remember to put down a drop cloth so you don’t have to repeat step 5!

8. Add Greenery. Head to Home Depot and grab some plants, it is ridiculous how add such a small thing will totally transform a space.

Source

Now for the REALLY fun part! I am giving one lucky reader a chance to do all of this! I have teamed up with P&G and Home Depot to giveaway 1 Package of Outdoor Magic Erasers, 1 bottle of Mr. Clean Outdoor Pro Spray, 1 roll of Bounty paper towels, and $100 Home Depot Gift Card!

Enter the Rafflecopter below by leaving a comment with YOUR favorite outdoor cleaning tip, trick, or secret!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This post is in collaboration with Procter Gamble and The Home Depot. All opinions (and real life messes for that matter) are 100% mine.

Summer House Tour Baby!!

By Mandi | 06/03/2013 | 63 Comments

The most important thing that a home blogger should have is a house tour. Did you know that I have never done one? I am SUCH a loser. But good news, my loser days are over. This week I (and 24 of my closest bloggy friends) are giving you full on house tours to kick off a fantastic summer of project list inspiration!!

So here is how this tour thing is going to work. I am going to link the main description to the reveal post, then underneath each image I will will link to the tutorials in the image, got it? Hopefully, cause here we go!

If you are new to Vintage Revivals and coming from my girl The Nester, I welcome you, if you are not, well then you know I already love your guts and you need to double back and check out her amazingly imperfect house. Here is a little back story about our house (because everyone loves those things right!?) We bought our house in September 2009, it was a short sale and to say it was well, tetanus shot inducing would be pretty dang accurate. Here are a few of the images from the MLS listing.

So if you are on the hunt for a home that is a little bit less than your ideal pinterest mansion, dont worry! You can change things to the point that they are almost unrecognizable and 100% you!!

So now is the fun part. What it looks like now, or at least for this second. What can I say, I love to improve and change things up constantly. In fact pulling this house tour together has given me THE itch.

Lets start outdoors, shall we? Our house is like 80% of the houses in Southern Utah, builder basic, tan stucco, one level. Mark my words, one day I am building a house that will turn St. George on its beige head. Last summer Court and I built the Chevron Shutters and they are holding up FANTASTICALLY. I love that they add so much to the house (you wouldn’t thing it would change it that much, but it totally does. So add shutters to your project list.)

I just showed off my newly summer-fied back patio last week, and I still love it, even though most of the plants are now DEAD. (that is what happens when you decide to stay in Salt Lake for an extra week…its a good thing the plants were the only casualty.)

Watercolor Tiki Art / Tiki Torch Update

My entryway was one of the first projects that I finished that I felt like was finally my style, no piggybacking things I had seen on other blogs, only me 100%.

Herringbone Ceiling / Purple Chandelier /

I am so in love with my Living Room I hear angels every time I walk into it. This is actually the second makeover that this room has had in the short history of Vintage Revivals. You can see the first one here.

LOVE String Art / Sharpie Wallpaper / Thrift Store Art / Map / Mid Century Desk / Floating Shelves / Openwork Cube Light / Aztec Chevron Rug / Orange Couch / Black Window Trim

Mid Century Credenza / Card Catalog / Thrift Store Prints

Planked Wall / Framing Out A Doorway / Crewel Folk Art / Bowl Light

In the corner of the last picture you can see our eat in kitchen space with the famous black wall.

The mid century chairs are a craigslist score that I have plans to reupholster, the rug is from Rugs USA and the pipe table tutorial is here.

And this is what my Master bedroom used to look like…it is currently naked because I sold everything in it at the Hoard Sale.

Stenciled Wall / Compass Sisal Rug / Board and Batten / Chair Reupholstery

Mirrored Dresser /

I have 2 daughters with 2 very distinct personalities and 2 very different bedrooms.

First is Ivie. Ivie Lou is my favorite 10 year old on the planet.

Faux Bois Painted Concrete Floor / Triangle Wall / Butcher Block Upcycled Desk / Thrifted Dresser / Lantern Chandelier / Cuckoo Clock

Happy Girl Sign

Dylan is my youngest, and let me tell you her Room Makeover was a challenge. If you want to laugh click over and watch her video. I am in trouble.

Hexagon Wall / Ombre Painting / Tufted Picture Frame Headboard / Small Dresser Overhaul /

Cork Bulldog Mural / Love Your Guts Art / Copper Pipe Coat Rack

And sometimes I like to go to other peoples houses and redo a room for them…

Kelsey’s Master: Epic Room Makeover Giveaway 2012

Hailee’s Living Room Makeover

Sierra’s Guest Room Makeover

Alicia’s Kitchen Makeover

Alicia’s Living Room Makeover

So there you go friends, a brief glimpse into the made over magic. Hope you enjoyed it, up next is Beth @ Home Stories A2Z, her house is so amazing!!

Here are the other 24 bloggers rocking the summer house tour series:

DAY 1 (June 3rd)

House 1 – Gina @ The Shabby Creek Cottage (www.theshabbycreekcottage.com)

House 2 – The Nester @ Nesting Place (www.thenester.com)

House 4 – Beth @ Home Stories of A to Z (www.homestoriesatoz.com)

House 5 – Ashley @ The Handmade Home (www.thehandmadehome.net)

House 6 – Kristin @ The Hunted Interior (www.thehuntedinterior.blogspot.com)

DAY 2 (June 4th)

1 – Beckie @ Infarrantly Creative

2 – Jen @ Tatertots and Jello

3 – Chris @ Just a Girl

4 – Brooke @ All Things Thrifty

5 – Karen @ The Graphics Fairy

6 – Emily @ Decor Chick

7 – Roeshel @ DIY Show Off

– – – – –

DAY 3 (June 5th)

1 – Melissa @ The Inspired Room

2 – Wendy @ The Shabby Nest

3 – Donna @ Funky Junk Interior

4 – Marianne @ Songbird

5 – Lisa @ The Pennington Point

6 – Angie @ The Country Chic Cottage

7 – Brittany@PrettyHandyGirl

DAY 4 (June 6th)

1- Rhoda @ Southern Hospitality (www.southernhospitalityblog.com)

Traci @ Beneath My Heart (www.beneathmyheart.net)

Stacy @ Not Just a Housewife (www.notjustahousewife.net)

Jen @ Jennifer Rizzo (www.jenniferrizzo.com)

Lindsay @ Makely Home (www.makelyhome.com)

Sandra @ Sawdust Girl (www.sawdustgirl.com)

DAY 5 (June 7th) – Link Party at The Shabby Creek Cottage where you can link up YOUR house tour!!

Do You Mind Mom? I Am Creating Here. 5 Tips To Boost Your Kid’s Creativity

By Mandi | 05/30/2013 | 15 Comments

I believe that being creative is something that is learned. I believe that it takes massive amounts of inner confidence to create. I believe it is much easier to listen to whoever is telling you that its not perfect/unique/awesome enough (even if that person is yourself) than to fly the double falcons and push through it.

I am not a great parent. Sometimes I forget to brush my kids teeth. Sometimes I feed them cheetos for dinner. Sometimes I get frustrated and yell. Sometimes I do this all in one day…

But one thing I think I do pretty well is let my kids be creative. My girls would much rather do a project than pretty much anything else. So today I am going to let you in on a few of my secrets to encouraging creativity.

1. Don’t freak out. There have been many a day when I have walked in on Dylan writing on things that she should not be. Lately she is tagging everything with her name. Its adorable and frustrating at the same time. Do you ever get the urge to do a project RIGHTTHISSECONDORYOUAREGOINGTOEXPLODE? I know I do. (Its usually when I improvise and use a butter knife to putty something, or a roll of tape to measure spacing) Kids get like that too, AND they don’t always have the common sense to control it. Now, I am not saying you shouldn’t have rules or set boundaries, because you ABSOLUTELY should. But if mistakes are made, its ok, its just stuff. Heck I am sure there is some viral pin all about cleaning crayon off of every surface in your home anyways.

2. Give them the tools they need. Ivie loves to make things out of trash. This girl will save boxes and containers like it is manna in the desert. Her tool of choice is a hot glue gun. So I make sure that there is always hot glue in the house. Dylan LOVES to draw, and if she cant find paper at a moments notice my walls suffer, so I always try to have paper on hand. If you give them the tools, then the only thing that is limiting them is their own mind.

3. Be creative yourself. There is not a day that goes by that I am not working on something. When my girls see me pushing myself and problem solving, they know that its not always going to turn out perfect the first time, but to keep at it.

4. Encourage Encourage Encourage. I love getting pats on the back for all of my hard work, your kids want that too.

5. Don’t Forget To Enjoy Their Journey. This is one of my FAVORITE videos of Dylan ever. EVER. It was shot about 6 months ago when she was going through her YouTube Monster High Makeover phase. Please enjoy.

The most important thing about fostering creativity is to help your child see that they can be as creative and weird as they want. It is worth the messes friends, pinky promise.

Can you tell I am on a kid friendly project kick? It should last approximately 6 more hours until I am ready for school to start again. If you need more kiddo approved projects check out this post and this post.

What are your favorite kid friendly projects?

Outdoor Watercolor Tiki Mask Art

By Mandi | 05/27/2013 | 21 Comments

This post is all over the place. I am not sure why, but lets just go with it. Consider yourself warned.

When I was sprucing up my patio, I knew I want some kind of funky art. I have been hoarding this Tiki mask for MONTHS. Court was confused and a little, well, nervous, when I told him there was no way on God’s green earth I was selling it at the Hoard Sale. (The actual plan was to paint it and put it in my kitchen, we will see if that ever happens…)

So we have the Tiki mask and the theme of Summer. And for some reason the first thing that I think of when I hear “SUMMER!!!” is Grease. I don’t know why. Its a gift and a treasure, in one John Travolta-Hip Thrusting- Music Filled package.

Here is the internal conversation with Me, Myself, and I (you should know that Myself is the one that thinks through the way readers will react to things. Sometimes Myself is on vacation…like when I write posts like “Craigslist Etiquette is for Suckers” and it makes people feel the need to tell me that I have no morals. But usually she is right here with me.

Me: Hmmm.. Patio. Decorating. Art. Summer.

I: Don’t forget we have that awesome Tiki Mask

Myself: Some people commented on FB that the Tiki mask has bad Ju-ju and you shouldn’t put it in your house. Whatever Ju-ju is.

Me: Well, maybe we should put it outside.

I: Maybe it will protect against the feral cats that crap on the lawn? Or the Feral teenagers that keep jacking our stuff.

Myself: You cant say feral teenagers, that will anger people. They are children of God, just trying to find their way.

Me: Focus you two. Sheesh. So we have Tiki. We have summer.

I: Summer lovin, had me a blast.

Me: Ohh ohh what if we make it look like the mask is singing?! Such a good idea.

I: I love that! He could be singing Summer Lovin and have kisses all over his face!

Myself: Summer Lovin is probably not the best phrase since it promotes teenage sexual behavior, and we already have a wayward teenager issue.

Me: Dude. No one is going to take it like that.

Myself: Do you want to end up on a blogger bashing forum? Find something a little bit more appropriate.

I: How about But, Oh. Those Summer Nights?

Me: Fine with me.

Myself: It still a little risky, but if people get upset then they need a life. Plus most teenagers nowadays probably haven’t seen Grease. Lets do it.

Now who has said they want to live in my head? Its a bit crowded friends.

Dyl has become the resident watercolor specialist in the Gubler casa. I wish I could take credit for this project but it was 95% her.

I cut the words out with my Silhouette (the font I used is Nova Solid) and stuck them to a scrap piece of 1/8” ply that I had in my garage.

I didn’t want them to be perfectly lined up, so instead of using transfer tape I peeled of each letter and place it individually.

Once I had the letters down I drew a rough circle around them to mark where I wanted the wood painted (you can see it in the picture below) and then I gave Dylan free reign with her watercolors (I know that watercolors are not permanent but it was the loose watery look that I was going for.)

She had so much fun mixing and painting. I love when you get out of the way and give kids permission to let whatever is inside of them to come out.

Then I let Dylan peel of the vinyl. This was probably her favorite part, she was amazed that the letters were still there! I am pretty sure if there was a job just doing this, it would be the most gratifying job in the world.

All dried.

As far as the kissy mask goes, I just free handed lips onto the mask with plain old acrylic craft paint. I did contemplate putting it on my lips and then kissing him but Myself got the better of me.

I hung the board on the house (one of the upsides of Stucco) with small finishing nails in each corner and then hung Mr.. Tiki Man on with a nail. Not a big to do, but it works.

I love that Dylan did this, I love that it looks so fun, and I love that the Tiki Man is going to scare away all of the feral teenagers. (Sorry Myself, I just had to throw it in there.)

Hope you guys have an amazing Memorial Day!

Tiki Torch Tweaking

By Mandi | 05/24/2013 | 19 Comments

This post brought to you by TIKI Brand®. All opinions are 100% mine.

Sigh, its summer friends. Ivie is out of school today. Which means in exactly 9.5 days I am going to be ready for a vacation. Somewhere new and fun. Last year Court and I went to Paris and it was indescribable. This year? We are going on vacation to our backyard (yay?).

One day, many moons from now I am going to have a backyard with huge trees, secret huts, and hidden swings. (And that is just for me.) But until that day comes, I am going to rock what I got in the miniscule backyard that we have.

Also I think I might need to move out of the desert. Just a thought.

If I could describe my dream backyard in 3 words it would be lush, funky, and colorful.

So operation No Ugly Backyard is underway.

And that starts with a Tiki Torch. Or a TIKI Brand Fire Sculptures to be exact.

My parents never had cool stuff like this when I was a kid. I mean. An open flame and me? NEVER a good idea.

But when Tiki sent me their Alumina Fire Sculpture I was super excited about it, open flame and all. I really loved the modern style and just based on the size of the box, this thing is MUCH taller than I expected. One thing that was missing (and you can’t blame them, you just cant bottle this stuff) is a little Mandifying, you know, to up the funk factor.

I used my Silhouette to cut out simple triangle chains out of white vinyl, (you can download my file for free here) and then I just slapped it on the torch base. I LOVE it. Like if it wasn’t an open flame that has mosquito repellant built right in (its amazing, those Tiki guys think of everything) I would totally have this in my bedroom. (If you are loving triangles too, check out Ivie’s tribal triangle wall. Its pretty fantastic!)

So now lets chat about the flame.

Dylan stood by and watched it for a good 20 minutes. This was our convo:

D: Mom its SOOOOO pretty!

Me: I know honey, but we don’t touch it.

D: I know, its just so sparkly!

Me: It is so sparkly, but it will burn you if you touch it.

D: I know Mom. I just love it.

Me: I am so glad, I love it too. But we don’t…

D: Maw-yum (you have to say that phonetically to get the true dialect) I know. We don’t touch it.

Me: Right.

I even secretly recorded a Vine video of it for you. (you have to click the volume control in the upper left hand of the video to hear it!)

That girl will be the death of me.

So if you are in the mood the set the mood for your backyard, pop on over to The Home Depot and pick up your own. This particular style retails for $69.00

Now for the rest of the styling. The rug was $24.99 from HomeGoods, I have been itching for a rag rug since Kelsey’s Room Makeover last year and loved the rainbows on this one. The FREAKING awesome chair, plant shelf and Tiki mask are thrift store scores! Pillow is clearance Homegoods from 9 months ago (does that qualify it as vintage?) And I have tutorials coming next week for the sign and the concrete succulent holders!!

Also did you notice my collection of houseplants is growing!! Don’t you love that succulent bush that looks like a ball?! It was love at first sight. It would make an awesome bouquet if you wanted to get married to a Tiki mask.

ps. Channel your inner pyro decorista and check out TIKI Brand on Facebook for lots of fun ways to style your patio!

pps. Wallace? Cutest puppy ever.

$500 CASH Shopping Spree Giveaway

By Mandi | 05/23/2013 | 1 Comment

Spring is in full bloom and that means summer is right around the corner bringing with it sundresses, sandals, shorts, and swimsuits!!!

Are you ready for the heat?

Maybe a better question would be is your budget ready for it??

We want you to have the

BEST. SUMMER. EVER.

and so we teamed up with some of the most AMAZING blogs out there to giveaway crisp, cool, cash!! {Squeal!}

[pinit count=”horizontal” always-show-count=”1″ url=”https://www.thedatingdivas.com/?p=38184″ image_url=”https://www.thedatingdivas.com/wp-content/uploads/Wendy-Spring-giveaway-Pinterest-Picture.jpg” description=”Enter to win a FREE SHOPPING SPREE giveaway valued at more than $750!!! www.TheDatingDivas.com #giveaway #freeshoppingspree #newwardrobe”]

We have $500 for our first prize winner AND just because we were all feeling super generous we also have $250 for our fabulous runner-up!!

What will you do with all that money?

Pick out a whole new wardrobe? Splurge on weekend away with your spouse? Use it on a spa day, new fragrance, and fresh make-up?

The possibilities are endless, so start dreaming big!!

You know we love ALL our awesome readers but this contest is open only to followers of our Google+ pages.

Not sure if you are following all these awesome blogs on Google+? It is so easy to be a follower, just check out this post here for the scoop.

Check out all the Google+ Pages of these FABULOUS blogs below by clicking each picture and make sure you are following them all to stay up on all the amazing things we are all up to!

Here are all the fabulous sites who have contributed to this amazing giveaway!

Be sure to add ALL these great sites to your circles and keep up with their great stuff!

Entering this contest may be the easiest thing you have done all day!

Now…just enter in your basic info, and then answer a SUPER FUN QUESTION 🙂

Yes, you totally read that right- so what are you waiting for? Get your entry in 🙂

Giveaway starts Thursday, May 23rd at 5:00 am PST and ends Monday, June 3rd at midnight PST. Once the giveaway ends, the lucky winner will be chosen using Random.org and contacted within 24 hours by email. This post will be updated with winner’s name once we’ve heard back. Winner will need to respond within 48 hours to claim their prize or another winner will be chosen. Open to U.S. residents only. *This promotion is sponsored by the above specified bloggers and is in no way affiliated with Google. We hereby release Google of any liability related to this promotion, the receipt of prize winnings, etc. Winners must be of full legal age in the jurisdiction in which they live. This group of bloggers are only responsible for sending out the prize. Participants will be responsible for any taxes, tariffs duties, etc. due upon delivery of the prize.