DIY Shadowbox

So, I had this idea for Father's Day for the mister...a Pittsburgh Steelers shadowbox.  I headed out to Hobby Lobby to get a shadowbox and the ready-made ones were not the right size.  So they price quoted me on a custom-made shadowbox and it was $170!  I said, um, yeah..thanks.  I'll get creative and figure something else out.  I decided to take a trip to Home Depot.  I had my daughter and oldest son with me, and we headed over.  I walked in and a customer service rep asked me if I have found everything ok (well, not really since I just got here), and I told her I need some help with my idea.  Common sense told me of course what I needed to do, but I really wasn't sure where to start.  She pointed out 2 guys down the way and said they'd be the best.  As we walked toward them, one started walking toward us.  He asked me if I needed any help and I said, actually, yes, I'm looking for you!  You could tell this was really this guy's calling.  He was so excited to help me.  I told him what I wanted and he basically just shopped with me.  Then, we get all the materials, and he says so is anyone helping you when you get started besides me helping you pick the stuff out?  I said, um, no - well, a 6-year-old and a 9-year-old.  He said are you able to cut the wood?  I said, well, we just bought a jig saw, but I haven't used it.  I think I scared him.  He said, okay, I'll cut these then.  This guy helped me get my nails, made sure what I had and what I didn't have, and kept to a budget, he cut my boards all down and sent me on my way.

So we got home, and everything went so smooth.  I am using paint I already had, built it, painted the first coat, and I just need to go get one more thing, and it will be done for approximately..........$35! 

More to come and pictures later....


It's pretty much finished now.  I just need to go get the glass, print off a picture of the other half and his brother from their Pittsburgh trip for the frame in there, and put the magnet on.  It's far from perfect, but it was something very new for me. I ended up deciding to do hinges with magnet closure and adding a knob, not part of the original plan but he can add to it or take things out this way.

It has a couple of felt flags, half of a football helmet, a Steelers picture frame, a merchandise book with a signature, the Terrible Towel, a little football guy (beats me who it is), a Steelers helmet pipe, a ticket to the Steelers game in Pittsburgh, and a Cardinals ticket.  The Cardinals ticket is significant to him because after they both played the Super Bowl, he went to the Steelers' first game of the next season and then 3 days later went to the Cardinals' first game of the season.  I think I will add something Super Bowl-ish too. 

DIY Laundry Room Makeover

First, I have to say I love, love, love my "new" laundry room. We started with this crappy, tiny laundry room layout that is just completely inefficient to do anything in but wash and dry clothes. Because of the layout, you really couldn't take something out of the dryer and fold it right then and there. Instead, with everyone busy working and 3 kids and all the chaos, it was "easier" to pull the load out of the dryer and throw it in an area to fold later (yeah sure...15 loads later). Thanks to YoungHouseLove, who had the same layout, I was able to change my laundry room to be more functional, organized, and even a cute little room for around $100.

Before:

After:

(I still need to touch up the paint on the door, baseboards, etc.)  We added the  bamboo Roman shades and a plywood cut to size (with our new jig saw) for a folding area, and I painted the room.

I added some cheap art for an extra touch to make it more of a room.  

I don't have a laundry door because it broke years ago.  I have taken other doors off in the past (Viggo's closet) on purpose because the tracking was annoying and it, if kept neat, looked much better and made the room bigger.  A lot of the inspiration rooms purposely take off doors for more of an open-living environment. One of our linen closets was built without a door.  The closet doors in my office are having the same track problem as Viggo's, so they will be coming off too (as well as the linen closet in the master bath just because).  I guess we were one step ahead (thanks, kids, because we know you are the ones who broke our doors....)