Bu-bu bu-bu Bubblin!

Posted on December 20, 2013 by Leah Poarch

Are you guys ready for Christmas?? I think it’s safe to say that I am not. . . I still have presents to make, in addition to wrapping. . . forget about decor because I still haven’t started on the cleaning that needs to be done before guests arrive!

I did manage to get 1 quick project in last weekend though. I’ve been working on our guest bathroom for some time and have been dreaming of ways to hang ‘bubbles’ above the shower.

I’ve been eyeing clear, plastic Christmas ornaments for about a year now but I never ran across any that were reasonably priced. A few weeks ago I just happened to be in Walmart and they had some for just $.88! They even come in 2 sizes!

To make your own ‘bubbles’ here’s what you’ll need:

clear, plastic Christmas ornaments
fishing line
clear thumb tacks
scissors

Start by taking off the ‘top’ of each ornament. . .
. . .and remove the ‘cap’ so that you just have the hanger left..

Now you’re ornament, looks more like a bubble!
Using a long piece of fishing line, loop the line through each of the hangers.

Oooooohhhh pretty.

Using your clear thumb tacks, hang each bubble above your shower at varying heights.*Hint* Putting your step ladder actually in your shower makes this task a lot easier!

Hang a few ornaments and it’ll start to take shape!
In order to vary the heights, you might have some extra fishing line. No problem, just trim it off when you’re done.

I hung 7 ornaments total but I think I’ll look for a few more small ones to balance it out.
I know this is risky to say, but my Under the Sea bathroom might actually be finished!

Master Bath Updates

Posted on August 8, 2013 by ppoarch

The 2013 House Tour is done and as promised our master bathroom has gotten some much need updates. Here are a few real life before shots.
Our primary need for this space was additional storage. Although we have a lot of cabinet space our counter space is pretty limited. Since the sink is a stand alone, we usually end up with a mess similar to this.Yikes.

After some searching we purchased 3 of these shelves from IKEA and 2 now hang above the laundry hamper and toilet.

The third one we cut down to fit on our existing cabinet and is now my ‘getting-ready’ station. Check out that clean countertop!

Last but not least, we added a small hook for my bathrobe!

Have I ever told you a pocket door separates the master bathroom from our bedroom?

Yup, she’s a beaut.

2013 House Tour: Part 3

Posted on August 1, 2013 by Leah Poarch

Hello and welcome to the final installment of our 2013 House Tour here at The Front Poarch! Last week I showed you the front of our house and the new sectional we found on Craig’s List, not onto the rest of the house!

Just off the entryway, is the main hallway . . .

. . . which got a major face lift this spring.

Off the hallway you’ll find all 3 bedrooms and 2 baths.

The guest bath is up first, do you remember the plaid wall paper?The look of this bathroom changed drastically when we removed the wall paper, textured and painted the walls. We also created a custom sign and more recently, reupholstered the vanity stool and made some DIY Dipped Votives.

The blue curtain and rod got replaced by this DIY Bubble Shower Curtain and after Christmas I also made some custom driftwood art.

The office has gotten some major organization, although still lacking a real design direction.

My sewing corner is up and running and I finally have a permanent home for my Silhouette and my new computer!

The guest bedroom got a lot of attention when we first moved in and probably went through the least amount of change in the past year.

We did add a few pieces of original art and the ever-increasing globe collection.

I had to hunt for a decent picture of the master from last summer, that has to tell you something about how much I wasn’t a fan of it. The theme continues, tan tan and more tan.

Just before summer started, I redid the entire room including painting a stripe all the way around the room. . . .
. . . painting this hutch to create a reading nook and creating a custom jewelry display. Last but not least, the master bath!

After we took down the wallpaper and painted the bathroom, not much has changed but be sure to stay tuned because big updates are coming next week!

That’s all for this year and I can’t wait to see what big changes the 2014 tour will bring!

DIY Dipped Votives

Posted on June 12, 2013 by Leah Poarch

Last week I showed you that I’ve finally made some progress on my big dreams for the guest bath. As promised, I’m back today with the tutorial for these Dipped Votives!A few weeks ago I ran across these little black votives at Hobby Lobby and I knew they would be perfect for my Under the Sea bath. Don’t they kind of look like urchins??

To make your own, here’s what you’ll need:

2 small votives
paint of your choice
string
scissors
drop cloth
place to hang drying votives
clothes pins, optional

Using the string, hang each votive so that it can be dipped upside down.

One at a time, dip each votive in the paint and slowly remove it.

Hold the wet votive over the can for a few minutes until the majority of the paint has stopped dripping.

Hang the wet votive over the drop cloth and allow it to dry for 8-10 hours or overnight.

Once the votives are dry, add your candles and you’re done!

Have you ‘dipped’ anything else lately?

Bathroom Update

Posted on June 4, 2013 by Leah Poarch

As most projects go, I have a lot of inspiration in the beginning and am really excited about the ‘reveal’. That is until I get bitten by the next inspiration bug and move onto another project. This is exactly what happened with the guest bath. At the first of the year I had BIG dreams for this space, and even painted a shower curtain and made some art, but did I make that bubble chandelier? Nope. Haven’t even thought about it.

Today I’m here to tell you that I have made a few small updates, here’s what the guest bath is looking like these days.

I finally made myself sit down and reupholster this original-to-the-house vanity stool.

I won’t be posting a tutorial, but the process I used was pretty similar to my recently redone foot stool (or these dining room chairs).

Here’s the finished product and I am kicking myself for waiting so long to do this! Check out this beauty!

On our anniversary getaway a few weeks ago I picked up this shelving unit from Ikea. I’ve been hoping to find a small shelf for several months now and I just kept coming back to this one so we took the plunge and bought it!

When we moved in last year, I quickly figured out that this bathroom was going to need some more storage space. The plumbers installed reliable faucets and sinks. Although the counter is really long, it’s also really narrow which means that after you put a few decorations out guests barely have any room for their toiletries.

And these beauties on top? I purchased them at Hobby Lobby and the ‘upgraded’ them. A tutorial is coming later this week!

Have you made any small progress on a big project lately?

A year in the making – 1 Year Blogiversary

Posted on March 12, 2013 by Leah Poarch

365 days ago, a dream of mine became a reality.

It started probably a year before that when I stumbled across a blog called House of Hepworths. Who even knew DIY blogs existed? It was the first one I’d ever heard of and I was instantly infatuated with Alison and her amazing DIY skills. I was hooked. I read every post she’d ever written and waited anxiously for new posts to be published (yeah. . . I was kind of a creeper). I began to dream and really think, I could do that!

At the time we lived in a tiny 2-bedroom duplex whose owner barely let us install a ceiling fan (it had NO ceiling fans. . . in the middle of west Texas. . . . yeah, not smart) so I knew a DIY blog was out of the question as long as we lived there. Time went on and I began to follow other blogs like I Heart Organizing and Primitive and Proper and as the DIY bug grew within me and I worked on small projects around our home.

In January of 2012 this all changed when, through a series of God sized events, we bought our first home. I was ECSTATIC. Long before we moved my head began to spin with renovation ideas, paint colors and flooring options. (Side Note: I didn’t join Pinterest for a long time because my friend Katie told me it was like my brain on steroids. She was right.) I immediately knew the time had come to launch my very own blog, and that my friends is how it all began.

I was so excited I had probably 2-3 posts written before we moved. That’s right, in two weeks time I packed our entire house, we cleaned our new house, did all the techy stuff that goes along with starting a blog and I wrote several posts. Maid Easy offered a good house cleaning option. Oh yeah, and we both worked a full time job. Needless to say, we were pumped about this dream coming true.

Over the past year we’ve learned a lot. A LOT. We’ve learned about working together and communication. We’ve learned that if you give a mouse a cookie, he’s going to want something to drink. We’ve learned that I am a mouse. . . .and I want a cookie. We’ve learned that I have big dreams and can always see the final product where as Phillip never sees the final product and often says things to me like,

“You aren’t finished with that project. . . are you?”

“You want to paint what?”

“Those things don’t match.”

Yet he always loves the result. It’s been an entertaining year of growth and discovery.

I’ve learned 3 things about myself over the past 12 months;

I love to dream up big projects and see them through to completion.
I love writing about what I’ve done. I do the staging, shooting and editing. . . .so that I can write.
I love that there are people out there whom I’ve never met who actually read the things I write. It never ceases to amaze me.

So to you, faithful reader, thank you. Thank you for reading, dreaming and learning with me. You are the reason that I continue to write so thanks for the encouragement and love.

Speaking of love . . . . wouldn’t you just LOVE to win a new purse?? I thought so.

Without further adieu, the winner is. . . .Heather Jernigan!

Heather be sure to check your email for prize details.

Here’s to many, many more DIYing years to come!

DIY Bubble Shower Curtain

Posted on February 1, 2013 by Leah Poarch

When I was dreaming up my bathroom makeover I knew the shower curtain would be the a main focal point. After searching and searching and finding nothing that would fit, I decided to create one of my own!

As luck would have it, I happened upon a curved shower curtain rod for just $10 on Craig’s List. Ten. Dollars. Needless to say, I snatched it up right away! No matter what type of shower curtain rod you have, you can still create this look. Here’s what you’ll need:

2 canvas drop cloths (or 1 that you cut in half and hemmed)
3 shades of blue craft paint
3 different sized ‘circles’
gray or silver/shimmery craft paint
scotch guard
piece of cardboard/cardstock for paint

Start by making a circle with each color of blue paint, this will help you evenly apply the paint to the rim of each ‘circle’.

Starting with your largest ‘circle’ dip the rim in each paint color, one at a time, and stamp bubbles up and down each curtain pane. I chose not to wipe off the paint color before going to another one because it created a marbled/ombre effect on some bubbles.

Repeat the same process with your medium and small circles as well.

Now that you’ve stamped all 3 circles sizes, take a step back and make sure you don’t have any ‘empty’ spaces. If you do, go back and stamp a few more bubbles.

Now grab your silver paint of choice and stamp circles in all three sizes, overlapping and filling in any additional open spaces.

For me the silver paint was more of a background color or a shadow so I didn’t worry about the placing too much, I just stamped it wherever I thought it looked good!

After the paint is dry, hang your shower curtain and give it a few coats of Scotch Guard.

And there you have it, your very own DIY Bubble Shower Curtain!

You could stamp any shape you can dream up like stars or leaves from your yard. What do you think, what shape would you stamp?

PS – You can see the overall progress of the bathroom here and a tutorial for DIY Driftwood Art here.

DIY Driftwood Art

Posted on January 29, 2013 by Leah Poarch

Our guest bathroom has gone through a lot of changes recently and today I am going to share with you my DIY Driftwood Art.

The last time you saw these twigs they were a part of my Faux Mantle over the holidays. I wasn’t ready to part with them so I kept them in my stash until I noticed a blank wall in the bathroom and decided to create some art.

To make your own DIY Driftwood Art here’s what you’ll need:

8-10 twigs of similar size and length
fishing wire
clear thumb tacks
hammer

Start with 2 thumb tacks and attach fishing line to each tack. You’ll want the fishing line to be slightly longer than the wall space you want to fill.

I found it easiest to double knot the fishing line to the tack and then hammer it to the ceiling.

Hammer each tack to the ceiling, spacing them equally over the wall space you want to cover. (Please disregard my ceiling that hasn’t been cut-in yet. . . and by yet I mean 10 months later.. . . . don’t judge me.)

Start by hanging one twig at a time, tying each twig at the desired height and working your way down until the wall looks ‘full’. I double knotted each twig to each fishing line and were about a week in and nothing has fallen. Don’t worry too much about trying to keep the twigs even or straight, a little overlapping gives it m ore character!

And there you have it, no more boring wall!

Have you ever created art out of another ‘found’ item like twigs?

Bathroom Progress: Under the Sea

Posted on January 21, 2013 by Leah Poarch

A bathroom update is here! Since we painted the bathroom last fall I’ve been dreaming of what I’ve now coined my Under the Sea bathroom.

Here’s what it looks like today:

My mom gave this awesome sea shell mirror that now hangs above the sink.

And next to the mirror hangs 2 Little Mermaid prints and some custom art I created.

On the other side of the room, I created this custom bubble print shower curtain (tutorial coming soon!).

Do you recognize these branches? They’re repurposed from a Christmas project . . . and yes, a tutorial is coming soon on the project too!

Progress has been made but I still have a lot in store! Have you made progress on any projects this weekend?

Bathroom Inspiration

Posted on January 15, 2013 by Leah Poarch

Whew! I feel like I’m still recovering from the holiday whirlwind! I’m almost back in the regular rhythm of house projects and blogging but I realized, I haven’t given you an update on the front bath! I thought I’d take a step back and share some of my bathroom inspiration with you (although I’ve already done a few of these).

If you’ll remember we painted our bathrooms last fall but I was still looking for a few items to complete our beach theme. Of course, I originally started my beach themed bathroom to mimic my favorite Disney movie, The Little Mermaid.