Update and Transform Your Home on a Small Budget! Big Results forLittle Money!

   This post shows several of my favorite, easy, and affordable makeovers that I have come across lately that I absolutely LOVE!!! Not a lot of cost involved and huge changes visually!! You cannot ask for more than big changes with little investment! Woo hoo!

   The first project is just a classic need in most homes... Various rooms quickly get slightly dated iun appearance and it quickly becomes VERY overwhelming as the home owner! Immediately our minds think that we have to change out the counter tops, the tile in the shower and tub, the cabinetry, and the list goes on.... These things quickly add up to figures that really become daunting when you know there is more than JUST ONE room that needs this kind of attention in your home.... Here is a perfect redo showing how you can make small changes and get big, beautiful results! Love this redo example and this site! Just look how fresh and pleasant that bathroom redo is with the change of a few minor and inexpensive elements.

https://centsationalgirl.com/2011/01/guest-visitor-house-of-smiths/

   This next redo shows how to really update a fireplace and take it from an older more traditional fireplace to a statement piece in your room! Note the fireplace stops at the mantle, but by repainting the brick around the fireplace, adding framing up the entire wall to the ceiling, and painting the wall from the mantle to the ceiling in the color that matched the brick this fireplace now fills the wall from floor to ceiling and it is gorgeous with minimal investment! Now if you have a fireplace that makes you fretted and seems dated and dark think of the options now!

   http://providenthomedesign.com/2014/09/03/diy-woodwork-mantlefireplace/

   Here is a mud room redo with paint as a few decorative pieces added to the walls basically, but this room was completely transformed!

 BEFORE

AFTER

http://www.designertrapped.com/2013/10/the-laundry-room-reveal.html

   This is a neat idea to add interest and a pretty window seat to a room that needs a face lift and some dressing up... Ikea pieces repurposed for a whole new idea! I love window seats no matter what, but then add storage to it and you cannot lose... Especially in your children's rooms. :)

http://mommyvignettes.blogspot.com/2013/05/ikea-no-sew-window-bench-tutorial.html

   This next one is something I just loved... It really gave the kitchen a total facelift and it just looks so bright and inviting now!!!! Note how they opened up one of the pieces of cabinetry to make it an open faced display shelf for some lovely pieces in the kitchen.... I really liked that. Also, think about this from a different aspect being if you purchase a home with far less cabinetry in the kitchen then you hoped for..... Add shelving with pretty shelf supports and paint them to match the cabinetry. Place your pretty pieces or well organized sections of kitchen gadgets on the shelves and hide the less manageable sections behind closed doors!! I love my grandmothers kitchen in Maine. She had opened shelving in several spots in her kitchen that made it feel inviting and homey to me. She displayed hand made pottery pieces on those shelves in tons of bright colors. I just love it!!

BEFORE

 AFTER

http://www.thekimsixfix.com/2012/08/kitchen-reveal-80s-to-awesome.html

   This last redo is close to my heart and cost less than $90 to complete. It is a bedroom in my home. We remade our king size bed from headboard to floor in this post and I was so happy with it!!!

   http://www.mommamiamoments.com/2014/05/diy-king-headboard-total-king-size-bed.html?m=0

   I hope these offered some inspiration to  your home and family! Thank you so much for visiting my blog!

Lots of Love,

Momma Mia :)

Make Your Home A Showpiece !! Little Details that Count in Big Ways !!

   I want to do everything on this list!! I am excited to share a bunch of finds that will add alot of charm to your home with little money spent. These little changes are small, but unique and smart features and additions that will set your home apart from the rest. You would not see these things often, but once you do you will not want to go without! 

   Check out how great this makes those plain and simple light switch covers look. Funny how my light switch covers were just fine until u saw this haha, but what an easy and inexpensive upgrade! So pretty! You go from a normal switch plate to lovely.... :) Love it! 

   Two approaches to achieve this and both cost very little... First option is an inexpensive or old frame you have setting around that fits your switches which is pretty easy to do because the sizes are comparable or you can use actual molding. The following link shows the redo with picture frames. 

http://memyselfndiy.com/2014/03/03/diy-switch-plate/

   This is a great change coming up next. You know those drawers in your house that are fake? You pull them and think for sure they will open, but nothing happens and then you just think it so odd to take all that time to install something that really should actually be what it looks like?! :) Well make good use of it and turn it into a functional addition to the space with this neat idea! 

http://www.houzz.com/photos/555862/In-Cabinet-Paper-Towel-Holder-traditional-kitchen-orange-county

    Here is another inexpensive upgrade. Not fond of the color of your appliance anymore? Upgrade your dishwasher for example simply with contact paper that is stainless steel in appearance! 

http://julieblanner.com/diy-stainless-steel-makeover/

   We all need extra space in our kitchens! The below addition is so smart and takes up very little space and yet still adds a lot of space! This creates a neat and clean organizational space for cleaning supplies and when you close the doors no one would ever even pay attention to it. 

   Add a lovely cover to your toilet paper and paper towel rolls with this great idea! Molding turned into a shelving case around them removes the eye soar and adds functionality with a very attractive flair. Love!!!!! 

   Here is another very pretty way to cover your toilet paper roll and add function and style at the same time. This is really a pretty way to add decorative details to your restroom/powder room. 

http://southernhospitalityblog.com/updating-a-70s-bath-avocado-aqua/

   Here is a beautiful way to make your bathroom look more elegant and just by adding two shower curtains instead of one! Also, I love the shower rods that curve outwards to add the appearance of larger space in the shower. I just think those are pretty and then add double shower curtains again to that scenario also. Lovely!!! 

http://fabuloushomeblog.com/?p=6592

   This is same idea as cabinet paint makeover in the kitchen example, but still the transformations are just so fun to see. It's encouraging too to see what small investments can change! This is just changing fixtures and paint. Remember too fixtures can get expensive if you approach it the wrong way. Be sure and shop for sales, and look on sites where people are selling barely used things.... You can save a ton even though you weren't really spending a lot to begin with. The key is that the extra savings here CAN MAKE ANOTHER PROJECT POSSIBLE! :D (Happy Dance!!)

http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/2012/09/bathroom-cabinets-makeover-my-first-ever-grown-up-diy-project.html

   Now I loved this because this lower portion of a lot of houses on the outside siding is just unattractive and unfinished looking. Take a look at how much this completes and details the house to really look finished and beautiful! 

   I hope all of these small, but very effective changes can really step up the look of a home! It's gorgeous and small additions to your home that really make an impact! 

Thank you for stopping by and checking out this post! 

Lots of Love! 

Momma Mia :) 

Our Handmade Christmas ! Enjoying the Holidays & Keeping A Budget :)

   If you have a lot of people to buy for this Christmas or even if you only have a few special people in mind, but either way you are trying to maintain a budget for the holidays then I have the list for you. :) I have compiled a list of my favorites and the list of things that I'm doing this holiday to cut down on cost, but really increase the meaning of the gift you're giving to your family and friends.

   A big focus of mine is handmade! Now this scares some, but don't let it! There is a wide range of handmade gift ideas and absolutely everyone can find something special to them to make from the heart! 

 1) Handmade Art by Your Kids :)

  Your sweet little ones can create gifts for the holiday that mean the world when received! Visit your local Hobby Lobby and pick up some of their canvas for handprints and footprints or a beautiful piece of art painted by your kids! This will absolutely be a hit and you won't ever get another like it! 

2) Gifts Fresh from Your Kitchen

   Go to the kitchen and pull out your favorite recipe! What is a signature dessert you love to make or a favorite hot chocolate with your special flare added to it that everyone just loves?! Now think mini version! :) Make your favorite pie, but in a cupcake pan for bite size gifts to fill small Christmas trays with or a batch of cookies would be perfect too. Back to the hot chocolate you could make one of those adorable ingredients layered ready to mix up mason jar gifts as well!!! Just get creative and pick your recipes and treats according to ingredients and pricing as well. There is no harm in picking the best dessert at the least expense. Everyone loves a warming, homemade treat and it will be a hit no matter what! 

3) Handmade Crafts by You

   Something I personally love to do is crafts. I am making a lot of crocheted things for the people this year. This is something that relaxes me and majority of the people I know love to receive these types of things. Pick patterns and projects suitable to their tastes too. I am making blankets, scarves, hats, head bands, and little cell phone purses. You can crochet all of these and at a very reasonable price especially if you watch your sales at your local craft store such as Hobby Lobby. They run sales for sections of their store every single week and they also offer a 40% off coupon for one regular priced item per customer. Also note weeks before Christmas even comes close to arriving Hobby Lobby and many other local craft locations are already marking down the Christmas everything substantially so this would be a great time to grab those last minute yarns and scrapbook papers with a holiday theme!!!! 

 

4) Now for the Festive Wrapping! 

   Now to "wrap" ;) this all up think about the wrapping paper that you are using. That festive pre-finished paper can be so expensive and for barely any paper! Some wonderful warm, personal alternatives can be butchers paper or some basic white paper that you can buy from anywhere for a multitude of purposes. The cost will not be nearly what it would be for some pre-packaged holiday wrapping paper because it's not geared towards the current high demand. Grab a silver or gold marker and write your Christmas note right on the paper. Get some solid white paper draw some pretty designs on it or make a little ornament and attach it to the top as a decorative edition. Examples of ornaments are in my prior blog post about handmade ornaments http://mommamiamoments.blogspot.com/2014/11/handmade-christmas-decorations-family.html?m=1 . I have also included some other ideas below. Simple little wooden ornaments you can create by just finding a tree limb in your yard or grabbing a dowling rod that you can get from your local hardware store and cut in slices. You want the width to be substantial enough to make a nice circular ornament so a few inches wide is ideal. Use a little wood burning tool kit or paint (whatever you prefer) on these and add some sweet sayings, a Bible verse , names and a date, or note the celebration of a first Christmas for a couple just married or in their first home. Highlight a precious baby's first Christmas or a gift for expectant parents and it will mean so much, but at a portion of the cost. 

   I hope that you enjoyed this and are inspired to out your own personal touches on Christmas this year!!! I appreciate each and every person that stops by and reads my page. 

Merry Christmas!!!! 

~~ Momma Mia :)

Handmade Christmas Decorations ~ Family Fun & Special Ornaments DIY

   I love to decorate for the holidays and I love the special memories this time of year brings!! Leading from this I think THE SINGLE MOST perfect memories and decorating combination is handmade decorations with your children, family, and friends! Absolutely nothing beats the value of those to me! Give me an ornament that is store bought in comparison to an ornament my little boy made for me and the one that will light up my day is the one he hands me with his beautiful art work and a huge, proud smile!!!

   Below I have shown several pictures of ornaments we have made at home this holiday season. 

** Below is the way my sister arranged her special handmade Christmas decorations and I just loved and had to share! She made the little snowmen clothespin son the tree and the terra cotta pot snowmen sitting on the end table as well. 

1) Children's Handprint Ornament

   

   Below is a blank porcelain ornament where the kids painted their sweet little hands and placed their handprints one on top of the other. I just love, love this!!! Immediately made it and every member wanted one! Be sure and let the prints thoroughly dry then spray a sealant for safe keeping :)

2) Terra Cotta Snowman Ornaments 

   These are precious and were simple to make. Well, I say that, but it takes a tiny bit of sewing and prep before it just falls together and my wonderful mom did the prep on these precious pieces. We made this as our Thanksgiving Day craft for all of my sisters and the little ones to do together. 

   First just simply paint your terra cotta white then for the scarf base we just got glued ribbon on. The face is hand painted and little Pom Poms are the ear muffs! :) Feed a couple of bells larger than the hole in the base of the terra cotta pot onto a string and then feed the string through the hole. Knot it off and this is your bell sound and ornament hanging string :) 

3) DIY Clothespin Snowmen

   Just get clothespins from any craft store and paint them white. The scarfs are pipe cleaners twisted and secured in one little spot with hot glue. The hats are the wooden sewing string spools painted black and then to widen the base of the hat more we cut some black felt in a larger circle and just got glued to base of the black wooden spool. Tada! :) So cute!!!  

4) Reindeer Ornaments from Wine Corks 

   These are assembled with hot glue, twigs from our dogwood tree :), and a little screwed on loop to hold string on top so it can be hung as an ornament. I like to crochet so I also just did a simple double crocheted scarf for each to the width and length that was proportional to their size. 

This is mine below. 

Then the one I made for my husband. 

Then the one I made for our son :) who is two and a half. I tried to pick smaller wine corks and tinier details for his. I also painted the tips of the antlers blue like little lights because he liked ;) 

   I hope you enjoyed these handmade ornaments and let me know how's yours turn out as well!!!! If love to hear ideas and requests too for other posts! 

~~ Merry Christmas from Momma Mia and my Family!!

DIY Pintuck Duvet

   I found this DIY bedding tutorial and fell in love. Please visit the below link for all details and steps. Great blog and great DIY! Beautiful!!!

http://www.viewalongtheway.com/2013/06/diy-pintuck-duvet/