Head Over Heels DIY Friday: Home Decor from Around the World

Hello and happy Friday from Shenzhen, China!  I only have one more day left on my business trip before I head home to Alex and the pups (I can't wait!).  But I just couldn't miss a DIY Friday post during my time away!  Since I haven't been home tinkering with any projects, I thought I'd ask you for ideas for creating home decor with things I have from my China & India trips.

First, I have this little booklet of beautiful handmade Chinese paper cuttings (isn't the amount of detail crazy?!?)  I got this as a gift from a co-worker in China  and just loved it!  There are so many things I could do with the cut paper images, I just haven't been able to decide on one.  I would love to make something pretty that we could use for wall decor, so maybe frame them?  There are about 10 or 12 in the booklet so organzing them for framing has been tricky too, hmmmm.

Next is this printed cloth I picked up during my market shopping in India.  I loved the authentic feel of it and the fact that it's fabric and not paper.  I thought it might challenge me to do something other than just framing it and sticking it on a wall but, the fabric might have me stumped now.  I still think it is beautiful though and I hope I can find a way to display it.

I just love having beautiful reminders around our home of the beautiful places we've been able to see (like our framed photos from Croatia).  A glance at artwork or a photo always gets my mind going on fun memories!

Let me know if you have any fun ideas for turning these items into home decor/ artwork!  I hope someone will have an idea that I will be Head Over Heels for!

That way I can get started on a project right when I get home, LOL!  Have a great weekend everybody!  

Alone In The Kitchen

With Carla out traveling for work, I am left here with the kids for a little DIY time. It’s funny; when Carla is out of town my DIY time typically includes late nights, loud music, and a lot of chatting with Rocco and Sadie. Honestly, I bet the neighbors wonder what the heck is going on over here when Carla’s gone.

With all of that excitement going on in our little Dutch Colonial, I bet you’re probably wondering how that Kitchen Project of ours is coming along since Carla last mentioned it here… Well, I’m pleased to say that it’s moving along nicely and we even managed to get the sink installed before she left – that was kind of my going away gift for her (and me).

Typically I try to tackle a surprise project while Carla is traveling but, she already knows what I have in store this time – Tile Backsplash!! With the sink installed, and the counter tops “lotioned and oiled” it means we’re getting really close to having a whole new look in our kitchen. It also meant that I had a trip to Home Depot planned because we had already decided that the best look for our spruced up kitchen space would be white subway tiles. This should help to brighten up the area and compliment our new Domsjo apron sink too! Hopefully I won’t run into any road blocks along the way, and will manage to have this project completed before Carla gets back on Sunday.

What do you think? Will the subway tiles look great with the hardwood counter tops and apron sink?

Wish me luck…I think I’m making fairly good progress and who knows; I may even have a small special project planned as a surprise.

I'll try to get another update in before Carla returns too. Hope you're having a great week!

A Day at the Market in India

We've already left India and are staying in Hong Kong until this evening, then I head into China so I won't have any Facebook/ Blogger access (it is blocked in China).  Since I haven't had a chance to gather/edit photos, I'd love to share this video that shows a glimpse of our day shopping at the Delhi Haat Market in India.  I have a couple other videos from India that I hope to share soon, but I will likely be 'off the grid' until Saturday when we come back to Hong Kong.

I keep wondering what Alex has been up to while I have been away... hmmmm???

Anyway, enjoy the video!

Head Over Heels DIY Friday: "Oiling and Lotioning".... The Countertops

Welcome to a sort of goofy DIY Friday post...  I didn't have an extra DIY project (aside from the kitchen) going on before I left for India, so instead I thought it'd be fun to share one of the silly stories from our kitchen project with you, hope you still enjoy!

I think most couples out there would agree that not every moment during a house project is warm & rosey.  There are moments of frustration, bickering, cursing, or even minor injuries. Thankfully, we seem to be good at filling those moments with humor which leads to my story....

In our last kitchen redo post, we shared that the kitchen had been torn up and we were ready to cut and install the countertops.   The other thing going on at the same time was our discussion regarding the countertop seal vs. treatment oil.  Alex and I decided to go with the recommended Behandla wood treatment oil for our Numerar countertops.  The product description states that it "Protects the wood, both on the surface and in depth; gives the surface a fine luster and prolongs the products life." 

Alex and I weighed the pros & cons of this versus the Waterlox (or other brand) sealant route and decided that this is fits best for us.  We know that using the oil will require more maintenance but we wanted to keep the natural wood look instead of having the glossy wood look.  Based on internet research I know that not everyone will agree with our decision, but like I said it's our kitchen and it will work for us. We can always sand and seal them in the future if we change our minds as well.

So, after Alex cut each section of the countertops and got them installed (Alex action shot!)...

It was time to apply the wood treatment oil, which is where my fun began!  Why?  Well, I am a nerd and watched probably waaaaay too many movies growing up because as Alex applied the oil I could not stop myself from repeating, "Oiling and lotioning, lotioning and oiling!!!!"

And that is all because of the movie The Sandlot.  Ahhh, it was one of my favorite movies as a kid (I hope some of you out there agree?).

Who can forget the Beast, or Benny the Jet Rodriguez, and my personal favorite Squints.  One of the most memorable moments in the movie is when he makes out with the lifeguard he has a crush on- Squints had a thing for 'older' women as a kid I guess?

The full quote from the movie is "I've been coming here every summer of my adult life, and every summer there she is oiling and lotioning, lotioning and oiling... smiling.  I can't take this no more"  Then he fakes downing in the pool so Wendy tries to save him and gives him mouth to mouth...  You get the idea of the whole scene.

Anyway, while Alex applied four coats of the oil on our new countertops I think I said "Oiling and lotioning, lotioning and oiling!!!! .... Oiling and lotioning, lotioning and oiling!!!! (pause) Oiling and lotioning, lotioning and oiling!!!! (longer pause) Oiling and lotioning, lotioning and oiling!!!! (pause)  Oiling and lotioning, lotioning and oiling!!!! (super long pause) I can't take it anymore!!!!"-  until my poor hubby couldn't take it anymore.  He was applying oil and I guess that quote was all I could think of apparently?  But hey, at least he got through applying all those coats even though I was driving him crazy :)

And now, I really want to watch The Sandlot... haha!!!  So I know this was pretty silly, but I hope you were Head Over Heels for the story anyway! 

Have a great weekend, I am headed from New Delhi to Hong Kong tomorrow! Hope to share pics soon, but right now I just hope I sleep for eight hours non-stop!

Wheels Up & India Bound

As I mentioned in Monday's post, I will be travelling for work this week and next so you will be hearing a post or two from Mr. Hammers and High Heels (Alex is a good sport about his nickname).

It's kind of crazy that this will be my 4th trip to China and 2nd to India (here's a link to photos from trip #2).  Even through my focus is work, I love any little moment where I can take in the culture and experience things I never dreamed I would get to.


Gotta love the little champagne glasses when you board the plane right?!?

 We headed out from Minneapolis to Amsterdam and our next stop for a few days is New Delhi, India.  I hope to share some photos or videos soon.  Until then, alvida!

Tearing Up the Kitchen

We got busy over the weekend tearing up the kitchen to prep for our new sink and countertops!

After tearing out the old laminate countertops and fiberglass sink, Alex started framing in countertop supports along the wall separating our kitchen and dining room.  Since that cabinet doesn't touch any walls, Alex wanted to make sure that the extra supports were there.

 Here's another look a what we took out....

Another set of supports he added in was for our big (and super heavy) double bowl apron sink.  I think today is day 4 of not having a kitchen sink and I have to say it is pretty tough.  I never realized how much we rely on using that, thank goodness we have a dishwasher though!  I can't wait to have a sink again though.

Since our new sink hangs over the front of the cabinets, Alex also had to remove the two faux drawers that were in front of the old inset sink.

Next up will be cutting the wood countertop slabs to size!

The countertops have to be installed before we can add in the new sink in since it sits on the top of the counters, kind of like this....

Image via Houzz

So, I better get back to work assisting my hubby while he does most of the work (sad but true). I see lots of sawdust in our future, ugh!  I can't wait to have a sink in the kitchen again though!!!

I will be taking another work trip pretty soon, so Alex might be at the blog helm for a while but he/we will do our best to keep you updated on the progress!  I'll have more on my travels soon, so see you then! 

Head Over Heels DIY Friday: FINALLY! A Silver Tray Wreath Tutorial!

Today is a very exciting DIY Friday because I have a tutorial to share for something that really needed need one!  Back when I wrote about Bachman's 2011 Holiday Idea House, there was plenty of photos and plenty of ideas but the most popular by far was this Silver Tray Wreath.

Once this photo was pinned on Pinterest, we started seeing lots of traffic in our stats from it.  It's also the most frequent question I get asked in emails, "I found your Silver Tray Wreath on Pinterest but couldn't find a tutorial on how to make it, can you send it to me?" or "I love that Silver Tray Wreath, can you tell me how you made it?" 

Alex and I thought about taking a stab at making one, but we weren't able to ever find enough pretty Silver Trays to try making it with. After a while when I saw Silver Tray Wreath in an email subject line I would think, "ugh not another one!"  And not because the email bothered me (I love emails about blog stuff!), but because it was such a bummer to not be able to help or have an answer for anyone since I didn't make it.  But now, all of that will change because of a a great surprise I got in my inbox today!

Take a look at this DIY Silver Tray Wreath made by Alexis from Sweet Beginnings!

Back in November, she too sent me a Silver Tray Wreath email and as usual I gave her the bad news that there was no tutorial- but I also said at the end of the email, "If you make one let me know, I get asked about it all the time actually."  And wouldn't ya know it?  She replied back today letting me know that she made one and created a tutorial to go with!

Isn't it beautiful?  Hers looks just like the Bachman's one right?!?

The best part- she shows you how you can make one too! 

I can't give it all away, you will have to stop by Sweet Beginnings to see the full tutorial!  I know I am Head Over Heels for this project and to FINALLY have an answer for any future inquires about that wreath, LOL!

Thank you Alexis for letting me share this and for making that awesome wreath!

Have a great weekend everyone, I will update you on the Kitchen project soon!