The Best DIY Projects – Sunday Morning Coffee
Volume 13
Today I am pleased to share with you Sunday Morning Coffee. This is a place to share, learn, explain, dream, and have fun. Today I am sharing my weekly thoughts about entertaining, decor, crafts, and recipes, and why I think DIY projects are fun and always worth the effort.
A Little Bit About Me
Why Do I Love DIY Projects?
You might remember that I have a new theme for April. It is Just Do It Yourself. Which can be translated to Just DIY.
I get a ton of pleasure creating things.
I talked to quite a few of you this week and I was surprised how many of you thought a DIY was only a craft. But DIYs are so much more!
Cooking DIYs
I create DIY projects in my kitchen all of the time. The Focaccia Bread was a really fun DIY. Anytime you create a recipe it is a DIY. Right?
Home Decor DIYs
I love home decor DIY projects. I took on my biggest remodeling project with the Waco home and we should be starting the beach house remodel in a few months.
Our Waco Airbnb was a huge DIY project! This bedroom didn’t even exist. I added a master suite on the back of the home so we could have a three bedroom, two bath home.
Click here to see my favorite remodeling projects in our Waco home.
You probably just saw the vintage tin tile backsplash I added in our Waco kitchen. This was so much fun! And it’s unique.
Entertaining DIYs
Every time I entertain I take on a DIY. I have made wooden tabletops, chandeliers, table covers, centerpieces, and more. I love to entertain and my DIY projects are so much fun!
Craft DIYs
I thought it might be fun to share some fun facts about my DIY projects.
I started out by typing DIY into the search bar of my blog. Twenty-two pages popped up.
What?
There are 16 blog posts featured on each page. That’s 352 DIY posts.
So now you know that I love DIYs. Maybe I should have started with this fact. Haha.
My DIY Digest
I have never done this before and I thought it might be fun to look back and select a few DIY projects that stand out. And I am not only sharing the good ones!
At first I thought this was a great idea. I can easily pick some of my favorite (and not so favorite) DIYs and put them into some fun categories.
I never imagined how hard this would be! Thus, some of the categories have more than one answer because I could not decide. I am also adding a disclaimer that I am sure I probably fogot to include some of my DIYs. There are just too many!
My Favorite DIY
This was so hard to answer. But I came up with two that I love. I have repeated them over and over and over which is a pretty good clue how much I love them.
I had to pick my Free Stitch Embroidery pillows (as the runner up) because I have made so many. I have made more than this photo and I am sure I will keep making them. I made this up and I have kind of perfected the DIY over the past year. You can find the first post with the complete DIY instructions at How to Make a free Motion Embroidery Stitch Pillow.
My favorite DIY projects, hands down, are the outdoor parties I have created. They all involve some sort of a frame to create some type of room. I have set these up in so many different locations in our yard.
Each one has been magical.
Especially the ones I have created on the beach, in the sand. Find all of the details at How to Plan a Backyard Dinner Party.
My Hardest DIY
When I came up with the idea to make wooden tabletops the idea was a lot easier to think up then execute. I teamed up with my handyman and we figured it out together.
These tables have been so amazing and I have made more since.
The complete DIY is How to Make My Wood Table Tops.
My Biggest Failure of a DIY that I Actually Shared
I did share the fact that this Citrus Tart originally wasn’t supposed to look like this. I tried to put citrus slices on top of the tart but when I took the photos they looked awful. I was so frustrated and started ripping off the citrus slices so I could throw the tart away. Good thing I saw this angle before I tossed the tart in the trash. Find the recipe at Citrus Stained Lemon Tart Recipe.
I cried over this project long and hard because I had a deadline and I could not get the ravioli maker to work. The pasta kept getting stuck and smooshed and the filling fell out everywhere.
It took three complete batches of homemade pasta to get it right and sadly, the problem was only that I hadn’t inserted the attachment correctly. I spent six hours trying to make this Roasted Butternut Squash Ravioli with Sage Brown Butter Sauce.
My Most Popular DIY
You all were so receptive to this project. I can’t even begin to count how many of you made this wreath and sent me all of your amazing photos.
I made another one and will likely make more. The funniest thing that at least half of you did not notice that this wreath was made from pinecones!
Go to How to Make a Spring Wreath.
My Cheapest DIY
The cheapest must mean free and this DIY cost me nothing.
I cut the branches from our tree and used some tissue paper (you can use TP too) I had lying around the house. These Cherry Blossoms last for a very long time. I love them.
Find the DIY at Cherry Blossoms DIY.
We drank a lot of wine in 2020 and I wanted to make something that reminded our family of all of the dinners we had together with just us!
These corks were a great memory of the fun times so I made this wreath as a fun reminder. The corks were free too! Go to Cork Wreath DIY.
My Most Expensive DIY
I chose our Waco Wrap Around Porch as the most expensive DIY because I didn’t have to do. I had to decided to break the remodel budget and take off the roof of the house and switch it so we could add the porch.
It was an expensive decision but I am very glad that I did it. I love this porch so much! Go to How We Built the Wrap Around Porch at our Waco Airbnb.
The DIY That Took Forever
I am not exactly sure what I was thinking when I decided to make all of the flower centerpieces for my son’s Rehearsal Dinner.
I could have called a florist (like everyone normally does) but no, I decided to make over 125 crepe paper flowers by hand. I almost didn’t finish but my best friend came to the rescue.
Can I just say that the hydrangeas had something like over 100 petals on each flower?
I have to add that while I was sitting at this table, with all of the people I loved most in my life, I was so proud and happy that I made every single one of those flowers by hand. It was so worth the effort! And everyone thought they were real! Go to How to Plan a Rehearsal Dinner.
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Are you up for a good laugh?
I was looking through my blog and a photo popped up. It was from a post titled 50 Shades of Gray (Paint) dated June 8, 2017. My first reaction was, “What was I thinking?”. It is truly one of the ugliest photos I have ever seen. Of course I assumed that I had selected it by accident.
Nope. when I clicked on the blog post, there were three photos and two of them looked just like the featured one. My blog post was also just over three paragraphs long.
Obviously I am not posting the photo here. You are going to have to click the link to find it.
I am sharing this because I wanted you to know that we all start somewhere. I did not start writing blog posts with fifteen photos and 1200 words on week one. I didn’t even start doing that until year three.
It took me a while to learn and get organized.
Around Our Home
The Carriage House Remodel
Since I am sharing a lot about my DIY projects, I wanted to share an update on the renovation of the Carriage House.
This is going to be our new Entertaining space. It will have a long table, seating for 10 plus a flower arranging area and project area.
It was kind of dirty and needed some TLC so we sealing it up, are painting it white, and redoing all of the lighting.
The Carriage House will actually be an ongoing project and I cannot wait for it to be done.
This space opens up to the back patio so when I move all of the “stuff” we can entertain inside and out. How awesome is that?
The lights have been taken down and I am now making some chandeliers. Yes, I did just say I am making some chandeliers. They are vintage too.
Yikes. But I think these are going to be amazing!
So what do you think?
Reflections on the Week
I loved this week on my blog. I shared so many new ideas and lots of inspiration was shared. Which was your favorite?
My Favorite Things
Decorate your desserts with these beautiful Wafer Paper Flowers made by Happy Happy Nester. All the materials are edible, including potato paper, food coloring, and edible glue.
My friend KariAnne made this adorable duvet cover out of a sheet. This is such a great project!
Blogs I Love to Follow
On the weekends I love to cuddle up on the couch and spend some time reading my favorite blogs. I used to list Instagram accounts here but since I enjoy blogs so much I thought I would list them here instead.
Let me know what you think!
Things I Love
I love these vintage inspired items for the home. Click here to see.
Good Things From Martha
Did you know Martha Stewart has her own store on Amazon?
She has her products in Outerwear, Furniture and Lighting, Garden, Children’s Furniture, Food and Beverage, Pets, Window Coverings, Rugs, Outdoor Furniture, Eyewear, and more!
I am obsessed with her gardening collection!
What’s Ahead
There are a lot of fun things happening next week. I have more pancakes to share, a DIY of how to make Tomato Cages, an amazing single-service dessert, lots of Mother’s Day gift ideas, the best roses anywhere, and my Carriage House garden. I promise it is going to be a fun week!
Catch up on Sunday Morning Coffee
- Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 12 – Just Do It Yourself
- Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 11 – Creative Inspiration
- Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 10 – Inside the Life of a Blogger
- Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 9 – Live Your Best Life
- Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 8 – Living Green
- Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 7 – Why I Love to Entertain
- Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 6 – February is All About Living Beautifully
- Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 5 – Our Beach House in Ventura, CA
- Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 4 – The Story of My 100 Year Old Home
- Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 3 – I Think I Might Be Martha’s Biggest Fan
- Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 2 – A Tribute to My Mom
- Sunday Morning Coffee Volume 1 – How Chip and Joanna Influenced My Life
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For more real-time updates, follow me on Instagram @My100YearOldHome
Absolutely Lv your homes!! My husband and I are DIYers!! Our house was a plan 3 bedroom ranch when we moved in years ago and today it’s a completely different place inside and out!!! I call it my brand new again home! But the kitchen needs another update and if we decide to stay longer it will get done!! Thank you, Connie
Can’t wait for the progress on the carriage house! Also looking forward to the remodel of the beach house! I live in Ventura county too, just up the hill in Newbury Park! You are blessed for each of your best homes and the fabulous talent Godhas blessed you with!
I love all of your DIYs. They are so simple but elegant. Keep it up!
I truly enjoy reading your posts and seeing how you work. Your art is an inspiration to me and others. When you mentioned DIY can also be recipes, I like to think art is more than projects too… to me, art is the focaccia bread you made too. I do not like limits, and like to to find beauty in the most mundane parts of life. Thank you for sharing and I especially loved how you began blogging… being someone who followed blogs for so many years and then trying it myself. It is quite a learning experience… the time that goes into each post, the pictures, the ideas… it is hard work and knowing you post as often as you do, blows my mind! Hats off to you and thank you for always sharing with us! We learn a lot, or at least I know I do!
I do love catching up with you on Sundays! You’ve been busy this week with all your wonderful projects. I’m excited for the carriage house – it looks great so far and your chandeliers will be so fun – can’t wait to see! Plus I totally loved your 2017 paint post – classic!
Happy Weekend!
Thank you so much Barbara. I am really excited about the Carriage House too. It is coming along! Have a great week!