Vintage Revivals • Page 51 of 120 • Fearless DIY

SHOP | Brass Pipe Himmeli Wreath Kits + Twisted Lamp Cord

By Mandi | 11/11/2015 | 6 Comments

Its finally here!! I am OVER.THE.MOON to announce that I have some new treasures in the shop!!

Cutting brass pipe for a small project (like these hanging planters) is no biggie, but cutting over 100 perfect pieces to make a Geometric Himmeli wreath is enough to put anyone in the loony bin. (Don’t go there. I hear its not that fun.)

In the shop (and ready to ship now!) are Brass Pipe Wreath Kits that will make all your DIYin’ dreams happen!

Each kit comes with 105 pieces of solid brass tubing, cut to 4” perfection, 1 spool of floral wire, and a love note from yours truly.

If you’ve made these wreaths before, you know how fragile cocktail straws can be. Not to mention the fact that they cant hold weight, so filling them with flowers, a pine sprig, or lights (or whatever your creative mind can come up with) is not really possible. When the wreaths are made out of stronger materials they can hold a lot of weight (imagine how cute they’d be wrapped in Christmas lights!) I have a limited number of kits, so get yours quick!

I’ve also added Twisted Cloth Lamp Cord. Seriously though, long gone are the days where lamp cord isn’t part of the design. Whether you’re DIYing something amazing or just want to swap out the cord on your favorite Target/thrift store score, this cord is my go to. You can see just how deep my obsession runs here. Right now its available in 2 colors: White and Beige.

We’ve got a few more treasures coming down the pipeline in the next few weeks, so stay tuned! (Cough cough Himmeli Letters cough)

Check everything out here!

Updates!!

By Mandi | 11/10/2015 | 4 Comments

Well hello there strangers! Hope everything in your world is going well! Last weekend I travelled to Salt Lake for Pinners Conference and had SO MUCH FUN seeing so many of you! I left feeling connected and happy, it was wonderful.

Ok so, can we talk for a second about self imposed guilt? Guys, I know that I’m not the only one that deals with this seemingly chronic condition. I cant even count the number of times that I have started a post attempting to explain the lack of project presence on Vintage Revivals. I mean, obviously being pregnant changes things, but it wasn’t until last week that I accepted the fact that I cant do huge projects behind the scenes and create day to day content for the blog like I am used to doing. Hellooooooo. It only took 7 months of feeling like I was failing at everything to come to terms with it. Why do we do this?! Why does bigger and better and faster always have to be the goal? How do you handle these feelings?

At the same time I have this peaceful contentment that can only come from acceptance. I’m ecstatically growing a baby and my life is just so good. I think its the word should that is my problem. All of the things that I should be doing. Like, I should be producing content every day for the blog, but if I don’t have anything valuable to say than I don’t want to talk just to talk. Ya know?

Here is a project update of sorts. The little guy’s nursery is done, and it is AMAZING!! The room reveal is a double whammy because its also announcing Sherwin-Williams 2016 Color of the Year (the reason why its been under lock and key) but will be live on the blog next Wed. the 18th. I can.not. wait for you to see how it turned out. Its been quite hilarious to see how involved Court is on this one (normally I have free reign to do whatever I want) but every element had to be approved by him. So so funny. He even staged some shelves. Here is the tiniest sneak peek.

In Sept./Oct. I shot 5 new episodes for season 2 of Fearless DIY on The Design Network and the projects are some of my favorite ever!! I’m just waiting for an air date, don’t worry, I’ll be shouting it from the rooftops when its here!

I think you’re wonderful. Thanks for being here and for making my life better!

Pinners Conference 2015!

By Mandi | 11/03/2015 | 3 Comments

Oh man!! Its time for one of my FAVORITE events of the year! Pinner’s Conference (insert happy dancing, which is not adorable right now because of my very large and in charge belly).

Pinner’s is an annual conference held in Salt Lake City that literally brings Pinterest to life! Its a 2 day event full of classes taught by your favorite bloggers and an expo full of all the amazing things that Pinterest teases us with on our computer screens!

Last year we hauled The Nugget up and met hundreds of amazing friends. This year, The Nugget is staying home, but I’m bringing The Nugget 2.0 with me (aka the aforementioned giant belly). I’ll be teaching 3 classes (1 on Friday and 2 on Saturday) and I WANT TO MEET YOU!!

The first class (taught on both Friday at 3:00 and Saturday at 9:30) is back by popular demand “10 Life Changing Tricks for DIYers”. I’m sharing my list for the 10 techniques that will make your DIY’s next level amazing. Everything from my favorite power tools (and what ones you can save $ on) to upping your Thrift Store game. It is going to be a roaring good time!

The second class is a make and take. We are making Himmeli Wreaths! I am walking you through how to DIY these show stoppers. And because who likes crafting in the quiet? (um, no one!) I am answering your biggest DIY dilemmas. Bring pictures, questions, you name it I’ll answer it. Heck if you want to haul a piece of furniture in to get opinions be my guest! The cost for this class is $10 if you are making a wreath out of straw, I also will have a very limited number of brass pipe kits (!!!) that will be $60. Or if you want to just come and hang out, that’s free.

You can pre-register here for the conference and classes. Be sure to check out the list of amazing presenters, you’ll be blown away!! Use code vintage revivals to get 10% off your ticket!

Cant wait to see you this weekend!!

DIY Cutting Board + Cooking(!)

By Mandi | 10/30/2015 | 17 Comments

2 things that I’m not exceptional at. First. Cooking. I mean I “make food” by putting a bunch of veggies and chicken into a pan and voila! stir-fry! I can also “make” grilled cheese, but following a recipe and branching out of my stir-fry bubble doesn’t happen. The second thing is wood working. Not project “building” like actual perfectly precise wood working. So when Blue Apron approached me about teaming up for a DIY project for the kitchen I thought it would be fun to kill 2 birds with 1 stone. Cooking and wood working, who knew they were such a match made in heaven!?

So lets get started with the project shall we? A little bit ago I mentioned that my local Home Depot has just started carrying Walnut. Guys, it is BEAUTIFUL. Every time I walk down the wood isle (which is roughly 4 times a week) I look at it and pet it and whisper sweet nothings to it. But without a specific project in mind I just couldn’t justify spending $6.00+/sq ft to just have it sit in my garage. Imagine my joy when I decided that I was going to try my hand at a cutting board (totally inspired by an actual reason to buy said Walnut.) The original plan was to build a 3d Tumbling block cutting board, something like this:

But for some reason it wasn’t working quite right, so I googled it and came across this video. Do you know why it wasn’t working right? Because I am not a savant. So I decided to do something a little more on my level.

I started with a 1”x6”x36” piece of walnut that I cut exactly in 1/2. So each piece measured 1’x6’x18”.

The next step was to take 1 of my walnut boards, and a piece of select pine and cut different sized strips that run the length of the board.

I cut one strip out of each type of wood before moving the fence. That way I ended up with matching sizes in both types of wood.

Once all of the strips were cut, I used Titebond III to glue them together. I alternated the sizes (smallest to largest) from different directions so that it looked fancy, and attached it to the second 1/2 of my walnut board.

Once everything was glued together, I used bar clamps to hold it nice and tight for 24 hours.

After it was dry, it needed a really good sanding to level everything out. I started with 60 grit and then moved to 150, 220, and finally 400.

After everything was as slick as ice I used the table saw to trim 1/16” off the edges to even them out too.

The last step is to season your board with cutting board (or butcher block) oil.

I am sort of obsessed with it. Especially that wavy corner on the walnut, its so pretty!

Once the project was done, I was SUPER excited to get cooking.

Lets just chat about my level of cooking expertise shall we? Its bad. Really bad. I don’t do it often enough to know what is actually happening. And if I do get on a cooking streak, its not gong to last, so I end up with all of these random left over ingredients that I bought for one meal that just get thrown away because they go bad.

I’d heard of Blue Apron around Blogland but had never subscribed for a meal. Basically, this is how it works. Blue Apron is an amazing company that delivers all of the fresh ingredients (and recipes!) to your front door that you’ll need to make a chef created meal. Just head over to Blue Apron and sign up for an account, from there all you have to do is from there all you have to do is pick your meal preferences and they’ll send you everything you need! If you are impatient like me you’ll probably wait at the front door for UPS to drop it off. The ingredients for the meals come in a refrigerated box with EVERYTHING that you need. Well, except water, your on your own for that one.

Our first recipe was for Beef Stew and Cheesy Mashed Potatoes and it.was.amazing. The meal comes with a full color recipe card and step by step pictures (huge for this non-cooker).

Then all you have to do is prep the ingredients and follow the directions.

Everything comes perfectly portioned and labeled so there is no guesswork.

The stew was so.good.

Both of the girls loved it, Court loved it, I loved it. Success on all fronts! We’re convinced and have signed up to get a meal a week. I feel like its the only way that my girls are going to be exposed to delicious food without taking them out to eat at expensive restaurants.

For our next adventure? Crispy Curried Catfish.

To get more info on Blue Apron check out their site here! The first 50 readers will get two free meals on their first Blue Apron order! Just click here! That is a CRAZY amazing deal, who doesn’t want to try something like Blue Apron for free??!

Thanks to Blue Apron for teaming up with me on this post!

Letting Kids Design Their Own Halloween Costumes

By Mandi | 10/28/2015 | 11 Comments

You know that clicking sound that a roller coaster makes right as you’re getting to the top? As if staring down the face of a 70 foot drop isn’t terrifying enough? That sound is ringing in my ears, its almost Halloween, and once Halloween hits it will be a breakneck speed through Nov. and Dec. and the baby will be here!

I think I’m going to throw up.

Today is a DIY of a different sort. Its the kind of DIY that seems maybe a little unnecessary but in my book is one of the most important projects that I can do. Halloween costumes. One of the biggest blessing that I have doing what I do, is that my kids get to see me be creative. They get to see things from start to finish and all the hairy fails along the way. They get to see the excitement of a new idea, and the frustration when it doesn’t turn out the way I was planning, and (most importantly) they get to see me work through it.

Soapbox time.

Creativity is often confused with artistic ability. Being a creative thinker, and having the courage to manifest what you have in your mind is one of the best assets a person can have. Its a skill that has to be used and shouldn’t just be brushed off. How often do we say (or hear) “I cant do that because I’m not creative?” Guess what? I cant do pull-ups.

At. All.

Like never in my life have I been able to do a single one. Does that mean that I am actually not able to? Nopers. It means that I haven’t done the work to condition my upper body to be able to pull my weight up. Some things come naturally to certain people and others have to work really hard, but just because something might not come naturally doesn’t mean that its just not in the cards. Rant over.

Teaching my girls to think creatively is huuuuuge for me. I try a lot of different things to give them the chance to flex their creative muscles. But hands down, everyone’s favorite is the Halloween costume.

Every year instead of spending a crazy amount of money on a store bought costume, I let my girls design their own. Instead of an answer like “a fairy” they draw (in full color) exactly what they want their costume to look like. And then together we try to make it. The best part is that the costumes only have to last a day, so there is a lot of um….rigging. But it works and everyone ends up happy.

Last year Dyl was a Royal Unicorn.

A long flowing mane was the most important part, so I put her hair in a stacked ponytail (is that what you’d call it?) and tied yarn in between.

Ivie wanted to be Cotton Candy. Then she was too embarrassed to wear it to school. But she did wear it trick or treating, so all was not lost. Tweenagers, am I right?

The year before Dylan was a Dog Ballerina (that was a fun one!)

Ivie was the Mad Hatter. We made her skirt out of cellophane and duct tape. Cellophane skirts are my fave. They are huge and puffy and CHEAP.

2012 was my favorite, they were both Candy Shoppe Girls. (Ivie designed both of their costumes)

Crazy costumes are sort of our jam, if you’ve ever seen our family Christmas card you know this to be gospel truth.

Even the dogs get into it.

Are you a costume maker or a costume buyer? Also, fellow mamas who are still procrastinating, I’ll see you at Joann’s?

15 Minute DIY Fall Floral Vases

By Mandi | 10/27/2015 | 5 Comments

I. am. so. excited. the last few mornings when I’ve taken Ivie to school have actually been fall-ish!! Cut the fall leaves emoji! Living in Southern Utah, it takes a bit for the crisp air to kick in and I get madly jealous of the crunchy leaves and sweaters that all you lucky folks get to rock.

I am always in the mood for a little light DIY, you know the kind right? Projects that take just a few minutes and don’t require a sawdust exorcism of your house?! I’ve teamed up with my friends at The Bouqs Company. to show you 2 quick DIY floral vases that you can master in under 15 minutes. And while they do create a little bit of sawdust, I promise its not enough to worry about calling a priest.

The first vase I dug out from under my kitchen sink, I’m pretty sure that we all have one or two lying around our house.

I gave it a quick coat of white matte spray paint and while it was drying got started on the wood corners.

I thought it would be awesome to modernize it with wood corners. I used a piece of 1×1 walnut (yes, the obsession continues!!) and cut a groove just under 1/2” in from the edge.

Then I flipped it and ran it through again and cut another groove. It left me with a perfect little corner piece notched out. (When you are doing this make sure that your saw blade height is exactly the same as the distance that your guard is from the blade!)

I measured the height of the vase and cut the wood to fit. Also, watch for rain while your vase is drying on the lawn….

I gave the wood a quick wipe down with Danish oil. I will never get sick of seeing how intensely it brings out the natural color of the wood, its like magic!

Once everything was dry I glued the pieces to the edges of the vase. and filled it with the coolest flowers that I’ve ever seen.

They have Bouqs like this filled with fresh protea and other seasonal greenery. Doesn’t it look other worldly?! They are so cool!

My second vase comes from a Target impulse purchase that needed a little oomph.

I bought it a few months ago and haven’t done a thing with it. The problem that I kept running into when I tried to plant in it is that the opening is wayyyy to little.

Nothing of substance can fit inside and so it wasn’t super functional as a vase. I decided to remedy the situation by chopping the opening off and widening it.

Muuuuuch better!

I taped off a few of the sections and painted them white.

Then, to make it actually capable of holding water (cause that’s a little bit important) I put a bag inside and trimmed off the excess.

This guy is filled with orange and white ranunculus. When they arrived they were closed up pretty tight, but with a little soak in warm water they opened right up!

So here’s the skinny on The Bouqs Company. They’re an online florist that grows their sustainable flowers on (wait for it) the side of a volcano in Ecuador!! They are cut and shipped (for free!) the same day, this ensures that the flowers arrive super fresh because there is no waiting in warehouses until they’re ordered. Always good quality and beautiful!

The thing that I love most is the exotic variety that they have. When I’ve ordered flowers online before it seems like the options are so meh. Take a peek at their site and see for yourself!

From today until Nov. 3rd (1 week) Bouqs.com is offering a 20% off discount for Vintage Revivals readers when you use the code FARMBLOOMS so get on it!

Massive thanks to Bouqs.com for teaming up with me on this project!

The PERFECT Thrifted Art for the Baby’s Room!

By Mandi | 10/26/2015 | 17 Comments

Hellooo!! Last weekend my MIL and I ventured out to see what treasures the secondhand stores of St. George had to offer. We didn’t find a ton (womp womp) but I did find the most wonderful picture for the little guy’s nursery!!

The room is coming along (the reveal will be on the blog in mid-Nov.) but its just been missing something. Something a little weird. Something that makes it not look so perfect. Something that makes you feel like there is a little bit of personality.

Something like a boy scout giraffe perhaps?

You know its bound to be good when the first reaction is “well, I don’t haaate it.”

You’ve experienced that right?

Your initial reaction is one of great hesitation, then after a second look to soak in the strangeness (why a boy scout giraffe?) it blossoms into something completely fantastic? Those kind of pieces are my absolute favorite. They’re the kind that always gets overlooked because they take your breath away and make you wonder why in the world this exists and then worm their way into your heart and make you feel like you cant go on living unless it’s in your life.

I’ve been having a hard time with the color scheme (do we go Classic Blue? Cubbies Blue and Red? Green and White? Southwesty Muted? Orange? Neutral?) this guy has lifted the foggy haze and now I know exactly what I want to do. We are going to go a desert-y i.e. terra cotta, rusty red, olive green, with a little bit of navy, and just a few really saturated jabs of color.

So our $25 boy scout giraffe saved the day! The guy at the consignment store said that they also had an elephant but we were a little too late. We have a lone trooper and we absolutely love him.